A Sight for Psychic Eyes (Piper Ashwell Psychic, P.I. Prequel)

By Kelly Hashway

Being psychic doesn’t mean private investigator Piper Ashwell has all the answers.
She’s surrounded by people who either don’t believe in her abilities or want her to solve all the world’s problems.

When nine-year-old Eric Danson goes missing in the middle of the night, Piper is reminded of her first case ever, when she was only twelve years old and her ability to read objects first surfaced. Now, she’s hoping to use that ability to bring the boy home unharmed.
But things only get worse when the boy who’s been bullying Eric goes missing as well. With a kidnapper on the loose, Piper will need to prove she’s the best P.I for the case. But can she find the boys before it’s too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kelly Hashway
• Release date: Oct 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463630396

Kelly Hashway

Kelly Hashway fully admits to being one of the most accident-prone people on the planet, but luckily she gets to write about female sleuths who are much more coordinated than she is. Maybe it was growing up watching Murder, She Wrote that instilled a love of mystery, but she spends her days writing cozy mysteries. Kelly’s also a sucker for first love, which is why she writes romance under the pen name Ashelyn Drake. When she’s not writing, Kelly works as an editor and also as Mom, which she believes is a job title that deserves to be capitalized.

Book preview

Chapter One

My stomach churns as I stare at the case file on my desk. Missing kids are always the hardest for me. Maybe it’s because my first case ever, long before I even got into the P.I. business, involved a missing six-year-old girl. Or maybe it’s because I don’t think the psychos of the world should have any contact with innocent children. My eyes hone in on Eric Danson’s picture. His baseball uniform. His thin frame. He’s just a little boy, I say, not even realizing I’m speaking aloud.

I knew you wouldn’t like this one. Dad adjusts his tie before sitting forward in the seat across from my desk. He was taken last night, right from his bed. His parents slept through the whole thing.

Which implies it wasn’t a break-in but someone who had a key and could enter soundlessly. Maybe even convince Eric to go with them.

Dad’s eyes narrow at me, not just in a police detective way but in a father of a psychic way. Is that a fact?

Facts come to me as truths sometimes. I don’t know why I know certain things. I just do. But my real psychic talents lie in psychometry. Give me a personal effect of the victim, preferably something metal, and I can read the energy off it. I’ve been doing it since I was twelve. Though it didn’t make cases like this any easier to stomach.

Piper? Dad asks.

I shake my head. Sorry. Lost in my thoughts. But yes, it’s a fact. Eric knew this person, maybe not well, but well enough to get up in the middle of the night and leave the house with them.

Dad takes his pen from the pocket of his shirt and scribbles a note on the front of the file folder. I’ll run the names of all family members in the area. We’ll start there.

No. I shake my head. I mean, run the names, sure, but I want to see Eric’s bedroom. I need to see where he was taken from so I can get a read on this kidnapping.

I’ll set up a meeting with the Danson’s. He doesn’t mention if he’ll tell them what I can do. I never know how people will react to my abilities. At one time, I was praised for what I can do. But people don’t look at a twenty-eight-year-old psychic the way they do a cute little twelve-year-old girl who saves a missing child actress.

Are you sure you’re up for this? Dad asks, making me realize I’ve zoned out once again.

Yeah, I just haven’t had my morning dose of caffeine. You make those calls. I’m going to head next door and grab some coffee for us. I stand up, grabbing my purse from the bottom drawer of my desk.

Tell Marcia I said hello, Dad says, already holding the phone to his ear.

I will. I head out of my office and walk the twenty-three steps to Marcia’s Nook. Landing office space for my P.I. business next to a bookstore with a café inside is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Not only do I stay fully caffeinated, but I also get to read all the new releases the second Marcia gets them in.

The bell over the door sounds, announcing my arrival. Marcia is at the bakery counter, helping a customer. She smiles and gives me a slight nod. Seeing she’s busy, I head to the mystery section in the back. I finished a book last night, and since I don’t watch TV, I’ll need a new book if I don’t want to pass out at eight o’clock out of sheer boredom.

When I reach the aisle, I see Detective Mitchell Brennan, who happens to work at the Weltunkin PD with my father, is also on the hunt for a new book. Just my luck. He turns to face me, most likely because he heard my groan of disappointment when I spotted him.

Sorry. Am I invading your territory? he asks me, a hint of a smile on his lips. He takes great pleasure in annoying me.

I wasn’t aware you knew how to read. I tilt my head toward the shelf of books he was just browsing.

He places a hand to his chest. Such harsh words, Piper.

Shouldn’t you be working? I ask, pushing past him but being careful not to come into physical contact with any part of his body. Touching people is not a pleasant experience for me. I tend to keep my right