Read Online A Timely Vision by Joyce and Jim Lavene - Free Book Online Page B

her food. No doubt wishing she was at a dark table at the Curbside with Kevin. “There was a storm, you know. Maybe it was swept out to sea.”
    “Or you could be right.” Kevin glanced at Gramps. “She could’ve been robbed. Maybe she put up a fight and got hurt. It wouldn’t take much to kill a woman that age.”
    “We have a few break-ins every now and again. We even had a robbery last year at the convenience store. But I have a hard time with the idea that someone murdered Miss Elizabeth.” I said my piece, then sat back from the table. Food didn’t taste so good when you were talking about murder.
    “Maybe you could touch something she was wearing and tell us all what happened,” Shayla suggested.
    I stared at her—if only looks could kill—and finally said, “No.”
    “Could you do that?” Kevin asked.
    “I can’t form images from things,” I explained, softening my tone a little. “I have to touch the person.”
    “Maybe you could touch Miss Elizabeth,” Shayla continued. “Maybe you could pick up a vibe that way.”
    “I’ve already touched her. I didn’t see anything.” I felt a little uncomfortable defending myself, but I went on. “I’ve thought about this again and again since finding Miss Elizabeth. But I get nothing. No image. Nothing.”
    “It’s probably because Lizzie isn’t able to form a picture in her mind.” Gramps started clearing the table. “I think Dae’s ability has always been like her grandmother’s. She could only see a picture of something a person visualized in their mind.”
    “What about Dae finding all that junk she puts in her shop? She can find that without touching anyone.” Shayla sounded as though she was daring me to deny it.
    “That’s different. I can find odds and ends by myself. But I have to touch someone to find things they’ve lost. I don’t see them getting married, giving birth, or dying. I wouldn’t want to even if I could.” Why was she being so antagonistic? I knew she liked Kevin, but this was ridiculous.
    “I’m sure Kevin is right, and we’ll all know what happened shortly.” Gramps brought that part of the conversation to an end. “I’ve got a little pecan pie left in the fridge. Anybody up for dessert?”
    He took Kevin out on the porch that overlooked Currituck Sound while Shayla and I got out plates and forks. “What’s wrong with you tonight, Dae?” she demanded. “I know all of this has been stressful, but there’s no reason to look at me like you’d like to strangle me.”
    “I wasn’t looking at you like that.” I sliced the pie in four even pieces. “I wasn’t looking any way at all. What about you? I felt like the accused at the Salem witch trials!”
    “It’s Kevin, isn’t it? If you have a thing for him, you should tell me.”
    “I don’t have a thing for him. I just met him.” I glanced toward the back porch. “If you want him, you can have him.”
    She giggled. “Maybe you should have a thing for him. You know we don’t have that many good-looking, single men who live here year-round. And no one wants more than a one-nighter with a tourist.”
    “It’s not like that.” I licked my finger after putting pie on all the plates. Gramps has won ribbons for his pecan pie at the county fair. It’s the best. “He talked to Gramps before he met me.”
    She looked around me as she picked up two plates. “So he knew all about the psychic thing. Was he weird about it?”
    “No. Not really. It’s why he was with me when I found Miss Elizabeth. I was glad he was there. He asked me to help him find a missing key. That’s it.”
    “You’re sure he didn’t want to hold hands with you? It might be his idea of a good pickup line given how you find things.”
    “It didn’t seem that way to me.”
    She nudged me with her elbow as she walked by. “Then it’s every girl for herself. As the pirates used to say, no quarter.”
    I laughed as she walked toward the back porch, picturing the two of us