Extra Sensory Deception Read Online Free

give a puff of frustration, his gaze on the seagulls circling overhead. Tatters loved nothing more than to charge down the beach, leaping and barking at the screeching gulls. Since that could only happen during the summer when the evening sky was lighter for longer, he made the most of it when given the opportunity.
    Clara often wondered if he and the birds were actually having a verbal battle, flinging insults back and forth. If so, the seagulls were fighting a losing war.
    By the time she arrived back home, her mother had started dinner.
    When Clara had first left New York to return home, she’d moved in with her mother on a temporary basis, just until she found an apartment. The search had been more difficult than she’d anticipated. At first she’d resented her mother’s constant probing into her private life, both past and present, but gradually she’d come to realize that Jessie was simply being a little overprotective, and genuinely cared about her daughter.
    They’d managed to compromise. Clara was making an effort to be less secretive, and Jessie was striving to be less intrusive. There were still times when one or the other stepped over the mark, but things in the Quinn household were a lot less tense than they had been—to the point where Clara no longer scanned the
TO RENT
columns in the
Harbor Chronicle
or combed through the ads on craigslist.
    The moment she opened the front door, her mother yelled from the kitchen, “Wipe that dog’s feet before he comes in here!”
    Tatters uttered a low, threatening growl, and Clara quickly laid a hand on his neck. “Down, boy. Give me your paw.”
    Tatters lifted a front leg and Clara checked it out. The walk back had dislodged most of the sand, and she brushed off what was left. After a few grunts from the dog, and a soft warning from her, his paws were clean enough to satisfy Jessie.
    Clara walked into the kitchen with Tatters at her heels. Her mother stood at the stove with a stir-fry sizzling in front of her. The smell of ginger and peppers reminded Clara she was hungry. “Need any help?”
    Jessie glanced over her shoulder. “You can set the table for me, if you like.”
    “Sure.” Clara walked over to the counter and opened a cabinet door. “Before I forget, I won’t be here for dinner tomorrow night.”
    “Going out with Rick?”
    “Uh-huh. He’s taking me to the rodeo.”
    “Oh, I heard about it on the news. They had to renovate the fairgrounds for it. I hope they get their money back.” Jessie turned, a spatula gripped in her hand. “I didn’t know you liked the rodeo.”
    “I don’t.” Clara took down a couple of dinner plates. “At least, I’ve never been to one. I know they have them occasionally in Maine, but I always thought it was more a Western thing. I like horses, though, so it should be okay.”
    “And Rick will be there,” Jessie said slyly.
    Clara was about to answer when a flash of light almost blinded her. Blinking, she found herself sitting on a hard bench, the sun full in her eyes.
Not again
, she thought, as she lifted a hand to shade her face from the glare. Two visions in one day was a little much.
    In front of her she saw a huge arena, covered in sawdust. The seats were empty, the stands quiet. She was completely alone.
    No, not quite. A movement to her right, high up in the stands, caught her eye. It was a figure in a black striped jacket and black and white checkered pants. He turned to look at her. Huge red circles surrounded his eyes, and a big red nose gleamed in the sunlight. He lifted a hand to wave at her, then, to her dismay, he slowly toppled forward and started bouncing headfirst down the stands.
    An almighty crash made her jump. Her mother’s voice, high-pitched with alarm, demanded, “Clara? What the devil is the matter with you?”
    Clara blinked again as the sunlight faded. She was back in the kitchen, pieces of a broken dinner plate lying at her feet and her mother’s horrified gaze on her