Page 111 of It takes a Psychic

“I think she’s hungry,” Oliver said. “So am I.”

Leona checked the time as she followed Roxy into the kitchen. “We’ve got dinner with the moms in an hour. Will some pretzels hold you over?”

“Pretzels and a large glass of wine. I need the booze to fortify myself for dinner tonight.”

Leona took the lid off the pretzel jar and doled out two small bowls of pretzels. She started to close the lid, changed her mind, and filled a third bowl for herself. She set one bowl on top of the counter for Roxy.

Oliver opened the refrigerator and grabbed the open bottle of inexpensive red. Closing the refrigerator, he took two glasses out of the cupboard and carried everything to the dining counter.

Making himself at home,she thought. But it felt right. It was as if the apartment had been waiting for him. There had always been something missing in the decor. Now the place felt complete.

The interview with the FBPI had gone smoothly, thanks to Oliver’s connections. Explaining the three unconscious people had taken a bit of creative thinking, but the Feds appeared to have been satisfied with a story involving a delusional, multi-talent, would-be cult leader who had gone insane. The paranormal atmosphere of the Underworld had overwhelmed her fragile, unstable senses.

In the process of self-destructing, the Vance wannabe had taken down the two innocent men she had hypnotized. Burt and Baxter Richey had both recovered, but they had no memory of how they had become involved in the kidnapping or of the events in the Underworld that had followed—at least, that’s what they claimed. Leona believed them.

She and Oliver had been content to let both men plead innocent due to having been in a hypnotic trance. The important thing was that Melody Palantine was now in a secure cell in a para-psych prison hospital. She was awake but still delusional. The doctors did not know if her paranormal senses would ever recover, but they were prepared to administer psi-suppressing drugs if necessary.

Meanwhile, money was already pouring into the tiny community of Lost Creek, thanks to the arrival of the FBPI, the Guild, and a lot of obsessed para-archaeologists. The inn would soon be booked solid, Leona thought. The diner would be busy.

She sat down across from Oliver and picked up a glass of wine. “You said the moms called you when I disappeared in the middle of my phone conversation with them?”

“Yes.” Oliver munched a pretzel. “They told me you had been in the process of getting into a car at the mansion and that you had just recognized the woman in the photo. Then your phone went dead. They were worried when they couldn’t reconnect. They sent the photo to me.”

“You recognized Darla Price, aka Melody Palantine.”

“Immediately. Eugenie and Charlotte filled me in on what they had learned about her. It was more than enough to send her straight to the top of the suspect list. But I couldn’t track her because her amber was locked. Yours had gone dark.”

“I see.” Leona started to drink some wine and stopped when she got a ping. “Eugenie and Charlotte? You’re on a first-name basis with my moms?”

“I am.” Oliver swallowed some wine and reached for another pretzel.

Leona cleared her throat. “We will get back to that. Moving right along, I gather that when you realized my amber had been flatlined, you started tracking the crystal in Roxy’s fascinator.”

“Yep.” Oliver’s eyes glinted with admiration. “Not that you needed rescuing. You had the situation under control when I arrived.”

She shuddered. “Maybe. Barely. Until Burt showed up.”

“Got a feeling you could have handled him, too. Griffin women can take care of themselves.”

She shook her head. “No, my senses were exhausted after I took down Melody Palantine. They still are.”

“You would have figured it out.” Oliver munched on the pretzel. “What, exactly, did you do to Palantine?

Leona met his eyes. “I’m not sure. But I think I can now say I finally discovered my third talent.”

“What do you think happened?”

“Somehow I was able to use Baxter Richey’s amber to pull energy from the quartz around me and channel it straight at Melody’s aura.”

Oliver paused in mid-munch. Then he smiled. “Damn, woman. That’s amazing.”

“No,” she said, “it was a terrifying sensation. Like channeling lightning. It was painful in a way I can’t explain. I wondered if I was incinerating my own talent in the process. I can’t begin to imagine how it felt on her end. And poor Richey fainted.”

Oliver watched her for a moment. “But you’re okay now?”

She nodded. “I think so. My senses are recovering. I definitely do not want to have to pull that trick again anytime soon, though.”

Grim understanding appeared in his eyes. “I know the feeling. I don’t like using my talent to the max, either.”

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