be paid, kid, but with practice, it will lessen.”
“That’s a juicy little carrot to dangle before me,” I said. My hands were still shaking as I set the dispenser down. “I’m so sick of this hypoglycemia.”
Downing the rest of the juice, I attempted to further shake off some of the weariness and felt slightly better for my effort.
“Well?” Connor asked with a certain amount of boyish hopefulness. Connor was back to business. He wanted something personal from this test, but what?
“Well, it’s not part of any case we’re working on,” I said. I raised my eyes. “This is something specifically fromyour past, Connor.”
He kept his face poker-straight and returned the dispenser to his pocket.
“Why do you say that?”
I scrunched up my face as I tried to find the words. I explained what I had just experienced in full detail right down to the dull look on Connor’s youthful face.
When I was done, Connor chuckled. “So the dopey-looking kid is me, huh?”
“Hey,” I said defensively, “it was your mop of sandy brown hair that gave you away more than your Stepford expression. Besides, you should be thrilled these days. You’ve really outgrown that Cro-Magnon look!”
I knew that seeing the world through another’s eyes was a particularly invasive procedure and I left out how hard young Connor had cried, mostly out of kindness but also because I didn’t want to risk breaking the trust we were developing as partners. This was the first time he had ever let me use my powers on anything personal of his and it meant a lot to me.
“What about everyone else in the vision, kid?” he asked. “Tell me who they were. I need to see how accurate your power is.”
I thought for a second. “It seems obvious that the older kid must be your brother. And I’ll take a stab that the woman was your granny.”
“Why do you say that?” Connor asked.
“She did exactly what my grandmother would have done,” I said, laughing. “I was hella-accident prone.”
“All right. Good so far,” Connor said, nodding. He pulled the unidentifiable PEZ dispenser back out. “One last piece. The PEZ dispenser?”
“Easy,” I said. “Spider-man.”
He sat there looking both saddened and amazed. “Astounding,” he said. “I know we deal with these kinds of minor miracles on a regular basis, but I tell you…being on the receiving end of it, when it’s actuallyyour life being told back to you…well, that’s a horse of a different color, kid.”
I nodded. “But I’m curious,” he continued. “You sounded unsure that we were at the Cape? Why couldn’t you tell? I mean, yes, we were, but you couldn’t tell that?”
“Not for sure,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m a passive passenger in these visions, not a driver. I’m only able to take in details of what the younger version of you specifically saw. I can’t force him to focus on any signs that might tell me where I am, but I do pay attention. Nothing screamed out ‘Cape Cod’ directly, but I remember the town of Amity fromJaws , so it seemed like a fair assumption. The way my visions happen, I can kind of fast forward and rewind them a bit, but they don’t let me be in control of what I’m allowed to see.”
“Maybe we can change that,” Connor said with encouragement.
I smiled with the tiniest hint of pride and sipped at my coffee. Feeling triumphant, I asked, “That older kidwas your brother, right?”
He nodded in response but his face grew dark. Gone was the amazement of the last few minutes, replaced by the more familiar look he used when distancing himself from a case.
“I’m sorry,” I said, breaking the silence. “Is there bad blood between you two? Do you not keep in touch?”
He stared at the floor for several moments, just long enough for me to feel truly uncomfortable.
“Not really,” he said softly. “My brother and
“That’s a juicy little carrot to dangle before me,” I said. My hands were still shaking as I set the dispenser down. “I’m so sick of this hypoglycemia.”
Downing the rest of the juice, I attempted to further shake off some of the weariness and felt slightly better for my effort.
“Well?” Connor asked with a certain amount of boyish hopefulness. Connor was back to business. He wanted something personal from this test, but what?
“Well, it’s not part of any case we’re working on,” I said. I raised my eyes. “This is something specifically fromyour past, Connor.”
He kept his face poker-straight and returned the dispenser to his pocket.
“Why do you say that?”
I scrunched up my face as I tried to find the words. I explained what I had just experienced in full detail right down to the dull look on Connor’s youthful face.
When I was done, Connor chuckled. “So the dopey-looking kid is me, huh?”
“Hey,” I said defensively, “it was your mop of sandy brown hair that gave you away more than your Stepford expression. Besides, you should be thrilled these days. You’ve really outgrown that Cro-Magnon look!”
I knew that seeing the world through another’s eyes was a particularly invasive procedure and I left out how hard young Connor had cried, mostly out of kindness but also because I didn’t want to risk breaking the trust we were developing as partners. This was the first time he had ever let me use my powers on anything personal of his and it meant a lot to me.
“What about everyone else in the vision, kid?” he asked. “Tell me who they were. I need to see how accurate your power is.”
I thought for a second. “It seems obvious that the older kid must be your brother. And I’ll take a stab that the woman was your granny.”
“Why do you say that?” Connor asked.
“She did exactly what my grandmother would have done,” I said, laughing. “I was hella-accident prone.”
“All right. Good so far,” Connor said, nodding. He pulled the unidentifiable PEZ dispenser back out. “One last piece. The PEZ dispenser?”
“Easy,” I said. “Spider-man.”
He sat there looking both saddened and amazed. “Astounding,” he said. “I know we deal with these kinds of minor miracles on a regular basis, but I tell you…being on the receiving end of it, when it’s actuallyyour life being told back to you…well, that’s a horse of a different color, kid.”
I nodded. “But I’m curious,” he continued. “You sounded unsure that we were at the Cape? Why couldn’t you tell? I mean, yes, we were, but you couldn’t tell that?”
“Not for sure,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m a passive passenger in these visions, not a driver. I’m only able to take in details of what the younger version of you specifically saw. I can’t force him to focus on any signs that might tell me where I am, but I do pay attention. Nothing screamed out ‘Cape Cod’ directly, but I remember the town of Amity fromJaws , so it seemed like a fair assumption. The way my visions happen, I can kind of fast forward and rewind them a bit, but they don’t let me be in control of what I’m allowed to see.”
“Maybe we can change that,” Connor said with encouragement.
I smiled with the tiniest hint of pride and sipped at my coffee. Feeling triumphant, I asked, “That older kidwas your brother, right?”
He nodded in response but his face grew dark. Gone was the amazement of the last few minutes, replaced by the more familiar look he used when distancing himself from a case.
“I’m sorry,” I said, breaking the silence. “Is there bad blood between you two? Do you not keep in touch?”
He stared at the floor for several moments, just long enough for me to feel truly uncomfortable.
“Not really,” he said softly. “My brother and
Similar Books
