Page 26 of A Seer and Present Danger

“Am I that transparent?”

I gave her a look.

“Right. Okay, you know I…” She shook her head. “I like a mystery. Love a mystery. But even more, I like helping people. Can you see me, or you, or Dusi, or all of us finding the killer? Can you see a shortcut to proving Jean’s innocence? I’ve read the tarot, cast a few spells. But I’m not getting any clear answers.”

“I can sure look. In a minute. You know what they say: Don’t drive and divine.”

She chuckled. “Good advice.”

It didn’t take long to reach the community center that was Bertie’s roost and command center. I parked, then cracked my knuckles.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s see if there’s some quicker way to help Jean.”

I looked.

Little futures flashed⁠—

—and grew⁠—

A dozen

Ten dozen

Hundreds of futures and possibilities spinning out in wild flaring images.

I sucked in a breath, startled at the onslaught.

But over and over I saw:

Jules, Dusi, and me in the New Fool Moon

or somewhere dark, the diner?

We run, we hide, we fight…someone?…something?

There was plastic wrap involved?

Sometimes I was on my own in the dark, sometimes they were with me.

I couldn’t see where we started searching for clues, couldn’t even tell if we’d found any.

But the thing that sent chills racing down my spine was the man and the woman who appeared in those futures.

No, wait. They didn’t just appear. They seemed to select the future they wanted and then jumped into and out of it.

Their movements were hypnotizing, almost as if it were a dance where one led the way and the other followed.

They were jumping and dancing through time.

What were they trying to do?

“Piper?” Jules shook my shoulder, and I took a huge gasping breath, the futures washing away.

“Easy now,” Jules offered me the water bottle I always kept in the car. “Are you okay?”

I took a long drink and nodded. “I am.” Then, at her concerned look: “Really, I’m fine. That was weird though.”

“What kind of weird?”