Feeling much lighter than I had in months, I walked up to her door ready to get started only to find no one home.
Pulling out my phone to check my messages, I was certain that we’d had plans to meet today.
Yep, there was her message from last night. I wondered what had happened. I’d give her a few minutes in case she was running late.
After about thirty minutes, I’d started to worry and dialed her number. It went straight to voicemail.
Unable to sit in the car and wait, I walked around her small house testing all of the doors. Locked.
The gnome in the front yard caught my attention and I found her spare key.
I hoped that she wouldn’t be mad, but I couldn’t not check her house to see if she was okay. Her car was in the driveway, which was normal since it was walking distance to all of the buildings on the college campus.
Her house had that feeling of being deserted. I still looked in all of the rooms and then as an afterthought checked the closet. Her clothes and shoes were all there from what I could tell. There weren’t any notes on the fridge or table. Her roommate was gone for the summer to some overseas trip.
Dialing her number again, I was relieved that it didn’t ring from inside the house. A nagging feeling was bothering me that I couldn’t put my finger on. I hadn’t been able to sense more than my normal cop enhanced senses since I’d escorted those bodies out of the forest. Either my gift had only been temporary and tied to the trauma from when I young or I had managed to block it all off again for self-preservation. Either way, that didn’t help locate Flora.
What if she’d been kidnapped and they were luring me here with her text message? Even as the thought raced through my mind, I pushed it away as not probable. There wasn’t anything that Flora had for someone to ransom her.
I had a crazy idea and while not completely legal, I wasn’t going to put that as a reason not to ask.
“Mac, its Leslie. I can’t find Flora. Can you trace her cell number?”
It was a long shot, but even undercover, Mac could work marvelous things. I was just hoping it didn’t lead to Flora’s body lying somewhere abandoned.
He shot back a text, “Trying now….”
While I waited I made an extra pass through her house even checking her fridge in case she had cleaned it out.
Full of food there wasn’t any logical explanation as to what had happened to her.
“She’s at the address of another contact a few miles away. Her phone has been at that location for two days.”
“Thanks, Mac. I’ll owe you.”
“Speaking of that, we need to meet.”
“Our regular place?” I messaged back.
“Yep, at the witching hour.”
I chuckled at his attempt to be all clandestine.
“See you then.”
“Good luck.”
Now, I just had to find Flora and rescue her from whatever crazy situation she’d gotten herself into.
The neighborhood that Mac had texted didn’t seem much different than Flora’s. I drove slowly past the address looking for any signs that I was walking to danger.
On my second pass, I pulled up in front and parked. If I felt that something was hinky, I’d be able to make it out to my car to call for backup.
A knock at the door didn’t seem to work so I rang the bell which echoed loudly in the house.
The curtains ruffled as someone stuck their head out and back down quickly.
At least there was a sign of life in the house. I pushed the bell again and kept my finger on it until the sound of the locks being disengaged announced that someone was there.
“Hello, may I help you?” A frazzled looking woman stood in the crack of the doorway.
“My friend was supposed to meet with me and her phone gps said that she was here. Flora Martin.” I tried to peer past her into the house, but could only see a small human doing the same thing from between her legs.
“Yeah, she’s here. Come on in.” She moved back just far enough that I could move inside the doorway.
“Flora, someone’s here for you.” She called half-heartedly. Her voice not carrying beyond the room.
“Wait here, I’ll go get her.” She spoke the words in such a putout manner.
“Certainly.” I stood with my back to the door because you never knew when someone was going to knock you over the head. The furniture didn’t look clean and I was afraid that the three small children now watching me would converge like wolves on a carcass.
Flora appeared from down the hallway.
“Leslie, I’m so sorry. Their grandmother is on hospice and requested someone to do a blessing over her before she moves between the worlds. Time moves differently and I’d turned my phone off so we wouldn’t be disturbed and her spirit could be at peace. I completely forgot to turn it back on again.”
She passed a weary hand over her face, “Let me go tell the family, I’m going. I’ll need to collect my things.”
“I’ll wait for you out in the car and give you a ride home.”
“Thank you. It will only be about ten minutes.”
As she disappeared again, I opened the door keeping an eye on the small humans so they didn’t escape.
It wasn’t a full ten minutes before she appeared on the porch and said her goodbyes.
The car door shut and she lean back wearily against the head rest.
“Dying certainly takes it out of you doesn’t it?”
“I wouldn’t know, since I’m fully alive.” I grinned with relief that she was safe.
“Hardy har har…very funny.”
“Honestly, I’m just glad that you’re alive. You had me worried there for a minute. I did some illegal things and had your phone tracked to find you.”
“Oh, how did that feel going outside of the lines for a change?”
“Hey, you’re my psychic mentor, not my psychologist. I knew that if it came down to it, I’d rather have you alive then have you lying in a ditch somewhere.”
“So you’re extra senses haven’t come back. You haven’t seen any ghosts or had any visions?” She kept her eyes closed while I drove the few miles to her house.
“Not yet. Should I be worried that it just went away? It’s like a big black void and every time I think it’s just there out of reach I fall down the hole of nothingness.”
“It happens. Let’s just hope you didn’t burn yourself out. Don’t try so hard, if you’re meant to have the gift it will come to you when you’re ready. If you force it that could cause other problems that we don’t have time to deal with.”
“There’s like a whole other part of me that I knew realized that I relied on that’s missing. Evidently, it was more intertwined with my regular instincts that any of us knew.” I tried to keep the whine out of my voice.
“Completely normal after a huge growth for you to take a step back. It will help you to sharpen your other senses and when it comes back then you’ll be that much stronger because you can pick out the difference in training verses spiritual vibes.”
We pulled up at her house to go inside.
“Hey, I’m going to let you go get some rest. You look completely exhausted.”
“Are you sure? I’ve been staying over there for the past few days and once I get a shower, I should be as good as new.” She paused when I didn’t follow her.
“Yes, I’m sure. You can’t teach me anything if you’re falling over from exhaustion. I’ll come over tomorrow after you’ve had some time to catch up.”
“Thanks. Drive safe and have fun on your date.”
“Wait…do you know his name too?” I paused her knowing stuff still brought me up short.
“Chris. He’s a nice guy. Good aura. No darkness that I can see, but you’ll need to check that out for yourself. Have fun.”
She waved and closed the door.
“Dang it,” I muttered as I put the car into drive. Having a psychic for a friend was still an adjustment. I could imagine that it
was more difficult for Ryan when your partner changed into that overnight. Maybe taking a slight break was a good idea.
I just thought I was ready for the big time because I’d communicated with a few ghosts. There were still so many things for me to learn about having a gift like this and I wanted to prove that I was worry of having it.
The drive back I spent using my cop skills to pick out different cars that were involved in criminal behavior or needed a ticket. I’d missed being in a patrol car, but being a detective had its own benefits.
-------
The dreaded grocery store beckoned as I drove past on my way home with hours to spare before my date. I might as well get it taken care of now so that I wasn’t hungry during the movie.
With a sigh, I pulled in and trudged up to grab a cart. I hadn’t refiled my freezer or pantry in a while and since I was already in the store I might as well get it all done now.
Restocking my shampoo and toiletries, I turned the corner almost running full tilt into Jerome.
“Um, hi.” He stuttered moving out of the way.
“Hey.” I returned. Of all the grocery stores in the world, he had to live close enough to use mine.
“How’s it going? You home for a few days?” He asked hopefully.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m home. What’s it to you?” I could feel the hackles on my back raise up even though I knew I was being rude.
“Sorry.” He raised his hands backing up slightly, “I didn’t mean anything by it. Just making conversation.”
“You caught me off guard. It’s been a long day. Is everything going okay in the consultant business?”
“Yeah, yeah. Well, it was nice running into you.” Jerome nodded and slipped around the corner with his basket hooked over his arm.
“Hmm, that was unexpected.” After the day I’d just had, this was not making it better. If I didn’t seriously need groceries, I’d have left right then and gone home.
Now I was angry with myself for letting him get under my skin like that and walked through the frozen section slamming doors muttering. “How dare he come to my store? Who does he think he is asking if I’m home and how’s it going?”
When I made it to the checkout counter, I honestly couldn’t tell you what I’d put in the cart. It should make for an interesting month of food choices.
I couldn’t really be mad at him, now that I was out of there away from the situation I could take a deep breath. I knew that he’d made me sad when I’d told him to hit the road. I hadn’t realized that I’d fallen so hard and fast for his charms.
Nothing left to do now, but go out and let my heart heal, if that was even possible.
------
Chris met me at the theater and I was relieved that I could laugh and enjoy life still. Jerome hadn’t take that away from me at least.
The movie was great and just what I needed to take my mind off of things. It was nice to have someone beside me that didn’t require any pressure.
“Want to grab something to eat?” I suggested as we walked slowly out with the other movie goers.
“Yeah, that’d be great. I kind don’t want the night to end. There’s a pancake house up the street if you’re interested.”
“Sounds good.”
We met up a few minutes later and I felt all of my stress disappear.
“So tell me more about yourself?” I asked as we placed our orders.
“Oh, geeze where should I start. I’m from a small town where there are more cows than people most days. I knew that I wanted to get out and do something that made some money. Law school seemed like a good choice. I was used to worrying about how the weather affected the money we had so I choose to do something that wouldn’t be determined by outside stuff.”
“I get that. Our town wasn’t that small, but I’m used to parties out at the hay bales with a fire pit for the Friday night after party. My sister, Karen became and I thought it would be a great idea. I love living in the city whereas, she’s worked for the state patrol and then the local city police. It’s nice to visit, but I enjoy having my choice of food places only minutes away.” I spoke with fondness of my younger days.
“See I knew that you’d understand. There’s only so much room for someone with ambition out there. It’s not like you can get a promotion from the cattle or the corn crop. I needed something that could motivate me and criminal law seems to work really well for me.”
“I was telling someone today that working a puzzle was a fun challenge. Finding the criminals so they don’t commit more crimes is just one giant puzzle for me. I have to sift through the pieces for the information that I need to catch the right culprit.”
“My challenge is making the charges stick long enough to fit the crime. I’ll work my way up by taking the cases I’m given and winning them.”
“Yep. It’s nice to have someone who doesn’t have to explain it all to them. Does your family mind that you didn’t come back to the farm?”
“No, ma’am.” He drawled with a grin adding a few extras to his voice, “Although, you can take the boy out of the country,”
“You can’t take the country out of the boy,” I finished with him.
“Haha, you know it. I’ve adjusted though, but I do enjoy going home for the holidays for all the home cooked meals.”
“That is my one regret. I can cook, but I’m never home long enough to really enjoy it. Now, baking is a completely different story. To her my mother tell it though, you’d think I’d given away the secret family recipes to spies or something because I don’t actually use them.”
“Oh, you’re a horrible daughter alright. I’m on my mom’s list because I haven’t settled down yet. According to her, if I’m going to get promoted then I need to find a piece of arm candy that will get the higher ups to notice me. I’ve tried to explain that I want someone with some substance, but try telling that to a mom who wants grandbabies.”
“It’s like they can’t wait for us to leave the nest, but then they want us to fill it up again so we have all the crazy going on in our lives that they were so ready to get rid of.” I shook my head at the logic.
Chris glanced at his watch, “Gee, I hate to eat and run, but I’ve got to be in court first thing in the morning. If you’re free, I’d love to get together sometime this weekend.”
“Works kind of up in the air at the moment, but if I’m still in town I’d love to hang out.” I offered up a smile as we stood next to our cars.
“Since I can’t exactly walk you to your door to say good night, guess this will have to do.” He leaned in and waited hoping I’d meet him halfway for a kiss.
I took him up on his offer, but got more than I’d bargained for.
Whereas Jerome had been his own type of slow melt, Chris was a consuming fire that made my bones want to melt. I couldn’t have pulled away if I’d wanted to, instead he placed an arm around me to steady me.
“What was that?” I managed to stutter after I caught my breath.
“Our first kiss I think.” He chuckled at my reaction.
“Wow! I thought I’d been kissed before, but that one ranks up there as hitting the top ten.”
“Only the top ten,” He placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt.
“I’m going to have to have another demonstration before I determine if it’s top ten worthy.”
“Maybe this weekend.” He winked and walked to the door of his car, “We’ll have to see if I can make it up into the single digits.”
With a grin plastered on my face, I got into my own car thankful that it had only been a kiss. I was going to have to slow things down or he was going to sweep me into an undertow I wasn’t sure I could come back from.
I’d been up for two days straight and while my body might have been enjoying the warmth left over from that kiss, it was time to get some rest before we were called out to face whatever the Zodiac killer had in store for us. I still had to meet Mac at our secret spot.
----
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Chapter 5
Ryan
All day I’d been spinning my wheels exhausted trying to find out the message that the Zodiac Master was trying to send us.
Each piece was supposed to lead us closer to the goal, but all I could see were a lot of things that held not meaning when put together.
Most of the team had gone home already since there wasn’t an active killer yet, Agent Watson didn’t like adding overtime pay to if he didn’t have to.
Kevin was supposed to drop by when he’d lost anyone following him from the Urban Energy Company. Until then I was going to start putting the pieces together in my own way.
There was an empty office I’d spied earlier on and I wanted to stay out of sight until my marker mustache had been erased.
I used the empty walls to put up a section on each of the killers. Then I taped the new pictures to a separate wall along with all of the information about Urban Energy’s connections.
The desk chair in the office allowed me to twirl as I considered each different wall with information.
The Zodiac Master choose each of his targets carefully, but I was willing to bet that he met with them personally. In a very short time period he managed to not only get them on board with his plans and instill in them a very strong sense of loyalty.
The Gemini twins would rather die than take a chance to turn him in. Money wasn’t a motive for any of our killers. They hadn’t been driven by it only a sense of righting what they saw as a wrong committed against them. With the exception of the Aries killer, most of them hadn’t been professionals.
How did he turn them into violent killers? It was one thing to take a single life as an act of revenge, but to continue to kill took a special kind of person. One who had nothing left to lose.
Leslie had been looking at major newspapers to see if she could find a correlation between the months and ads for his recruits. The computers were still working on her search questions.
She’d even asked vice for help knowing that sex traffickers used ads for things like this all the time. We were just waiting for a meeting with one of their experts. They certainly weren’t considering her request a priority though.
Cancer: Murders of the Zodiac Page 4