Everly frowned, but nodded in agreement. “I see someone lying on the floor. He was shot. There’s blood. Alotof blood. Celestina is screaming and so am I.”
“I’m so sorry, honey, but can you see who the person on the floor is? I originally thought it was Ronan, but now…” Ten trailed off.
Ronan stopped walking mid-pace. His frantic eyes moved from Ten to Everly and back again. “But now,what? Will one of you please tell me what’s happening?”
Fitzgibbon walked up to Ronan and wrapped an arm around him. Jude did the same.
“Daddy thought the body on the floor was you,” Everly said pointing to Ronan, “but now he thinks its himself.”
Ronan felt his knees buckle. Thankfully, Fitz and Jude were holding him up. They maneuvered him to a nearby chair and set him down. “I don’t understand any of this. Aurora, are you seeing the same thing?”
Aurora nodded. “I am, but it’s all I can see. I don’t know who’s done this to Ten or if he lives or,” Aurora paused looking at Everly.
“Or dies,” Everly finished. “I might only be six years old Aurora, but I can handle what’s happening. If there’s anything I can do to save my Daddy. I’ll do it, but I need all the facts.”
Ronan snorted. He couldn’t help himself. His daughter just proclaimed that Ten was going to die on one breath, and on the next, she was digging deep, readying herself to change the events she’d seen. “Why did you think the body was mine?” Ronan asked.
“It’s always you,” Ten said. “You’ve taken six bullets. Broken two bones. Been kidnapped. Blown up. Held at knifepoint. You were on a notorious mobster’s hit list. Do you want me to go on, because I can.” Ten shook his head. “I assumed it was you because I couldn’t see who it was. Every time I pushed closer, the vision got foggier. I’d mentioned to River that very thing happens when I try to read myself. He put two and two together and thought I was the victim.”
Jude left Ronan’s side and walked to the front door. He grabbed his briefcase, opened it, and pulled out a legal pad and a pen. “Okay, we’ve got another murder to solve.” He took the chair beside Ronan, but turned his attention to Tennyson. “You’re sure this incident is going to happen at the circus?”
Ten nodded. “This is going to sound crazy, but I could smell popcorn. When we were in the building yesterday, I couldn’t smell anything on the show floor. That’s why I think this will happen during the performance.”
“Why don’t we stay home?” River asked. “If Ten isn’t there, he can’t die.” When no one answered, River looked around the room. “Right?”
“Not necessarily,” Cole said. “The victim might switch to someone else. Or something worse could possibly happen.”
“What the hell could be worse than losing my brother?” River asked, sounding appalled.
Cole angled his head toward Everly.
“Wait, no. That’s not possible.” All the blood drained from River’s face.
“All of you keep saying that the future is fluid,” Ronan began. “Just by knowing what’s going to happen, doesn’t that mean we’ve changed things?”
“There’s no way to know that for certain,” Carson said. “It’s not a one for one deal. Removing Ten from the situation isn’t a guarantee that this goes away. It could be much worse than we already know it is.”
“Exactly,” Cole said, picking up his brother’s lead. “Right now, we know how. We know where. We know when. All we’re missing is who and why.”
“So, you’re saying that if everything stays the same, then what, you have a leg up on catching Ten’s killer? You’ll use him as bait and hope that you’re in time to stop the bullet?” River’s eyes were so wide, Ronan was afraid they were going to fall out of his skull.
“Something like that,” Carson agreed.
“Ourleg up, as you put it,” Fitz began, “is time. The three of us spent the morning going over the original cold case murder from 1995. It was our plan to go back into Boston tomorrow and speak with all the members of the current circus who were there back then. If we can figure out who killed Jumping Jack, we may be able to stop what comes next.”
“What if catching the killer is what triggers the chain of events Aurora and Everly are seeing? What if the killer gets the kids instead? What if it becomes a mass casualty event?” River was on the verge of hysteria.
Ten picked up his brother’s hand. “It’s okay, River. We’re going to figure this out, but we need all hands on deck. You were the one who figured out it was me. I hadn’t been able to see that. I need you working at full-strength here. You might not have my gifts, but you have an amazing sense of intuition. I need all the help I can get. There’s no use sitting around and crying over something that hasn’t happened yet and that we might be able to stop.”
River nodded. He rested his head against Ten’s shoulder. Both men were silent for a few seconds. “I just found you, little brother. I don’t want to lose you.”
“You’re not going to lose him,” Ronan declared. “None of us are.”
“It’s all hands on deck,” Jude agreed. “We’re going to talk to the circus crew tomorrow. Carson, Cole, Aurora, if one of you can come with us, we’d greatly appreciate it. Cope, Ten, and Everly, have already been there, we’d like more gifts in the room, if that’s possible.”
“I’m in,” Carson said.
“I’ll stay here and man the store.” Cole turned to his brother, who nodded. “There are some appointments I’ll need to reschedule, but that won’t be a problem.”
