RetroCog

Chapter Eight

Noah balked, but Lara doggedly continued. “Just hear me out. I feel like her; I look like her. That dream I had before, when we were in my office? It wasn’t just a scene for me. Not like I was watching her and you.”

“Finn,” he corrected.

“I was her with Finn.” She paused. “With you.”

He sat up, clad in jeans and nothing else. So virile, so handsome, and she loved him because he was the ghost of the man she used to love? Lara believed it to be true. It made a heck of a lot more sense than that she’d fallen for a man she knew little about. How she could trust him so implicitly, let him do things to her she’d never even tried, let alone done?

“So you’re telling me you don’t want me; it’s Cecilia wanting Finn, that it?”

He sounded less than pleased, and she half wished she hadn’t opened her mouth. She liked the smiling, happy Noah much better. Yet, like this, she could see the predator that called out to Cecilia. And to you too, her conscious tried to get her to admit.

“No, not exactly.” She frowned. “I’m trying to be honest with you, Noah. I’ve dealt with disbelief my whole life. I would have thought you, of all people, would understand this.” Angry, she also felt on the verge of tears and didn’t know why.

All of a sudden, Noah sat by her side and took her into his lap. He hugged her tight. “I’m sorry, baby, okay? Lara, I grew up a lot like you did. Except my father took off when I was two, and my mother hated me. She never believed me, had me committed more times than I can count, and finally just sent me to live with relatives, who at least tried to raise me right. My uncle had similar abilities, so I found a haven of sorts. But by then I was eighteen, and the damage had been done.

“So don’t think I don’t believe you, because I do. But only to an extent.” He tightened his arms when she would have spoken. He’d apparently said all he planned to say about his past. “There’s an obvious connection with Cecilia. But remember, I heard her too. Not just once, but a few times. Lara, I hear and see the past. No way I should have been able to hear Cecilia speaking directly to me. I know enough about history to know when I’m reliving it. I don’t know about you and Cecilia, but I can sure as hell tell you I’m not Finnegan Fury.”

She pulled back to look up at him, relieved to see the hint of a smile on his face.

“Not that I wouldn’t mind the comparison,” he continued. “From what I’ve gathered and seen from this town, he was a man to have by your side in a fight. I highly doubt he killed his lover, his only friend.”

“I don’t think so either.”

“Honey, I’m not possessed or a reincarnation. And before you get all offended, I’m not saying that because I don’t believe in the hereafter. Trust me. I’ve seen things that would make your hair stand on end. The impossible is not as impossible as you might think.”

“I don’t know what to say.” She blinked and felt a tear trail down her face. He wiped it away with his thumb and stroked her lips. “No one has ever listened to me, really listened. I know you don’t agree with me, but thanks for at least hearing me out.” Finn or not, Noah meant something to her. Not to Cecilia, to Lara. “You have a point about hearing Cecilia. But she and I are tied in some way. Wouldn’t that make sense if we’re the same person? I mean, I was drawn to this place.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. But the past has an energy. All living things do. Maybe her energy called out to a powerful psychic, and you answered. Maybe her blood does run in your veins, and that’s why you, of all people, heard her so clearly.”

“I just know that right now, this is where I belong.” And I wish you belonged here too. Maybe that was why she wanted him to be Finn. That way, when his case ended, he wouldn’t leave her.

“Well, it’s where I belong right now too.” He stood and crossed to find his shirt on the floor. “We’re going to go back to the inn and pretend everything is nice and normal. But you go nowhere without me. I’m your new best friend. We’re lovers, friends, whatever you want to tell people we are so they’ll buy me staying by your side until this is over. Because we have a killer to catch.”

“You’re sure it’s Bill or Mike?”

“Almost positive.”

“But you’ve met them. You couldn’t track their energy or something?”

He shook his head and put on his shoes. “I felt the bad energy in scenes of the past, but I never looked at either of their energy signatures in the present. Even if I had, it wouldn’t necessarily have given me the same read. I’ve dealt with this before. If the killer isn’t in the same furious state of mind as he was when he killed, his energy will look different to me.”

“So even if you try to look at Bill’s or Mike’s past history, you won’t know which one of them is the killer?” Disappointment warred with joy. If he identified the murderer, they’d all be safe, but then he’d leave. If he didn’t spot him, they’d be in danger, but Noah had promised to stick to her like glue. Which meant he’d be sticking around.

“Exactly. I need to find our guy when he has death on the brain, which is not a good scenario for anyone.” Noah straightened and groaned. “I hope to God Jack was right to send Chloe to help us. I can’t be with you and her twenty-four seven. If she sticks her nose in this thing, she’ll attract our killer’s attention.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah. I have a feeling he gets off on being in charge of things. And Chloe has this habit of stepping into trouble and stirring up a shit storm like you wouldn’t believe. If anyone can get our guy mad, it’s her.”

They returned to the inn to find everything quiet. Thankfully, no one had seen Lara wearing his coat to cover her torn shirt and wrinkled jeans. After moving the rest of his things into Lara’s room, he settled into bed with her. Noah held her for a good hour before he fell asleep. He didn’t remember his dreams, but he felt uneasy the next morning.

He woke with her at six, showered and dressed and met her at the door. “You’re fast.”

She smiled. “You get used to early mornings around here. Well, my shadow, I think we’ll introduce you as the new help. I could use a strong man around here.”

He slapped her ass. “Damn skippy.”

Quietly laughing together, they moved into the kitchen. Noah helped Lara prepare breakfast for over a dozen guests, to include him, God bless her. As she fixed coffee, muffins, eggs, and more, he heard someone moving out front.

“That would be Frank readying the buffet.” The swinging door burst open, and Frank breezed through. “Morning, Frank.”

Frank’s hair looked mussed. He had dark circles under his eyes and wore a wrinkled shirt and jeans with tennis shoes. Not his usual dress, from what Noah had seen of him. He bit out a terse good morning to Lara, grabbed a mug, and poured himself some coffee from one of the carafes, and scowled at Noah until he and his coffee left through the same swinging door.

Lara stared. “Wonder what crawled up his butt and died?”

“That would be me,” Chloe said as she pushed past the door.

Noah groaned. “Lara Graham, meet Chloe King, my manager at the PowerUp! gym.”

“Wow. You really take your responsibility as his employer seriously. Following him all the way out to Brownville.” Lara grinned.

“What can you do? Good help is hard to find.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I heard that!” Frank breezed back into the kitchen to deposit his mug on the counter, grabbed a clean stack of plates, and left just as quickly.

“Well, Chloe, I’d say nice to meet you, but I want to know what you did to Frank.”

Chloe cocked her head, the way she did when she listened to her voices. “Okay, we’re good to talk in here. It’s safe enough for now. If anyone asks, Frank and I are cousins. Believe it or not, Frank and I are old friends. I was part of the team that busted him a few years ago on forgery and grand larceny charges, but somehow he weaseled out of them.”

Lara dropped the mixing bowl she’d been holding, and it landed on the counter, nearly dislodging the contents. She cringed. “Forgery? What?”

Chloe turned to him. “Frank Hanover was one of our own. Noah, meet Ian Ryder.”

“No kidding?” Noah glanced from Chloe to the swinging door through which Frank passed again. Ian Ryder was infamous. A gifted psychic gone rogue who’d nearly stolen his way to millions. Rumors about foreign governments, spies, and scandal had circulated about Ryder, who’d vanished years ago. But somehow, Frank didn’t have that whole air of intrigue around him.

Frank sneered. “You telling him the whole truth, or your version?”

“Frank, what’s going on?” Lara rounded to him and put a protective arm over his shoulder.

Regardless of Frank’s sexual orientation, Noah didn’t like them standing so close.

“I used to work for the government a long, long time ago.” Frank glared at Chloe. “Before the PWP became so widely known, it was just a beta project.”

“What did he do?” Noah asked her.

“Master forger. A chameleon of sorts. He could imitate anything on paper.”

“He’s an artist here. Makes sense.” Noah nodded.

Lara frowned. “PWP?”

“Psychic Warfare Project,” Noah explained, ignoring Chloe’s dark look. “I’m not going to lie to her, Chloe. Lara, the PWP is what we called our organization with the government. It was an experimental unit made up of psychics of different specialties and degrees of skill. We took on various missions to help our country and did what was asked of us.”

Lara dropped her arm from around Frank and moved back to the batter in her bowl. “I’m impressed. I know you said you did investigations, but I didn’t think it was all official-like.”

He flinched. “Ah, it’s not. I said we used to belong. The PWP closed up eight months ago.”

Chloe swore under her breath. “Why don’t you just tell her every classified mission we went on too? Heck, Noah, give her the codes to the boss’s safe while you’re at it.”

“She knows enough about me to believe,” he explained.

“Fine.” Chloe faced Lara. “Noah’s a very valuable member of the team. He can jack into the past, seeing and hearing secrets when he pushes hard enough. But sometimes he can’t let go.”

Noah shook his head. “The problem with my skill is I can’t see everything. The more intense emotion or energy associated with the past, the easier I’m able to pick it up. I have no problem seeing when it comes to psychics.”

“Or murder scenes, battlefields, war zones,” Chloe added.

“Bordellos.” Noah chuckled when Lara blushed. “Love is a powerful emotion too. New beginnings, hope. It’s not all negative, which is something I’ve come to learn since leaving the PWP.”

Chloe’s face softened. “That’s good. You were getting burned out. Then the PWP disbanded, and you started losing it even more. This break has been good for you.” To Lara she said, “Now we work for Jack, and he wants that painting back. This thief and murderer is putting a kink in things.”

Her openness about the case told him a lot. Noah glanced at Frank. “Obviously you and Frank hashed things out.”

“He’s not our guy.”

“I know,” Noah and Lara said at the same time.

“Glad you have faith in me.” Frank beamed at Lara.

Noah hated to burst his bubble. “Thanks to a few pieces I’ve put together, I narrowed our list of suspects down to two. But Chloe, can I ask what drew you to Frank?”

“The voices told me he can help. He has information we need.”

Noises outside in the living area startled Lara into moving back to the stove. “That’s going to have to wait. Now I’m behind. Frank, you’re on bacon and sausage. Noah, tea and coffee. Chloe, get those hands over here.”

Noah followed her orders. And Lara did like to give orders. The dichotomy of his submissive lover in bed, wanting to please, and this stern taskmaster bandying demands left and right, intrigued him to no end. Every minute spent with her made him want to move even closer.

Surprised at himself, Noah realized he didn’t want to leave her. Not ever. Talk about irrational decisions based on…what? Lust? Lara’s idea of reincarnation? Then an even more insane thought struck him. Was this love?

“Come on, Noah. It’s getting later. People want their coffee. Did you make the hazelnut blend yet?”

He met Chloe’s gaze, bright with amusement, and sighed at Lara. “Not yet, mein Führer.”

“Ha ha. Very funny.” Lara shooed him toward the coffeemaker. “Now move. People pay to stay here as much for my food as for the atmosphere.”

Frank muttered under his breath each time he moved in and out of the kitchen, but Noah saw how well he and Lara worked together. Not sure how to figure Frank Hanover into the scheme of things, he wondered what the odds were that two psychics happened to work together in a supposedly haunted house. Add him and Chloe, and there were now four of them. Despite the normalcy of a bustling kitchen, he couldn’t ignore the sense that something wrong hung just out of reach. Too many psychics in one place stirring the energy, maybe? But he didn’t get this feeling at home in Bend.

No, it felt more like history repeating itself. The strange idea took hold and wouldn’t let go.

After another half hour spent busting his ass in the kitchen while Chloe and Frank worked the dining room, he put a plate of biscuits down and gave Lara a quick kiss.

She smiled. “That was nice. Hey, where are you going?”

“Something I need to do. I’ll be back later. Promise me you won’t leave unless Chloe or Frank is by your side.”

She frowned. “If I have to.”

“You have to.” He left the kitchen and caught Chloe chatting with an old man and his daughter while she cleared a few plates off their table. “Chloe, I need a word.”

She took the plates and set them on a tray near the wall. “I feel like I’m back in college again, waiting tables for extra cash.” She grinned, clearly enjoying her pretend job, and joined him by the staircase.

“I have a lead I need to follow. Research I need to do. I’m heading to the—”

“Library. Yeah, that’s where you need to be.” She nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll be Lara’s shadow until you get back.”

“Thanks. Interesting those voices of yours are so taken with this case.”

“More like worrisome.” Her smile faded. “They normally don’t get this involved unless I’m in danger, or someone I care about is about to die. Something’s up, Noah. Watch your back. Seriously.”

“Gotcha. You too.” He nodded and left just as Mike Buckman strolled into the dining room asking for Lara. Knowing it wouldn’t help but trying anyway, he focused on Mike and thought about the past.

An impression of heated words, a fight with Shelly that ended in tears. Then some paperwork at the station. A boring day for the deputy, no doubt. A guy like Buckman probably needed to knock heads together to get his rocks off. Noah was tempted to stay.

Chloe poked him in the chest. “Uh-uh. Get out of here. I’ll watch him around Lara, don’t worry.”

He huffed. “Fine. But don’t forget, he might be our guy.”

“You’re sure it’s a man, right? People are always underestimating women.”

“No, the flavor of violence was too masculine. And the woman they found… It was a man. A large man.” Mike Buckman and Bill Knowles unfortunately had the same build. “Just keep an eye on him.”

“Will do. But it’s not like he’s going to hurt her in plain view of the guests, is he?” At Noah’s look, she rolled her eyes. “Fine, yes, I’ll practically sit on Lara while you’re gone. Happy? Jesus. Just go and be careful. Hell, I’m sorry I ever mentioned you to Jack.”

“Huh?”

She flushed. “Never mind.” She shoved him toward the door. “Now go.”

Lara tried to let her morning routine wash away her unease. Knowing Mike or Bill might be the one who’d killed and tortured that poor girl made her ill. She felt as if she knew both men. She’d lived around them for six months. She’d eaten dinner with Bill just last night. Hell, she’d even invited him into her bedroom, her most private, intimate space. Yes, their interaction had been businesslike, but only until the man had kissed her.

The door to the kitchen swung open. “You going to burn those eggs or what?” Chloe spurred Lara into finishing the current pan she’d started.

She put them into the serving tray and carried it out to the buffet table. When she turned around to head back into the kitchen, she ran into Mike Buckman. Talk about unlucky. A quick glance around her showed that at least Bill remained absent.

“Easy, honey. Where’s the fire?” Mike’s smile did nothing to reassure her, and she knew he could see the strain on her face, because his amusement vanished. “We need to talk.”

Just what she didn’t need. “I’m really busy right now, Mike—”

He grabbed her arm and all but dragged her with him into the kitchen. Frank and Chloe followed on their heels, but Mike barked at them to leave.

When neither moved an inch, he swore. “Goddamn it. I’m not kidding. This is official business. Just wait outside. I’ll only be a minute.”

Knowing he couldn’t possibly hurt her and get away with it, not with so many witnesses outside, Lara nodded at the others to leave. Maybe she could get him to give her a clue of some sort. Confess his guilt? A long shot, but it couldn’t hurt to try.

“I’ll be okay. Go check on the guests, please.”

Chloe frowned and moved only when Frank whispered something in her ear and dragged her out.

“Mike, what can I do for you?” She forced herself to smile.

“Who’s the new girl? She’s cute.”

“She’s gorgeous, and she’s Frank’s cousin. Now why did you drag me in here?”

He mumbled an apology, which surprised her. His gaze narrowed, and he seemed to come to a decision of some sort. “You don’t have to pretend with me.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Her heart raced. How could he know she suspected him?

Mike sighed. “Lara, I know the word’s out. Everyone in town knows about the dead girl.”

“The, uh—”

“She looks just like you. I’d be scared too if I were you. But I promise, we’ve stepped up patrols. No one is going to hurt you. You have my word.”

Not what she’d been expecting to hear.

“I’m personally spending my shifts and my off-time watching the inn. Have you seen anyone or anything to make you nervous?”

“No.”

“What about that guy, Noah First? Why’d you ask me to look him up?”

Crap. How much to say without giving away information Noah would want kept quiet?

“Something going on with him? I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Heard about Bill pawing at you too.” Mike sneered. “Fucking playboy. He’s no good for you.”

“Oh?”

“I know what I’m talking about. You know he and I are related?”

“I’d heard. But why is he no good for me?” Because you’re related? She wanted to ask but didn’t think Mike would appreciate her lame stab at humor.

“He has a different flavor every week. Last I heard, he was fu—ah, dating some girl from Superior while seeing Shelly on the side.”

“Shelly? But I thought you and she were a couple.”

His snorted. “Shelly? Hell, no. Girl is too young for me. Sure, we had fun, but we were just passing the time. She’s trying to make Bill jealous. Me…” His gaze trailed from her face to her breasts and back up.

“What? What does that look mean?”

“What do you think?” He glanced at the kitchen door, hearing the same garbled whispers she did—subtlety was not in Frank’s vocabulary. “Now I could be like Bill and just grab you, but I’ve got too much class to do that.”

He had to be kidding.

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m out here looking after you, Lara.” His voice lowered, and a creeping wariness made her shiver. “You might not see me, but I’ll be watching.”

He left, pushing past Frank and giving Chloe a good once-over.

“What did he say?” Frank was at her side in seconds.

“Just letting me know he’s watching me.” She made a face. “Just what I needed to help me sleep through the night.”

“We heard it all through the door.” Chloe frowned at Frank.

He frowned back. “Hey, I wanted her to have the illusion of privacy.”

Chloe brushed her hair out of her face. “I think it’s interesting he owned up about his connection to Bill. Noah filled me in about the pair yesterday.”

“It’s got to be Mike.” Frank shot a dark look at the swinging kitchen door where Mike had exited.

“Not necessarily.”

Lara still couldn’t see Mike or Bill as the culprit. “What if Noah’s wrong? He said he couldn’t be sure. What if it’s someone else?”

Chloe grimaced. “Then we’re in serious trouble, because I can feel the danger crawling up my spine. My voices don’t lie. Before this thing ends, someone else is going to die.”