Page 69 of A Seer and Present Danger

“Which is why I thought Gail fit the bill,” I said. “She wanted the business. She was angry at Hugo and Kenny. But she really looked sideswiped by Kenny’s death.”

My phone beeped and I worked it out of my pocket.

“It’s Yancy,” I said. “He wants to meet me tomorrow at Boast of the Coast.”

I typed that I’d be there with coffee, then yawned.

“It’s getting pretty late,” Jules said. “And you’ve had a long day, Piper. Do you want to stay in the guest room?”

“No, I should head out. Thank you. Talking helped, even if we don’t have any answers yet.”

“Okay then.” Jules stood and so did Dusi.

They gave me a hug, and with a final wave, I wandered out of the cozy little cottage toward home.

CHAPTER 14

I swung through the coffee drive-thru and picked up a vanilla latte for Yancy, a raspberry mocha for me, and two black with cream and sugar for…I wanted to say Gabriel and Sage.

The morning’s bright blue skies promised fresh starts, exciting possibilities, and hope. Since we only had two more days to get everything sorted and ready to be given to families for the Boast of the Coast, we needed all the hope we could get.

Yancy stood in the middle of the community center parking lot, wearing a bright Hawaiian shirt and a rain jacket, a suitcase in his hand.

“Hi!” I said as I sauntered over to him. “More donations?” I pointed at the suitcase.

“This isn’t a donation. This is my suitcase. I’m leaving.”

“On a vacation?”

“No. If I’m going to die, I’m going to do it somewhere warm.”

I lifted his latte out of the carrier and gave it to him. “So, you still can’t see the future, huh?”

“Not even a peep. Piper, I don’t know how folks live like this. Never knowing what’s going to happen? I was up all night waiting for someone to break into my house and kill me. I just can’t do it anymore. I’m going to find myself a nice warm beach with soft sand and lay myself down to die. No more guessing. No more worry.”

Futures rose in quick flashes:

Yancy paranoid on a boat…

Yancy paranoid on a beach…

Yancy still here, in Ordinary, alive and well and not paranoid…

“I don’t think leaving town will settle this,” I said. “If you stay in Ordinary, I see you alive and well. Give me a little more time to figure out why our seer powers are on the fritz. Let me fix this for you.”

“How long, Piper? How long do I have to live like this?”

“A couple days? Until after the Boast of the Coast. Can you hold out just a little longer?”

“I don’t know.”

“We’re all in this together, right? You and me and Jean? The three seer Musketeers?”

“I just don’t like it. All this not knowing.”

“Then let me be your eyes. I’ll keep looking into your future. If I see anything happen, anything at all, I’ll let you know. And you can text me any time you’re feeling worried or frightened, day or night. I’ll tell you what I see.”

“You’d do that?”