Lifting the Veil (9 page)

“Now tell me what’s wrong.”

He grabbed her purse and carried it for her while ushering her to the SUV. He waited until he was

sitting inside before he spoke. “There was another killing last night.”

“Who?” Dread filled her body. Jack wouldn’t be acting this way unless it directly affected her.

“Beatrice.”

Her mouth parted, and she shook her head. “The woman from yesterday, the one in the white

dress?”

“Yep and we were some of the last people to see her alive. Your brother wants to ask you some

questions.”

She shook the disbelief from her head. “Wait….how did he know?” She turned in her seat. “You told

him!” she accused.

He shook his head and turned toward her. “No. I didn’t. They questioned the lady at Mystic. She

had my card and your credit card information. She told the investigators that she saw us talking to her outside the shop.”

Oh crap. How was she going to explain this to her brother without telling him the rest of what was going on?

“Max is going to kill me.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “I can’t tell him everything. He won’t believe me.”

“Sophie, it’s worse than that. The other girl that was with her is missing too. I’m sure they don’t think we’re involved, but they’re going to want your alibi, and they’ll want to know what you talked to her about.”

Sophie nodded, letting the information sink into her fuzzy mind.

“Stick to the truth, Soph. You wanted to look into the case, so we did it on our lunch break. You

don’t have to tell them about our conversation over drinks. Hell, you’ve already asked your brother about the case. He knows you were interested in it.”

Sophie sipped her coffee, letting the information sink in. “Jack…” She turned toward him. “What if he was watching them? What if he saw us? Does this mean we’re in danger?”

Jack rubbed his neck. “I don’t know, Soph. Let’s concentrate on one problem at a time.” He started the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. He glanced at her. “Nothing is going to happen to you, Sophie. You’re my partner, and we stick together.”

Sophie swallowed around the lump in her throat. She was awake now. They rode in silence to the

precinct. She clasped her hands together to keep from fidgeting. Jack walked her into the office, his hand on the small of her back. The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by her or anyone who was working. A few tilted heads and raised brows were all they received as they passed by the others to enter Max’s office. Jack shut the door and they both sat.

“It’s about time,” Max said, leaning back.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Chief. I overslept,” Sophie said in greeting.

“And why is that, Soph?”

“I had a beer with Love last night.”

Max frowned, seemingly disappointed in her answer. “Is that so?”

Jack nodded. “If I’m going to be working with her awhile, I figured we should get to know each

other. Is that so unusual?”

Her brother leaned forward and crossed his arms on his desk. “Soph, why were you at Mystic

yesterday?”

Max held up his hand, motioning for Jack to remain silent.

“I talked Jack into taking me. I wanted to find out what the white bark looking stuff was in the

picture, and Mystic was the only clue we had to go on.” She gave a small smile, unable to hide the triumph at what she’d figured out. She leaned forward. “It’s sage by the way. The stuff around her body was sage.” Her eyes opened wide. “Oh…and did you know that she came into some money, a possible

inheritance? That would be motive for murder, right?”

He leaned back in his chair. The air in the room was thick. “And Beatrice, how did you know her?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t. She was wearing the same type of dress as the woman in the file, so I asked about it.”

He nodded. “Let me make myself clear so there are no doubts. Love isn’t working this case, and

neither are you.”

She laced her fingers in her lap. “Max, I’m sorry. We were just trying to help. I talked Jack into going along with my stupid idea. I’m sorry.”

He nodded. “I know, Soph. You need to remember this isn’t a game. You aren’t qualified for this

type of work.” He released a long breath. “And I know you can be persuasive when you want to be. Now get your butts into the freezer and get to work.”

They both rose and left Max’s office. They walked into the cold case room and Jack shut the door.

They both let out a sigh of relief. “That wasn’t so bad.”

Jack laughed. “No, not bad.” He gestured to the computers. “Maybe we should keep a low profile

today and get some work done.”

They settled in and were working away when Jack spoke out of the blue. “Hey, Soph.”

“Yeah?” she responded without even looking up.

“If you have another vision or hear more voices, be sure to ask who this bastard is so we can catch this asshole.”

Sophie quit typing and glanced over at Jack. “You believe me?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know what to believe.” He turned to face her. “I believe you think what

you’re telling me is true. It’s just kind of hard to wrap my brain around.”

“Tell me about it.” Sophie took a sip of her coffee; her mind was playing different scenarios in her head. What if the voices did give her a name, or she could see the killers face? What then? “Jack, what if I can help?”

Jack reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Soph, from what you described, you can’t even control

whatever is going on with you. You don’t know how to tap into whatever this is. Just let the guys do their job.”

She nodded. She believed her brother was capable of finding this creep. She smashed her lips

together. What could she do, really? “Jack, what about the parents?”

“Whose parents?”

“Valerie’s. They didn’t approve of her, but she was moving back home. That doesn’t make sense.”

“I’m sure the investigators covered it in their interview, Soph.”

Sophie shrugged, her mind racing, unable to forget about what the clerk had said. “What if they

didn’t? They didn’t know that Valerie’s parents didn’t accept her gifts.”

Jack let out a long sigh and flexed his fingers. “You heard your brother.”

“Jack…”

“No, Soph.” He rose and turned around at the door. “I’ll tell them what we know. I won’t mention

how we came across the information, but I’ll make sure the investigators know. Okay?”

She nodded.

****

officer who was on the case. He found Kingston at his desk typing up a report.

“Kingston, you got a minute?”

Kingston stopped typing and leaned back in his chair. “Sure, what have you got?”

Jack pulled up a chair next to the desk. “You remember that murder you investigated months ago,

the dead girl in the field?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“The girl was a psychic or something. Sophie and I went to Mystic yesterday, and it just came out in conversation. Her parents never approved of her abilities, so you might want to talk to them again.”

“Sophie and you were working my old case?” A vein in Kingston’s neck throbbed.

Jack nodded and rose. “Yeah, we were inputting the file, and Sophie wanted to play detective. She’s not half bad.”

“Are you saying that she did a better job than me?” Kingston accused while slowly rising from his

chair, his face growing redder with each passing second.

Jack held up his hands. “No, man, I’m not saying that at all. I’m just saying she has good instincts.

Any clue is a good clue when the case is cold. It’s worth looking into.”

Jack poured a cup of coffee before returning to stand in front of Kingston’s desk. “The cold case and your new case are connected. You might have a serial on your hands.”

“What makes you think they’re connected?”

“The dress. They’re wearing the same dress. Sophie noticed it yesterday.”

Kingston crossed his arms over his chest. “Just how much does she know about my case?” he

questioned, implicating Sophie might know more than what Jack was telling him.

“Nothing, dude. We’ve told you everything we know.”

Kingston nodded and sat back down.

The day dragged on even with the questions and stimulating conversations with Sophie. She hadn’t

had another experience that she shared. She didn’t fall and bump her head, and no other voices were talking to her. He was starting to respect her, not just for being a paper pusher but a good person. She wasn’t looking for a handout. She just wanted to help, and that was something he admired. Jack took her back to her house and dropped her off. She was surprisingly quiet the entire way. He asked if she wanted to grab something to eat, but she told him she already had plans. He waited until he heard the door lock before he hopped in his car and drove home.

****

conversations. She’d been quiet when the voices started up again. This time the male voice was insistent that she needed to continue her search. She wouldn’t be getting any more help from Jack. This was

something she was going to have to do on her own. She needed a plan and clues. She tossed her purse on the table in the foyer and hurried back into her bedroom and kicked off her shoes. She changed into jeans and a T-shirt before grabbing her purse again and heading back out. She was going to need a gun.

Not only that, but she was going to need to learn how to shoot. She wasn’t about to come face to face with a killer without at least knowing the basics on how to protect herself. Once in her car and driving down the road, she didn’t know where she was going until the images appeared like road signs in her mind, accompanied by the voices giving her directions. She stopped in front of a non-descript white building. There were no signs on the door, nothing to even indicate that she was at a shop.

“This can’t be right.” She glanced around the building as she got out of the car.

They will help you.

“I needed a gun store or a place that can teach martial arts for dummies, not this place.” She

glanced up to the darkening sky. “And could you be a bit more specific on whom exactly
they
are?”

Silence greeted her. No reply, not even a hint of a name. She took a deep breath and left the safety of her old car. She pulled the door open and stepped inside, pausing to take the place in. An old man was standing behind a gun counter. His white beard reached his upper chest. His head tilted. “I think you’re in the wrong place, honey.”

She stepped farther into a room that held every kind of gun imaginable, displayed on hanging racks.

She glanced around. A very large window and door separated another room off to the side that looked like a shooting range. “No…I think I’m in the right place.” She waved her hand, gesturing around the room. “You have guns and I need one.”

The white-haired man planted his hands on the counter and tilted his head. “Is that so?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that’s so.” She stepped up to the counter and pulled out her already almost

maxed out credit card. “You take plastic?”

He leaned his elbows against the counter. “You need a background check before I can even sell you

anything, not that I would. This is a private establishment; you need a membership just to be in here.”

She was contemplating his words when she felt an arm slide around her waist. Sophie tensed.

“It’s all right, Sam. Ms. Masterson is with me. I’m sponsoring her membership.”

Sophie knew that smooth voice without even having to see his face. “Marshall.”

Marshall grinned like he had the other day. “Give him your ID so he can start the process.”

What the hell had she walked into? She slipped her ID out of her purse and slid it across the

counter to the old man. He picked it up and walked into a back room. Marshall turned to Sophie and studied her. “How did you know about this place?”

She shrugged. “Doesn’t everybody?”

He shook his head. “Nope. I thought you were just temping with Jack. What brings you in here?”

“A girl should be able to protect herself, don’t you think?”

He let his gaze travel down her legs and back up as if he was studying her. He rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Have you ever shot a gun before, Sophie?”

She shook her head almost embarrassed that she hadn’t. “I’ve never had the need.”

He stopped rubbing his stubble. The depth of his chocolate eyes pierced hers almost as if he could tell whether she was lying. “And you do now?”

“You know what….maybe this was a mistake.” Her gaze flew to the room where the old man

disappeared. “I’ll just get my license and go.”

His face softened. “Don’t be ridiculous. You aren’t required to tell me all of your secrets.” He

glanced over to the shooting range. “I personally think everyone should know how to defend

themselves.”

He grabbed another pair of earmuffs and opened the door gesturing for her to enter. “If you’re

going to own a gun, you need to be responsible. That means more than learning how to shoot it. Just consider me your teacher, Ms. Masterson.”

Sophie rubbed her lips together, debating if this was truly what she needed. She steeled her nerves and stepped into the room which had stations set up for shooters.

“Sophie,” she reminded him.

He chuckled. “Sophie,” he echoed like she had done the other day. “Okay, Sophie. Let’s get

started.”

He spent the next hour teaching her about guns, how they worked, the safety mechanism, and the

rules for owning one, and all of that was before he even began to teach her how to shoot. He was a natural, hitting the target every time. She was a bit more hit and miss. He was kind with her, very patient when she asked some stupid questions. Questions she would never ask her brother or Jack. An image of Jack flitted through her mind. What would he think of her owning a gun?

Satisfied, Marshall left her to practice shooting and disappeared back into the gun shop. Minutes