Dreamer (The Seeker Series Book 2) (10 page)

She laughed. “Oh, I doubt he’ll last that long. Like I said, I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Well, I’m glad he’s showing some restraint. I certainly hope you aren’t torturing him, trying to push him into something he’s not ready for.” At my shamefaced look, she continued, “Oh, Ally. That’s cruel. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for young men his age to not think about and want sex? Please assure me you will cease and desist at once.”

I nodded. “Well, it certainly hasn’t been a problem lately.”

“Give him time, Ally. Let him know you’re there for him.”

***

Cassie was waiting for me when I arrived at her office and greeted me with a hug. “How are you, Ally? How have you been since you got back?”

“I’m good, Cassie. When did you get back?”

“A few days ago. My fiancé flew out and joined me after you left.”

“Hmm. Well, that sounds fun,” I said with a grin.

She laughed. “Yes. It was. That’s all I’m saying. Now, let’s get to work, okay?”

“I guess. I’ve been enjoying being normal for a few weeks. I’m not sure I’m too eager to jump back into the psychic freak show.”

“I completely understand, Ally, but we don’t have the luxury of letting everything play out naturally. If you are the next Oracle, we need to be prepared.”

“Prepared for what?” I asked suspiciously.

“Where do I begin? Being the Oracle isn’t like being a normal Seer. You will have responsibilities and many people will want to consult you. Ally, the Oracle is the leader of our people.”

“What? Leader? No, no, I don’t want to be a leader! I didn’t sign on for that!” I yelled.

“Ally, calm down. We don’t know anything for sure, but I want you to be prepared.”

“Cassie, I don’t want this.” I was whispering now, my voice refusing to cooperate as I went into full panic mode. I started hyperventilating, my vision beginning to blur.

“Okay, whoa.” Cassie led me over to the sofa. “Sit down and put your head between your knees. I’ll get you some water.” I felt a cold, wet object pushed into my hands. “Here, take a sip. That’s good. Feel any better?”

I nodded. “Sorry for the full-on freak out. I wasn’t expecting this, Cassie. I really, really don’t have any interest in being a leader. You guys should look for someone else. Seriously.”

“Sorry, sweetie. It doesn’t work like that. If you are the Oracle, well, it’s all part of the package, I’m afraid.”

“Well, the package sucks. Is this why those devious little old ladies are so hot and bothered to get me back to Ireland?” I was getting angry now.

“Ally, there’s no need to get yourself so worked up,” Cassie placated. “At this point it doesn’t even matter whether or not you’re the Oracle. You are still a Seer, and as such, you need to learn to control your powers. Agreed?”

“Fine. Agreed,” I said sulkily. She had a point, but I didn’t like it.

We worked for the next hour to learn to see when I touched another Seer and to control how much I could see. I had previously only been able to see when I touched an object, but we soon discovered I had Cassie’s gift as well, which was considered one of the most powerful gifts in the Seer world. She also taught me how to block another Seer from seeing anything I didn’t want them to see. I paid attention and worked hard, in spite of my previous irritation, because both of these skills appealed to my need for some kind of control in my life. Turns out when I’m interested, I can really rock the whole Seer thing. I might not have much control over the visions I had, but it made me happy I could control whether or not someone got inside my head.

“Wow, Ally. This is very impressive,” Cassie gushed when I was able to completely keep her out of my head after only a few tries. She had her gorgeous assistant brew us a pot of tea as we relaxed after our session. She insisted I put two spoonfuls of sugar in my tea and eat several cookies. “You’ve expended quite a bit of psychic energy today and you need to replenish. I’m not letting you drive home until I’m sure you won’t pass out.” I nodded and obediently reached for another cookie. “Now, tell me how you’ve been doing with your visions. Is there anything new I should know about?”

“Well, no new visions, really, but maybe something else.”

“Well, this sounds interesting,” Cassie said, sitting up straight.

“I don’t know for sure if it’s anything, but there’s been this kind of weird thing happening.” I told her about the book and the dreams and the police identifying Ashley’s body. I didn’t tell her about cyber-stalking Ashley’s mother and taking the book back to her in a thinly veiled attempt to pump her for information. That tidbit was better kept between Tara and me for now. “Cassie, I don’t know what’s psychic and what’s my imagination getting the best of me. Is it possible these dreams are part of some new power I’m getting?”

“I think it’s very probable, although I haven’t heard of anyone having prophetic dreams in many decades. It’s more evidence you may very well be the next Oracle. Sorry,” she finished when she saw my crestfallen look.

“Yeah, well, this has been great, Cassie. Really,” I said sarcastically and rose to leave.

She laughed ruefully and gave me a hug. “Don’t worry so much. Why don’t you go on home and talk to that good-looking boyfriend of yours? It’ll cheer you up.”

“Yeah, it definitely would,” I said wistfully.

She must have caught the negative tone. “Are you guys fighting?”

I shook my head. “No. He’s going through some stuff with his family. It doesn’t leave a lot of time for me.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Hang in there. I think he’s worth it.”

I nodded slowly and left.

CHAPTER NINE

“
Maybe
you have to know the darkness before

you begin to appreciate the light.”

–Madeleine L’Engle

“Mom? Grams?” I called out as I entered the house after my session with Cassie.

“Shh.” Grams came hustling out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. “Your mom is taking a nap.”

I had never known my mother to nap. “Is she sick?”

“I don’t know. She came home earlier than usual and said she was going to take a short nap. That was two hours ago.”

“That’s weird, huh?” I felt my cell phone vibrating in my back pocket and hoped it was Jack calling, so I hurried to my room. No such luck. It was Tara.

“Hey, girl. I thought you should know I found out Ashley’s boyfriend was named Scott Alder and he still lives here. And before you ask, yes, of course I have his address.”

“Cool. Is it close? Can we go tomorrow afternoon?” I asked.

“It’s in Rio Rancho, so no, it’s not close. But we can still go tomorrow, as long as you let me drive.”

“Is that a slam towards my car?”

“Yeah, a little bit. If we have to take a thirty-minute road trip, I’d rather do it in the comfort of my Cherokee. No offense.”

“Tons taken. I love my car,” I said crankily.

“Whatever. You love the guy who gave it to you. It’s my car or no deal, babe.”

“Fine. Be that way.”

Tara laughed. “I’ll pick you up in the morning like old times and we can head out right after cheerleading practice, okay?”

***

Tara had called ahead and managed to arrange to meet Scott Alder at a Starbucks. She had told him we were from the school newspaper and were doing a piece revisiting the Ashley Hayes case because of the recent discovery of her remains. He was reluctant to talk, but had agreed to a brief conversation as long as it wasn’t at his home. He said he didn’t want his family to have to be burdened with any part of it. When we got to the coffee shop, I wondered if we would be able to recognize him, but it wasn’t crowded at that time of day and he was easy to spot as the only person sitting by himself.

“Mr. Alder?” Tara asked. At his nod, we both sat down at the table with him. “I’m Tara Scott and this is my friend, Ally Moran. Thanks for agreeing to see us.”

“No problem. I don’t know what I can tell you, though,” he said.

“Well, Mr. Alder…” I began.

“Please, call me Scott,” he interrupted.

“Okay, Scott.” I smiled. “We attend the same high school you and Ashley attended, and the school newspaper is doing a piece in honor of the thirty year anniversary of her disappearance, especially since the, uh, her body was found.”

A look of pain crossed his face. “I knew she was dead,” he said quietly. “She never would have run away. Never.”

“How do you know that, Scott?” Tara followed up.

He looked up sharply, almost angrily. “I knew her better than anyone. We were in love. I guess it sounds pretty stupid, huh?” He laughed ruefully. “We were just dumb kids, and I had knocked her up, right? That’s what the cops kept saying, when they were trying to get me to confess to hurting her or something. Well, they didn’t know. What we had was real, and it doesn’t matter how young we were. I wanted to marry her right then, as soon as we found out about the baby, but Ashley wanted to graduate first. She said she’d marry me right after graduation. We had a plan. We would have been so happy.” He stopped to take a sip of coffee and collect himself. “Sorry. It really destroyed me, you know? Not only was she gone, but everyone thought I had something to do with it. I dropped out of school. I couldn’t handle it without her. I eventually got my GED, but it took me years to move on.”

“Did you think she might come back? You know, just show up one day out of the blue?” Tara asked.

He shook his head. “No, that was her mom. She never could leave that house because she kept hoping, dreaming Ashley would show up one day with our child and some good reason why she left. But I knew better. She never would have done that to me. She never would have taken my child away from me. Not in a million years. I know that for a fact.” He said this last statement looking directly into my eyes.

I believed him. I could see the pain and sorrow etched into his features and I knew he was telling the truth. “Scott, do you have any idea who could have done it?”

Again he shook his head. “Everyone loved her, and I’m not just saying that. She was such a nice person. She was popular at school and she treated all the kids really well. She wasn’t one to lord her popularity over anyone. I think it had to be some random guy who picked her up on the way home.”

“So, you’re positive she left school that day?” Tara asked.

“Yeah. I walked her to her locker after school and kissed her goodbye. I had basketball practice and she said she’d meet me at her house later. She said the walk would be good for the baby. It was when I showed up a few hours later everyone realized she was missing.”

Tara and I looked at each other. There didn’t seem to be any more information we were going to be able to get out of him at this time. It was time to go. “Scott, thanks for meeting us. Here’s our card. If you think of anything else, please give one of us a call.”

Scott looked at the business card Tara handed him for a moment before pocketing it. “Sure. I don’t mind talking to you girls. I like to think I’m helping out my alma mater. I appreciate you being willing to meet me here. I know the cops are going to start showing up at my house soon to question me, but I want to minimize what my family is going to have to go through.”

“Do you have kids? Are you married?” I asked.

He smiled. “Yes to both. About ten years ago I met someone who finally helped me move on from Ashley. We have two kids, a boy, 8, and a girl, 4. They’re my world.”

“I’m glad,” I said and stood to shake his hand.

***

“Since when do we have business cards?” I asked as we got into Tara’s car. “We’re not really even on the school newspaper.”

“Since sixth period computer apps. I made some and printed them on card stock. I thought it was important we look legit, you know?”

“Your deviousness never ceases to amaze me,” I shook my head at her. “Well, what did you think of him? Do you believe him?”

“Yeah, I do. But you’re the psychic. I think it’s more important you believe him. Could you tell anything when you shook his hand?”

“He seems to be telling the truth. I mean, I’m not experienced at reading non-Seer people when I touch them, but you would think I could tell if someone had been feeding me a whole pack of lies, don’t you? I only got general feelings from him, but nothing seemed off.”

“Definitely. And you don’t have to be psychic to be able to tell he really loved her. It’s so romantic that he waited twenty years before getting married to someone else, huh?”

It was romantic, and I appreciated what he had to say about being in love at a young age, as well. I know a lot of people think it’s crazy to believe you could find ‘the one’ in high school, but I needed to know at least some people felt as I did. I wondered if Jack still felt the same.

***

I was sitting on the couch, channel surfing, avoiding homework, and brooding when the doorbell rang.

“Ally, can you let Brian in, please? Tell him I’ll be down in a few minutes. I can’t decide what to wear,” my mom called from upstairs.

This guy really had her wound tightly. First naps and now she was indecisive about her wardrobe? This was not like the confident, calm woman I knew as my mother. “Come in, Brian,” I said as I opened the door for him. “Mom will be down in a few. Have a seat. You want anything? Water? A Coke?”

“No thanks, Ally. Actually, I’m glad to get a chance to talk to you privately.”

Uh oh. Was this about to get awkward? Was he going to try to bond or ask for her hand or something? I motioned for him to sit down on the couch as I sat in the nearby chair.

“Yeah, so I was doing some follow-up work on the Ashley Hayes case today and your name came up.” Apparently I had it all wrong. This wasn’t about Mom. It was about me, and it wasn’t going to be a heart-warming moment. He took his phone out and pulled up a picture of the business card Tara had given Scott. Busted. “Imagine my surprise when I’m questioning a former suspect in the Ashley Hayes disappearance, now the Ashley Hayes murder, and I find out a couple of teenage girls, from a high school newspaper no less, beat me to it. Imagine my further surprise when I find out one of them is the daughter of my girlfriend.”

I said nothing. I simply looked down at my slippers.

“Are you even on the school newspaper? Jennifer has never mentioned it, and she talks about you all the time.”

Well, that was sweet. And frightening to think my mom had nothing better to talk about on her dates than her kid. “Well, I’m not exactly on the newspaper, but I thought it would be um, interesting to maybe do a paper or something on the case. I mean, since it happened in my school and all.” I was making this up on the fly.

“Ally, you and your friend are absolutely not to interfere with a police investigation. Do I make myself clear?” he said sternly.

“Crystal. I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to interfere. I’m really interested in um, law enforcement, and I was hoping maybe you could be a sort of um, mentor, since you’re getting to know my mom so well. It would be great if you and I could get to know each other, you know?”

I have absolutely no doubt Brian saw through this piece of complete bullshit and recognized it for the veiled threat it was: play nice and I will put in a good word for you with Mommy. Be difficult and the darling, adored daughter will be sure to put a few roadblocks up. We simply stared, daring the other to be the first to flinch. I chose to take it as testimony to his love for my mother that he was the first to blink.

“Mentor, huh? You’re interested in law enforcement? Well, fine. I guess I can arrange for you to do a few ride alongs. It’s this case, specifically, you’re interested in?”

I nodded. “Thanks, Brian. I bet my mom is gonna think it’s sooo sweet of you.”

He chuckled and shook his head. I liked to think he would not underestimate me again. I felt pretty badass at the moment. He brought me back to earth pretty quickly. “Your little private investigation is over as of this minute, however. If I find out you’re doing any snooping behind my back, this arrangement is over. Got it?”

“Yep. Got it. I better see what’s keeping my mom.” I scooted up the stairs, but not before I glimpsed a grudging half-smile from Brian. I found my mom lying on her bed in tears. “Mom? What’s wrong? Are you okay? Brian is downstairs waiting.”

She sniffed. “I don’t have anything to wear. Go tell him to go home.”

“What? Mom, you have tons of cute outfits. Don’t you want to go out? Are you guys fighting or something?”

“No. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Ally. I can’t pull it together tonight.” She reached for a tissue and dabbed her eyes.

“Here, let me help. Let’s find you something to wear, okay?” I went to her closet and found a newish dress Grams had given her for Christmas. “Put this on. It makes your boobs look great. Brian will love it.” She laughed, as I had intended, but she complied and put on the dress. It did make her boobs look good, a lot better than I remembered. It gave me a momentary hope someday I wouldn’t be completely flat. “Yowzer. Brian may like this too much. Can I borrow it for my date with Jack tomorrow? It does great things for your rack, Mom.”

She laughed again. “Thanks, sweetie. Help me fix my face? I don’t want to look like I’ve been crying. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. You must think I’m crazy.”

“Yeah, a little bit, but hey, love makes us crazy, huh? You love this guy?” I used what I learned from Sephora to apply eye shadow to her lids, giving her a smoky-eye look, then finished with some dramatic eyeliner.

She sighed. “Yeah, I really do. Are you good with that? Do you like him?” she asked worriedly.

“Yeah, he’s great.” I wouldn’t let her know about our ‘understanding.’ It could be our little secret. “Go for it, Mom. You should be happy.” She hugged me and I heard another sniff. “No more tears! I just repaired your face. Now get out of here and go meet your boyfriend.” I almost choked on the last word. Am I the only one who thinks there should be another word for people over thirty? Gross. I watched from the top of the stairs as Brian pulled my mother into his arms and kissed her. It was the kind of kiss that made my stomach flip; it was so sweet. He pulled back and put his hand on her face, tracing the tears, which were making another appearance.

“Hey, what’s wrong, sweetheart?”

She shook her head and hugged him. “It’s nothing. I had a rough day, that’s all. I’m fine.”

“Okay. Hey, I love you.” He kissed her again.

Well, I better get to know him. It looked like he was going to be around for a while.