Page 40 of In Dangerous Water

“What did it say?”

“It said:You can’t hide forever. It was handwritten again.”

“Any artwork?” I asked, trying to stay calm.

“No.” He shook his head. “But this time the security cameras actually captured an image of the person.”

“Do they know who it is?” I asked.

“No positive ID was made.” Tim grimaced. “However, we know that they have dark hair, with long bangs. They’re tall. The person could be male or female.”

“Were they wearing a gray sweatshirt? The zip kind with the hood up?”

“Wait a minute.” He did a double take. “How did you know that?”

“Because I did a psychometry reading on the last letter—the one left on my car’s windshield. I picked up on an impressive amount of anger and hate directed toward me, and I also saw a person wearing gloves and a gray, hooded sweatshirt.”

“What do you mean, yousaw?” His voice went up.

“The simplest way to explain it to you, is that I can read objects by touch. The ability is most commonly known as psychometry, but technically it’s called clairtangency.”

“Clairtangency?” he repeated.

“It literally means psychic touch,” I said. “Often when I read an object the information that I receive is more than simple emotions. Sometimes it rolls into clairvoyance, and Isee.”

“You mean like visions?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “In this case I saw a picture of the person who left the letter. I did tell Austin to watch the security feed for someone in a gray hoodie.”

Tim scowled over that. “You told Austin.”

“Of course,” I said. “He is the lead detective on the local police force after all. The man is in love with my sister, and he’s open to the magick. I knew he wouldn’t be spooked by my psychic abilities, so I told him.”

“But you didn’t feel that you could share any of that information with me?”

I took a deep breath in order to stay calm. “I’ve been watching you for two years, Tim. Watching and waiting for you to ask me about magick.Mymagick, but you never did.”

“I talked to you about that entity I saw Arianna banish, in Ames Crossing,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but you only spoke about what youwitnessed. You never asked for any technical explanations, nor did you ask me any questions about witchcraft or my practice.”

“You’re right,” he said. “I never did.”

I blinked at how quickly he had admitted that.

“And the stunned look on your face, Cordelia, shows me how badly I have screwed things up with you.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Were you that afraid to tell me about your abilities?”

“Not afraid,” I said. “But I was nervous. I thought it might make you uncomfortable. So I tried to be—to act as mundane as possible whenever I was around you. I asked my sisters to do the same.”

His eyes narrowed. “Your sisters hid their magick too?”

“Yes.”

“This explains so much...” he trailed off. “I always felt like there was some running inside joke whenever I was with your family.”

“It wasn’t always easy for them to be discreet,” I told him. “Brynn believed that I should show you my magick. But to start small and see how you handled it. Skye, on the other hand, she always said I should go fullBell Book and Candleon you, and let the chips fall where they may.”

“Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak.” He smirked. “I remember that old movie. It’s a classic.”

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