First Visions by Heather Topham Wood Read Free Book Online Page A

she
has an agenda.”
    While clasping his hands tightly, Nikki gave
him a pleading smile. “I love that you’re doing everything you can
to find my sister. It means the world to me. But I think your
efforts should be more focused on finding a witness or some sort of
clue he may have left behind.”
    “Of course, we’re doing that. Unfortunately,
it’s almost like your sister vanished into thin air. No one saw a
suspicious car parked by the house and your neighbors didn’t hear
anything. We still have a lot of interviews lined up and I’m
hopeful someone saw something. If nothing turns up, would it really
be harmful to try and use a psychic?”
    Her doubtful countenance gave him an idea. “I
know. Why don’t I introduce the two of you? Then, you can judge for
yourself and realize she’s not after your family’s money.” He
pushed back a strand of her hair and gave her his most charming
smile. Nikki could be opinionated and stubborn, but he knew how
much her sister meant to her. She would want to find her anyway
possible.
    She rolled her eyes and waited a long minute
before finally answering him. “You know I can never say no to you.
I’ll meet her, but don’t be surprised if my predictions about her
being useless come true.”
    She reached for him and they both relaxed
into a warm hug. Kissing the top of her head, he questioned whether
it would be a good idea after all for Kate and Nikki to meet. Kate
was skittish enough about working on another abduction case. He
hoped being faced with Nikki’s skepticism wouldn’t scare her off.
There were also his concerns about the slight pang he’d been
feeling while around Kate. He’d been dealing with it by convincing
himself she was a kid and his interest stemmed merely from the lure
that she could solve Cori’s disappearance.
     
    ***
     
    Kate didn’t return home until mid-afternoon.
She had stayed up until it was practically sunrise with Julie.
Julie understood her friend’s need for space and that Kate didn’t
want to rehash her fight with her mom. Instead, they bonded over
junk food and a marathon of True Blood . Her friendship was
the easiest and most natural thing in Kate’s life. Julie never had
let the Matt Spencer fiasco weird her out or badger Kate with
questions about it.
    The only disconcerting thing was Kate
continued to lie about her second sight to Julie. Julie had
questioned Kate about Jared’s visit and Kate only explained the
detective was going door to door looking for leads on Cori’s
disappearance. The entire town was aware of the case. Besides the
news coverage, flyers were hanging up all over. Despite her
dishonesty with Julie, Kate dreaded leaving the tranquility of her
friend’s apartment and heading back home.
    Her mother was at the kitchen table when she
walked in. She rushed towards her as if she’d been away at war.
“Thank god you’re home! I was just debating about whether or not to
call your father.”
    “Overreact much, Mom? What was Dad going to
do? Ground me?” Kate asked dryly and tossed her keys on the
counter. “I’m hitting the shower. I’ve been in these clothes since
yesterday and have about six inches of grime on me.” Julie had
offered to lend her some clothes, but Kate had decided why
embarrass them both by trying to squeeze her body into Julie’s size
zero outfits.
    “Kate, I barely slept. Please just talk to
me,” she begged in a small voice.
    Her words made Kate hesitate. Her mother
typically never sounded defeatist. She turned to her and took a
quick inventory of her looks. Bags were under her eyes and they
were red-rimmed. Her mouth was set into a grimace and did not have
the usual infectious smile in place. Her mother had been her only
constant this past year since her dad left. Kate would never cause
her any unnecessary pain, even if she was livid with her.
    “Fine, I’m not sure what you want me to say
to you. I’m pissed, Mom. You could’ve been there for me this whole
time. Helping me deal