It took two hours before I was able to quiet Paige enough for her to sleep. I hadn't seen her this distraught since her grandmother died and Charlie and I split up. Even then, she hadn't been this upset. It broke my heart to know that a crazy psychopath had gotten to the two most important people in my life. First Franco, with his sister, and now Paige. Enough was enough.

“Hello?”

“Yes, Hello! Is this Charlie Erikson?” I asked hopefully.

“Speaking,” Said the deep-toned voice on the other line.

“This is Adara,” I said bracing myself for the reply. I had called every Charlie Erikson in the Los Angeles area and he was my last hope. If this wasn't him then I didn't know what I was going to do.

“Adara? Well I'll be damned.” His voice had gone quiet as if he couldn't believe who he was talking to. “Is this really you?”

I rolled my eyes, “Yes, Charlie. It's really me.”

“I must be dreamin'. Someone pinch me to see if I'm awake!”

I ran a hand through my hair and waited for his initial shock to wear off. I'd forgotten how dramatic he could be. I guess I couldn't blame him. It had been awhile since I had last talked to him. Paige always kept in touch, but oddly, when I checked her phone for his number, the line was disconnected.

“Listen, Charlie. I've got some things going on over here and I need you to do me favor. All jokes aside.” I added the last part hoping he would realize the seriousness of this call. Charlie had a way of making everything a joke. At first, it was cute, but after twelve years of it, I had had enough.

“Is Paige okay?” His tone immediately changed to one I had rarely heard the entire time of our marriage.

I hesitated.

“Adara, is Paige okay?” He asked more forcefully this time. I could tell he was pacing. He always paced when he knew he was about to get bad news.

“She's fine. Well, she's...physically fine,” I answered. I didn't know how much of the whole truth he could take before he exploded and proclaimed that he would hop on a plane and kill whoever had hurt his daughter.

“And mentally?!” He probed losing his patience.

“Which is the reason I called. What would you say if I told you I would like Paige to come and live with you for awhile?”

I could tell he was searching for the right words to say. “Adara, you know I would love that. You don't even have to ask.”

I exhaled a breath of relief. “Thank you so much, Charlie. This means a lot to me.”

“Charlie? As in ex-husband Charlie?”

I looked up to find Franco on the last stair. His body was tense and his expression blank, though I knew on the inside he was raging with anger...and jealousy.

“Uh oh, is that Franco the Chef? He's always making such grand entrances, huh? Tell him to pull that spatula out of his a-”

“Enough!” I sternly warned. Let's just say Franco and Charlie weren't beer buddies. Or anywhere close to buddies/friends.

“- and flip some pancakes with it.” Charlie cackled at his own joke.

“What's he saying? I bet it's some smart remark, hm?” Franco asked with venom in his voice.

I groaned angrily. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. When those to got together it was another Mean Girls movie all over again. I couldn't take it.

The phone was ripped from my hands. My head snapped up and I opened my eyes to see Franco walking to the living room, of course, arguing with Charlie. I could tell them the world was ending and they still wouldn't get over whatever little fight they were in. It was utterly ridiculous the way they acted. To this day, I can't even pinpoint the reason for their hostility towards each other. Of course, I had something to do with it, but sometimes it felt like there was something more. Something they both were hiding.

I didn't have time to delve more into the matter because Franco was ranting off some pretty colorful language. I groaned again and sluggishly slid out of my seat. If I didn't stop the madness now it would never end.

As I reached the living room, I found Franco sitting on the couch staring at his feet. The phone was no where in sight. I hesitated and looked around the room. Wasn't he just arguing on the phone, not even ten seconds ago?

“What happened?” I asked sliding down to sit next to Franco. My hand began to rub his back but he slid away from my touch.

“You're sending Paige to him?” Franco asked so quietly that I had to lean closer to him to hear.

“What did you expect, Franco? She can't stay here. Not with what's going on. She saw that girl's murder,” I said just as softly but still with authority. Franco may not like Charlie, but he is still Paige's father.

“Why can't you send her to my Aunt Viv in Texas?” Franco asked turning toward me and scooping my hands into his.

What was all this about? “Franco, I've met your aunt only once. I can't just drop my daughter on her doorstep. Plus, I think Charlie would like some time with Paige. He hasn't seen her in a long time. Can't you understand that?”

Franco muttered a curse under his breath. “Do not send Paige to him. Please, Adara.”

I slipped my hands from his grasp and stood up. Now it was my turn to pace. “Why not?” I asked forcefully.

“Just...because. It won't be good for her,” He stammered.

“Franco I'm going to need a little more than 'just because'. If there is something you need to tell me, then tell me!” I was sure now. There was something he was hiding.

“Don't I get a say in where she goes? She's practically my daughter too!”

“No, Franco. She's mine.” As these four simple words left my mouth, I knew I had made one of the biggest mistakes that I could ever make.

Franco's eyes dropped to the floor and he quickly jumped up and left the living room. I heard the front door slam shut and his car door open. The engine revved to life then quickly fade.

*************

“He just left?”

“Yeah. I haven't heard from him. It's been four days. He turned off his phone and his family swears that they don't know where he is. I'm not sure they are telling the truth but if I was in his position, I would want my family to lie for me too.”

“Don't say that, Ad. He'll be back. My little tiki's say so.” Her voice was so rich and so full that I found myself smiling.

“Thanks, Mona. How did opening your shop go in Hawaii?” I asked.

“Oh, Ad! It was so beautiful there! The ocean is so gorgeous...as are the men! I sold a whole unit in the first week!”

“That's great, Mo!” I said with enthusiasm.

Mona Swisher was probably one of my closest friends. We met at St. Stephen's and had been friends ever since. She had gone through a divorce almost at the same time I had. She opened her own idol store soon after. She had always been a free spirit when it came to life and religion. Which was probably why she now owned two shops. Her name was all over the local papers as the business star to watch out for.

“Yeah, but unfortunately it all has to end. Which reminds me, do you mind picking me up from the airport tomorrow? My lazy brother, decided he'd finally get a job and now can't get time off to pick me up,” Mona said light-heartedly.

“I don't mind at all. It's been pretty quiet here. Paige is in LA with her father.”

“Because of what's going on there?” Mona asked carefully.

She knew some-what of my dreams. She didn't know any of the specifics but she had always been tuned in to that particular channel, so I had no problem in letting her in on my abnormal abilities.

“It's worse than you think. Genetics has not been in my favor.”

“She has the dreams to?” Mona asked surprised.

“No, she astral projected herself to the murder.”

Mona didn't say anything but I heard the little gasp over the phone.

“It's been hard on her. Which is why she is in LA. Away from everything.”

“My tiki's say, the worse is yet to come.”

Deep down I already knew that.

“I feel it too, Mo, and it scares the life out of me.”

************

The drive to the airport was hectic from all the traffic and from my fried nerves. I still hadn't heard from Franco. I had checked my phone more than five times to make sure he hadn't called while I was driving. I definitely was starting to get nervous, actually I was well past nervous.

It only got worse once I was inside the airport. The bustle of people made me even more frantic than usual. It took me ten more minutes than it should have to find Mona's terminal. Once there, I had to sit and close my eyes to get myself under control. My body relaxed and I drifted off to sleep.

I instantly began to dream. People slowly moved past me on the moving walkway. Something in the corner of my eye tugged at my vision. I turned and I saw something that made my stomach drop to the floor.

Father Preston?!

As quickly as he had come, he slipped from my view. I stood and began to search for him but I couldn't find him in the sea of faces.

“Adara!! Over here!” Said a shrill voice as arms wrapped themselves around my shoulders. I gasped and opened my eyes quickly. A bob of dark brown hair was pressed against my cheek. It took me a few moments to figure out what was going on.

“How long have you been here?” Mona asked as she let go.

I stared at her, lost for a minute. My eyes shot past her to the spot where I thought I saw Father Preston. The group of people were still there but I couldn't see him. I searched and searched but my eyes didn't catch a glimpse of his face or his attire. Had that been a dream? When did I stand up?

“Adara? Are you okay?” She stepped into my line of view. I shook my head and waited for my vision to focus on her.

“Yeah, sorry. Thought I saw someone,” I said quietly.

“Who?” She asked nonchalantly.

“Oh, it's no one you know.” I said quickly.

“Hm, okay,” That seemed to satisfy her. “We have got to get to a bathroom! I need to wash off plane travel!”

I smiled. Sometimes Mona could be so dramatic.

I spotted a coffee shop just across from the bathrooms. “ I'm going to grab a coffee. Do you want one?”

“I'm good. Oh, we'd better hurry though. I don't want to miss my bags at baggage claim. Been there, done that.” She tossed her hair and laughed.

I nodded and turned into the coffee shop.

I sat down with my black coffee at one of the little booths. The news was playing on one of the TV's in the corner. Footage of a warehouse was being shown. The sound was too low to hear but the words were scrolling through the marquee. I couldn't make sense of it at first. I waited for the sentence to start up again.

“Police say they have no leads in the recent murders related to the ComKiller. They are asking anyone with any information to please-”

I stopped reading and quickly looked away from the TV. My mind began to race at a million miles per second. Father Preston's face kept popping up in my mind. Did I really see him? Was he here at the airport, right now? Did any of this mean anything?

I pondered all these thoughts for awhile. I checked my phone. No calls from Franco. My eyes flashed to the time. I had been sitting for fifteen minutes! What was taking her so long?

I got up and threw my still warm coffee into the trash. I sidestepped a lady with a stroller and made my way into the bathroom. It was empty. Which was really weird considering that an airport is really busy.

“Mona?” I called. I began to check in each of the stalls. All the doors were open except for the one at the end. I looked through all the open stalls until I came to the last one. My stomach churned dangerously as I pushed on the door lightly. It moved a little bit and with one more push it opened completely.

My legs went numb and I crumpled to the ground.

Written crudely on the wall in bright red lipstick was:

Thou shalt have no other gods before me!

 

I sobbed. It was Mona's shade.