“Alex? I mean, I texted him to let him know I wouldn’t be able to make it for lunch, but I haven’t talked to him much otherwise.” It hit me then, what he was trying to ask. “Oh! No. He promised he’d call one of us if anything happened.”
“That’s good news, then, right? She’s missing, so if anything bad had happened to her, Alex would know. I think? Even after he explained it, I’m still kind of hazy about how this all works.”
“Me, too,” I admitted. “But he said the ones that come to him are usually people who wouldn’t be found otherwise, or don’t want family to find them. Rebecca would fit that.”
“Which makes it even more likely she ran away.”
“Exactly what I was thinking. We’re not going to stop looking, though.”
“No, definitely not. It does make me feel a little better, though.”
“There’s not much more we can do here tonight, though. Let’s wrap up and head home. We’ll come at it with fresh eyes tomorrow.”
“With any luck, she’ll realize her boyfriend is a jerk and be back before then,” Will said, stretching as he stood up. “I passed the information on to the surrounding towns, too, so maybe we’ll get a hit on them passing through.”
Together, we put the case file back together, locked it up, and left for the night. Will headed for his house while I went up the road to A Likely Story.
There was only an hour until closing, since I was running a little late tonight. Sunset approached, casting warm golden light across the little town and glinting off the leaded windows of the bookstore. Soft light emanated from within, inviting passersby to wander through the doors and peruse the shelves. A wooden sign hung over the door, installed years ago by Alex’s aunt and maintained lovingly by him since he’d taken over.
A tiny bell jingled when I stepped inside, and immediately the worries and tension of the day eased. I’d never been much of a reader as a kid, not like my brother Dane, so I hadn’t spent much time in bookstores. Still, even I could tell that A Likely Story was special.
The checkout counter, a long length of solid wood, ran to the left of the door, while tall bookcases spanned the right wall, with shorter shelves perpendicular to them creating aisles. A wall of open shelving separated the store in half, filled with plants and store merchandise.
The back half of the store was devoted to reading, with cozy nooks set up amongst the shelves. This was where I spent most of my evenings now. I even had a favorite spot; along the right wall, near the tall windows, in a plush loveseat. It offered a peaceful view of the town, but more importantly, it was in direct line of sight of the counter, so I could watch Alex working.
“Donovan!” Alex’s smile when he saw me walk in soothed any lingering tension I’d been holding. He was checking out a customer, a woman I vaguely recognized but couldn’t put a name to, so I waited until he finished to come around the counter and kiss him.
“Missed you,” I murmured, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“You saw me at breakfast,” he laughed, but he hugged me right back and his lips met mine, anyway.
“How’s your day been?” I stepped back only because he was still working, and the doors would be unlocked for another hour.
“Better than yours, it sounds like. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really. It’s not bad, just messy,” I said, shaking my head. Alex had enough nightmares of his own to deal with. I did my best to make sure I didn’t add to it.
“I’ve got your book stashed under here, if you want to relax while I finish up?” He reached under the counter, pulling out my current read and handing it to me.
“I don’t deserve you, you know that?”
Alex blushed, rolling his eyes. “Go chill out. I’ll come find you once I lock up.” He gently pushed me toward my spot and I let him, only pausing to steal another kiss before retreating to my cozy corner.
Once there, though, I didn’t open the book. The day had worn me down and my brain had decided it was time to go offline for a while. Instead, I just relaxed, letting my mind wander, making idle plans for Alex’s birthday. It was a month before Mom’s, so summer was going to be busy, but I couldn’t wait to spoil him. I couldn’t think of anyone who needed pampering more than him. If I couldn’t help him deal with ghosts, the least I could do was take care of him afterward, and since there weren’t exactly any other psychics I could turn to for advice…
That thought caught and snagged in my mind, reminding me of something Alex had joked about just a few nights ago. When he’d teased that he was the only psychic in the world, I’d laughed along, but now I couldn’t help but wonder. I’d never given much thought to the paranormal before. Psychics had always been the stuff of movies and cheesy TV shows, not reality. Once, when I’d been a detective in Chicago, we’d had a woman call claiming to be a medium. She’d very firmly told us that the man we were looking for was dead and we would find him at the bottom of a drainage ditch. We’d found him the very next day, alive and hiding out in a motel room with three prostitutes. Needless to say, it’d given me a healthy skepticism of so-called psychics.
Then Alex Copeland stumbled into my life, and I’d been forced to reevaluate. Seeing the ghost of a murderer possess him was more than enough proof to make me a believer, but only in him. If someone else were to make the same claims, I’d doubt them, probably assume they were a fraud. But what would be stranger: Alex being the only person in the world with abilities, or there being more people out there with gifts and somehow they’d stayed hidden all this time?
That question nagged at me, forcing me to rethink every strange interaction I’d ever had. I’d spent my early years as an officer in downtown Chicago, so there were plenty to consider.
I completely forgot about the book in my lap and I had no idea how long I sat there, poring through my memories, before the loveseat dipped and I blinked to find Alex settling in beside me.
“You okay? You’ve been staring at that bookshelf like it personally offended you.”
“Just thinking. Nothing bad, I promise,” I added, before he could get the wrong idea.
“Pizza for your thoughts? I’m all done and I was thinking maybe movie night at my house?”
