Lifting the Veil by Kate Allenton

to Sophie. “But if it makes you feel better, Sophie does work at the police department.”
    The woman’s gaze went back and forth between the two.
    “We believe she’s dead.” Sophie broke the news that no one else had bothered to tell her.
    The store owner’s mouth parted. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she covered her mouth with her
    hand. “I didn’t know.”
    “They didn’t tell you when they asked about the receipt?”
    “No.” A tear dripped down her cheek. “They didn’t.”
    “The only link between the two killings is this store and the dresses they were wearing. We’re just looking for any clue she may have left behind. Please help us.”
    The old woman nodded. “Wait here.”
    She disappeared into the back room, emerging a couple minutes later carrying a box in her arms. “I packed up all of her things after she missed a few of her appointments. Eventually her customers figured out she was gone.”
    “Did she have an appointment book?”
    “Not with her clients’ numbers in it. I wasn’t snooping, mind you; I was trying to cancel whatever appointments she had on the books.” She shrugged. “She kept a book. Good luck figuring out her
    system.”
    “Earlier, before you knew she was dead, you mentioned you thought she’d just skipped town
    because of her inheritance. Didn’t you think that was odd that she’d left everything behind?”
    “I didn’t know what to think.” The woman pointed to the box. “I saved everything for her, in case
    she came back. It’s all here in the box.”
    A smile formed on Sophie’s lips as she took the box out of the woman’s arms.
    “Thank you. We’re just going to look through her stuff for clues, and we’ll return the contents as soon as we’re done.”
    The storeowner nodded. “I’m only trusting you because I know you work with the cops. Have you
    used your gifts to help them on a lot of cases?”
    The question made Sophie pause. She’d never even considered doing it as a job. “This is the first.
    I’m just hoping I can help.”
    “Good luck.”
    Sophie followed Amber out of the store. She watched her best friend slide into the passenger seat
    while she popped the trunk and set the box inside. An uneasy feeling made the hair on her neck stand on end. She could feel eyes on her, watching her. She took a minute and scanned her surroundings,
    looking for the source of her unease. There were a few people on the street, none of them even paying attention to Sophie. She glanced behind her at the row of cars parked on the other side. They were all empty. She even glanced up to the tops of the buildings and scanned what she could see of the roofs.
    Not a soul in sight.
    She slammed the trunk, cautiously made her way around to the driver’s side, and slid behind the
    wheel.
    “I knew I should have been a detective. This is fun. Where to next?”
    The muscles in Sophie’s shoulders tensed. “I guess the parents’ house. We can do a stakeout.”
    Amber clapped her hands. “We need coffee and snacks and binoculars.”
    Sophie backed out of the spot and started down the street, checking out the alleyways as she
    drove.
    “What are you doing?” Amber asked because Sophie was going ten miles an hour and slowing
    down as she passed each alley.
    “I felt like I was being watched back at the shop.”
    “I’m sure it’s just the adrenaline from working on the case. It is kind of spooky if you think about it.
    A killer on the loose, taking out psychics and mediums.” Amber’s mouth parted. “Oh, Soph….you could be next.”
    “What?” Sophie asked. Amber was making no sense at all.
    “Think about it. You’re coming into your abilities; you’re seeing dead people, getting messages,
    hearing voices. What if this psycho targets you? Maybe we shouldn’t do this.”
    What if he did? Maybe she needed to get that gun a little quicker than she anticipated. What if this guy thought she was just like the others? Sophie swallowed around the lump in