Shattered: A Psychic Visions Novel by Dale Mayer

many, I suspect he just thinks he has killer business instincts instead.”
    “Hmm.” Trevor turned to study the direction of the bedroom where Hannah lay. “We need to leave here soon. I was going to use Kali’s house but wonder now if that’s too close. As in maybe it’s a good time to go visit my brother in Maine,” he joked. “But it would be foolish to do that. We need to stay where we can keep an eye on the enemy.”
    “I think Kali’s house is a good plan,” Stefan said comfortably. “Besides, Grant’s office is ready to step in and help if need be.”
    “Are we heading into FBI jurisdiction at this point?”
    “We’ll have to wait for more information to come to light first.” He could feel the headache coming on. It promised to be a doozy. “You should know I saw a vision while speaking with Drew. It showed me an image of your teacher’s body.” Stefan paused. This is where it got dicey. “The message in that image clearly told me that your teacher had been murdered.”
    “What?” Trevor froze in front of him.
    In spite of himself, Stefan studied the energy as it flowed out and around Trevor. Confusion, shock. Disbelief. Anger. And maybe…a bit of knowledge.
    Interesting. He hadn’t killed the teacher but that didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of someone who might have. Or had a suspicion that he stomped down to never see the light of day again. Except secrets always came to the surface. And often at the worst possible time.
    “Tell me.”
    Trevor didn’t pretend to misunderstand.
    “There were seven of us originally but five by the end. We were all lost and alone and banded together to survive the school. We were in the alternate school, all dropouts. All needing education but shunning it. We were a mess. Most of us were in the foster care system. Most of us needing a good smacking to set us on our rights, but so many of us having already been given them – too hard, too often, and too many. That being the main reason we ended up on that path in the first place.”
    He reached up and ran a hand through his hair. “My father was abusive. I ran away several times until the state put me in foster care and that was almost worse as I could relax, but couldn’t rest. I was always looking for the next place to go. Another home to live in that was safer. I went through several. Ended up at this school and finally found a group of friends who were in the same position I was. Either foster care or desperately unhappy at home. It made no difference. We were discontents. Unable to adjust to the circumstances around us.” He stopped, his face showing the strain of accessing the memories.
    Stefan waited as Trevor marshaled his thoughts.
    “I turned around after Mr. Niggard’s death,” Trevor said in a stronger voice. “He was a good man. A great teacher. I really loved his classes. Had planned to go into chemistry after catching some of his passion.”
    “It was never solved?”
    “It was assumed accidental but couldn’t be proven as such and became one of a thousand cold cases. At the time, we discussed it being murder. But there was no proof. We kicked the idea around and blamed a dozen people but we never had any proof. We were just trying to be big shots.”
    “Suspicions?”
    “Oh many.” Trevor sighed. “If it was murder, most of us knew it would have to be one of us.”
    Stefan’s eyebrows shot up at that. “Now that you know it was murder, who would you say was the most likely to have done it?”
    “It could have been any of them.” He threw up his hands. “You have to remember that they – we – were all angry cocky young men.” He shook his head. “So many years where we planned horrible accidents for many people as a way to vent our anger. It was a game to us. It wasn’t just us but everyone at the time. Wish your enemy dead. It was part of what we did. Did any of them actually kill anyone, possibly, but I don’t think so.”
    He groaned. “I felt guilty as hell