A Vision of Murder Read Online Free

leaned
against the door frame.“It’s okay. She’s old.”
I shrugged. “Sometimes old people get set in their ways. I can see how she
might look on psychic abilities as… something otherworldly.”
    “That’s what confuses me.
She was such a fan of yours when you first moved in.”
Her bottom lip wobbled slightly. “If you could have heard her go on and
on about your cases….” I wouldn’t say that she
was lying, but it was hard to believe that the old woman had changed her mind
about me so quickly.
    Mrs. Robinson was still speaking. “She
thought how you returned those missing children to their parents… she
thoughtthat was just wonderful.”  I
couldn’t help but smile slightly.
      “Why
are you telling me all this?” I interrupted Mrs. Robinson.
    “I… I tried to make her come
apologize, but she refused. I wanted to tell you she’s not a bad person. I know
it may seem like that to you, but she… she’s had a hard life. Yes, she’s
judgmental.” Mrs. Robinson laughed lightly. “She always has been. I just… I
like you, dear. I don’t want her to hurt your feelings. Or run you off.” Hereyes were anxious.
    I smiled. “She’s not going
to run me off. Perhaps I’ll end up winning her over. In the
end.”
    Mrs. Robinson nodded happily
and turned to go, waving goodbye. She bid me
good night and I said the same, but I knew it would not be a peaceful night for
me. I knew if I concentrated hard itwould all
come together. It always did. I had a lot of work to do.
     
    I woke with a gasp from a
troubled sleep, a new face appearing in my mind, the mouth open in a scream. I
stumbled through the kitchen, the card clutched
in my sweaty palm. My hand was shaking as I reached for the phone. I had to
hang up and start over a couple of times as my fingers missed the numbers.
Finally, finally, the phone rang. A sleepy voice picked up the line, “Hello?”
    “Detective
Dunn?”  
Myvoice was shaking, fear overwhelming me.
    “Miss Walker?” Hissounded alert now.
    “I saw another face!”
    “You saw the killer?” he
asked, wide awake now.
    “No….”
    “Then what….”
    “I saw another
victim.”
    “Okay.” His voice changed
and I could sense the sudden urgency coming across the line as if he was
standing in front of me. “We need to go over this first thing. Be ready as soon
as possible and I’ll pick you up. If that’s alright?” he hurried to add.
    I agreed. Hanging up, I dressed as quickly as I
could, throwing my hair upin a loose bun
and sliding on one of my nicer dresses. I choked down some breakfast as I
waited by the door for Detective Dunn to pick me up.
    In the pale light of the
breaking dawn, theearth seemed strangely quiet.
Not a soul was in sight. All the houses were dim and dark. As I waited, a few
lights appeared in windows. I imagined neighbors groggily rising to face the
day. Dressing, eating, talking. Activities
that the victim would never do again. Tears filled my eyes suddenly.
Confused, I brushed them away.
    A movement in the corner of
my eye caught my attention. A gnome-like face, twisted in some sort of grimace,
stared back at me from the corner of a window. I met her eyes boldly, venturing
to smile slightly, but she scowled back at me. Mrs. Dodd.
    Suspicion and paranoia
filled my mind. I wondered why she was up at this early and why she had been
watching me. Did she always spy on me so? I was about to start
over to her house to confront her when Detective Dunn’s car pulled quickly in
front of my house.
    The inside of the car was
clean as a whistle. A cheery, peppermint smell seemed to permeate the air. He
nodded a welcome to me. I noticed his eyes still looked sleepy and felt a
momentary regret for waking him so early. I started to speak, but he stopped
me.
    “Simms is meeting us at the
station. I told him I would wait until he was there to go over this. It’ll just
be a few minutes.”
    “I was going to say… I’m
sorry.”
    He raised his eyebrows in
surprise.