“Come on, admit it…love this place…can’t be attacked by secret ninja
warriors.”
“…large Kung Pao chicken with crab rolls…”
“Damn deadlines…”
“…go out on Friday?”
Kelsey’s life was a sea of memories that circled the edge of my vision. Their
emotional strength created a dynamic tide that rose and fell in a mesmerizing cycle. Most were poignant reminders of a time when my heart was whole and tempted me to turn down paths best left untraveled. It was so tempting to stay in
the past where the pain of loss was nothing more than a horrific nightmare.
Something warm and solid squeezed my hands, a physical reminder I could
only ever be a visitor. Dropping my gaze to the floor, the neutral-colored tile replaced the dizzying scene and allowed me to reign my emotions back. I took a
deep breath and reinforced my mental walls. After another inhale, followed by a
slow exhale, I raised my head.
No longer a swirling mass, The memories were no longer a swirling mess.
Instead, they were calm, which gave me a chance to identify individual
moments. I began to pick through them, looking for Ellery. At first, I wasn’t sure
it would work. Then, something flickered into existence near in the bedroom’s doorway. Like a slowly developing photo, the image came together in stages.
A big body covered in jeans and T-shirt, dark hair took shape. The clothes matched what Ellery wore when he killed Kelsey, but the facial features and limbs were still blurry. It made me think it was same day. Now I needed to pin
down the time.
Focused on my task, I rose and pulled against the restraints on my hands. I
needed to be closer. The pressure on my hands disappeared and the image
shivered and thinned. I concentrated harder on the slowly disintegrating image.
“Hold up, Cyn.”
I jumped, completely forgetting about Kayden. “I’m going to lose him.” Heat
crowded at my back, then a weight settled on my shoulders and his fingers tightened. Ellery’s image snapped back online, growing sharper and sharper.
“Got him.”
The swirling remnants of the past faded into the background until Ellery
commandeered center stage. It took an effort of will to keep him in focus, as if
capturing smoke. He moved into the room, looked around, and brought a
container up to his mouth. As he drank, he meandered through the room, like a
guest instead of the psychotic home invader he was. Watching him was
disturbing on multiple levels.
Was that orange juice? What the hell?
That small distraction was all it took for my hold on the past to slip. Ellery’s
image stuttered and then disappeared under other memories. The undulating
tapestry shimmered as if brushed by a strong wind. When it resettled, Kelsey’s
figure rushed past and into the bathroom.
Stunned by the sudden switch, it took a few precious moments to realize my
scene change was involuntary. Which meant Kelsey’s emotions had outranked
Ellery’s. Not a surprise as psychopaths had the emotional range of a snake, cold,
deadly, and practical. Either I followed Kelsey, or I courted a raging headache by
