Wicked Tempest: A Kate Waters Mystery (Kate Waters Mysteries Book 2) Read Online Free
Author: Erin Cole
get away from something.” Thea glanced down the hall. “Something was after her.”
“Something? You mean someone.”
Thea shook her head. “No. Something.”
Kate studied Thea, not liking the graveness in her voice or the ambiguity that hinted of the supernatural. “I think your dream makes a great alibi.”
Thea scowled at her. “Don’t make this look like something it’s not. My reasons for disliking Brooke are irrelevant, but the dream is not. It came to me as a warning, and after everything you saw with your sister’s death, everything you experienced in that house out in the country, I’m surprised you’re not taking this more seriously.”
At one point last year, Kate had thought she had seen ghosts in the house where she and David had first lived, but after incorporating logic and reason back into her rationale, she realized it was all a result of her medical condition, narcolepsy, which commonly produced vivid hallucinations. That is all they were, she had convinced herself, despite Thea’s opinions and even those of David (little did she know he also believed in the supernatural, though thankfully not to the extremes Thea did).
“Oh, I am taking this seriously,” Kate said. “Just not the same way as you.”
“Good.” Thea stepped into the kitchen. “Because this was no accident.” She pointed at the refrigerator where shards of glass refracted off the canister lighting. “It looks like there was a struggle.”
Kate’s heart kicked against her ribs as she considered the possibility that they themselves might be in danger.
CHAPTER 2
Detective Wells turned down the volume on the police scanner so he could concentrate. A recent rain added sheen to the pavement, causing daylight to reflect a charged brightness across the windshield of his sedan. He took the exit to St. Vincent’s Hospital where his daughter, Julie, had been admitted. Sexual assault. He was loaded with red, hot anger and clenched his fists around the steering wheel, vowing to catch the punk who had violated his daughter. He had worked sexual assault cases before, but it had never touched him personally. Now he understood the reddened madness he had always seen in the parent’s eyes…grasped exactly what was building behind them.
To add more fuel to the fire, Shelia, his ex-wife, would be there. He hadn’t seen her in months, not since she had served him divorce papers. Though they had remained friendly toward one another, the pain of jealousy still stung whenever he saw her. She had left him for his accountant, Pete Sullivan.
Still, he knew he shouldn’t blame Shelia for leaving him. He had neglected their relationship in his relentless search for his brother’s murder, a case still unsolved after eleven years. He had shuffled the file into the unsolved cases cabinet two years ago. One day, when he had the strength, he would return to it. The case had cost him everything, and Shelia deserved more attention than he could give her. But seeing her again brought too many feelings to the surface, and his heart ached all over again.
The sun began to dip behind a wall of evergreens bordering the hospital and pushed tall shadows across the parking lot. Wells parked his patrol car in a spot reserved for official personnel. He entered through double doors that slid open and showed his badge to the girl at the front desk.
“I’m here to see Julie Wells.”
“She is in Room 411.”
“Thank you.”
Wells rounded the corner and pressed on down the hall, taking deep breaths. The bright lights intruded on his dark thoughts. Strong, vaporous clouds of alcohol and iodine permeated the air. He searched for Julie’s room number. His hands felt pasty and his pulse drummed faster with each step. So many different emotions tangled inside him, he didn’t know what he was going to say to Julie, if he could say anything at all. What mattered was that she was okay, and that’s where he tried to keep his focus.
He heard
“Something? You mean someone.”
Thea shook her head. “No. Something.”
Kate studied Thea, not liking the graveness in her voice or the ambiguity that hinted of the supernatural. “I think your dream makes a great alibi.”
Thea scowled at her. “Don’t make this look like something it’s not. My reasons for disliking Brooke are irrelevant, but the dream is not. It came to me as a warning, and after everything you saw with your sister’s death, everything you experienced in that house out in the country, I’m surprised you’re not taking this more seriously.”
At one point last year, Kate had thought she had seen ghosts in the house where she and David had first lived, but after incorporating logic and reason back into her rationale, she realized it was all a result of her medical condition, narcolepsy, which commonly produced vivid hallucinations. That is all they were, she had convinced herself, despite Thea’s opinions and even those of David (little did she know he also believed in the supernatural, though thankfully not to the extremes Thea did).
“Oh, I am taking this seriously,” Kate said. “Just not the same way as you.”
“Good.” Thea stepped into the kitchen. “Because this was no accident.” She pointed at the refrigerator where shards of glass refracted off the canister lighting. “It looks like there was a struggle.”
Kate’s heart kicked against her ribs as she considered the possibility that they themselves might be in danger.
CHAPTER 2
Detective Wells turned down the volume on the police scanner so he could concentrate. A recent rain added sheen to the pavement, causing daylight to reflect a charged brightness across the windshield of his sedan. He took the exit to St. Vincent’s Hospital where his daughter, Julie, had been admitted. Sexual assault. He was loaded with red, hot anger and clenched his fists around the steering wheel, vowing to catch the punk who had violated his daughter. He had worked sexual assault cases before, but it had never touched him personally. Now he understood the reddened madness he had always seen in the parent’s eyes…grasped exactly what was building behind them.
To add more fuel to the fire, Shelia, his ex-wife, would be there. He hadn’t seen her in months, not since she had served him divorce papers. Though they had remained friendly toward one another, the pain of jealousy still stung whenever he saw her. She had left him for his accountant, Pete Sullivan.
Still, he knew he shouldn’t blame Shelia for leaving him. He had neglected their relationship in his relentless search for his brother’s murder, a case still unsolved after eleven years. He had shuffled the file into the unsolved cases cabinet two years ago. One day, when he had the strength, he would return to it. The case had cost him everything, and Shelia deserved more attention than he could give her. But seeing her again brought too many feelings to the surface, and his heart ached all over again.
The sun began to dip behind a wall of evergreens bordering the hospital and pushed tall shadows across the parking lot. Wells parked his patrol car in a spot reserved for official personnel. He entered through double doors that slid open and showed his badge to the girl at the front desk.
“I’m here to see Julie Wells.”
“She is in Room 411.”
“Thank you.”
Wells rounded the corner and pressed on down the hall, taking deep breaths. The bright lights intruded on his dark thoughts. Strong, vaporous clouds of alcohol and iodine permeated the air. He searched for Julie’s room number. His hands felt pasty and his pulse drummed faster with each step. So many different emotions tangled inside him, he didn’t know what he was going to say to Julie, if he could say anything at all. What mattered was that she was okay, and that’s where he tried to keep his focus.
He heard
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