It's not that I didn't know he was there, I just chose to ignore him. A task that was getting increasingly more difficult.
I closed my eyes and continued walking as his horn honked again.
"Princess! Hey! Wait up!"
I had a few seconds at most before his light turned green. That wasn't enough time to get away
"Yo! Callaway! Elenora Callaway!" Daniel pulled to the side in his bright red convertible and drove slowly next to me. His car was about as ostentatious as he was. He had changed out of his barista uniform and was now wearing a bright red button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He honked his horn several more times. "Nora! Where are you going?"
"I'm looking for my sister. And would you keep your voice down? The whole town doesn't have to know I'm here," I said.
"On foot? No way! You know your sister isn't anywhere around here. We've already checked," he said.
"I can sense that much," I sighed and kept walking forward.
"Why didn't you wait for me? I just had to wait for Chief to give me the briefing. I could've given you a ride. Hell, I can still give you a ride! Get in! Where are you headed?"
I sensed he really wasn't going to be quiet anytime soon. This was probably the best way to shut him up. I stopped, and he stopped along with me. I opened the passenger door and let myself in, keeping my bag in my lap.
"Just head up the road a bit and make a left," I instructed.
His grin was too wide and irritatingly bright. It was just a ride for goodness sakes. "So...you're really a psychic huh? That's quite the occupation," Daniel said as he handled the turn. "Is your sister psychic too?"
"No, she's just a detective," I sighed and crossed my arms.
"Just?"
"Something like observation is fundamental. We were trained to see the connections around us since birth. Just because she doesn't have psychic powers doesn't make her an exception. Detective work is child's play."
"Well, I think being a detective is a bit more than that..." Daniel said offhandedly.
The buildings started to fade out as we headed further out of town. With so little traffic, Daniel afforded to take several extended glances my way.
"If you're trying to test me, my power doesn't work like that," I had to explain for about the millionth time. That was the first thing people always tried to do. Usually thinking something ridiculous.
"Really? How does it work then?" Daniel asked.
"Like I said, I sense connections. Your spirit automatically makes connections, weak and strong, to everything around you. Things, people, ideas, actions. I interpret them," I said.
"But you can't tell what I'm thinking?"
"Of course I can. I just really don't want to," I answered.
"Right, right," he said with a laugh. He looked away from me and towards the road. "Sure you can, princess." His smile was stupid and cocky.
"I don't need to prove anything to you," I said.
Without even reading my mind, I could tell he was thinking about me. The ever constant, ever slight pulse from his connection to me tugged at the corner of my mind. I closed my eyes and prayed that he would stop soon. Even without talking, he managed to be annoying.
"So, where are we going?" he asked. There weren't many options left heading this direction.
"It's complicated."
"Whoa! How old is this place?" Daniel asked as we walked onto the porch. The hardwood was dark and smooth. That was new. It was a nice touch. "Don't see many houses like this in town."
"One hundred and fifty give or take. It's been under renovation for a little over seventeen. years."
"Hmm," Daniel said. He looked around in admiration.
Before we even knocked, the large front door opened. Standing in the entryway was a large man. He was tall and broad with brawn. His long blond hair was pushed back and a rugged blond beard covered his face. His violet eyes were piercing as he looked over his company.
He suddenly lunged forward and squeezed me tightly in his arms. I smiled into the soft fabric of his green turtleneck.
"Welcome home, Nora. I missed you."
The connection to my dad was unbelievably strong. His psychic ability wasn't as powerful as mine, but I could read him really easily. He knew enough to form his thoughts in ways that it formed sentences in my mind. I almost felt guilty for leaving him so often. We were the last two psychics we knew after all.
"I had a feeling you'd be coming today."
I laughed. A little psychic humor there.
"But I have to wonder about your little tagalong..."
"So...is this your dad or..." Daniel said, struggling to assess the situation.
"Dad, this is Detective Prince. Daniel, this is Kyle Callaway, Emily's and my father."
"Hello, sir. It's nice to meet you," Daniel said with a charming smile and an outstretched hand.
My father glared at Daniel and then at me.
"I don't want to talk to any detectives, Elenora."
He turned back into the house and walked away, but he did keep the door open.
"Did...was it something I said?" Daniel asked, even more confused by my father's dismissive behavior.
"Come on," I said. I walked into the house.
"Dad, we're not here to interview you," I reassured him.
"Uh... I never agreed to..." Daniel started to say. I glared at him urging him to shut up. Luckily, for once, he did. I guess my father's intimidation still carried over.
"Then, you better not be..."
The next thoughts weren't exactly words. They were mostly a mixture of anger and wedding bells.
"Dad, no. That's disturbing," I said.
"I can't help but get the feeling I'm out of the loop here," Daniel said.
Dad came back into view with a dry erase board and a marker. He scrawled out in angry letters "Go away!" and directed the board straight into Daniel's face.
Daniel pursed his lips. "I'm getting there's a bit of aggression here..."
"Dad...Dad..." I got in between my father and Daniel. Damn male hormones and their insatiable need for dominance. "I'm here to get a reading on Emily. We're just trying to find her. That's all."
Dad was still pretty mad. There was also a tinge of dissappointment. Every time I came back, he always wished I would stay. But I couldn't.
He used the eraser end of his marker to wipe the slate clean. He wrote a new message on his board. "I don't know where she is."
"I know...just go back to whatever you were doing before," I said.
He reluctantly nodded. I nodded back and grabbed the idiot behind me.
"What's his problem?" Daniel asked, nodding his head back the direction my father went.
"He doesn't like detectives," I said as we headed up the stairs.
"That must be pretty tough considering Emily. But still, you'd think he'd at least say something instead of writing on a dry erase board."
"Of course he didn't say anything. He can't talk," I said.
"What, does he have a cold or something?" My dad looked far from sick.
"His vocal cords were crushed," I informed him.
"Ok, wow, now I feel like an asshole. What the hell happened?"
"Geez Daniel, do I have to spell it out for you?" I snapped. "He's a Callaway. What do you think happened?"
Too emotional. That was too emotional. I needed to reign myself in here. Four more steps 'til the top. That' small I needed to focus on.
"So, it has to do with that, huh?" he said seemingly unfazed. It was basically impossible not to know in this town after all, and he was trying to deal with the Chus. He didn't say anything more about the incident and looked around at the pictures on the walls. "And you can call me Danny, by the way."
"His windpipe and larynx were crushed in the struggle," I summed up indifferently, allowing Daniel to have a bit more of an explanation. "That's all. Most of the damage was surgically repaired, but his vocal cords were shattered. Trust me, you wouldn't want to hear him try to talk."
"Whoa, hey, is this your mom?" Daniel had stopped suddenly in the hallway in front of a picture frame.
"Yeah," I said defensively. I crossed my arms over my chest. I dared him to try to say one more thing about her.
"She's gorgeous! I mean, I've seen her picture from the case file, but it didn't give her justice. I can totally see where you get it from! Got your looks from your mom and your charming personality from your dad," Daniel concluded.
Man, he was odd. I mean, he knew what happened, right? He didn't even say anything about... You know what, I'm glad he didn't. Most people got it wrong anyway, so it would only make me pissed.
"Shut up," I said.
I headed further down the hall past my old room to my sister's. All of her old stuff was perfectly preserved for a moment just like this.
"What are you doing?" Daniel asked as I sat down in the middle of the floor.
"Shh," I ordered. "Get out of here. And close the door. I've got psychic stuff to do. You'll just throw everything off."
"Fine, princess," Daniel said, a little hurt and sarcastic. He looked around, trying to figure out what to do. "I guess I'll just...hang out with your dad."
"Your funeral," I said as I closed my eyes. "And stop calling me princess. This is only a work relationship."
I heard his feet as he walked away. Once he was far enough away, I closed my eyes and opened myself up to the connections.
Memories came pouring in. This room was the place where my sister spent the majority of her life. I remembered when we first moved in, my sister and I running around, imagining the possibilities in the peeling paint and missing floorboards. I remember exploring the forest outside with her, searching for fairy rings. Confiding in secrets that only sisters could understand in the small hours of the morning. I remember laughing together, crying together, fighting together, fighting each other, disagreeing, growing distant...
I opened my eyes. I could feel our connection. She was in danger.
I zipped over to my room. It acted for my base of operations when I was in town. I took all of the clothes out of my bag and dumped them on the floor. My closet was full of clothes I had collected from all over the world, but it was time to start another journey. I grabbed some basics and stuffed them into my bag.
I got up and headed down the stairs with my bag back over my shoulder.
"Danny!" I yelled as I headed down the stairs.
"Yo!" I heard him yell back.
He wasn't downstairs. I vaguely sensed the area for half a second to figure out where they were. I found them in the backyard painting the fence. Well, Danny was painting the fence. Dad was leaning back in his lawn chair and reading a book.
"We've got to go," I said.
"Well, that took a while," Danny said. He groaned he stood up. "What was going on up there? Get lost in your head or something?" Danny laughed at his own joke. My father gave him a disapproving glance from over his book.
"Emily's in trouble," I said.
"Thought so," Danny said. He put the paintbrush back in the paint bucket. He reached into his pocket and fished out his keys. He twirled them around in his fingers. "I'll drive."
We headed towards the little gate to get to the front until there was this sound. The kind of sound that would make the hair on your arms raise. It was like a mix between thunder, wind against a window pane, and a garbage disposal. Danny nearly jumped five inches in the air. He turned around towards the sound with his hand reaching for his concealed gun. I put my hand on his arm to stop him before he could do something stupid.
My dad was just trying to get his attention, and I suppose he succeeded. Succeeded in scaring the shit half out of him, too. I wish my dad wouldn't strain his throat like that. Dad reached and grabbed a water bottle. He threw it at Danny and nodded.
The detective caught it easily. "Thanks, pops!" Danny yelled, seemingly very thrilled by the water offering.
Whatever good favor Danny had gotten into with my father quickly disappated. Being Tom Sawyered into doing my father's bidding could only go so far.
"Bye, Dad," I called and waved to him. I couldn't have him getting rid of my partner just yet.
He waved back to me.
"Come back soon, Nora. I love you."
I nodded and just looked away. He understood anyway.
"Your dad's so cool! I didn't know your parents used to renovate old houses." Danny took several large gulps from his water bottle as we headed back to his car.
"Used to. He mostly just lives off the lottery and poker games. Renovating the house is more of a hobby now," I said.
"So, where are we headed now? Back to the precinct?" he asked as he opened the car door.
"No. We'll go to the last place my sister was when she was in town. I can follow her trail from there," I said confidently. I sat in the passenger seat and closed the door behind me. "Just follow my directions, and I can get us there."
Danny shook his head and turned his key in the transmission. "I really hope you're right about this."