world before he had the chance to even enter it.
Alexis sat on the bed and screamed, unable to slow
down her breathing or the pounding of her heart. Tears
had soaked her pillow and she felt like throwing up. By
the time her parents ran to her room, she was dryheaving.
“Alexis! What’s wrong?!” Her father ran to the bed
and turned on the lamp on the bedside table, while her
mother, awakened from a drug-induced sleep, stumbled
to the door uncertain of what was happening.
“Tracey! It was Tracey! She was running through
the woods, Daddy, and a man was chasing her. Then a
woman came for her, but Tracey never made it. The man
caught her before her friend reached her, and Tracey had
her baby right there on the forest ground. The baby died,
too.”
Mike Howard wrapped his arm around his
daughter’s shoulders and drew her toward his chest. He
held her for a few moments without saying anything,
hoping that physical contact could help her snap out of
her nightmare more effectively.
Alexis smelled the familiar spicy scent of her
father’s cologne, and she inhaled deeply as she sought
comfort in his embrace. The feeling of security that
washed over her vacuumed away the debris left behind
by her terrible dream.
“It was a nightmare, Alexis. Tracey didn’t have a
baby, and no friend found her. She was found by
someone else a few days later.”
“No, that’s not true! Lily said…” She bit her lip
when she realized that she had broken her promise to
Lily.
Her father looked at her sternly, but a deep love was
apparent in his eyes. “Alexis, you really need to make
an effort not to mention Lily around your mother. You
know it upsets her terribly, and right now she is upset
enough.”
This was her chance to make it right and still be true
to Lily’s wishes. “You’re right, Daddy. I will try harder.”
Her father smiled and kissed her forehead. “Do you
want me to leave the light on?”
“Yes, please, Daddy.”
He stood up and headed toward his room, but he
stopped to blow her a kiss before he disappeared
through the adjoining door to join his wife who had
already gone back to bed.
Alexis lay on her bed, her body tired but her mind
on high alert. She was sure she had heard a woman’s
voice, but her mom and dad would never believe her.
Only Lily believed her. And Kathy. With a promise to
herself to call Kathy the next day, she closed her eyes
and went back to sleep.
#
Kathy couldn’t believe that she was still at the
studio at eleven at night, but since she had work to
finish, and Tom had called earlier to say he was going to
be home late, this was the perfect evening to catch up.
She was still working on the final touches for a
family package, when she heard a strange sound which
at first impression sounded like a book falling on the
ground. When she went to investigate she found one of
the old photo albums had fallen from the bookshelf and
landed on the floor. During its descent, it opened to a
page that was particularly dear to her heart – it was a
collection of photos that were taken when Caroline was
six years old. The photos were alternated with selected
drawings Caroline had created at school, including a
Mother’s Day card that particularly touched her soul.
The card, in childlike handwriting said: I love you
Mommy, because you will never abandon me. Kathy
remembered that in those days Caroline was particularly
shaken when she heard of the tragedy that had befallen
her best friend – her friend’s mom went to the grocery
store one day, and she never returned home; months
later, she sent a brief note to let everyone know she was
happy and healthy, and with the love of her life. For
several days, Caroline had been Kathy’s shadow, but
knowing the reason behind her daughter’s ‘sticky’
behavior, Kathy took the opportunity to hug Caroline
even more often than usual.
She touched the card gently with one finger, then
closed the album and replaced it on the shelf. She
wondered what made it fall, but her attention was
quickly rerouted to the work she still had to finish. She
stayed on task for another hour, until her eyes started to
burn. She shut down her computer and quickly grabbed
her purse and camera before she turned off the lights
and went out the door. She sat in her car for a moment
and pinched the bridge of her nose before she started the
engine, but when she glimpsed the window of the studio
as she backed out of her parking spot she saw the light
coming back on. It flickered once and then it went out
again. She didn’t have the strength to go back upstairs to
check on things, and she wondered if she was just
seeing things, so she drove off and promised herself she
would investigate the strange occurrence in the morning.
Inside the studio, the photo album was once again on the
ground.
Chapter 10
Kathy hung up the phone and sat on the couch to
think. It was only a few minutes past eight o’ clock in
the morning when Alexis called to tell her about the
dream she had last night, and from her hushed tone
Kathy was sure Alexis was trying to hide the phone call
from her parents. She didn’t like that at all – as a parent
and as a psychologist she knew that it wasn’t good to
encourage children to hide things from their parents, and
yet, when it came to Alexis, Kathy also knew that her
parents were unable to lend the type of ear their
daughter needed.
The dream was scary – a nightmare, in fact. Alexis
told her that she didn’t rest well at all after that, and
even with the lights on, she was afraid to fall back to
sleep because she was worried about going back to the
same dream. Kathy was well aware of the fact that
dreams allow people to process information, and she
found it a bit strange that Alexis dreamt of her sister
having a baby, until Alexis said that her friend Lily
mentioned something about Tracey being pregnant;
Alexis also told Kathy that ‘the daddy was a man who
was already a daddy to other children’ – Lily told her so.
Poor child! All these emotions running through her
mind and nobody she could talk to about them…
The sound of the front door opening made her jolt,
and she turned her head automatically to see who it was.
“Hey Honey! It’s me! I forgot some files I brought
home to read.”
“I’m in the living room!”
Tom poked his head into the room and smiled. “Are
you taking an early morning nap? I thought you usually
get ready around this time – aren’t you going to the
studio today?”
“Yeah…I will in a
minute.” That was all she said.
She knew how Tom reacted to her telling him about
Alexis’s friend Lily the first time, and she didn’t want to
spoil the day so early on.
“Are you okay? You’re not sick, are you?”
“Oh no, I am taking a few minutes to relax and have
a cup of coffee.”
Tom went to sit on the couch directly across from
the loveseat she sat on. “These have been a crazy few
days – everything has happened. Oh, by the way, thank
you for checking on the Howards from time to time.
They really seem to appreciate all you’re doing to help
Alexis through this crisis.”
“It’s my pleasure, really. Alexis is a wonderful
child, and she likes photography.”
“Yes, she is wonderful, but I think her parents are a
little worried about her.”
“Oh? What are they worried about?”
“Her imaginary friend, for one thing. Mr. Howard
told me this morning that Alexis had a nightmare last
night.
Kathy hesitated for a moment, then she decided to
come clean. “Yes. Alexis called and told me about it just
a short while ago. Did Mr. Howard tell you what the
nightmare was about?”
“No…not specifically. He only said Alexis had a
nightmare about Tracey dying, and he is concerned
because she seems to be more withdrawn than usual.”
“It’s normal, Tom. Even more than adults, children
need time to absorb the impact, and sometimes they
need time for their minds to find a place and a reason for
everything.”
Tom smiled. “Thank you, Doctor. Your training is
really helping a lot, and I cannot tell you how much I
appreciate your concern. I didn’t know you were still in
contact with the family.”
“I wasn’t planning on it, but Mrs. Howard is so
distraught that she is unable to be there for Alexis right
now and Mr. Howard asked if I would talk with her
from time to time, since – quoting his words – I
understand young minds. I couldn’t refuse, and to be
honest, I really like Alexis – she reminds me of myself
when I was her age.”
“Well, no matter what the reason, I am sure the
Howards are very grateful, and so am I. Knowing that
someone else is there for them makes me feel better
about things. And, I need professional advice from you
as well.”
“Something relating to photography?”
“Hmmmm….no. I would like for you to suggest the
best way to tell someone something horrible when their
world is already turned upside down. How can I say
something in a sensible way, so that it will cause the
least amount of stress?”
Kathy thought for a moment. “It would depend on
the situation, I guess. What’s happening?”
“Tracey was pregnant. Three and a half months
along. Dr. Greer found the baby when he performed the
autopsy. He was actually surprised her body didn’t try to
purge it on its own, but it is probably because she was
found not too long after her death. How do I tell her
parents that they lost not just one child, but a grandchild
also?”
Kathy was frozen on the spot. Her mouth opened
and closed several times, but no sound came out. Her
mind replayed every word Alexis told her no more than
thirty minutes before, screaming to make sense of
something impossible. When her voice came back, she
looked at Tom with a puzzled look on her face, her
hands wrapped around the coffee mug as if physically
touching something could help her feel more grounded.
“When did you find this out?”
“What? About Tracey being pregnant? I found out
yesterday. Why?”
“And you haven’t told her parents yet?”
Tom noticed Kathy’s nervousness and watched her
as she squeezed her fingers around the mug until her
knuckles turned white. “No…that’s why I am asking
you to help me find the right words.”
Kathy stood up from the couch and walked to the
window; she pretended to look at something outside, in
faint hope that a few extra seconds of thinking could
give her the answers she so desperately needed.
“Kathy, what’s wrong?”
Kathy turned toward him, and took a deep breath. “I
told you Alexis called me earlier, Tom, remember?”
“Yes. What does it have to do with me telling
Tracey’s parents that she was pregnant?”
Kathy walked back to the coffee table and smacked
the coffee mug on the table so hard Tom thought it
would break. “It has everything to do with it, Tom! In
Alexis’s dream Tracey was pregnant. She was running
from a man, and the man caught up with her. When she
died, her baby came out of her, and it died. She also said
that a woman’s voice was calling Tracey, and that
Tracey was running toward a light.”
She stopped a moment, to allow her words to sink.
Tom just sat there, his face impossible to read.
“What are you saying, Kathy?”
“Dammit, Tom! You’ve always been a sensible
man! I know your job forces you to be rational and to
categorize everything, but you have to admit there is
something strange about the way Alexis knows things.”
Tom nodded. “You’re right, Kathy, but not all that
she said matches the truth. There was no one else in the
woods when Tracey died – certainly not a woman she
knew.”
Kathy threw her arms up in the air. “But how do you
know that, Tom? How can you be sure?”
“Because we could only find one set of prints at the
scene, Kathy. In truth, we found foot prints at the cabin
where we believe Tracey was hiding, and also near the
murder scene, but we think they belong to the same
person. Same pair of steel-toed boots.”
“Are you sure they are the same?”
“The brand matches. The size of the foot print in the
cabin is impossible to determine because it appears
smeared, and we couldn’t find other footprints in the
cabin that are clear enough to test, but the ones we
found in the woods appear to be a size ten. A man size
ten – hardly the size and make of shoe a woman would
wear. Other footprints at the scene don’t appear as fresh
and could have been left by anyone walking in the area
before the crime took place.”
“But how do you explain the fact that Alexis knew of the baby?”
“Tracey called home a few days before she died.
Maybe she told her sister about it.”
Kathy shook her head. “She’s just a little girl, Tom.
Why would Tracey tell her and not her mother?”
Tom was running out of explanations, and his
frustration bled into his words. “I don’t know, Kathy!
But I think that chasing ghosts is not going to help us
catch the killer any sooner. If we focus on something so
absurd, we are going to lose track of the real evidence. I
<
br /> would appreciate it if you could just stop with these
crazy ideas!”
Kathy looked at him as if she had never seen him
before; in this light, she never had. Her voice lowered to
an icy whisper. “Are you calling me crazy, Tom? Is that
it?”
Tom slammed his fist into the arm of the chair he
was sitting on and stood up.
“I’m sorry Kathy, I didn’t mean to imply that. It’s
just that things are complicated enough without spooks
and dreams. I have to go and tell this family there is
another family member to bury, and frankly, I don’t
know where to start. Tracey’s mother is a shadow of the
woman I met when she first arrived, and there is only so
much more her husband can bear without going
mental.”
Kathy swallowed bitter tears, and for a moment she
cursed herself for allowing Tom’s words to hit her at the
core. Her heart broke for Alexis, as she knew the little
girl was trapped bearing a gift—and a burden—that was
too much for her to carry alone, but frustration at the
fact that Tom would not listen to reason made the blood
boil in her veins. “How can you be so stubborn, Tom?
Why can’t you just listen to her? Just once. Give her a
chance to say what she knows.”
Tom walked to the table near the door and retrieved
his car keys along with a small pile of files from the
chair close to the table. “Not a chance, Kathy. This is a
child who’s suffered a great loss, and you are asking me
to put her through questioning. And how do you think
her parents would feel about that? Huh? There are strict
regulations prohibiting officers from interrogating
children, Kathy, and I am not going to lose my job just
because all of a sudden you decide to play psychic.
Honestly, I am surprised that you would go on with this
charade, and now I am beginning to understand why you
chose to be a photographer instead of a psychologist:
Your imagination gets the best of you.”
With that, he was gone. He slammed the door
behind him, leaving Kathy in the hallway staring at the
closed door, and feeling hot tears fill her eyes. Like all
couples, they had argued in the past, but never over
something like this and, as far as she could remember,
never so harshly. She couldn’t think of another time
when Tom slammed the door or threw a poison dart at
her integrity. The fact that he thought less of her now
Killer in Sight (A Tom Lackey Mystery) Page 13