case.”
“Yeah?” Judson looked intrigued.
“You’d be amazed how fast a guy can run when you tell him that you see ghosts. In fact, men I have known have fled, screaming, into the night.”
Judson’s teeth flashed briefly in a wicked smile. “Sounds interesting.”
“You think I’m joking, don’t you?”
“Sure, but I get your point. You’ve had a few problems with long-term relationships. Good to know I’m not the only one.”
There was no reason to tell him that she had not been joking, she decided.
“I think we can both blame our relationship problems on our talent,” she said instead.
Judson nodded. “With the exception of Sam, no one else in my family understands. My mother and my sister are convinced that I’ve got major commitment issues. Their theory is that I’m obsessed with hunting bad guys, that I’m somehow addicted to using my talent. They’re afraid, long-term, that will damage me psychically if not physically.”
“Well, you’re going to have to find a way to deal with it because you need to hunt,” Gwen said without stopping to think. “Your talent drives you to it, just as mine makes me see ghosts. It’s not like either of us can just stop perceiving what we perceive.”
“No,” he said. “It’s not like we have a choice.”
“I’m not sure we’d want the choice. As hard as it is sometimes, I can’t imagine that either of us would want to come upon a crime scene and not know that something bad had happened there. It would be like walking through a graveyard or across an old battleground and not sensing the dead and the dying under our feet. It would be . . . disrespectful, don’t you think?”
He was surprised. Then his eyes tightened at the corners in a thoughtful expression. “Yes, that’s exactly how it is for me.”
“What about your father? Does he understand?”
“Dad tells himself and everyone else who will listen that my problem is that I just haven’t found the right woman. But deep down he’s worried that I won’t get lucky the way he did with Mom and that it’s his fault.”
“Why?”
“He feels guilty because he’s pretty sure the problem is my talent,” Judson said. “He blames himself.”
“Because he thinks you acquired your talent from his side of the family?”
“Because he knows I got it from his side.” Judson’s mouth kicked up at the corner. “Hell, it’s the truth. He’s probably responsible for Sam’s and Emma’s psychic abilities, too. But it’s not his fault he got hit with a heavy dose of paranormal radiation forty years ago.”
“Is that what happened?” she asked.
“It’s a long story, but the bottom line is that Dad was caught in an explosion in an old mine back in his prospecting days. We have reason to believe that there was a lot of paranormal energy released in the blast. Sam and Emma and I are convinced that the ultra-light altered his DNA in a way that affected all three of his future offspring.”
“That’s an interesting theory,” she said. “I have no idea where my talent came from. I never knew my parents. They were killed shortly after I was born. The aunt who raised me swore it didn’t come from her side of the family. That would have been my father’s side. But, then, Aunt Beth had a few issues of her own.”
There was a long silence. Max rumbled on.
“How have you handled your relationship issues?” Judson asked after a while.
“Mostly I just avoid them.”
“The issues?”
“No, the relationships. It’s easier that way.” She stretched and settled deeper into the chair. “Well, now that we’ve established that neither of us is good long-term commitment material, maybe we should get back to our investigation. You said you didn’t think that Evelyn was a victim of some terrible fantasy game. What does that tell us?”
“That she was killed for a very pragmatic reason.” Judson got to his feet and went to the window. He stood looking out into the night. “You
“Yeah?” Judson looked intrigued.
“You’d be amazed how fast a guy can run when you tell him that you see ghosts. In fact, men I have known have fled, screaming, into the night.”
Judson’s teeth flashed briefly in a wicked smile. “Sounds interesting.”
“You think I’m joking, don’t you?”
“Sure, but I get your point. You’ve had a few problems with long-term relationships. Good to know I’m not the only one.”
There was no reason to tell him that she had not been joking, she decided.
“I think we can both blame our relationship problems on our talent,” she said instead.
Judson nodded. “With the exception of Sam, no one else in my family understands. My mother and my sister are convinced that I’ve got major commitment issues. Their theory is that I’m obsessed with hunting bad guys, that I’m somehow addicted to using my talent. They’re afraid, long-term, that will damage me psychically if not physically.”
“Well, you’re going to have to find a way to deal with it because you need to hunt,” Gwen said without stopping to think. “Your talent drives you to it, just as mine makes me see ghosts. It’s not like either of us can just stop perceiving what we perceive.”
“No,” he said. “It’s not like we have a choice.”
“I’m not sure we’d want the choice. As hard as it is sometimes, I can’t imagine that either of us would want to come upon a crime scene and not know that something bad had happened there. It would be like walking through a graveyard or across an old battleground and not sensing the dead and the dying under our feet. It would be . . . disrespectful, don’t you think?”
He was surprised. Then his eyes tightened at the corners in a thoughtful expression. “Yes, that’s exactly how it is for me.”
“What about your father? Does he understand?”
“Dad tells himself and everyone else who will listen that my problem is that I just haven’t found the right woman. But deep down he’s worried that I won’t get lucky the way he did with Mom and that it’s his fault.”
“Why?”
“He feels guilty because he’s pretty sure the problem is my talent,” Judson said. “He blames himself.”
“Because he thinks you acquired your talent from his side of the family?”
“Because he knows I got it from his side.” Judson’s mouth kicked up at the corner. “Hell, it’s the truth. He’s probably responsible for Sam’s and Emma’s psychic abilities, too. But it’s not his fault he got hit with a heavy dose of paranormal radiation forty years ago.”
“Is that what happened?” she asked.
“It’s a long story, but the bottom line is that Dad was caught in an explosion in an old mine back in his prospecting days. We have reason to believe that there was a lot of paranormal energy released in the blast. Sam and Emma and I are convinced that the ultra-light altered his DNA in a way that affected all three of his future offspring.”
“That’s an interesting theory,” she said. “I have no idea where my talent came from. I never knew my parents. They were killed shortly after I was born. The aunt who raised me swore it didn’t come from her side of the family. That would have been my father’s side. But, then, Aunt Beth had a few issues of her own.”
There was a long silence. Max rumbled on.
“How have you handled your relationship issues?” Judson asked after a while.
“Mostly I just avoid them.”
“The issues?”
“No, the relationships. It’s easier that way.” She stretched and settled deeper into the chair. “Well, now that we’ve established that neither of us is good long-term commitment material, maybe we should get back to our investigation. You said you didn’t think that Evelyn was a victim of some terrible fantasy game. What does that tell us?”
“That she was killed for a very pragmatic reason.” Judson got to his feet and went to the window. He stood looking out into the night. “You
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