"Is your brain leaking, Jared? I thought I told you to forget about that girl."
Nikki pulled him out of the kitchen and into the hallway of her parents' house. He had just finished explaining to her and the rest of her family about a psychic helping out on the case. Cori's mother, Jennifer, was barely coherent, but said she was willing to try anything to get her little girl home. Her father, Jacob, seemed dubious and wondered if he should announce a large cash reward for Cori's safe return. Nikki had merely sat there while he talked about Kate's vision and shot him daggers across the room.
"Babe, I wouldn't hang my hopes on this girl if I didn't think she was legit. And I definitely wouldn't give your parents false hope. I think you need to trust me where Kate Edwards is concerned," he said softly.
Nikki let out an exasperated sigh and cast her eyes heavenward. "Jared, I try to be understanding about your quirks. I really do. I totally appreciate how things were living with your aunt when you were young. You explained it to me and it's no wonder some of her bat shit crazy tendencies affected you..."
He cut her off, "I never said Aunt Lizzie was bat shit crazy."
"Ok, well I guess it was implied. Anyway, I've heard about this type of stuff happening. A girl from a wealthy family goes missing and all the con artists come out of the woodwork. I don't know what this girl's angle is, but I'm sure she has an agenda."
While clasping his hands tightly, Nikki gave him a pleading smile. "I love that you're doing everything you can to find my sister. It means the world to me. But I think your efforts should be more focused on finding a witness or some sort of clue he may have left behind."
"Of course, we're doing that. Unfortunately, it's almost like your sister vanished into thin air. No one saw a suspicious car parked by the house and your neighbors didn't hear anything. We still have a lot of interviews lined up and I'm hopeful someone saw something. If nothing turns up, would it really be harmful to try and use a psychic?"
Her doubtful countenance gave him an idea. "I know. Why don't I introduce the two of you? Then, you can judge for yourself and realize she's not after your family's money." He pushed back a strand of her hair and gave her his most charming smile. Nikki could be opinionated and stubborn, but he knew how much her sister meant to her. She would want to find her any way possible.
She rolled her eyes and waited a long minute before finally answering him. "You know I can never say no to you. I'll meet her, but don't be surprised if my predictions about her being useless come true."
She reached for him and they both relaxed into a warm hug. Kissing the top of her head, he questioned whether it would be a good idea after all for Kate and Nikki to meet. Kate was skittish enough about working on another abduction case. He hoped being faced with Nikki's skepticism wouldn't scare her off. There were also his concerns about the slight pang he'd been feeling while around Kate. He'd been dealing with it by convincing himself she was a kid and his interest stemmed merely from the lure that she could solve Cori's disappearance.
***
Kate didn't return home until mid-afternoon. She had stayed up until it was practically sunrise with Julie. Julie understood her friend's need for space and that Kate didn't want to rehash her fight with her mom. Instead, they bonded over junk food and a marathon of True Blood. Her friendship was the easiest and most natural thing in Kate's life. Julie never had let the Matt Spencer fiasco weird her out or badger Kate with questions about it.
The only disconcerting thing was, Kate continued to lie about her second sight to Julie. Julie had questioned Kate about Jared's visit and Kate only explained the detective was going door to door looking for leads on Cori's disappearance. The entire town was aware of the case. Besides the news coverage, flyers were hanging up all over. Despite her dishonesty with Julie, Kate dreaded leaving the tranquility of her friend's apartment and heading back home.
Her mother was at the kitchen table when she walked in. She rushed towards her as if she'd been away at war. "Thank God you're home! I was just debating about whether or not to call your father."
"Overreact much, Mom? What was Dad going to do? Ground me?" Kate asked dryly and tossed her keys on the counter. "I'm hitting the shower. I've been in these clothes since yesterday and have about six inches of grime on me." Julie had offered to lend her some clothes, but Kate had decided why embarrass them both by trying to squeeze her body into Julie's size zero outfits.
"Kate, I barely slept. Please just talk to me," she begged in a small voice.
Her words made Kate hesitate. Her mother typically never sounded defeatist. She turned to her and took a quick inventory of her looks. Bags were under her eyes and they were red-rimmed. Her mouth was set into a grimace and did not have the usual infectious smile in place. Her mother had been her only constant this past year since her dad left. Kate would never cause her any unnecessary pain, even if she was livid with her.
"Fine. I'm not sure what you want me to say to you. I'm pissed, Mom. You could've been there for me this whole time. Helping me deal with these stupid visions and instead you led me to believe you had no idea they were still happening." She put her hands on her hips and gave her a steely gaze.
"Honey, you made it clear you hated the reactions of everyone after the news story and how you felt like a freak. I didn't want to put you on the spot and make you feel as if you had to use your psychic abilities if that's not what you wanted," she explained.
"It isn't like I have a choice. I see things even when I don't want to."
"I didn't understand how it worked. I'm very sorry about lying to you, but I'm not sorry you do have this amazing ability." She took a deep breath and continued on. "Now that everything is out in the open, maybe I can help you. We might be able to figure out how to control your visions."
Kate shook her head. "I would hardly call it a gift—more like a pain in my ass."
"Katie, you shouldn't think like that. You were dying and came back with these abilities. You were obviously chosen for some reason. I really feel they're gifts from a higher power."
"Mom, we go to church like once a year on Christmas. I doubt I would be high up on the list to receive celestial powers," Kate scoffed.
"Debate me all you want on this, but you've already done so much good with them. Who knows what would've become of Matt Spencer if you didn't lead the police to him?"
Her mother walked over to her and grasped Kate by the arms. "I shouldn't have gone to the police station before talking to you. It was a terrible mistake. I knew how tormented you were over the dream about Cori and I was only trying to help out."
"Mom, I can tell things haven't been easy for you either—I know I'm the main reason Dad took off. I'm also hip on how he...began seeing someone and she's another one of the reasons he moved," she said, dejectedly looking at the floor.
"Katie! You were never to blame for your father leaving. We had problems long before you were sick. And how did you learn about Carly? He told me he didn't want you to know just yet."
It was funny how her mother and father had regular pow-wows over her although she was an adult. Maybe she needed to consider moving out if she wanted to be treated like a grown-up. However, her medical receptionist's salary wouldn't cover her living in her car, much less an apartment.
"I saw you two in visions—the fights in your bedroom late at night. The accusations you flung at him about the affair and how he admitted to it. Mom, I heard him say one of the reasons he turned to Carly was to deal with the pressures from his life, including the whole psychic thing."
"You should've never seen that. I'm sorry you had to deal with this alone. I wish we talked sooner and you were able to open up to me. Your father loves you. Our marriage was the problem, not your psychic ability."
Reaching out to her, she enveloped Kate in her arms. Kate inhaled her scent and relaxed into the embrace. Her mother's smell was one of the most comforting things in the world and she had no doubt of her fierce loyalty.
"I love you, Mom, and I know you never intentionally meant to hurt me. I never told you, but I had a dream about you. You were sitting by my bed in the hospital and I could feel your anguish. I heard you praying and begging for my life. I'm sorry I called you a shitty mother." She gave her a huge squeeze. There was no way she could hold a grudge for long against her mom.
"Honey, you didn't call me a shitty mother."
"Ok, that one might not have been to your face." She laughed and grabbed her phone from her purse as it chimed.
She quickly scanned the text message. Hey, it's Jared, how did things go with your mom? I didn't want to call in case you two were talking. Her mother watched her closely as a small smile came upon her face. That was really nice of him to check up on her. All good in the hood. Can't stay mad at her, she did birth me after all. Thanks for asking. Her phone chimed again less than a minute later. Is there any way Nikki and I could stop by later to talk? She wants to meet you.
Kate let out a groan. She should've known he would have an ulterior motive. Turning, she addressed her mother. "Jared wants to bring his girlfriend over. What do you think?"
"She probably wants to ask you about the vision. He called me late last night. He mentioned you had ended up at his apartment close to midnight..."
Her mom's tone of voice made it sound completely scandalous, like she'd gone there for a booty call. Her mom continued, "It's nice you're helping out with Cori. I made Jared swear a million times to keep your name out of everything."
Kate nodded. "That's good. I'll be like the secret weapon or something. Yeah, I imagine his girlfriend has some questions about what I saw in my vision. I'll see if they can come by in a couple of hours."
No way in hell was she going to look like a hot mess in front of Nikki. She might even break out the push-up bra for the visit. Sounds good. Be here around 3? Jared texted back his assent and Kate ran up the stairs to get beautiful.
Later, Nikki and Jared arrived promptly and Kate could hear her mother ushering them into the living room. From her bedroom, Kate heard her mom call up to let her know they had arrived. They both declined a drink and her mother offered them a seat on the sofa. Although trying to keep her expression neutral, Kate noticed how her mom practically had to stifle a laugh as she walked down to meet them. Instead of her usual ragged everyday loungewear, she'd thrown on her most expensive and favorite pair of jeans. These jeans had the amazing ability to lift her butt and make her backside look fantastic. With a sexy tank top that hugged her curves, she was able to show off a small amount of cleavage. Instead of wearing her hair in the usual unruly style, she had taken the time to straighten it. Her eyes flicked to Jared to see if he noticed her appearance. She smiled to herself when she observed he was purposefully not meeting her eyes.
"Hi, you must be Nikki. I'm Kate—it's so nice to meet you." She introduced herself graciously with a smile. Nikki was as gorgeous in person as in the photos at the apartment. Her blond hair sparkled with a hint of new highlights and her eyes were either naturally one of the brightest blue Kate had ever seen or were enhanced with contact lenses.
A flash of irritation passed over Nikki's face before she gave her a bland look. "Likewise. So, Jared says you can help out with finding my sister?"
Kate got the impression the girl wanted to get right to the point and get the hell out of there as soon as possible. Sliding down on the couch, Kate took a seat next to her mother. "I hope I can."
"Ok, well how does this work?" Nikki asked, exasperated. She thrust her hands towards Kate. "Do you read my palms or something?"
Kate instantly noted the derision. She seized Nikki's hands and contemplated them. She said dryly, "Yes, I see it now. You will die old and alone with only twelve cats to mourn you."
"Katie..." Her mother sent her a warning look.
Kate hoped one day her mother would teach her that skill. Instant guilt with only a single glance. "I'm sorry, really I am. You must be a wreck about your sister." She shot a look over to Jared, who seemed to be mesmerized by the carpet. "I promise to help any way I can."
Nikki gave her a baleful stare. "I hope you're being honest here. My sister means the world to me and my family. Only a really sick person would try to take advantage of someone in our position."
Jared finally intervened. With a solemn expression, he addressed them both. "Hey, look, we're all on the same page here. We all want to find Cori. Kate, have you seen anything else?"
Kate sighed. "No, I tried to think about her last night before I went to sleep, but nothing. I wish I could just close my eyes and visualize her, but it doesn't work like that." She turned towards Nikki. "If it's any comfort, I do think she's alive."
"Jared told me the details of what you saw in your dream and about the guy being all cracked out. How can you be positive he didn't bug out and kill her?" Nikki demanded.
It was the first sign of vulnerability Nikki had shown. The guilt began to eat at Kate's gut. She was really going to have to stop trying to make moves on this girl's boyfriend. It was much easier to crush on a guy with a girlfriend when she was being a harpy.
"I don't make a connection with the dead. I had the vision of Cori three days after she was taken, which makes me believe she's still alive," Kate explained.
"Who knows if that's better? Why would he be keeping her? I can only imagine the twisted things he's doing to her," Nikki began crying.
As Nikki covered her face with her hands and sobbed, Jared reached over and embraced her. Kate also had the urge to cry over the thought of Cori suffering, but forced herself not to envision the horrible possibilities. It only made her resolve to try as hard as possible to find the little girl. Everyone fell silent as Jared comforted his crying girlfriend for several moments. Kate's mom offered her a tissue and she accepted gratefully.
After Nikki pulled herself together, she turned to Jared and requested that he drive her home. Kate apologized again and assured her she'd be in touch with any new information. Her mom excused herself and headed to the backyard to tend to her garden.
Before they walked out of the door, Jared turned to Nikki. "Hon, why don't you wait in the car? I'll be only a minute."
Nikki seemed too drained to argue and simply nodded and walked away. He leaned his arm against the doorway and gave Kate a half smile. "Thanks for today. Nikki's been a mess and I think it helped to hear there's hope for finding her sister."
"I meant what I said. I'm starting to feel like I know Cori and locating her is important to me," she said and relaxed back into the door.
"Everything good with your Mom then?" he questioned gently.
"Yeah, we had a talk when I got home. I think we needed to air everything out. She told me you called her last night after I left," she said and then snorted. "She insinuated I went there for a midnight visit to get it on."
"Did you just snort?"
"No," she insisted. "Anyway, I have your number if I have any new info. I promise no more inappropriate late night drop-ins."
He gave her an affable smile. "Thanks, Kate, and if you need anything, you can call me."
She watched him walk away and studied his perfect form. Of course, all the good ones were always taken.