He took the coffee, thanked me, and left through the front door. A man dressed in shorts and a polo came in after him. “Man, I thought I would be the first one here.”

  “The tax man cometh…” I waved him closer. “What can I make for you?”

  When Deek came in, I checked our tax payments and assessments for the entire time I’d owned the shop. Thank God Aunt Jackie had hired an amazing bookkeeper. She’d even gone through and scanned my records from the time I’d owned the shop before she came into the picture. We’d been stable all that time. The bigger question was, who had called to tell the assessor a big fat fib? I had three guesses and the first two didn’t count.

  “Do you still have a friend in the county records department?” I had stuffed a new mystery into my tote, just in case I had to wait for access at the county. And for reading material to keep me busy when I got home. Although Greg had been less grumpy about me doing my own brand of investigation on this case.

  “Sorry, she went back East for some big government job. I think she’s archiving history at the White House.” Deek slipped an apron over his head. “Did you need to ask her something? I could call her.”

  “No, I was just wondering if I could ask her to help me this afternoon. I’ve got some research to do.” I glanced around the shop. I’d done everything from my morning checklist and then some. My aunt was making us sign off for the next person, stating that we’d done our work setting them up. “Give me the clipboard and I’ll sign off for my shift.”

  Deek handed over the purple board. “Your aunt can get intense, man. But then, she does things like buy the whole summer reading program tote bags. That’s gold right there.”

  I signed my name and frowned. “Wait, we have a summer reading program?”

  “It starts next month. Each time the kid buys a book, they get a mark on their folder. Once they have ten marks, they get the tote and a free book. It’s genius.”

  And he was right; my aunt did have the marketing gene. Apparently, it skipped a generation, because I didn’t have any skill or talent at marketing. I guess maybe my kid might.

  “Sounds fun.” I waved as I went into the office. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Yeah. It’s police dude’s shift, but he’s asked me to fill in. Are you looking up things on the dead Frank dude?”

  No use denying it. Deek had the sight. “Yeah, I am. And before you say it, Greg already knows.”

  “I didn’t ask that.” Deek’s eyes sparkled. “But I’m glad things between you two are better. You looked sad yesterday.”

  “We’re fine.” I headed out to my car wondering when my staff had become more than just employees. They were family. I’d run the shop by myself for so many years, it felt weird having people in my life who cared about me and what was happening in my life.

  I climbed into the Jeep, turned on the tunes, and headed up Highway 1 to Bakerstown. It was time to put on my research hat again.

  As an attorney, I’d spent a lot of time researching cases, finding court documents, and filing the same. But that had been a long time ago, and it felt like another life and another world. I found a friendly clerk who showed me the process for checking the digital records and I started searching for everything I could find on Frank Gleason. It didn’t take long to get a hit. And then I had all five marriage certificates. But finding the divorce decrees took longer. The good news was, the marriage certificates gave me a date range that enabled me to narrow my search.

  The bad news was, even though I had that qualifier, I hadn’t been able to find the last divorce decree before the announcement came over the speakers that the building was closing in ten minutes.

  I glanced at my watch. It would take me most of the hour to get back to South Cove, especially in Friday traffic. I tucked my notebook and the copies I’d made and hurried out of the courthouse and to my parked car.

  “Imagine running into you here.” A male voice sounded to my left, and I looked up into the face of Mike Masters.

  “I’m just leaving. Sorry, I have an appointment in South Cove that I’m going to be late for.” I climbed into the Jeep and started the engine.

  He stepped closer and tapped on the closed window.

  Reluctantly, I rolled it down a few inches. If he tried to shove a syringe through the gap, I’d be able to see it. Paranoid, I know, but I’d read it in a book last month. The killer had used the ruse of needing help, then shot the victim up with some sort of narcotic to put her to sleep. My week had been filled with the strange and unusual and I wasn’t taking any chances.

  He chuckled and leaned closer. “Look, I just wanted to ask if you’d had time to ask your boyfriend about the wall. I know it didn’t get fast-tracked for the historical certification, so a mention in my new book might help you get some eyes on that process.”

  “I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with putting a spotlight on the area. The Castle has to deal with people who don’t want to pay the visitor fee and climb over the fence all the time.” I knew I was conflicted on the certification. But I figured I’d leave it to the experts. If it was the last remaining part of the original South Cove Mission, it deserved to be protected, even if it messed with my lifestyle.

  “I promise I’ll let you read, edit, and nix anything you don’t want me to say or print. I’m just hopeful that a piece of forgotten history has been found again. And if I can help get your wall certified, I’m happy to help.” He slipped a card through the window. “At least let’s sit down and talk about the possibility. I’ll give you what I’ve uncovered, and if that doesn’t convince you, I’ll go away and not write about the wall.”

  “We’re busy for a few days. Let me check with Greg and maybe he can slip you into his schedule sooner rather than later.” I tucked the card in my purse, turning away from him for just a second.

  I saw a hand with a handkerchief on top and I screamed. Mike jerked back, and I realized the white blur I’d seen had been the card holder he still held in his hand.

  “Are you okay?” He reached out his hand to comfort me, but thought better of it and dropped it by his side. “What did you see?”

  Shaking my head, I put the car in reverse. “Nothing. I’ll call to set up a time when we can talk.”

  All the way home I thought about what I’d seen. Or what I’d thought I’d seen. I shuddered and decided to put the fake memory away. I needed more sleep and less stress.

  When I got to the house, Greg was already there and had burgers out for dinner. He was slicing a tomato in the kitchen and I leaned my head on his shoulder for just a minute. I started to tear up. “Thanks for starting dinner. I didn’t mean to be so late. And I forgot the pizza.”

  “I suspected you got tied up in paper. Research seems to be your favorite pastime. Well, besides reading. And it’s kind of the same thing. Besides, I was starving.” He turned to kiss me and stared into my face. Setting down the tomato and knife, he wiped his hands and grabbed me by the shoulders. “What the heck happened to you?”

  “Nothing. Well, nothing real. It was weird, Greg.” I leaned into his chest and took in a deep breath of just Greg. My heart rate calmed and I began to feel less shaky.

  He moved me to a chair and eased me down into it. “Tell me what happened.”

  “I was getting into my car at the courthouse and ran into Mike Masters.” When Greg’s face didn’t show any hint of knowing who I was talking about, I added, “The travel book author?”

  “What did he do to you?” Greg demanded.

  I shook my head. “Nothing. Get me a glass of iced tea, please?”

  Greg stared hard at me, then turned to the fridge. “Go on with your story.”

  He needed something to do while I talked. I could see his desire to fix this and, from what I could see, there wasn’t anything to fix. “Anyway, we were talking and he asked me if I’d talked to you about including the Mission Wall in his next book. When I said no and told him I had to go, he gave me his business card.”

  Greg set the tea in front of me and sat down next to me. “And that was it?”

  “Yeah, except, and this is the weird part, when he handed me his card, I saw a hand with a handkerchief in it. And I smelled something sweet, like chloroform, I guess. What does that smell like anyway?”

  “Like ether or a sweet smell.” He rubbed the side of his face where his five-o’clock shadow was starting to show. “And you’re sure what he really handed you was a business card?”

  “Positive. I’d already gotten into the Jeep and had the window cracked just a bit to talk. There was no way he could have put his hand and arm inside to try to put me out. It was just a flash, then it was gone. I was stressed, right? Just seeing things?” I wanted Greg to laugh and ask if I was making this up. Instead, he glanced at his watch.

  “Can you finish up getting the burgers ready? I’ve already seasoned them, and there’s a salad in the fridge.” He stood and stepped toward the living room.

  “Sure, but where are you going?”

  He paused in the doorway. “To get your neighbor. I only know one person who deals with visions and sightings. Maybe she can help you work through this.”

  “So you think I really had a vision?”

  He turned away from me but didn’t leave the spot. “I got a report of a missing college girl from Bakerstown yesterday. I’m not saying this is connected, but maybe Esmeralda can tell us if you’re just stressed or there was something else going on.”

  I stared after him as he left. This couldn’t be happening to me. I didn’t believe in Esmeralda’s so-called talent or the ability to see into the future or the past. I shivered as I remembered sitting in the Jeep, feeling that fear. A fear I now felt for a completely different reason.

  Chapter 10

  Esmeralda, dressed in her fortune-teller best, hurried into my kitchen. Satin skirts rustled as she walked, and her white peasant blouse was cinched closed with a black corset. I had to admit, she looked amazing. Her curly hair was loose and bounced as she walked. When she saw me, she stopped dead in her tracks. “Jill, are you okay?”

  I’d just finished setting up the fixings for the hamburgers and had washed my hands. I stood facing her, drying them with a towel. “I’m fine. Just a little stressed and overworked.”

  She shook her head and pointed to a chair. “Sit there. I need to connect with your auras.”

  Rolling my eyes, I did what I was told. Esmeralda can be a little scary when she’s in her psychic medium role. “It really wasn’t anything.”

  “Of course not. Shut up and let me do my thing.” Esmeralda sat across from me and took my hands. “Close your eyes and tell me everything from when you first talked to this writer.”

  I told the story again. This time, I remembered the white blur I’d seen had been Mike’s card holder, not the actual business card. I’d already put that away. When I got done with the story, the kitchen was quiet. If Esmeralda hadn’t still been holding my hands, I would have thought they’d snuck out the back door, pulling a prank on me.

  She released my hands with a sigh. “You can open your eyes.”

  “So what’s the diagnosis, Doc? Am I going crazy? Or growing a third eye?” I smiled at her and took a sip of my tea.

  “You joke, but I’ve always told you that you have the power inside you if you ever decided to let it in. I think, today, it caught some residual energy from a bad situation.” She looked at Greg. “The Bakerstown police are looking at the wrong place. The girl was abducted at the courthouse by a man using chloroform.”

  “I’ll have Toby send a tip to the hotline. Anonymously, of course.” He picked up his phone. “Anything else?”

  “Jill, was the hand from a white guy?”

  “White. I thought it was Mike’s hand, but it was bigger, I guess. And Mike’s hands are manicured and clean. This one was dirty. Like he’d been working on a car or something. You know how grease gets in the cracks?” I looked at Greg, who was writing things down. “You can’t be serious about having Toby call this in. It’s a dream. A daydream.”

  Esmeralda touched my face. “Jill, it wasn’t a dream. It was a vision. But it’s okay. You don’t have to believe. And if it doesn’t go anywhere, that’s fine. But if it helps the police find this girl, you’d want that, right?”

  I nodded, seeing her logic. Calling the hotline wasn’t saying that I had a vision. It was giving the police another line of investigation to look for this girl. And if they found her faster, that would be the best for all involved.

  “I’ve got to get back home. I have a client coming in a few minutes.” She stopped moving and looked at me. “I’m just across the street if you want to talk more.”

  “You mean if I’m freaked out and need reassurance?”

  Esmeralda smiled. “Or just a cup of coffee and a chat with a friend.”

  She left the kitchen and Greg followed her. “I’m calling Toby, then I’ll be back and we can grill the burgers.”

  I wondered how Greg could take this all in stride. A message from the other side. Although I desperately hoped the girl that had disappeared wasn’t dead. But then, who sent me the vision? Did it work differently when the victim was still alive? And as I got the salad out of the fridge and set the table for dinner, what if it was just the product of my overreactive imagination? I hated to think anyone would waste time on a vision, especially if it had nothing to do with the missing girl.

  But if it did, I had to say something. No matter how stupid I felt saying it.

  When Greg came back, he grabbed the burgers and paused in the doorway. “Come out and sit with me while I grill. You want a beer or more iced tea?”

  “Iced tea is fine.” I held up the glass I’d just refilled. “What about you?”

  “Grab me a soda. I’m going to go back in after dinner to prep my report for the DA tomorrow.” He waited for me to grab our drinks, then held the door as I moved to the back porch. Emma followed and immediately went running to the back of the fence.

  “Go get the rabbits,” I called after her. When I sat down and deposited the drinks on a small side table, I watched Greg start the grill. “Somedays, I worry she’s going to come up on a bobcat or something larger.”

  “We haven’t had a bear sighting in town for a while. But yeah, I worry about her too.” He sat next to me. “Tell me about your research. Did you find anything interesting about Frank?”

  “Full names of his ex-wives and dates/places of marriages and divorces.” I frowned, remembering. “But I’m going to have to go back tomorrow to see if I can get some help. I couldn’t find his last divorce paperwork.”

  “What does that mean?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe she filed in a different state, although he lived here, so a copy should have been filed here too. Maybe not. That’s why I need some help.”

  Greg drummed his fingers. “Send me the names. You got farther than I did. I just had the first and third wife’s information. Although both of them are sure wife number two’s name was Bimbo.”

  I started laughing. “Caron, if I remember the sequence right. I’ll write up what I found and send it to your email tonight after dinner. I guess if you’re working, I can do a bit of work too.”

  He leaned over and kissed my neck. “I’m glad I have someone like you in my life. And I’ll make it up to you.”

  “One of the reasons I love you. You always feel guilty about working too hard, so we get amazing trips out of your guilt spot.”

  He stood and went to the grill to start the hamburgers. “That’s because I know what it’s like to have a partner who is less than understanding. You’re a gem and I don’t want to take that for granted.”

  We were on thin ice again, talking about our exes, but it felt better than before. The we part felt stronger. So I changed the subject. “I have to finalize the top-three party plans for Amy tomorrow too. It’s going to be a busy day. Maybe work will be slow and I can do that in the morning, before my shift ends.”

  “That sounds good. I talked to Justin, and the guys are doing a bar crawl that night. No preplanning required. Although I’m a little worried about Harrold.” He sat down again. “I hope he’s up to a night filled with partying.”

  “I feel the same about Aunt Jackie. The party can’t be too crazy, like rock climbing, which I’m sure Amy would love.”

  He chuckled. “I’m not sure how you’d fare either.”

  “I could hang. Probably literally. I’d fall my first few feet.” I watched Emma as she patrolled the perimeter of the yard. “So you think ax throwing should be out as well?”

  “Most definitely.” He went to flip the burgers. “These are going to be done quick. What other ideas are on your list?”

  I gave him the rundown, and the ones I thought I was going to present to Amy. He nodded and commented in all the right places, but I knew his mind was on the murder investigation. Greg was always thinking.

  After dinner, he put away the extra food while I rinsed the dishes for the dishwasher. After we were done, he pulled me into his arms. “Gotta go. I’ll be home late.”

  “I’ll be here, sleeping.” I kissed him. “I hope you solve this soon. Frank deserves better.”

  After I typed up the wives’ information and sent it to Greg, I pulled out my notebook and looked for holes. I did a Google search on Frank Gleason. Several pictures at high-end charity events with Frank and guest showed up. Or Frank and his spouse. Most of them were with wife number one. Lynda Evans Gleason. From the jewelry and designer duds she wore, I figured she must have come from money. I found an article with one of the pictures and read through it.