Read Online A Sinister Sense by Allison Kingsley - Free Book Online Page B

arrested!”
    Molly blinked. “Oh, I thought…”
    She let her voice trail off as Clara glared at her. “From now on, if anyone mentions the word
arrest
in my presence, expect to get an earful, is that clear?”
    Molly nodded and glanced at Stephanie.
    “I need you at the counter,” Stephanie said, nudging Clara to go forward. “We’ll be in the Nook if anyone wants us.”
    “Got it!” Molly darted off, no doubt glad to be out of the line of fire.
    Clara flung herself down on a chair in the Nook and rubbed her forehead with her fingers.
    “Headache?” Stephanie handed her a mug of steaming coffee.
    “A pounder. It’s been quite a morning.”
    “Yeah, I saw you earlier. What on earth were you doing with that dog?”
    Clara filled her in, making her laugh more than once as she related the events of the morning.
    “I bet Aunt Jessie will have a screaming fit when she sees Tatters,” Stephanie said when Clara finished her story.
    “I’m just hoping she doesn’t freak out when she opens my bedroom door.” Clara tried not to visualize Tatters tearing through the house, leaving a trail of broken knickknacks behind him.
    Stephanie leaned back in her chair. “Reminds me of the time you found that poor little dog in the woods. You took it home, and Aunt Jessie wouldn’t let it in the house because it was running alive with fleas.”
    Clara smiled. “I remember. We kept that puppy for days in the woodshed on McAllister’s farm.”
    “Until Mr. McAllister found out and chased us out of there.” Stephanie stared into her coffee mug. “I remember how you held that dog in your lap and talked to it like it was a child. You kept listening as if it was talking to you and you could understand every word it said. Then yougot up, said you knew where it lived, and we took it to that house near the woods.”
    “I was right. That little girl cried when we gave her back her puppy.”
    “That dog told you where it lived.”
    Clara shifted on her chair and put the mug down on the table at her side. “It was just a lucky guess. I pretended it told me. We were kids. We were always pretending things. If we weren’t sailing the high seas with a bunch of pirates we were flying on a magic carpet to Aladdin’s castle.”
    “Or pretending to be fortune-tellers. We couldn’t wait to get the Quinn Sense so we could tell fortunes for real.”
    “Yeah, well that didn’t turn out to be nearly as exciting as we imagined.”
    “I wouldn’t know.” Stephanie gave her a hard look. “What are you going to do about Rick?”
    Clara raised her eyebrows. “What should I be doing?”
    “I mean, if he’s guilty—if he really did kill that guy—”
    “Stephanie Quinn Dowd! How can you say that? You know Rick as well as I do. He could never do something like that.”
    Stephanie looked worried. “Clara, aren’t you just a little prejudiced? I know you like the guy. How can you be so sure he didn’t do it?”
    Clara pinched her lips. “I know. Just leave it at that.”
    Stephanie stared at her, her expression slowly changing from doubt to recognition. “The Quinn Sense. It was the Sense that told you, right?” She slapped the arm of herchair. “Darn it, I wish I could do that! It’s not fair. Why should you get the powers and not me? We’re practically sisters, for heaven’s sake! Most of our family has it, why can’t I?”
    “Shhh!” Clara looked around in alarm. “You know how I feel about that. I don’t want anyone to know I have it.”
    “Sorry.” Stephanie leaned forward. “I was right, though, wasn’t I? That’s how come you’re so sure Rick is innocent.”
    “I believe he’s innocent because I know him. Well enough to know he’s not a murderer.” Clara paused, knowing that what she was about to say had been in her mind ever since she’d heard that Rick was a suspect. “I’m going to do my best to prove it,” she said quietly.
    Stephanie frowned. “Have you forgotten what happened when you helped