Reese forced her mouth shut, but her jaw slacken from shock. Heather. Again with Heather.

“Does the name mean anything to you?” Paul repeated.

Like a whip, Reese snapped to attention. “Only that I was thinking of a childhood friend named Heather earlier today. Maybe you were picking up on my thoughts.”

Paul slowly nodded and pursed his lips. “Maybe,” he said.

Reese heaved a sigh and slapped her palms on the table before she stood. “Well, I guess that’s enough excitement for one night.” She felt a rigid wall erect and needed time alone with her thoughts.

“Oh. Don’t you want some help cleaning the mess?” Paul offered.

“No, I’ve got it.” She ran her fingers through her hair impatiently.

“It’s really no trouble. I don’t mind …”

“I’ve got it. I’ll just throw up some plastic for the time being and clean tomorrow. I have early clients,” she lied. Her first client wasn’t until ten.

“Okay,” Paul said and stood, smoothing his black jeans with one quick swift down his thighs.. “Can I call you tomorrow so we can finish this conversation?”

Reese walked toward the entrance door in hopes he would follow. “I have clients throughout the day. Why don’t I call you when I have a minute?” She turned expecting him to still be hovering at the kitchen doorway, but he was directly on her heel.

"That would be good. I still have a lot of questions.” Paul looked at his wristwatch and adjusted the band. “So, I’ll talk to you later today,” he said and smiled that devilishly sexy grin.

“Okay,” she answered and gave a quick nod. She felt foolish for the achiness that throbbed through her when he looked at her like that. She wanted to both shove him out the door and pull him close to her at the same time. There was a heaviness between the two of them, like at the end of a first date that went well. Will he kiss me? Will he not kiss me?

Finally, she released the pressure and stepped back. “Sounds good,” she said as she opened the door, only to let out a slight scream at the darkened figure at her doorway. She jumped back and immediately felt Paul’s hands grasp her arms, pulling her away from the door as he stepped in front of her.

“Umm … Reese?” The voice came from the hooded figure and Reese peered around Paul. The hulking man reached up and slid the hood of the rain jacket down, exposing the sandy locks she had seen on the man outside the Mercedes sedan earlier. The man Gregory had called Wayne.

Reese cautiously stepped around Paul whose stiff, protective stance had yet to relax. He held one hand out at hip level.

“Do you know him?” Paul asked.

“Wayne?” Reese said and stepped around Paul’s hand. “Is that you?”

“It is,” the man said and smiled slightly, barely exposing any teeth. “I’m sorry to come by so late, but I saw your light on and figured I would see if you’re up.” He sized Paul up and down and then held out a hand. “I’m Wayne Albreck. A friend of Reese’s from way back.”

“Paul Malloy. A recent friend of Reese,” Paul answered and reluctantly returned the handshake.

“I’m sorry I interrupted your night.” Wayne looked from Paul to Reese. “Like I said, I noticed your lights on and well, figured I’d see if you were up to some late night company. But I see you already have company. So, I’ll just be on my way.” His words shot out of his mouth at full speed. He turned on the small stoop as if to go.

“Wait, Wayne. Don’t go yet,” Reese said. Her mind was spinning as she tried to figure out why he was there. Did he follow her home? Did he even know it was her in front of Heather’s house?

He turned around but didn’t quite have the smug grin hidden from his face. Reese felt a cold chill run through her body and made a quick decision. “Paul and I were just going out for a drink, but we’ll make some coffee here if you’d like to join us.” Reese felt Paul’s tense muscles ease a bit.

Wayne didn’t bother hiding the disappointment on his face. It was like they were back in school again. Wayne always vying for Heather’s attention and acting all cocky when he got it. When it wasn’t Heather anymore, it was some other beauty in high school. He was never without a girlfriend, some attractive, perky and popular type. And Reese always on the sidelines, hoping he would put out his arm just one more time for her.

His demeanor changed as if the cockiness had never been there. “Naw, that’s okay. I’ll meet up with you some other time.” He shifted his head a bit and peered past Paul and Reese through to the living room at the shattered sliding doors where jagged teeth of glass still clung to the frame. “What happened in there?”

“Wind,” Paul announced without so much as a heartbeat between their words.

“Wow. That’s crazy. Didn’t even know it was that windy,” Wayne said suspiciously.

“Must have been a gust. There’s a hurricane moving up the coast,” Paul retorted.

Reese marveled at Paul’s quick lie. She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to share with him yet, but she was starting to think he might actually be a handy assistant, at least where Addie was concerned. Addie! She just remembered that was why she had asked Paul to meet in the first place. She felt anxious to check her email and see if Lucy had returned the completed questionnaire.

“Wayne, it was great to see you,” Reese said and walked to her coat closet. “I’ll give you my card and you can stop by the office some time so we can catch up.” Her voice was muffled coming from the closet, but she popped her head out and pasted a performed smile on her face. “Here it is.” She clutched one of her cards and walked back to the door where Wayne stood diligently on the stoop.

He took it from her and gave it a cursory glance, but he couldn’t hide the tightening in his jaw. When he looked back at Reese and Paul, the tenseness was gone and he was all smiles. “Thanks, I’ll do that. Say, can I ask you a question?”

Reese pushed her annoyance down so it wouldn’t choke her. “Sure.”

“Are your folks still around? I went by your old place and no one was home.”

Reese felt like a panic alarm went off in her head. Why did Wayne want to see her parents? Just as easily as Paul had lied, she said, “They’re away right now.”

“Oh.” Wayne’s head bobbed up and down. “I see. Well, tell them I was asking for them when they returned.” He smacked the edge of the card against his fingertips and then used it to wave goodbye. “I’ll see you around.”

“Okay, good to see you,” Reese called out to him as his silhouette blended with the black night.  She then shut the door. She leaned against it and expelled a long breath.

“What the hell was that all about?” Paul asked.

“Beats me,” Reese answered as she pushed her body away from the door. She went back to the coat closet to get the broom and dustpan.

Paul followed her back to the living room and announced, “If you think I am going to leave you alone with that creep lurking around, you’ve got another thing coming.”

Reese gave him an exaggerated “are you kidding me” look.

“I’ll be fine,” she said.

“No way.”

“Paul, don’t be so melodramatic. I’ve known him since elementary school. I've known him decades longer than I've known you.”

“So why did you lie to him about your parents?”

“What do you mean?”

“They’ve been divorced for years. They are definitely not away together.”

“They’re not divorced. Just separated. And how do you know? Maybe they are away together.” Reese knew she was pouting but couldn’t help it. She started to sweep the glass at the door threshold, but it was hard to see in the near darkness. The light coming through the kitchen and entryway didn't penetrate to the back of her townhouse. But she needed something to do. She should make Paul leave but she felt better knowing he was there in case Wayne was lurking. Something was off kilter with him and it unnerved her, especially after the glass explosion. 

“Look,” Paul reached out and touched Reese’s arm. “I haven’t been one hundred percent honest with you.”

Reese stopped the sweeping motion and looked at Paul. He looked tormented. God, what now?

She waited for the blow. Her protective walls were getting thicker and she wished like crazy that Luke would show up. Not so Paul could see him, but because he was the only person she trusted. How sad was that? The only person she trusted wasn’t even alive.

“I came to town because your mother called me about a week ago. I was in Chicago and she reached me through my manager. Said she had something urgent to discuss with me but couldn’t talk on the phone. When I showed up that’s when I met Claire Yates. I'm kind of like a beacon for wandering souls. They see my neon sign that says, 'I talk to dead people' and they come running. Claire was adamant that I get the message to you because she couldn’t get past your brother. I went by your mom’s place and she wasn’t there. I’ve tried calling her but I haven’t heard from her again. So I went by earlier and she wasn’t home.” Paul said everything in a rush like he couldn’t say it fast enough.

Reese was utterly and completely stunned. Somehow she found her voice and said, “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

Paul sighed. “Because your mom begged me not to tell you. But since I can’t get in touch with her, I figured it was time to say something. Do you know how I can get ahold of her? I can’t stay in town much longer.”

Reese ignored the pang in her heart at hearing he had to leave town. “I don’t. I went by too. She’s wasn’t there and everything was different. The house was cleaned and …” She started to say the booze was gone but decided it was none of Paul’s business.

“Is that odd?” he asked when she didn’t finish her sentence.

“Yeah,” she said and wrapped her fingers around the broomstick. She leaned into it for support. “I wonder what she wanted to talk to you about. Did she give you any idea?” Reese also wanted to know why Claire said  she couldn't get past Luke. What the heck did that mean? But she didn't want to open that question up for discussion. 

“No, but I assumed it had to do with Luke. I’ve called her a few times over the years to see if she was ready to talk. She never was, so I never pushed. But I always encouraged her to contact me when she was willing to talk.”

“She never told me that.” Reese felt as if she had been transported to an unfamiliar world. She was like an actress being thrown onto stage to perform in a play in which she had never read the script.

After all these years, her mother had not only contacted Paul but apparently was born a new person what with all the cleaning and no drinking. And now with her missing, Reese made the decision to include Paul in her thoughts, at least some of them. She wasn’t sure she could find both her lost mother and Addie on her own.

Reese propped the broom against the wall and went to the kitchen where she pulled out pots and pans she never used from one of the lower cabinets. They clattered and banged as she stacked them on the countertop. She reached to the back and gripped the neck of a glass bottle of vodka.

Paul had followed her and said, “I thought you didn’t have any booze.”

“I don’t have any Scotch. This is for emergencies only.” She took two low ball glasses from an upper cabinet and filled both with ice. Then she poured a double shot into each and held one out to Paul.

He hesitated before reaching for his drink and eyed her as she clinked the two glasses and then swilled the contents before her. She lowered the glass and spread her lips in a mock smile. “We need to talk.”

Paul sipped his vodka and watched Reese over his glass as she poured herself more. He leaned against the sink and crossed his ankles. He lowered his glass and said, “nervous about something?”

She held up a finger as to indicate “one minute” and slugged back another helping. She felt his eyes on her as she scooted next to him, dumping the ice into the sink. She could have easily had a third, but figured it would make for a bad impression.

She turned around and mimicked his stance. Side by side they stared off toward the kitchen window. Reese could feel Paul waiting for her to say something. Her mind twisted and turned as she try to find the right words. In the end, she mimicked him again.

“I haven’t been one hundred percent honest as well.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw him slowly nod.

“I don’t want to go into details, but suffice it to say, I saw Claire Yates. After she was dead.”

“You saw her spirit?” His voice was low and calming, but he continued to look straight ahead.

“I did.” She waited. She couldn’t bring herself to say she sees Luke and has since shortly after his death. “And I saw another spirit. Here. In my house, but he was hiding from me, or something like that. I only got a glance of him because when Claire departed, she let off this incredible light and it was like a flashlight or something. I don’t think he meant for me to see him.”

Paul turned to Reese but she stayed focused forward, only allowing herself one quick glance in his direction.

“How long have you been seeing ghosts?” His voice maintained its smooth expression.

“I don’t want to talk about that. What I do want to talk about is Addie. She’s the missing girl Gregory mentioned. Without going into details, I, on occasion, locate missing children. And I’m afraid I might need some outside help with this one.”

Paul was quiet. Too quiet. Reese looked in his direction. His eyes were closed. She thought that maybe he was talking to his spirit guides again, so she kept her mouth shut. She wasn’t sure if she believed in spirit guides, but who was she to argue with a medium who seemingly was the real deal?

Either he felt her watching him or he was done conversing with the other side because his eyes popped open to look at her. “I’m still getting Heather as a message. Are you sure she doesn’t mean anything more to you than a childhood friend?”

Although she wanted to look away in shame, Reese confidently kept eye contact. “She’s Addie’s mother.”

“Oh,” Paul said, his voice had a dreadful edge to it.

“What is it?” Reese asked, now wishing she had poured the third drink.

“Maybe that,” he pointed over his shoulder, indicating the glass doors, “had nothing to do with Luke. Maybe he doesn’t want us to find Addie.”

A zap of electricity buzzed through the air right before the kitchen light burst over their heads.