A Vision of Murder Read Online Free Page B

again.
    Two lights shown in the
distance, dim in the failing light. A car was approaching on a lonely dirt
road. The flashlight clicked off in response, shrouding the two of them in
darkness. A nearby street sign shook back and forth crazily in the wind.
“Bea….” The thunder rumbled overhead, growling angrily. The girl laughed
nervously, ducking into the woods, out of sight.
    My whole body was shaking. I
raised my eyes to meet those of the detectives. One stared back sympathetically
and the other searchingly. I swallowed hard. “I saw part of… a street sign.”Thunder crashed overhead now,
the lights flickering in response. Both detectives jumped involuntarily.
Fear clutched at me. The lights seemed to have a mind of their own, lighting
the room starkly, then thrusting it into dimness.
    I involuntarily crouched
lower in my seat, afraid that I had brought
this down on us. Perhaps there was something else at work here, something
unhappy, something dark. Something I had invited in. I felt my eyes widen and
the words froze in my throat.
    “What was the street name?”
Detective Simms pressed me. I stared back at him,
almost ducking again as the lights flickered and thunder shook the room
again.
    Just like that
night…. I could almost hear the girl whisper the words to me. I forced
myself to continue, there was no going back now. “It was like this, storming
like this. Just like that night-”
    “The street sign… what did
it say?” Simms pen was poised over his paper, his face
anxiously peering at mine.
    I could barely drag my eyes
from the shadows in the corner. They seemed to twist malevolently and take form
before my eyes. Simms tapped the desk impatiently,
drawing my attention back. When I looked at the corner again the shadows
were normal.
    “It began B-E-A. A car was
coming in the distance. And there was a flashlight.” The words spilled out of
me, rushingout before I realized it.
    They nodded at each other.
Dunn was star ing at me, a look of concern on his
face.
    “Anything
else?”
    I shook my head, Icouldn’t give them
anything else now.
    “Wait.” Dunn
said suddenly. “You said
it was a storm like this one?”
    “Yes,” I said wearily, my
eyes still wavering over towards the corner despite the clear light flooding
the room. Lightning flashed outside.
    “Do you ever see the future?
Could it be this storm?” Simms asked, leaning forward.
    “Can we still save her?”
Dunn’s words almost overlapped Simms in his urgency.
    I paused.
“I’ve never seen the future before-”
    “But that would mean… the
cabin victim was killed last week during a storm like this. If the killer
didn’t kill again that same night, it would mean this victim would have had to
have been killed at least a month ago, if not more.”
    Simms thought a moment. “ It’s been a long dry spell. I’d say we’ve only had
a handful of storms this summer.”
    “What if it is tonight?”
Dunn asked again. “Just because you’ve never seen the future before doesn’t
mean that you couldn’t, does it?” Simms eyed him warily. “I mean, if she can see the past, maybe now she can see the future. We have to
try.”
    “The storms are supposed to
last all evening,” Simms said doubtfully. I sat as if mute, surveying them. “Are you sure she’s around here?”
    “I’m sensing… she’s not
alive,” I trailed off, glancing at Dunn.
    “We’ve still got to try,”
Dunn repeated, a stubborn expression on his face.
Simms nodded and stood. “It would have been helpful if you had a few more
letters, but I’ll check some of our maps.”
    The storm boomed and rumbled
overhead. Dunn agreed to take me back home. As I ran
through the rain up to my house, I carefully dodged the puddles, not looking
up. On reaching the safe haven of the porch, I paused and removed the
newspaper from above my head, where I had sheltered myhairfrom the rain. It dripped
water, the words merging into a confusing blur. The storm seemed to have
settled