Black-Eyed Moon (A Guinan Jones Paranormal Mystery #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

moving beside him as though in slow motion. We stepped around the crime scene tape and walked deeper into the woods. I was about to ask how deep we needed to go when Kate's body provided the answer. A twig snapped beneath my feet, and the woman from forensics looked up. I studied my surroundings to take my mind off the body. I'd assumed Kate was found at or near the spot where kids parked and made out. This area was less-trafficked. I guess that was the point.
    The woman nodded at my grandfather and stepped back. One of the sheriff's deputies watched me, clearly confused. My ears felt clogged, and sounds reached my brain from far away. Granddad squeezed my shoulder.
    "Ready?"
    I nodded, and he guided me forward. Kate lay on her back, her normally olive skin pallid and her eyes open. She wore dark-brown shorts and a white, sleeveless T-shirt. I focused on the position of her body. Something was off.
    "Anything you can tell us, hon."
    "Did they turn her over for me and open her eyes?" I said. After a scene had been processed, my grandfather usually had a prone body turned over.
    "She was found just like this," he said. "On her back, eyes open."
    In the dream, I think she died on her left side. I was less certain whether her eyes had been closed. Focusing on the discrepancy was giving me a headache. "What time do they think she was killed?"
    "Unofficially, between midnight and three," he said.
    Kate might have rolled over to attempt to escape. Or the killer might have done it after she died. Whatever the cause, her final thoughts might clear things up.
    "I'm ready."
    My grandfather removed his hand from my shoulder, and I stepped forward. I gazed down at Kate's face. I saw traces of the pretty girl I remembered. Her head lay in puddle of congealed blood, her dark hair sticky with it. Her lips, slightly parted, were smeared with the coral-pink lipstick she always wore. Her green eyes were opaque now. I almost expected them to focus on me. I shuddered and felt Granddad approach.
    "I'm all right," I said. I took a deep breath and moved closer until I was directly over her face.
    "What the hell is she doing?"
    I tuned out the noise, peered into Kate's eyes, and focused on the words forming in my head.
    No...no...he wouldn't do this. He loves me.
    I strained to see the thoughts that scrolled through Kate's dying brain. Her mother. Her father. Her brother. The woods. Eric. Tim.
    Wouldn't leave me alone.
    "Guinan!"
    I l ooked around, confused. I was on my knees and gasping.
    "What did you see ?" my grandfather said, lifting me off the ground.
    "I…"
    "Give her some air."
    "She's all right. Come on, sit down."
    "No, wait," I said. "I want to see more."
    Granddad eyed me skeptically. I'd never made this request before, but I had to know if she saw her killer, someone who wasn't Tim. This time my grandfather held on to me as I looked into Kate's dead eyes again. But there were no thoughts. Just a twinge on the back of my head.
    "She was hit on the back of the head?"
    Granddad nodded.
    I looked into his expectant face. " She was sad about what was happening. She thought about her family..." I trailed off and leaned closer. "She was thinking about Eric Rodman and Tim, and I saw the words 'Wouldn't leave me alone.'"
    He went pale, swallowed, and glanced at the people nearby. I imitated him. The forensics woman watched me curiously, and the sheriff's deputy standing near the tape facing the crowd craned his neck to stare at me.
    "Are you sure?"
    I took a deep breath. "I'm positive." Then I told him I'd dreamed of Kate being killed, but in the dream, she'd been hit on the side of the head, not the back. When he didn't reply, I continued nervously. "But it's impossible, right? I dreamed of the future once, a long time ago."
    The expression on his face changed so rapidly, I thought he was having another heart attack. My skin felt like it was sizzling. "What?"
    Worry lines creased his forehead. "I need to tell you something about your