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This didn’t offer Jason any peace of mind. “And what about the families of all those people? They’ll never know what really happened to their loved ones. We may never really know if that’s what happened to Jasmine.”
Cassie stopped short of telling him sometimes that’s just how it went. On the rare occasions Cassie had revealed the true extent of her abilities to people, she inevitably got dozens of questions about how it all worked and if she’d be able to communicate with someone’s grandmother or dead wife or lost child.
But life is messy. There are rarely any clear-cut answers, and even when Cassie could shed light on the mystery of what happens after a person dies, it inevitably led to more questions. People prefer to live in absolutes but wanting something didn’t require the universe to provide it.
Jason interrupted her thoughts. “I’m sorry. That’s a lot of pressure to put on you. I’m grateful for your help. I hope you know that.”
She laid a hand on his arm. “I do know that. And it is a lot of pressure, but I kind of signed up for that. I’ll do the best I can. I may not be able to give you all the answers, but I want to see this through to the end, too. Dr. Cohen is a mystery I’d like to solve, and with any luck, that’ll bring us some answers about Jasmine, too.”
Jason smiled. They remained lost in thought for the remainder of the ride. When they arrived at the hospital, he reached for her hand. She held onto his with a smile on her face. They still had plenty to talk about, but for now she could find comfort in the fact that he was by her side. And if the way he held onto her was any indication, he felt the same way.
As soon as they walked through the sliding doors to the waiting room, they both stopped and turned to each other.
“What now?” he asked.
“She either comes to us, or we try to find her.”
“Why would she come to us?”
Cassie led him over to a chair and sat down. “I don’t know for sure that she’s been seeking me out, but she’s waited for me to notice her both times I’ve seen her here. She’s not afraid of me. And maybe she doesn’t want me to stop whatever she’s doing, but she is trying to tell me something.”
“So, we wait.” He looked around the room like that was the last thing he wanted to do. “Or you figure out a way to locate her?”
That hadn’t occurred to Cassie. “I’ve never done that before.”
“Sabine Delacroix seems to think you’re capable of a lot more than you think you are.”
Cassie couldn’t deny that. The way she had opened Cassie’s world hadn’t rocked her to her core, but it had shifted the way she viewed her abilities and the spirit realm. She had seen through the veil. She could walk into a hospital without being overwhelmed. She had come face to face with a ghost more present and powerful than any she had seen before.
Who knew what else she could do?
Cassie closed her eyes, reaching out invisible tendrils of her own. It was easy to feel the spirits surrounding her in the waiting room. No matter where she went, she always felt watched. She had grown accustomed to it years ago.
But now she pushed her reach beyond the limit of her current position. She searched for that invisible line she’d felt the last time she saw the Ghost Doctor. But there was so much noise. The hospital was full of pain and death and sadness. The spirits were restless. They wanted answers. They wanted someone to see them for who they were now. One by one, they awakened to Cassie’s presence. She could help them. If only she would listen to what they had to say.
Cassie felt the pressure building. She had opened a two-way communication with an entire hospital worth of spirits. They grew louder, a cacophony of voices in her head. She couldn’t make out the words, but she knew what they wanted from her. And she couldn’t give it to them.
The line grew taut. It pulled against her, trying to wrench free of her grasp. The spirit on the other end didn’t need Cassie to interfere. It didn’t need her help. It was strong enough to do what needed to be done. Nothing would stop it.
Cassie’s eyes snapped open. “Fourth floor.” She turned to Jason. She couldn’t stop tears from forming in her eyes. “I don’t know for how long, but she’s there now.”
They moved to the elevators. Jason ran a finger down the directory until he hit the fourth floor. “Long-term care.”
“Someone else is going to die.” Cassie wiped the tears from her eyes. “I can’t explain—”
“You don’t need to.” Jason punched the button for the elevator. “I believe you.”
Those three simple words were all Cassie needed to hear. She had spent so long pushing people away because she thought they’d think she was crazy. Her parents, her sister, even Harris and David. She was always trying to explain her world to them in a way they could comprehend. In a way they could accept.
And here was Jason, following her on this bizarre journey, without question. She knew it wouldn’t be easy, but something slid into place during that elevator ride to the fourth floor. She felt relaxed and powerful and whole for the first time since she could remember.
And she’d fight with everything she had to never lose that feeling.
When the door slid open, Cassie was ready to face Dr. Cohen. She could feel the eyes of hundreds of spirits following her every movement, but she had closed the door against them, no longer allowing them to reach her. They had to stay at a distance. Most went about their business, not strong enough to push past her defenses. One tracked her as she moved closer.
When Cassie turned the corner and stopped an arm’s length away from Dr. Cohen, it was like seeing the woman for the first time. She looked the same—gray dress, pin curls, hypnotic eyes—but there was a humanity to her that hadn’t been there before. Even if she didn’t have all the answers, Cassie understood her better now.
Dr. Cohen turned away from Cassie, her skirts fluttering at the movement. She walked down the hallway with such grace and determination, appearing as though she were floating. Cassie chased after her.
