To celebrate the upcoming release of my paranormal mystery novel, By Your Side, I’m sharing random excerpts of the story each week from now until July 22 when the book goes live.
Click here for more info on By Your Side and to pre-order the ebook for $2.99 from Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Nook, or Smashwords.
I hope you enjoy the following scenes from Chapter Three – Strange Happenings
Miranda excused herself and snatched her phone from the table. “Tammy, how are you? Long time, no hear from.” The two had been neighbors for a few years until Tammy moved to Lancaster.
“I’m doing all right. Is this a bad time?”
From the urgency in Tammy’s voice, Miranda sensed that this was more than a social call. “I have dinner guests here right now. Can I call you back later tonight?”
“Sure. I think I may have a case for you.”
“Really?” Miranda was intrigued. “Never thought I’d hear those words coming from you.”
“Same here, believe me, but I think we’ve exhausted all other options.”
“We?”
“Call me later and I’ll give you all the details.”
“Well, hold on. My entire team’s here stuffing their faces. They can entertain themselves for a little while if you want to give me the low down.”
“Are you sure? What I have to tell you is going to sound dramatic and probably a little crazy.”
Welcome to my life. “Try me.”
Tammy launched into the events at the hospital on the night that Matthew Meade had awoken from his coma and predicted the death of Lori Urban.
“I didn’t know what to think at the time, so I let it go. Then two days later, a known alcoholic, Arnold Weiss, was driving drunk when he ran a red light and hit a guy named Mike Leigh. Mike died on impact. Arnold lost control of his car, drove up onto a sidewalk and straight into a brick wall. Needless to say, he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Miranda said.
“It gets worse. In fact, it gets unbelievable. Mike Leigh had two daughters. One of them is an oncology nurse on my floor. Her sister works at the hospital next to us. The day after the incident, Matt became agitated and warned his nurses that both Arnold’s son and one of Mike’s daughters were in danger. He insisted that someone check on them right away. I wasn’t there at the time, but the nurses took it as a sign that he was declining, getting confused, losing his grip on reality. Matt is declining but patients with brain tumors don’t develop psychic abilities.”
“How long does he have?” Miranda asked. Another child with no chance, like those boys in the barn.
“He probably won’t make it to the end of the week. He’s going to hospice care in the next day or two.”
“That’s terrible. I don’t know how you do it, Tammy.” Watching children die.
“It’s worth it for the ones we save. Anyway, a week after Arnold’s funeral, his son hanged himself.”
“Charlie,” Miranda blurted. “No, one syllable like Chet… Chad? Is it Chad? Sorry, I had this name forming in my head.”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“Hold on.” Miranda started pacing in her kitchen. She massaged her forehead as fleeting images assaulted her mind. This wasn’t unusual. In past phone conversations, Miranda had gleaned information through sensations and images, some more intense than others.
“What about Mike Leigh’s daughters?” she asked.
“The one who took his death hardest was Lena. She’s a radiologist at the hospital. I got to know her through her sister, Jackie. In fact, Jackie’s staying with her for a while to help her through this. Lena seemed like she was coping at first until she had a breakdown after their dad’s funeral.”
An audience had gathered in the kitchen doorway in the form of Eddie and Amy. “Short hair, bleached.” Miranda turned away from them without breaking stride. “I see a woman in her early forties, average height, full figure. Does she drive a tan or gold SUV?”
“Yeah. Lena drives a tan Chevy Tahoe. Christ, between you and Matt, I’m getting even more freaked out. I don’t believe in clairvoyance, but this is remarkable.”
“Ever have a bad feeling about something or trust your instincts?” Miranda asked. “That’s a form of clairvoyance. Everyone has some measure of it.”
“I guess. I don’t know about the others, but Lena’s always been strong. Still, with everything that’s happened lately…”
“In other words, she’s on a suicide watch.”
“We didn’t want to say that, but yes. Matt warned Jackie that something was going to happen to Lena. Jackie said she didn’t believe him, but I think she was more rattled than she let on.”
“Has Matt been able to predict every death?”
“Only the suicides,” Tammy replied. “And only within a few hours before they happened, which makes me wonder if we would’ve had time to prevent anything even if we had believed him. Try getting the police to buy a suicide that’s about to happen somewhere in town. It isn’t like Matt provides addresses, just names, and by the time I look them up, it’s too late. I keep hoping to wake up one morning and laugh all of this off as a bad dream.”
“What do Matt’s parents think of all this?”
“They don’t know yet. I think he’s too scared to tell them, and we don’t know what to tell them. As you can imagine, his parents are dealing with enough right now. There’s no precedent for this. It’s devastating enough to know that your child has maybe a week to live.”
Miranda knew Tammy was no stranger to death, but the bizarre circumstances unfolding in Lancaster were enough to put even the most clinical minds on edge. She sensed that someone—or something—was at work in the town, and it wasn’t finished. Its motives were unclear, but its presence and energy were formidable. In her pacing, Miranda turned away from the kitchen doorway without looking up. She knew Eddie and Amy were still there. So why did her mind register two young girls in bell bottom pants?
She glanced back. Eddie and Amy were now bickering under their breath.
“Does Matt have siblings?” Miranda asked.
“No, he’s an only child.”
So who were those two girls I just saw? “Do you think his parents would let me meet him?”
“I can talk to them. I guess it’s about time I told them what’s happening.”
***
Three hours later, after her guests had departed, Miranda rinsed off the last plate and slipped it into the dishwasher. After pouring detergent into the dispenser, she closed the door and noticed a blurred reflection in the stainless-steel door. It moved from left to right before coming to a halt in her peripheral vision. It made no sound as it glided along the tiled floor, which became cold under Miranda’s bare feet.
She ignored the presence at first, continuing with her chores. She had learned years ago not to be frightened by the appearance of spectral visitors, nor would she drop everything to attend to them. Death should not give license to be discourteous. Miranda wanted to help them, of course, but she would not allow them to disrupt her life. She was a single parent with three children, a career, and a home to maintain. These were her priorities.
Still, the kids were away for now and if this gentle presence was the return of the little girls she’d seen earlier this evening, then Miranda was all too happy to give them her attention. She dried her hands with paper towel as she turned to address her guest. “Yes, what can I—”
It had been twelve years since she last saw the tall, gaunt man who stood before her. He’d appeared to her just after the birth of her twin boys. Before that, it had been the birth of her daughter. He hadn’t come to her wedding. Miranda’s mother had joked that he probably didn’t approve of Brian.
“Dad.”
“How’s my Miranda Panda?”
“You haven’t called me that since I was eight.”
Her father shrugged. “I miss my little girl.”
“I miss you, too.”
“I checked in on the grandkids. They’re safe with Brian. Despite his other shortcomings, he turned out to be a good dad.”
“Yes, he is.”
Her father looked just as he had in the months before his emphysema—healthy and robust. As always, he was clean-shaven and his light brown hair spiked as it had been since his days in the Marines.
“I’ve been having visions of Colin,” Miranda said.
“I know.”
“Is he okay?”
“He’d be better if you’d move on.”
“How can I? He took his own life, and I could have saved him if—”
“Depression took him. It wasn’t his fault.”
“Then why am I having—”
“Guilt is what you’re having. Needless guilt. Let go, Miranda. Give him peace.”
Tears welled up in her eyes as her father continued. “Now, as to why I’m here. You’re going to help those people that your friend called about, but you don’t realize how dangerous it is.”
“Dad, my ability is dangerous in and of itself. I never know who’s going to show up or when. The things I’ve seen… If I can’t help people, what’s the point of it all?”
“You can’t save the world, Miranda.”
“No, but I can damn well try.”
“At what cost?”
“We’ve both seen the cost of not trying.”
“You didn’t know the depth of your brother’s depression,” her father said. “No one in the family understood it.”
“You did. If you could come here tonight to warn me about going to Lancaster, you could have warned me about Colin.” Miranda turned away and reached for paper towel to dry her eyes. “I could have helped him.”
She glared at her father, but he was gone. “I could have saved him.”
Check back next week for another spooky sample from By Your Side!
