Free Untrained Eye by Jody Klaire

overhead with lazy long swoops of the wide
blades. The ceiling was dark wood slats reminding Renee of a sauna as she
stared up at it from her position in the booth. A dimly lit sauna where people
were dressed and they had alcohol.
    She giggled. Maybe she was a little bit under the influence of
said liquor.
    It was Ewan Fitzpatrick’s fault. Yup. He was one of the team in
the investigative arm of CIG. A fine agent, a big jock, with a smooth Texan
twang. At least sometimes. In fact, she didn’t know where he was from
originally but she doubted it was Texas. The wonders of working incognito.
    Anyway, the lug was responsible for dragging her sorry butt into
the slatted, sauna-esque dive of a bar that the CIG lovingly called Dusty’s.
    Boy, they were so original.
    “Renee, you want another?” Fitzpatrick asked.
    Renee dropped her head downward to focus on him. Why he was all
wavy she didn’t know but it gave her the hiccups.
    “Why not?”
    Fitzpatrick shot her a dashing grin. It was the same old routine.
He’d try and get her drunk enough to find him attractive and they’d both wind
up asleep in the booth they sat in. They could have changed it up a bit, you
know, like sit in another booth but why bother.
    It was too hot to bother.
    Fitzpatrick staggered off to the bar. Renee felt a breeze tickle
her arms and chuckled at it before turning to see a small woman with short
white hair grinning at her.
    Renee grinned back, wondering why she could see her but couldn’t
actually see her. It was weird. She looked a bit transparent in parts and every
time she moved she faded. Renee stared down at her glass. Clearly it was good
stuff.
    “Well, Blondie, hope you like headaches ’cause the way you’re
knocking them back, it’s gonna stay awhile.”
    Renee attempted to cock her head. She twinged a muscle in her neck
at the floppy-doll movement. “Nan?”
    “One in the same. I ain’t got all day to sit around in a bar so
listen up.”
    Renee leaned in to do so, slipping off her hand and thwacking her
head on the table. That was going to hurt tomorrow.
    A shot of cold air along her spine made her snap her head up. Nan
laughed as she twinged her back.
    “Darlin’, you ain’t got the legs to hold your liquor.”
    Renee nodded. Nan bounced about before her eyes. So drunk.
    “You remember that note I left you?” Nan said, her hazy
image frowning at her.
    “The one where you told me I was a basket?” Renee giggled. Her
ears buzzed.
    Nan sighed. “You want me to come back when you’re sober?”
    Renee straightened up. Nope. No way. Long dead people were only
fun to chat to when inebriated. “Shoot.”
    “Shorty has some growin’ to do.” She held up her hand. “In the head
before you start worrying.”
    Thank goodness for that. It was hard enough trying to buy clothes
for her now.
    “You remember when I said if you told her how you felt that she’d
bolt like her mother?”
    Renee knew every single word of the note. She read it . . . a lot
. . . okay, so every night. “Yup.”
    “I weren’t kiddin’ around. Her grandma and her momma were the
same.”
    Renee held up her finger, wondering why it looked wavier than Nan.
“You’re her grandmother . . . aren’t you?”
    “No, I’m her Nan.” Nan reached out and touched her, causing goose bumps to ripple
all the way up her arm.
    “Where did Lilia’s mother go?” Why was Lilia so hard to say when
she was drunk. Lili. Lali. Lily-yah.
    “ Focus, Blondie .” Nan shot another cold ripple up her back.
“ My daughter, Bess, had a bit of a free spirit. I raised her good an’ proper
. . .” Renee chuckled. Free spirit, that was funny. “ . . . and my
brothers were all good men, God rest their souls. ”
    There were more Loreleis? Ooh, Lorelei was even harder to say.
Lor-rell-lees, Lor—
    “So, Bess, wherever she may be, left . . .”
    Renee nodded realizing that she may just have missed a lot .
    “I ain’t seen her here so she’s still walking around