The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) (14 page)

             
“You drop flowers into the water often?” asked Roy curiously.

             
The Native American nodded, “My people have always had a deep respect for nature and the waters that give so much.  I feel it is only right to express gratitude.” 

             
Glancing back at the water, Alex was beginning to sense more than ever that something was not right.  But before he could really focus on what it was, a large calloused hand touched his shoulder.  Suddenly, an image of his Grandmother standing among the roses while Jason cut some of the blossoms for her, loomed large in his mind.

             
“You wanted to take some roses to your Grandmother, didn’t you?” he heard Jason say as the hand left his shoulder.

             
“Yes,” Alex replied without hesitation and followed the older man off the bridge and towards the garden.  Now he knew for sure his new friend was not telling them everything, but oddly enough he trusted the man.

             
Glancing over his shoulder he saw Roy had fallen behind and was taking a water sample from the stream.  ‘Standard police investigation technique,’ he thought.  But he already knew what the results would prove.  The teens had died here, of that he was sure.  The questions now were how and why?

             
He was sure Jason had nothing to do with it.  But, at the same time he also suspected the man knew more than he had told them.  So why was he keeping quiet?

             
“Your grandmother was particularly fond of these,” Jason told him as they reached the edge of the garden. “She will be very pleased when you bring them.”

             
“Smiling down from heaven, Jason?” asked Roy catching up to them.

             
“Love is a most powerful force, Chief.  It can transcend even death,” Jason replied mysteriously. “It will always find a way, regardless of what tries to block its path.” 

             
Roy appeared skeptical.  “Do you really believe that, Jason?”

             
“Oh yes,” the groundskeeper replied straightening up and turned to face Alex. “It will even seek help from another to reach the one it seeks,” he added just as their eyes locked.

             
Suddenly Alex found himself back in the elevator he’d told Ronnie about the other day, with his mother’s hand resting on his shoulder reassuringly.  Then it was gone, and Jason was handing the blossoms to him saying, “I think you know what I mean.”

             
“Yes, I do,” Alex replied taking the fragrant blooms.

              “He didn’t have anything to do with what happened to those kids,” commented Roy, as they drove back to the station.

             
Alex nodded absently.
Cloudfoot knows I’m psychic.

             
“I know you’ll keep quiet about what we found out today,” Roy was saying casually, although it was clearly an order.

             
“Of course,” Alex replied automatically. 
How did he know?  Did Gran’ tell him?

             
He missed Peterson looking at him curiously and only barely heard him say, “Veronica may be leaving the office late.  She wanted you to feed the piranhas in the moat.”

             
“That’s okay, I needed to get some meat for dinner anyway,” Alex muttered, as the questions mounted inside his head.  
Is something trying to reach out to me like he said?

             
“I think she said they prefer veal.”

             
“Fine, I’ll parmesan some for us and…” Alex began then stopped as the conversation finally caught up with him. “What piranhas?”

             
“Welcome back to Earth,” his friend laughed, “Where was your mind?  Out near Pluto?”

             
“Venus actually, such lovely curves,” Alex replied easily. 

             
“Ah, sex on the brain,” Roy nodded. “No wonder my sergeant comes in every morning with a smile.”

             
“I do my best to rise to the occasion whenever duty calls.”

             
“And what if you’re too tired?”

             
“I run the risk of eventually developing carpal tunnel syndrome,” Alex shrugged. 

             
Peterson roared with laughter at that, which left Alex free to once more explore everything that had happened.  By the time they reached the station, he was still none the wiser.

Interludes

              Jason Cloudfoot stood on the bridge and stared into the waters below.  He held a single rose in one calloused hand.  He never should’ve left.  But, he had to see his new grandchild and her seven older siblings.  How could he have known that as soon as he left events would be set in motion? 

             
“I’ll need help, I’m not as young as I used to be,” he told himself.

             
He thought about Constance’s grandson.  The boy had scars that could not be seen with the naked eye, but he’d spotted them right off.  “He’s damaged and afraid.  Do I dare drag him into this?” he murmured quietly. 

             
As if in answer to his question, the sound of a wet foot stepping onto the bridge reached his ears.  He knew who it was, he always did.  He turned and saw her standing at the end of the bridge watching him.

             
Smiling he knelt down and held out the flower.  “Hello little one…”

              Later that evening after a nice dinner, Veronica and Alex headed over to their private ballroom located a very short distance from their house.  It was a huge room with three large chandeliers, one every 30 feet.  Large windows looked out onto a rose garden with stone benches and a sundial.  A fence separated the garden from an open field, beyond which stood the forest.  And since the gate was always left open, animals from the forest would occasionally come into the garden to graze or explore. 

             
Tonight a white wolf silently came through the open gate and went over to one of the windows and sat.  It gazed into the room where Alex could be seen putting some on some music. 

              Setting the CD player for ‘random’, Alex stood up and walked over to the middle of the room where his lady waited.  The first song to come up was a slow one and they began a sensuous Rumba. 

             
After a few minutes Ronnie said, “Roy said to tell you thanks for helping out this afternoon when you took him back to the Graham place.”

             
Sensing something was really weighing on her mind Alex said, “Just doing my civic duty.  Did he already get that water sample tested yet?”

             
It was the wrong thing to say.  He felt Veronica’s frame stiffen, which was not good for a dance that was meant to be sensual and sultry.  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he murmured and decided to change tactics.  “I got to meet the groundskeeper.  He seemed like a nice fellow.” 

             
“Jason?  Yeah he is,” she replied a little stiffly. 

             
“Apparently he knew my grandmother,” he continued, “The two of them used to visit each other quite a bit.”

             
“I’m not surprised,” Veronica remarked, “He and his family have been taking care of those grounds for years from what I understand.”

             
“Really?  Well then it’s a good thing I told him I’d make sure whoever bought the place kept him on,” he told her.

             
“Are you sure you can keep that promise?”

             
“Considering how Cassandra seems to have fallen in love with the place, I’d say yes,” he replied and immediately regretted it.  Veronica stopped dancing and wandered over to one of the big windows.

             
After a moment she said quietly, “I don’t think she should buy it.”

             
“I see,” he nodded, “those kids did drown there.”

             
“That’s a police matter,” his lady replied coldly.

             
Thinking quickly Alex tried a different tact.  “You know, as the realtor I can try to keep the place off the market for a while.”

             
She finally turned and looked at him curiously. “Really?” she asked.

             
“Yes, but I’ll have to come up with a good reason.  The lawyers for the estate are really eager to see it sold.”

             
“Understandable,” Ronnie nodded as she appeared to think about this.  Then she said, “About how long do you think you can stall them?”

             
“A week or two.”

             
“What about longer?”

             
Alex shook his head, “I’m not sure.  And even then, I still have to ‘appear’ to be actively trying to sell the property.  You know, showing the place to prospective buyers and whatnot.  If I stall too much they may just get someone else to sell it.  Why?”

             
“We’d rather not have too many people going near that place at the moment.  But if we must, at least with you handling the sale we can control who goes there and when.”

             
Alex could sense that she really wanted was to keep him away from it.  “What’s going on, Luv?  Why has this case got you so rattled?” he asked quietly. 

             
Veronica whirled on him and snapped, “Two dead kids are seen driving a vehicle that later crashes!  Then that same vehicle fills with mysterious water while one of my coworkers is trapped inside of it, killing him.  Then you go and find the source of that water on the grounds of a place you’re supposed to be showing off to prospective buyers, meaning you’d be going back there again and again.  What’s there for me to be NOT worried about?” 

             
So the water sample had proved the kids had drowned at the stream.  But, before he could think about the implications, he noticed Veronica had turned away again and now her shoulders were starting to shake.  Immediately he went over to her saying, “Please, Luv, don’t…”

             
“I don’t want you to land up like Chase,” she interrupted without looking at him.  “I’ve dealt with a lot of things over the years.  Domestic violence, robberies, drugs, abandoned babies, rape, child molestation, you name it.  But, there was always something real and tangible that I could do something about.  This case is starting to not feel like that.  It feels different, very different.” 

             
An awkward silence fell between them. 

             
Alex sifted through the emotions he was picking up from her and said, “Are you wondering if there’s any connection to that girl who disappeared from the manor sixteen years ago?”

             
Veronica stared at him, “Who told you...?”

             
“Roy.”

             
She nodded and took a deep breath, “We never found her, or anything to tell us what happened to her.”

             
“So your boss said.”

             
“He doesn’t know the half of it,” she muttered, and burst into tears. 

             
Without a word, Alex reached out to her.  She shook her head, but didn’t resist as he pulled her close. 

              Outside the window, the white wolf made a sympathetic noise.  Then it stood up and left the way it had come.