{"id":1187,"date":"2026-01-03T21:17:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/never-saw-it-coming-barclay-linwood\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T21:17:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:17:55","slug":"never-saw-it-coming-barclay-linwood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/never-saw-it-coming-barclay-linwood\/","title":{"rendered":"Never Saw It Coming – Barclay, Linwood"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Book Preview<\/h3>\n
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One<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is ridiculous,\u201d Marcia Taggart said. \u201cYou\u2019re telling me this woman here, just by holding something of Justin\u2019s, she\u2019s going to be able to figure out where he is? Are you kidding me? She\u2019s going to forge some kind of some psychic link <\/em>with him by fondling one of his childhood action figures or wrapping her arms around his pillow? What kind of fool do you take me for?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMarcia, for the love of God,\u201d said her husband, Dwayne. \u201cIf you\u2019re not going to call the police, you need to do something<\/em>. For all you know, your boy\u2019s in a ditch somewhere. We have to find him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know as well as I do that\u2019s probably exactly<\/em> what\u2019s happened,\u201d Marcia snapped at him. \u201cHe\u2019s gotten drunk, or high, or he\u2019s shacked up with some slut somewhere, or most likely all of the above. If I go running to the police every time he does something like that, we\u2019ll need a bigger driveway for all the patrol cars that\u2019ll be sitting here all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha Ceylon sat and listened, and watched. Let them have their argument. She could wait.<\/p>\n

Dwayne said, \u201cIt\u2019s been three days. The boy\u2019s never been gone this long before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the problem,\u201d Marcia said, pointing an accusing finger at her husband. \u201cYou think of him as a boy. He\u2019s not a boy<\/em> any more. He\u2019s twenty-two and it\u2019s time he learned to stand on his own two feet, not waiting around for handouts from his mother. Why do you think I\u2019ve cut him off? So he\u2019ll learn to be responsible, that\u2019s why.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quietly, Dwayne said to her, \u201cI\u2019m not saying you\u2019re wrong about any of this. I know what he\u2019s put you through. I know it\u2019s been hard, raising him on your own after Oscar passed away. I know Justin needs to get his act together. He\u2019s a scheming little pain in the ass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia shot him a look that said, I can call him that, but you\u2019re not his father, so watch it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry,\u201d he said, receiving her unspoken message loud and clear. \u201cBut I\u2019m not saying anything you haven\u2019t said yourself. He can be a handful. But Marcia, just because he\u2019s irresponsible doesn\u2019t mean he couldn\u2019t be in some real trouble.\u201d He pointed to the window. A light snow was falling. \u201cIt\u2019s freezing out there. Suppose you\u2019re right. Suppose he did get drunk, or high, and ended up passing out in a snow bank. He could have frozen to death out there. Is that what you want for your own\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not!\u201d she shouted. Her lower lip quivered, her eyes glistened.<\/p>\n

Here we go<\/em>, Keisha thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God,\u201d Marcia Taggart said, putting her hands over her face, walking over to the couch and sitting down. She kept her face covered, not wanting her husband, or Keisha, to see her lose control. She plucked a tissue from the box sitting on the coffee table and quickly dabbed her eyes, blew her nose, then sat up very straight. Composed now. Positively regal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d she said. \u201cSo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dwayne walked around behind the couch, standing at his wife\u2019s back, and rested his hands uneasily on her shoulders. Like he was trying to be comforting, but they were too cold to the touch.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if I accept what you\u2019re saying,\u201d she said, turning and talking to the hand on her left shoulder to indicate she meant these words for her husband and not their visitor, \u201cwhy on earth would we turn to this woman for help?\u201d<\/p>\n

Still talking like she wasn\u2019t there. Keisha knew the type. Before she got into this line of work, when she was cleaning houses for a living\u2014something she still did when money ran short\u2014she\u2019d had clients who treated her like she was a piece of furniture. They\u2019d leave her notes about what they wanted done\u2014\u201cdust TOPS of ceiling fans, wipe stainless-steel sinks dry\u201d\u2014even though she was standing there and they could have told her to her face.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou won\u2019t let me call the police,\u201d Dwayne reminded Marcia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been through this,\u201d she snapped. \u201cI just\u2014you know what he\u2019s like, what the boy is capable of.\u201d She sighed. \u201cSuppose he\u2019s fine, but the reason we haven\u2019t heard from him is, I don\u2019t know, maybe he stole someone\u2019s car. Or shoplifted again. Sending the police out to look for him means they\u2019ll probably end up charging him with something once they find him. Is that what you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Dwayne\u2019s turn to sigh. He nodded with false sympathy. \u201cWe\u2019ve called all his friends, we\u2019ve been to all the places we thought he might be. We\u2019re running out of options.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut her<\/em>?\u201d Marcia tipped her head toward Keisha. \u201cWouldn\u2019t we at least be better off with a private detective?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dwayne came around the couch and sat down next to her. \u201cWe\u2019ve been through that, too, Marcia. When I suggested hiring a private eye, you just about bit my head off, because they ask lots of questions like the police would. That\u2019s how they work. They have to find the facts, they have to dig them up, they have to talk to lots of people, and that\u2019s how everyone gets to know your business, Marcia, and I know how you want to protect Justin, to be discreet about his\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. errors in judgment. But Ms. Ceylon here, she doesn\u2019t work that way. She senses<\/em> things. She might be able to find out where Justin is without having to stir things up, without having to talk to anyone.\u201d He looked at Keisha. \u201cIsn\u2019t that right?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded. \u201cThat is the way I work.\u201d It was the first time she\u2019d spoken in twenty minutes.<\/p>\n

Marcia Taggart shook her head. \u201cBut honestly, Dwayne, the woman\u2014really, every New Age psychobabble thing that comes along, you buy into it. This woman\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy name,\u201d Keisha said, interrupting for the first time, \u201cis Keisha. Keisha Ceylon. I usually answer to Keisha, but if you\u2019d like to keep referring to me as \u2018this woman\u2019, then I suppose that\u2019s your prerogative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia turned her eyes on her. \u201cI don\u2019t believe you can do what you claim to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would be in the majority,\u201d Keisha agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s utter nonsense,\u201d Marcia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, then,\u201d Keisha said, standing, \u201cI suppose I should be on my way.\u201d She offered up her most sincere smile. \u201cI wish you every success in finding your son.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she started for the door, Dwayne stood in her path. \u201cNow wait, hang on just a second. Marcia, the woman\u2014Ms. Ceylon\u2014went to all the trouble of coming here. I think the least we could do is hear her out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia snorted. \u201cAt what cost?\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha turned to look at the woman, didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cMy fee is five thousand dollars.\u201d She managed to say it without flinching. It was more than her usual rate, but from what she\u2019d been told, the Taggarts could afford it.<\/p>\n

Marcia threw her hands into the air. \u201cWell, there you go, Dwayne. I think we know exactly where this woman\u2019s coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut only<\/em> if I find your son,\u201d Keisha added. \u201cIf I\u2019m unable to lead you to him, then you pay me absolutely nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

That made the room go quiet for several seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that seems more than fair to me,\u201d Dwayne said. \u201cDoesn\u2019t that seem fair to you, honey? I mean, come on. Even if you thought this woman was some kind of fraud, how can you lose here?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia Taggart was thinking and, Keisha guessed, swallowing her pride. Enough to say, \u201cSit down\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. Ms. Ceylon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha sat back down.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust how do you go about this? We turn off the lights, get out a ouija board and start speaking in tongues?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Keisha said. \u201cJust bring me some of Justin\u2019s things. Small, personal items. Things that mattered to him. A sample of his handwriting would be useful, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can do that,\u201d Dwayne said, and left the room hurriedly.<\/p>\n

There was an awkward silence between the women. Marcia broke it with, \u201cMy husband believes his late mother communicates with him.\u201d She accompanied the comment with a roll of the eyes. Telling Keisha she was entertaining this nonsense only to satisfy her husband.<\/p>\n

Keisha said nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe says she gets in touch with him in his dreams, that she calls him from the beyond.\u201d The woman made another one of her snorting sounds. \u201cKnowing what a penny-pinching bitch she was, they\u2019re probably collect<\/em> calls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha didn\u2019t laugh. She said, \u201cI know you feel a lot of anger toward your son, but I also sense that you love him very much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you sense that, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I do. And I know you\u2019re actually very worried about him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of these psychic powers you have?\u201d Marcia asked sarcastically.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Keisha said. \u201cBecause I\u2019m a mother. I have a son, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia\u2019s face softened ever so slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatthew. He\u2019s ten. And believe me, there are days\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. But no matter what he does, no matter what kind of trouble he gets into at school, I love him. There\u2019s nothing he could do that would ever change that. There might be times when I want to wring his neck, but I\u2019d still love him as I was doing it.\u201d Keisha smiled. \u201cI\u2019m joking, of course. About wringing his neck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you don\u2019t have to apologize,\u201d Marcia said. \u201cJustin, I swear\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. you just want to slap some sense into them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been a handful from the time he could walk, but once he hit his teens, it just got worse. Drinking, drugs, skipping school. I stopped giving him money because I knew he\u2019d just blow it on drugs. But the thing is, this is the part that\u2019s so heartbreaking, he\u2019s such a smart<\/em> boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll bet he is,\u201d Keisha said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, anything he puts his mind to, he can do it. Computers, he\u2019s a whiz with those. He can add up a column of numbers in his head. You say to him, what\u2019s four hundred and twenty times six hundred and three, and just like that, he can tell you the answer. He\u2019s probably some kind of genius, but instead of using his brain to accomplish something, he\u2019s always trying to figure out how to work the system, get some money out of his mother, or\u201d\u2014and she nodded in the direction her husband had gone\u2014\u201cDwayne. I know he gives Justin money behind my back. He\u2019s got a soft spot for him, thinks I\u2019m too tough on him. I think he was so taken with the idea of becoming a father, even a stepfather, that it\u2019s blinded him to Justin\u2019s faults. The thing is, he\u2019s\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. there\u2019s something not quite right about Justin. Sometimes he\u2014and this is an awful thing to say, but sometimes he actually kind of scares me. Not physically, but what goes on in that head of his. I just wish\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then, without warning, tears welled out of her eyes and ran down her cheeks. \u201cOh, God, I hope nothing\u2019s happened to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha got out of her chair and sat on the couch next to Marcia Taggart. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be okay,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope these will do,\u201d Dwayne said, coming back into the living room with several items in his hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cPut them there,\u201d Keisha said, indicating the coffee table, where she had already laid out two of her business cards.<\/p>\n

Dwayne set them down gently. An iPod, a paperback copy of the novel American Psycho<\/em>, a cancelled check, a plastic collectible figure of a grotesquely well-endowed woman in superhero garb.<\/p>\n

Keisha handled them dubiously. \u201cI\u2019m not sure about\u2014would you have an article of clothing? Something Justin wears regularly? Something that suggests his personality?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia said, \u201cGet one of his hats.\u201d She looked at Keisha. Her eyes were suddenly very weary. \u201cWould a hat work?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so. In the meantime, let me have a look at these.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia picked up the cancelled check from the things Dwayne had delivered to Keisha and scowled. After a shake of her head, she folded it in half and held it in her fist. With her other hand she picked up the female action figure and studied it as though it were some obscure artifact from an alien civilization.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustin collects these things,\u201d she said. \u201cI just want to throw them all into the garbage. What\u2019s a man in his twenties doing with toys like these? He must have five hundred of them. I don\u2019t even know who this is supposed to be. Wonder Woman or\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShh,\u201d Keisha said gently, and closed her eyes. She handled the toy, then opened her eyes and picked up the iPod.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe listens to this a lot,\u201d Keisha said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can feel\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. when he carries this, it\u2019s often in his shirt pocket, right next to his heart,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I guess that\u2019s where lots of people carry them,\u201d Marcia said, looking skeptical again. \u201cWhen you touch his earbuds, are you going to say he wore them right close to his brain?\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha smiled ruefully at the woman. \u201cI thought we were starting to get along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I\u2019m saying is, that was a pretty obvious observation about the iPod.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha closed her eyes again and ran her fingers along the cool surface of the device. \u201cI\u2019m seeing\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. his eyes are closed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia said, \u201cWhat do you mean, closed? Like, sleeping? You see him sleeping? Lying down?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I\u2019m just seeing him\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. I\u2019m sure this doesn\u2019t mean anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, what is it?\u201d Marcia asked. Pretty interested for someone so cynical.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know whether he\u2019s sleeping, or if it\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike what? Are you saying he\u2019s\u2014are you saying he\u2019s not alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m not saying that. I\u2019m sure he\u2019s alive. But his eyes are closed, and I\u2019m wondering if he might be unconscious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you really don\u2019t know,\u201d Marcia said impatiently. \u201cDon\u2019t get me all upset if you don\u2019t know what it\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s one of his hats,\u201d Dwayne said, coming back into the room. It was a basic ball cap, blue with a green visor, and a Hartford Whalers logo on the front.<\/p>\n

Marcia opened her fist and displayed the check for her husband. \u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJustin endorsed it. His signature\u2019s on the back,\u201d Dwayne said defensively. \u201cKeisha said she needed a sample of his handwriting. I didn\u2019t know what else to get. Kids today, they do all their writing on the computer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wrote him a check for two hundred dollars behind my back?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMarcia, really, this isn\u2019t the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me see that,\u201d Keisha said, and took the check from the woman\u2019s hand. She flipped it over and ran her index finger back and forth across Justin Wilcox\u2019s signature. Wilcox was the last name of Marcia Taggart\u2019s first husband, Justin\u2019s father. \u201cCan I have this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia snatched it back, and tore away all the sections of the check surrounding the endorsement, including the part on the front with the account number, then returned the shred of paper bearing the signature to Keisha. \u201cI don\u2019t see any sense in giving you all my husband\u2019s banking information.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh for the love of God,\u201d Dwayne said. \u201cWhy not insult the woman while she\u2019s trying to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all right,\u201d Keisha said with unoffended patience as she tucked the slip of paper into the pocket of her jacket.<\/p>\n

Marcia, plowing through her opportunity to apologize, said, \u201cYou were seeing Justin with his eyes closed. What\u2019s that supposed to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of answering, Keisha took the hat from Dwayne, stood up and started to walk around the room very slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Marcia asked, but Keisha, who seemed to have slipped into some kind of trance, did not respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust let her do her job,\u201d Dwayne said.<\/p>\n

Keisha was saying something under breath, mumbling. Marcia said, \u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n

She held up a hand and continued wandering. Then she stopped abruptly, turned and looked at Marcia. \u201cWhat does scarf, or scarfy, or something like that mean to you? Does that word make any sense?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia\u2019s mouth opened. \u201cWhat? That doesn\u2019t mean anything. I have no idea what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha made a show of mental struggle. \u201cCould it be \u2018scar free?\u2019 Is that possible? I\u2019m seeing some kind of office. With empty filing cabinets. But \u2018scar free,\u2019 that must be wrong. Does Justin have any scars? Let me see his picture again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dwayne had shown her a picture of his stepson moments after she\u2019d arrived, a framed high school graduation shot. A thin boy, with a long, angular face. Dwayne was about to grab it off the mantel and show it to her again when Marcia said, \u201cOh my God. You said \u2018scar free?\u2019 Is that what you said? That does mean something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha stopped kneading the hat in her hands. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a clinic,\u201d she said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cA clinic?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey did laser treatments, that kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat could that have to do with your son, Ms. Taggart?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia had become flustered. \u201cThey rented from\u2014I have some properties. Investment properties, business space I rent out. I rented office space to the Scar Free Clinic, out past the Post Mall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha said, \u201cWell, I must have this wrong. Your son could hardly be hiding out in a clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but they went out of business. The office space is empty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dwayne\u2019s eyes lit up. He gave Keisha an approving look. \u201cThat\u2019s why you just saw the empty filing cabinets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCould Justin have got a key to that place?\u201d Keisha asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose it\u2019s possible,\u201d Marcia said. \u201cJust a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

She got off the couch and hurriedly left the room. Dwayne said, \u201cShe\u2019s got an office in the house where she keeps keys to her various rental properties. Do you think he could be there? Is that what you\u2019re getting? Is that the vision you\u2019re seeing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease,\u201d Keisha cautioned. \u201cDon\u2019t get your hopes up. I get these little flashes, I see things, but this might not be the thing that\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re gone!\u201d Marcia screamed from another part of the house. \u201cThe keys are gone!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something else,\u201d Keisha said. \u201cI keep seeing him with his eyes closed.\u201d She paused. \u201cMaybe he\u2019s just sleeping.\u201d<\/p>\n

*\u00a0*\u00a0*<\/p>\n

The three of them went over in Dwayne\u2019s Range Rover. Marcia, rattled, sat in the passenger seat, squeezing her hands together. Dwayne hit the wipers to keep the windshield cleared of snow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy\u2019s he sleeping?\u201d Marcia kept asking. \u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Keisha said quietly from the backseat. \u201cBut I think we should hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t you go any faster?\u201d Marcia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe roads are slippery!\u201d Dwayne said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s four-wheel drive, for Christ\u2019s sake!\u201d<\/p>\n

The former offices of Scar Free were on the second floor of a four-story office building. The three of them ran into the lobby, and after waiting ten seconds for the elevator to show up, Marcia lost patience. She took off down a nearby hall, pushed open a door marked \u201cStairs\u201d and scurried up the single flight.<\/p>\n

As they exited onto the second floor, they faced a door to an accounting firm. \u201cThis way,\u201d Marcia said, turning left, running to the end of the hall and stopping at a frosted-glass door with \u201cScar Free Clinic\u201d painted on it in black letters. Someone had Magic Markered \u201cCLOSED\u201d on a sheet of paper and taped it to the glass.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no key, I have no key,\u201d Marcia said. \u201cHow am I supposed to get in?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dwayne tried the door, in the unlikely event it was unlocked. No luck. He puffed up his chest and said to the women, \u201cStand back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha said, \u201cI could be wrong. He may not even be in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Dwayne wasn\u2019t hearing her. He reared back, brought up his leg, and kicked in the glass with his heel. It crashed to the floor with the sound of a hundred cymbals. Seconds later, the accounting office door whipped open and a short, heavyset man in a white shirt and skinny black tie looked on with alarm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the hell is\u2014Marcia?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Frank,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She reached in through the broken door to turn the deadbolt. The door swept back some broken glass as she swung it into the room. Their shoes crunched on the shards as they entered.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustin?\u201d Marcia called out.<\/p>\n

There was no answer.<\/p>\n

The place was as Keisha had so briefly described it. Empty. Shelves cleared, filing cabinets half open, nothing inside them. No generic landscape pictures or diplomas or anything else on the walls.<\/p>\n

But on the floor, several discarded fast-food containers. A pizza box, a Big Mac container still smeared with special sauce. Several empty beer cans.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone\u2019s been here,\u201d Dwayne said. \u201cSomeone\u2019s been living<\/em> here.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a spacious foyer, then a short corridor that serviced four examining rooms. Marcia was moving that way, opening one door, then another, Dwayne and Keisha running to keep up with her.<\/p>\n

When she opened the last door, she screamed. \u201cOh God!\u201d<\/p>\n

A second later, Keisha and Dwayne found her on her knees next to Justin, who was lying on the floor, dressed in a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, feet bare. His shoes and socks were scattered alongside him, and a winter coat was rolled up and tucked under his head as a pillow.<\/p>\n

The young man\u2019s eyes were closed.<\/p>\n

An orangey opaque pill container lay on its side a foot away from his head. Dwayne bent over at the waist, one leg raised behind him, and snatched it off the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarcia,\u201d he said. \u201cAren\u2019t these the sleeping pills you were on a year ago?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJustin!\u201d she said. \u201cWake up!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s full of pills,\u201d he said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t look like he\u2019s taken any.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justin stirred. \u201cWhat, what\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia pulled him into her arms. \u201cAre you okay? Are you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Groggily, he said, \u201cI\u2019m okay. I\u2019m sorry, I\u2019m sorry, Mom. I\u2019m so sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Dwayne had seen something else on the floor. A sheet of paper, with something scribbled on it. He grabbed it, saw what was written on it, handed it to Keisha without saying a word.<\/p>\n

It read: \u201cI know I\u2019ve been a huge pain, Mom. Maybe your life will be better now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy word,\u201d Keisha whispered. Dwayne shook his head, looked at the pill container in his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod, if we\u2019d been a few minutes later\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u201d he whispered back.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustin, listen to me,\u201d Marcia said. \u201cHave you taken anything? Have you taken any pills?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no, I just\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. I just had some beers, that\u2019s all. I was going to take them later, maybe. I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know what I was going to do. I\u2019m sorry if I scared you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcia clung to him and began to sob as he patted her head. Before Dwayne knelt down next to his wife and wrapped his arms around her and his stepson, he said to Keisha, \u201cI\u2019ll see that you get your money this afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keisha Ceylon smiled modestly.<\/p>\n

Justin weakly put his own arms around his mother and stepfather. His face was buried in his mother\u2019s neck, his eyes closed. But then they opened, and fixed on Keisha.<\/p>\n

Justin winked at her.<\/p>\n

And Keisha winked back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Read the full book by downloading it below.<\/p>\n

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Book Preview One \u201cThis is ridiculous,\u201d Marcia Taggart said. \u201cYou\u2019re telling me this woman here, just by holding something of Justin\u2019s, she\u2019s going to be able to figure out where he is? Are you kidding me? She\u2019s going to forge some kind of some psychic link with him by fondling one of his childhood action … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1186,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[45],"class_list":["post-1187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-linwood-barclay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}