Free Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies by Denise Grover Swank Page A

would be doing tonight. That would take me away from this black, blank space. Sure enough, the next moment I found myself in our home office, studying Mason’s computer screen. The webpage for Crane Industries was on the screen.
    “You’re gonna investigate Crane Industries,” I whispered, then slumped back against the seat, weak and lightheaded.
    “Rose?” Mason asked, worry in his voice. “What happened? What did you see?”
    My mind was sluggish, but I realized what I’d seen and started to cry.
    “ Rose .”
    I needed to hold him. I needed to know he was here with me. Alive and okay. Gathering all of my strength, I sat up, threw my arms around his neck, and tried to slow my racing heart.
    Mason grabbed my upper arms and pulled away a bit to study my face, his eyes full of fear. “Rose, you’re scaring me. What did you see?”
    I forced myself to calm down. “I had two visions.”
    “Two?”
    “I’ve learned that if I try to force a vision of something that won’t happen, I get stuck. When that happens, I have to redirect my mind somewhere else.”
    “What did you redirect it to?”
    “The second vision was of what you’ll be doing tonight.”
    “And I was investigating Crane Industries?”
    I nodded, my heart still racing. “You were in the office, working on your laptop.”
    “That was next on my research list. What did you try to see the first time?”
    I started to shake, fear washing through me. “I wanted to see where you would be in three weeks.”
    He looked so solemn as he nodded. “And what did you see?”
    “Nothing.” I took a deep breath, trying not to cry. “I saw absolutely nothing. It was so cold and dark, and there was nothing .”
    He grabbed my face and gently wiped an escaped tear with his thumbs. “Calm down. We don’t know what that means. Maybe the future’s just too uncertain for you to get a clear picture.”
    I shook my head. “No. That’s not it. If that were a possibility, I would have seen lots of empty visions after Momma died. Things were changing so much, my visions wouldn’t have been able to keep up.”
    “Sweetheart, it’s probably not what you’re thinking.”
    “It’s exactly what I’m thinking, and you know it.” I looked into his eyes. “You were dead, Mason.” More tears fell down my cheeks. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced. It wasn’t just dark, it was cold . The cold sunk into my head and started spreading through my body.”
    “Your hand turned to ice while you were having your vision.”
    It was only further confirmation that I was right.
    “I’m okay.” He grinned. “I’m too stubborn to let something happen to me before I see this thing through.” He gave me a kiss. “Let’s go inside.”
    “We have to fight this thing, Mason. We have to stop it from happening.”
    “We will. We are . Let’s go inside and let Muffy out. She’s about to have a stroke from all that barking.”
    He got out of the car, and I opened my car door, but my knees buckled when I tried to stand. Mason was by my side in seconds, wrapping his arm around my waist and holding me up. “This has never happened to you with a vision before, has it?”
    “No, but I haven’t seen death very often, and I’ve never experienced it like that—like a blank slate.”
    He helped me up the porch steps. And when we reached the front door, we stood there for a moment, his arm wrapped around my back. I pulled free of his hold. “I think I’m okay now.”
    He studied me for a second. “I’m really worried about you. When you were having that vision, you turned ice cold and as white as a sheet. In fact, you’re still pale. I think you should go inside and lie down for a bit.”
    “I’m feeling better. I’ll take Muffy out, then I’ll rest, okay?”
    “Okay.” He unlocked the door and pushed it open, heading straight to the kitchen to turn off the alarm, and I bent down and rubbed the top of Muffy’s head. Her response was to make me wish