Carly turned slowly and stared at Joy with wide eyes. “You can’t be serious. How did you hear that?”
“Your lawyer called me this morning to let me know there wouldn’t be any more trouble. Apparently, he put a legal aid on it, and they found out she’d been hacking my phone and that’s how she got my drawings. She knew I’d been having visions but used those drawings as a reason to speculate that I was involved somehow. He suspects she was looking for a promotion since she’d been passed over three times in three years. Solving a big case like this would certainly help in that department.”
Joy had been shocked when she’d gotten the call, having assumed the lawyer had only been there to help for that one day. But it appeared Carly only hired the best, and that’s exactly what she’d gotten. Even though Joy had assumed the incident was over, she was relieved that now there was no question about it.
“That’s…” She shook her head, looking disgusted. “I don’t have words for this. I’m so sorry, Joy.”
“It’s not your fault. Thank you for sending Sebastian to represent me. I have no idea what would’ve happened if you hadn’t sent the best.”
She reached out and squeezed Joy’s hand. “I’m glad he was able to help. The only reason you’re in the middle of this is because of me. I don’t think I could handle it if someone else was harmed trying to help me with this.”
“Carly, you know none of this is your fault, right?” Joy tugged her a little to face her so that she could hold Carly’s gaze. “I’d do anything to help you find your niece. I’m not okay knowing she’s out there and there’s nothing more I can do.”
Carly nodded. “I know, and I appreciate that. My PI is still searching.”
“You know if I see anything else, I’ll let you know ASAP.”
“Thanks,” Carly said.
Joy had been spending a lot of time studying Harlow’s picture. Nothing had come through since the day she’d last been at the police station. “I heard the Premonition Pointe police put a new detective on the case, but so far no one has contacted me.”
“Me neither.” Carly shoved her hands into her pockets and glanced up the beach. “It looks like they’re ready for us.”
They walked in silence up the beach to where the scene was taking place, and over the next four hours, Joy watched Carly transform from the stoic, worried aunt, to a vibrant grandmother who was full of life. The moment the director released them, she faded back into the worried aunt and walked off without a word.
“Damn,” Joy said to no one in particular. “The talent that woman has is breathtaking.”
“That’s a fact,” Quinn said, standing beside her with his arms folded over his chest. His eyes were narrowed as if he were studying her.
“The way she can turn it on when she needs to, even with everything she’s going through, is inspiring,” Joy added. “I hope someday I can be even half as good as she is.”
He glanced over at her. “You’re already great, Joy. There’s no need to compare yourself to Carly. She’s an excellent actress, but acting isn’t everything.”
Joy frowned at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” He shrugged and then gave her a smirk. “Just that everyone has their own gifts.” He walked off, leaving her staring after him, feeling uneasy.
It wasn’t so much what he’d said, but how he’d said it that made her think Quinn might have a problem with Carly. But why? She couldn’t for the life of her come up with one single reason. The wind picked up and chilled her as she made her way back to her trailer. Just as she was about to enter, she heard Prissy’s high-pitched voice behind her.
“Hey, Joy.”
Joy suppressed a groan and turned around. “Prissy. What’s going on? Are you feeling better?”
“Yes. No thanks to you. I puked my guts up for five days straight.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m not sure why it’s my fault,” Joy said.
“Don’t think I don’t know that you retaliated against me just because I pulled a few pranks on you,” she said with a sniff. When she spoke again, her voice was full of venom. “So what if you got a little bit of acne or a sore throat? You don’t spike your coworker’s lunch with enough hexing pills to almost send her to the ER.”
“I didn’t do that,” Joy said coldly. “You’re the one who tried to make me sick. If I were you, I’d start looking around at who else I’d managed to piss off. But leave me out of it.” She spun around, stalked into her trailer, and slammed the door behind her, determined to never give Prissy another second of her time.
“Hello, Joy.”
Joy let out a gasp and nearly jumped right out of her skin when she spotted Quinn standing just to the left side of the door. “Holy hell, Quinn. What are you doing here? You scared the life out of me.”
“Not yet.” His lips curved into a diabolical smile. “But there’s still time.”
She took a step back, intending to bolt from the trailer, but she was too late. He flung a handful of white powder in her face, and she lost consciousness as she crumbled to the ground.
The pounding in Joy’s head was a steady beat that matched the rhythm of her heartbeat. Her back ached, and when she tried to roll over, something stopped her. She blinked, trying to clear away her blurry vision, and groaned when her stomach turned.
“Finally. Wake up, you lazy witch,” someone growled.
“Who’s that?” Joy asked, still trying and failing to focus.
“Who do you think it is?” Footsteps reverberated through the room until she felt the dip of the mattress.
The scent of ocean and pine washed over her. “Quinn?” she croaked out. “What happened?”
“You practically overdosed on a crushed sleeping pill. For god’s sake, do you have zero tolerance to pharmaceuticals?”
“Pretty much.” Joy wasn’t a fan of anything that wasn’t herbal and avoided it at all costs.
“Wake up. We have work to do,” he ordered. The footsteps started again, the noise sending her headache into full-blown migraine territory.
“Stop, please,” she begged. “My head is killing me.”
“That’s because you hit it on the counter on the way down. I have never seen such a lightweight in my entire life. You’ll never make it in Hollywood. Someone would slip you a Mickey, and that would be the end of you. If I hadn’t been there today and given you a taste of coke, who knows how long you’d have been out? Maybe even never woke up. It’s sad really.”
Mickey? Coke? Quinn had drugged her? She tried to sit upright but was tugged back down, and that’s when she realized her hands were tied to the headboard and her ankles were tied together. There was no way she was going anywhere. She continued to blink rapidly until her vision finally cleared, and then she narrowed her gaze on Quinn, who was leaning back in a chair, eyeing her. His face was gaunt as if he’d just come off a bender, and his clothes were rumpled in a way she’d never seen before. He always looked put together, but in the tiny room in what appeared to be a roadside motel, he looked like a junkie who was desperate for his next score.