Drawing Blood (18 page)

Over dinner, they avoided the subject entirely. Holly enjoyed their conversation. Stryker was a very interesting man. They didn’t have the same opinions on every subject, but he was pretty good at defending his beliefs when she challenged him. Their conversation was lively and filled with laughter.

Avery showed up just as they were finishing dessert.

She said, “Ah, I thought I smelled chocolate.”

Holly offered her a brownie and Avery followed her to the brownie pan on the counter.

In a low voice so Stryker couldn’t overhear, Avery said, “If I’m interrupting, I’ll take off.”

Holly shook her head adamantly. “No, please stay. I’d rather you stayed.”

Looking a little disappointed, Avery nodded. “Okay, but when you want me to leave just give me the signal.”

“And that signal is?”

“You could always pick your teeth or your nose.”

Holly laughed quietly and whispered, “If I did that, he’d race you for the door.”

Avery took a bite of brownie and with her mouth full, she said, “Not a chance.” She moved to the kitchen table and took an unoccupied seat. She smiled at Stryker, completely at ease.

Stryker proceeded to tell Avery about Holly’s new drawing and their visit to
Lydia
’s.

“I’ve met her I think. The name is familiar.” Avery thought for a moment and said, “It’ll come to me. You say she’s psychic?”

Stryker nodded, meeting her eyes steadily. “I’ve known
Lydia
for years. Trust me, she has a gift.”

Avery raised her eyebrows. “I don’t doubt it. I could hardly be Holly’s friend and not believe that such things are possible. In fact, I’d say I doubt the supernatural less than she does and I have no gift other than mother’s intuition.”

He shook his head adamantly. “Don’t underestimate your intuition under any circumstances.”

Avery narrowed her eyes and gave him an assessing look. “I never underestimate my gut. Do I, Holly?”

“That’s true, Stryker. If anything, Avery’s been the one person in my life who has helped me to embrace what I can do.”

He smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. Have you ever thought that Holly might have even more abilities than she’s shown thus far?”

“I’ve considered it.” Avery turned to her friend. “Well, I have, Hol. You just never seemed to want to hear. Your family hasn’t exactly been supportive of that side of you.”

Holly was reluctant to admit it, but she knew Avery was right.

“I’m convinced you’ve barely tapped the surface of your abilities. I’m glad I can help you in that area as well,” Stryker said.

Struck speechless Avery swung her head around and focused on her friend. Holly shrugged. Avery nodded and smiled reassuringly. “Has Holly told you about her recent visit to a psychic named Margaret Wickham?”

Chapter 13

As Avery told Stryker about Holly’s experience, Holly moved to her desk and pulled out the notes they’d made together in an attempt to remember exactly what Margaret had said.

When Avery stopped talking, Holly said, “We’ve written it down so I wouldn’t forget. She took my ring.” She lifted her left hand and wiggled her pinky finger and the garnet circlet at him.

He said, “Psychometry.”

Holly and Avery exchanged questioning looks. Stryker caught them and explained.

“If Margaret Wickham took your ring and gave you a reading based on what she felt when she touched it, then she is a psychometrist. A good one can tell you a great deal about the history and associations of an object that way.”

“Okay…” Holly was unsure.

Avery frowned and demanded that he tell them more.

He obliged. “Everything is alive, but exists over a vast range of frequencies. Obviously, the life frequency of a rock is infinitely slower than that of a dog. It’s evident even within the animal kingdom. The life frequencies of a sloth or a humming-bird are near the two extreme ends of the animal spectrum.” Both women nodded indicating they followed his train of thought so far. They waited for more clarification and he continued after taking a large bite of brownie. “An example, red and violet light are at opposite ends of the spectrum of visible light. Radio waves and X-rays are like light, but because they’re outside the frequency range of our eyes, we cannot see them.”

“Gotcha...I think.” Avery nodded carefully.

He smiled. “What we consider normal, human life-awareness is limited to the animal and plant spectrum of frequencies. Anything outside of that, we think of as being lifeless, but we’re wrong. Some people have an extended awareness.”

“You’re saying that Margaret Wickham is one of those people?” Holly asked.

He shrugged. “Could be. You are too of course, given your abilities.” He took her hand and looked at the garnet ring. “Your ring is alive on its gem and gold frequencies, which are both far slower than you are. But there are harmonic frequencies between the two.” He kept her hand.

Holly nodded. “Okay, I think I get it. It’s like striking a top C on a piano with the pedal down. The bottom C string hums as well. Actually all the intervening Cs and related notes respond too, but not as much.”

“Exactly,” Stryker said. Approval stoked the fire in his eyes when he looked at Holly and he stroked her hand. “If the ring has been on your finger for years, all the events on your non-physical levels will cause a harmonic response or vibration in the corresponding levels of the ring.”

Excitement sounded in Avery’s voice as she got it too. “The ring will ‘remember’ them. Like memories…sweet.”

Stryker smiled at her enthusiasm. “Yes. A sensitive psychometrist, handling the ring, will pick up these ‘memories’ by the same harmonic resonance.”

Holly said, “Then I guess you can’t read plastic because it is neither organic nor mineral.”

“You understand.” He sounded so proud of her she felt her skin heat up a notch.

Avery said, “Yeah, we’re with you now, but don’t expect us to explain it to anyone else. Let’s just say we get it and leave it at that.”

Holly nodded and smiled at her friend. As usual, Avery nailed it. She said, “Will this be on the test, Professor?”

“No, but it will be on the final exam,” Stryker teased.

Holly smiled and looked down at the notes she and Avery had made. She scanned the pages for a second or two. “Margaret mentioned my mother first. I guess that makes sense because it was her ring in the first place.” Stryker and Avery nodded agreement.

“What did she say about your mother?” he asked.

After a quick glance down at her notes, Holly said, “My mother knew happiness and tragedy and a love that was short lived but intense enough to last lifetimes.”

“Does that make sense to you?”

“Yes, I guess. She died so young. My father can never forget her. It stands to reason. They must have loved each other very much.”

Looking over Holly’s shoulder, Avery said, “She also said that Holly made the right move coming to Muskoka. There’s love here for her.” Proudly, she put an arm around Holly and squeezed. “The woman knows her stuff, eh?”

Stryker raised his eyebrows. “She does indeed. What else?”

“She saw secrets, old secrets, misunderstandings and violence,” Holly said. “She told me that I will be tested. Then she got very upset and yelled out words like, ‘hunger, madness and betrayal.’ After she said that, she snapped out of it and asked me to leave. She didn’t even want to get paid.”

“Sounds like quite the experience. That is not customary. Not a great way to initiate you into the world of psychometry,” he said.

Holly laughed. “You’re telling me.”

He took both her hands in his and stroked them with his thumbs. He looked directly into her eyes. “She could have been picking up parts of your mother’s life. You have to admit, Holly, your mother is a big mystery to you.”

“I’ve been telling her that for years,” Avery said as she leaned back in her chair and rested a slim arm on the back.

Holly nodded. “I guess I’ve been too scared to find out. My father has discouraged it all my life and I’ve respected his wishes. I didn’t want to cause him unnecessary pain.”

Stryker said, “She was your mother. You have every right to learn about her life. It’s your history.” He brought her hands to his mouth and kissed each palm, sending a tingle of electricity up her spine. “My brother and I know all about our family’s history. We’re proud of our lineage, our bloodline.”

“What if all I succeed in doing is hurt my father? What if there’s nothing to be proud of in my mother’s past?” Holly could hear her heart pounding in her head.

Avery said gently, “Wouldn’t you rather know? You’re not responsible for the acts of your parents. None of us are, thank God.”

Holly smiled at her friend. “You’re right of course. This is something I need to do. I’d like to know.” She slipped her hands out of his grasp and sat a little straighter. “Stryker, I think I might take you up on your offer after all. Will you help me?”

“Of course I will.”

Avery glanced at her watch and cried, “Ah! Look at the time.” She stood and moved to the door. “If I don’t get to Beth’s in the next five minutes, we won’t have orange juice for breakfast tomorrow.”

Holly pointed to her fridge. “I have a full jug of orange juice. You can have it.”

Avery shook her head and looked at Holly then Stryker and back again meaningfully. “That’s okay. I’ll make it. I drive fast, besides Beth’s been pressing me about the drawing of Irene O’Neill. I have some explaining to do.”

Holly explained to Stryker that they’d enlisted Beth’s help to identify Irene.

“Have you decided what you’re going to say to this Beth?” he asked.

Avery nodded. “For now I’m going to ask her to bear with me. I’ll tell her all I can when I get more information and that’s the truth. We will eventually tell Beth everything. She deserves to know.” She gave Stryker a steady look then smiled at her friend.

Before she left, Stryker said, “I enjoyed meeting your kids today. I hope I get to see them again sometime.”

Avery laughed. “Count on it.” She lifted a brow and said, “Maybe the two of you could do some babysitting for us. I don’t usually let my sitters have boys in, but for you I might make an exception.” She winked with exaggeration and slipped out. As the screen door slammed, they could hear her laughter.

Left alone with Stryker, Holly started to clear the table. He immediately stood up to help her. She smiled at him and they worked together silently. It felt right. Their movements were in sync. Amazed, she realized that to an outsider it might look like they were dancing. When she passed him something she didn’t have to check to make sure his hand was there. It just was. Holly could have worked with him with her eyes closed. He anticipated her every move. She looked up at him and wondered if he’d noticed how effortlessly they moved together. She didn’t have to wonder for long. The bemused look on his face told the story. He’d noticed.

When they finished straightening up, Stryker said, "It's been a long day. I should go now.”

Holly didn’t object. She simply nodded.

“Could you dig out those pictures of your mother at university? I think we should start there.”

She nodded, moved to a bookcase in the living room and pulled out a photo album. She cradled it in her arms as she returned to stand in front of him. “This was my mother’s. I’m ashamed to say that my father does not know I took this. I needed a part of her with me.”