Jess contemplated going back inside and taking a seat. Her sister didn't seem concerned about getting arrested, and if she was right, she'd be walking free before the end of the day. It seemed more that the police wanted to show they were doing something. A big public arrest would do just that.

She wished Laura had been there with her knowledge of the law. It seemed wrong that her sister was being penalised for her background.

But there's also the antagonistic relationship between her and Pastor Jim, Jess thought. Clearly, it was more important than her sister had made out if the police were willing to arrest her over it.

'Jess? Is everything okay? I heard them say your name over the speaker?'

She turned to see Daryl rushing towards her wearing a tracksuit. There wasn't time to answer before he crushed her to his solid chest in a comforting hug.

To her surprise, Jess felt tears gather in the corner of her eyes. A feeling of loneliness washed through her so hard it left her reeling.

She'd never particularly felt alone. She was a person who enjoyed her own company, most often over the company of others. But seeing her sister being driven off had hit her harder than she expected.

When she'd left her family behind to go to university, she hadn't looked back. This was her dream. She was finally going to build the life that she had always wanted.

She was going to graduate, get a stable job, find a small house that she could make her own, and settle down with someone loyal that she could rely on. There would be no more RV parks. No more money obtained from shady places. And no more moving every couple of months when the good card games dried up.

The plan was set, and not once had she ever factored her sister into the equation.

And now she was crying in a car park because she was actually worried about her.

She clung to Daryl for a little longer than she would usually before pulling away and wiping the tears from her cheek.

'I'm okay,' she reassured him.

Daryl didn't look convinced. 'I saw the police leaving. Was this about the other name that was called out before yours?'

'My sister,' Jess explained.

'You never mentioned you had a sister.' Daryl frowned.

'I don't talk about her. We're not close.'

'So what's she doing here?'

'That's our fault. The police called her to pick me up.'

'Wait, your sister is the hippie woman who was hugging you yesterday?'

Jess snorted at the way he'd described her sister. 'That's her. She just got taken to the station for questioning.'

'Questioning?'

'About Charity going missing?'

Confusion crossed Daryl's face. 'What do you mean Charity is missing? Like Charity from your house, Charity?'

'Haven't the police contacted you? I had to give them everyone's number from the party in case someone saw her.'

'I've been on a digital detox since yesterday to get ready for the meet,' said Daryl, putting his hand into his pocket before grimacing as he realised he'd left his phone in his locker.

'Apparently, Charity was coming to the party at your frat house.'

'Do you know why?' Daryl's gaze refocused on her.

Jess sighed. 'I don't know. I never saw her at the party. Did you?'

But Daryl shook his head. 'I didn't see her, but I had to pop out to get more booze after someone busted up the keg. And I was pretty out of it for the rest of the night. So when was the last time anyone saw her?' he asked.

'I saw her yesterday morning. The last person that saw her apparently.'

'You saw her yesterday morning?'

Jess looked up. There was a weird waver to his voice that she didn't understand, but he looked much the same as normal.

'I saw her on her bed when I went to get a glass of milk. Why?'

'It's just, don't you have class with her on Friday afternoon?'

Jess nodded, suddenly understanding his question. 'She never showed. By the time me and Laura got home, the police were waiting to question us.'

'But what I still don't understand is why they've taken your sister in?'

'Apparently, she's had a run in with Charity's family in the past.'

'What did she do?'

'I don't fucking know,' Jess exploded. 'She wouldn't tell me.'

Jess just hung her head, feeling a spark of anger ignite at her sister for not explaining when she had the chance. There were things that she needed to know and her sister had clearly been wrong in believing that the situation between her and the Artridges wasn't important.

'Hey, it's alright,' Daryl tried to calm her.

Jess mashed her lips together. 'I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's my sister. Having her here is complicated. And now Charity. I just don't know what I'm doing anymore.'

Daryl pressed a quick kiss to her temple. 'Let's go out tonight. Alpha Phi Beta are having a toga party. They've rented out the field next to the cemetery. They've got a DJ and a pop up bar, the works. It could help take your mind off things.'

'I don't know...'

'Come on.' Daryl grinned at her. 'You can forget about your sister and Charity for a couple of hours. Get drunk and have a good time.'

'Doesn't seem like my kind of party,' admitted Jess.

'I'm not taking that as an excuse. You're going and I'm going to make sure you have a good time,' he promised. 'Just say yes, Jess.'

Jess giggled at his pleading look and finally caved.

'Yes. You'll see, this could be exactly what you need.' Daryl fist pumped the air. 'I'll swing by around 5 and we can walk together. You can always invite Laura as well.'

'Sounds like a plan,' Jess said, giving in to his enthusiasm.

'Daryl! Get your butt back inside. Your heat's about to start.'

'Shit.' Daryl tensed. 'Coming Coach,' he shouted over Jess' head, seeing his unamused coach waiting for him.

'You'd better go.' Jess nudged him.

'Are you coming back in?'

Jess paused for a fraction of a second before she agreed and started walking back to the pool with Daryl. Her sister told her not to worry, so she was going to follow that advice. Besides, Ash knew how to handle herself. There was no doubt in Jess' mind that her sister would be absolutely fine.

***

Ash pulled up her hands, hearing the tink of metal against metal as the linked chain stopped her hands going any further. The cuffs chaffed her wrists, and she fiddled with them to relieve the pressure. But it did no good and eventually she gave up.

To take her mind off her bruising skin, she looked around the interrogation room, which took all of three seconds.

It was just the same as all the others she'd ever ended up in. A two-way mirror was to the side of her, and try as she might, all she saw was her slightly pissed off reflection. There was no shadowy man behind. No hint that the booth was occupied. And yet she knew she was being watched.

A tingling in her scalp from the top of her neck to her crown told her as much. And whatever those behind the glass were saying, it wouldn't be good news for her. Though she didn't have to rely on her gift to figure that out. The good Sheriff was practically baying for her blood. No doubt he thought he had the case all sewn up. But he was going to be thoroughly disappointed.

She placed her head on her hand and used the other to trace the patterns in the metal desk. Other inmates had clearly gotten bored waiting for someone to come and had used the cuffs to scratch the surface. There were a few other suspicious looking dents that she was trying not to focus on. Given that the table was old, she was hoping they'd been caused through natural wear and tear, rather than by an officer slamming a suspect's head into the table to jog their memory.

Had those practices been weeded out by now, she wondered.

She lifted her head as the door opened, the smug looking Sheriff strutting in followed by the resigned Deputy.

'Thank you for waiting, Miss Hawthorne.' The Sheriff smirked.

'Are these really necessary?' Ash said, lifting her wrists.

'Given your record, yes.'

'A record with very little convictions,' she pointed out.

'They were still accusations,' grumbled the Sheriff, taking a seat and placing a file down on the table.'

'And aren't I innocent until proven guilty? And since I was found not guilty, I think that makes me innocent.'

'So the theft from the Tucson Museum? That was just a bad day in the office?' The Sheriff consulted the file. 'You were found guilty of breaking and entering.'

'But not theft,' she added.

The Sheriff flicked his teeth in disapproval. 'I minor detail.'

'Not minor to the local community. That Museum had ignored a court order to return a Native American artefact back to the tribe. I was merely part of a group of people who wished to liberate it.'

'There are other ways to be an upstanding citizen,' argued the Sheriff.

'I'm sure if you had been in my shoes, the artefact would still be there.'

'Why don't we move on from this?' interrupted the Deputy.

The Sheriff muttered something under his breath, before flipping open his notepad and taking a pen from behind his ear.

'Why are you in town?'

'Is this a joke?' Ash asked.

'Just answer the question,' snapped the Sheriff.

Ash rolled her eyes and shifted the chain so she could lean back in her chair.

'You called me,' she reminded them. 'I got a message saying that my sister had been arrested during a fight. As her next of kin, I rushed to get here since I wasn't given any details of her condition. I worried that she'd been injured.'

'And where were you travelling from?' the Deputy asked, avoiding her gaze.

'I was in Sulphur Springs.'

'And what were you doing there?'

Ash licked her lips and looked between the Deputy and the Sheriff. 'I was working.'

'And the name of your employer?' the Sheriff asked.

'I'm self-employed.'

The Sheriff gripped the pen so hard, Ash was surprised that it didn't break.

'As what?' he demanded.

She hid her smile, knowing how much she was getting under her skin. If he was angry now, she was expecting him to go nuclear after her next answer.

'I'm a psychic.'

She watched as an array of emotions crossed his face. His colour rose as the seconds ticked by. The Deputy watched on, his own face a mask of zero emotion. Of course, he knew her profession, but she was willing to bet that he wouldn't admit to believing in what she did. Few people did.

'You honestly expect me to believe that?' spat the Sheriff.

'That's the truth. You can call my clients in Sulphur springs. They have a festival at the end of the harvest and they like someone to do tarot reading, palm readings, that sort of thing.'

'I'll take those names to confirm,' the Deputy said quickly.

Ash rattled them off, though she'd need her phone to be able to give them any numbers.

'Where were you between 2am yesterday, when you left the station, and 10am this morning?' the Sheriff asked, his colour remaining beetroot red.

'I dropped my sister off at her sorority and stayed the night in my RV outside. At 9:20am, I drove her to class, then drove to a client's house, and helped around her house. My sister called me about Charity, and I went over to comfort her. That must have been 7pm. I stayed for twenty minutes and then left, and me Tabitha, that's my client, watched Black Beauty together. This morning, I met my sister and tagged along to her boyfriend's swim meet.'

'And can anyone collaborate any of this?' demanded the Sheriff.

'My sister for some of it. I can give you Tabitha's details.'

'And for your time spent outside the sorority house in your RV?' The Sheriff leaned forward, his eyes gleaming. This was what his argument was hinged on.

'That will be trickier,' Ash admitted.

'Do you want to know what I think happened?' The Sheriff smiled at her, reminding her of the Cheshire cat from the picture books she had as a child.

'And what do you think?' she asked sweetly.

'I think you saw Charity walking by when you were parked outside and saw a chance to get even with the Pastor for getting a restraining order against you.'

'Except that I didn't see Charity. And the courts never granted the restraining order.'

'You had ample opportunity to take her. And a grudge against her family,' blustered the Sheriff.

'But you've assumed that I was alone, and that wasn't the case.'

His smile fell, replaced by a grim expression. 'Name and number,' he barked.

She risked a glance at the Deputy who was staring at her. From the outside he looked completely calm, but he was stock still. His fingers weren't so much as twitching, and his gaze didn't waver.

'This is where things get tricky.'

'Can't you remember his name?' the Sheriff mocked.

'I can. But I'm more worried about his wife being displeased if she ever found out,' Ash lied.

She could see that she'd hit a nerve by the way the Sheriff reared back as if she'd physically struck him. The Deputy's eyes widened a fraction, a reaction that was completely missed by the now furious Sheriff.

'This interrogation is over,' he raged.

'Then I'm free to go?'

'Absolutely not. A night in the cell may just sort you out right, girlie.' The Sheriff stormed off, whilst the Deputy remained sitting.

'You could be damaging yourself,' he muttered.

'You can talk normally. There's no one watching.'

'How do you know?' He turned to look at the glass but only saw his stony face staring back at him.

'Psychic, remember? The other officer turned off the recording and the camera to go get the lowdown from the Sheriff.' Ash rubbed her temple as the image of a furious Sheriff telling an enthralled audience about her exploits, dissipated.

'You know you don't have to protect me. I am your alibi and you'd be clean off the hook.'

'I could, but if Charity really is missing, then I'd rather you not be taken off the case just because of our involvement. They're going to need you.'

'What about this thing between you and the Pastor? The Sheriff seems to think that it's motive enough.'

Ash pursed her lips and looked down at her hands.

'You got to give me something here, Ash,' the Deputy pleaded. 'I know you were the one that found those items in the girl's bedroom. Your sister is a good liar, but her friend is awful. But you knew it would cause trouble for you if it came out that it was you who found them.'

'I knew you were a smart cookie,' commented Ash.

'So what's the deal with you and the Pastor? And why are you so reluctant to talk about it?'

Her eyes clashed with his. 'I'm reluctant because a church man is as a good as God within this state. The Pastor is practically untouchable. Add that to the fact that most people think I'm some type of wacko when they hear about what I do, or at worst a devil worshipper, I don't tend to get much respect. The way your Sheriff Dipshit behaved should attest to that.'

'So explain it to me? I'll be the first to admit that before all this, the idea of psychics would have had me rolling my eyes. But I can't explain what you said to me yesterday. You couldn't have known about my breakup with Nicola. Or the fact my mother is on a cruise. Or that my sister is expecting a girl.'

'It was a girl?' queried Ash.

'She had the scan confirmation today. But you already knew what she would have.'

'She left a baby toy on your desk. I just had a flash when I picked it up.'

'Did you see something when you touched Charity's things?'

Ash remained silent, toying with the idea of what to say next. The Deputy sat back and watched her as her eyes glazed over.

'I got a call from a friend in Hubbard about three years ago. She's a doctor. Names Marianna Delvyn. Her patients were getting ill and the local preacher was giving her a hard time. He said that using modern medicine was akin to worshipping at the Devil's altar. He blamed her for his parishioners getting sick.'

'This would be Pastor Jim?'

'The one and only. To cut a very long story short. I ended up breaking into the church to prove that it was the communion wine that was making them sick. Times were tough, and Pastor Jim was buying the wine, cheap, online. The cork was faulty and bacteria had been growing in the wine.'

'And the good pastor was disgraced?'

'Disgraced is a bit much. He wasn't punished, but he knew it was me that had helped prove it. He blamed me for thinning his herd.'

The Deputy tapped at his phone, taking down all the details.

'And the restraining order?'

'I visited the church a few times to get the lay of the land. He caught me snooping around. The restraining order failed because I'd already left town by the time the judge could sign off on it.'

'And what about the objects in Charity's room?' He stopped tapping on his phone and gave her his full attention.

But she shook her head. 'I wore gloves. I never touched them.'

'But if you could, would you be able to see something? Could you find her?'

Ash shifted uncomfortably. 'My gift doesn't always work like that. Objects like that are highly personal. They can be corrupted.'

'How so?'

Ash's foot tapped against the floor. She was growing more anxious the more she talked. Not even her sister knew the extent of what she could do, not that Jess would ever believe her if she tried to explain.

'Look, it's complicated. I couldn't promise you anything.'

The Deputy thought about asking again, but he could tell that Ash was done with talking about her gift, so he asked something else.

'What do you really think has happened to Charity?'

Ash's foot stopped tapping. 'I think Charity Artridge is already dead,' she said with certainty.