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J.M. Griffin
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Category:
Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: J.M. Griffin
ISBN-10: 1484838157
Type: Fiction
Pages: 145
Copyright: 6/2013
ISBN-13: 9781484838150
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
After she has a vision, psychic, Sarah McDougall is drawn into the search for her lovers aunt.Little did she know her search included pirates and kidnapping.
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When Sarah McDougall has an unexpected and unwanted vision of an elderly women being dragged from her home, she never thought her world would once again be turned inside out. Her lover, and neighbor, Raven DeVille asks for Sarah's help in finding his elderly aunt, who's gone missing from the senior living center where she resides.
Willing to help find Merry, Sarah embarks on a course that brings about new and frightening dabilties. She now finds ghost walking among her dreaded gifts. Can she survive her encounters with pirates and rescue the woman who means so much to Raven? With strength and determination, Sarah forges ahead finding a surprise and danger at every turn.
Excerpt
Chapter 1
The delicate kiss of a soft breeze cooled Sparky and me as we sunned on the patio of the Ringling Art Museum facing the Gulf of Mexico. Thoughts of my latest art assignment drifted in and out of my mind while I lazily basked in Florida’s balmy weather. Sparky, my Bassett Hound, lounged at my feet. Marionette-like, I bolted upright on the chaise lounge.
My eyesight clouded. A sheen of sweat prickled my skin, while my heart pounded hard beneath my ribs. Oh no, not now, not here. I sucked in a breath of sweetly scented air and waited for the images to define themselves. They flickered like a video out of control. An elderly woman—hair frazzled, skin wrinkled, and clothes awry—raised her arms to fight off her assailant. Roughly grasped by her shoulders, the elderly woman was shaken and dragged from her chair. The images faded as quickly as they had appeared.
I released my white-knuckled grip on the arms of the chaise. With a sideway glance, it seemed the other sun worshipers hadn’t noticed my discomfort. I caught dribbles of sweat as they dripped off my chin. I murmured to Sparky that it was time to leave. After a light tug on his leash, Sparky reluctantly rose from the sunny patio, a look of disappointment on his face. But then, he always looked that way to me.
My Volkswagen Beetle huddled in the shade of a group of stumpy palm trees. I unlocked the door, scooped Sparky off the ground and settled him on the passenger seat. Once I’d buckled us both in, I started the car, backed out of the lot, and headed home.
Why I ever thought my life would be carefree was something of a quandary. I’d helped solve a murder some months before using my unwanted psychic abilities so I guess it wasn’t in the cards to believe I could lead a normal life like other people did.
I’m Sarah McDougall, a graphic artist and illustrator. Sparky and I have relocated from a quaint New England town to the west coast of Florida, just outside Sarasota, but my escape to the Sunshine State has been for naught. I’ve been trying to outrun my psychic talent, a talent I abhor.
The cul-de-sac where Sparky and I reside borders the thirteenth hole of a golf course. It’s a quiet neighborhood… for the most part, anyway. My immediate neighbors to the left have moved out. They were an unlikely couple, supposedly married—FBI undercover agents who spied on the neighborhood comings and goings. Once their case was solved, they were shipped back to God-knows where, leaving me thankful for it. The empty house has a For Sale sign, with no takers in sight.
Raven DeVille, a 1700’s swashbuckling pirate-look-alike snack, lives across the street. Decidedly more than friends after surviving the golf course murder, we date often and hang out on a regular basis. I noticed his car on the concrete pad in front of his garage as Sparky and I parked on our own. It was but a few minutes after we entered our house when the doorbell sounded.
I turned and swung the door wide. Raven stood on the step, anger in his eyes. What now? I invited him inside. He strode past me with tight muscles in his back and neck, and clenched fists. Trepidation filled my heart as I trailed behind.
“What’s happened? I can tell something’s wrong,” I blurted.
He swung toward me, his look more intense than before. “Can you conjure up one of those psychic things for me?”
For an instant I thought this might be a joke. When I weighed the look of him, I realized he was serious. Anger sparked and jetted along my nerves. He should have known by now my visions couldn’t be summoned.
“I’m not a freak show, Raven. The visions come when they will. I have no power over them. As a matter of fact, I had one earlier while Sparky and I were out. I was so worried about being seen in the throes of it, we rushed home.” I brushed a hand through my short spiked hair and sighed.
“Tell me what you saw.” Raven’s dark eyes had narrowed. His face held an inquisitive look. The anger had been replaced by curiosity, or maybe just pushed aside for the moment.
“An elderly woman struggled with someone I couldn’t see. Then she was hauled from her chair,” I answered.
“Anything else?” Raven asked.
I shook my head. “Why?”
He paced the kitchen, rubbing his fingertips across his forehead.
“I saw you arrive. When I got a call from the senior-living community where my elderly aunt resides, I figured you could help me out. My Aunt Merry is nearly eighty years old. She’s my favorite of my four aunts. Merry’s disappeared… just like that.” Raven snapped his fingers.
“Doesn’t the staff look after the residents?” I wondered aloud. “They wouldn’t likely leave her alone, unattended, would they?”
“It’s not a nursing facility. It’s residential housing where senior citizens who don’t need care live as a community. Each person has their own apartment. There’s a social area where they gather for entertainment, crafts, exercise and the lot, plus they offer dining room meals that would put a top-notch restaurant to shame.”
I nodded as he spoke, knowing these senior-living businesses had sprung up all over the country. They were convenient for the elderly who could no longer care for their own homes or were happy to live in a community of like-minded people.
“That’s all you saw? Just a woman being taken?” Raven wanted to know.
“Yes, sorry. The vision came out of nowhere and left me shaken. It’s been some time since I’ve had one,” I murmured. Then I asked, “How long has she been gone?”
He shrugged. “The staff has no idea, except she never showed up for lunch. My aunt never misses a meal. Mealtimes are the most social time of the day for her. She enjoys chatting with the other residents. They often play cards or games after dinner.” Raven snickered, “Merry plays a wicked game of Texas Hold’em, and she’s usually the winner who takes all.”
I smiled. I dreaded the question, but needed to ask it, “Do you think she’s been kidnapped?”
Raven’s brows drew together, forming a thick black line. “I don’t know. She hasn’t any serious money that I know of, and she’s a terrific person. Merry’s got a great sense of humor. She’s quite plucky for her years. Anyone who’s taken her will have their hands full, for sure.” Raven smirked a bit.
“The woman in my vision appeared frail. She’d raised her arms to fight off her assailant.”
“That’s Merry, all right. She wouldn’t go without a fight. When she was young, she hunted treasure for a living.” Raven smiled and said, “She made a damn good profit from it, too.” He turned his dark-eyed stare to me once again. “If I give you something that belonged to her, do you think it would bring on a vision?”
“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “It’s worth a try. I haven’t used that method before. Most visions arrive when I least expect them. Let’s give it a go. ”
He took me by the arm and shuttled me toward the door. What we were up to, I could only guess. A mystery was afoot for certain.
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