warm hand – or even a cool one.
Second thoughts? Or something else?
With Matt close behind him as they went into the living room, Ben could hardly ask. Instead, looking at the neat stacks of papers on the coffee table and remembering what she had said about her plans to go through her aunt's papers, he said, 'You've been busy.'
Cassie gave the dog a soft command to lie down, and he did on what was obviously his rug near the fireplace. If she was aware of tension in Ben's voice, it wasn't apparent in her own serene reply. 'I thought it was time to get this done. I even started reading one of Aunt Alex's journals.'
'Did she say why she scared the hell out of Abby?' Matt demanded.
Cassie looked at him. 'So she told you.'
'Yes, she told me.'
'And?'
'And what? Do I believe your aunt saw the future? No, I don't. Do I believe Abby could be in danger? Yes, I do. Aside from this maniac we have running around, Gary Montgomery is a sadistic son of a bitch who's convinced Abby belongs to him and who is entirely likely to commit a violent act against her if he gets the chance.'
Ben glanced at him but didn't comment.
Cassie said, 'I'm glad she told you. As for Aunt Alex – so far I haven't even reached her move out here. The first journal starts more than thirty years ago.'
'Skip ahead,' Matt advised.
'Sorry, I'm one of those people who finds it physically impossible to skip ahead when reading a story. And this is quite a story.' She shook her head. 'In any case, I doubt she'll explain in her journal why she told Abby what she did. She just wanted to warn her, Matt, that's all. Because she thought Abby could do something to change her own future if she knew what to expect.'
There was a grim set to Mart's jaw. 'Maybe.'
Cassie looked at him a moment. 'The coffee's hot, if either of you -?'
Matt shook his head and Ben said no thanks.
'All right. Then why don't I try again to reach the killer.'
It wasn't a question, but Ben felt a strong urge to protest. He didn't like Cassie's remoteness, and he didn't like the fact that too many people in the town suspected that Alexandra Melton's niece was involved in the investigation.
'I don't think this is a good idea,' he said.
Cassie gestured for them to sit, taking for herself a chair at right angles to the sofa. 'Why not?' she asked mildly.
Ben glanced at Matt, then sat at the end of the sofa nearest Cassie while the sheriff took the other chair. 'Because people are beginning to talk, Cassie. And they know your name.'
She didn't change expression. 'Well, we expected that. All the more reason for me to try
It was Matt who said, 'And when he does know about you? Will he be able to – to block you when you try to contact him?'
Cassie shrugged. 'I don't know. There have been a few in the past who were able to sense it when I tried to touch their minds, and one or two were able to block me at least partially. If he finds out about me, he could try that – although keeping those blocks in place continually will be all but impossible. Sooner or later I'll be able to get in.'
'And then?' Ben was gazing at her steadily. 'He'll be able to follow the trail back to you, won't he? He'll be able to reach into your mind.'
'Maybe. But even if he can do that, he doesn't kill with his mind.'
'Are you sure of that?' Ben demanded.
Cassie returned his stare for a moment, then looked at Matt. 'Correct me if I'm wrong, but so far you have no evidence pointing to the identity of the killer.'
'You're not wrong,' Matt said.
'And I assume you're not willing to bet the lives of your fellow citizens on the hope that the killer has decided to abandon this nasty little habit of his?'
'My mama might have raised a stubborn man, but she didn't raise a fool.'
'Then I say the risk is an acceptable one.'
'Cassie – ' Ben started to protest.
'And it's my risk.' She looked steadily at him. 'In ten years of working with the police, the only killer ever to backtrack and identify me telepathically was the man who killed my mother. He's dead.'
'But he came after you.'
'Physically. Just as this one might whenever he finds out who I am. That threat exists no matter what I do, especially if people in town are beginning to talk about me. So I'd just as soon try to figure out who he is before he has time to come looking for me.'
Put that way, Ben could hardly object. But he was still uneasy, more so with every passing minute.
Taking his silence for assent, Cassie sat back in her chair, getting comfortable. She closed her eyes. 'It shouldn't take nearly as long to reach him this time. I know the way now…' Her voice faded on the last words.
Ben allowed several beats of silence to pass, watching that still, pale face. All it took to alert him was a flicker behind her eyelids. 'Cassie? Tell me what you see.'
A slight frown drew her brows together and her lips parted on an indrawn breath. 'He's… walking. There are people all around him.'
'Whereishe,Cassie?'
'Stores. A fountain.'
'Jesus,' Matt said. 'The mall.'
'Cassie? What is he doing? Is he just shopping, is that why he's there? Or – '
'He has a hand in his pocket. He's… fingering the garrote. He's looking for her.'
Matt was about to reach for his walkie-talkie but froze suddenly, his gaze riveted to Cassie's face. 'Jesus,' he repeated, softly this time.
Her eyes were open. She stared straight ahead, unblinking, blind to everything except the telepathic view from a killer's eyes. And her pupils were dilated, so enormous that only a thin ring of pale gray showed around them, like ice rimming two holes into nothing.
Ben felt a jolt of pure fear. At that moment he believed as he never had before that Cassie was no longer in the room. She was somewhere else, and where she was was dark and cold and crazy.
And only the thinnest and most fragile of ties kept her anchored to the body awaiting her return.
Abby glanced at her watch and, seeing that it was nearly four, quickened her pace. Shopping was taking longer than she had expected. Poor Bryce was waiting in the car, no doubt impatiently, and though the rawhide chew toys she had bought him would atone for temporary abandonment, she didn't want to stay away any longer.
Besides, it would be dark soon, and even with the powerful lights in the parking lot, she did not want to walk out there after darkness fell.
Just one more quick stop, and then she could go…
Max got up from the rug near the fire where he'd quietly lain all this time and came to sit near Cassie's chair. His eyes were fixed on her, and he whined softly. Every inch of his body spoke of tension and worry.
'Cassie?' Ben's voice was hoarse, and he cleared his throat. 'Cassie? Talk to me. Where are you?'
Her head moved very slightly, as if in response to his voice, but she never blinked or showed any expression, and her voice remained flat and totally without emotion. 'I'm in him. He's… excited. His heart is pounding. There's so much danger, taking her here. But he likes that. He likes the challenge. The anticipation.'
Matt hesitated, one hand on his walkie-talkie. 'Ben. I need a description,' he said softly. 'If I send my people in there in force, we'll cause a panic. He'll be able to disappear in the mess.'
Ben nodded. 'Cassie? Is he looking toward any of the stores? Is there a reflection?'
Her brows drew together again, but those wide, empty eyes never changed. 'Just… glimpses. Distorted. I think
