The Dregs of Murder

This is book three of a three book series. While I endeavored to make it possible to enjoy each book on its own merits, I believe the books will be most enjoyed by reading them in the following order.

"I don't want you to go," Hunter said softly as I wriggled slowly to snuggle more comfortably into his side.

"I have to," I murmured in reply.

"I know... but that doesn't mean I want you to."

I smiled as I nodded slowly. "I know... and I feel the same way, but it has to be done."

"I know."

I rose from his chest and stretched for a kiss. Aunt Victoria and I would be leaving in less than an hour for Vermont. She was picking me up here, in Hunter's new, larger apartment... what would become our apartment when I returned. I'd helped him move out of his previous apartment less than a week ago, and it showed, but the important stuff, like the furniture, was set up and useable. My clothes were already here. I'd moved them last night because I knew I wasn't going back to the small, dilapidated trailer that had been my home for the past seven years.

After I left with Aunt Vicki, Hunter, Keiko and one of Hunter's cop friends were moving my belongings into Hunter's apartment, Keiko was going to have the trailer cleaned, and then she was putting it on the market. I'd already filled out the necessary paperwork. Ideally, it'd sell before I got back, but if not... oh well. I was moving into our new apartment in any case, and the trailer could sit empty until it sold.

My life had been awhirl for almost a year. Nearly eleven months ago, my mother had been senselessly killed. If that hadn't been a traumatic enough event, her death had revealed a family secret... the hidden world of the gifted. Hundreds of years ago, nogs, slang by the gifted for non-gifted people, had called people like me, and my Aunts Victoria and Elizabeth, witches. We had... abilities... that couldn't be easily explained by science.

Aunt Victoria could move objects without touching them, and Aunt Elizabeth could sense, and control, other people's emotions. Having a gift was recessive, and not everyone, even in the same family, would necessarily be gifted. Though Vicki and Liz had a gift, their sister, my mother, Catherin, did not... but I did... or more accurately, I probably did. The jury was still out on that... and that was why I was traveling with Aunt Vicki to Vermont. In Vermont, someone whose gift was the ability to draw out and help control another person's gift would test me. If it was determined that I did in fact possess a gift, then I'd be trained in how to control it.

According to my aunts, the evaluation and testing normally began at a much younger age. I was twenty when my gift first revealed its presence, where with most, the gift, if a person had one, normally began to manifest in their early teens. The gift would slowly grow in power over the next six or eight years, reaching its full potential sometime after puberty.

Apparently, I didn't have the luxury of slowly learning to use my gift. I could see, and to some minor degree, interact with the past. I might also be able to see the future, but that ability was unproven as I didn't know if I'd seen Mom's death before it happened, after it happened, or as it happened. According to my aunts, my gift was extremely rare, and I showed potential to be the most powerful gifted in hundreds of years.

My gift had arrived like a thunderclap one morning and had made me violently ill, so ill that I'd barely had time to pull over and get out of my truck before throwing up. I'd been able to use what I'd seen in my vision to convince the police that Mom's death was no accident, but I'd had no more visions for seven months. I'd almost decided the vision I'd had on the road was a fluke, or I'd imagined it all... until Ken had been accused of murder.

Once again, my gift had allowed me to discover the real killer and free Ken, but I had no control over the visions... when they occurred... what I could see... nothing. It had been incredibly frustrating knowing I had the ability to save Ken but not knowing how to use that ability and having to depend on luck. That series of visions had sealed my fate. Now, five weeks after returning from Gardner as a minor hero, I was leaving for Vermont.

"You okay?" Hunter murmured.

His words pulled me from my memories. "Yes... why?"

"You're awfully quiet."

"Thinking."

"About me?" he asked, his tone teasing.

I smiled. "Some. Thinking about you, Mom, Ken, the trip..." I paused a moment, but when he didn't say anything, I continued. "A lot has happened in the last year. I'm ready for my life to settle down."

I felt him nod slowly. "Isn't that the truth." We were quiet for a moment. "You don't have to go if you don't want to."

I sighed. "I know."

"But you promised."

"That's part of it... most of it... but I also want to see what my aunts believe so strongly."

After I'd tricked Larson Figgette into admitting his guilt in killing Mom, Hunter had questioned me. I'd admitted then that I'd had a vision, but he hadn't believed me. Later, my aunts had warned me against revealing my gift.

Secrecy was a cornerstone of the gifted community, and because I didn't want to be poked and prodded by scientists somewhere, I'd kept my secret close. Other than my aunts, only three people knew of my gift, Keiko, Ken, and Hunter. Keiko said she believed me, and probably did, but Ken and Hunter most assuredly did not. After being warned of secrecy, I hadn't spoken to anyone other than my aunts about my abilities.

So far as I knew, Hunter had forgotten I'd mentioned having a vision, and I'd told him my trip to Vermont was to be introduced to a religion that my aunts belonged to. He wasn't happy about it, and I think he still worried I was going to be brainwashed into a cult, but he seemed to have accepted my explanation.

The problem was, the closer my trip got, the less I wanted to go. Not because I didn't want to learn to use my gift, but because I didn't want to leave Hunter for the weeks or months I'd be gone. Worse, because of 'rules,' I wouldn't even be able to call him for days at a time. That was the worst part of the trip. I smiled to myself. That, and not being in his arms as I was now. I was becoming very cozy with Detective Hunter Avery, and I didn't relish the idea of not being able to see him.

I twisted and looked at the bedside clock before I sighed. "I have to get ready."

He also sighed heavily before tipping my face up to his for a kiss. "I know."

After the kiss, I tumbled out of the bed with a groan and padded to the bathroom. I smiled. I was looking forward to living in a place that wasn't too hot or too cold, depending on the season. I had to shower quickly because I'd enjoyed Hunter's warm embrace for too long after the alarm woke us. He'd tried to seduce me, but I'd pushed him away... not because I didn't want to feel his touch, but because I knew if we started, I'd be late for sure.

Drying, I smelled coffee and smiled, knowing a big mug would be waiting for me in the kitchen. I quickly dressed, leaving my shoulder length auburn hair damp. That was a nice thing, maybe the only nice thing, about having straight hair... it was easy to keep. A quick brush after a towel dry and my hair was good to go.

I glanced at the microwave's clock as I entered the kitchen. 5:50. Aunt Vicki would be here in ten minutes or less. I ignored the coffee for the moment as I melted into Hunter's naked chest. He didn't disappoint and wrapped me in his arms. He held me like that until I squirmed. I hadn't found the limit to how long he'd hold me when I wanted a hug, and that pleased me enormously.

I stepped back, picked up my mug, and looked over the rim at him as I sipped. He was four or five inches taller than my own five-eight, and standing there wearing nothing but his stretchy boxers made me want to forget the trip and go back to bed with him.

"What?" he asked as I pulled the mug back from my smiling lips.

Before I could answer, we heard a brisk knock on the apartment door. I glanced at the clock again. "She's early," I said as Hunter set his mug down and hurried to the bedroom while I rounded the bar to answer the door.

"Morning," Vicki said.

"Morning," I repeated as I opened the door wider in silent invitation.

She entered and I shut the door behind her. I smiled as she glanced around the room, and I wondered if she was looking to see if any of my stuff was visible.

Because my gift seemed to be triggered by strong emotion, my aunts had asked me to avoid Hunter until I could learn control. I'd agreed to not move in with him, but I hadn't agreed to stop seeing him. That was asking too much.

"Ready?"

"Mostly," I said as I returned to the bar and my mug. "Want some coffee?"

"No thanks. It'll just make me have to stop."

Hunter appeared from the bedroom as I took another slow sip from the mug. He was dressed, except for his bare feet, but he was also clearly bed tossed. I hid my smile behind my cup as I remembered why he looked so well used. It was because last night he had been.

"Morning, Vicki," he said. "Ready for your trip?"

She smiled. She and Aunt Liz liked Hunter, despite suggesting that I not become involved with him. "Yeah. A long drive ahead of us, but we should be there before dark."

"Good thing you're not taking Cam's truck," he said with a grin.

"Hey!" I objected. "You had to apologize to it the last time you said something like that, remember?"

He grinned at my teasing. "You're right. I did. I'll apologize to it again on my way to work."

"That's better," I grumped, but nobody in the room thought I was actually mad. I took a final sip of coffee and placed the mug aside. "Let me go to the bathroom, get my suitcase, and we can go," I said.

"Take your time," Vicki said.

Hunter followed me into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. I quickly emptied my bladder and brushed my teeth. He was waiting for me as I exited the room. I oozed into his arms for a long, slow kiss that nearly made my toes tingle.

"That should hold me for a couple of days," I murmured as our lips slowly parted.

"Not me," he rumbled before lowering his lips to mine again.

Our second goodbye kiss was even better than the first. "Stop," I whispered, "before I change my mind about going."

"In that case," he murmured as he tried to pull me into another kiss.

Smiling, I placed my hand over his lips. "Save it for when I get back," I murmured.

He slowly let me go. "If you insist."

I took a leisurely step back as I slowly licked my lips, enjoying the lingering warmth of his kiss. "I do... for now. When I get back, you'll be able to kiss me all you want."

"I doubt it." He grinned as I looked at him. "I have to work sometime."

I snickered. "Stop. The keys to the truck and trailer are on the dresser," I said with a nod in their direction. "The truck is full of gas."

"Got it."

"You're sure you don't mind doing this while I'm gone? If you want to wait, I'll help you when I get back."

"Nope. I've already got help lined up. With my Cherokee, and your truck, since you're leaving your furniture, I figure two trips, max."

"Thank you for doing this for me."

"Hey, I told you before... I'm doing this for purely selfish reasons. Don't worry about it."

"What about Mike? What's he getting out of it?"

"Free pizza and beer."

I grinned. "Okay. I better go," I said as I pulled his lips to mine for one more quick kiss.

He picked up my suitcase as I stepped out of his embrace. I opened the bedroom door and he followed me out.

"Ready?" Vicki asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I said as I reached for the luggage.

"I've got it," he said, not offering me the case.

I shrugged and followed Vicki out of the apartment. Hunter's--our--apartment was on the top floor, and we trotted down the three flights of steps to Vicki's waiting Range Rover. I smiled as he tender-footed his way across the pebbled pavement before tossing my bag into the back with Aunt Vicki's. As the hatch closed, he pulled me in for another quick kiss.

"Be safe, and come back as quickly as you can," he whispered as our lips parted.

"I will."

"See you in, what, three or four weeks?"

"I don't know. I hope it's no more than that, but I'll let you know as soon as I can."

"And you can't tell me the address or a phone number of where you're staying?"

"No. I don't know it. Don't worry. I'll call you every chance I get."

He held my gaze as a small smile played over his lips. "You'd better. You wouldn't want me to get the wrong idea. Vermont isn't that big of a state."

I kissed him quickly before I backed away. He'd been teasing me that if I didn't come back, he was going to Vermont to get me. "Don't worry. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He opened the passenger door for me. "See you in a few weeks," he said as I climbed into the vehicle.

"Yes... you will."

He shut the door and I waved at him as Vicki started the vehicle. "Ready?" she asked.

"I guess," I sighed, not looking away from Hunter standing on the walk.

"Any visions?" she asked.

I looked at her, puzzled. "No... why?"

She smiled softly, clearly teasing me. "I'm surprised."

I grinned as I looked back to Hunter. "Oh... stop," I murmured as I waved to Hunter again.

He waved back, but it seemed slightly sad. I knew exactly how he felt.

The Range Rover belted East, it's V8 barely audible as we raced along Interstate 90, rounding the bottom of Lake Erie on our way to Cleveland. We'd stopped for breakfast in Detroit and would probably stop for lunch in Erie. We'd been on the road for only five hours, but I was already missing Hunter.

For years I'd complained bitterly about not being able to take a vacation, especially before I knew the truth and thought my aunts were taking a months long vacation every winter. I was trying to treat this trip as an all-expense paid vacation, but so much had changed in my life that simply having a vacation, any vacation, no longer appealed to me. I had Coffee w/ Cream to run, and Cathy's was almost ready to open, and I wanted to start planning the buildout and opening of ¡Picante!, but mostly, if I was going to take a vacation, I wanted Hunter with me.

"Now that I'm committed to this," I said to break the silence, "can't you tell me where we're going?"

"Great Champlain Island," Vicki replied instantly.

She glanced at me and smiled. Until this moment, I'd only known we were going to Vermont because she wouldn't tell me precisely where in Vermont we were going.

"Great Champaign Island? Do they make really good champaign there?" I asked.

"Not champaign... Champlain... like the lake. It's a little north of Burlington on the east side of Grand Island."

"And it's an actual island?"

Vicki nodded. "Yes. It's a couple of hundred acres or so and is owned by the gifted. It's completely off the grid and is only accessible by boat or air."

"It has an airport?" I asked, my surprise clear in my voice.

"Hardly. A grass landing strip. Most people use the compound's boat. That's what we'll be doing."

"And it doesn't have electricity, running water, none of that?" I asked.

"Nope," she said with another grin. "Remember what we told you about having no technology? When we're at the compound we live like people lived two or three hundred years ago."

"It sounds awful!" I was starting to regret this trip even more.

"A year ago you were complaining about never getting to go anywhere or do anything. Give it a chance. It's nice to get away from it all."

"Living in a cave wasn't what I had in mind," I muttered.

Vicki twittered out a laugh. "It's not like that. There's a huge old house we all share. It's great fun."

"But no water! No electricity!"

"People lived just fine before that. The house has several bathrooms, each with a hand pump, and a kitchen, also with a pump, and a coal burning stove. It's not as easy as turning a tap, but it's not as bad as you think."

"I don't have to use an outhouse, do I?"

"No. Each bathroom has a regular toilet. You pump the tank full, flush, and ta-da!"

"Okay," I muttered.

"Cam, you have to remember, some gifts are incompatible with modern life, and they need a place like this to stay. Jim, the caretaker, lives there full time because electricity is painful for him. Even using the boat, he makes sure he's well away because he can feel electricity flowing from the battery, and worse, the sparkplug on the motor. He said when the boat's running, if he's close, he feels like ants are crawling all over him."

"I guess."

"Like I said, give it a chance. We have a couple horses, and everyone pitches in to do the chores, which is a lot of fun." She smiled at me. "If it makes you feel better, with some things, we cheat."

"Cheat?"

"Yeah. Laundry for example. Twice a week, we gather everyone's laundry, drive into Burlington, and use a laundromat." Her smile spread. "Using a rubboard at the edge of the lake is crazy... especially in the winter."

I smiled, relieved they weren't fanatical about the no technology stuff. "Do you grow your own food?"

"We have a small garden because some people enjoy gardening, and who doesn't like fresh vegetables, but most of the food we buy, and whoever is on laundry duty that week picks up what we need while they're in town. Same with the coal. We heat with coal because nobody wants to chop wood." She shrugged. "Most people stay only a week or two. Others, like Liz and I stay longer to help run the place. A few, like poor Jim, rarely leave."

"Okay. Is the place in Arizona the same way?"

"New Mexico... and no."

"Why couldn't we have gone there, then?"

"Because Vermont is my home compound. It's where my friends come. It was the first in the country, and is much older than the one in New Mexico." She smiled at me again. "Think of it like a camping trip, but with a regular bed, a roof to keep you dry, and a stove to keep you warm. Because we own the entire island, nobody bothers us, and it's so incredibly peaceful."

"Sounds like you like it there."

"I do. It's nice to leave all the hustle and bustle behind for a while. No phones, no email, going to bed when it's dark, getting up when it's light. Everyone should do it now and then." She paused, but before I could speak, she continued. "Also, when I'm there, I can let my guard down and use my gift without worrying about being discovered or judged. That's a great feeling."

"What do you mean?"

"For example, moving the coal is my job when I'm there. We bring a load of bagged coal to the island on a barge tied behind the boat. I pick up the bags and load them onto a cart, then I move the cart to the house where someone cuts them open. I lift the bag and dump the coal into the bunker. It's easy for me, and a lot faster than someone having to manually move the bags and use the horses to haul the bags from the lake to the bunker." She smiled. "Everyone is so grateful because otherwise it's hard work."

"What do they do when you're not around?"

"They do it by hand... but the house doesn't use a lot of coal in the summer, and I make sure the bunker is full before I leave in the spring. I've also helped Jim repair the roof by lifting things up there for him... stuff like that." She smiled in a way that was difficult to read.

"What's with the smile?"