A Haunting Dream (A Missing Pieces Mystery) Read Free Page B

wonderful person you are?”
    It didn’t work.
    He still grumbled and complained, but he managed to call Derek quickly enough after I’d crawled under his table and brought out the lost medallion. I looked at it carefully before I handed it over. It was the same gold medallion I’d found for Chuck. There was no doubt in my mind who the medallion belonged to.
    And that was when the vision hit me.
    I was standing in the dark, empty parking lot behind the Harris Teeter supermarket. I couldn’t actually see Chuck, but I was fairly sure I was seeing everything from his point of view. He was standing beside a burgundy Lincoln. The headlights were off. A single parking-lot lamppost tried valiantly to illuminate the scene.
    “There! You have everything now. What else do you want?” Chuck asked someone I couldn’t see. He was holding his arms up in the air as though he were being robbed.
    “You’re right.” The voice that responded was deep and husky, as was the laugh that followed. “Thanks for adding to my retirement fund.”
    A second later, a shot broke the silence and Chuck fell to the ground, his mother’s medallion rolling out of his limp fingers and onto the pavement. I could sense that he’d been holding it because he was scared and it made him feel lucky.
    I could feel the blood and life draining from him, but there was nothing I could do. This event had already happened. I didn’t know when, but I knew it was in the recent past.
    Then Chuck turned his head as though by doing so he could see me there with him. “Help her, please.”
    I jumped back from the memories encased in the medallion. My breath came quickly and my heart pounded. Chuck’s death was in the past, I reminded myself. He couldn’t have seen me there with him. Maybe he’d been talking to someone else.
    But I knew I was just trying to make excuses for this new turn in my abilities. This had never happened to me before. I’d had visions of people, but they could never see me. They certainly never
talked
to me.
    I heard the knock at the door and knew Derek must be there for the medallion—Derek who I realized might be the person who’d robbed and killed Chuck.
    Old Man Sweeney started for the front door, probably eager for his reward. I looked at the medallion on the floor where I’d dropped it. What if Derek was trying to tie up loose ends? He must have realized that the medallion was left behind in the parking lot.
    But what had happened to Chuck? I’d know if the police had found him dead at Harris Teeter. Like I said, Duck was a small town. I tried not to doubt my visions, but something seemed off about this one. Actually,
everything
seemed off about it.
    Old Man Sweeney was reaching for the door handle when I grabbed him and pulled him back.
    “What’s wrong with you, Dae O’Donnell? I’ve a good mind to call Horace and tell him how crazy you’ve been acting today.”
    “Good idea! Let’s give him a call right now. I know Derek won’t mind waiting.” I took out my cell phone and hit speed dial to call Gramps. He was a retired sheriff of Dare County. He’d know what to do.
    I hoped.
    “Bah! Give me that medallion and get out of my way. I don’t care if I get the mayor’s award or not. I just want the
re
-ward.”
    The phone was ringing. I could only hope Gramps was next door. I couldn’t remember if this was his day to train with the volunteer firefighters or play pinochle. Neither, I prayed.
    Be next door.
    “Horace O’Donnell speaking.”
    “Gramps, you have to come over to Old Man Sweeney’s house right away. I’ll explain when you get here. Hurry!”
    “I can’t believe you still call him that! What’s wrong, Dae? I’m right in the middle of making some fish stew. I don’t want to leave the stove on.”
    “Get over here right away,
please
!”
    At that moment, Old Man Sweeney opened the front door. Derek stood on the doorstep. He smiled when he saw us. He had a pleasantly handsome face, dark brown hair