Dadgummit

by Maggie Toussaint

  “Senator Sandelman’s daughter? What was she, five?”

  “Six.”

  “She was so young. I don’t get some people. Hurting a child is so wrong, and killing a child is beyond terrible.”

  “Agreed, which is why we could never identify a suspect. But now, with hindsight, it’s clear that someone benefited from this child’s disappearance. That’s motive in my book.”

  Understanding flashed in my head. “Senator Hudson?” Even a person like me from the sticks recognized his name. He’d campaigned through our county several times. “You’re looking at a state senator as a suspect? This could blow up in your face.”

  “No kidding. We need you to work this case. If we can place where they held Regina or a vehicle type, we might find evidence linking Hudson to the crime.”

  “Where’d you find her, um, remains?”

  “In an abandoned park in an Atlanta suburb. The area was slated for refurbishment last month, but they discovered a lot of bones when they started digging. The park is apparently an old unmarked cemetery, and since I’m the state archeologist, they called me in. While dating the bones, we found that one set wasn’t the same age. We ran DNA and got a hit. The thing is, no one thinks this is where she was killed. The park is a dumpsite. I need to find the crime scene.”

  “Does the father know?”

  “Yes, but they’ve kept the investigation and the discovery quiet to prevent the suspect from destroying evidence. We have a narrow window of time until the press gets wind of this. I have something of the girl’s for you to examine.”

  Dad was right. The parent in me ached for justice for this child. What would it hurt to try one cold case? If it didn’t work out, I would know I’d been right to trust my instincts to stick to current investigations. I took a deep breath and met Gail’s steady gaze.

  “I’ll do what I can, but I’m already on loan to Sheriff Blair. Her case takes priority.” The sky was pinking up. A new day was coming, ready or not. “Breakfast?”

  Gail grinned. “Thought you’d never ask.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “You’re mine for the next hour.” Gail Bergeron retrieved a satchel from her Hummer. Would she hand me a stuffed animal or an item of clothing?

  My crew had eaten a hearty breakfast, fed the new guard, and dispersed. Larissa, my father, and Charlotte were at the lake with the animals. My mom dozed in her camper. The guard hovered in my vicinity. Whoopee, I was safe.

  Even so, it didn’t feel right to work on a case in our family area. Being in close proximity to Larissa, I might inadvertently broadcast my thoughts into her head. I’d rather not have any of my thoughts or dream energy spill over into my daughter’s head on this case. A little distance would be preferable. “Not here. Let’s take a ride in my truck.”

  “Mine is better. I told Deputy Duncan I’d haul you to the crime scene so he wouldn’t have to return for you.”

  I sighed with regret. “Sounds like my day is being planned out for me again.”

  “You’re in high demand. I’m staying as close to you as I can get.”

  I dashed off a note to Larissa and Charlotte, stuck another pouch of crystals in my front pocket, and joined Gail in her Hummer.

  As she drove down the wooded lane away from the lake, she recounted the familiars of the case. Six-year-old Regina Sandelman went missing on a Friday afternoon five years ago. She’d been playing in her backyard and then she was gone. Her distraught parents had been all over the news, begging for their blonde, blue-eyed daughter to be returned.

  “When the kid didn’t turn up, the cops believed the parents had done it,” Gail said as we bounced along. “They checked the Sandelman household and yard repeatedly. Nothing. Senator Knox Sandelman resigned from the Georgia legislature. His wife gave up her charity work. They closed the city house, moved to the country, and haven’t been heard from since.”

  Regina would’ve been a year older than Larissa. I would die inside if something happened to my daughter. I wished the cop behind us was trailing my daughter instead of me.

  “My, it’s suddenly freezing in here,” Gail said. “Let me flip on the heat.”

  I had a suspicion that a certain ghost dog might have joined us. The big black Great Dane had been haunting an abandoned home in my county for years when I ran across him. Oliver had been so grateful to have the virtual chains removed from his neck that he’d attached himself to me.

  “No need to turn on the heat on my account,” I said breezily. “Probably just a cold pocket. Happens in the mountains. It will pass in a minute.” I used my other vision and saw Oliver sitting on the console between us. With a jerk of my head, I indicated I wanted him in the back. The ghost dog jumped over and leaned his head on my shoulder.

  “That’s much better,” Gail said, angling the hot air away from her face. “Now, where was I?”

  “The kid’s gone, the parents dropped out of life, but the cops ….”

  “The cops looked at this thing every way but sideways. Mrs. Sandelman led a blameless life. She donated her time, money, and energy to many high-profile charities. The senator made a few enemies in politics—only natural—but none of them benefited from the void left by Knox’s departure. None, that is, except Jared Lee Hudson. He’d been home alone at the time of the abduction. No witnesses, no one to corroborate his alibi.”

  “Did they question Hudson?”

  “They did. Once with no lawyer, and then every time after that with one of Atlanta’s most exclusive attorneys. The lawyer shut down the full court press the cops had on Hudson.”

  I nodded to the pull-off just ahead. “This looks like a good spot.”

  “Agreed.” Gail turned in. Soon trees surrounded three sides of the Hummer. Our police escort hunkered down in our rearview mirror.

  “The cops think Hudson did it, but they have no proof.”

  “Exactly.”

  “You’ve got photos of these people?”

  Gail snapped open a folder. She withdrew a picture of the parents from the press conference, one of Senator Hudson’s election posters, and a school photo of little Regina. I studied them, unable to ascertain guilt or innocence from a photo. Still, knowing what the key players looked like was a start.

  I handed the photos over. “How can I help?”

  “I need solid proof. Can you get it for me?”

  “I can’t promise anything. But I’ll try.” I gazed at the satchel with trepidation. “What’s in there?”

  “All that’s left of her. I typed the bones from that park in Atlanta, and everything in the world that used to be Regina Sandelman is in my bag. Don’t tell me you’re squeamish? I know you’ve touched bones before.”

  The energy coming off Gail flashed red and ugly. She literally seethed with the need to solve this case. I’d learned a thing or two about my abilities during my short stint as a dreamwalker. “Whatever you want me to use as a focal point, put it on the seat beside me. I should be about fifteen minutes or so, max.”

  Gail reached down into the bag and fiddled around a little bit. Finally she came up with a small white bone, which she placed on the console. “From her hand.”

  Oliver whined on the seat behind me.

  “Steady,” I cautioned.

  “I am steady,” Gail said, her tone brusque.

  “Wasn’t talking to you.”

  “Something else is with us? Is it the child?”

  “Not the child. I’ll be right back.” With that, I grabbed the bone and Oliver. Light bent and whirled. My stomach shot down to my toes and up to my tonsils. Dark rushed in, extinguishing the light, and then the unremitting murk of the Other Side surfaced. All things considered, it was a smooth transition to the realm of spirits.

  A scene came into focus nearby. I drifted closer, unsure if this would be a montage of a prior event in this person’s life or if I’d be lucky enough for this dreamwalk to be interactive. A young girl played in her yard at a kid-sized table and chairs set. Her sun-kissed ha
ir glistened with purity and light.

  She turned to me with a radiant smile. “Did you come for my tea party?”

  I squatted down, pleased by the rare treat of interaction with a spirit. Maybe I could close this case with one dreamwalk. The child’s oversized black-silk sheath with a beaded collar looked too fancy for the backyard. “My name’s Baxley. I came to visit you, Regina. You like to play dress up?”

  “Sometimes, though Mommy doesn’t like me to take her clothes. But my princess gown is too small and it ripped last time I put it on. I borrowed this one from Mommy because she has so many.” She glanced at Oliver, who lay at my feet. “I like your doggie.”

  I perched on one of her tiny chairs, and we pretended to take tea. Glancing around at the gloom outside the vision, I tried getting to the point. “How’d you get here?”

  She shrugged.

  “Did someone hurt you?” I asked.

  Regina looked down at her pretend tea. She wouldn’t meet my gaze.

  “They can’t hurt you anymore,” I said. “Can you tell me what you remember?”

  “I was playing tea party,” Regina began in a soft voice. “My mom was yelling at my dad. I don’t like that. They argue all the time, and I come out here where it’s quiet.”

  Discord in the Sandelman household. Interesting. “What were they arguing about? Was it about you?”

  “Daddy’s work. He wouldn’t do something. Mama wanted him to do it, but he said no. Said he had f-ticks. I tried to help him look for the ticks but he pushed me away, told me to go outside.”

  F-ticks? I rolled the word around on my tongue for a few minutes before I got it. “Ethics? They were talking about his professional ethics?”

  Larissa nodded solemnly. “I don’t like F-ticks. They make my ears hurt.”

  “So you were outside alone. Then what happened? Did one of them come outside for you?”

  She shook her head. Her shape thinned then reformed. I had to hurry.

  “Did someone else come for you?”

  She shook her head. Her spirit wavered. Think, Baxley. “Do you have any owies?”

  Regina nodded and turned around. “My head hurts.”

  I gasped at the indentation in her skull. She’d sustained a blow from the rear. “Did you fall down?” I asked, hoping no one had been awful enough to bash in her skull.

  Regina turned around, pain etched in her face, tears in her eyes. “It hurts. Make it stop. Make it better. Owwieee.”

  “May I hug you? I’ll kiss it and make it better.”

  She nodded, and I opened my arms to her. She nestled in my arms, shuddering. When she calmed, I looked her in the eye. “Who hurt you?”

  “A bad man.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He hit me. Then he put me in his red car. He never came back. It was dark.”

  I stroked her back again. “Do you know the man’s name?”

  “No, but once Mommy called him Pug. That’s a silly name for a grownup.”

  “He was a friend of your parents?”

  “Mommy’s friend. Daddy didn’t like him.”

  “Why was he in your yard?”

  Regina’s lip quivered. “I don’t know. He has a black thing on his neck.”

  “I’m sorry he hurt you, but you’re safe now.”

  “Where are my mommy and daddy? Why won’t they find me?”

  Oh, I didn’t want to tell this child she was dead. I tried to vector my thoughts in Rose’s direction. Surely my guardian angel was eavesdropping. “Do you have a grandma or grandpa, Regina?”

  “Grandpa Eddie, but he died.”

  “Can you picture him in your mind?”

  The backyard scenery wavered as Regina gestured with her arms. “He’s big like Santa Claus, and he gives the best hugs.”

  Someone came toward us in the swirling mist. A large gentleman who called Regina’s name. She squealed happily. “That’s him. Grandpa Eddie, you found me!”

  The spirit nodded at me and took the child by the hand. The shapes of their bodies thinned into nothing. I knelt down beside Oliver, my trusty ghost dog. “Imagine that, Oliver. Out of all the people over here, her grandpa comes for her.”

  Oliver wagged his entire body.

  A rustle of wings alerted me to another visitor. Rose landed in front of me with a sulfuric blast. “There you are.”

  “I’m here, but not for long,” I said. It paid to be cautious around Rose. “Thanks for helping with the child’s relative. I didn’t want to have the ‘You’re dead’ conversation with her.”

  “I owe you one for yesterday.”

  “Speaking of which, why do I have no memory of the five hours over here?”

  “We had a job to do, then I erased it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you don’t need to have those nightmares.”

  More nightmares. I needed to come up to speed on this mental partitioning fast. But wait a minute …. She’d used hours of my life. “So we’re even now? You used the time I owed you and more.”

  “Didn’t count. That time wasn’t spent among the living.”

  “Funny, you didn’t mention that rule before.”

  “Nothing funny about it. The rules are different over here. That’s a known fact.”

  “Still, it doesn’t seem fair.”

  “Sue me.”

  Not a possibility. Crap. She had me coming and going. Time to focus on why I was over here. “You know anything else about the guy who killed Regina?” I asked. “The cops need solid evidence.”

  “She told you. The red car. A man with a black spot on his neck.”

  Rose faded, and I headed back to my reality. Light dawned bright around me. I blinked against it. Recognizing the dashboard of Gail’s Hummer, I knew I was in the right place. The clock on the dash showed less than ten minutes had elapsed. That was good.

  However, the quiet sobbing I heard veered into the uh-oh category.

  What’d I step in now?

  Chapter Fifteen

  A glance to my left showed the weeping noise was coming from Gail. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her arm seemed bent at an awkward angle. “What on earth?” I asked.

  “Thank goodness you’re back,” Gail managed. “I wasn’t sure what to do. I tried to reach over the seat for my briefcase and couldn’t manage, so I got out to go in through the rear door, only the seatbelt caught my left arm. I yanked on the arm when it didn’t come free. Only the belt had me good. I was just about to call our cop guard over here. I need to see a doctor.”

  “Yes, you do. Switch places with me, and let’s drive to the nearest clinic.”

  “Can’t. I promised the cops I’d take you to them.”

  “They’ll have to wait. Your need is greater than theirs. Hang on while I come around and let you out.”

  Hurriedly I switched positions with her, noting in passing her shoulder was at a weird angle, not her arm. Looked to me like she’d dislocated it, but I was no doctor. I backed her Hummer out of the wooded spot off our driveway, with our guard easing out of our way, and called the sheriff. “Change in plan. I’m with Dr. Bergeron, and she’s injured her shoulder. I’m driving her to the nearest medical facility.”

  Gail murmured the name of the nearest clinic, and I repeated it for Twilla Sue. “We’ll meet you there after we get our warrant,” the sheriff said. “I’ll have my guy clear the way with lights and sirens.”

  Once on the highway, the cruiser pulled in front of us and created an open pathway. Nice. This job came with some perks after all.

  “Tell me what you learned in the dreamwalk. Please tell me it was worthwhile,” Gail said as we rolled down the highway.

  I recounted the dreamwalk as it had happened, followed by my recap. “The killer is nicknamed Pug. He has a black something on his neck and drives a red car. According to my contact on the Other Side, the trunk of the red car contains all the evidence you need.”

  “I’ll check the record to see if Senator Hudson owns a
red car. I sure hope so. Did you get anything on the means of death?”

  “I didn’t see the murder weapon, but whoever killed her struck her from behind and caved in her head. She didn’t die immediately from the wound.” My hands fisted. “He left her to die alone in the trunk. What a monster.”

  “I’ll find that red car. There wasn’t one mentioned in the search we did before,” Gail said. “Thank you for the information. I’m surprised you got through to her so quickly. I wish I understood how your process works.”

  “Let me know when you figure it out. All I know is that I think about the person and I find them. What they show me is another story.”

  After a moment, Gail asked, “Was it horrible seeing Regina like that?”

  I shuddered. “It was. Can’t you figure out what struck her from the fracture itself?”

  “The object didn’t appear to be round like a hammer or baseball bat. It was more linear. Like a two-by-four, only not quite as thick.”

  That matched with the impression I’d seen. “Anyone that would do that to a child deserves the worst punishment our court system can inflict. The death penalty seems too good for him.”

  * * *

  Hands on her weapon-clad hips, Twilla Sue Blair nodded at her striking male companion as she said, “Ms. Powell, this is my chief deputy, Sam Mayes. He’ll be with us today. Looks like y’all got Gail’s arm sorted out.” We were just exiting the medical clinic.

  Though she was shorter than me, the crisp authoritarian uniform and her larger-than-life personality made her seem to tower over us.

  The dark-haired man in blue beside the sheriff was trim in a solid sort of way and right at my height of five-six. He wore his long hair in a low ponytail down his back. High cheekbones and a blade of a nose attested to his Native American heritage. I switched to my other vision because of the charged atmosphere. He had a dark, emerald-green aura, but it wasn’t negative. It drew me in for a closer look.

  His energy felt familiar to me, as if I knew him, only I’d never met this man before. He returned my steady gaze with steely determination, as if he’d drawn the short straw by having to work with me. Hmm. Cool exterior reserve, but on the spiritual level, I was picking up a warmer reception. For instance, his protective energy melded nicely with mine. I liked him before he’d said a single word. I sure hoped I felt the same way after I got to know him.