Excerpt: Mind Over Matter by @sandrajc
Title: Mind Over Matter
Author: Sandra ClarkeWebsite: Click HERE.
Twitter: @sandrajc
Facebook: Click HERE.
Goodreads: Click HERE.
Synopsis: For three years, Rebecca McKenney grieved the loss of her daughter. Now, a vision showing Sabrina three years older, suggests her baby is still alive, and the FBI agent who gave up the search is the only one who can help find her. Rebecca once witnessed a psychic connection between Agent Cooper and her daughter. She only hopes their fragile bond remains – and that the coward has the decency to pursue it.
Special Agent Dan Cooper, haunted by a tragic mistake made early in the investigation, agrees to help Rebecca to ease his conscience, if nothing else. Together they fight inner demons, all too real bad guys, and an attraction neither wants to admit to. Each step closer to finding her daughter unearths widespread deception and an evil so vile it threatens to break Rebecca's spirit. The thought of having her daughter back in her arms is all that keeps her going. Until she learns the horrifying truth – her daughter is scheduled to die in mere days.
Excerpt
Three years ago, Rebecca’s daughter disappeared. Most people thought Sabrina was dead. When they ran into Rebecca, they didn’t know what to say, or how to treat her anymore, as though her identity had been stolen along with her child. Jenna Cowling nodded in the grocery store, unable to meet Rebecca’s eyes or hide the pity in her own. Donald Rumsford, the pharmacist over on Grand, peered over glasses wedged on the end of a bulbous nose. Rebecca knew he wondered if the drugs in the bag were all that kept her going.
Every weekend, on her way into town, Rebecca stopped in to see Chief Bains, hoping to hear news of a fresh lead. Anything. And each week she fought to swallow the pain when he sighed and shook his head.
Old Jim Grimley sat on his front porch swing, watching the same things on Main Street happen day after day. He pushed off with his foot and muttered that Ms. Rebecca was goin’ to have to face facts.
On Saturdays, when Rebecca sat alone in the corner booth at Ruby’s Diner, the same booth she and Sabrina always ate breakfast in, the other regulars glanced over, leaned their heads close together and whispered to one another.
“Sad, so sad,” they said. “She isn’t quite right since her baby girl disappeared.” Then they went back to their regular meals and normal routines and pushed their plates aside, like they could push aside their discomfort, so the ugliness of the truth couldn’t touch them.
“Mornin’ Becca,” Ruby said, grabbing the pencil tucked into her nest of bleached curls and the order book from her apron pocket. “Your usual?”
“Good morning,” Rebecca said, smiling, “Yes. That would be great. Thanks.”
“Be right back with your coffee.”
Rebecca set her purse on the bench seat and looked around the diner. Orange vinyl and cracked linoleum didn’t deter people for long. Ruby’s food boasted a reputation of its own. A decent sized crowd graced the diner for this early in the day. Rebecca noted the few strangers and the usual Saturday morning crew. Donna Mayhew, head bent over the latest best-seller, ate her bacon and tomato on toast, well done—without looking up from the page. Norman Parks coughed into his monogrammed hanky, then placed it, neatly folded, back into his pocket. He peered at his special order of poached eggs, nodding his approval before shaking the paper napkin out and draping it across his lap. Joshua Bishop rubbed his belly while savoring the last of his coffee and smiled a greeting at Rebecca. We’re all such creatures of habit. The same people, ordering the same food as last Saturday, sitting at the same tables.
Turning her attention to the weekly paper she carried, Rebecca scanned the headlines, ready to read about the latest happenings in Cutter's Gulch, Arizona. She probably heard about them already, given that in a small town, news flew between lips faster than print could meet paper.
“Stolen car abandoned in Wilmott Creek, local teens suspected.” “Blood Donor Clinic at Town Hall Saturday 10-2.” “Friends of the Library used book sale next week.” Just as she thought, old news.
“What excitin’ plans have you got for today?” Ruby asked, setting the coffee cup and saucer and a small tureen of milk on the table.
“Just finished a contract this morning. I think I’ll give myself a bit of a break before starting the next...” A family of six came in, eager tourists gearing up before heading out to Wanagi Peak and the ghost town at the base.
“Hold that thought.” Ruby chuckled as she headed over to grab a booster seat for the enthusiastic toddler trying to escape his mother’s hand.
Rebecca set the paper down to reach for the milk. Her forearm hit the paper, knocking over the tureen.
“Well, damn.” She jumped back as far as possible and used her paper napkin to mop up the spill, while trying to get Ruby’s attention. Ruby, her hands full taking orders, didn’t notice. Eyeing the workstation around the corner from the booth, Rebecca got up and grabbed a cloth and the milk carton, still sitting on the counter. She refilled the tureen, sat down, and added the milk to her coffee.
“Ahhhh,” she said, smiling. “Still nice and hot.” About to return the milk to the counter, Rebecca saw the photo of a missing child on the side of the carton, and her vision blurred as the familiar pain stabbed at her temples. She pressed her hands on both sides of her head, but it did nothing to alleviate the pressure. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “They’re back!”
Rebecca scooted over as far as she could to hide in the depths of the corner booth, grateful that other customers kept Ruby busy. Rebecca knew from experience she didn't have much time left. A vision came at her, hard and strong...
The child’s face from the milk carton, about six or seven years old, hovered before her, similar yet different. Shivers wracked her body as she huddled in a corner, her long brown curls limp and dull. Smudges on her face spread when she used a dirty forearm to swipe away tears, and a cut bled through the tear in her dress. A flickering light illuminated the dark room, hinting at secrets in the shadows. The sound of water dripping, slow and steady like a leaky faucet, met Rebecca’s ears and her nose crinkled at the stench of urine and human waste. The child looked up. All trace of color drained from her face when a deep voice crept out of the darkness.
“It’s time.”
“Rebecca, did you hear me?” Ruby’s voice penetrated the fog surrounding Rebecca’s mind.
“W-What?” She lifted her head, taking in the dining room around her. The tourist family still sat waiting for their breakfast. “I’m sorry Ruby, what did you say?”
“You okay, hon? You were in another world there for a minute.”
“I’m fine. Really,” she added at Ruby’s doubtful expression. “Didn’t sleep well again last night, I guess.” She forced a grin. “Good thing you caught me before I nodded off and started drooling in my coffee.” The mention of coffee drew Rebecca’s gaze to the carton of milk again. The girl’s innocent face stared back. Something seemed wrong. Rebecca leaned in, reading the caption under the photo. Nicole Wilson; missing for six years, before Bree even.
“I hope you don’t mind that I helped myself to the milk,” Rebecca said, and explained what happened. “Didn’t want to be a bother.”
“Honey, it’s no problem at all, but you didn't have to do that.”
“Not to worry, it’s over and done now.” Rebecca looked down at the pancakes and fruit before her and knew little would make it past her lips “Breakfast looks delicious, as usual,” she lied.
Ruby looked over at the children’s order of pancakes in front of the empty seat across from Rebecca. She moved her gaze back to Rebecca for a moment longer, before nodding as if confirming something in her head. “Okay then. Enjoy.” Ruby picked up the milk carton as a bell dinged from the kitchen area. “Let me know if you need a refill on your coffee.” Smiling, Ruby went off to deliver the next order.
Rebecca’s stomach roiled at the thought of eating. Nausea and a headache overwhelmed her. She needed to get home where she could decipher what this vision meant. With Ruby monitoring her every move, coming up with a way out of the diner proved difficult.
Forcing another smile, Rebecca picked up her fork and knife and waved them in the air for Ruby to see. At Ruby’s disappointed frown, Rebecca cut the pancakes, and placed a small piece between her lips. Once Ruby smiled and turned away, Rebecca spit the bite out into a napkin. She spent another few minutes cutting and moving food around, hiding small bits under the second pancake. Pulling some money out of her wallet, she kept an eye out. As soon as Ruby went back to the kitchen for the next order pick-up, Rebecca threw the bills down on the table and made her escape.
Rebecca’s first deep breath came when she sat safe inside her car at the other end of Main Street. Home. She had to hold it together until then. Shoving the key into the ignition, she crossed her fingers, and then groaned at the dull grind that met her ears.
“Crap. Not today!” Rebecca cursed for putting off taking the car in to Joshua. Hands shaking, she tried again, holding her grimace until the engine caught.
The edge of another vision crept in while she pulled into the driveway. “Shit. One more minute, come on, one more minute.”
She fumbled at the keyhole, hands shaking too hard to fit the key in the lock. Rebecca crossed the threshold and fell to her knees as the pain sliced in again, worse this time. Never before had two visions come so close together. What the hell?
Rebecca’s world faded and in its place…
Sabrina appeared. Her baby. Sitting on the floor in a room of shadows, chin resting on drawn up knees. “Where are you Mommy? Why haven’t you come?” The shadows opened up, pushing forward to swallow both the light and Bree.
“Nooooooooo.” Rebecca came back tears streaming down her face and fell to the floor. Limp, she laid there, an arm thrown across her eyes. “So close.”
Rebecca rolled as her stomach revolted, giving up its meager contents. Pushing herself to her knees with the last heave, she drew the back of a hand across her mouth.
The memory of losing Sabrina burned in her mind forever, but these fresh images; God, they made it so much worse. Rebecca crawled the few feet to the still open door, shoved it closed and leaned against it, shaking with sobs.
The late morning sun shone through the windows when she refocused. Struggling to her feet, she took in the scene around her.
Clean this mess up, and then shower. You can deal with the rest later. Rebecca tossed the soiled clothes in the washing machine on the way to the bathroom.
Revived by the hot shower, Rebecca poured a glass of iced tea. She curled up in the big chair in the living room, rested her chin on her knees, and tried to make sense of the morning’s events. Break it down. Concentrate on one thing at a time. Tackle the vision at Ruby’s first.
Who are you, Nicole Wilson, and why are you in my head? Rebecca pulled her laptop over and clicked on the missing-children database icon on the screen. A quick search brought up the case page. Nicole Wilson of Sacramento, taken six years ago last month, would have been nine on her next birthday. The authorities classified her case as a stranger abduction.
Rebecca sipped her iced tea, rolling an ice-cube in her mouth, and pondered the similarities to Bree’s case. She didn’t believe in coincidences.
Both were girls, taken by strangers, three years apart, at roughly the same age. Was it possible these kidnappings were connected? A staggering two thousand children go missing every day in the United States alone. These two cases might have nothing to do with one another. Nothing, that is, except for showing up in her visions, on the same day.
And Bree. God, Rebecca, allowed fragile hope to emerge. Her baby girl looked good. Unlike Nicole, Bree appeared healthy and clean. Older. “Oh my God, Bree looks older! The way she’d look standing here today.” Rebecca’s face dropped into her hands, as tears flowed. “She’s alive.”
