Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

T he woman behind the counter whipped around the end and smiled. “Can I help you with something?”

Maisey pointed to the front window. “Yes. That coat out there. I think I’d like to buy it.”

She followed the woman as they made their way toward the window. “Wouldn’t you like to try it on first?” the woman asked.

“I’m really in a hurry. My husband has a softball game tonight. You allow returns, right?”

“Yes, within seven days of purchase with a receipt.”

“That’s fine. No problem. But I think it’ll fit just fine.”

“Okay. So, your total is …” Maisey pulled out her debit card and paid for the coat, then waited as the woman put it on a hanger and slipped a bag over it. After placing it carefully on the back seat of her little car, Maisey took off for home.

There were potatoes and green beans that only needed warming, and the meat had been simmering in the slow cooker all day long. The aroma filled the air when she stepped into the house, so she hurried down the hallway to change clothes and came back to pull everything together. She’d barely gotten it plated when the front door opened. “Wow! My beautiful wife’s been cooking something delicious, I can tell!” Aaron sang out.

Murielle came skipping into the kitchen. “MamaMaisey, that smells so good!”

“It’s your favorite, smashed potatoes, green beans, and pot roast.”

“Yay! Are we eating now?”

Maisey pulled plates from the cabinet. “Yep. Your daddy’s got a ball game tonight, so we need to eat and get ready to go.”

Forty-five minutes later, they were rolling into the parking lot at the ball field. The Whitley County Sheriff’s Department team had been a powerhouse for years. It seemed the Corbin Police Department had decided they could do better, but they hadn’t been able to for at least three years. The rivalry was heating up, and every game was harder and hotter than the one before. All the guys had started talking smack to each other, and loudly enough that everyone could hear them, but they did it in a fun way, so the fans in the stands laughed constantly.

That night was no different. “You should watch out for that one right there,” Aaron’s buddy and fellow officer, Ben, said and pointed at Derrick, a city police officer. “He’s the devil in disguise.”

“Why would I be afraid of him?” Aaron yelled, then turned and pointed toward Maisey. “I’m married to his sister!” They all laughed when Maisey stuck her tongue out at him.

Derrick bellowed with laughter and pointed at Maisey. “Look at that tongue! Now I know why you married her!”

Angie, the police department’s only female officer, stepped up behind Derrick and slapped him in the back of the head with her cap. “Keep it PG, Officer Do Little!”

“Officer Dolittle? Do you talk to the animals?” a deputy named Ken yelled.

“No. I said Officer Do Little, like you have to stand behind him and throw donuts over his shoulder to see him move!” Angie yelled back as everyone laughed.

“We don’t eat donuts!” Ben barked.

“Yeah, but put a pound of candy out on your desk and it’s gone in ten minutes,” Ken added.

“Yeah, boy. I can attest to that,” Aaron yelled. “You gonna talk about food or you gonna play ball?”

It went like that all evening, and by the time the game was over, the sheriff’s department had once again raked the field with the police department and Maisey’s sides hurt from laughing so much. They collected Murielle―a police officer named Ward had a little boy her age, and they were all pretty sure Murielle and the kid were sweet on each other―and they headed home. By the time Aaron pulled the truck into the driveway, Murielle was sound asleep and stretched out across Maisey’s lap. Aaron picked her up and to carry her inside while Maisey locked up the truck and unlocked the front door.

He was busy putting Murielle to bed when Maisey remembered the coat, so she dashed out to her car to get it. Draping it across the back of the living room chair, she took another look at it, then locked the front door and headed to the kitchen to load the dishwasher. She’d just finished when Aaron stepped back into the kitchen. “Have fun tonight?” she asked, her voice soft and low to keep Murielle from waking up.

“Yeah. It’s always fun. I hope you enjoy it.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it. You guys really put on a show for everybody.”

“We try.” He’d pulled a beer from the refrigerator and turned, then stopped. “Hey, what’s in the bag?”

“Oh, that? It’s a jacket. Actually, it’s more of a short coat. I’ve been looking at it in the window of the consignment store and today I just decided to stop and pick it up.”

Aaron had picked up the hanger, and he pulled the bag upward to look at the garment. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“What?”

“That’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Seriously? I think it’s adorable!”

“It’s hideous, babe! You’re not really going to wear that, are you?”

“I fully intend to.”

“Maisey, look, I never say anything about anything you wear, but―”

“Oh, come on. It’ll look much cuter on, I promise.”

“You mean you haven’t seen it on?”

“No. I know it’ll fit. I just stopped and picked it up. I didn’t have time to try it on, but I’ll model it for you now if you want.”

“If you’ll take off everything but the coat, I promise I’ll like it.”

“Oh, yeah, right. I’m sure you would.” Maisey took it from his hands, slipped the coat off the hanger, and twirled it over her shoulders to put it on. She slid her right arm in, and then fished for the other one. When her left arm slid into that sleeve, she grasped the lapels and pulled it forward until it settled on her shoulders.

The room went black, as though someone had turned the lights out. Maisey couldn’t figure out what had happened. And then there was a person, their features partially obscured by a hoodie, someone she didn’t recognize, looming over her and yelling without words. There was no sound, but she could see their lips moving, and they were positively terrifying. Was it a man? A woman? She didn’t know, and her heart had started to thump out of control. She tried to back up, but she couldn’t. Something was behind her, and the figure came closer and closer. In an instant, there was the flash of something shiny somewhere near the center of her body and she felt the slice of a knife’s blade as it entered her midsection, felt the warmth of blood on her skin, felt herself sinking as the figure bent over her, still yelling, their face even more hidden. There was a flash of light, and she gasped as she opened her eyes.

“Babe! Babe, are you okay? Maisey? Talk to me, baby! What happened? Are you all right? Maisey, come on. Talk to me.”

“Whaaa, what happened?”

“You just fell out, honey, flat on your back, like you were in a trance. Are you okay? Please, baby, tell me you’re okay?” Maisey stared into his eyes and she could tell he was frightened.

“I don’t know. Somebody… Aaron, somebody stabbed me.”

He peered down at her. “Honey, there’s nobody here but us.”

“No. You don’t understand. Somebody… It was dark, and somebody was coming toward me, and I saw something flash, and I felt it sink into my skin, and there was something warm and wet on my skin, like blood, and I felt weak and tired and…” She stopped. “Did I say anything?”

“You were mumbling something. I think it was ‘no,’ but I’m not sure. Can you sit up?”

Maisey let Aaron take her hand and help her to sitting. She didn’t get a chance to stand before he bent down, scooped her up, and lifted her in his arms. “I’m okay, really. I think I’m okay,” she said as he plopped down on the sofa and held her in his lap.

“Are you sure? We can go to the hospital and have you―”

“No, no. I’m okay.” But she wasn’t. Something felt funny. What was it? It dawned on her in an instant. “Oh, god.”

Aaron swept her hair back and away from her face, then grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “What? What’s wrong?”

“The coat.”

“What about it?”

“It happened when I put on the coat.”

“Do you think it’s got a knife stuck through it and it stuck you, or is there something on it or―”

“No. I don’t think so. I think…” Her mind was churning. Surely not… “You know how I get those feelings?”

“Yeah. I get them sometimes too.”

“I think it has something to do with the coat.”

His brow wrinkled downward. “I don’t get it.”

“I think it has something to do with the coat, something that happened when it was being worn. Or something that happened to the person who wore it. You know, like we talk about things having residual energy? Maybe the person who wore it had something horrible happen to them.”

“You don’t really think―”

“What am I supposed to think? Aaron, somebody was attacking me. I mean, really attacking me. It was dark, and this person was coming toward me, and they were yelling, and―”

“What were they yelling?”

“I dunno. There was no sound, but I could tell they were yelling. The veins were standing out on their neck, and their mouth was wide open, and they―”

“Could you see their face?”

She thought for a minute, trying to replay what she’d seen in her mind. “No. I mean, yeah, but it’s like it was obscured. Like, like, like maybe I didn’t need to because I already knew who it was.” A chill ran up Maisey’s spine and she felt slightly nauseated. “They were wearing something with a hood. And it was dark. But I got the distinct impression that they were known.”

“Do you think you could’ve just imagined it?”

“No. It was real, as real as you are. Do you not believe me?”

Aaron shook his head. “It’s not that at all. It’s just that… It’s kinda hard to believe, you know?”

“And yet strange things happen all the time. Remember Murielle’s accident?”

“Yes. During our first date. I remember well. You knew something was wrong before we got the call. So yes―I believe you. But how will we ever know?”

Maisey slipped the coat off and laid it carefully on the sofa. “I’ll put it on again tomorrow night and we’ll see what happens.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?”

She shrugged. “You got a better one?”

“No.”

“Then tomorrow night I’ll do it again and we’ll see what happens.” The idea terrified Maisey, but she had to know. And in a weird way, it was exciting.

Weirdly exciting.