Free Echoes Through the Mist: A Paranormal Mystery (The Echoes Quartet Book 1) by K. Francis Ryan Page A

sat before the fire and in time nodded off to sleep. His last thoughts were of the Mayor’s parting words.
    “I’m sure we will be able to work something out.” Slightly ominous, but Julian had handled ominous things before and had always won. He wondered what there was to win this time.

Chapter Seven
     
    “You!”
    From a sound sleep, Julian bolted out of his chair. The fire had gone out and the room was chilled and now occupied by a woman who seemed intent on ruining his day.
    “You!” she spat out again.
    Standing at the door was a woman of middle height, slim and in her early thirties with soft chestnut colored hair. She was dressed out of character for the village in dark slacks and a tan silk blouse.
    “Attractive if she weren’t breathing fire,” Julian thought as his mind began slowly gathering data and his other senses came online.
    The woman was framed in the doorway as bright sunshine washed in behind her. The force of her personality struck Julian of course, but there was something else. She seemed decisive, professional and accustomed to making hard decisions quickly.
    There was nothing pretentious or squeamish about her though her femininity was undeniable. Nerve impulses fired throughout his brain at breakneck speed, encapsulating his observations in less than a second.
    For reasons he could not explain, Julian found himself thinking about this young woman in ways wholly inappropriate to the situation. He could not remember ever having been drawn to a woman so spontaneously – or so stupidly. He tried to will himself to concentrate but it wasn’t working all that well.
    “Are you deaf or just an eejit? And don’t you be glarin’ at me or it is sorry I’ll make you,” the young woman barked at him and took a step closer.
    Her accent was different from that of the villagers. The one point of commonality between the Hagan, this woman and no doubt the villagers at large was their liberal use of the word eejit in conjunction with the name Julian Blessing.
    “I’m sorry, how can I help you?” Julian tried to ask in a reasonable tone, although his voice sounded thick and gravelly. The room felt like it was getting stuffy and confined. He was as hot as a mouse in a wool sock.
    “‘How can I help you’, is it? I’ll tell you how you can help me. You can stop trying to seriously maim the children of this village. You are responsible for the grievous bodily injury of a young boy. Do you know Jimmy Grogan? Well, you nearly killed him you stupid man!”
    “What are you talking about?
    He continued with an edge to his voice that he did not intend, “I met Jimmy last night at O’Gavagan’s. I never even spoke to him.” Julian had no idea who this woman was – a relative perhaps? A teacher? He had no idea what she was talking about. He had no idea of how he had nearly killed anyone. He was fresh out of ideas.
    “You gave Jimmy Grogan a deadly weapon and he managed to nearly sever two of his fingers. He could have bled to death if someone hadn’t found him. It is that kind of thoughtlessness and stupidity that infuriates me.”
    “Deadly weapon? I gave Jimmy a little money for starting a fire here. What deadly weapon? Please start from the beginning. I really don’t know what you are talking about.”
    The woman’s features hardened from simple anger to deadly fury. Her hazel eyes turned pitiless as they narrowed. She took a step further into the police station as she shouted, “You gave Jimmy Grogan a bloody great knife and he damned near cut a couple of his digits off you immense fool! How many times do I have to say this?”
    The conversation with the Mayor the night before raced through Julian’s head. He moved quickly to the desk, snatched up his duffle bag and emptied the contents of the bag onto the desktop. With eyes and hands, he quickly inventoried the contents. The Swiss Army Knife was missing.
    The woman in the doorway watched as a slow comprehension inched its way into her