Free Cast An Evil Eye by Ruthe Ogilvie Page B

there.”

    Jay hung up, quite disturbed. How in the world could Courtney fill the leading role in her present state of mind? She’d refuse to do it. She wouldn’t want to do anything that would take her away from her time with Manny.
    There was just one answer. He remembered what Zack told him about Nathaniel Drake bringing Angus out of the hypnotism that Manny had caused. If he did it for Angus, he was sure he could do the same for Courtney. He picked up the phone and dialed Dr. Drake.
    “Nate,” he said when the vet answered, “Zack told me you could bring Courtney out of this spell she’s under if you could see her in person. I’ll bring her over in the next few minutes if that’s okay with you. Something has come up that needs taking care of ASAP. Are you free? She mustn’t know why we’re coming over. I’ll pretend I want you to examine Angus once more.”
    “Give me a few minutes. My last patient is just leaving.” Jay hung up quickly. He called Angus and put his leash on him. Then he went out back where Courtney was sitting in one of the chaise lounges. She looked sad, and had a vacant stare in her eyes as she turned toward him.
    Jay put a loving arm around her shoulders. “Honey, I’m taking Angus over to see Dr. Drake. I want to make sure he’s all right. I’d like you to go with me.”
    Courtney started to protest. “I have to wait here. Manny might call—”
    “We’ll only be gone a few minutes,” Jay assured her. “Please, Courtney. Come with me. We haven’t walked together for a while, and I’d love your company. You can hold Angus’ leash.”
    Angus went over to her and licked her face as if to say, “Come on. I want you to walk me.”
    Courtney had always loved to walk with her granddad, with Angus trudging by her side. Jay knew this, and hoped this would lure her to go with him.
    Reluctantly she rose from the lounge. “Okay,” she agreed. “But I have to get right back. I don’t want to miss his call.”
    “The others are here. They can take a message. It will do you good to get out.”
    It took only three minutes to reach Dr. Drake’s residence. He was waiting for them, and ushered them inside to his private office.
    He smiled at Courtney. “Well,” he exclaimed, “aren’t you quite the lady! You were just a teenager when I last saw you. Now you’re all grown up with a successful musical on Broadway! It must be quite a thrill to see it being performed. Have you written anymore?”
    Courtney looked at him, still with that vacant stare.
    Nate fixed his gaze on her.
    Jay left the room with Angus so Courtney could be alone with Nate.
    Courtney didn’t seem to notice. She sat there staring back at Nate.
    It was quiet. Neither one said anything further for the next two or three minutes.
    Gradually the vacant stare disappeared, and Courtney smiled her usual, happy smile as she answered his question. Her voice was full of enthusiasm. “I’ve almost finished another one,” she told him. She looked around the room. “Where are Sir Jaybird and Angus? Is Angus all right?”
    Nate relaxed. “He’s fine, Courtney. They had to go outside for a moment. They’ll be right back. What’s this next musical about?”
    “It’s a story of a dog. Imagine a dog being the star of a musical?” She laughed. “But of course there are people in it, too. I can’t wait to finish it.” She looked puzzled. “I don’t know what stopped me. Maybe it was writer’s block.”
    “Oh, you’ll finish it now without any more delays,” Nate assured her. He opened the door and spoke to Jay. “You can come in now. I think we’re done here. Courtney was just telling me about her new musical. I bet it will be just as great a success as ‘Déjà Vu.’ Have you heard any of it?”
    Jay breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes. It’s great. Courtney hasn’t worked on it since we left Paris.”
    “She’s ready to finish it now,” Nate assured him. “Everything’s fine.” He patted Angus on the