Don't Touch (8 page)

Another quick flash was Jackson leaning on
the marble as he looked down at the murdered girl. She was so
young; he had to catch this thing. The killer wasn’t a person to
him he was a creature to be captured and caged.

Ryan felt his sadness and frustration at not
being able to find the guy before the next one. Forcing herself to
let go she stumbled backwards. Jackson caught her and she turned
into his arms letting the emotions of others run their course until
they were her own again.

Stepping back and wiping her eyes with her
sleeve. “Sorry. Wow that was intense. Not as intense as the first
time but…..”

When she started to tremble, he led her to a
nearby bench. He had to help her put the glove back on. “This is
too much. I’m taking you home.”

She shook her head as her nerves calmed.
“Really it’s not. I talked to Barbara about it when I first read
those photos. I felt drained, but that’s normal for a strong
impression. Or, just because I’m new at all this stuff. She said
it’s just like watching a movie but its being filtered into your
system differently.”

With a glance back at the grave she could see
the rusty stained blades of grass. “I couldn’t see his face. He was
wearing a cap too. But his hair was short and he was built
like….well you.” She motioned to Thomas.

Thomas knelt in front of her. “You said he
was tall. Can you guess at the height?”

After closing her eyes and thinking for a
minute. “Go stand over by the stone. Yeah, you may have a half inch
more on him.”

Jackson took her hand between his stroking
the top without thinking. “You said he was sad. Do you think it was
remorse over killing her? Like he knew her maybe?”

“No, I’m not sure why but it isn’t remorse.
He wasn’t sad over the girl or the fact that she was dead. But it
was important that she be covered. That big oak tree hanging over
the grave would give her protection enough until she was found.
Weird that he would want her body protected but not have any
emotion on killing her. Wait, he did walk away.”

She got up and went back to the stone then
started off in the direction of the killer. “Look!” There were
faint marks in the grass where someone had walked from the citrus
grove behind the cemetery.

Jackson followed until they turned into faint
footprints in the dirt. Then stopped at tire prints. The rest of
the trail had been obscured by the workers and trucks working the
orange grove. Ryan took a couple of steps forward and stopped.
“Backwards again.”

Thomas shook his head. “Hey, we’ve got some
good information. I didn’t say anything, but the caretaker that
found the body said he saw a man with a cap walking through the
orange grove. Now we know it wasn’t a worker, going forward thanks
to you.”

Chapter 7

Thomas opened her door when they reached the
car. “I wonder if he’ll stop killing since he changed methods.
After the first two he had a waiting period.”

Ryan shrugged and Thomas glanced at Jack.
She must have picked up the habit from him.
Prince perfected
the shoulder shrug for an answer.

Ryan couldn’t shake the feeling that if that
retiring detective had done his job and at least passed the case on
this wouldn’t be happening. “I don’t know. I don’t think he’ll stop
killing. Not altogether anyway. Maybe though he’ll give us enough
time to find him.”

The detectives looked at each other, but it
was Thomas who dared say it. “Us, Dr. Reign?”

She kicked the back of his seat. “Yes,
us
. You two are stuck with me until
we
solve this
thing.”

As they passed Orange Ave Ryan tugged
Jackson’s collar. “Can we make a short stop?”

“Yeah sure.” The Address she gave him was
just a block or two over. He had an idea where they were going. He
pulled into the drive and glanced at her in the rearview mirror.
She looked nervous. He waited for her to be sure then got out and
opened her car door.

Ryan made them go with her supposedly to make
sure they don’t stay long. Jack knew they were really back up. When
they reached the door Jackson knocked. A woman who looked a lot
like Ryan opened the door with a confused expression. He stepped
aside and the woman gasped. “Ry!”

“Hey Am.” The younger woman was unsure what
to do since her sister had proclaimed hands off, literally. Ryan
took her hands and squeezed them. Amber looked down and
frowned.

“You’re wearing gloves.” That did it, happy
moment over. Never mind the fact that she hadn’t seen her crazy
sister in months.

“This is Detectives Prince and Lord. We can’t
stay we’re working a case. While we were so close I wanted to stop
and say hi.”

Amber glanced at the two men standing on
either side of Ryan.

“Working? Ryan that’s…. that’s great!”

The woman’s voice held a sarcastic false
enthusiasm. Jackson nodded. “Yes it is. Your sister has been a huge
help in working with us on this series of cases.”

Amber gave a patronizing smile and patted her
sister’s hands. “That’s so great. You’re not working as a medical
examiner on the cases?”

Jackson moved a bit closer to Ryan as she
grinned trying to recover the moment. “Not autopsies, I’m…
consulting on forensic evidence.”

Amber leaned on the door with an expression
that you would give a child showing off hideous artwork. The look
you give them so you don’t discourage them but it’s obvious as to
what you really think. Jackson could see Ryan tense, and then
deflate. He tugged at her sleeve. “Hate to cut the visit short Dr.
Reign but we need to get back with our findings.”

Amber patted Ryan’s hand making a face at the
gloves. “It is good to see you out. And uh working.”

Ryan nodded. “Yeah, uh… I’ll take a rain
check on our girl’s night. Now that we’re working steady on the
cases, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Call you when I can
reschedule.” Turning she then walked back to the car. Jackson let
Thomas follow her then stepped closer to the girl on the porch. She
grinned looking out at her “crazy” sister. “Thanks for looking out
for her. I don’t know if she’ll ever get better.”

He let her see just how unhappy he was with
that comment. “There is nothing wrong with your sister. I’ve never
seen a stronger more determined person in my life. When this case
breaks it will be because of what Ryan can do. We just came from
the scene of a homicide. Since we were in the neighborhood she
asked to see you for a minute. Ryan was beginning to feel good
about herself again and wanted to share that moment with you. And
you just pissed all over it. If you ever want your sister back in
your life you need to stop treating her like she’s damaged goods.
Have a nice day Miss Reign.”

Without waiting for a reply he went to the
car and slid into the driver’s seat. He peeked in the mirror at the
woman in the back seat. It took every ounce of control he had not
to slam the door shut. “Ryan you okay?”

She nodded but looked like the wind had been
knocked from her sails. He knew if they took her home right now she
would set in that house alone with that sadness she was holding
onto when they first met. “How about the Kessler place. Maybe you
can pick something else up. I know it’s still empty. Want to give
it a go?”

He was rewarded with a crooked grin. “Sure,
why not.”

The Kessler house was indeed empty, devoid of
life. No one wanted to rent a dead girl’s house. The furnishings
were there just as Tina had left them. As if, the little house was
waiting for Tina to come home. Ryan looked around and all the rooms
felt like they were missing something.

She stepped into the living room and a shiver
ran down her spine. She could feel the heaviness in the room; it
was the weight of death. She knew that sensation well from the
morgue. It had been a while but she recognized it.

The sun shone through the windows
highlighting the rust colored stains in the carpet kneeling down
Ryan took off her glove. The floor was cool to the touch, the
carpet rough on her fingers. She sucked in a deep breath and fell
backwards with the shock of the vision.

Jackson was right there ready to come to her
aid. She put out a hand. “I’m okay. Just wasn’t expecting that.”
She laughed. “You know, I should know better than that by now. Each
time it’s so different you really never know what to expect.”

This time she sat butt on the floor as
Jackson sat close by. Touching the stains again she felt the brush
of weeds on her legs. She was outside, blindfolded. Her hands were
tied and being led somewhere. The blind fold gaped and she could
see brush, trees, grass. They were in the woods. Suddenly she was
pushed down and a scream ripped from her throat.

Jackson pulled her away from the stains when
she screamed. He was worried for a moment when she just lay in his
arms unresponsive. Then Ryan blinked and buried her face against
his chest trembling. He stroked her hair careful not to touch her
skin. “Shh. It wasn’t real. You’re safe here with us.”

Ryan tried to shake off the emotions that did
not belong to her and melted into the comfort. “That’s just it. It
was real. It’s what happened to Tina Kessler. Not all of it but…
she was so scared. She didn’t know him, didn’t understand why he
wanted to hurt her. We…. They were in the forest. There was nothing
to say where just the usual scrub oak and brush you find everywhere
in Lake County.

He pushed her to the ground and straddled
her. It wasn’t sexual. He wanted to take in her fear. I saw the
knife in his hand and knew what he was going to do as he raised it.
Tina knew he was going to kill her that this was the last breath
she would take.”

She suddenly realized where she was. Curled
up in Detective Prince’s lap. She moved back blushing. “Too bad the
other scenes have been in use for so long. I don’t think I could
sort out a specific image yet.”

Jackson stared at her and he started to
laugh. Thomas snorted and shook his head. She was starting to get
ticked off when Jackson brushed her hair from her face. “After all
that you’re ready to take on more? If you were this determined in
the medical examiner's office I know it wasn’t your fault if a case
went unsolved.”

She just sat and looked at the two of them
feeling extremely tired. She wobbled a bit from exhaustion as they
stood.

Thomas steadied her elbow. He remembered the
first time she opened the door and wouldn’t let them near her. She
had come a long way in a short time. He only hoped that it wasn’t
doing her any harm. “Let’s get you home.”

She had fallen asleep on the way home.
Jackson opened the car door careful to keep her from falling out.
“I hate to wake her.” He shook her gently. “Ryan, your home
hun.”

Stretching and rubbing her eyes like a sleepy
child she got out and headed up the walk. Thomas waited while his
partner walked her up. Once inside Ryan didn’t even try to make it
to the bedroom. She sat on the couch yawning. “Thanks, I’m
good.”

He grinned shaking his head as he plopped a
pillow on the end of the couch and gently pushed her over. “We’re
pushing you too hard.”

She laid back. “No, I’m pushing me too hard.”
She smiled a sparkling smile that made her brown eyes twinkle. “And
I’m loving it. I feel like me again. If I can learn how to control
this thing maybe I can get my life back.”

Her eyes closed she thought only for a second
but the easy rhythm of her breathing soon slipped into slumber.
Jackson pulled the blanket over her and brushed the hair from her
face. He made sure her door was locked before running into Thomas.
“What?”

“Not a thing, ready to go?” They had been
together long enough for him to know it was never a good idea to
pick at Jackson when his heart was on his sleeve. Neither Jack nor
Ryan could see where this was going.

When they reached the station Heinz was
sitting in their cubical. “It has come to my understanding that you
are using some rather unorthodox methods to gain leads in your
cases. I want an explanation, now.”

Thomas stepped up to the plate and began
explaining the situation in detail. By the end of the conversation
Heinz didn’t look any happier. “So, the two of you are telling me
that this crazy ME is giving you this information?”

Jackson knew he should just keep his mouth
shut but felt the need to come to Ryan’s defense. “Dr. Reign is far
from insane, Captain. If you were to meet her yourself you could
see that. I believe she has a gift and she is the one that will
help us find this guy. The description she gave us at the cemetery
today is the same as the suspect caretaker saw wandering off into
the citrus grove.”

Heinz glared at the two of them for good
measure. “Bring her here and we will have a professional come in. I
want her tested.”

He almost smiled at the shocked look on their
faces. “I’m not adverse to paranormal events detectives. I just
don’t want some unproven amateur ruining our chances of making this
stick when we catch this guy. Especially now that he’s changed his
ways. I have the name of a professional that works with the police
I’ll set it up for tomorrow at three. Make sure Dr. Reign is
here.”