Page 28 of A Touch of Murder
"I plan on going. I feel like I know Trina now even if I'd never met her when she was alive. And after working with the family when they brought in those beads, I'd like to pay my respects to them. Then we've got Roy's funeral on Thursday. Let's hope that's it for a while." Adam set his fork down.
"You can't be done. I brought apple pie for dessert." Barret nodded to two smaller boxes at the side of the table.
"You thought of everything." Adam laughed. "You really didn't need to do all this."
"Would you have gotten up to eat if I hadn't?"
"Probably not."
"Then yes, I needed to do this. If you hadn't warned me about how weak you might be after the reading, I might have taken you to the hospital. You had me worried."
"That's why I usually like to take Jacey. I don't like letting others know how badly a reading can affect me. I mean, most of the time, I can do one without any issues. Reading that glove for Mrs. Anderson didn't bother me much, even though it had some violence in it. It takes something severe to cause me to react the way I did today. So don't hesitate to bring me other things. Usually, I just need a few bottles of water and pieces of chocolate. I haven't had to sleep it off for several years now."
"Let's hope next time I have you do a reading, it's on something simple like trying to figure out who left their sweater in the park. I'll be happy if we never face another case like this again." Barret handed Adam one of the slices of apple pie. "Eat. Once you finish, I'll let you get back to bed. We've both had a hell of a day."
Adam opened the box and reached for his fork. "Let's just pray it got us somewhere, because Trina went through hell, andI want to know her killers are paying for everything they did to her."
Barret nodded in agreement. He would do everything he could to make that happen.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Adam caught the apple that Jacey threw at him. "Why are you so happy today?" He set the apple on his desk.
"Jennifer Coleman agreed to go to dinner with me Saturday night. We got to talking at the candlelight vigil and exchanged numbers. We talked a lot over the weekend. She's just moved back after finishing her degree at Boise State. We knew each other in high school but hung around with different crowds." Jacey had a silly grin on his face.
"She sticking around town?" Adam asked.
"She wants to. She's got a job working at the hospital, so that's good. She's a physical therapist. I told her to talk to Nancy, and she could probably get on doing home health too if she wants more hours. She hates living back with her parents and is hoping to save up either to buy a house or get an apartment." Jacey took a bite out the apple he had. "I'm taking her to the drive-in Saturday night, then I'll see if she wants to grab ice cream or something after church on Sunday."
"I can't wait to meet her. Does she know what you do?" Adam asked.
"Yep, and she can't wait to meet you. She's got an old poetry book that was given to her by a friend. I guess it's really old. She wants to know the history behind the book. I told her you'd probably be able to tell her something about it."
"Tell her to come in anytime. I'd be happy to do a free reading for her." Adam hadn't told Jacey much about how his reading on Trina had gone, despite him pushing for information. Jacey didn't need to have those images in his head. It was the one thing he loved about Jacey, he was always so upbeat and happy.
"She's happy to pay you. I'll bring her in one day next week if all goes well."
"I'm sure it will. I'm glad you two found each other. It's about time you got out there and started dating." Adam hadn't seen Jacey go out for over a year with a girl.
"It's hard when you grow up in a town this size. You know almost everyone from high school. There can be a lot of baggage there. I'd never dreamed of dating Jennifer back in high school. We were too different, but now, that stuff doesn't seem to matter much."
"She knows you might go off to college?" Adam asked.
"We talked about it, but I'm still not sure that's what I want to do. I'm happy here. I know I don't make a ton working for you. Not like I would if I had a degree and worked for some big company. But just the thought of having to wear a suit and walk into a crowded building every morning sets me on edge. For now, I'll stay here. At least until you get sick of me and send me packing."
"That's not going to happen." Adam smiled and stood as the bell above the door rang and Maggie walked in. "We meet again." Adam met her halfway.
"Sadly. One day I'm going to walk in and not have to draw a criminal's face. I'll come in to visit and browse." She waved at Jacey. "How's your mother doing?"
"She's good. Keeping busy," Jacey told her.
"Tell her she needs to give me a call. I could use some help with an art project I'm doing at the school." Maggie looked at Adam. "Shall we? I'm a bit rushed this afternoon. I need to be at the high school by three to work on the plans for graduation decorations."
"No problem. Now that I know how you work, we should be able to get through this faster. I can even work on the computer image as you draw if you want." Adam led her to the back room."Jacey, call me if I'm needed." He left the door open a bit so he could hear if anyone came into the store.
"That will work." Maggie pulled the items she needed from her bag, then turned on her laptop and opened the app she needed before pushing it toward him. "Like before, give me the basics and we'll go from there."
Adam gave her the basic rundown on head shape, facial features, hair length, then slowly moved into more detailed descriptions. Unlike last time, he wasn't as nervous and felt comfortable with Maggie and how she worked. Things went a lot smoother than they had the first time. They were about halfway done when he heard the bell ring, and someone entering the store.
