Chapter 1
Normally I wouldn’t be traipsing through the woods on the hottest day of the year, making sweat stains on my favorite T-shirt. Yet I was compelled. Compelled to be here looking for the missing kid. I was his best hope. That thought drove me; I was someone’s…something.
Granted, I had the super-secret ability of premonitions to guide me in the right direction. Most times it was helpful, but not today it seemed.
The mosquito flew in and out of my vision until the bloodsucker landed on my neck. Without thought, I smacked hard in an attempt to kill it.
Every one of these damn trees looked the same. Every bush, every freaking squirrel. Every leaf. I wasn’t a hunter or even a camping enthusiast. And even now I was beginning to believe this was a big conspiracy. The same ninja squirrels seemed to be following me.
Only one thing creeped me out worse than the noises of breaking twigs and animals hiding around me. The idea of searching the woods at night would be a nightmare becoming a reality. And there was only an hour until sundown.
Voices carried through the pine trees as I headed in the opposite direction from where other searchers poked and prodded the brush. I wiped the sweat from my brow onto my ruined shirt and stopped to take a sip from my water bottle. As the sun began its descent, the sky transformed into a blaze of color, shining bright in this godforsaken heat.
“Peter,” a male voice called out in the distance.
“Peter,” a female’s voice called out from the opposite direction.
Dogs barked, police radios squawked, and we were no closer to finding the missing kid.
“You feeling lucky today?” Jimbo asked as he neared. His badge glistened in the sun. Jimbo was a good guy. He was my sister, Faith’s best friend. My other five sisters and I liked him or otherwise we would have ran him off by now.
“I think I’m turned around,” I said, taking another sip. “Where’s your sidekick?”
“He’ll be here soon. Today was his last fitting for his tuxedo. He couldn’t miss that, or Faith would have killed us both. Your sister has him whipped.”
“I think that whip runs both ways.” I grinned.Keaton, Faith’s fiancé,and Jimbo worked together. They were both detectives. The only difference was that Jimbo was my sister’s best friend and Keaton was her soul mate. I wiped the new sweat off my brow with my forearm. “We must be going south and getting closer to hell or possibly Florida.”
“I agree.” Jimbo twisted in a slow circle. “So, which direction?”
I let out a shaky breath, trying to remember the details of the premonition. I lowered the backpack off my shoulders to get my drawing out.
Overexerting myself by trying to rush would have me punching another hole in my belt to keep my shorts from falling down. I’d probably already lost five pounds from sweat and dehydration. The only thing holding them up was the sweat that made them cling to my skin.
Think, Nina. What did the premonition show?What had I drawn? Trees. Lots and lots of trees.
“Peter was sitting under a tree,” I said.
“That’s it?”
“It’s not as though my premonitions come with road signs or GPS,” I said.
“Peter, baby, where are you?” a woman called out, desperation in her voice.
“That the mom?” I asked.
“Aunt,” he answered. “The mom is working the other quadrant.”
“Okay,” I said, tilting my head from side to side, getting pumped like I was preparing for a fight. I flipped my tattered black sketchbook to the page and showed Jimbo the picture I’d drawn.
“Your drawing skills could use some work.” Jimbo chuckled, taking the book from my hands. “Is that stick figure supposed to be Peter?”
“Yes,” I snapped. “That’s him, and that’s the damn tree. Now tell me that you can find him just from those landmarks.”
“What are these squiggly lines supposed to be?” Jimbo asked.
“That’s just a stream.”
“Why the hell didn’t you say that?” Jimbo asked, turning me around to stuff my sketchbook back into my backpack. “We’re half a mile away. If we go now, we’ll be able to find him before dinner.”
