Garden of Sorrow (Book 4 of Psychic Visions, a paranormal romantic suspense) (27 page)

"What the hell is going on?"

Captain Gosling glared at him. "I received an anonymous phone tip today about someone in the office leaking information about a recent homicide."

Kevin whistled softly. A homicide could only mean Mandy. Speaking slowly, he said, "It's hard to believe anyone here would do that."

"I know," came the somber answer. "If one of our men had anything to do with this leak, I want
him
caught."

So did Kevin.

The captain watched for Kevin's reaction, then nodded. "Precisely, and that leads to the next problem. I don't know why the tip, how accurate, or whether it's just an attempt to discredit the office, but we need this checked out and fast, before Internal Affairs hears about it."

No argument there.

In the privacy of his office, and armed with Stefan's tip, Kevin made a list of all the rookie officers on staff, including the two who were no longer attached to their division. The experienced officers didn't come under the heading of young – as far as he was concerned – so he bypassed those.

That left eight names in all. The two that no longer worked in his office, he tentatively crossed out. One worked out of New York now, and the other had transferred home to Alaska. He'd focus on the other six. He'd known two of them for years. Both young men had grown up here. They both came from working families. Neither had excelled at school, but both had done a reasonable job. One was particularly athletic, and the other enjoyed sports at the community level. Overall, nothing about them raised warning flags.

There were four more. The first was a particularly enterprising young man who could go far with the right connections. Another, with a so-so average personality, could go either way. The other two he didn't feel he knew at all. One of them spent most of his free time working with Kevin's former partner. The fourth he knew only by sight.

Which one of these betrayed the force, and why? What would cause a young man starting out in his career to risk it all, and quite likely end up in jail? Had this person done this willingly? Kevin hated to think so. But otherwise, what pressure could be applied to make someone do something like this? Blackmail? Extortion of a police officer was not a new thing. But what could the leverage be?

Kevin pondered the scenarios before picking up the phone and calling the captain. Quickly he explained about Stefan's news, rapidly running through his points and the research to date.

"Any suggestions, Captain? Do you know anything about these guys that would suggest where to look?"

"Not really." The older man pondered the news thoughtfully. "But I hope you're right about leverage being used. It would be easier to accept. He could even be protecting a family member."

Kevin stared off toward the far wall, then said, "I think I'll bring them in and see what shows up."

"Do it fast. We're running out of time."

Only two of the young rookies were at the office. Kevin called them in, one at a time. With each, he asked for a rundown of the cases they were currently working on. As it was no secret that Kevin had a hand in suggesting promotions and shifting personnel within departments, both men quickly complied.

Kevin listened attentively while he probed their energy fields, looking for anything that made them appear culpable. They both were innocents as far as he could tell. Their minds and energy were wide open. He didn't think they were capable of deceit at this level – but he'd been wrong before.

He thanked them both, and let them go with words of appreciation for the jobs they were doing.

His notebook was rapidly filling with rough information on the possible suspects, when a package arrived on his desk. Nancy, the long-time clerk from the front office, smiled down at him. "Directly to you. No stops and no other eyes. Those were your instructions, weren't they?" She grinned at him, watching as he ripped open the heavy padded envelope.

Finally.

"Thanks, Nancy." In mid-rip, he stopped and looked at her pointedly. She raised her eyebrows but obediently left the room, shutting the door with an exaggerated movement.

This was the information he'd requested on John's family. He couldn't believe the difficulty he'd had to get this material.

He opened it, pulled out the copied material he'd requested and started reading.

"What the hell?" he whispered.

Moments later, he put down the sheet of paper in shock.

Heaviness settled in his stomach as he tried to digest the details. There had been many different accusations of child abuse concerning their daughter and neighbors complained of screaming and fighting – all over the last four years they'd lived in Redding, California. There was even a statement from the little girl's physician.

Intuitively, Kevin knew John had paid to hush up any suspicions of foul play. Money might have saved John decades ago, but today, he held a position in public office. If this leaked out they'd crucify him. It wouldn't matter if John hadn't been the bastard who'd dished out the child beatings, the suspicions alone would finish him. No wonder he'd left town.

Was this what the blackmailer wanted John to confess? Or was it for something worse?

A paragraph caught his eye. According to the case file, the child had fallen from a tree in the front yard, suffered a broken neck and died several days later. Everyone in the family had been questioned, but the death had been declared accidental and the case closed. The little girl had been eight years old.

He shuffled through the documents looking for the start of the problems. There it was. Four years before her death. That was the first time suspicion of abuse was noted in the file. She'd died thirteen years ago.

That fit the timeline, too.

This then, is where the whole mess started – years ago.

***

Alexis could feel the mounting pressure. Nothing specific, but the heavy atmosphere and constant tension drained her. It was the same for the townspeople. Everywhere she went, people looked suspiciously at each other, seldom maintaining eye contact or stopping to talk.

After finishing lunch with Scott, they returned to the gardens. Alexis heaved a sigh when she saw Rick waiting for her. What could he want now?

"As you refuse to leave town, I have the perfect job for you. It will keep you safe and out of sight. I want you to clean up last year's paperwork." Rick smiled at her evilly.

Alexis spluttered. She couldn't even form a protest, because her mind had frozen.
Paperwork.
A year's worth! He knew she hated that type of work.

Scott's lips twitched. When he finally grinned at her, Alexis shot him a look of disgust. He could at least help her out of this mess.

"I know you'd like to stay here and have Scott as your babysitter, but believe it or not, he has other jobs to do. And one of them is a meeting now with the city planners for the new building that's to start next month."

"Ach hell, I forgot." Scott groaned. "Sorry, Alexis. It's not something I should miss."

"Why can't I go with you?" She'd enjoy being in on some of the planning decisions for the new section. Actually, that idea perked her up.

"No need. You'll be totally safe in the office. No one could find you under all that filing." Rick was savage with his satisfaction. Turning back to Scott, he said, "Take her down and leave her there. Call the detective and let him know."

Filing?
Oh hell no.

***

It was an unbelievably long afternoon. No one had filed the time cards, supply lists, or the myriad of other papers in months. By the end of the day, she was the ready to scream.

"Arrgh!"
Alexis threw her pen across the room. Dry laughter hit her ears from the doorway. She looked up to see Kevin leaning casually against the doorframe.

"Have you come to rescue me?" she demanded. "Otherwise, I might just have to hurt you."

"I think this job suits you." Kevin took a seat on the one chair that wasn't fully covered in reams of papers. "A desk job."

"Like hell."

He sat across from her with a cheeky grin, but heavy lines creased his face. He opened an envelope he'd brought, and slid out several photocopied pictures. "Can you look at these and tell me if any of them look familiar?"

Alexis frowned. They were pictures of children. There were a good half dozen, but the quality was poor. She shifted them apart so she could see them better…and froze. Tapping the picture of one young boy, her heart ached as she whispered, "Him. I saw him in one vision."

Kevin nodded, his face grim. "Any others?"

She studied the others, before singling out the photo of a young, curly haired girl. "Her, I think. But I am not as sure of her as I am of the little boy. She looks different in the picture."

"How about the rest?"

"I haven't seen all that many clearly. There are several always hanging around in the background, but I haven't been able to get a good look at them." She managed to separate three more out. "I think these ones as well. But," she cautioned, "I can't be sure."

Kevin smiled. "Don't worry about it. These children all disappeared over twenty years ago. Their cases were never solved. A serial killer was suspected to be in the area, but the information back then didn't travel as quickly as it does now. The killer was never caught. Instead, he just went quiet."

"And he never resurfaced?" How odd. She watched as he collected the pictures – the first tangible evidence of her visions. Until now, the children in them had faces but no names. That kept them in the realm of being almost imaginary, as if she hadn't really seen them. Now there was no refuting the facts. She pointed at the one. "What's his name?" she asked, suddenly needing to know.

He narrowed his gaze, considering what he'd been asked. "Eric. Eric Mason."

That fit, sort of. "These kids I see, were they all murdered?"

He shook his head. "Not necessarily. Spirits can stay here for many reasons. It's possible you are connected to any child that is lost."

That made her feel better.

A sudden smile brightened Kevin's face. "There was one good thing that happened this morning."

At her sudden interest, he nodded smugly and said, "Yup, I talked to Stefan."

"He's awake?" she asked, jumping out of her chair and reaching for her purse. "Let's go!"

But Kevin didn't move. "No, he's not awake."

Confused, she moved to stand in front of him. "But you spoke to him?"

"Yes, but only telepathically." Kevin slowly stood up and stretched, the envelope in hand.

"How is he?" She studied the fleeting nuances on his face.

"He's fine. Very tired and he'll need several more days of rest – but considering what he's been through, he sounded okay. He wants to speak with you." He walked to the office door before glancing over at her. "Aren't you coming?"

She preceded him out of the building.

"Don't you have to lock up or something?"

"I hope someone steals it all," she snapped. "It would serve Rick right."

***

Once inside the hospital, they came face to face with Scott's beautiful Moira.

"Hello, Moira." Alexis walked up to her and held out her hand. "We haven't been introduced but I'm—"

"Alexis. Scott's bin telling me about ye." The Scottish woman smiled a friendly greeting. The two women shook hands. Moira turned to Kevin. "Good day to ye again, Detective Sutherland."

"Hello, Moira. How's our patient?"

"He's the same. No change as far as I know. You're welcome to go and visit." She waved them in the direction of the room, then grabbed her charts and headed down the hall.

Stefan lay in the same position as when Alexis'd last seen him.

"He looks better." A wealth of satisfaction wove through Kevin's voice.

"Does he?" Alexis studied the prone body, curiously. "He doesn't look any different to me."

Kevin glanced at her in amusement. "That's because you're looking with your eyes."

Embarrassed to be reminded, Alexis checked out Stefan's energy. It was much stronger, a smooth, calm whiteness that spoke of peace and gentleness. It wasn't back to its full vibrancy, but if he continued to improve he wouldn't need to be here too much longer. "He's pretty vulnerable like this, isn't he?"

Her wording caught his attention. "He wasn't attacked or anything. I doubt he's in danger here. Are you picking up something?"

"No. Not really. He just looks so vulnerable." She walked closer to the bed, taking up Stefan's fine artistic hand. His skin was warm and smooth with a healthy pink color. She curled the long fingers around hers, as if he were grasping her hand on his own.

You don't need touch to know that we're together.

Alexis laughed aloud. "Now that's where you're wrong. I do; it's you who doesn't need to touch."

Nonsense. If you'd wanted to, you could have spoken to me anytime. You just need more confidence in your abilities.

Alexis listened to Stefan's warm, teasing voice in her head. She lifted his hand and dropped a kiss on the knuckles. "It's good to hear your voice again."

Not half as good as it is to hear yours. Are you okay after your trip in to find me?

Alexis smiled at what already seemed like a week-old memory. "I am, and thanks for showing me some of your much more advanced skills."

No problem. I thought I could accomplish something over there. But I overestimated my abilities.

"Or you just burned up faster than normal because it was new, and a more difficult attempt than anything else you'd done." Alexis backed up a bit. "At least, I find things go better on the second attempt."

I needed you here to warn you. This bastard checks in on you all the time.

What!
Kevin's voice ripped through Alexis's mental space, making her wince at the tone and volume. Damn, that hurt.

You heard me.

"In what way is he watching?" Alexis asked curiously. Just what was this asshole capable of? "And why?"

He likes to know where you are, what you're doing. Not only on an energy level. He's often out physically keeping an eye on you.