“The future is always and only what we make of it,” Martha said. “So please open your heart and soul to everything that’s possible—and even impossible. I believe that there’s a deep evil sweeping over us right now. Be careful, very careful.”
She stood, and he realized that she had said her piece, had done what she could for him, and now she was done and ready for him to leave.
He rose, as well, both glad that he had come—it was interesting that this woman’s name was the same as that of the long-ago witch but more crucial to know that she wasn’t the woman who’d been on the beach that night—but also sorry he had come, because she had unnerved him by urging him to open his mind and explore his abilities further. And by making him afraid.
For Sarah.
She wasn’t a blonde and that made her safe, she’d joked, but the woman whose body he had found on the beach had been a brunette.
This was not a killer—and now there was, beyond a doubt, a killer—who selected his victims by the color of their hair. He was selecting them by his—or her—ability to charm them into the woods or into a back alley…or off the side of the road.
He was selecting victims with an interest in the paranormal. Women who wanted to be afraid.
“Martha, it was a true pleasure to meet you,” he said. “Thank you. And since I did make an appointment and take up your time, of course I’m happy to pay you whatever you normally charge for your time.”
“That’s very sweet of you,” she said. “But I hope I’ve helped you with your investigation, and I can’t charge you for that. I would feel guilty.”
“Then I sincerely thank you again,” he said.
She watched from the porch as he pulled away. Even as his car rounded the corner, he knew that she was still watching him.
And he couldn’t forget the electric current he had felt when she held his hand. It was almost as if truths hidden in the shadows of his own soul had come surging forward, drawn by her words, her power.
Open your mind, she had said.
He really didn’t want to.
And he didn’t want to feel so…unnerved by this encounter. At least it hadn’t been a total dead end, even though she clearly wasn’t the woman he was looking for, a woman who had somehow known that this Martha Tyler existed—and probably also about the odd coincidence that the name of a modern-day Cassadaga medium was the same as a so-called witch who had lived almost a century and a half ago.
As he drove, he realized that he needed to call Jamison; he had promised to keep the lieutenant up-to-date on what was going on with his investigation, which was only fair, since the police had given him every bit of assistance possible.
But when he picked up his cell phone, he felt a strange chill shoot along his spine.
Sarah.
Sarah was in danger. He was sure of it.
He punched in Sarah’s number, glad that he’d thought to copy it from her cell that morning, but she didn’t answer, and the chill came back, more powerful than before.
Martha Tyler’s words haunted him.
Someone you care about is in danger.
He told himself it was probably nothing, but he couldn’t help it. He needed to make sure she was all right. She’d been at the library, but the library would be closed by now. So where was she, and why wasn’t she answering her phone?
Was it possible to care so much about someone when they weren’t even in your speed dial yet?
Maybe she had already gone to Hunky Harry’s, and she couldn’t hear the phone over the noise in the bar. Maybe she’d forgotten to plug in her phone, and her battery had died.
There were a dozen perfectly logical—and perfectly safe—maybes, and he told himself he was being ridiculous to panic because of the words of a medium he’d never even met before today.
He called Tim Jamison, who was out of the office on personal time, though he could be paged if there was an emergency. Caleb passed and tried Will.
But Will hadn’t heard from Sarah yet, and since he and Caroline were already at Hunky Harry’s, that put paid to one possible explanation of her whereabouts.
“Will, can you try to find her?” Caleb asked.
“Sure, but where are you?”
“On the way back, but still a ways away.”
“Where have you been?”
“I’ll explain later. I’m just uncomfortable, not knowing where she is.”
“Does she usually give you her schedule?” Will asked.
Caleb almost smiled at Will’s protective alpha male persona, then said seriously, “Will, I can’t reach her, and I’m worried.”
“Any particular reason?” Will asked.
“Just everything that’s been going on lately,” Caleb said.
“Right. We’ll head right out and check the library on the way over to her house, then head back here,” Will said. “And don’t worry. We’re on it.”
Caleb pushed down hard on the gas pedal, hoping that Adam Harrison had some influence with the Florida Highway Patrol, because otherwise he would be looking at one mean speeding ticket if he got pulled over.
At first, Sarah just stood dead still in the dark.
She told herself that she was merely stunned by the sudden turn of events, but that she certainly wasn’t frightened.
The wind had closed the door.