Deadly Visions

by Aubrey Harper

  Nonetheless, I didn’t say no to a piece of pie. Especially one as delicious as that one.

  We ate in silence until all the leftover pie was gone.

  After several minutes of awful silence, Brad’s phone finally chirped with a message.

  “Who is it? Is it Dax? The sheriff? What’s going on?” I asked in quick succession.

  Brad gave me an admonishing look. “If you give me a chance to look, maybe I could answer one of your questions.”

  I mouthed “sorry” and let him see the messages.

  “It looks like your FBI agent did well this time. He caught Jordan and they’re at the police station right now.”

  I got up from the table. “Great, let’s go.”

  “Last time I checked, you weren’t a police officer. Let the professionals do their job, okay? Remember what happened last time you played detective?”

  “That’s uncalled for. Nobody could have predicted that I’d be kidnapped by a crime lord. And I’m going with you, there’s not even a question about that.”

  “Honey, do you really think that’s a good idea?” Mother said.

  “I’m going and that’s final,” I said. “Dax’s life is in danger.”

  “He’s not the only one in danger, remember,” Brad said. Then he gave our mother a look.

  Mom put her hands up. “We’re all adults here, I can’t really control either of you guys’ actions. You have to work this out yourselves.”

  “How about I cast the deciding vote?” Lily said.

  Brad looked like he wanted to say something, but he held back. I wondered why?

  “I don’t think this is really any of your business,” Brad found the courage to say. Lily’s mouth was agape.

  “Callie is my best friend, and since I’m the one who got her in this mess to begin with, heck yeah I have a say in it. And I say that Callie should be allowed to go to the police station.”

  “Even if I wanted to, I doubt the sheriff will want you there,” Brad told me.

  “Let me handle the sheriff,” I said. “So are we going or not?”

  Brad groaned but didn’t object. He just turned his back and went out the kitchen door.

  “See you guys soon,” I said to Lily and mother.

  The drive to the police station was awkward but mercifully short. Brad refused to talk to me. It was like we were kids again and I had destroyed one of his favorite toys or something.

  I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the police station came into view.

  “I’d tell you to keep your mouth closed, but since I know how little good that will do, I won’t even bother. Just try not to embarrass me too much.”

  “Embarrass you? Not everything is about you, Brad. This is bigger than both of us. There’s a criminal mastermind messing with people’s lives, even killing them. Have you ever thought about that?”

  “Peter Hill died under my watch, so yeah, I do think about it. I just don’t want to be asked to identify your body.”

  Before I could say anything, Brad was already way ahead of me. I had to start running just to catch up.

  As soon as the receptionist saw me, she gave me a nasty look.

  “She’s with me. Unfortunately,” Brad had to add.

  I flashed a winning smile at the receptionist.

  Brad talked to a few fellow police officers. Presumably, the sheriff was already interviewing the suspect.

  Brad led me to the two-way mirror room. Dax was there, looking a bit beat up, but very much alive.

  I immediately went to his side, almost giving him a hug, but I stopped myself just in time.

  Dax looked disappointed but he smiled a weak smile anyway.

  “I’m fine, really,” he said.

  I turned my gaze to the two-way mirror. I could see a monster staring back at me. He was looking right at us, and he had a smirk on his face.

  “Your attention should be back here,” the sheriff said, putting his hand over a picture of what looked like a body. Peter Hill’s body, I presumed.

  “A lawyer,” Jordan said. “I know you guys are simple folks here, but you learned that word in school, right?” Jordan laughed.

  No one else did. It was chilling being that close to the killer again. He had shown a bit of humanity last time I saw him, but now that humanity had faded away.

  The sheriff gathered up the pictures and put them in a folder and walked out of the room without another word. He closed the door harder than necessary. Jordan just smiled, as if knowing that I was watching him at that exact moment. He had come for revenge, and now he was too close for comfort, even if he was detained in a police station.

  The door to the observation room opened and the sheriff put his arms up in frustration. “Lawyer. It seems that’s his favorite word.”

  “Maybe I should give it a whirl?” Dax said.

  “I already told you that’s not a good idea. Especially since you got into an altercation with the guy.”

  “Maybe that would make him more susceptible to talk?” Dax offered.

  “Good idea,” Brad said. “It’s not like we have anything to lose. Besides, isn’t this an FBI case anyway?”

  “Kid, whose side are you on exactly?” The sheriff said.

  “On the side of justice, sir,” Brad said calmly.

  The sheriff let out a jolly laugh. It helped disperse the tension in the room.

  “What if I try talking to him?” I said.

  The three men looked at me like I was crazy.

  “Absolutely not,” the sheriff said.

  “Are you crazy?” Brad said.

  “That’s a terrible idea,” Dax said.

  I rolled my eyes at all three of them. “I’m not some delicate flower that needs your protection. Plus, I know Jordan better than any of you. I spent a couple days with the guy. At least we’ll have that to talk about, right? And when he starts talking, who knows, he might slip up?”

  “Do you actually believe that?” Dax said. “Or are you just trying to pull some of your psychic shenanigans?”

  “All I get are visions, so what kind of shenanigans could I pull?”

  “Maybe Dax and Callie should go in there together?” Brad offered to the sheriff.

  The sheriff shrugged his shoulders. “Be my guest. Anything that gets him talking I guess is better than nothing.”

  “That’s the spirit, sheriff,” Dax said. I followed Dax to the interrogation room. We had no folders, no pictures, all we had was ourselves.

  As soon as Jordan saw Dax, he rolled his eyes. But when he saw me, he smiled. I shivered on the inside.

  We sat across from the monster that surely wanted me dead.

  “Why are you here?” Dax asked Jordan.

  Jordan ignored him. He didn’t even look at him. His gaze was firmly fixed on me. I met his gaze, using all the strength I had not to look away. He didn’t have to know exactly how afraid I really was.

  “Hey, eyes over here, creep,” Dax said. “My colleagues are on their way as we speak. If you have something to say, I suggest you say it now. Because once they get their claws in you, it’s not guaranteed that you will ever have the opportunity to tell your side of the story again.”

  That got his attention. Jordan gave Dax a knowing look.

  “Is that a threat, agent?” Jordan asked Dax.

  “No, it’s a statement of fact, so are you going to talk or not? What brought you back here? You’ve already killed the witness that was in this town.”

  “Allegedly, agent, don’t forget that.” Jordan turned to me. “Have I been in your dreams?” He asked me.

  “How did it feel when you found out I was playing you all along?” I asked him point blank.

  Dax gave me a reproaching look. But I didn’t care. I wanted to get under Jordan Puccini’s skin. I wanted him to feel even a fraction of the fear that he made me feel.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jordan said with a smile. “If I did know what you were talking about, I’d tell you tha
t you made a grave mistake.”

  “Don’t you threaten her,” Dax said, reaching across the desk. I pulled him back.

  “Control yourself,” I told him.

  Jordan laughed. “It looks like you have this one wrapped around your little finger, don’t you?” He said to me.

  “If I were you, Jordan, I’d already have crossed over into Mexico or Canada. It was stupid to come back here, at the scene of the crime. Did you really think it was going to end any other way than this?” I asked him.

  The smile faded. Jordan’s face darkened. “No one makes a fool out of me,” he said carefully.

  A chill went through me. If this wasn’t a threat, I didn’t know what was. I held Dax back. We really didn’t need Jordan pressing any brutality charges against the department or the FBI.

  “Is that right?” I said carefully, trying to keep my cool.

  “It is,” he said.

  “You’re angry, that much is clear. I played you like a fiddle, and here you are, wanting to exact revenge. But it wasn’t as easy as you thought. You didn’t plan on getting caught, did you? What are you going to do now, Jordan, huh?” I said. “How does it feel being all alone?”

  “Who says that I’m alone?”

  “You betrayed your boss, so why not just make it official? You can cut a deal with the FBI and serve a lot less time than you would otherwise. You know they’re going to get you for Peter Hill’s murder, right?”

  “A murder I didn’t commit? How are they going to do that?”

  “Stop playing games,” I said. “Remember the stuff I told you about your childhood? It was all true, wasn’t it?”

  Jordan looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he finally said, though there was an edge to his voice. I had obviously hit a nerve.

  “Do you think prison will be like the closet they kept you in as a kid?” I asked him.

  Dax gave me a look, but I ignored him.

  “I suggest you stop while you’re behind, you bitch,” Jordan said.

  “Watch your language,” Dax warned him.

  “Calm down, agent,” Jordan said. “You don’t want to get into a fight with me. It didn’t end so well for you the first time. As far as I can see, you have more bruises than I do.”

  “He’s not gonna tell us anything, let’s go,” Dax said to me. “Let the bureau deal with him. And put him in a box and throw away the key.”

  Dax got up to go. I followed.

  “Wait,” Jordan said.

  We both turned around, but Jordan wasn’t talking.

  “Goodbye, Mr. Puccini,” Dax said. “We gave you a chance, but you decided not to take it. Good luck. Now you’re somebody else’s problem.”

  “How does my future look, Callie?” Jordan asked me.

  “Bleak,” I said calmly. “You don’t have to be a psychic to see that.”

  Just as Dax and I were about to leave the interrogation room, Jordan spoke up.

  “I’ll talk,” he said through gritted teeth. “But I want everything in writing before we start.”

  “That can be arranged,” Dax said.

  “Callie,” Jordan said.

  I turned around and waited.

  “It’s been nice seeing you again,” he said.

  Once the interrogation door was closed behind us, I remembered how to breathe again.

  “What happened?” The sheriff asked us. “You had him eating out of your hand, and you just left the room?”

  “None of this is admissible since he started the conversation by asking for his lawyer. I’ll have to wait for my colleagues to arrive so we can draw up some kind of deal before he starts to talk. We have to get a signature and everything,” Dax said.

  “Whatever you say, city boy,” the sheriff said. It was clear that he didn’t understand. Things worked differently in a small town. There wasn’t as much bureaucracy as there was with the FBI or even in bigger police departments.

  “Do you really think he’ll talk?” Brad asked Dax.

  “It could go either way,” Dax said. “But for everyone’s sake, I hope he does the right thing.”

  “He’s a criminal, I wouldn’t count on it,” Brad said.

  As much as I hated to admit it, Brad was right. Jordan was planning something. What that thing was remained to be seen.

  Chapter 21

  An hour later, the backup had arrived. But it was awfully small. One person in fact.

  “Where are all the other agents?” Dax asked his partner as soon as he got out of the car.

  “I’m afraid I’m it. But don’t worry, I’ve got the papers right here.” He took them from the passenger seat. “I’m authorized to give him any deal he wants, that is as long as he agrees to testify against Delroy.”

  “That was awfully quick,” Dax said. “I thought they put you on a different case?”

  “What can I say? The boss wants this investigation over as soon as possible. It didn’t take much convincing to get back on the case after you caught the guy. Doesn’t look good for us when our witnesses are being murdered and we have no idea how they’re doing it.” Then Mike gave me a look. “Unless there really is something to this psychic thing of yours?”

  “It’s possible that Delroy has another psychic under his employ, but I doubt it,” I said. “He seemed pretty desperate to keep me. Why would he if he had somebody else feeding him information, psychically I mean?”

  “Well, whatever it is, it’s almost over. I can’t wait to get a drink after the bastard signs these papers.” He turned to Dax. “What do you say, bud? Should we finish this right now?”

  “I don’t see why not,” Dax said.

  “Sorry, Ms. Ranger, but we won’t be needing any more of your services,” Mike said to me.

  “Dude, she’s been more useful than not,” Dax said.

  “Thanks,” I said to Dax.

  “Be that as it may, we have to make sure that this is all above board. We are entering official business right now. It wouldn’t look good if we had a psychic interfering with the investigation, now would it?”

  “I guess you have a point,” Dax said. He gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry, Callie, but he’s right. Now that we’re making everything official, it wouldn’t look so good to have you around. Sorry.”

  “Not a problem. I understand. As long as you nail the bad guys. Both of them. But if you need any help, you know where to find me.”

  “I might take you up on that,” Dax said.

  Mike seemed anxious to get inside the police building. “Come on man, you can flirt with her later.”

  “I wasn’t flirting,” Dax protested.

  I ignored them as they disappeared into the building.

  I looked up at the night sky. It was full of stars.

  “Is this it, universe?” I said, looking up at the sky.

  No answer came. No voices. No visions. Maybe it was over after all. Maybe I somehow changed Dax’s fate. Maybe he wasn’t going to be shot close to a body of water anymore. Like Peter Hill was. After all, the man responsible was in custody.

  Brad met me outside the police station. “Need a ride home, sis?” He asked me.

  “I guess so. I guess my work here is done,” I said, almost sadly.

  “Cheer up, Callie, we got the guy. Isn’t that what you wanted all along?”

  “Yeah,” I admitted. “Doesn’t it all seem a little too easy, though? A little too convenient?”

  Brad laughed. “Real life is not a movie or a TV show, and real life is often very boring. Especially when it comes to police work. We follow the clues and get the perp. There’s usually no flashy fights or car chases. It usually does end up feeling anticlimactic.”

  “Really?” I said.

  “Really,” Brad said.

  Brad drove me back home. Mother and Lily were up, waiting. While Brad went back to the station, I filled them in on what had happened.

  “It’s over then? Can we go back home?” Lily asked.

  “Dax will le
t me know, but I assume so. At least in a couple days, once they transfer Jordan out of here and have Delroy in custody.”

  “Is it strange that I’m kind of sad that it’s over?” My mother said. “I just wanted you around a little longer. You rarely visit us anymore.”

  “I promise I’ll visit more often, and hopefully it doesn’t involve any visions or people dying next time,” I said.

  We all laughed. But then we got serious again.

  “I guess I should go pack,” Lily said and left the kitchen.

  “I should start packing too, not that I have much to pack, but still,” I said.

  “That can wait,” my mother said. “Why don’t we have a regular talk? Talk that doesn’t involve psychic visions or murders or any of that.”

  “Good luck with that, mom,” I said.

  “I’m being serious, Callie. We’ve talked about your visions, but we haven’t really talked much about anything else. What’s been going on in your life lately? Should I be expecting to get any grandchildren soon?”

  I laughed. “Mom!”

  “I’m serious, sweetheart. I want to know all you’ve been up to, besides this psychic thing, of course.”

  Speak of the devil, and he appears. My boss from Psychics R Us was calling. I quickly declined the call. Then I turned my attention to my mother. “Honestly, I’ve been pretty focused on work lately. I don’t really have time to mingle with other people. The only person I talk to most days is Lily. Of course, I talk to my clients, but they don’t really count, do they?”

  “No, they do not.”

  “There’s not much to tell, mom. Sorry to disappoint.”

  She did look more than a little disappointed.

  “What about Agent Moore?”

  “Dax? Mom, don’t be silly. Plus, he’s an FBI agent. It’s not like he can settle down in one place. Not that I’ve seriously thought about it or anything. I mean, he’s nice and all, and it’s nice that he takes my visions a bit more seriously now, but I don’t really think of him in those terms. You know?”

  Mom laughed. “You’re blushing, Callie. It seems this agent has left a bit more of an impression on you than you’re willing to admit.”