Vanished: The Mystical Encounters Series, #3

By Kimberly Readnour

A VISION OF DECEIT AND LIES

One missing girl. No credible clues. And a past that refuses to stay buried.

Just as life slips into a normal routine, Heather Reiner gets an unexpected visitor. The uninvited and seriously unwanted guest is seeking help solving a missing person's case, but at first, she's reluctant to help. That is until Heather realizes the missing twelve-year-old girl and her share a shocking connection.

Even with the help of the police and an estranged family member, Heather, who is fast becoming a regular psychic detective, soon finds herself traveling down a dark path filled with dangerous secrets and deadly turns.

And in this seemingly unsolvable case, only one thing is certain: Heather finds herself in a dire situation with time running out...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kimberly Readnour
• Release date: Sep 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781517001636

Kimberly Readnour

Kimberly is an award-winning author. She is a former Registered Nurse who hung up her stethoscope to pursue other avenues. Within the last five years, she has discovered her passion for writing. Now, whenever there is downtime, you will find her tucked away with the computer, creating the stories floating around her head. Kimberly lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children. The oldest is away at college, but when she returns, they enjoy hiking, camping, and simply hanging out as a family.

Book preview

Prologue

Secrets have plagued my entire life. Only recently, I no longer had to hide my clairvoyant abilities, but one concealed truth still remained. One secret buried deep inside, never to be shared—until now.

My fingers clenched against my chest while I squeezed my eyes shut. What did I just hear? I tried slowing my erratic breathing to maintain some type of calmness, but the blood pulsating through my veins succeeded in raising, not lowering, my anxiety. Was it a dream? I shook my head. I didn’t think so, it seemed too real.

Dominated by fear, I was too afraid to open my eyes. I feared whoever voiced those words would be standing in front of me. What if she was? I winced. This could not be happening again.

A few moments passed, and I remained completely still, anticipating what would come. The eerie quietness that surrounded me amplified the light hum of the aquarium air pump. I welcomed the sound and visualized the curtain of air bubbles rising to the top. The endless imagination of bursting air helped soothe my nerves as my breathing evened.

I slowly opened my eyes and let out a huff of air. The scant amount of moonlight filtered through the top arched window, highlighting the lead singer’s eyes from the pop band poster hung on the wall. He stared at me with his smoldering dark eyes; a reminder this wasn’t my bedroom.

But I’m safe. It was a dream.

My gaze scanned the entire space until it landed back on poster-boy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I said to the hunky singer. I know, I’m going crazy.

My shoulders dropped, and my arms relaxed as I smoothed out the blanket lying across me. I lay back and closed my eyes in a worthless attempt to sleep.

Heather, the same raspy voice whispered in my ear.

My eyes opened to the urgency of my name being called. The shakiness in the tone sounded desperate—a cry for help. That was no dream.

I quickly rose and scooted out of bed, but nobody was there. The room was still dark, and poster-boy still stared. I hurried toward the window and scanned the outside area, only to be faced with more frustration. Heavy fog made visibility impossible.

Who are you? I whispered.

1

Earlier that day

---

I clutched the pair of jeans against my chest and glared at my suitcase as if it was the enemy. Was I actually going to leave and spend four hours alone in a car with a man I no longer knew? I didn’t want to go, not now anyway, and certainly not overnight. I squeezed the denim tighter, fighting off the urge to unpack everything. A frustrated moan escaped as the irony became clear. Timing. My entire life had been nothing but bad timing. Why? Given the recent events surrounding my boyfriend, Barry, this situation couldn’t have come at a worse time. My eyes narrowed to the point of barely seeing; my unfortunate streak of bad luck continued.

Are you trying to destroy your jeans?

Startled, I turned to face Barry. Despite his playful inflection, his mouth had flattened into a thin line, and his eyes were laced with concern. He stood against the doorframe, holding the glass of water I had asked for. My grip loosened, and I tossed the pants on the small heap of clothes.

"I was just thinking about my stupid talent ruining our day. I’m so sorry," I said.

His frown deepened, and Barry took a few steps into the room. He placed the glass on my dresser and extended his arms to pull me into him. My eyes automatically closed as I rested my head against his hardened chest. I loved being in his arms again.

Hey, your clairvoyance hasn’t ruined anything, he said, tightening his embrace.

I sighed and allowed his encouragement to engulf me. Despite the fact we had been broken up for six weeks, our bond still seemed strong. My clairvoyance put me into messes and interfered with everything that mattered to me, including our relationship. A string of events ultimately led to a vision that placed his mother in the center of a citywide corruption scandal. Her illegal actions caused her arrest, along with the police chief and mayor. Now, Barry was living with his grandma Vivian, who happened to be my next-door neighbor.

It wasn’t so much my involvement that had upset Barry, but the fact I kept my knowledge a secret. My deception being too hard for him to handle forced our break-up. It wasn’t until last night when he finally came to terms with everything and forgave me.

I pulled away slightly and tilted my head back. Still, I was looking forward to today.

Today had started with so much promise. After last night’s reconciliation, our plan for a nice, peaceful day without outside influences had deviated far off course. Hypothetically taking place to reconnect and make up for lost time, we needed this day together. Alone…without interruptions. A day of walking trails, picnicking, and relaxing at Frontier Park marked the perfect components to create the positive atmosphere we needed to work things out. Although his simple presence was enough for me to regenerate my feelings, he wanted to make the day special. The doorbell had rung right as we filled the picnic basket and answering the door produced one of the biggest changes to my life.

Barry remained tight-lipped, but the corners of his mouth were slightly drawn upward. His hand raised and tucked my bangs behind my ear, his eyes following his movements. Me, too, he whispered.

Our gaze connected and the intensity burning in his eyes dried my mouth further. I should have drunk some of the water he brought. Barry glanced down as I licked my lips and he tightened his hold on me.

God, I want to kiss you right now.

Then why don’t you? I asked.

His eyes shifted toward the door. The fact that your long-lost father is in the next room. He drew his gaze back to me and smiled. I don’t think he likes me.

I scowled and backed away, our moment completely broken. His opinion hardly matters.

I marched to the closet, grabbed a hoodie from the hanger, and stalked to the suitcase. Barry remained quiet, watching me the entire time. I quickly folded the sweatshirt and tossed it on top of my jeans. The frustration began to wane in me. I shook my head and closed the metallic zipper. My thoughts began to cloud as I stared at the brown and pink swirls encasing my luggage. Barry approached behind me and rubbed his hands along my arms. I leaned my head against his chest and closed my eyes, not fighting the influx of memories…

My six-year-old self had believed my father would come back. Every night after tucking me in bed, he told me he loved me, so how could he not? Days turned into months, which turned to years without a mere phone call or letter. That hopefulness I’d clung to turned to hatred, planting ideas that he died. Not once did my teenage self think he’d return. Opening the door earlier and seeing the familiar stranger standing in front of me, I stilled, completely stunned. Mom’s gasp broke my stupor, and I spoke the one word forever lost upon my lips, Dad?

A man I’d believed dead all these years, stood in front of me. And I hadn’t the slightest inclination why.

A humorless laugh escaped from the irony of the situation. A man who brought me into this world told me he loved me, and then ignored me as if I was nothing for the past eleven years wanted my help. No…needed my help.

Mom’s character traits shone brightly today. I still couldn’t believe she was allowing me to leave, but really, what choice did she have? She wasn’t happy about me going, and I could tell she didn’t want to help the one man who had torn and shattered her heart into a million pieces. But how could she deny my help when a person’s life depended on it? How could she deny possibly saving that person’s life, perhaps helping the one who’d destroyed hers?

Numbness raced along every nerve pathway after I answered the door to an older version of my father. After all these years, why was he here? The temptation to slam the door drew heavily on me, and I wanted nothing more than to shut him out like he did to us eleven years ago. But unlike the man who stood in front of me, I was a better person. I was stronger.

My father shuffled back a couple of steps and said nothing for a moment after I addressed him. His eyes widened as he continued to gape at me before his eyebrows gathered in. His hands fell to his side as he slowly shook his head. That small hint of regret saved him from being kicked off the porch.

My God, Heather, you’ve grown into a beautiful woman, he said, barely above a whisper.

I stood, speechless, not having the first clue what to say to him. I swallowed and examined him further. His once dark hair was now streaked with gray strands throughout, but he was still handsome. His dark chocolate eyes begged for forgiveness, and it became obvious why my mom fell for his treacherous ways.

Mom’s harsh words sliced through the air, breaking the spell my father held over me. Mom brushed past me and yelled, What the hell are you doing here, Jim? What gives you the right to show up at my house after all these years?

Vicky, please, Jim pleaded. He closed his eyes for a moment and squeezed his face as if he was in physical pain. I’m not here for your forgiveness, but I beg you to hear me out. I need your help. I would never ask anything from you or Heather if it wasn’t so critical. Please, Vicky, I’m desperate.

What on earth could he need from us?

Tears welled in his eyes, and he glanced down to the porch. My daughter is missing, and I need Heather’s help.

Mom’s entire body became rigid from Jim’s stinging words. She cleared her throat before asking, What daughter?

Vicky, please let me explain. There’s so much I need to tell you, but my time is limited. I admit to being a coward all these years, and I know I owe you an explanation, but I’m begging, please.

Her eyebrows furrowed and the reluctance to allow this man back into our lives tugged the corners of her mouth downward. She stepped aside and allowed him to enter.

Vicky, the last thing I wanted was to hurt you— Jim said as he stepped forward.

Jim, please, save it. No explanations needed. Too many years have passed; believe me, we got over you.

He clamped his mouth shut and drew in a breath as if Mom’s words were the hurtful ones, but how could that be? He left us. For somebody who’d been missing from our lives, the remorse he displayed was unsettling. Perhaps it stemmed from being worried about his daughter. The daughter he obviously cared about.

We entered the living room, my eyes searching for Barry. He leaned against the kitchen wall with his shoulders hunched, hands in his front pocket. His eyes widened as they met with mine. He nudged his head toward the door and mouthed, Should I go?

I shook my head slightly, and he waltzed to stand by me. No way did I want him to leave. I needed his strength to get through this, considering I didn’t want to help the man claiming to be my father. Apparently, I had no choice.

Barry quickly hugged me before grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the couch.

My father’s back straightens as he sucked in a breath, eyeballing our joined hands. His jaw twitched in disapproval, and I wanted to laugh. What right to opinions did he have after being AWOL for over a decade? I snuggled closer to Barry and peered at Jim, silently stating his opinion didn’t matter.

Please, take a seat, Mom said. Her hands shook as she pointed to one of the chairs in front of the picture window. While she shifted to the adjacent seat, she asked, What exactly has been going on, Jim?

He stepped over to the chair but remained standing. My daughter is missing. She was walking to her aunt’s house after school, but she never made it. She’s not a runner, but there aren’t any leads. It’s like she’s gone. Vanished. His head lowered, and eyes closed as a tremor of pain riffled through his body. He took a few calming breaths before continuing. "There was a case of a missing girl five years ago, but the detectives insist it’s not related. We live in the country, but the nearest town where she attends school, Riverbay, has a low crime rate. This incident, as the police like to call it, has shaken the citizens. To pacify their nerves, the police want to treat it as a singular case and deny linkage to the earlier abduction. Since there isn’t any evidence, they refuse to entertain the idea of a serial kidnapping, but I don’t know."

He paused and shook his head before continuing, I was at the police station when an officer read an article about a girl with some type of powers that helped find a missing college student. A buzz spread through the station, creating hushed whispers about using her to help my case. When they first approached me with this idea, I thought they were nuts. But then I began to think ‘what if.’ After they explained further about what you did, I… He glanced upward and blinked his eyes a couple of times before adding, Wanting desperately to believe, I agreed to what they suggested. After handing me the information, I read then reread the name typed across the paper and almost choked. I refused the notion that you were the same girl, but...is there any possibility you could help?

I’m not sure. It depends, I answered honestly.

What exactly can you do?

Barry shifted in his seat and gripped my fingers tighter, easing the ache of having to explain my abilities. He knew firsthand how difficult talking about it would be.

I see visions. Sometimes these visions can lead to the area the victims are held. It’s called clairvoyance, but when the visions occur, they’re usually intense. For me to have one, I need to touch something that belonged to the victim, something personal. So I’ll need something of… I paused and shook my head. I’m sorry. What is her name?

It’s Rebecca.

Mom, who had been quiet the entire time, gasped and locked gazes with Jim for a tense moment. Instant tears welled in Mom’s eyes, threatening to overspill before her eyes hardened into slants. Her breathing became jagged, but she didn’t utter a word.

The muscles in Jim’s back tightened, making him stand taller. He stared at Mom with an intensity that screamed forgiveness. What the heck? I glanced at Barry, and he shrugged. Unaware what significance the name Rebecca meant, I waited for their private moment to pass.

Reviews for Vanished

[manka23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This one was much slower paced than the first in the series. I found that unlike the first one, I could set this one down. I really wanted to know more about the other societies outside of the compound. That was my favorite part of the book. Sarah Dalton did a wonderful job there, I could really picture Sun and his followers. The ending to this book felt a little too neat for me, and the fight at the end was just too easy and abrupt. If your powers are that great sometimes, yet other times can't even unchain yourself? Seems that her powers work or don't work when it's convenient. The first one was much better, but I will continue this series til the end. 3 stars