Free DeliciousDanger by Desiree Holt Page B

afternoon to tell him about
Kelly and Xena and the peculiar situation, that conversation prompted the
current dinner table conversation. The newest area that Phoenix was exploring
was parapsychology. With two of the partners married to women with psychic
gifts—those gifts having been instrumental in resolving situations—the men had
decided to open a Psi department. Mia Romeo, who now worked only part-time,
headed up the unit. Faith Halloran, when she wasn’t on deadline, backed her up.
    “I’ve been reading a lot about animal Psi,” Mia told them as
she carried a fresh basket of rolls to the table. “It’s an area that hasn’t
received a lot of attention. People have enough trouble understanding that
humans have psychic gifts. Animals are just more than they can handle.”
    “Tell me about it,” Mark laughed.
    “Is there much documentation?” Faith asked, sipping at her
wine.
    “Not as much as I’d like and I’ve really been digging into
it. The psychic connection between animals—especially dogs—and humans is such a
raw field. People are sort of floundering around in it. The word psi, as you
know, refers to the ability to become directly aware of past, present and/or
future events outside the body. There are people who swear dogs have had this
ability for centuries. Those who know when their owners are about to arrive
home, or are in danger. Any number of situations have been written about and
discounted by skeptics.” She looked at Dan and grinned. “We know about that,
don’t we, honey?”
    “I used to know someone who had a Caucasian Ovcharka,” Dan
put in. “I can believe they have psychic abilities. I’ve seen it myself. But
they’re one-person dogs, so the link with Rick is very unusual.”
    “I should call Aunt Vivi,” Faith interjected. “She can talk
to her Lotus Circle friends and ask them to help her check any instances of
this with other members. They can tap into the website and see if anything’s
been posted.”
    “Don’t forget Andy’s friend,” Mia added. “The one whose aunt
lives in Wisconsin and is a Lotus Circle member. She helped me a lot when I was
trying to control my visions, remember?”
    “The Lotus Circle also helped me discipline my telepathic
abilities when Mark was held prisoner and I was getting his messages.” She took
a sip of wine. “I wonder how many people know an ancient society has been
resurrected and spread throughout the world via the internet, that its members
are people with special abilities, like mine and Mia’s, people always ready to
help each other and provide assistance and comfort when necessary.”
    “Not as many as we’d like,” Mia mused, “but it’s growing
more every day. If more people knew about it, I wouldn’t have had such a hard
time getting the police to let me work with them when Chase Carpenter’s robot
was about to be stolen.”
    Dan chuckled. “It was their loss. In the end, you were the
one who had the answers.”
    “Considering what’s happening with Rick right now,” Mark
interjected, “we might do well to explore the situation with the dog further.
Do we have a phone number for Kelly? And do we know what kind of person she
is?”
    “I’ll get Andy to run a complete check on her,” Dan said.
“What’s on your mind, if you’ll pardon the pun? I can almost see the wheels
turning.”
    “I’d like to talk to her first. She’s not part of the agency
and we rarely use outsiders for a job. But Rick could certainly use a danger
sensor.”
    Faith’s jaw dropped. “Surely you aren’t thinking of asking
her to go to Iraq, are you? My god, Mark. Throwing her into a situation like
that? We don’t even know anything about her. What kind of person she is. And if
there really is this connection between the dog and Rick.”
    “I think it’s worth finding out. Why don’t you go ahead and
call Aunt Vivi and see what The Lotus Circle take on this business with the dog
is.”
    “Good idea.” She pushed her