The Cassidy Chronicles

"Is my mom boring you yet?"

"Nope. She's telling me all about you and I could never get bored hearing about the person I love." Ryan turned and kissed Cassidy on the forehead. He then turned back and looked at the pictures. The rest of the evening was taken up by looking through four thick albums of photos. He could write a biography on the Caldwell family now if he wanted. He had been told so much and he was happy. He looked down at his watch and saw that it was almost midnight.

"It's late."

Delilah looked at the clock on the wall and nodded. "Sorry I kept you. Are you alright driving home?"

"We'll be fine."

Cassidy and Ryan got up and walked to the front entranceway to get their coats. Delilah smiled at the couple, ecstatic that her daughter was finally happy and settled. Cassidy grabbed Ryan's coat and gasped. She closed her eyes as her fingers dug into the leather. She was having another vision and this time it was so vivid she leaned against the wall for balance. She hadn't had the vision in almost two weeks. Every since Stewart had died it hadn't happened. She had assumed that her original dream was an indication of how Stewart would try to kill Ryan or her, or both of them. Now she was having a similar dream. It was at the same cemetery. The ground was covered in white snow and the trees were a dark brown color. The tombstones were varying shades of gray. She stood on the pathway looking towards Ryan and an unknown person. She could hear whispering and then as she glanced down she saw a silver gun in her hand. She tried to stop the vision but it didn't work. The gun went off and Ryan slumped to the ground. That was it. She opened her eyes, tears streaming down her face.

"What is it?" Ryan was holding Cassidy tight, trying to calm her down. Delilah stepped back, unsure of what had happened but knew that it had to do with Ryan.

"The vision is back again. When I touched your jacket, I saw it again. That doesn't make sense. Stewart was going to shoot you. He's dead. Ever since he died, I haven't had any visions at all. I've touched lots of things in your apartment and just now the vision is back."

"Baby it's O.K. Tell me what you saw. Maybe its because you're tired."

"Same dream. Cemetery. I shoot you. Random person there as well. I can't be around you." Cassidy took three big steps back, knocking into her mother who stepped back into the living room.

"At least let me drive you home Cassidy. I told you I would keep you safe. I'm a police officer for goodness sake."

"No. You said originally than my dream was silly and that it was a danger for me being around you. Is that still the case? Should we just break up? I think that's for the best."

"Damn it Cassidy! Stop being so melodramatic. I'm driving you home and that's final. Get your jacket on. We're going." Ryan had enough of Cassidy's anxiety and waved bye to Delilah before pulling Cassidy out the door and towards his car. She didn't say a word until they were half way home.

"Why is my vision back Ryan? I mean I thought the whole getting involved in a murder was over. What does that mean?"

"I don't know Cassidy. You're the psychic. I can look up some stuff at work tomorrow to see if I can figure anything out. We're not breaking up. It's only a vision. Being away from you would be like dying. And don't you dare laugh at how romantic I'm sounding right now." Cassidy was about to make a comment but kept her mouth shut. "Fine. You driving me home?"

"Yeah and I'm staying over. You've been at my place enough this week. Time to switch."

The rest of the drive home was quiet. Ryan was worried about why Cassidy was still having a vision about someone killing him. He had no plans to go back to the police force and the cases he was working on were all easy cases and would be wrapped up in the next few weeks. He had already made plans to go away for Christmas but that was before he had met Cassidy. Either way he wasn't going to take on any new cases until January which meant once he tied up the cheating wife case and dealt with the accountant who was a pathological liar, he was free to spend all his time with Cassidy and more importantly stay away from guns, cemeteries, and dark strangers.

She unlocked her door and they both entered her townhouse. They walked up the stairs to her bedroom and after brushing their teeth and washing their face, they climbed into bed together. It was so natural and comfortable for both of them. They lay facing each other.

"You're not tired?" Ryan ran his index finger against her chin. She smiled.

"No. Are you?"

"I am always wide awake when I drive. I used to work nights when I was first a police officer and being half asleep while driving around town in a police car wasn't a good idea. I'll be wired for a bit until I calm down enough to fall asleep."

"Are you really thinking of getting married some day?"

Ryan lifted her chin with his finger so that he was looking right into her deep brown eyes.

"Yes Cassidy. I love you and want to marry you some day. I want to propose to you, tell you how much I love you, and give you an engagement ring that everyone will drool over. I want the perfect wedding for both of us and then spend our honeymoon somewhere romantic where we can begin our family of four." Ryan grinned a bit and winced as Cassidy playfully slapped his arm.

"I'd like that. I'm sorry I'm so erratic with my behavior. I've never had a vision of someone dying before. All my other visions were random and happy. I've seen what sex of baby my friends are having before they find out themselves. I've had a vision of someone getting their perfect dream job and saw my best friend graduating with her PhD. I lived a normal calm life before I met you. I'm going to blame you for the rest of my life you know."

"I know."

Cassidy closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. It was a comfortable position and soon Cassidy was fast asleep. Ryan played gently with her hair until the rhythmic movement soothed him to sleep as well.

Ryan didn't sleep very well at all. He dreamt of her vision repeatedly. Each time he had the dream it was a different person in the cemetery with them. Each time he would analyze his findings in his dream. He would be sitting at his desk and would research each person. Just as he thought he had it figured out the dream would begin again, this time with someone new. By the time the sun rose, he had seen Delilah, Benjamin, Sonya, Molly, and Stewart all as the other person. None of them made sense and when he opened his eyes, he felt his skin was cold and clammy. His boxers were soaked with sweat and there was drool all over his pillow. He woke up sore and not at all refreshed. He wanted to fall back asleep but was scared he would have a repeat of the dream. He lay in bed trying to figure out his best options. He decided to close his eyes and imagine proposing to Cassidy. It was a happy vision and cancelled out the fear that was overcoming his body.

Cassidy didn't sleep well either. She had the same vision repeatedly, with different people as the third person as well. She cried out, screamed, and thrashed around. At one point, she accidentally punched Ryan in the arm but when she woke up from the pain radiating from her hand, she saw that Ryan was absolutely still. She tried to fall back asleep but the dream would repeat itself. She was slowly going crazy and there was nothing she could do about it. She needed sleep but more important she needed to get the vision out of her head. When her digital clock read five fifteen she knew she needed to do something drastic Se got out of bed and got some medication from the bathroom. She read the bottle in the moonlight, trying to make sure she remembered the dose properly. It was the sleeping pills that her doctor had given her a few months ago. She hadn't been sleeping at all when she had finally cracked and the sleeping pills were the only thing that helped her sleep, although it gave her only about two to three hour of rest.

Right now, that was all she needed so she took the pills then crawled back into bed. It was cold in her house. It always was. She knew exactly why she had gotten such a good deal on the house. The electric grid wasn't set up to handle the load of new houses so the power went out on a regular basis. Her home backed onto a forest area that was rumored to be an old burial ground. The furnace didn't have enough power to heat the second floor, which meant that in the winter, the basement was boiling hot and her bedroom was freezing. She was happy that Ryan was warm and she cuddled up against him before trying to fall back asleep Ryan moaned a bit as Cassidy's ice cold feet were placed on his back. She was shivering and her teeth were chattering a bit. She finally relaxed and although she wasn't falling asleep, at least she wasn't going to be sore from shivering all night.

When the sun rose the two of them were cuddled up close, both of them tired but at least relaxed. Ryan woke up first. He saw Cassidy sleeping and just watched quietly until she opened her eyes.

"You know that I love sleeping next to you. You are so beautiful and peaceful when you sleep."

Cassidy smiled. "And what does that mean?"

"Nothing." Ryan was grinning and before he had a chance to react, she had pinned him to the bed and was tickling him.

"Am I not beautiful and peaceful when I'm awake?" Cassidy tickled his sides as he squirmed and bucked under her. He let her tickle her for a bit then flipped her over and started on her.

"You are beautiful no matter what." Ryan nuzzled her nose then grabbed her feet and tickled the bottom of her feet. She squealed and soon the two lovers were laughing and giggling. Finally, Cassidy rolled off the bed and stumbled into the bathroom. Ryan waited, stretched out on his back naked.

Cassidy came back and cuddled up close. "When do you need to leave for work?"

"I should be going now. I have to stop by the apartment to get clean clothes. I guess I should have known that we'd be sleeping here tonight."

Cassidy pouted a bit as Ryan got up and got dressed. She had already put on her pajamas and said goodbye to him at her front door. She watched from the window as he pulled out and drove off.

Cassidy was happy. She really was. Her mom liked him. He liked her mom. Molly was bugging her for details every chance she had. As Cassidy thought about Molly, she remembered that she needed to call her back. She had left an urgent message yesterday but Cassidy was so nervous about Ryan meeting her mom that she hadn't called her back. She grabbed some breakfast and then went up to her home office. She ate her toast while logging on to her computer. She had two emails and as she glanced at them, she saw that one was from Molly and one was from her mom. She clicked on the first one and read what it said. Cassidy,

Ryan is wonderful and I'm so sorry that I freaked you out by saying you'd be getting married soon. You shouldn't be so afraid of commitment. He loves you so much. I'm sorry you had that vision again. You know that I wish I could take that power away from you completely. Call me if you want. Mom

Cassidy reread the message over a few times. Her mom was annoying and arrogant and weird but she loved her daughter a lot. Cassidy was happy that she had a mother that was so concerned. She wondered what would have happened if Sonya had had children. She was so self absorbed she would have probably forgotten about them a long time ago. She then went to click on the email from Molly and read it quickly.

Cassidy – are you always out fucking Ryan that you can't return your phone messages! I have big news to share with you and a favor to ask, call me when you get this. Jeremy is gone to Toronto for the day and I'm lonely.

Cassidy noticed that the time stamp was yesterday. She decided to call her anyways. The phone rang three times and then Molly answered it.

"Hello?"

"It's me Cassidy."

"Don't you ever return your messages? Jeez! And I call you my best friend. Listen I have exciting news. I'm pregnant. Yep. I found out yesterday morning and called you right away to tell you. Of course you were probably out with your romantic police hunk of a boyfriend."

"You're pregnant! That's so exciting. If I were there, I'd hug you so tight. When are you due?"

"August eighteenth. We're thinking it happened the night when he came home from California. Anyway that my news."

"I am so happy for you Molly. I really am. I'm sorry I haven't been around lately. It's been a whirlwind of activity. First dealing with the creepy kidnapper guy and then dealing with Ryan. We went over to my mom's last night."

Molly sat up and listened carefully. She knew Delilah very well and either way this was going to be a good story.

"And?"

"She loves him and he loves her. At one point, I was being moody and pouting in my room. They chatted and did dishes together."

"That's great. So I have news about the Kennedy residence."

"The what?" Cassidy was trying to remember what she was talking about but somehow she couldn't remember. She had been forgetful lately and it was frustrating for her.

"The Kennedy residence. Remember the haunting you helped with. Well the family called and said that he hasn't been back. Their son is sleeping through the night and they aren't freaked out."

"Oh yeah. That good. Are you working on any more cases? I think I'm up to doing more things. I've actually been thinking of going back to teaching in September. Not sure I'd want to start in the middle of the year."

"No more cases for a while. Jeremy is working on a big research project with his graduate students now and is preparing for the fall semester exams. You could always help at the Police Department's Charity Ball. It's on the sixth. You will never guess whose organizing it?"

"No idea."

"Sonya Billings. Yeah she went on and on about how she was so traumatized but now she's planning this big fundraiser for the police department. It's going to be at the Sheraton in St. Catharine's. She has the large ballroom booked and it's going to be a big deal."

"Wow. That's weird. I guess she's repaying the police for doing such a good job of finding the arsonist." Cassidy's voice was thick with sarcasm but she was unsure of whether Molly was catching on.

"I guess so. Anyways I'll have to think about it. I am not working the coat check and there is no way I'm going anywhere near the centerpieces or anything else that breaks. I'm such a klutz I might kill someone."

"You are. Well if she's desperate for help, I'll call you. You better call me back earlier next time."

Cassidy hung up the phone and then decided to surf the internet for a while. She looked at house prices in her area but then decided to type in the name Stewart Jones to see what would come up. The first few listings were for an art place in Toronto. She scrolled down and saw there was a musician with that as a last name. She then went to the next page and saw the link to Stewart's death notice. She clicked on it but then looked away, unable to read it. She had seen him dead. She couldn't get the image out of her head and although she had pushed the memory to the back of her mind, this was bringing it back into the open. She finally decided to read it.

Jones, Stewart – Tragically on Sunday November 16 at the age of 60. Loving son of Josiah and Anna Jones. He will be missed by his past colleagues at the Fort Erie Police Department. He is remembered by his brother Andrew and his sister Sonya (Billings). Funeral arrangements will be confidential with a private burial at Greenwood Cemetery on Thompson Road. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Fort Erie Police Department would be appreciated.

Cassidy reread the notice three times in a row. Each time she gasped as she read Sonya's name and even more so when she saw that money was being donated to the Police Department in his name. Nothing made sense and she clicked on a few links to see if this was someone's sick idea of a joke. It wasn't. It linked straight back to the Fort Erie newspaper. She even clicked on a few other death notices and read them, making sure they sounded legitimate.

Cassidy was tapping her fingers on the desk as she looked up at her bulletin board. This was confusing and she decided talking aloud was best.

"O.K. so Stewart Jones was a bad cop who was eventually fired. He was at the banquet hall the morning it was set on fire but according to Ryan, he didn't start the fire. He was brought in for questioning and for some reason was left in prison for a week until they let him go. He decided it was my fault so kidnapped me and then brought Ryan into the situation. He would have killed Ryan and me if he hadn't had a heart attack.

"The heart attack. Do people normally die of heart attacks? The chief said he died on the operating table. Was that common? O.K. lets think. So, he's dead. The police assume he was the arsonist so everything is fine."

Cassidy paced her second floor. She went from her office to her bedroom to the guest bedroom and then back again. She continued.

"Sonya and Stewart are related. No one has mentioned that. Why would she be happy that Stewart was the arsonist? Was there a family argument? Maybe he hated her for being rich and wanted to get back at her. That would make sense. But why mention the police in the death notice? Didn't he hate the police? Didn't he hate Ryan? Maybe it was just Ryan he hated. Maybe he was still friends with the police chief."

Cassidy stopped moving. It did make sense. Of course it did. She ran to the phone and called her mother.

"Mom just listen to me. Did you read the death notice of Stewart Jones? You know the guy that kidnapped me."

"I read all the death notices. That how I found out that your Aunt Lin's best friend from high school had passed away. They had lost touch when she was twenty. It was tragic really. She died of breast cancer."

"Mother! Please listen to me. Stewart is Sonya Billings's brother. So, he set the banquet hall on fire. He set his sister's banquet hall on fire. That would make sense why she's doing a fundraiser for them, wouldn't it?"

"Yes of course. He probably did it because they were fighting or something. Ryan was saying that when he was a police officer he was always getting in trouble."

"Thanks Mom."

Cassidy hung up and was relieved. Now she could relax knowing that her dream was just that, a dream. It wasn't going to come true. No angry family member was out to get her or Ryan.

***

Sonya sat at her desk, furiously typing out the seating plan for the ball. It was two in the morning and she was frantically trying to get this done. She wanted everything to be perfect. So far things were falling into place. She had hated the fact that Cassidy had been asked to help but so far, there had been no response. She did not want Cassidy there at all. She was only trouble and the more she thought about what was going on, the more she blamed Cassidy.

Her brother was dead and blamed for the arson attack. She was getting a large settlement from the insurance company but George was still ignoring her. She had booked her breast augmentation for the second week of January but George had just asked her how much. Nothing she did was good enough. She hated her life and things were just getting worse. George was acting strange, like he had something important to tell her. She didn't care. She was going to put all her time and effort into the ball and then everyone would pay attention to her.

Sonya saw that a new email had arrived. She hadn't logged on so was a little startled until she saw that George hadn't logged off. She normally checked his work email so clicked on the message. Sonya gasped when she read the message.

The money is secure. We'll meet at the same place after the ball to transfer the rest of the money. Ms. Caldwell is no longer a concern for us and we will be canceling Mr. Gate's police badge shortly.