Page 8 of Shadow Dreaming

“I can do bring her by the office. Thanks,” he said. “You know, it’s just her and Grandpa, and me now.”

“Your father died when you were young, right?”

“Damned fool got himself killed. He joined the military, determined to help provide a better life for us, but in basic training, a misfire on one of the guns killed him. He was pepper sprayed with over thirty bullets before anybody could put a stop to it.”

I sighed. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah. My sister and I were five when it happened. Mama told us he’d had an accident. I mean, how do you explain to a five year old that his daddy was shot and wouldn’t ever be coming home again? Anyway, I was already reading and writing at a seventh grade level by then. Mama got a job at our school. She was a teacher, and though she didn’t make much, being at our school meant she didn’t have to pay for a babysitter after school. We did our homework while waiting for her to get done each day.”

“And you started college young,” I asked.

Carson nodded. “I was accelerated from the time I was young. By ten, I finished my high school requirements. My mother managed to get me into an advanced program where I studied at home part time, and at the local university part time. By then, we were living with Grandma and Grandpa so we could save on rent and pay for me and my sister’s schooling.”

“Smart. I wish I knew who my grandparents were—at least on my mother’s side,” I said.

“I had my bachelor’s by the time I was twelve, and then, I got my masters degree by the time I was fourteen. It was expensive, the program I was in, but my mother sold the house we had before moving in with our grandparents. She used that to fund our education.”

“What about your sister?” I asked.

“My sister Maya progressed slower, but her focus was on the arts and she was in advanced reading program, and my mother hired a tutor to help her advance. By the time she was fifteen, she was in college, except she studied the arts. She could draw like a pro when she was eleven, though.” He paused as the door opened and Dante returned.

“How did it go?” I asked.

“He’s getting a locksmith over here now, and Rowan’s picture has been distributed to the security guards and posted at their station, so that if she enters the building, they’ll stop her right at the desk.” He looked a little calmer. “I think I may back off on dating for awhile.”

“You never dated Rowan, right?”

“Remember when she came in for that disastrous appointment?” he asked.

I nodded. “Right.”

“She was already fixated on me. I’d been seeing her around the gym a lot. That’s why I dropped my membership and started working out in the gym here, at the apartments. Anyway, no, I never dated her. I don’t want her going after anybody she thinks I might be involved with. That picture of you with your eyes scratched out, that was enough to scare the hell out of me.”

“You said you called Destiny?” I asked.

Destiny was our connection with the police department.

“She said that legally, all she can do is take the report and file it, in case something more should happen. Stalking laws are still pretty lax.”

“Yeah, they are.” It made no sense, but that’s the way the government worked.

“All right,” Dante added, “I’ll stay here until the locksmith gets here. I can take a taxi or something to work, since we all came in the same car,” he said.

As Carson and I headed back to my Jeep, leaving Dante in his apartment, I said, “We need to find Rowan, and find her as quick as we can. There has to be some way to put a stop to this.”

“I hope so,” Carson said. “I really hope so.”

CHAPTER THREE

Back at the office, Sophia had once again turned on the computer. On the way home, the storm had moved east, over to the Eastside. While it was still raining, we were out of the main thunderstorm threat, and back to the drizzly downpour. A quick sprint across the parking lot, and Carson and I were in the building, heading back upstairs.

Sophia smiled as we entered the office. “Coffee’s hot and waiting in the breakroom,” she said. “I also ordered some doughnuts. I figured it might be a nice change on such a dreary day. Where’s Dante?”

“He’ll be back in a bit. He needed to talk to his landlord first. We didn’t find any bugs or cameras, but we did figure out what she stole.”

“Lovely,” Sophia said. “Your next client will be here at one-fifteen, so we have another hour or so. What do you want for lunch? I was about to place an order at Chang’s.”

“Yum, Chinese,” I said. “I want potstickers, chicken fried rice, two egg rolls, and some orange chicken.”

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