SAFE

by Brandon, B J

  Chip Nicholson sat in the corner in a slouch drinking his coffee, head down and a sour look on his face. His partner, Danny Ashton, sat next to him whispering like two jocks snickering in high school. The two of them looked entirely too comfortable for Ty’s peace of mind. Go figure that it had to be Ashton who was his partner.

  “Care to share with the class, Nicholson?”

  “No Sir,” Chip growled, elbowing his partner away and sitting back up.

  “Do it anyway.”

  “Fine.” Nicholson scowled and stood, looking around the room. “Why isn’t McKinney here?”

  Ty looked at the moron and just stared, unable to believe what he had heard.

  “Really? You’re going to do this here?”

  “You called a meeting. She’s not here so we want to know why.” Nicholson took a sip of his coffee, a smirk on his face and looked around. He didn’t seem to realize no one else in the room seem to have his back because they all looked shocked at his stupidity.

  “All of you are here because someone leaked where the kids were put to the press. A hit was put on them so McKinney and I moved them last night.” A gasp went up from the rest of the team. Ty watched the reactions, keeping a discreet eye on each face.

  “So McKinney is a snitch,” Chip grinned.

  “Did I say that?” Ty asked, moving across the room so fast Nicholson didn’t even realize his Team Lead was in motion until it was too late. He had the other man pushed against the wall with his forearm across his neck before anyone could stop him.

  “You said you called a meeting because there is a leak.” Chip was trying to get away from Ty but there was no moving a man who was as strong a Ty DuValle in full on mad.

  “Yeah, that’s what I said.” Ty said between clenched teeth. “I didn’t say that McKinney was the leak. She helped us move the kids last night to safe locations. If she was the leak, why would we trust her to help move them, moron?” It took a minute for the lights to come one but when they did, Nicholson’s complexion turned pale.

  “Hey, you think one of us did it?” Chip stopped struggling and shook his head. “Damn boss, we’d be nuts to do something like that.”

  “Exactly,” was all Ty said as he let the other man go. “I want all frequencies changed as of this morning. No one goes on calls alone and I want leads followed up and documented. We have a psycho on our hands and there is no way to know if he’s done. So get a move on it and watch each other’s backs.”

  Ty looked around the room for a few heartbeats, staring each person in the eye. He didn’t know these people but Buck Stanfield did. Buck trusted them or he wouldn’t have them on his team. He could only hope that trust wasn’t misplaced.

  Lonnie sat in the corner, a frown on his face as he watched the two goons in the back row as they continued to whisper. He was typing on his tablet and Ty’s phone chirped.

  “Be careful of Chip. He can be dangerous.” Lonnie’s text message was not a surprise but at least he knew the kid had his back.

  “Noted. Thx”

  “My door is always open if any of you need to come see me for any reason. But be warned. I will not tolerate anyone jeopardizing this investigation for any reason so hear me now. If you have a problem with me, Agent McKinney or Buck Stanfield then you need to get off this team. Now.”

  Ty didn’t give them time to comment. He left them sitting in the room and headed to the coffee pot and then to his office. He had work to do and he was damn tired of numb-nuts acting stupid.

  * * *

  Melissa woke with a raging headache as the sun came up and the humidity promised to make the heat increase the ache to more than just a dull roar. After popping a couple of Excedrin and some water, a shower and a cool shirt made it easier to walk outside in cotton dress pants that didn’t cling like so many synthetic materials tend to do in humid weather. At least with cotton her skin could breathe and right now she needed to feel any breeze the Texas air would allow.

  Her first order of business was to go back to the crime scene. After lying in bed for a while looking at the ceiling Melissa realized she had to go back and “feel” the area to get close to their perpetrator. Her gifts allowed her to use them in an uncanny way that incorporated the profiling skills she had honed with those ingrained in her genes to actually use her other abilities to sense what happened at crime scenes. It wasn’t scientific and it couldn’t be used in a court of law to convict anyone but it had helped her in the past to locate facts that had otherwise gone by the wayside. Her gut told her that she had to go back to those caves and at least try for the sake of those children.

  Flipping open her phone, Melissa called the office as she walked to her SUV. Ty picked up on the second ring and that odd flippy thing happened again in the pit of her stomach when she heard his voice.

  “DuValle.”

  It took a couple of heartbeats for Melissa to realize she was just sitting there, listening to his breathing.

  “Melissa, are you there?” she heard a frantic note in his voice and felt a slight clench in her guts.

  “Yeah, sorry.” Clearing her throat, she pulled the seatbelt over and clicked it into place and shut the SUV’s door. “Trouble with the seatbelt.”

  “Oh. Are you on your way in?”

  “About that. I’m headed to the crime scene to take a look at it again.” Melissa started her SUV and let it sit for a few minutes, allowing the air conditioner to cool the interior down and closed her eyes.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I just reamed the Team about not going anywhere alone. Come to the office and we’ll go together or you can take someone with you.” She heard a series of clicks in the background and figured Ty must be in his office. Melissa could actually close her eyes and picture him sitting behind the desk, clicking away on the keyboard with the phone receiver tucked into his neck.

  “Melissa, did you hear me?” His question brought her back to the present and Melissa looked out the window of her SUV to the bright sunlight.

  “Yes, I heard you and no, I’m not coming in.”

  “Damnit woman.” There was a loud thunk and the sound of the receive dropping. She almost laughed to hear cussing the background before Ty picked it up and spoke again.

  “Don’t go out there alone, Melissa. That’s an order! Something’s off with this case and going around alone is dangerous.”

  “I have to go, Ty. It’s the only way I can feel out the area without a lot of people’s emotions getting in the way. I realize you don’t understand but this is how I do my job.” Her whispered explanation must have caught him off guard because Ty was quiet on the other end of the phone. She really expected him to order her back to the office. Instead she was totally shocked when Ty started cursing again.

  “Damnit woman, you will be the death of me yet.” Melissa held the phone away from her ear and looked down at it but heard Ty again. “Fine, I’ll meet you there. Do not go into the caves until I get there, do you understand me? There are two local sheriffs posted on the trails to stop curious onlookers and but someone could still get past them.”

  “You don’t have to meet me there.” She was used to working crime scenes alone, had been doing it for as long as she had been on the force and it bothered her that Ty felt she needed backup. “I know what I’m doing.”

  “I didn’t say you needed help. Just wait for me.” Melissa heard the other end go dead and looked at her phone. Yep, the ass had hung up on her.

  She started the SUV and headed out of town, turning the radio station to a country station. Florida Georgia Line crooned their latest song Dirt and she could imagine her Gramm’s on the farm with Gramps and the chicken coop out back that she hated to go gather eggs. Yep, Ty was going to be really pissed about this one when she went into the office.

  Chapter 9

  The drive down the canyon to the ravine and parking lot didn’t take as long as it seemed to take getting out the other night for some reason. She turned off the engine to the SUV and sat ther
e for a few moments empting her mind and settling her breath before getting out. She clipped the key chain to the pant loop of her slacks, a habit she had developed after losing her keys a couple of times as a Rookie. A quick punch locked the vehicle and set the security locks ensuring she at least had a ride out of there once she was finished.

  The trailhead was dry and looking normal except for the fact that the visitor parking lot didn’t have any law enforcement vehicles sitting in it, which was odd. Ty had said there were a couple still guarding the scene and she didn’t think they would have parked further down the trail closer to the site. Unease tickled the back of Melissa’s neck and curled in the pit of her stomach, but she pushed it back. They had collected any evidence that had been left behind so if anyone was poking around the area it could be kids, thrill seekers or those with a morbid sense of humor. It never ceased to amaze her just how strange people could be after something like this was found in an area as remote as the Canyons.

  Sticking to the trail head until it came to the base of the bluff, Melissa branched off to the right and took the lowest ravine to the back side of where the caves were located and out of site. Only someone really familiar with this location would have known what to look for in these sandstone and rock ravines that had been washed with time and filled with boulders and mesquite. The locals said the Plains Indians use to hide out in these caves during the harsher winters and use the natural insulation of the caves to weather the cold winds from the north. Their twists and turns made good soundproofing and blocked out the rushing winds so the small families could survive until Spring was once more bringing the Plains to life.

  She was moving along the lower bluff toward the caves when she realized there was crime scene tape over the cave opening but still no sign of law enforcement that should have been here. Shit, shit, shit!

  “Buck is going to be pissed.” Melissa pulled her phone out and looked down. Of course, there was no signal here. What else did she expect?

  Deciding to send a text anyway, just in case, Melissa quickly typed “No one at the caves. Tape still in place but too quiet.” Looking at it, she decided to send it to Buck and Ty so as to cover bases, then hit send.

  “Ok girl. Let’s get this over with,” she whispered. With a deep breath, Melissa closed her eyes and partially dropped her mental blocks to send out her senses toward the entrance to the caves. She really didn’t want to go inside if she didn’t have to, not yet. There was too much pain in there, death and emotional destruction that would crash down on her and she needed to find a balance first before venturing inside that hell hole. If she could pick up a vibe or small taste of the people who did this outside, hopefully it would help them track the rest of the culprits down.

  Small vibrations and echoes filtered back on the threads of light but none of them brought anything that made sense. Melissa tried filtering less and all she got was the sound of nature and a plane passing overhead. With a deep breath she opened her eyes and took the final steps toward the opening of the cave.

  Inside was so dim, a moist coolness that it took her a moment to realize she didn’t hear anything from outside now but the echoes of the wind against the mouth of the cave. Looking back over her shoulder Melissa felt the hair on her nape rise and prayed an animal hadn’t decided to take over the cave so soon after it being vacated because she really didn’t want to argue with a coyote or rattler right now. Instead, she closed her eyes, reaching out into the darkness, seeking out anything living that might be within.

  Nothing reached back, which made her feel a little safer.

  Dropping her blocks she reached out, letting the emotions and pain that stained the walls and sandstone floors touch her knowing it was going to be something that would be beyond horrible. The vibrations ran deep in the earth, absorbed by the very essence of all that was living as if trying to filter out the death and destruction of innocence that had taken place here and replace it with something else. However, nothing would ever cleanse this place of the evil that had inhabited these walls. There was no fire hot enough, no hell deep enough that could wash these stains away and cleanse the earth back to its virgin state.

  As soon as her senses opened fully the pain took her to her knees, making her stomach roll as the vibrations within the cave’s walls slammed into her unprotected shields. Scream after scream, cries of pain and begging, the terror only a child can feel when there is no one to come save them echoed within Melissa’s mind.. All of it came rolling back on silent fibers to slam into Melissa’s brain as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She saw Gayle’s face curled in the corner of a holding cell, her small arms curled around something and it took a moment for her to realize she was holding the still form of a little girl.

  “Monsters do exists,” Gayle’s soft voice echoed in her mind just before Melissa screamed from the pain that pushed through her temple. Bright light hit her optic nerves and she went down on her side, unable to do more than close her eyes and try to breathe as horror upon horror slammed into her mind.

  Chapter 10

  Ty was pissed!

  Where the hell were the men he and Buck had order to stay down here? Melissa’s SUV was parked alone in the lot and he pulled horizontal to it, uncaring of taking up two parking spots. He threw the truck into park and slammed out of the vehicle and locked it automatically, reaching down to ensure his weapon was in place as he took off at a fast jog for the caves. Just as he rounded the bend he heard Melissa’s cry then silence.

  Pulling his revolver, Ty made himself slow just to be safe. He was the only cavalry coming to the rescue and it wouldn’t do either of them any good if he was taken out. The first thing he saw was her prone on the floor and his heart almost stopped. There was no other sounds, no dust stirred, no noise whatsoever.

  “Lisa…” he whispered, pulling her up into his arms.

  She was so pale and cool to his touch it terrified him, but the bloody nose was more surprising than anything else. What could have caused her nose to bleed unless she was attached?

  Picking her up was easy, navigating the trail back to the trucks was a little trickier but Ty managed. Once he had her to the vehicles he broke out his emergency pack and laid her in the back seat of his truck, pressing a cool compress to her head and cleaning the blood from her nose. It seemed like a lifetime but was less than a few minutes before Melissa finally came awake, jerking up in the seat.

  “What happened?” Eyes wild and hands ready to fight, Melissa noticed two things at once. She wasn’t in the caves and her head was killing her.

  “You tell me!” Ty growled, kneeling down in front of her as he reached up to her nose again.

  Melissa moved back out of the way, pushing his hand with the wet wipe away from her face. She watched the thundercloud that erupted in Ty’s eyes and knew there was more than her just passing out.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Ty reached back up with the wipe and gently touched her nose, coming away with more blood. The bleeding had stopped while she was laying down but sitting up it had slowly started again.

  “Ah damn,” was all she could whisper as she took the wet wipe and held it to her nose and laid back down with her eyes closed. This wasn’t the time for this and trying to explain it to Ty wasn’t a good thing. He would flip, and if Buck found out the old man would have a coronary. Buck was old school, didn’t believe in things he couldn’t see, touch or hear much less the unseen essence of things intangible that haunted Melissa’s life.

  “Now, are you going to tell me what happened?” Ty moved to the running board of the SUV and settled in, resting his thigh next to Melissa’s feet. “How long have you been having the nose bleeds?”

  “It started just after the Academy. I was on my first assignment at a DOA, a domestic violence case that was tied to one of our investigations. She was a witness for the investigation and Buck sent me over to gather statements.” Melissa didn’t even try to hide the facts. Ty would figure it out and he would nail her for lyin
g to him. He may have been gone for the better part of her life but he still knew her almost better than Buck Stanfield did.

  “Does anyone else realize you have been using you gifts to solve cases?” He was furious and she could hear it in his voice. “Melissa, do you just how dangerous this is for you, for your health?” Somehow, deep inside, she had always known Ty would have her back. Just as he had that last year in high school when she had needed him the most.

  Ty pulled his phone from his belt and hit speed dial 2. Thank god for Lonnie and his geek programming because Ty couldn’t remember his own phone number at the moment. Lonnie picked up on the second ring.

  “What do you need?” Ty was shocked at the professional and direct tone from the otherwise Goth geek who always seemed to be ready to punk someone.

  “Melissa’s down. I need a discreet pickup of my vehicle at the cave site since I’m using her vehicle to take us back to her hotel. Once that’s done I want to know who the hell pulled the detail off of the site. No one was here and she was alone!” He was yelling by the time he finished. Ty had to force himself to stop and take a deep breath.

  “Get moving. I have one of the mail staff who’s a friend coming down to get the truck. Leave the keys in the wheel well. I’m on the other.” The line went dead and Ty knew he had a new best friend within the department. That kid was amazing.

  Now to move Melissa. He eased her up off the back seat even as those amazing eyes came open and her hands came up swinging.

  “Easy, babe. I’ve got you! I’m taking you to your hotel but we’re taking your truck.” He reached down and unclipped her keys from her belt loop before lifting her into his arms. Once in the SUV it was easy to lock his own vehicle and hide the keys before heading out of the canyon. Time to get out of there and make sure Melissa was really out of danger.