Free Under the Moon's Shadow by T. L. Haddix Page B

source.”
    “I get that. A lot of men don’t understand it, but women have to be more careful. I guess that makes it a little hard for you sometimes.”
    “It certainly makes things interesting, I’ll say that. Do you think he would have a problem with that stipulation?”
    “No. I can’t see why he would. Gordon’s a pretty reasonable guy. I’ll let him know. That’s pretty much all I needed to say, so I guess I’ll head out now.” She started to stand. When she was halfway out of her seat, she stopped and sank back down. Staring at Beth, her gaze went totally blank for a few seconds. It caused the hair on the back of Beth’s neck to stand on end. Just as suddenly as it came, the look passed and Zora frowned deeply.
    “Something’s wrong,” she said bluntly. “Something’s around you. It’s ugly and dark. Are you okay?”
    Beth was stunned by the words, and had to gather her scattered thoughts in order to respond. She cleared her throat. “I am, but my apartment was broken into over the weekend.”
    The other woman shook her head and continued, obviously concerned. “Be careful, Beth. Whatever this is around you – whoever it is – they’re twisted. It’s not a good energy.”
    “I appreciate the warning, Zora. Like I told you, I’m not closed off to the idea of clairvoyance, and especially given what happened this weekend, your words carry some weight.” She pulled a business card out of her notebook and handed it across the table.
    “Both my email and cell phone number are on there. I assume you’ll be in touch with Gordon, tell him whether or not I passed muster?”
    Zora blushed a little at the words, but nodded.
    “Tell him he’s free to call me or email me, whichever he prefers.” As she stood, Beth told her, “I’m glad we met today. You remind me of my sister Joely, and I’ve been missing her.”
    “Stay safe, Beth.” Zora moved away from the table and headed out the door without looking back.
    As she walked to where she’d parked her SUV, Beth’s mind raced. This mysterious Gordon presented a little bit of a dilemma. She wasn’t sure meeting with him was a good idea, but as long as he was willing to meet in a public place, she wasn’t going to let that stop her. Her gut was telling her he would be able to provide her with a lot of the answers she sought.
    Glancing at the dashboard clock, she decided to head to the library and see if they had any books on the occult she hadn’t already checked out. Having as much knowledge as she could about the occult before she met with this mysterious Gordon probably wouldn’t be a bad idea.
     
     
    Chapter Eleven
     
    Beth had no sooner walked into the library than her phone rang, causing one of the ladies behind the reference desk to shoot her a dirty look. She grimaced and mouthed an apology as she answered.  Asking the caller to hold on, she hurried toward the back corner of the main room, which was usually deserted. Alone, she dropped her bag on a table and brought the phone back to her ear and said a breathless hello.
    “Ms. Hudson? This is Gordon. I believe you may have heard of me?”
    Catching her breath, Beth stood up straighter and glanced around as she answered. “Yes, I have. Zora tells me that you’d like to meet and discuss some things.”
    “I would, yes. How’s your schedule looking for tomorrow morning?”
    Beth pulled her bulging day planner out of her bag and quickly flipped to the appropriate page. “I have a meeting at eleven. If we met, it would have to be before nine,” she told him. “How early could we meet? Are you local?”
    “I can be. My schedule is pretty open tomorrow morning, so why don’t we meet at seven thirty or so? You have the Riverwalk there in Leroy. It will be fairly private at that time of day, but there’ll be enough people around that you shouldn’t be uncomfortable being alone with me.”
    “That sounds fine. How will I know you?” she asked.
    There was a deep chuckle on the