"Please," the tearstricken woman on the TV begged. "I just want my daughter to come home. Whoever you are, we don't care what you've done. Just send my Corrie home!" The picture changed to the local newscaster who stared solemnly at the camera.

"That was Deborah Sheridan pleading for the safe return of her daughter Corinna who disappeared with her friends Jamie Teel and Gregory Fishman three months ago. The body of Gregory Fishman was discovered in Deer Creek last month and Jamie Teel was found just last week in Riverfront Park on the banks of the Kansas River."

"She's dead," Mary said to herself as she picked up some of Dean's toys. He did seem to delight in spreading them everywhere. He was focused on his Legos, building what looked like a car, albeit with square wheels he'd fashioned himself. She needed to get him some proper wheel Lego pieces.

"No!" Dean said.

"I have to tidy up, sweetheart," she said. "Daddy will be home soon."

But he wasn't looking at her, he was pointing at the TV. She frowned at him, puzzled. "What is it, Dean?"

"Michael says the lady is sleeping," Dean said. A shiver passed down Mary's spine. "But she's very cold."

"Did he say where she's sleeping?" Mary asked cautiously.

"Onna boat," Dean said, losing interest in the TV. His tongue poked out as he concentrated on his construction.

"On a boat, huh? Like a big boat, a ship?" she asked.

Dean laughed. "No, Mommy. A little boat. With sticks."

"Sticks?" Mary said, puzzled. She scanned a couple of books in the pile she'd made and flipped through one until she'd found what she wanted, the drawing of a rowboat. "Sticks like this?" she asked, showing him the picture.

"Boat!" Dean said. "Sticks." He poked the page with one finger.

"And did he say where the boat is?" Mary said, her voice trembling.

Dean turned his head and looked into the corner. "Hennypo."

That didn't mean anything to Mary. "I don't know where that is."

Dean rolled over onto his stomach. "Pie!"

Apparently that conversation was over, she thought. "You want pie? For dinner?" He looked delighted. "No, Dean, you can't have pie for dinner. But if you're good and eat all your vegetables, you can have some pie after dinner, OK?"

Dean's face twisted but he knew how the game worked by now. "OK, mommy."

But his declarations about Corinna Sheridan wouldn't leave her alone. Finally, after wrestling with her conscience, she called an old friend of the family.

"Hello, Mary," Missouri Mosely said as soon as she picked up the phone.

"Missouri," Mary said, her voice shaking. She'd avoided Missouri ever since she'd got married because she represented the supernatural world she wanted to leave behind. But it seemed that maybe that world wasn't done with her. "Missouri, would you know if my son was psychic?"

"No, child," Missouri said. "Not this one."

"What?"

"Dean's not psychic. He is a sensitive and he can probably converse with spirits but he's not like me."

"He said something really weird today," Mary told her. "Something about that missing girl."

"I don't know if I have the answers you're seeking," Missouri said gently.

"Damn," Mary said. "Maybe it's nothing. I'm sorry I troubled you."

"Wait," Missouri said sharply. "I didn't say it was nothing. Just that whatever took Corinna Sheridan was not human, and very powerful. It's able to hide itself from my sight. Tell me what he said."

"So he's got this imaginary friend called Michael," Mary said and the psychic inhaled loudly. "Do you know something about that?"

"I- No," Missouri said but her voice was quivering.

"Well, Dean said Corinna was in a rowboat on Hennypo. Does that mean anything to you?"

"Did he actually say rowboat?" Missouri asked.

"No, he said boat with sticks, I just assumed..."

"You're a Campbell, you know better than that. Could he mean Henry's pond?"

"Where's that?" Mary asked.

"It's a trout pond at Clinton Lake Park," Missouri told her. When Mary made a surprised sound she added, "I like to fish."

"You do?" Mary blinked at the incongruity of the image. "So the boat with sticks?"

"There's a pontoon, it's like a raft," Missouri said. "Logs roped together and extending into the water. You can sit on them to fish further out into the pond."

"Oh God," Mary said. "Are you saying she's out there?"

"It's possible," Missouri allowed. "Let me call this in. The local PD know me and know I'm not a crank. Let's keep you and Dean out of it."

"Really? Thank you, Missouri," Mary said gratefully.

"There's a price," she said.

"Anything."

"Bring Dean to see me. I need to know more about this imaginary friend of his."

"A psychic," Gina said, rolling her eyes.

"Yes," Mary said firmly. "She's an old friend of the family."

"So why do you need me to come with you?" Gina said, folding her arms and giving her a look.

"I don't, exactly," Mary admitted. Gina narrowed her eyes at her. "I thought Missouri might be able to put your mind at rest. About the baby."

Gina's mouth drooped. "If I want to know how my baby's doing I'll ask a doctor, not a fraudster!"

"Missouri's not a fraud," Mary said. "I swear."

Gina threw up her arms. "OK, fine! But we're going so she can see Dean. Don't you dare ask her about me." Mary smiled at her in gratitude and Gina narrowed her eyes at her. "Why are you nervous about seeing her, if she's such an old friend?"

Mary winced, Gina knew her too well. "I'm not nervous about seeing her. I'm nervous about what she'll see in Dean."

"Why?" Gina asked. "Dean's the sweetest, happiest, most well-adjusted kid I've ever met, and I'm including Tommy in that. If ever there was a child that you wouldn't worry about how they were gonna turn out, it's Dean."

Mary quirked her lips at Gina. "I know, it sounds stupid. But you know, I've never told you this but when I was pregnant with him, he used to talk to me."

"OK, now I know you've flipped your lid," Gina said. "How could a developing fetus talk to you?"

"OK, not talk but… communicate. I knew when he was comfortable, when he was unhappy. When I was hurting he would comfort me. In the last few days before I gave birth, he was excited. Didn't you feel that way with Thomas?"

"No," Gina said, looking slightly concerned.

"I'm not psychotic, Gina. There's something special about Dean. I can feel it."

"Well, if we're gonna go see this psychic, we better get going," Gina said. She followed Mary to her car, Tommy bouncing behind her. Dean had already scrambled into the backseat and was beating his hands against the dusty velour.

"Tommy, sit here!" he exclaimed. Tommy dutifully sat next to Dean and produced a dinosaur toy. "Cool!" Dean said. "What's his name?"

"Deano," Tommy said shyly.

Dean laughed, jumping up and down on the seat. "I'm a dinosaur too! Rawr!"

"Sit down, Dean," Mary said, chuckling. She pulled out of Gina's drive and headed for Missouri's house. Gina turned on the radio and fiddled with the dial. The Sex Pistols started blaring and Mary glared at her.

"Sorry," Gina said. She turned the dial again.

"...the body of Corinna Sheridan was discovered early yesterday at Henry's Pond in Clinton Lake State Park, bringing to a tragic close the hopes of her parents and the community. Police are not revealing any details of how any of the missing students died leading to speculation that they might have been the victim of a serial killer. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the FBI may be taking over the investigation, but the agency has so far declined to comment."

Gina met Mary's eyes. "So they did find her."

"Yes. Exactly where Dean said she would be."

Gina shivered and then kept turning the dial.

Carry on my wayward son,

There'll be peace when you are done,

Lay your weary head to rest,

Don't you cry no more.

"Don' cry no more!" Dean yelled from the back seat.

"Your son's a rock fan?"

Mary gave her a rueful look. "He gets his taste in music from John."

Missouri Moseley wasn't exactly what Gina was expecting. Admittedly, her image of psychics was based entirely on Solitaire from the James Bond movie, Live and Let Die. Missouri was a plump African American woman with a kind face and a taste in clothes not dissimilar to Gina's own, comfortable, practical clothing without a single rhinestone, mystical symbol or large hooped earring in sight.

Mary and Missouri had hugged tightly, a few tears appearing in Missouri's eyes although she was able to subtly wipe them away before Mary saw them. Gina narrowed her eyes at the woman. She seemed nice enough, but Gina was going to stick with her instincts.

"This is my friend, Gina and her boy Tommy," Mary said.

Gina shook Missouri's hand and a sad smile appeared on the psychic's face. "Nice to meet you, Gina." Tommy had taken one look at her and fled behind Gina's legs.

"I'm sorry," Gina apologized. "He's kinda shy."

"Don't worry about it," Missouri assured her. "Children can see all kinds of things adults can't. Auras, for example. Mine would look quite terrifying if you didn't know what it meant."

Gina bit her tongue. Auras indeed!

"You're a skeptic," Missouri added. Gina gave an uncomfortable shrug. "It's OK, skepticism is healthy."

"And this is Dean," Mary said, drawing her son forward. Missouri knelt down so that she could look him in the eye.

"Nice to meet you," Missouri said, holding out her hand. Dean grinned at her and took it, shaking it up and down vigorously.

"Whoo!" Missouri said. "Haven't you got a strong grip?"

"I'm nearly three," Dean said incongruously.

"Of course you are, I can see that," Missouri said. "Now, your Mom tells me you have a special friend. A magic friend that nobody else can see."

Dean shuffled away from her, his face falling. "No."

Missouri looked up at Mary. "He's been told not to talk about it." Mary's eyes widened in fear. Missouri returned her attention to Dean. "It's OK, Dean. You can tell me about it. I see things other people can't see too."

"Daddy sees him," Dean whispered.

"He does?" Missouri said. "OK. What can you tell me about him, Dean?"

"He's tall and his hair is yellow. He likes dinosaurs, like me." Dean's face had taken on a mulish pout. "And he knew where the pretty lady was sleeping."

"The pretty lady with the red hair?" Missouri prompted.

"Yeah. She was sleeping on a boat. Michael said that a bad man hurt her. But…" Dean looked puzzled. "He said it was OK. That she was happy now. But she should be sad. When I hurt, I'm sad."

Missouri stood up. "He's got a remarkably developed sense of empathy for his age. You're gonna have to make sure he grows a thick skin, Mary."

"So what killed those kids?"

"A demon," Missouri said. Mary blanched. "I'll make some calls. Demons are a big deal, we're gonna need the big guns." Gina's gaze flicked between her friend and the psychic. Now they were talking about demons? And even weirder, Mary didn't seem surprised.

"What about this imaginary friend?"

The psychic gave a sigh. "Is real. I don't know what it is, but Dean's image of him is too clear to be made up."

"And John can see him too?" Mary challenged.

Missouri's hand twitched, but Gina suspected Mary didn't notice. If this woman was for real, there was something she'd seen in Dean's mind she didn't want to share.

"This entity may be able to control perceptions of it," Missouri said. "John may not even realize nobody else can see him."

"But why is he only interacting with John and Dean?" Mary pressed. "What is it about them that makes it want to speak to them? Dean might have some of the gifts that have appeared in my family from time to time, but John's as apple pie ordinary as anyone you've ever met."

"I don't know," Missouri said. "I wish I could tell you more. I can say this, whatever it is, it doesn't mean any harm to John or Dean."

Mary relaxed. "You're saying it's harmless."

"No!," Missouri said sharply. "I'm saying it has no intention of hurting either of your boys. And it seems to be neutral towards you, I'd say you just don't interest it." Gina could see that this psychic had managed to calm Mary's fears. Perhaps that was worth something after all. Missouri turned to Gina and smiled at her, but again there was that tinge of sadness. "You're blooming, my dear. Everything will be well, I promise. Your daughter is thriving."

Gina's hand flew to her mouth. "My daughter?"

"Yes, dear," Missouri said.

"I hadn't told anyone," Gina said wonderingly. "Even Jerry doesn't know, because he said he wanted it to be a surprise. But I had to know. Because…"

"Because all the babies you've lost were girls. I know. But you mustn't worry. She's gonna be just fine."

Gina just stared at her and then burst into tears.