I woke up in one of those wrong place, wrong time moments and couldn’t get my bearings for a bit. It was bewildering since I’d gone to bed at the normal time in my bed with Sam Mayes. A few hours later I find myself—and Mayes—outdoors, exhausted, and a half mile from home.

My body feels like it went through an extended dreamwalk but that usually only involves spiritual travel in a dreamlike state. I’ve never had the juice to move my entire body anywhere. Nevertheless, I stare up at the stars while my limbs regained feeling, all the while grappling with the knowledge that my memory of whatever just transpired was gone.

A cold chill shudders down my spine at the breach of privacy and integrity. Rose. Her name thunders through my head like a dirty word. She has to be behind this. My afterlife mentor had previously transported me and a family friend with a medical emergency to the hospital, body and soul, so I knew she had the capability. But why? Betraying me in this way makes no sense.

Mayes recovers first and sits up. We’re at the satellite post office, and we’re alone. As soon as I’m able to lift my arm, I stare in horror at the crimson stain on my fingertips. Blood. Am I hurt? I wasn’t and neither was Mayes. Nauseating possibilities circle in my mind, the worst being that I’d wounded someone.

I struggle to sit, but the odd clothes I’m wearing make it difficult to move. I’ve never owned heels this high, a skirt this short, or a sequined top so clingy. Mayes wore very expensive trousers, a dress shirt and high end shoes. Horror sets in. We’ve been abducted, controlled by someone or something else, and sent home. Except Rose misjudged on the return location.

Holy smoke! This was awful. Whatever we’d been forced to do against our wills might have far reaching consequences. The only way to have an alibi was to sneak home, making sure nobody saw us, and destroy these clothes before the law came a-knocking.

As soon as I could dreamwalk again, there would be a reckoning with Rose. This was unacceptable.

Not an ordinary wake-up call by any means, but it stands out as the worst Monday in my memory. Strange as it may seem, things went downhill from there.

We caught a homicide case, literally. A suitcase at the abandoned strip joint site held a woman’s body. The thought of someone doing this to another human being enrages me. While I search for the woman in my dreams, the sheriff and Mayes get promotion glory in their eyes at the thought of catching a serial killer.

Yes sir-ree, Marion, Georgia, is officially on the map now. We have a serial killer and a host of serial killer detectives on the hunt for him. After a fruitless dreamwalk to find a woman who didn’t realize she was dead, I spend the afternoon picking up anything and everything in the woods framing the crime scene which came under the job heading of “Other Duties as Assigned.” I don’t even know what some of that stuff is, but I can’t wait to get home and shower for the second time that day. The only good thing that came out of this terrible day is that Mayes lands a temporary reassignment from his sheriff so he can work the case. We may be hunting a scumbag of ninth degree but at least we’ll do it together.

You can read more about Baxley in Dreamed It, the sixth book in the “Dreamwalker” paranormal cozy mystery series, released coming 13, 2019.

Justice for the dead and solace for the living is Baxley Powell’s creed, but she faces uncharted territory in this sixth book of the Dreamwalker Mystery Series.

The Suitcase Killer has struck again, only this big city menace is now a problem for Baxley’s hometown. As that investigation heats up, a local woman is reported missing. The sheriff orders Baxley to work the missing person’s case.

Listening to the dead is familiar ground for Baxley but finding a missing young lady isn’t in her skill set. Besides, her dreams rarely follow a timeline. With the clock ticking, can this crime consultant discover a way to reach the living?

Her main source of help in the afterlife, a mentor named Rose, is unavailable. Instead, Baxley must rely on her wits and her Native American boyfriend, Deputy Sam Mayes, to find leads. Each shared dreamwalk and energy transfer binds them closer together, creating another issue. Mayes wants to marry Baxley but it isn’t that easy. They’re hampered by their community roles in opposite ends of the state.

Baxley juggles the pressure of two high-profile cases, a determined suitor, and expanding her limits. One thing is certain. Without her extrasensory sleuthing, the missing woman will die.

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About the author
Southern author Maggie Toussaint writes cozy and paranormal mysteries. Dreamed It, book six in her Dreamwalker series is her latest mystery novel. Her work won two Silver Falchions, the Readers’ Choice, and the EPIC Awards. Maggie also writes romantic suspense and science fiction. She’s past president of Southeast chapter of Mystery Writers of America and a board member of LowCountry Sisters In Crime. She lives in coastal Georgia, where secrets, heritage, and ancient oaks cast long shadows.

To learn more about Maggie, visit her website at maggietoussaint.com.

All comments are welcomed.