Butterfly Premonitions Read online

  Butterfly Premonitions

  A Novel

  Award Winning Author

  Nancy Roe

  Copyright © 2022 by Nancy Roe

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  The Nancy Way®

  [email protected]

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2022906457

  Butterfly Premonitions / Nancy Roe. -- 1st ed.

  ISBN 978-0-9983942-3-7

  ISBN 978-0-9983942-4-4 (eBook)

  Dedication

  To Jeff, with love.

  Thanks for making my dreams come true.

  Acknowledgments

  To Lisa Gehring for asking the tough questions.

  To the members of Writers Circle for their input. Ariela, Marianne, Elizabeth F., Judi, Christi, Rina, Art, and Elizabeth S.

  To the members of the Just Write Chapter for their critiques.

  To my editor, Jess Dallow.

  To my friends for their encouragement.

  Special thanks to my husband and two four-legged kids for their love and support.

  Characters

  Merli Rebecca Whitshire (28), Fashion Designer

  Rebecca Whitshire, Merli’s mother (died 14 years ago from cancer)

  Floyd Whitshire (56), Merli’s father, History Teacher

  Vivian Whitshire (42), Merli’s stepmother, Librarian, Member of the Town Council

  Cordelia Imperial (68), Merli’s wealthy aunt, Rebecca’s older adopted sister

  Ian Jackson (28), Merli’s high school boyfriend, Police Officer

  Quinn Thackery (28), Merli’s best friend from high school, Insurance Agent

  Kennedi Owler (28), Merli’s high school friend, Olympian, Science Teacher, Swim Instructor

  Landon Urbane (28), Merli’s high school friend, Owner of HH Auto Repair

  Penelope Yancy, Merli’s high school classmate, Neighbor

  Polly Yancy (48), Neighbor, Penelope’s mother, Psychic

  Paul Yancy (48), Neighbor, Penelope’s father, Truck Driver

  Zander Urbane (22), Landon’s younger brother, Police Officer

  Alfred Jones (32), visiting Haven Hill for 8 weeks, Magazine Writer, Writing a Novel

  Eloise Rasmussen (67), Neighbor

  Goldie Caldwell (65), Owner of Goldie’s Café

  Harold Bigsby (Old Man Hilby) (68), Farmer

  Stanton Fincher (57), Detective

  Nicholas Leopold (54), Attorney

  The Observer, Killer

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1, Thursday, July 7, 2022 10:30 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 2, Thursday, July 7, 2022 11:15 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 3, Thursday, July 7, 2022 12:25 p.m (The Observer)

  Chapter 4, Friday, July 8, 2022 12:35 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 5, Friday, July 8, 2022 8:00 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 6, Friday, July 8, 2022 8:25 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 7, Friday, July 8, 2022 9:15 a.m. (The Observer)

  Chapter 8, Friday, July 8, 2022 9:35 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 9, Friday, July 8, 2022 12:05 p.m. (Alfred)

  Chapter 10, Friday, July 8, 2022 1:15 p.m. (Ian)

  Chapter 11, Friday, July 8, 2022 1:55 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 12, Friday, July 8, 2022 2:35 p.m. (Alfred)

  Chapter 13, Friday, July 8, 2022 3:00 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 14, Friday, July 8, 2022 3:35 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 15, Friday, July 8, 2022 4:00 p.m. (The Observer)

  Chapter 16, Friday, July 8, 2022 4:30 p.m. (Alfred)

  Chapter 17, Friday, July 8, 2022 4:35 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 18, Friday, July 8, 2022 5:55 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 19, Friday, July 8, 2022 8:30 p.m. (Ian)

  Chapter 20, Friday, July 8, 2022 8:45 p.m. (The Observer)

  Chapter 21, Friday, July 8, 2022 9:30 p.m. (Alfred)

  Chapter 22, Saturday, July 9, 2022 7:45 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 23, Saturday, July 9, 2022 11:55 a.m. (Alfred)

  Chapter 24, Saturday, July 9, 2022 12:00 p.m.. (Ian)

  Chapter 25, Saturday, July 9, 2022 12:05 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 26, Saturday, July 9, 2022 2:35 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 27, Saturday, July 9, 2022 10:55 p.m. (The Observer)

  Chapter 28, Sunday, July 10, 2022 7:30 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 29, Sunday, July 10, 2022 12:30 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 30, Sunday, July 10, 2022 5:45 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 31, Sunday, July 10, 2022 7:10 p.m. (Alfred)

  Chapter 32, Sunday, July 10, 2022 8:15 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 33, Monday, July 11, 2022 3:00 a.m. (The Observer)

  Chapter 34, Monday, July 11, 2022 7:08 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 35, Monday, July 11, 2022 3:22 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 36, Monday, July 11, 2022 5:35 p.m. (Alfred)

  Chapter 37, Monday, July 11, 2022 6:45 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 38, Monday, July 11, 2022 7:35 p.m. (Ian)

  Chapter 39, Monday, July 11, 2022 7:45 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 40, Tuesday, July 12, 2022 7:15 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 41, Tuesday, July 12, 2022 11:55 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 42, Tuesday, July 12, 2022 12:35 p.m. (Ian)

  Chapter 43, Tuesday, July 12, 2022 5:30 p.m. (The Observer)

  Chapter 44, Tuesday, July 12, 2022 5:48 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 45, Tuesday, July 12, 2022 6:00 p.m. (Ian)

  Chapter 46, Tuesday, July 12, 2022 7:35 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 47, Tuesday, July 12, 2022 10:45 p.m. (The Observer)

  Chapter 48, Wednesday, July 13, 2022 7:00 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 49, Wednesday, July 13, 2022 12:50 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 50, Wednesday, July 13, 2022 6:45 p.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 51, Wednesday, July 13, 2022 (The Observer)

  Chapter 52, Wednesday, July 13, 2022 7:15 p.m. (Ian)

  Chapter 53, Thursday, July 14, 2022 6:00 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 54, Friday, July 15, 2022 7:30 a.m. (Merli)

  Chapter 55, Saturday, October 15, 2022 3 Months Later

  CHAPTER ONE

  Thursday, July 7, 2022

  10:30 p.m.

  (Merli)

  Merli Whitshire’s upsetting premonition and concern for her father compelled her to return to her childhood home. For the first time in ten years, she drove through the small rural town of Haven Hill, Iowa. She rewound Tuesday night’s dream of red butterflies crammed inside a telephone booth with a missing receiver and the cryptic message she’d written in her sleep, your father needs you. The voicemail she received from an unknown number at one this morning “Return to Haven Hill today or your father will die. I’ll be watching” sent shock waves through her system and prompted her last-minute flight and car reservations.

  In the glow of the streetlamps and cloudless night sky, Merli found the crimson brick two-story house hadn’t changed since she left two days after her high school graduation. She parked in the driveway near the detached garage and stepped out of the rental car. Two of the three outdoor wall lanterns were out and provided little light on the stone pathway that led to the back door. Crickets chirped and the yellow bellies of fireflies flickered in the trees. The peacefulness and quaintness were reminders of a simpler time. She straightened her white Givenchy silk blouse and black Chane
l suit, a dramatic transformation from the Mickey Mouse t-shirt and faded jeans she had worn when she fled to New York City.

  Behind the shaded window at the back of the house, the soft glow from the kitchen light welcomed her. Her dad started leaving that light on after she turned sixteen because he never wanted her returning to a dark house. The family always used the kitchen back door that faced the back yard to enter and exit. They used the front door for guests or unwanted solicitors. Merli took this as a positive sign. He must have read her last text and knew she was coming home. But why hadn’t he replied or replied to her other texts, emails, or phone calls from the past five days? Her dad was a history teacher at the high school on summer break. He always responded within a couple hours. The silence from him for five days was nerve-racking.

  Even though she disliked her stepmother, Merli had tried calling Vivian several times on the hour drive from the airport, but only reached her voicemail. Ten minutes ago, she finally left a message saying she would be in town and stopping by the house.

  She mentally ran through the speech she’d rehearsed on the plane. Dad, you need to stay in touch. I’ve been worried sick. Never do this to me again. She halted to a stop when she found the back door ajar. Her dad had always been a stickler for locking doors, even if he just went to visit a next-door neighbor.

  Merli hoped to find him having a late-night bowl of pistachio ice cream at the kitchen dinette. She pushed the door wide and stepped over the threshold. Instead, her body rocked with chills at the sight of a bloody chef’s knife stabbed into the wooden cutting board on the kitchen island.

  “Dad!” Merli screamed as she dropped her keys and purse on the floor and raced into her father’s office, praying she wouldn’t find a bloody body. When she found no sign of him or Vivian in the office, she frantically searched through the master bedroom and bathroom before making her way to the laundry room. She thought back to a TV show in which a serial killer had crammed his victims into the washer and dryer. Filled with dread, Merli took a deep breath and with both hands lifted the lid on the washer. Empty. She heaved a sigh of relief before moving to the dryer. In one swift motion, she yanked the dryer door open and found it empty, as well. She shook her arms, releasing tension from her neck to her fingertips.

  Merli continued through the dining room, half bath, and living room before bounding up the stairs to search the three bedrooms and two bathrooms, leaving the lights on in every room. Her search showed no sign of her dad, Vivian, or any more blood.

  She stood at the top of the stairs. Her chest rose and fell in rapid breaths. Her heart pounded as though she’d run a five-minute mile. The chilling voicemail from this morning rang through her head. It was still Thursday, and she made it to Haven Hill. Did the mysterious caller already kill her father?

  Unwilling to believe her dad was dead, she needed help to find him. Merli reached into her jacket pocket to grab her cell phone to call 9-1-1. Dang it. She’d left the phone plugged into the car charger. She gripped the handrail as she eased down the stairs, then made her way through the living room to the kitchen. Merli stopped at the marbled island when she spotted a handwritten note dotted with drops of blood.

  NO BETTER WAY TO START YOUR RETURN TO HAVEN HILL THAN FOR ME TO HAVED KILLED HER FOR YOU.

  WELCOME HOME, MERLI.

  YOUR ANONYMOUS PAL (aka THE OBSERVER)

  A familiar voice broke her trance. “Raise your hands, turn slowly, and face me.”

  She obeyed the command and shifted her attention to the back door. Two police officers pointed guns in her direction.

  “Ian?” Her heart skipped a beat. After ten years, she should be over him, especially after what happened. She had witnessed her high school boyfriend cheating on her with Penelope Yancy, the quiet next-door neighbor and classmate that unexpectedly joined the festivities the night of graduation. But his thick black hair, long eyelashes, and baby blue eyes made her skin tingle. Or was the tingling from staring at a bloody note?

  “Merli?” His startled expression said she was the last person he imagined seeing. “What are you doing here?”

  “You recognize her?” the second officer said without breaking his stance.

  Merli’s mouth hung open. She had so many thoughts flash through her mind. When did Ian become a police officer? Why hadn’t her dad ever mentioned it? Why was Ian pointing a gun at her?

  She shook her head and cleared her throat. “How did you know to come here? I haven’t called 9-1-1 yet.” She motioned toward the driveway. “My phone’s in the car.”

  “You’re standing in front of a bloody knife, not hurrying out the door to call the police,” the second officer said.

  “There’s a note. For me. I froze when I read it.” She jutted her chin toward the cutting board. “Can I lower my hands, please?”

  Ian pointed to a dinette chair. “Yes, take a seat.”

  Merli sat on the edge of a chair, hands cradled both knees, her left leg bouncing.

  Ian holstered his gun and nodded for his partner to do the same. The second officer stood by the door while Ian walked over to read the bloodstained note. He pulled out a chair and sat three feet away from Merli. “You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”

  I always follow my premonitions, is what she wanted to say. In the three years they had dated during high school, she’d never told him. Only her aunt and father knew about them. There was no reason to tell him now. “I haven’t been able to reach my dad in five days and I’m worried something terrible happened.”

  Ian’s left eyebrow raised. Merli knew that meant he didn’t believe her. “What did Vivian tell you about your dad’s whereabouts?”

  “I still don’t have any warm, fuzzy feelings for her. I never reached out to Vivian until I left the Cedar Rapids airport and then tried calling her several times on the drive to the house, but she never answered.”

  Merli’s mother and father had doted on her since she was a baby. The family of three was the epitome of happiness, laughter, and love for fourteen years. Then, their world fell apart when the doctor diagnosed her mother with stage four breast cancer. Four months later, her mother died. Within a year, her father married Vivian. Merli felt Vivian had started a relationship with her father during a very vulnerable time and hadn’t warmed up to her since.

  “You don’t get along with Vivian?” The second officer took a step forward, hands on his hips.

  Merli sat back in the chair and folded her arms across her chest. This young officer had no idea of her history with Vivian, although his long nose and square chin reminded her of someone. “Do we know each other?”

  “You’re not in a position to ask questions.”

  “His name is Zander Urbane. You’ll remember him as Landon’s pesky grade-school brother,” Ian said.

  Zander’s face tightened. “She knows my brother?”

  “Merli grew up in this house and Landon was her friend. Floyd Whitshire is her dad and Vivian was her stepmom. Why don’t you step outside and check what’s happening at the other scene? You can inform the chief of our situation here.” Ian waited for Zander to exit before returning his focus to Merli. “When did you last speak to Vivian?”

  Merli whipped her head toward the note and the bloody knife. “Wait. You said was my stepmom. Her in the note. Is it Vivian? Is Vivian dead?” She turned back to Ian, an uneasiness creeping down her throat. “Is that why you’re at the house?”

  Ian crossed his arms and leaned back. “Why don’t you answer my questions first?”

  Merli sat up straight. His dry voice and posture meant he was serious. “I can’t believe she’s gone. Losing my mother was devastating for my dad. I can’t imagine how he’ll react to Vivian’s death. Heck, I’m not even sure how to react. It wasn’t a secret I didn’t like her much, but dead?” She repositioned herself in the chair, the shock slowly creeping through her veins. Her hands began shaking and she slid them under her thighs. “I spoke to Vivian a couple of weeks ago. She joined the
call when I Face Timed with my dad.”

  Ian pulled out a notepad and pen and began taking notes. “And you came home because you haven’t heard from Floyd?”

  “Now that he’s on summer break, he’s been responding to me within a couple of hours. Not a peep from him in the last five days. No texts, no emails, no phone calls. Do you know something? What aren’t you telling me?” Merli tried to be strong, but a few tears trickled down the side of her face.

  Ian leaned forward. “Where were you between six and nine this evening?”

  Merli’s lungs tightened. “My dad…”

  “Please answer the question. I’m just doing my job.”

  Merli swallowed hard. She wanted to punch Ian in the face for the torture he was putting through. Why didn’t he just tell her what was going on instead of asking stupid questions about her whereabouts. Unless he thought she had an involvement in Vivian’s demise. He’d really changed his attitude since they were last together. “I boarded a plane at LaGuardia at five. Landed in Minneapolis around seven and the connection left an hour later. Landed in Cedar Rapids at nine-fifteen.”

  “What did you do after you departed the plane?”

  “Stood in line for my rental car, then drove straight here. I pulled into the driveway at ten-thirty and came in through an open back door. You remember how many times my dad yelled at me for not locking it?” A slight chuckle slipped through her lips at the memory. Humor was her defense mechanism, but Ian’s tight jaw showed he didn’t appreciate her jovial comment. “Anyway, I saw the knife and ran through the house, imagining I would find my dad injured or worse. No Dad. No Vivian. No blood. I really was on my way to get my phone when I stopped to read the note. Is my dad okay?” Merli crossed her fingers. Please, please, let my dad be okay.

  “We haven’t been able to reach him by phone. Zander and I came here expecting to find him. When we spotted the unfamiliar car in the driveway, we entered with caution. I hope you understand we’ll need to do our own search of the premises.”