Page 144 of Trouble Comes in Threes

“Or she’s already dead.” Because I hadn’t done anything that could have saved her. I’d been looking for her in Fenton County, but she could be anywhere.

I’d just learned about my sister and possibly lost her at the same time.

“We don’t know for sure that the woman in your visions is your sister,” Neely Kate said. “This could be a total coincidence.”

Sorrow overcame me as I turned to her and asked in disbelief, “You don’t really believe that, do you?’

She made a face. “You truly believe you have a sister you never knew about?”

“You had a sister and a brother you didn’t know anything about until a few years ago,” I countered. “Why does this seem so far-fetched? How do you explain my visions?”

She sat back in her seat. “I don’t know.”

I didn’t know either, and that was the problem.

“Have a vision,” Neely Kate said, holding out her hand to me. “See if I ever meet her.”

“I may never meet her, even if she’s still alive,” I said through my tears.

“You won’t know unless you try. If you don’t see anything, it won’t mean she’s dead, and if you do see something…” She smiled at me.

Nodding, I reached over and took her hand, asking the universe if I would ever meet my sister.

The vision was hazy, but I could see my face lit up with joy. “I found her, Neely Kate! I found her!”

Then I was back on the front porch, blurting out, “I found her” before I broke down into tears.

I had a sister, and she hadn’t been killed. I had to trust that meant something had changed, and someday I would meet her.

Uncle Albert and Witt kept the kids busy until lunch. They poured into the kitchen, filthy and happy. Even Ashley was having fun, and I was grateful she wasn’t stewing over missing school and falling behind on her assignments. I assured her that I’d contacted the principal about her absence. He’d told me that Mrs. Pritchard was on leave until further notice, and the substitute would send Monday’s assignments in an email later that day.

The kids had lunch, and we convinced the younger ones to take a short rest. Neely Kate was upstairs taking a nap, and Witt was doing who knew what with Uncle Albert outside. I felt like Ashley needed a little alone time with me and asked if she’d like to make bread with me in the kitchen, to which she eagerly agreed.

“Where did you learn to make bread, Aunt Rose?” Ashley asked as we added the ingredients together.

“Aunt Bessie taught me.”

“Did she teach Momma too?”

“She did, but your momma wasn’t terribly interested in baking bread. She much preferred making sweet things, like cookies and cake.”

Ashley grew quiet as we took turns kneading the dough. Had I upset her by talking about Violet?

“Are you okay, Ash?” I finally asked as I stepped away from the dough to let her knead for a couple of minutes.

“Yeah.” But she kept her gaze on the task in front of her.

“I know you’re worried about missing school, but is there anything else you’re worried about?” I paused. “Like the reason we came to visit Aunt Bessie and Uncle Albert?”

She glanced up at me with wide eyes.

I gave her a warm smile. “You’re a smart girl. You would know this isn’t an ordinary situation.” When she didn’t respond, I asked, “Do you have any questions about what’s goin’ on?”

She shrugged, her gaze still on the dough. “I know that some men were murdered and that one of them worked for you and Mr. Bruce Wayne. Uncle Joe thinks they might break into our house since they broke into your office, so that’s why we’re here.”

She understood more than I’d expected, but again, she was an observant girl, and we hadn’t been careful about some of it. “Yes. Uncle Joe thinks the bad men were lookin’ for something, and for some reason, they think Neely Kate and I might have it. So Joe and Uncle Jed thought it would be better for us to stay at Aunt Bessie’s until they catch the bad guys.”

“Have they caught them yet?”

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