Caterpillar, a Paranormal Romance With a Touch of Horror (12 page)

“And just where do you think you’re creeping off to, little Miss Invisible?” 

I straightened quickly and turned, a flush of embarrassment at getting caught burned on my cheeks. 

Rainn stood at the other end of the hall, hands on her hips, the toe of one shiny patent leather shoe tapping the floor.

“I was going to grab a bite to eat.  Can we talk when I get back?’  Inside, I was cringing, holding my breath, chanting
please, please, please, please.

“How’s about we kill two birds with one stone and I come with,” Rainn declared with a satisfied smile—satisfied because she thought she was going to get some juicy gossip and gory details..

“Oh, ok,” I said.  Why I didn’t just say no was beyond me.

“Good.  Let me get my purse,” Rainn said, turning on her high heel and wiggling back down the hall, every voluptuous curve clearly outlined by her snug skirt and blouse.  She looked like she fell right off some trucker’s mudflap.

I drove us to a new lunch hotspot not far from the office.  Rainn behaved herself on the way over.  She was her typical funny, blunt self, but she didn’t try to interrogate me, which was a surprise.  For an instant I felt a pang of regret that I couldn’t tell her all she wanted to know
and more. 
Not being able to share all that was going on in my life with someone made me feel even more isolated.  But neither Rainn nor I needed that kind of trouble so I kept my various personal issues to myself.

“So, tell me everything,” Rainn asked as soon as we were seated, wasting no time getting right to the point.  I should’ve known that her behavior was too good to be true. 

“Rainn—”

“Don’t ‘Rainn’ me.  It’s all over the papers, but you know how they lie.  I want the
real
story.  Out with it,” she ordered, leaning in, virtually drooling over the juicy tidbit she was about to receive.

I looked into her dark twinkling eyes and felt my resolve weaken.  Somewhere in the back of my mind, it occurred to me that Rainn could probably charm a cobra with that look.  And then, just like that, it was out.  Everything I knew and had seen related to the murder spewed from my mouth like word vomit.  Luckily her charm didn’t unearth my real secrets; they remained carefully concealed, hidden where they could do Rainn no harm.

“You’ve got some seriously bad luck, girl.  Maybe I should stay away from you, before I start seeing dead people,” she said melodramatically and then a thought occurred to her.  “Hey, did you get to meet that detective, the one that works serial crimes?”

“I don’t know.  I met several.  I’ve been busy dabbling in crime scenes lately.  What was his name?”

“Teague, Teager, something like that.  I can’t remember exactly.  What I
do
remember is he was frickin’ hot.” 

“Tegan?”  She didn’t have to remember his name for me to know to whom she was referring. Tegan
was
frickin’ hot.

“That’s it!  Did you meet him?”

“Yeah.  A couple of times.”

“Cat, in the interest of our friendship, you need to introduce me.”

I prickled at the thought of Rainn wiggling her way into Tegan’s bed.  For some reason I didn’t want to think about him with anyone else.  And, for me, that was very strange.  I was hardly the jealous type; at least I hadn’t been before.

I decided a subject change was in order.  “What unit did you say he was with?”

“Serial crimes or something like that,” she replied.  “So, I heard that preacher had some shady connections.  I even heard he was secretly into devil worship and all that.  Think he had it coming?”  The subject change worked, as it so often did with Rainn when there was gossip to be discussed.

“There are few people with sins bad enough to deserve what was done to him.  On the other hand, a preacher who secretly worships Satan…” I trailed off, reliving the imagery that was never far from my mind.  I could summon it with very little effort.

Another subject change was needed so I pulled out the big guns and asked Rainn about her latest conquest, even though I really had no desire to hear a single word about it.

Rainn spent the next several minutes regaling me with tales of sordid affairs, lewd one-nighters and a litany of her romantic woes, both past and present. 

By the time the waitress brought our food, I was thoroughly enjoying my lunch with Rainn.  When she was just my friend, not excavating long-buried, gossip-worthy tidbits from the hidden caverns of every nearby soul, she was very entertaining.

“Wow!  Look at that necklace!  When did you get that?  And how many commission checks did it cost?”

Rainn was staring at my amulet from Aunt Jillian.  I tried to think of a way to blow it off without lying, but only came up with one very unimaginative response: the truth.  “Zero.”

“Good Will must be moving on up in the world then,” she quipped and then she looked up at me.  “So where’d you get it—
really?”

“It was a-a gift.”

Rainn’s eyes widened, preparing for something juicy.  “From who?  You been hiding a rich lover in your closet?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it,” I said, playing along, hoping she’d drop it.  No such luck.

When I made no move to give her more information, she prompted, “Well?”

“It was a gift from…my aunt.”

“Which aunt?  I thought you only had one.”

“I do.”

“Oh,” she said simply.  Before I could find relief, however, she continued.  “You mean did.  Isn’t she dead?”

“We
assumed
she was dead.  Turns out we just haven’t heard from her in fifteen years.  We don’t know exactly what happened to her,” which was entirely true.  And I still didn’t.

“Very nice.  Any matching rings?”  Before I could think to move my hands, Rainn took them in hers, curling my fingers over hers, my palms cupping her knuckles.

Like a shark turned over onto its belly, I was immobilized, but pleasantly so.  A warm white snow filled my head and I felt almost weightless.  I was vaguely aware of releasing the huge breath I was holding in my lungs.  And then Rainn’s hands were gone.

“What was
that?”
  She was looking at me like I’d turned into a leprechaun.  She held the hands she’d jerked back against her chest protectively, like she’d touched something unpleasant or dangerous. 

The fuzz was easier to shake off than before.  Then again, what I’d “seen” inside Rainn was far different from the dark visions I’d witnessed inside the senator’s black soul. 

“Hello!”  Rainn was waving her hand in front of my face, anxiously awaiting an explanation.  In the back of my mind, the warning was there that if I told her, everyone would know by close of business.  But I was a little dazed and preoccupied and it was out before I could think twice.

“Sometimes when I touch people, I have this weird reaction.”

“What kind of weird reaction?”

“Like, sometimes I get images of bad things they’ve done and other times I—”

“Please tell me you didn’t see my sex tapes.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.  Why should I have expected anything less from Rainn?  “No, I didn’t see your sex tapes.”

“What did you see then?”

“Nothing.  Just like snow on a television.” 

Rainn watched me intently, digesting what I’d said.  “That could come in handy.”

That’s it?  That’s all you have to say? 
I thought.  “You don’t seem surprised.”

Rainn shrugged.  “I believe in psychics.  Why would I have any trouble believing you?”

Rainn made me feel like I was
way
overreacting.  She made it sound like no big deal.  Of course, this was the girl that believed she was visited every Easter by her dead Great Aunt Thelma, so…

“Rainn, this is not something I’d be comfortable telling other people.  In fact, you are the only, and I mean
only,
person that knows about this.  Can we keep it between us?”  I didn’t know if I was wasting my breath or not.  I’d never known Rainn to keep a secret, but I had never asked her to either.  I just knew better than to tell her things I didn’t want to be common knowledge.  But maybe that was the key.  I had to  get a promise out of her.  “Promise me, Rainn.”

Rainn rolled her eyes in exasperation.  “Don’t swallow your tongue.  I won’t say a word.”

“Promise?”

“Oh my G—” she began in frustration then, “I
promise.”

Satisfied with her promise, I had turned my attention to my salad when I heard Rainn’s gasp.  “Ohmigod!  As I live and breathe, there he is, Mr. Tie Me Up and Tie Me Down.”  She was looking at a spot over my shoulder.  “How’s my lipstick?”  She puckered her lips sensually then smiled, showing off an abundance of pearly white teeth.

“It’s good,” I confirmed.

Unable to resist turning to see to whom she was referring, I casually, under the guise of resituating in the booth, glanced over my shoulder.  Tegan was walking toward our booth.  Unbidden, excitement fluttered in my belly.

Obviously on important business, Tegan was dressed to the nines in a black suit with a pale blue shirt that made his skin glow and his eyes pop.  His hair was combed a little neater than usual and he was clean shaven, which accentuated his square jaw.

“Cat,” he said as he drew to a halt by our table.  After nodding at me, he looked toward Rainn, who had plastered her most winning smile in place and was sitting so erect even
I
noticed her boobs.

Realizing I had no choice but to introduce them, I did so with what I thought was admirable aplomb.  “Detective Tegan, this is Rainn Forester.  We work together at Pinnacle.”

“Ms. Forester,” he acknowledged pleasantly, inclining his head.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Detective Tegan.  I’ve been following your investigations.  Fascinating,” Rainn oozed.

“Mine’s an…
interesting
job.”

“Mmm,” she purred seductively.  I wanted to slap her.  “Care to join us?”

“Actually, I’m here with someone, but thanks for the offer.”  On the heels of his statement came the “someone” to which he was referring.  A stunning auburn-haired beauty that was gliding between the tables came to a stop beside him.  She looped her arm through his, a gesture that stirred up that jealousy again.  You know, that jealousy that I
never
feel. 

She smiled down at us then looked to Tegan questioningly.  “Are you going to introduce me, Tegan?”

“Of course.  Megan, this is Catherine Deen and Rainn Forester.  Ladies this is Megan Bounty.  She reports for Channel Nine News.  There was a press conference today,” he offered by way of explanation.

Although it was none of my business who he spent time with (actually
he
was none of my business at all), I couldn’t deny the relief I felt at hearing that.  It was short-lived, however, when I watched Bounty all but wrap herself around Tegan.  I doubted she saw their relationship as strictly business.

She unwound herself from him long enough to extend one perfectly manicured hand toward me.  She smiled the most dazzling smile I had ever seen.  I briefly considered taking the butter knife and cutting off her fingers, but I rapidly discarded the notion.  If I had a knife to use on her, I’d likely cut off her perfect head instead. 

I accepted her hand without thought of my new gift.  The instant my palm pressed into hers, I immediately regretted it.  Lightening shot up my arm and an explosion of images burst inside my mind.  Megan, the
real
Megan, had slept her way into her job.  Until recently, she had slept her way into most of her good stories, too.  She had a juvenile record because when she was seven she smothered her two-year-old little sister.  She frequented an exclusive and very private club where she indulged her love of violence and pain infliction, all costumed as a dominatrix.  She had plans to snare Tegan, but that’s where things got a little fuzzy.  There was a darkness I couldn’t see into, like looking out your kitchen window at night.  I saw my own reflection and nothing else.  But I knew there was something there…in the darkness.