“Not really, but the special is always great, so it all works out.”
We couldn’t chat for a few minutes, because so many people wanted to tell us their awful wedding clothes stories. By the time people quit stopping by our table, Lorraine had dropped off our water glasses and moved on.
Lizzie looked a little stunned. “I’ve gotta confess, I’m not used to this small-town thing yet. Jacksonville is a big city. The biggest in the country, sprawl-wise, in fact. I’m lucky if I run into somebody I know at lunch once every few months.”
I gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know. It can be a lot. Sorry.”
“No, it’s not that. I like it. You have such a sense of community here. It’s not something I’ve ever been part of before.” She looked down at the table. “It’s nice. People know my name and say hi.”
“Have you ever thought of moving here on a more permanent basis? Getting a full-time job with the Dead End sheriff’s department?”
Oops. I probably shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t know what was going to happen with that donation. Maybe the town council wouldn’t accept it, or maybe they’d take it but use it for something else. Could they do that when a donation was specifically earmarked for a particular purpose? I didn’t know.
Lizzie looked up at me, and I felt guilty about her hopeful expression. “Is that a possibility? Have you heard anything? I mean, I know your aunt is the mayor … I’m sorry. Not trying to put you on the spot, but I’d really like the opportunity to take on this job for real.”
“No, I haven’t heard anything official from Aunt Ruby, but I know we’ve been shorthanded for a long time, deputy-wise. The previous sheriff was a buffoon. A murdering, evil, buffoon. When the FBI arrested him, Susan got promoted to his job, but we never replaced her deputy position. So, I don’t know, but it seems like there could be an excellent shot.”
Lorraine arrived with our food and put plates on the table just as Lizzie, glowing with excitement, impulsively reached out to grab my hand. “Oh, Tess, that would be wonderful. I hope—”
But I never got to hear what she hoped because I had to watch her die.
14
Tess
They were werewolves. I knew there were all kinds of shifters, of course. We in Black Cypress County had known about the supernatural long before the Fae, vampires, and shifters introduced the rest of the world to their existence. But I’d never seen a werewolf in person.
Until now.
Until this vision of Lizzie Underhill’s death.
They attacked her in a park at night. Two of them came out of the trees and arrowed straight for Lizzie, who wore a pretty red party dress and was laughing with another woman.
It was horrible. Both women died … so fast. And then I heard sirens and shouting and realized someone was gripping my hands back in my reality. My non-vision reality.
And the shouting was happening there, too. At Beau’s.
Shockingly, it wasn’t me doing it. It was somebody outside the restaurant, and I decided I didn’t have the bandwidth to worry about it just then.
Lizzie crouched next to me, apologizing over and over, her hands up in the air, being careful not to touch me again. I could have told her I never saw a death vision twice, if I’d been in any condition to be coherent.
Lorraine sat across from me, holding my hands and calling my name. “Tess. Tess, honey. Are you okay?”
“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I knew better,” Lizzie said tearfully. “I was excited, and I didn’t think, and … oh, Tess. I’m so sorry.”
I tried to smile, to reassure Lorraine and Lizzie both, and gently pulled my hands away. “I’m okay. I’m okay. But, Lizzie, I saw something … I don’t want to tell you. Nobody should know how they’re going to die, but … it’s an ethical thing. Can I keep it from you if you really want to know? Maybe you could protect yourself …”
I realized I was babbling, probably in shock, and I drank half my glass of water.
“Was it wolves?” Lizzie asked quietly, aware of the avidly curious expressions of everyone around us.
“I—yes. How did you—”
Lizzie leaned closer and pulled down the collar on one side of her neck, baring a twisting scar. “Because it already happened. I was clinically dead for almost an entire minute in the ambulance.”
“Are you—” I was whispering.
“No. Not exactly. But I got some awesome, funky powers, just between us, okay?”
