Farewell to Goodbye

by Penny Childs

Gathering a couple jackets, they headed out the front door, Mel tossing him the keys to her cruiser. “You drive, I’ll call Bill.”

  Nodding, he got behind the wheel of the car. As soon as they were both in he headed down the driveway.

  “Yes Bill, I know what time it is there,” Mel said into her phone. “It’s the same damn time here.”

  “What’s happened?” But he knew. There was only one reason for a call at a quarter of two in the morning.

  “A seventeen year old girl was abducted in front of her house last night. Craig and Renee are still at the station gathering information.”

  “I’ll have Renee shoot me the name and address so we can find out what delightful little play we’re acting out this time,” he said contemptuously.

  “I’m having my deputy call the sheriff up there and see if they’ll let the FBI handle the crime scene, Bill. You know what you’re looking for now.”

  “She’s amplifying,” Trevor said. “She’ll probably have left us something even bolder than the footprints this time.”

  “I heard him,” Bill said before Mel tried to repeat. “And she did. She left a goddamn witness. Any idea what she might take with her this time?” Mel asked him.

  “The boyfriend was assaulted by the male. The boy had a buck knife. The woman took it off him.” He gave Mel a long look from the corner of his eye.

  “Fuck,” Bill muttered.

  “Craig didn’t tell me that,” Mel said.

  “Craig probably didn’t understand the significance,” Trevor pointed out. “I specifically asked Renee if she knew if anything had been taken.” He slowed to take a corner. “We need Renee to find out what killer they’re copying so we know what kind of time frame we’re working with here.”

  “All right,” Bill told Mel. “I’ll get hold of a team and have them sent to the scene and have Renee get started on that right away.” Bill disconnected the call.

  Mel looked over at Trevor. He was stiff, his face hard. “Just because they took a knife doesn’t mean that I’m next, Trevor.”

  “You know damn well that’s what it means,” he said without looking at her.

  “Then it will be our best chance to stop them if we can’t save this girl tonight.” She didn’t want to think about not being able to save the girl though.

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to you this time.”

  “Trevor, what happened to me wasn’t your fault.”

  His hands squeezed the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white. “You were taken right around the corner from me! You were being brutalized while I lounged around in bed for another hour, then got up and got coffee and a shower. While I sat with Bill in the restaurant and bitched about how long it took women to get ready in the morning!”

  “Trevor, you didn’t know.”

  He sighed as he pulled into the lot of the police station. “It doesn’t matter that I didn’t know. It doesn’t change the fact that I was right around the goddamned corner and had no idea.” He had absolutely no intentions of letting her out of his sight now.

  “C’mon, let’s go on in there and see what we can do.”

  They went right back to Renee and Craig in the conference room.

  “Tell me something about the girl,” Trevor said to Renee as he walked in. “Tell me how much time we have.”

  “Her original abductor, one Herbert Mansfield, kept his victims alive approximately twenty four hours, give or take,” she told him. “So, you’ve got until about eleven o’clock tonight, if they stick to Mansfield’s timetable.”

  Trevor wrote this on the wall and circled it. He also wrote the name of the original killer. “Method?” he asked her.

  “The torch,” Renee said with a grimace, “until he gets tired of it. The actual kills were done by strangulation. He liked to use his hands for that, so he could feel the life drain out of them. He said it brought he and the victim closer together. Made them one.” She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “He was one sick puppy.”

  “At what point in the process was this girl rescued the first time?” Mel asked curiously.

  “He’d had her for about fourteen hours. She had severe burns over sixty percent of her body. She went through years of skin grafts. At one point they even had to put her in a medically induced coma because of the pain she had to endure.” She paused. “The one good thing, if you want to look at it that way, was he didn’t touch her face. He never marred their faces. He said he wanted them perfect when he looked into their eyes at the last moment. When they, and I quote, ‘became his angels’.”

  “There’s no guarantee this time,” Trevor said softly, almost to himself. “She’s let him go off script before. He might get too excited and kill her sooner.”

  The thought of that girl having to relive the pain and terror again almost put Mel in tears. “Trevor, we have to find her.”

  Not turning, he said, “I know, Mel. I’m doing everything I know to do right now. We have road blocks up, helicopters in the air and guys combing the area. Renee, where are you with finding out who this bitch is?”

  “I started digging into Becker’s past, before he went off the rails, at least before anyone noticed that he had, anyway. There are a couple calls I would like to make.” She frowned. “This may involve some leg work. Maybe a field trip to do a couple interviews.”

  “After we find this girl, we’ll discuss what you need and make sure you get it. We have the description Mel gave, but I have a feeling this woman has changed herself a lot since then. We need to know what the hell she looks like now.”

  “Unfortunately we didn’t get a good description from the boy that was there when they took the girl. He said they had ski masks on,” Craig said. “She was, however, wearing your boots again, boss.”

  Mel frowned, wondering what, if any significance the damn boots played in all this. Certainly it was not to implicate her in the crimes. She saw Trevor writing it down on the wall.

  “It’s been more than twenty four hours since you two had any sleep. Why don’t you take a nap?” Mel asked, leaning on the table.

  “I’m okay,” Craig told her earnestly.

  “But you won’t be in a few hours.” She gave him a level look. “Go lay down on a cot and catch some sleep. Just a couple hours. I’ll come get you if we need you. I promise.”

  With a yawn, Craig stood up and stretched. “All right, but only for a couple hours.” He looked at Renee. “There are a few cots in there.” They had converted an old office space into an emergency sleeping area some time ago. It was rarely used, but came in handy on occasion. Most usually when Brody had a fight with his wife.

  “Trevor?” Renee asked.

  “Go,” he told her.

  Alone, Mel sat on the table top behind Trevor as he stood staring at the wall. “It won’t change just because you want it to.”

  “Huh?” he asked, turning.

  “I said you can stare at it all you want but it won’t change. That girl is living on borrowed time right now and we both know it.” She saw the way he just stared at her and said, “The question is; what are we going to do about it?”

  “Mel…” He knew what she was getting at.

  “Trevor, remember how you pushed me to do this with David Wells?”

  He nodded, not liking himself one damn bit for the way he had treated her. “That was before we found out how hard this will be for you.”

  “I still want to try. Now.”

  “Now?” he asked, surprised.

  She hopped off the table. “We can use my office. It has a couch.” Taking him by the hand, she led him out of the conference room and toward her office. “If I pass out without giving you what you need you might have to read me and see what I got, Trevor.”

  This stopped him in his tracks, just outside her door. “You think you might pass out?”

  “There’s a good possibility, yes.”

  “Mel, maybe we shouldn’t do this.”

  “I have to, Trev
or.”

  He wondered why all of the sudden she was so adamant about doing this, when before she had been just as adamant about holding back.

  “I know what that girl is going through, Trevor, and it’s something no one should ever have to go through. There may be risk in trying to do this, but if we can save that girl, it will be worth it. Don’t you think?”

  He didn’t think anything or anyone was worth her risking her life. “Will you promise to not push yourself past the point of no return? Will you do that for me?”

  She nodded, not at all sure she would know that point until the line had already been crossed. “You just hold on to me and I’ll be fine, Trevor.”

  He wanted to believe it and knew he had to help her. “You’d do this alone if I refused to help you, wouldn’t you?”

  “We won’t have to find out, will we?”

  He shook his head. “No,” he said, following her into her office.

  She left the overhead light off and turned on her desk lamp, knowing when she came out of it there was a good chance the bright light would hurt her eyes. Sitting on the couch she waited as Trevor turned one of the chairs around and sat in it facing her. Then she took his hands. “We’re only going to have one shot at this so let’s make it count.”

  “Just be careful,” he said, leaning in and placing a kiss on her lips.

  Closing her eyes, she easily found her way back to the woman and encountered the same thing as before, a blurry picture and static sounds. Concentrating, she tried to force her vision to focus and tried to hear. There were voices. She thought she could see movement. Darkness. Dash lights. Someone crying out.

  “Mel,” Trevor said as calmly as he could. He had never seen her go so deep so quickly. Her breathing was slow and deep, her body slack. Her chin rested on her chest, her eyes closed. “Mel.”

  “All right. I’m all right,” she said slowly, her brows knit together in fierce concentration. “I can almost see. They’re still driving Trevor. In a van. She’s driving. He’s…in the back with the girl. I think he’s hurting her.”

  He didn’t want to, but he knew he had to lead her and keep her focused on the information they needed. The girl was a distraction right now. “Mel, don’t pay attention to the girl. Tell me what you see. Tell me where they are.”

  She saw trees flashing by in the darkness as her vision blurred again and a sharp pain stabbed through her head. She flinched. “It’s hard to see. A fucking road sign would be nice.”

  Trevor’s brows rose, it wasn’t often that he heard her use that language. She wasn’t a prude, she just saved that kind of talk for special occasions, which usually involved her being extremely angry.

  As if her curse were a wish granted, she saw it, a big green square coming closer, going in and out of focus.

  “Mel!” Trevor shouted, alarmed. Her nose had started to bleed and she was squeezing his hands almost painfully, nails digging into his palms. She was also groaning with effort. “Stop, Mel. Now!”

  “Almost. Almost.”

  “Mel, no. You have to stop now.”

  As they drew closer to the sign, finally, she could see it. “Gotcha,” she whispered, letting herself loose from the woman. As intense as her concentration had been, when she stopped the contact, pressure released so suddenly that she stared into Trevor’s eyes a moment, and then slumped over into his arms, unconscious.

  “God Damnit, Mel,” he cursed, catching her and laying her down on her side on the small couch. Grabbing the box of tissues from her desk he dabbed the blood from her nose as best he could, swearing the whole time. He had heard what she had said and had seen the small victorious smile on her lips right before she passed out. He knew he had to do the rest of it or all of her effort would have been for nothing.

  Taking her hand, as gently as he could, he touched her mind with his, probing, looking for that last thing she must have seen or heard. He found other things in there, some things he knew she didn’t want him seeing, others fascinating, but distractions, all of them. When at last he saw what she had, he frowned, confused for a moment. “Son of a bitch,” he whispered, getting up.

  He hated to leave her alone but knew he had to. He needed one of the deputies.

  Fifteen

  “Brody!” Trevor shouted as he exploded into the main office of the police department.

  The young deputy looked up from whatever he was doing, alarmed by the federal agent’s tone and demeanor. “Yeah?”

  “Get on the radio. Tell them that the van they’re looking for is heading North on Nineteen. They just took a left off Exit thirty two.”

  “That’s near Stanton,” Brody said, confused.

  “They went past here, now they’re circling back. Just do it!”

  Brody, not wanting to argue with Trevor, picked up the radio and called out the information. He got one call back from a unit that was near and told them to check it out.

  Feeling somewhat better, he headed for the office he knew had the cots set up in it. Without knocking, he pushed the door open to find Craig sleeping on one side of the room and Renee on the other. “Craig, Renee, wake up. I need you both,” he called out.

  They both stirred, then sat up, blurry eyed, but ready.

  “We have a location on the van.” He told Craig where.

  “I know the area well. Grew up around there.”

  “Good, because I want to go out there. If the unit in the area can follow them maybe you can guess where it is they’re headed.” He looked at Renee. “I need you to stay here with Mel.”

  Craig furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?” He knew that she would not give up an opportunity to be in on this.

  “She’s out cold,” Trevor said. “I’ll explain later.”

  “She have a hunch, Trevor?” Renee asked sarcastically.

  With a glare, he said, “Yeah, something like that.” He gave Craig a look. “I’ll explain later, I said. Let’s go. I want to get these bastards.”

  “Where is she?” Renee asked.

  “Office,” Trevor said as he walked down the hall toward the front of the building. “Don’t panic, she’ll come out of it on her own.”

  “What the hell happened to her?” Craig wanted to know as he followed Trevor out of the building and toward his cruiser.

  Getting in the passenger side, Trevor said, “She found the van, is what happened. Get in. Drive.”

  Craig got in, started the cruiser and pulled out onto the street, still confused. “She found the van? How the hell did she do that and what does it have to do with her being out cold?”

  He didn’t want to explain this right now but knew Craig’s concern for her was not going to diminish unless he did. “You ever notice how she just knows things sometimes?”

  “Sure. She’s got a good gut.” He thought about it a minute and a smile crossed his face. “Sometimes I bet her she can’t guess what I had for lunch.”

  “Lemme guess, she wins every time.”

  “Every damn time. I don’t know how she does it unless she has an in with the local eateries.”

  “She doesn’t. If you’re thinking about it, she knows.”

  Craig made a face. “Oh, come on now. What are you saying? She’s got ESP or something?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Grabbing the dash as Craig took a corner at speed, he said, “Christ, Craig, lets live to get there.”

  “Like I said, I know this area. We’ll be all right.” He was cutting across the back roads. When the radio chattered to life with a report that the unit that had been near had spotted the van and was following he smiled, hit the brakes hard and took the next right, tires screaming in protest. “We might be able to get in front of them,” he told Trevor.

  “If we live that long.”

  “Oh, c’mon, even the boss doesn’t whine so much, and she’s a girl.” He thought for a moment. “You’re telling me the boss can read minds?”

  “Something like that. She can…connect…to people someti
mes. The level of connection varies from person to person. It depends on how open they are. How strongly they transmit.”

  “You’re serious,” Craig said.

  “As a freaking heart attack.” He sighed, then reached out and grabbed the big man’s upper arm.

  Startled, Craig jumped. “Hey, what the hell?”

  Trevor had more than he needed within fifteen seconds. Craig, it seemed was an excellent transmitter. “You graduated high school at the middle of your class. You played football all four years and got a scholarship to college. You decided to pursue criminal justice, much to the disdain of your parents.” He smiled. “Your mother was concerned that some drugged out junkie would gun you down, just like on Miami Vice.”

  “What the hell?” Craig asked.

  “Most recently, you have a huge crush on Renee.” He shook his head. “I didn’t need to read you for that one though, so it doesn’t count. You’re wondering if you should even ask her out because you know she’ll be leaving when this whole thing is over anyway.” He paused. “And you don’t like the fact that Mel and I are back together. You think I’m bad news for her and that I’ll just wind up hurting her again.” Once again he paused, this time to look the big deputy in the eyes. “I won’t hurt her again. Whether I have to stay here or take her with me, I’m not leaving her again. Ever.”

  Craig swallowed.

  “I could go on, if you want. I’m pretty sure I picked up something about a girl and a pair of pink, lacey panties in a college…”

  “That’s plenty, if you don’t mind, Trevor,” Craig said hastily. “I’m pretty sure you made your point.”

  “Good.” He watched the scenery go by for a moment. “I have to touch a person in order to get anything from them. Mel just has to think about it. It’s quite incredible to watch, actually. But with this woman…she’s one that doesn’t transmit so well. Mel had to push hard to get anything from her. That’s why she passed out.”

  Craig took another corner fast, tires squealing. “This is crazy.”

  “How close are we?”

  Craig picked up the radio and got a location. “Five minutes give or take.” He frowned. “It almost looks like they’re going out to the big lake. Maybe one of the State Parks. In the middle of the night, they’ll be deserted this time of the year.”