“Okay,” Barb said while Amy dissected her pastry into bite-size chunks, “what gives? I think you were expecting something like that to happen.”

Amy looked up, still tired, and still uncomfortable with sharing what she was thinking. She chose to take a detour. “Do you remember how Derek used to joke about my obsessing over things other people ignore?”

“Yeah, your brother could be pretty mean, all the way through high school. Then he was just a pain.”

Amy grinned, remembering it fondly as Derek being Derek. She continued, “‘Overdeveloped pattern recognition’ is what he called it, bordering on seeing things that don’t exist. It’s not just what other people ignore, it’s what they see and choose not to question.”

“Got it.” Barb leaned toward her. “You think you’re seeing patterns now?”

“Not just patterns. Events.”

“Wow, so I was right.” Barb sat back. In a quieter voice she said, “You think the fire was one of those events.”

“It’s just a feeling, one that I’ve had all day.”