by Mayer, Dale
"Right."
Silence ensued. Hurting, Kali whispered. "I didn't know. Honest."
Stan placed a hand on her shoulder. "I believe you."
Kali offered him a wan smile, more exhausted than if she'd come from a three-day rescue with no rest. Done in. "Do I say something to her? Do I leave her alone? What?" And why was she asking Stan? Because she no longer trusted her own judgment.
"Let her alone. Give her time to heal."
A common sense attitude, but one that offered no closure for Kali. She wasn't sure how to live with that.
"You might want to consider your relationship with Grant for the same reason."
"I'm not going to think about Grant." Not now. Maybe never, considering Stan's latest bombshell.
"Do you want a relationship?"
Kali quirked her lips and slunk lower. "I hadn't thought so. My life is chaotic enough."
Stan's steady gaze showed years of wise living. "And now?" He raised one eyebrow at her. "Grant is seriously interested. I've known him for years. I know how his job has changed him. But being around you takes years off his face."
"No." Stan was just being sweet. Then again, Grant's energy reinforced Stan's words. There'd be no blending of their energies if Grant wasn't interested, if being together wasn't right on some deep level. That didn't make this the right time or place. "He and I are all about the victims."
"No," he corrected. "That is your relationship. You see things the same way, think the same way and do the same work. With so much in common, you haven't realized you're working and growing together. Growing together. Did you hear it the second time or do I need to say it again?"
Kali hated the squirming child inside, as if she'd been caught in a lie. He was right. She knew it, but...she didn't know what she wanted to do about it. And what did Grant want with her?
"Right." Stan stood up. "I'm going to head to the center. I want to be on hand in case some of this news sneaks out so I can put a stop to the talk. I doubt they'll release Melanie's name yet. It's going to be hard to keep a lid on this for long. And you, well you need to think about what I said."
Kali gave Stan a good-bye hug at the front door. The phone rang. Hurrying into the kitchen, Kali answered it.
"Hello."
"Found another one, did you? Too late, again. Here, I'd hoped you'd be a decent challenge. Instead, you can't even get into the game."
Fury and pain exploded through her. "What have you done with Julie?"
An ugly silence filled the phone line.
"Julie is fine - for the moment. I've given her a fighting chance as you appear to need the extra time." The voice cackled once before ringing off.
Fingers shaking, Kali struggled to dial Grant's number. Her words tripped over each other as she tried to explain. "He just called...he has Julie...something about a fighting chance...I don't know, he said something about I needed the help?"
Grant fired several questions at her. "Think. Did he say anything specific to help us find her? It's been recorded but give me what you remember right now."
Kali repeated the conversation the best she could.
"I hate to ask, but Julie's life is at stake. Will you please sit with your sketchpad and try to get another picture?"
"There's no guarantee," she warned.
"No. I know. But everything helps and at this moment, you're the best hope Julie has."
***
Ha. Stumped them this round. Damn straight.
A breeze slipped through the branches. He adjusted his stolen jacket, grateful for his foresight in lifting it off the neighbor's back deck. Anything to throw Shiloh off his scent. Leaning forward, he adjusted the focus on his binoculars to peer through his heavily treed bower directly at Kali's deck. Kali leaned over the railing, her face, a picture of pain. Perfect. Let her stew.
The killer opened up his granola bar, ripping off a piece to pop into his mouth. This was better than dinner and a show. He vaguely remembered evenings long past spent in theatres. At a time when he believed in ever-lasting love. Right, those were his young and stupid years. His face puckered. He washed the granola bar down with lukewarm coffee from the thermos. Not a great meal. Still he wasn't ready to leave yet. The sun would be hot soon. Here in the trees, with a breeze blowing in off the ocean, the heat had yet to penetrate.
A great day, which promised an even better evening. He chortled. Later, once darkness fell, he'd go visit Julie.
She'd be waiting for him.
He didn't want to disappoint her.
***
Kali reached for the sketchbook and turned to the sketch that was supposedly of Julie. In the drawing, a pipe brought fresh air in for the victim, extending the person's chances of being found alive. Julie, therefore, had to be restrained in some way that prevented her from digging herself out. The fresh air supply meant the killer assumed she'd be buried for a while. If, and it was a big if, regardless of what had happened so far, the picture was viable, this could be the fighting chance the killer had talked about.
Or he wanted to lull her into thinking Julie was still alive.
"Who existed in her world? Friends? Lovers? And who would know?" she muttered out loud. She laid the sketchbook on the table. "Brenda might." Brenda held a unique position at the center. Not a dog owner or a rescuer, she neither worked nor volunteered but she knew so many that did, she'd become a regular herself.
Picking up her cell, Kali called her. "Hey, it's Kali. Brenda, I have a weird question for you. Do you know if Julie has a current boyfriend?"
"Hi, Kali, how are you? Nice to hear from you. Aren't you wonderful about returning your calls. And why don't you ask Julie yourself."
Kali forced a snicker at her friend's sarcasm. "I would if I could, but she's not answering her phone. And maybe I'm arranging a party for the center and want to know if she has a 'partner' she might like to bring." Kali rolled her eyes at the lame excuse but it's all she could create on the spur of the moment.
"Oooohhh. Am I invited?"
Exasperated, Kali said, "Of course. I'm hardly going to call you about this and then not invite you, too."
"Oh, in that case. As far as I know, Julie does have a new man, but a married one. So I don't think they go out in public."
Not good. A married man meant a clandestine affair. No one would know the details. "That's too bad. I guess I'll have to wait until I get a chance to speak with her then."
And how else could she find out?
"So are you going to ask me?" Brenda's bubbly voice piped up.
Kali rolled her eyes. "So, Brenda, do you have a new man in your life?"
"I dated one guy off and on last month, but that fizzed out." Brenda giggled, obviously not terribly upset over that relationship. "Speaking of losers, I stopped in at the center early last week hoping to find you. Instead, I met a real weirdo. I never did get his name. He called me a couple of days later but I wasn't home. Thankfully."
The hair on Kali's neck quivered. Casually, she asked, "What made him weird?"
Brenda's voice dropped to an eerie whisper, "Fanatically religious."
Religious. Now the hairs on her neck bristled. Taking a deep breath, Kali tried to inject a casual tone to her voice. "How could you tell?"
Brenda's tone sharpened with disgust. "He kept arguing with himself, for God's sake, about how God meted out His own justice." She huffed. "You know me. Any talk of justice and I break out in hives."
Kali knew it well. Brenda avoided all conversations on morals and any mention of right and wrong. She'd enjoyed more than a few married men herself.
"He called and left a message on my machine, suggesting a date with a heavenly experience - a date with destiny." Brenda giggled. "Isn't that the corniest line ever?"
Kali's eyes widened. This guy had possibilities. "Did you erase his message?"
"Absolutely, think I wanted to keep that?"
"How old is this guy?"
"Who knows - who cares."
Kali unders
tood. Brenda loved men. All ages, races, and normally, religions. "This guy must have spooked you?"
"It was weird. He called me at home even though I hadn't given him my number. Where'd he get it?" Brenda's voice dropped again. "He had a weird accent - like a bastardized French or Portuguese or something. Who can tell anymore?" A sigh worked through the phone. "The message kinda freaked me out."
"Would you recognize him again?"
"Absolutely."
"Brenda, I'm going to call you right back. Sit tight for five minutes."
"Wai-."
Kali didn't give her a chance to argue, shutting her off midsentence. She immediately called Grant. At this rate, the poor man wouldn't get any sleep.
"Grant," she said without preamble when he answered. "I just spoke with a friend of mine from Second Chance. She met an odd religious guy at the center who called her at her home when he shouldn't have had the number."
"Who?" His voice sharpened, cutting through the line like a knife.
"She doesn't know his name. We can ask Stan, but I don't know if he'll know him from her description either, Grant. I'm wondering about a police artist?"
"I'll call you back."
Kali clicked off the phone. Five minutes later, Grant called back.
"Can you two meet me at the office on Waterston Street?"
"Sure. When?"
"About a half an hour. There's an excellent artist who works out of that office. Do you need the address?" Without waiting, he rattled it off. Kali grabbed for a pen, then stopped as she recognized the address. "I know where it is."
Kali hoped Brenda didn't have plans. A half hour didn't give either of them much preparation time. But Julie had no time. She dialed, relieved when her friend picked up on the first ring. "Brenda, I can't explain right now, but I need you to trust me on this. I need you to go with me to the police station and work with a police artist. I can come and pick you up and drive you home again afterwards."
Brenda's gasp came through loud and clear. "The police?"
"Yes, I need you to help me with this."
With a groan, Brenda said. "We've been friends for a long time, but this is just weird."
Kali chewed her bottom lip. "Please, trust me. I have a good reason."
"But why can't you tell me what's going on?" Worry fussed through Brenda's voice. "Alright. I don't like it, but I'll do it."
Kali closed her eyes in relief. "Thank you."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The heat in the small room at the police station made Kali melt. She sent Shiloh to a corner to lie down. After having been gone most of last night, she hadn't wanted to leave the poor dog alone today. Or maybe Kali didn't want to be without Shiloh. Today had already been hell. Thank God it had been a fast trip to the station. Brenda had peppered her with questions the whole way. Kali stalled her until she could confirm with Grant what she was allowed to say.
Kali removed her light sweater, draping it over one of the chairs before sitting down. "Hi, I'm Kali. This is Brenda. She's the one you'll be working with."
"Hi, I'm Nancy. Brenda, take a seat and let's get started."
Kali hid her grin at the trepidation on Brenda's face. Still, her friend willingly turned to Nancy's fancy computer program.
Once seated, Nancy got straight to work. "Brenda, start by closing your eyes and think back to when you saw this person. Block out all else and focus on his face. Do you see him in your mind's eye?"
"Yes."
"Good. With your eyes closed, give me your impression on the shape of his face? Don't focus on the details, let his face blur into giving you the shape. Round face? Squared off? Perhaps it's more triangular, maybe a heart shape."
Kali watched as they worked through the various aspects of the face. The artist in her found it fascinating to watch. An irresistible process. Several sheets of paper sat to one side, pencils sitting on top. At an opportune moment, she snitched one of each, a questioning look on her face as she caught Nancy's eye. Nancy nodded.
Listening to Brenda's answers, Kali sketched the oval face, the large oversized nose, followed with the deep-set eyes. She followed the conversation, understanding the insights as they surfaced. Somewhere along the line, she slipped from awake and aware to something else.
Her hand moved at an incredible pace, filling in, shading, adding a detail here, thickening a line there.
As if a switch had been thrown, she came to an abrupt stop. She leaned back with a deep sigh and rotated her stiff neck. A deafening silence alerted her.
The other two women stared at her.
Kali frowned. "What?"
Brenda spoke first. "You're an artist?"
"It's a hobby of mine." Kali shrugged. "I paint more than I sketch but I'm comfortable with both."
"That's obvious." Nancy spoke up for the first time. Flipping her laptop around, she showed Kali the artistic rendering by pixels.
Kali couldn't help but stare. There was something about him she half-recognized. Like someone she should know. The picture, although clear, had a generic look to it. It needed something. But what?
"Now compare the screen to this." Nancy reached across the table for Kali's sketch. She held the sketch up beside the monitor so the other two could see the pictures side-by-side.
"Oh my God."
She'd drawn the same male face. Except her drawing was almost terrifying in detail. "I just followed along with your instructions and her answers."
Brenda peered closer. "How bloody freaky, Kali. You're my friend and I love you, but that drawing is plain scary."
Shooting Brenda a quick glance, Kali returned to analyze the sketch. Hot fervent eyes stared out at her. A zealot peeped out. The large nose and thin lips represented a simple verbal description that translated into a hawkish nose and a cold angry mouth that promised retribution.
"Maybe my imagination just went wild." Kali avoided looking in their direction. These women had no idea of her weird talents. And Kali didn't want them asking for an explanation.
The door opened. Grant walked in. In the small room his energy surged her way. Tired and pale, it blended with hers - that very act strengthening his. Kali had never seen anything like it as she watched Grant throw off some of the fatigue that had been weighing him down. He even stood straighter. With a surreptitious look at the other two women, she was relieved to see them focused on the drawings.
"Good, you're done?"
"Yep, we're done, but it turns out you didn't need me. Take a look at what Kali sketched while we worked on the digital version."
Kali watched Brenda's reaction to her first glimpse of Grant. Brenda was a notorious flirt. Nothing. Not even a smile for him.
Stepping closer, Grant peered at the paper and digital sketches. "Brenda, is the sketch a good likeness?"
"No, it's a freaking awesome one. Kali nailed him." She shuddered. "God, he gives me the chills."
Grant picked up the paper sketch. His eyes met Kali's and held. Shivers slid down her spine, she understood what he was thinking. She couldn't help but wonder the same thing. Was this the killer? "I think I've seen him around. But this is like an exaggerated version of what my memory is. I feel like I know him, but it's not quite right. Stan will know." She gave him an apologetic look. "I've spent too much time away or hidden in my office at the center."
"Then let's go. We'll have him take a look before I circulate this as a 'person of interest.'"
Kali pulled out her cell phone and dialed Second Chance.
Reaching for her bag, Nancy asked, "We're done, aren't we? I'd like to head out."
Grant reached out to shake her hand. "Yes, thanks for helping. We appreciate it."
"You should convince her to go into the business." Nancy gestured at Kali.
"Nope." Kali shook her head. "Not for me."
Brenda snorted as she stood up. "Sure, you'd rather find dead bodies instead."
Ouch. Kali ducked the truth. "No, Brenda. I'd rather find live people."
"I say it l
ike I see it." But she smiled at Kali, softening the words. "Can I leave too?"
Kali rose. "I'll take Brenda home, then meet you at the center afterwards, Grant."
"Good, and on the way maybe you can explain what the hell's going on?" Brenda stuck her chin out. "I've been patient Kali, but now it's time for answers."
Grant held the door open for them. "I'll need about ten minutes to finish up here."