Don't Touch (4 page)

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Ryan got up
and went to the door.

Jackson heard the lock on the door shift. He
tried not to move, acted as if he hadn’t heard it. The door opened
and Dr. Reign stepped out in her robe and bare feet. He smiled what
he hoped was a friendly smile. “Good evening, Doctor.”

She gave him a crooked grin in return. “Good
morning, Detective. Come back later in the day and I’ll try and
answer your questions about the autopsies.” She turned and started
back inside. “Go home Detective Prince. I give my neighbors enough
to talk about on my own without you camping out on my front
porch.”

He waited until she was inside and the lock
tumbled before leaving. Either drinking so much of Margie’s coffee
lately was getting to him or it was just the stress of the case but
he thought the good doctor was a nice sight in her silk robe and
painted toe nails.

It was around three o’clock when the
detectives pulled back into the driveway. Thomas walked up and
started to knock on the door. His partner pushed his hand away from
the door. “She knows we’re here.”

Thomas watched Jackson sit on the porch after
a second he joined him. “What is she psychic?”

After a minute the door opened and Dr. Reign
came out with a thermos, three paper cups, a plastic table cloth
and scissors.

She walked past them and set down the thermos
and cups, then the tablecloth. It was one of those big throwaway
banquet types. Ryan snipped the overhanging sections off from the
table, next she cut that in half, and then laid each half over two
of the chairs.

Picking up the thermos she poured coffee all
around as the men moved from the lounge furniture to the table.
Jackson noticed the slight tremble in her hands and knew it wasn’t
because it was a cool day. Why was she so nervous? Maybe she was
part of a cover up or something. Had someone tried to hide the
murders?

She gave them that crooked grin. “I know it’s
kind of cool out here today but I don’t have people inside my house
anymore.”

Thomas noticed a twinge of possession in her
voice. With the plastic covering and paper cups he figured she
didn’t want her home contaminated by germs. He smiled, taking a sip
of the coffee. “This is good, thank you. And thank you for agreeing
to speak with us.”

She sat and took a sip from her own cup
taking a good look at her guests. Thomas Lord was tall, dark, and
drop dead gorgeous. He had that dazzling smile that could melt a
woman in her tracks. He wore a dark suit, neat, not a hair out of
place. He was the calm before and Jackson Prince was the storm.

Prince was scruffy; his curly hair tumbled
about as if it were only finger combed. He wasn’t as picky as his
partner, jeans, t-shirt, and a denim shirt over that. He was
handsome, with sparkling hazel eyes but unlike his suave partner
Jackson oozed maleness. He was a man’s man.

“Don’t thank me yet detectives. I don’t know
what good I’m going to be. The file you had the first time you were
here I never finished. I barely got started. As for older cases I
don’t see how they're connected.”

Jackson pulled out the files and set them on
the table. He watched her closely. She might be nuts but that
didn’t give him the right to torment her. If she reacted badly or
became too uncomfortable they were done. “Let’s start with the
oldest case. This one is Dana Hodges, twenty, supermarket cashier,
single really nothing extraordinary about her daily life.”

He slid the autopsy report in front of her.
“The only thing that made her stand out in a crowd was the
keratectomy in her left eye. She was found in her home, circle of
stab wounds, knife at her side.”

Ryan pulled a pair of latex gloves from her
pocket. She talked to Barbara this morning and she had said paper
was usually safe. Books and pictures could be a different matter
but individual pages should be alright. No matter what Barbara said
she wasn’t taking any chances. She read over the report.

“I just can’t place this case but.” She
looked at the date again. “But I was on my own for a while here. I
don’t remember much out of that whole two year period other than
living out of my office. Can I see the photos?”

Jackson was reluctant but slid the whole file
over. He could see she wasn’t thrilled at the prospect either
because she just stared at it for a moment. He sighed. “You don’t
have to look at them.”

She shook her head. “It’s alright. Looking at
them isn’t the problem.”

Lord was about to gather it up and say don’t
worry about it when Jackson scooted his chair over. She flinched a
bit but realized he was far enough not to brush against her and
relaxed some. Prince pulled a photo out and held it for her.

She looked at it for a minute then asked for
the next one. “I vaguely remember this one. I remember the
investigating officer coming by for her effects. He said he thought
it was some kind of cult thing because of the wound pattern.”

When Jackson opened the assumed second
victim’s file the light bulb went off. “I do remember this one. I
think it was the same investigator, and he shrugged it off. I think
he was retiring or something like that.

The report was the same and there was nothing
significant to make her a point of interest except the surgical
removal of her left cornea at the age of nineteen due to a
cancerous tissue growth. Can you lay them out side by side?”

Thomas reached across and arranged them. She
sat for a minute then pulled out the reports. “Weird.” She grabbed
a small twig that had blown on the porch using it for a
pointer.

“Look, they all have seven wounds in a circle
and are wearing almost the same clothing. Jeans, tee, and hoodie
jacket colors and styles vary but all the same.”

Jackson looked at them, and then ran to the
car. “We didn’t want to add to this mess but here is the newest
one. “Cassidy Lane age twenty-seven, and there are seven stab
wounds in the circle.”

Ryan grabbed the file and started through it.
All the same, except the first two had a history of eye problems.
The killer was the one taking the cornea now. “This is weird even
to me. Can you leave the older cases here? I may be able to get
some more information from my personal files. I did keep
everything.”

Jackson examined her wide eyed face. She was
a pretty lady but she looked tired. Not the kind of tired you feel
from being up all night. The kind of tired you get when something
is wearing on your soul. “Dr. Reign you don’t have to go any
trouble. You’ve been a great deal of help already. We can try to
find that retired detective.”

She reached out and put a hand on his sleeve.
“It’s no trouble and it might even do me some good. I don’t know
what they told you but I’m not really crazy. I don’t explain it
because it sounds insane. Listen, I want to help if I can,
Detective.”

Thomas gathered the newer files then left the
older ones on the table. “Thank you for the coffee. Dr. Reign. You
can call us or we’ll come by tomorrow.”

She smiled at him. “Sounds good, but just
call me Ryan. You can’t be a doctor if you can’t touch
anything.”

Jackson stopped half way down the steps. He
turned back and shyly dipped his head. “Ah, Ryan, about the name
thing the other day, well, I was expecting a little old medical
examiner with horn rimmed glasses not a pretty lady. I’m…..”

Ryan leaned against the porch rail. “Don’t
worry about it. It happened a lot at work. Most people expect a
medical examiner to be a man, since we pretty ladies are so
delicate.”

She gave him a wink Jackson dipped his head
defeated again by his
man
tality. “Point and score for the
pretty lady, see you tomorrow
Doctor
.”

As they drove to the station Thomas shook his
head. “What are you doing?”

Jackson glanced to his partner. “Driving.
What?”

“You know what I mean. She’s not all there,
man. She’s nice enough when the door isn’t being slammed in your
face but….”

Jackson shook his head at Thomas. “If you are
referring to extra curricular activities with Dr. Reign you’re the
one who’s nuts. I think she can help us that’s all.”

“That’s all.” He let all the skepticism leak
into his voice.

Jackson sighed and rubbed his temple. That
migraine was beginning to take up permanent residence. “Come on no
matter what the reason is behind her fear you’ve got to feel a bit
sorry for her. It must be kind of scary to be afraid of touching
something.”

“Yeah that’s true. Crazy or not it would be
bad.” Tom sighed and leaned back. “Step on it will you I’ve got a
date with Silvia tonight.”

Chapter 4

Ryan sat at the computer with a placemat
under the file folders. “This looks nuts. Geeze what they must
think. Then I just had to plead! Let me keep the older cases. What
have I turned into?”

She flipped on the computer and e-mailed
Barbara. “I’m going to call is it too late?”

You can call any time you need to, day or
night.

“Okay, you asked for it.” She dialed the
number.

“Hello Ryan?”

“Hi Barbara. I needed to have you on the
phone while I do this. I’m not sure what’s going to happen.” With
care, she explained the murders to the woman in as little detail as
possible. Dear God don’t let her be a reporter.

Ryan opened the oldest file she shifted the
phone to her left ear. “You said photos can have impressions. I
took these photos, could I pick up my own impressions?”

“Sometimes. Sometimes they are just paper. If
these are case pictures there may be other impressions on them from
other people that have handled them. You need to focus on you and
your memory of the event.”

She sighed maybe this wouldn’t work after
all. “That’s just it. My memories of this autopsy are vague. I
thought maybe I could read the photos to help me remember
something.”

Ryan swore she could almost hear the other
woman smiling as she spoke. “Try it. What’s the worst thing that
can happen?”

With a swallow she thought about the worst
thing that could happen. Ryan would be the one to relive the tragic
death. Well here it goes. She picked up the photo she remembered
taking, the ID pic.

She remembered angling the camera just right
so the bruising on the side of the girls face didn’t show so badly.
The uniform was waiting to take the picture to the parents to
confirm identity.

Suddenly she was behind the camera. The photo
popped out and she handed it to the officer. Carefully she began to
go over the body for trace. There was sand in the girl’s ear and
mouth typical of what you find around Lake County and surrounding
areas. Ryan examined the clothing for any odd tears or anything
clinging that could be traced from the perpetrator.

The seven stab wounds on the abdomen of the
girl looked very deliberate almost in a circle. There was something
sticking out of her pocket. A tube of lipstick. Ryan couldn’t let
go of the photo fast enough.

She did remember pulling it and a mirror out
of the girls jeans and putting them in an evidence bag. She
remembered Barbara on the phone. “Sorry.”

She told her what had happened. Not detailed
in case it proved to be important evidence wise.

Barbara was impressed. “That’s good. I never
get more than a moment or two. Once I got a full minute vision but
it was like a collage of events. You have a strong gift Ryan. Once
you get the hang of it you can do a lot of good with it. But the
strength of it may fade with time.”

She laughed because she wanted to cry and
Ryan was determined not to cry tonight. “Fading would be good.”

After hanging up with Barbara she sat there
looking at the files. She wasn’t ready to do that again yet. At
least she knew she could let go and it would stop. Not like…

The feeling of being alone seemed kind of
overwhelming right then. She thought about calling her sister but
Amber just treated her like she needed lithium or Prozac. In the
corner of the file Detective Prince had left a couple of phone
numbers.

The phone on his desk rang. Thomas was on his
date with the sexy Silvia by now so it wasn’t him. He hoped it
wasn’t another discovery. “Detective Jackson Prince.”

There was a long pause he was about to say
hello. “Hi, Detective. It’s Ryan, I’m sorry to call you like this.
I wasn’t even sure you’d be there.”

He sat back in the chair and propped his feet
on the desk. “I don’t have a real life, I’m usually here trying to
stay in the good graces of my supervisor.” He said with a slight
laugh. “Did you find something new?”

She was suddenly embarrassed that she had
called him. “Not really. I was just going through Sarah Green’s
jacket. Thanks for leaving them. I’m...uh…remembering a bit more
about the case. I’ll write it down for you. You know I don’t even
know why I called you. I’m sorry I bothered you.”

There was something there in the edge of her
voice she was nervous or bothered by something. This lady didn’t
seem like the type to call just to chat or angle for a date. “No
bother, actually you saved me from going blind staring at the
monitor. Rescue me for another minute or two and tell me what
you’ve got so far.”