Read Online Lethal Outlook: A Psychic Eye Mystery by Victoria Laurie - Free Book Online
Authors: Victoria Laurie
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very long time all I did was sit there and stare listlessly out at the view.
At the edge of our backyard, just past a very sturdy fence, was a drop of about a hundred feet to a river gorge below. The property sat on top of a peninsular bluff and the views for nearly one hundred and eighty degrees were all spectacular. From where I sat I could see lights coming up in neighborhoods twenty miles away, and there was something incredibly soothing about that.
I still saw the images from the video, however, every time I closed my eyes, and I had to work to replace them with a memory that gave me comfort. I thought of the morning that Dutch had proposed. I thought of the day I went to pick up Eggy from the breeder. I thought of playing fetch with Tuttle.
It was a technique I’d learned as a kid when my very unbalanced mother would rain down her abuse on me. Throughout all of my childhood I’d been unloved and unwanted, and my mother had taken all of her dysfunction and mental instability out on me both physically and mentally. It’d been a terrible way to grow up, but I was pretty convinced it was the impetus to developing my psychic sense.
I never knew when Clair—Mommy dearest—would flash with anger, and I had to rely heavily on my sixth sense to get me out of the house before she flew into a rage.
If I didn’t escape fast enough and she caught me, I’d withdraw into myself and fill my mind with any memory that gave me comfort. It was the only reason I survived those years, I think, and the technique was a coping mechanism I was calling upon now.
After a while, and with that horrible image on the video finally outnumbered by all the sweet memories and happier thoughts I’d called upon, the knot of tension and distress inside me began to ease. I could feel myself creating some distance from it, and that helped me assess something else I hadn’t even noticed was tugging away at me.
I had an intuitive feeling that I should have nothing to do with the case. It was strong and clear and very firm, and it came both from that internal compass we all rely upon as well as from my own personal crew of spirit guides. I wanted no part of the case. If Gaston asked me for help again, I’d stand up for myself and tell him no.
As justification for staying out of it, I extended my radar out into the future and could see that the case would be resolved within just a few weeks. I felt quite strongly that it would be resolved by the agents already working the case and, oddly, another woman, who in her own right had a strong sense of intuition.
“Abs?” I heard from just inside the door. Eggy, startled awake, barked and leaped off the cushion.
I turned, craning my neck to see the shadowy figure of myfiancé come out onto the stone patio to join me. “Hey,” I said, filled with warmth by the sight of him. Candice might have been furious with him, but I knew he wasn’t to blame.
He picked Eggy up and came to my side. After a sweet kiss he said, “I’ve been trying to call you all night.”
Oops. I’d left my phone on the kitchen counter. And it’d been turned to silent anyway. I had no interest in talking to anyone. “My phone’s at home.”
Dutch nodded and stroked my hair. “How you doin’, sweethot?”
I reached up and took his hand. “Better.”
“You sure?”
I kissed his hand. He was far too good to me. “I’m fine. What’re you doing here, anyway?”
Dutch sat down on the other lounge chair and curled Eggy into the folds of his jacket to keep him warm. “You wouldn’t answer my calls, so I called Candice, and she told me you’d gone to bed, so I figured I could sneak over here before I came home.” I looked at him curiously and he added, “Sometimes after a hard day I like to come out here and hang out for a while. This place takes all the tension out of me, you know?”
I laughed. “That’s what I’m doing here.”
“I think we did good picking this lot,” he said, leaning back with a
At the edge of our backyard, just past a very sturdy fence, was a drop of about a hundred feet to a river gorge below. The property sat on top of a peninsular bluff and the views for nearly one hundred and eighty degrees were all spectacular. From where I sat I could see lights coming up in neighborhoods twenty miles away, and there was something incredibly soothing about that.
I still saw the images from the video, however, every time I closed my eyes, and I had to work to replace them with a memory that gave me comfort. I thought of the morning that Dutch had proposed. I thought of the day I went to pick up Eggy from the breeder. I thought of playing fetch with Tuttle.
It was a technique I’d learned as a kid when my very unbalanced mother would rain down her abuse on me. Throughout all of my childhood I’d been unloved and unwanted, and my mother had taken all of her dysfunction and mental instability out on me both physically and mentally. It’d been a terrible way to grow up, but I was pretty convinced it was the impetus to developing my psychic sense.
I never knew when Clair—Mommy dearest—would flash with anger, and I had to rely heavily on my sixth sense to get me out of the house before she flew into a rage.
If I didn’t escape fast enough and she caught me, I’d withdraw into myself and fill my mind with any memory that gave me comfort. It was the only reason I survived those years, I think, and the technique was a coping mechanism I was calling upon now.
After a while, and with that horrible image on the video finally outnumbered by all the sweet memories and happier thoughts I’d called upon, the knot of tension and distress inside me began to ease. I could feel myself creating some distance from it, and that helped me assess something else I hadn’t even noticed was tugging away at me.
I had an intuitive feeling that I should have nothing to do with the case. It was strong and clear and very firm, and it came both from that internal compass we all rely upon as well as from my own personal crew of spirit guides. I wanted no part of the case. If Gaston asked me for help again, I’d stand up for myself and tell him no.
As justification for staying out of it, I extended my radar out into the future and could see that the case would be resolved within just a few weeks. I felt quite strongly that it would be resolved by the agents already working the case and, oddly, another woman, who in her own right had a strong sense of intuition.
“Abs?” I heard from just inside the door. Eggy, startled awake, barked and leaped off the cushion.
I turned, craning my neck to see the shadowy figure of myfiancé come out onto the stone patio to join me. “Hey,” I said, filled with warmth by the sight of him. Candice might have been furious with him, but I knew he wasn’t to blame.
He picked Eggy up and came to my side. After a sweet kiss he said, “I’ve been trying to call you all night.”
Oops. I’d left my phone on the kitchen counter. And it’d been turned to silent anyway. I had no interest in talking to anyone. “My phone’s at home.”
Dutch nodded and stroked my hair. “How you doin’, sweethot?”
I reached up and took his hand. “Better.”
“You sure?”
I kissed his hand. He was far too good to me. “I’m fine. What’re you doing here, anyway?”
Dutch sat down on the other lounge chair and curled Eggy into the folds of his jacket to keep him warm. “You wouldn’t answer my calls, so I called Candice, and she told me you’d gone to bed, so I figured I could sneak over here before I came home.” I looked at him curiously and he added, “Sometimes after a hard day I like to come out here and hang out for a while. This place takes all the tension out of me, you know?”
I laughed. “That’s what I’m doing here.”
“I think we did good picking this lot,” he said, leaning back with a
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