a Touch of TNT (An Everly Gray Adventure) (2 page)

She answered on the first ring. “How’d it go this morning with the Chief and Adam?”

“Okay. No. That’s a lie and...I made a huge bowl of salad. Want to join me for lunch and hear the unfortunate details?”

“On my way.”

“Perfect,” I said to the buzz of a dial tone. Annie spent a bunch of years working for one of those secret three-letter government agencies, but nowadays she had a successful private inquiry business that put her skills to good use. She accepted my hinky touch thing, and I accepted her secrecy. Sort of.

Her footsteps clattered on the stairs just as the microwave dinged. I pulled out the warm sourdough rolls, then set them on the table with a crock of butter. The rich, yeasty smell of the bread filled the kitchen with home-baked goodness, and my stomach gave a corresponding rumble.

One end of my kitchen bumps into a bay window and creates just enough room for a tall, round table and four chairs. Yesterday I picked up a bouquet of pink, red, blue and purple anemones, their soft, black centers a sharp contrast with my asymmetrical purple and red pottery. The table looked great—except, no napkins or silverware. I spun around to grab them and almost bumped into Annie.

“Scared—” I sucked in a gasp— “me.”

“What’d you bring?” I asked as I lifted the blue-checked cloth covering the basket in her hand. “Brownies.” I took a deep breath, the delicious fragrance of warm chocolate mixed with the scent of the bread, and my taste buds prickled with anticipation. Annie made the best brownies, gooey, with pecans and a caramel drizzle.

She did a half-turn, jerking the basket out of my reach. “Salad first.”

I glanced at her, then really looked. “You cut your hair. Ohmygosh! You didn’t tell me. We always talk about radical hair changes.”

The heat wave was having an unusual effect on all of us. Yesterday Annie had shoulder length, blonde hair. “It’s short. Really short.” I circled her, taking in the new hairstyle from every angle, reached out to ruffle the curls that were only about three inches long. “You know, I think it looks really good. But it’s going to be a terrible annoyance when you try to buy adult beverages.”

“I know.” She took the napkins out of my hand. “I didn’t mean to let him do this when I went in for my regular trim this morning, but it was so hot outside, it just happened. I haven’t gotten used to it yet, but I think I’m gonna like it. I’m liking the feel of a bare neck. And the innocent look. Wonder if I can come up with a sweet expression to go with it?”

“Have you forgotten who you are? The part about being a retired sniper?”

She wiggled onto the chair across from me and eyed me over the rim of a soda can. “There is that.”

“Uh-huh,” I continued. “The very excellent ex-agent who saved my life not long ago.”

“Had to save you. I wasn’t ready to give up these great salads,” she mumbled around a mouthful of lettuce.

I hadn’t taken a bite. Couldn’t seem to stop staring at the new Annie. She shot me a green-eyed glare. I picked up my fork and speared some salad.

“What’s the scoop on your meeting with the Chief?”

“Adam is babysitting me while we check out sites of industrial demolition. It seems there’s been an unexplained bunch of construction problems lately, and Chief Hayes is having a hard time with the whys and wherefores.”

“So he asked you to help?”

“Against his better judgment and totally at odds with his common sense, yes, he did.”

“Don’t hold it against Hayes, El. He’s a fair man, you know that. I’ll give him a call, see if there’s any way I can help out.”

“That’d be good. And I know he’s a good guy, but sometimes I get tired of being strange.” There was a pile of crumbled sourdough roll on my plate. Embarrassing that I was so…disturbed. I pushed the rest of the crumbs aside, picked up my fork and stabbed a mouthful of salad, then pushed my plate away and started clearing the table. What the heck was wrong with me? First the assignment threw me, and then Annie’s haircut. Certifiably. Crazy.

“Something happened.” Annie caught my arm. “Your face is all pinched like you’re about to hyperventilate. Spill.”

“There’s something wrong with my fingers.”

Annie watched me, her gaze wary. “With the magic?”

“Yeah. Hazy images. Never happened before. And then there was…”

She let go of me and wiggled her fingers in a come-on gesture.

“It wasn’t anything. Really. Okay, maybe something. When I left the chief’s office this morning I snagged my heel on a bit of loose carpet, lost my balance, and grabbed the doorframe.”

Annie sucked in a breath. “Uh-oh. What’d you see?”

“An officer with a nasty, smug expression. The image held a strong sensation that he’d gotten away with a whopping big lie. And he was…odd. Or maybe it’s me. All of the images I’ve gotten today have been…foggy around the edges.”

“Help me understand. Foggy is bad?”

“Yeah, scary bad.” That nagging sliver of unease worked its way into my brain again and opened the cellar of my mind.

“Okay, I know you’re freaked, but there’s probably nothing you can do about the foggy, it being a gift and all.” Annie wrinkled her nose. “Was there anything concrete about the officer that you could share with the chief?”

“Not a thing. I took the silent way out. Didn’t say anything to either Adam or Hayes. Probably it’s no big thing. The Chief is smart and will catch the guy if it’s anything serious.”

“Hmmm. True, and officers lie just like the rest of the population. I’m more concerned about why you think this guy is odd?”

“Don’t know exactly. It was a dark night, cemetery, goose bumpy sensation. Nothing rational. It’s probably best to forget it.”

“Could be. You have a lot going on—first assignment for the department and all.”

“Yeah. I’m feeling…exposed.”

She nodded. “I get that. What’s your plan for the rest of the day?”

I rearranged a few plates in the dishwasher. “Nothing, really.”

She leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed her arms. “Un-huh. Start talking.”

One thing about Annie, she knew a blatant lie when she heard one. “Mitch is going to stop by on his way home from the airport.” I pointed to her chin where a dollop of caramel had landed.

She grabbed her napkin and swiped it across her chin, then grinned. “Guess we know what you’ll be doing this evening.”

“Um-hmm. I need to keep busy so I don’t get all whacked out about seeing him. I’m going to pay a visit to either North Construction or C. J. Builders, see if anything interesting pops up, maybe touch things and test my fingers. See if it was the heat causing the distortion. What do you think?”

“Death.”

A chill skittered along my arms. “Death?”

“Yeah. Yours at the hands of Hayes and Adam when they find out you’ve been investigating on your own.” Annie’s arms were crossed, and her eyes had that annoying squinty look.

“Not investigating exactly. I just want to get a feel for the players. No telling what my fingers will pick up, and it would be an opportunity to test the images I’m getting. See if they’re hazy when I touch people, or just stuff.”

“You could touch me, test out your fingers,” she said, then added an emphatic nod. Probably trying to convince herself it was the right thing to do, but the hesitation in her voice told me otherwise. Annie had secrets.

“No. That would be disrespectful to our friendship. And, we’re close. I think I need to test it on something…unfamiliar, so I know for sure it’s my fingers creating the image, not my rational thought process.”

“Makes sense. Still—”

“Hayes officially added me to the team.” I poured soap in the appropriate compartment, closed the dishwasher and punched the Start button.

She shook her head. “I’m gonna guess he didn’t authorize any solo events.”

“Since we didn’t discuss details, I’m free to explore.” I slipped my keys into the side pocket of my handbag and slung it over my shoulder.

“Okay. What’s your plan?” she asked.

“Plan?”

“Yeah. You can’t just go barging in without a plan.”

I shrugged. “I’ll be lost. Ask for directions. Hayes and Adam will never know I did this, and it’ll give me a chance to play catch up. Adam’s been working this case for a few days. Knows all the players. I don’t. Puts me at a disadvantage. And with the finger malfunction…”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re really nervous—make that scared to death?”

“Well, yeah. What if my fingers are messed up and I can’t do this? It’s the first time I’ve been asked to use my gift—officially. And what’ll it do to my coaching business? I depend on the ESP link to do the right thing for my clients.” Panic zipped along my nerves. I hadn’t thought about the impact on my business until the words slipped out of my mouth.

She pulled her cell out of her back pocket. “You’re a natural at coaching, could do it with your hands tied behind your back, so stop with the panicked look. How about you check in with Adam?”

“No. I don’t want anyone to know. I need to do this alone, because the aura surrounding people, all people—it could throw me off even more.”

She looked suspiciously like she would call Adam no matter how much I protested, so I kept talking. “How about I promise not to do anything but drive by the offices, maybe park, see if anything interesting happens?” Both hands were behind my back, fingers crossed.

“Do not get out of your car,” she said as she stood and tucked her cell away. “You can test those magic fingers someplace safer.”

“I’ll be careful. And I can call you if anything looks, or feels dangerous.”

Annie tried to tuck a curl behind her left ear. It sprang free. “I really don’t like you out by yourself, even for surveillance. You have this way of getting into trouble. But if you have your cell and we’re in touch—”

I tried not to look relieved. “Great.”

Annie’s nose wrinkled up. “You know, your experience with surveillance work is limited. I’m not sure—”

“I am sure. My new phone takes good pictures, so I can document anything exciting that happens.”

“I’d be a little more comfortable if you weren’t excited.” Her lips clamped together. “It’s not a thrilling task, and I know you. You’ll get bored, add your own excitement, and all hell will break loose.”

I shrugged, pulled a clip out of my pocket and clamped my hair in an untidy tail. “You’ll be right there on the other end of your cell phone watching over me. What could possibly go wrong?”

TWO

Calvin Jacobson’s office was located
closer to my house than North Construction, so it won the coin toss. I drove around the industrial complex looking for C.J. Builders, finally found a sign informing me it was located on the second floor of a three-story building. No way to stroll by and look in a window.

I parked in a shady spot, rolled the window down and waited, because hey, I’d promised Annie I’d stay out of trouble. Birds chirped and a light breeze whispered along my neck ruffling my hair. Dust motes danced in the early afternoon sunshine. Peaceful. Idyllic, even.

And wrong.

An itchy twitch crept along my ankles. Not good. My curiosity kicked into overdrive, obliterated common sense, and rendered null and void any promises I’d made about staying out of trouble.

I stepped onto the concrete and scanned the parking lot. Everything seemed unusually clear and sharp, a direct contrast to the foggy images I’d picked up at the construction site. ’Course I was using my eyes, not fingertips, but still stuff didn’t usually look so…stark. Made me regret not touching Annie for comparison, but it’s a personal rule I have not to trespass in my friends’ lives.

Except for Mitch. We touch. And we still haven’t faced the resultant security issues, which was a big part of the reason I was nervous about seeing him. As soon as I touched him I’d know where he’d been and what he’d been doing. We
had
to talk about it, and it could mean the end of our relationship if he insisted that I get a security clearance. No way could I do that. The government keeping track of my fingers—no way. I shuddered and shoved the thought aside. Mitch later, Jacobson now.

I took a minute, just standing there, to adjust to the crystal clarity of the heat waves and how the birdsong sparkled in the air. And then I tossed my handbag over my shoulder and casually circled the building a couple times, observing entrances and exits while I worked on my cover story—a hopelessly lost, somewhat ditzy redhead.

By the time I entered the building, I’d managed to convince myself that finding Calvin Jacobson would be my salvation. Hey, whatever works.

The lobby was spacious with skylights that allowed sunlight to filter through and nourish the potted ficus trees. They cast leafy patterns against the walls and the pale marble floor that looked a lot like modern art.

I wove through several conversation areas with sofas and chairs—all done in muted shades of mauve that reeked of boring—until I reached the far wall. According to the directory that was mounted between the elevator and stairway, C.J. Builders was located in suite 207.

The elevator dinged open, and a line of cold ran up my spine. Apparently my spidey sense didn’t think it was a good idea to get on the elevator. I ducked into the stairway and slowly made my way to the second floor.