“Take that, suckers. I’m a dramatic hero! Like Odysseus! Like Achilles!” Carson beamed from ear to ear.
“You do realize that it took one of them twenty years to come home from the Trojan War and the other was killed in battle because he was a dumbass,” Jude deadpanned.
Carson waved his hand dismissively. “They were just imposters. I’m the real deal. People will sing songs about me. They’ll pen poems. My name will live forever!”
“Yeah, on your tombstone,” Truman muttered, breaking up the table into laughter.
“Seriously, though,” Carson said, when everyone finally stopped laughing, “it was an amazing experience. I’ve never read someone who was that dark before. His brain felt like squishy, rotten fruit.”
“But you weren’t able to tell if Vincent was the killer?” Jace asked.
Carson shook his head. “Unfortunately, no, and making matters worse is the fact that the daughter might have had something to do with the murder as well. Either with being in on the crime or covering something up.”
“Fuck, I don’t like the sound of this one bit.” Jace shook his head. “I brought these people together for one last show to benefit Children’s Hospital. If people find out we’ve got a killer clown on our hands, it will sink us faster than a paper boat in a hurricane.”
Tennyson hadn’t stopped to consider the ramifications working this case could have on Jace or his charitable causes. “What if we wait until after the show ends to go after Vincent and Celestina? That way people would have already contributed.”
“We might not have a choice, Ten,” Ronan said darkly.
“Your talking about my nightmare.” It wasn’t a question. Watching Carson go after Vincent had pushed the nightmare to the back of his mind. Anxiety slammed through him as his mind’s eye flashed back to the sight of his dead body lying in a pool of blood.
“We need to take the bull by the horns and stop the madness before it starts. We’re scheduled to attend the dress rehearsal tomorrow afternoon. We’ll go early and confront Celestina. As much as I hate to suggest it, we bring Everly backstage along with you, Carson, and Cope.” Ronan pointed at Tennyson.
“You do realize that Celestina and Everly were the people screaming in my vision, right?” It felt to Tennyson like Ronan was moving the chess pieces into place, rather than trying to avoid his vision coming to fruition.
“Here’s the thing with your vision,” Jude began, “you only saw a piece of it. We don’t know what happened before you ended up on the floor bleeding. Or what happened after the snippet you saw.”
“EMTs will be standing by inside the arena tomorrow afternoon for the dress rehearsal and Friday night for the performance,” Jace said. “They’re scheduled to be on duty in the event of any emergency. If one of the performers or roadies injures themselves, if someone in the crowd is in need of emergency medical attention. I’ve got them there two hours before the performance, until an hour after it ends tomorrow afternoon. Same goes for the night of the show, with the EMTs being there until all the equipment is disassembled, packed and moved out of the arena. Is it possible to station one of them with Ten, almost like a bodyguard?”
“It sounds like a good idea in theory, but what if there’s an incident away from where I am? Does that medic stick by my side or do they run off to help with the emergency? Obviously they go help, which leaves me vulnerable again. Not to mention the fact that Celestina would be less likely to tell me what happened the night Jumping Jack died, if there’s a strange paramedic dogging my every move.” Ten knew Jace was trying to help him and to mitigate any flack that could possibly come his way.
“Ten’s right, babe.” Fitz pressed a kiss to Jace’s cheek. “As much as I hate to dismiss your idea out of hand. Witnesses are reluctant to talk under the best of circumstances. Ten and Carson have built a little bit of a rapport with Celestina. Right now, that’s the only currency we have.”
“You all realize it might not even be possible to solve this crime, right?” Jace asked. “I know that your team has a high solve rate, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to walk away with the killer in cuffs. Is arresting this person worth putting Ten in danger? Like Jude said, we don’t know what happens before or after the snippet in time Ten saw in his vision. What if Ronan’s lying dead behind Tennyson or what if Everly is gunned down next?”
Movement from the other side of the room caught Ten’s attention. Everly stood in front of the open basement door, wearing a strange look on her face. “Everly, I-”
“It’s okay, Dad.” Everly offered her father a smile. She approached the table and stood next to Jace, who wore a horrified look on her face.
“Honey, I’m so sorry I said that.” Jace wore a horrified look. “I was just making sure everyone understood the risks of going to the dress rehearsal tomorrow. No one can get hurt if we all stay home.”
“I know, Uncle Jace.” Everly patted his hand. “Like Mimi Bertha says, the future is fluid. The future was changed the minute Dad figured out what his nightmare was trying to tell him. Nothing is written in stone. I don’t want anything to happen to my Dad, or to me, or to any of you, but the reason you all became police officers was to help people. There’s no way Daddy, Uncle Jude, or Fitz will walk away from this case, right?”
Ronan nodded. “It’s not in my nature to walk away. What if we stay home tomorrow like Jace suggested and the killer strikes again? What if it turns into a mass casualty event with multiple people shot or trampled in the effort to get away from gunfire? We’ve got a little bit of an advantage with Ten’s vision and because we’ll have three psychics with us.”
“Fourpsychics, Daddy.” Everly pointed to herself. “I’m going tomorrow. No argument.” She folded her arms across her chest and shot Ronan a look daring him to disagree with her.
Ten chuckled at his daughter. He’d just gotten a glimpse of the formidable woman his daughter was going to become. “You’re coming,” Ten agreed. His attention turned to Ronan, who wore a determined look on his face.
“You’re the bravest person I know,” Ronan said.
“Thanks, but that’s not going to help us save Dad’s life.” Everly climbed into the empty chair at the table. “What we need to do is make a plan. I want to talk to Celestina before the show tomorrow. We connected a bit when I met her the other day. I know I can get her to tell me what happened the night Jack was killed. You all had your chance. After the way your meeting with Vincent ended today, he won’t want to speak to anyone, especially Uncle Carson. You were badass today.”
Carson laughed at his niece. “You saw it all, did you?”
“Yup. Sometimes I can read Daddy like a book.” Everly waggled her eyebrows at Ronan.
“Just sometimes?” Ronan deadpanned.
