I flipped off the overhead and turned on my bedside lamp. Then I got in bed. Lying back, I noticed a bullet hole in the ceiling. So there had been a ricochet, and it went straight up. I guess bulletproofing was par for the course, too.

Not good. The gun had given me a moment’s confidence, had let me put anger ahead of fear, however briefly. If I couldn’t even shoot these people, I really was helpless.

I woke at around 7:00 and trundled directly into the bathroom. Callie’s place was nice, but I wanted to shower in my own bathroom, with my own shampoo, my own conditioner, and my own shower pouf. I also needed to make serious use of a razor.

When I was clean, I dressed in a sweater and fresh jeans, trying hard not to think about which pair would be most flattering. I was probably wrong about Graham’s interest, and even if I wasn’t, getting involved with him was out of the question.

When I went downstairs, I found Graham cooking breakfast. He must’ve actually gone shopping first, since the meal included bacon, eggs, toast, bananas, and OJ, none of which I’d had on hand. He’d also made coffee. It was all delicious.

After eating, I felt like crawling back into bed for a nap, but instead we got in my car and headed east. I think I dozed part of the way. Big meals early in the day always made me sleepy.

Our destination turned out to be Rib Mountain, a four-mile-long ridge just west of Wausau. It took more than an hour to get there, since we had to wend our way up through the state park that surrounded the mountain.

On the way there, Graham told me a little more.

“You remember about the four stages of development, right?” He waited for my nod. “So, we’ve got you into the first stage, now — you’re really seeing through, instead of just getting random glimpses.”

I guess I could see through. I’d seen Bob, at any rate.

“The next stage is getting what we call a ‘gift.’ Kara’s ability to heal, Callie’s ability to sense future events — those are gifts.”

“Does Williams have a gift for shields?” I asked, remembering the bullet hole in my ceiling and how I’d been trapped in Callie’s house.

“Yes, but we call that sort of thing a ‘barrier.’ The word ‘shield’ is too restrictive for what can be done with a barrier.”

Good lord, just what I didn’t want to hear.

“So,” Graham continued, “what we’re going to do today is see if your gift has emerged. Usually people spend a while just seeing through, but since you were stalled, maybe your gift will come quickly.”

“What’s the difference between workings and gifts?”