Into the Abyss: A Psychic Visions Novel (Psychic Visions Series Book 10)

by Dale Mayer

  Besides, there was no way to explain that watches and cellphones died quickly around her. Something to do with her energy.

  Just then Shelby arrived. She turned to greet her with a smile. “There you are.”

  Mark snorted. “Wow, must be really busy in the city if you’re actually dragged out to this case.” He shook his head. “I haven’t had coffee yet. I’m going to head over to the next block and grab some. You want one, Tavika?”

  She still held the travel mug from home in her hand but said, “Sure.”

  Coffee was always a good icebreaker, and she had to find Gordon’s friends. After he took off, Shelby turned to her and said, “He doesn’t belong out here.”

  “I know,” Tavika said softly. “He’s working on a promotion then he’ll never have to come out here again.”

  “What kind of an industry is this that we promote incompetency and bad attitude?”

  Personally Tavika agreed, but they only spoke about such things amongst themselves. The two street cops were now at the alley entrance making sure nobody else came in. In the distance she could hear the ambulance. “Busy night for you guys?”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Shelby said, fatigue in her voice. “Got a stabbing on the other side of town. Four dead in that incident alone.”

  “Oh shit.” Tavika winced.

  “I trust your instincts. If there is a connection between the recent victims and this one then I want to be here.” She did a quick examination then sat back on her heels studying the victim. “Did I hear Mark say something about you knowing the victim?”

  “I saw Gordon here on the beat all the time. I delivered coffee every once in a while. He was a vet with PTSD and a whole lot of other problems. He didn’t like walls. He felt much better in the open air so that’s where he lived. He was also young. Gordon was only about forty-seven.”

  “Well, he deserved a hell of a lot better.” Shelby turned to look at Tavika. “There could be a connection. Our seventy year-old victim was in the military for several years too.”

  Tavika frowned and filed the information away. “There are millions of people in this country that were,” she said. “But I’ll see what I can find.”

  The coroner went back to assessing the wound before standing up and pulling off her gloves. “Nothing else I can do here. I’ll need to get him back onto my table. I can tell you right now the knife wound across the throat is the only visible injury and likely the cause of death, and as you suspected it also appears to be a single cut with no hesitation”

  “And he’s wearing a long sleeve shirt.”

  Shelby shot her a sharp look, and said, “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking that if a pressure syringe was used, it’s going to be underneath the knife slice. These killings were targeted. The victims were killed in a quick, efficient, and painless manner.”

  “Yes, efficient.” Shelby nodded. “Like he’s ticking boxes on his list and moving on.”

  Tavika caught back her breath at Shelby’s words. Jericho had mentioned something similar – that he was cleaning up. That the Ghost was coming after her soon.

  Next chance she had she’d ask him.

  In the meantime, she had work to do. Gordon had been harmless. Innocent. He deserved better. She was going to make sure he got it.

  *

  Now where the hell was she going? Once again, back in his normal physical form and wandering the street, Jericho headed over to the coffee shop, grabbed a large cup of coffee and now sat outside the alleyway on the park bench a quarter of a block away. Too far away to look interested in the scene going on around him. At least he hoped. There’d been a couple of times in the past when the cops approached him asking what his business was. He’d so far managed to convince them he was an innocent bystander curious about what was going on. Only twice had he been required to pull out his identification.

  Once he knew the ambulance and the coroner’s vehicle had arrived, he figured Tavika would need another half hour or so and then she’d be heading out.

  He timed it.

  He was off by four minutes. When Tavika finally exited the alleyway she stopped for a moment as if to reorient herself then took a left. Someone called her name. She turned abruptly and a second detective walked toward her with a big coffee.

  Jericho frowned. Another coffee?

  She took it with a smile then walked away. Jericho couldn’t hear the conversation, but he noted the look on the other man’s face. It was almost comical. And then with a shoulder shrug the detective turned and walked the opposite direction.

  Tavika obviously didn’t give a rat’s ass about her relationship with this detective. Curious now about the double coffees he walked behind her at a far enough distance that she shouldn’t be able to sense him. He knew he failed when she lifted her hand and shoved her middle finger into the air, obvious even above the coffee.

  He laughed. He should walk up beside her to keep her company. Just when he was ready to catch up she disappeared into another alleyway. Swearing, he walked across the road, getting honked at for his troubles, and made it to the place where she’d turned. Another one of those really shady looking back alleyways full of dumpsters. What the hell was she up to? Her energy was clear as day as she walked down this path, a bloody beacon for anyone to follow.

  She was going to get herself killed.

  Why couldn’t he leave her alone to whatever fate was ahead of her? Walking quickly he made it halfway down the alley before he heard voices ahead.

  He sped up, and as he came around the corner, he heard her say, “Thomas, there is no need to be worried. This is just a friend of mine. His name’s Jericho. If you ever see him around he’s okay. He’s not here to give you any trouble.”

  Jericho frowned as he cleared the last dumpster and saw yet another homeless man, his shopping cart and cardboard house hidden behind it. In fact, the dumpster itself didn’t look like it had been emptied in a long time.

  He gave the terrified man a small smile. “I’m not here to hurt you, Thomas.” He nodded toward Tavika. “I’m with her.”

  Thomas’s gaze ran from Tavika to Jericho. And finally he gave a heavy sigh and sank back into his jacket.

  “Where’s your coffee mug, Thomas?”

  His face lit up hopefully and he turned and scrabbled around in the cardboard box behind them. When he spun back again he had it in his hand.

  But from the looks of it, it wasn’t capable of holding any liquid anymore.

  Tavika shook her head. “Where’s the other cup? You should have a plastic one, Thomas.”

  He squinted up at her as if a little confused. He turned back to the box and rummaged again then he turned around a second time with a plastic takeout cup.

  She smiled. “That will do.” She opened her cup and gently poured some of the coffee into his. Snapping the lid down tight she carefully placed his cup against the edge of the dumpster, but within his reach. “Thomas, can you see this?”

  Thomas nodded. In a broken voice he whispered, “Thanks.” Then he curled up in a tight ball and tugged his blanket over his shoulders – the coffee mug close beside him.

  Tavika motioned toward the street again. “Let’s go.”

  When they were almost at the corner, daylight shining in from the street, Jericho asked her, “Does he know anything?”

  “No. He left Gordon before dark. He was fine then.”

  Jericho nodded. He expected nothing else.

  “But he did say he left Steve behind with Gordon.”

  He glanced at her sideways. “And who is Steve?”

  “Steve is one of the missionary workers. We’ll see him at the soup kitchen.” She lengthened her stride. Not to walk with him or leave him behind, but because she was so focused. Her long, lean length ate up the sidewalk. She passed everyone without seeming to recognize what was around her.

  Until he saw her eyes dart. It wasn’t that she didn’t see anything around her, she was actually catalogin
g everything, but with nothing out of the ordinary she just kept on moving.

  Fascinating. And then he watched her send out tendrils of energy, checking out spots she was uncertain of. All of this going on as she moved rapidly down the street.

  Were her actions conscious or unconscious? Did she understand what she was doing? He wanted to ask, but something held him back. He was amazed at the efficiency in which she sent out these probes, analyzing the data that came back instantly and sending more off again.

  Her face was neutral as if she had no idea how much information she was processing in a millisecond. He was impressed. To hell with asking her if she knew what she was doing. Better he ask how she was doing it so he could learn.

  Not to mention how she’d squashed the sexual energy between them. Not that her resistance was going to do any good.

  Then she did it. She turned to gaze at him, her footsteps not slowing, and said, “How did you do that?”

  Her question was the same he’d been planning on asking her, so for a moment he was confused. Did she read minds too? But that dark hooded look of hers was intense and maybe a little worried before it darted back to the world around them.

  He wanted to ask her to clarify the question then remembered her crime scene where he’d shown up in spirit form. He frowned. “Do you mean what I did at the crime scene?”

  She swung to look at him again, then gave a curt nod.

  “Ah.” He smiled. “I have to admit I was quite surprised you could see me. Shows how strong your abilities are naturally.”

  She stayed silent as he continued to walk down the street, never making a comment. Of course not, she was going to keep her counsel regardless of what he said.

  He shrugged. “It’s a trick Stefan taught me to control. I can leave my body at one place and travel to another where I get to hear and see what goes on.”

  Her features pinched a little tighter but still she said nothing. If anything her footsteps increased as if trying to pull away from the truth. Too bad. He could keep up with her anytime.

  “Tavi!”

  Her body made a slight jerk as if from a blow. Interesting. So Tavi was a nickname. She stopped and turned as the voice caught up with her. A young man who looked like he’d spent his lifetime on the streets walked up behind her. He held out a hand. Jericho watched as instead of her filling his hand he gave her something. With flashing urgency the young man bolted around the corner. The small piece of paper was well folded. Tavika took a moment to carefully unfold and read a short message. Instead of trying to see it, Jericho watched her face. Only to be disappointed. Nothing moved. Her gaze went from one side to the other as if reassessing her destination then she shoved the piece of paper in her pocket and took a sharp right.

  “I thought we were heading to the soup kitchen?”

  “We are. In a few minutes.”

  Okay, so that note was about a meeting somewhere. She’d been a beat cop, she had informants and obviously a lot of people knew her. Within a minute they came to yet another alleyway.

  Was this where she spent all her time? But she bypassed it and ended up in a very small park. It was barely bigger than a residential lot, yet there were a couple trees in the center and yes, in the background were more cardboard looking houses. She walked over and stood in front of an old woman who appeared to be asleep.

  “Maggs?” Tavika asked softly. “You okay?”

  The old woman opened her eyes and smiled. “I’m not dead yet, Tavi.”

  Tavika squatted down beside her and reached out a hand. Jericho watched as she picked up the woman’s coffee then poured warm brew into it.

  The old woman struggled to sit up until Tavika gave her a hand. He studied Maggs. She was not on this earth for much longer. It appeared all three of them knew it. With her shaking hands she grabbed the cup and took a sip.

  She gave a heartfelt sigh and patted Tavika’s hands gently. “Don’t be so upset, child. If the universe is generous it will take me before next weekend.”

  He wouldn’t have seen the movement if he hadn’t been studying Tavika’s face quite so intently, but when she bit her bottom lip at the old woman’s words he realized she really did care. And those that didn’t understand her or saw her like this would get a completely different impression of who she was inside.

  “You live as long as you’re meant to live,” Tavika said neutrally. “It’s all good.” She straightened up and studied the cardboard shelter beside her. “Are you alone today?”

  “Maybe.” Maggs yawned and rubbed her shoulder. “I haven’t seen anyone yet this morning.” She studied the boxes. “They’ll be back soon.” She looked up at Tavika. “You look like you’re on a mission.”

  Tavika dropped her gaze down to the old woman and smiled. “I am,” she said in a soft voice. “You and the others need to be careful.” She motioned back toward the way they had come. “Gordon was killed last night.”

  There was no shock of surprise from Maggs. Just a heavier set to the multiple wrinkles on the woman’s face. “How?”

  Tavika took a step back and murmured, “He was murdered. Likely in his sleep.”

  Maggs stared off in the distance. “He was a young man.”

  “He was.” Tavika took a quick walk around the park and returned back to Maggs. “You take care.”

  Maggs gave her a toothless grin. “Don’t you worry about me. Besides if my maker comes, I’ll give him a warm welcome.”

  Tavika nodded. “I know you will. Only everything has to happen on its own time frame.”

  With that cryptic sentence she turned, motioned to Jericho to move ahead of her, and they left. Just as they were almost out of sight, Maggs called out, “I saw him you know. That’s why I wanted you to come and talk to me.”

  Jericho froze. That explained the detour here.

  Tavika turned to look back at her. “Who did you see?”

  “Death. I passed him in the alleyway on my way home. I asked him to take me instead.”

  Tavika never said a word, she just waited.

  Maggs shook her head.

  Fondly, Tavika asked, “Was he going to Gordon when you saw him?”

  Maggs nodded. “He was.” She made the sign of the cross across her chest. “It really would’ve been better if he’d taken me.” And she sat back sipping her coffee.

  “Any description?” Tavika asked.

  Maggs opened her eyes again and smiled. “He looks the way he always does. You know as well as I do death comes in many forms.” And she sipped the last of her coffee then lay down.

  Tavika turned and walked away. Jericho raced to catch up. “Why don’t you press for more description?”

  “Maggs has seen a lot of murders in this town. To her killers look the same. I’ve seen the description many times over, but it’s always an avenging angel with a dark cloud around him killing her friends.”

  “So she’s not the most stable mentally?”

  Tavika shot him a strange look. “Or she’s more stable than most of us.”

  *

  So what had he missed? Work had sucked today. But he wasn’t independently wealthy, so he did what he had to do to keep his job. Besides it paid well. And being there gave him some access to the information he’d needed all these years to stay safe from the police. Who were all too stupid to figure out what he was doing right under their noses. Of course he’d had to switch from one account to another to get what he needed. So far he’d managed just fine.

  At least he was no longer traveling all across the countryside as part of his job. As much as the new hunting grounds had given his extracurricular activity some variety, he was a homebody at heart. Now he was going to have a real home. And he could stay there where he belonged.

  Now a full day had passed and he needed to try and catch up. He logged into his computer and quickly found the city police network and did the same. It was easy to travel to Tavika’s files and get an update.

  With a hot coffee at his side, an hour before his lo
ver came over, he sat down to read the latest.

  Chapter 11

  “Are you planning on following me around all day?”

  Jericho snorted. “As much as that would be fun…no.”

  “Good.” She motioned at the soup kitchen. “I’m going in here then I’m heading back to the station. I have a lot of research to do.”

  “If you find anything let me know.”

  She gave a bark of a laugh. “Did you ever hear of confidentiality?”

  “Don’t be foolish. There has to be a connection between these three victims.”

  “Yeah, they were murdered,” she said in a dry tone. “But I’m going to need a whole lot more than that to take this killer to court.”

  “He’ll never make it.”

  Jericho’s tone of voice was so final she stopped in her tracks to look at him. Carefully she asked, “Are you planning on doing something to make sure that comes about?”

  He grinned up at her. “Not happening, Tavi,” he stressed her nickname. “I’m a pre-cog. I see the future. And what I see is that he dies.”

  She raised her gaze above his head to stare at the clouds above. “I can’t find anything bad about that.”

  “We just have to make sure…” he said. “He dies alone.” Jericho took a couple of steps back, motioned at her to carry on. “I’ll be around.”

  She didn’t move. She studied him intently. “Around to watch my back? Around to find out information on the killer for your own purposes? Just what is your game, Jericho?”

  “No game. A passion. Hunting a serial killer who has taken out a lot of people. He has to be stopped.”

  “Well, on that point we agree.” She spun on her heels and walked into the soup kitchen. Only to find Steve knew nothing either. Damn.

  It was over an hour later that she walked into the station. Again the noise hit like a club to her head. Her stomach clenched, and her nerves tightened up like tensile wire. She should have worked from home.