Lethal Outlook: A Psychic Eye Mystery by Victoria Laurie Page B

the other party picked up, she tore into them, and I quickly realized she was yelling at her fiancé.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
she shouted, and didn’t even wait for a response. “She’s so upset she can barely speak, Brice!” There was a pause then, “No! Absolutely not! I’m taking her home and you can tell Gaston, personally from me, to go feck himself!”
    Candice threw the phone down and gripped the steering wheel with barely masked fury.
    About then I noticed that my own cell was lighting up. It was still on silent and it appeared I’d missed more than a few calls. This call was from Dutch, as were the previous three. He’d been trying to call me from the moment I went outside, by the looks of it. I showed the display to Candice, who literally growled as I answered the line, even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to say much. “I am so sorry,” he said immediately. “Babe, I didn’t know it would affect you like that.”
    Candice grabbed the phone out of my hand and gave another furious lecture to my fiancé. She then hung up on him too and threw my phone into the backseat. “Stupid men!” she yelled.
    At that moment, I couldn’t have agreed more.

Chapter Four

    A t my request, Candice drove me back to our office so that I could retrieve my car. She then followed me home and sat with me for a long while on the couch without trying to get me to talk about it.
    As you can probably tell, Candice is that rare gem among friends; she’s able to ferret out the truth of things without a word of explanation. Around six she asked if I’d like some dinner. I told her that I wasn’t hungry, which was the truth, and a little after that I told her that I thought I’d just go upstairs and head to bed.
    “Do you want me to stay here until Dutch gets home?” she asked.
    I shook my head. “No. I’ll be okay.” Candice’s frown told me she wasn’t convinced. “Really,” I insisted. “I pinkie swear. I’ll be fine.”
    “Well, okay, but if you need me, Sundance, I’m only a phone call away.”
    “I know. And try not to worry. I just need to curl up with the pups someplace safe for a little while.” I still hadn’t shaken the scene from the video. It was bothering me far more than I let on to Candice.
    My friend leaned in and gave me a fierce hug. “I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow morning. We’ll need to get back on the Moreno case before the trail gets too cold.”
    “I’ll be ready,” I assured her.
    She left just a few minutes later, and I watched her drive away knowing I’d never find a better friend in the world. The minute her car was out of sight, I grabbed my keys and whistled to the dogs, and the three of us went for a familiar drive.
    I pulled up to the almost completed house that Dutch and I would soon be calling home. The minute I put the car into park I felt myself exhale. There was something about this place that simply soothed my soul.
    Dutch had purchased the property the previous April, and he’d proposed to me on the very soil that was now our breakfast nook. No wonder it was certain to become my favorite room in the house.
    Eggy, Tuttle, and I all walked across the dirt path up to the front door, and I unlocked it with my key. We stepped into the quiet structure and I felt the warmth from the late afternoon sun wrap itself around me like a blanket.
    I let the dogs wander around, sniffing as they went, and found my way to the back door. Opening it wide, I let in thecooler air, flipped on the outside light, and stepped out onto the spacious covered back deck. Near the fire pit sat two cushy lounge chairs, which Dutch had purchased the moment the grill went in. He and I now had dinner out here at least once a week.
    The dogs found me just as I was sitting down, and I lifted them each up onto the lounge chair before tossing a cashmere throw over the three of us. It was a cool night for October in Texas. The pups curled against me and were asleep in seconds. For a