by Ciana Stone
Brett had not questioned her assessment. He’d simply told her that he was sending additional members of the unit to assist her. Now Delilah Deveraux and Travis Walker sat at the table with Kade, the sheriff, Robert Chapman, and two of his detectives. She opened the meeting.
“After a thorough examination of the crime scene and the report from the medical examiner on the victim, we believe that this murder is part of an ongoing investigation the Bureau has been pursuing for the last five years.
“With the cooperation of the Texas Rangers and your department, Sheriff Chapman, we have been authorized to establish a task force, for the purpose of apprehending the Unsub, unidentified subject, labeled The Carver. I have prepared a brief.” She paused and slid copies of the brief to each person at the table.
“Before you review the brief, I need to make you aware of a few things.” She looked across the table at Delilah, who gave her a slight nod, and then turned her attention to the non-members of the SACU.
“Agents Deveraux, Walker and I work for the SACU, The Specialized Anomalous Crime Unit of the Department of Justice. We and all agents of this unit are, for want of a better word, psychics.”
She paused, noticing the reactions of the sheriff and his detectives. Kade didn’t bat an eye, a fact she noticed drew the attention of her fellow agents. She knew she’d have to explain his lack of reaction to them, and hoped she could do that without revealing that she’d had anything other than professional interaction with him. Considering who she worked with, her chances of that were slim.
Delilah was clairvoyant, as well as a mid-level telepath. Travis was an anomaly even to the unit. His abilities seemed to fluctuate, running the gambit. Sometimes his precognitive abilities were heightened. Other times his psychometric skills would be magnified. But always, his ability for remote viewing excelled over the others, as did his telekinetic abilities.
And right now, both of them were probably clueing in to the fact that she had something to hide about Kade. Shoving those thoughts aside, she quickly explained to the non-psychic members present the abilities of the unit.
“Now, as you’ll note in the brief, it is our belief that the murders are being physically committed by different people. And each of these persons are being controlled, or inhabited by the spirit of this man.”
She pulled a printed image from her folder and slid it to the center of the table.
“Looks like something from a history book,” one of the detectives commented.
“The man in this image is Joseph Vacher. He was born in France in 1869 and died in 1898. Over the course of three years, beginning in 1893, Vacher mutilated and murdered at least eleven people. His victims were stabbed repeatedly, disemboweled, raped, and sodomized. He was executed by guillotine on the last day of December in 1898.”
“And you think this…” The sheriff paused and looked around at everyone, disbelief clear on his face. “You think the spirit of some long dead mass murderer has somehow come back and is making people kill? I’m sorry, but that’s just crazy.”
“I can understand why you’d feel that way,” Zeb spoke up, his voice calm and even. “You’re not the first and won’t be the last to doubt that such things are possible.”
“Because they’re not,” the sheriff responded.
Cia looked at Kade as the two detectives agreed with the sheriff. Kade’s eyes narrowed for a moment as the sheriff posed a question for him. “And the Texas Rangers buy in to this—this fairytale?”
“The Rangers have extended their full cooperation to the SACU for the duration of this case. As an aside, let me say that I spent the better part of the morning checking out the SACU. Not only are they legit, but have a closed-case success rate of ninety-seven percent.”
Cia felt like hugging him. He could have argued in their defense for hours. Citing their record said more to the men at the table than anything else could. Their home had been invaded by a monster and until that monster was caught, they and none of their citizens would rest easy. If they thought the SACU could solve the case and put their town at ease, they would cooperate, regardless of how crazy it seemed.
The sheriff affirmed her thoughts a moment later. “Well, I don’t know about all this mumbo-jumbo, hoodoo stuff, but if you find the son of a bitch that did this I’m behind you. What do you want from us?”
“It’s all been outlined in the brief,” Cia replied. “My team has some things to look into this afternoon. Why don’t we reconvene at…say, five?”
“We’ll be here,” He pushed away from the table to stand.
“Thank you.” Cia stood as well.
She waited until the sheriff and his detectives had left then sat back down. Delilah looked from her to Kade and then back to her. “Okay, Cia, spill.”
“He sees angels.”
She felt Kade stiffen in his seat beside her. She probably shouldn’t have blurted it out that way, or at least should have warned him. But if he was going to work with them on this case, he had to get used to people knowing more than you wanted them to know about you.
“Yeah, we got that.” Travis smiled and then looked at Kade. “No offense, man, but you were broadcasting pretty strong.”
“Broadcasting?”
Delilah chucked. “It was in your mind. You were thinking about us and the rest of the SACU team, and wondering if any of us saw angels like you.”
“You can read minds?”
Delilah’s smile was genuine and Cia could tell that whatever she was projecting with that smile was hitting the mark. Kade’s tension was diminishing.
“We all have our strong suits. Like Cia. Primarily she’s a medium, the strongest among us. If the dead have something to say, they’ll say it to her. But she also has other latent talents, some that have already manifested and she’s learning to develop, and others that have only demonstrated once and she hasn’t been able to harness.
“You’re probably like that, too. Cia says that you have unique insight at crime scenes. You pick up on things others miss and see beneath the surface. Chances are, you have some degree of psychometric ability, and you’re vibing in on the energy in your surroundings.”
“And the angels?”
Delilah shrugged and looked at Travis who raised his hands in a “who knows?” gesture. “Man, just because we don’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not there.”
“Kind of like Joseph Vacher,” Cia added.
“Yeah, let’s talk about that,” Kade said. “What makes you think all this is Vacher?”
Cia could feel the sudden stillness that fell on the room. Delilah and Travis went stone-cold still, their eyes wary and postures tense. They knew better than anyone that Cia didn’t like to talk about her past, particularly the part that had led her to the SACU.
Cia angled to face Kade. “Remember the case I told you about? The man I killed?”
“Yeah, the one mutilating and raping the teenaged girl.”
“I believe that was Vacher.”
“Why?”
“When Vacher was in the military conscription, he fell in love with a young woman, Louise, a maidservant. She didn’t share his feelings and when his time in service ended and he tried to woo her, she rebuked him. He flew into a rage and shot her four times, then shot himself twice in the head. Unfortunately, all that did was paralyze one side of his face. He was incarcerated in a mental institution and a year later deemed ‘cured’ and released. It was right after that he began his murder spree.
“But what’s relevant for us is that the man I shot, Dwayne Jones, had the same condition when I encountered him. The left side of his face appeared paralyzed.”
“That could be explained by a number of medical conditions,” Kade offered.
“Yes, it could. But Jones had no medical conditions according to his records and the ME’s report.”
“Which led you to think he was possessed?”
“No. I didn’t think that until I came to the SACU. I met Delilah and she asked me who the m
an in the white rabbit hat was that kept popping up when I was around. We started searching, using white rabbit hats and facial paralysis in our search parameters and hit on Vacher.”
Kade made no comment and after a few moments, she looked across the table at Delilah and Travis. “So, you guys want to visit the scene and see if you pick up on something I missed?”
“Yeah,” Travis replied. “Come on, Dee.”
“Don’t you want to know where it is?” Kade asked as they headed for the door.
“Extrasensory GPS.” Travis smiled and tapped the side of his head. “Catch you back at the hotel later, Cia.”
“Yeah,” Cia said and turned back toward Kade as the door closed behind them. “Okay, I know there’s something you’re not saying.”
“Not here.” Kade stood, snatching up the brief from the table in front of him.
“Where?”
“Hotel, my room, twenty minutes.”
“Okay.” Cia watched him leave then leaned back in her chair, blew out her breath and closed her eyes.
“He’s not comfortable with all this psychic stuff, Gracie.” Joe’s voice came from Kade’s empty seat.
She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him. “Are you an angel, Joe?”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. But you don’t have wings.”
Joe shrugged. “Well, maybe not all angels have wings. Or maybe I’m not an angel. Or maybe angels aren’t what you think. Or—”
“Okay, I get it,” she cut in. “You’re not going to tell me. But you told him.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did. Kade said he asked you if you’re an angel.”
“Did he say that I said I was?”
“Well…well he came away thinking that you are. And there has to be a reason for that.”
“Gracie, he’s just like you. Well, in some ways. Kade wants a label and an answer for what he sees and feels and knows. Just like you. Is it a devil, a ghost, a spirit, a vampire, werewolf, witch or angel? You want to put everything in a safe little file system to make you feel comfortable. As long as you can label or define it, however right or wrong that label is, you can then accept it. What you can’t define you fear and mistrust.”
She thought about what he said. It was more than he’d ever revealed to her on the subject. “You’re right. So maybe the label is wrong. Maybe the word angel is something people cooked up to explain a person or entity they didn’t understand. So maybe my question was phrased wrong. Maybe what I should be asking is what side do you play for, Joe? Good or evil.”
A look of complete disappointment came on his face, such sadness that tears sprang to her eyes. “You have to ask, Gracie? Really?”
She sure wished she hadn’t.
Chapter Seven
Her knuckles barely rapped before the hotel room door opened. Kade’s eyes met hers and she was taken by the strongest feeling that whatever happened in the next few minutes would change both their lives.
It was an unsettling feeling and one she was unaccustomed to. At least in a personal sense. Cia had spent the last five years closing herself off and refusing to allow herself to have feelings for a man, any man.
Why was this man so different that she had come here, willing to bare her soul and reveal all of her dark secrets?
“I wasn’t sure you’d show.” His tense voice cut into her thoughts.
“I said I would.”
Kade gestured her inside. She noticed the tidiness of the room. Was he always so tidy and neat? She took a seat in the chair at the small desk, leaving Kade to sit on the bed.
“I want to know about Dwayne Jones.”
Of course he did. Dwayne Jones had changed her life, turned her into someone she barely recognized and didn’t really want to know.
“I killed him. I told you. I was wounded and in the hospital for three weeks. While hospitalized, I was approached by the SACU. After my release I went through training and joined the unit.”
“Yeah, I got that. But there’s more to the story. Like you believing that Jones was possessed by a man who died in the 1800s, and Joe showing up.”
Here it was, the moment of truth. Cia’s first inclination was to get up and run. Let Kade hate her for being a coward and a murderer. He was probably going to hate her anyway so why put herself through it?
Because he matters.
That annoying, ever-present alter ego was going to be her undoing. But it was right. Whether she liked it or not, and for whatever inexplicable reason, he did matter.
She got up and crossed the room to sit beside him on the bed. This conversation demanded a more close proximity, one where she could see into his eyes clearly and feel the energy that pulsed around him.
“At the time, I didn’t know Jones was possessed. That came much later, after I joined the SACU. That’s when I realized I’d killed an innocent man.”
Kade's expression turned fierce. “A man, who, according to the file, had raped, tortured and killed three other girls and would have done so again if you hadn’t stopped him.”
“On the surface, yes. But it wasn’t Jones. It was Vacher. Jones was just the vessel. He may have tried to free himself, may have hated what his body was made to do.”
“Or he may have welcomed all that evil.” Kade turned slightly to face her. “I know about evil, Cia. It can start out small, a lie here and there, or an act of mild violence. When those things bring a thrill that can’t be forgotten, evil grows.”
“I agree. But it doesn’t change the fact that I killed a man who might have been innocent.”
“Have you asked him?”
That question shocked her. “Asked Jones?”
“Yeah. Have you tried to contact him, to find out if what he was doing horrified him or turned him on?”
“No.”
“Well, why not?”
She could not answer, could not speak for all of the thoughts and feelings that suddenly swirled inside her. Why had she never thought to try? What if Jones was not innocent? Would that absolve her of some of the guilt she carried?
“Cia?”
She shook her head. “I can’t go there, Kade. Not right now.”
“Okay, I’ll let it go. For now. So, tell me about Joe.”
“What about him?”
“When did he show up?”
“When I was lying on the floor of Jones’ basement, bleeding out.”
“Care to elaborate?”
She sighed, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to go back to that time.
She could hear the girl, whimpering and tugging at her restraints, begging for release, begging Cia not to die and leave her there alone.
Cia wanted to go to the girl, to release her, hold her, and let her know that she was safe. But her strength was gone. Lying on the cold concrete floor, her life meter steadily lowering with the loss of blood.
Her sight was fading, dimmed as if someone was playing with the lights, lowering them in steady increments. Soon the light would be gone. She would be gone.
Oh god, she was going to die with blood on her hands. She had killed him. Not because she had to, but because her rage overshadowed her decency. She would not die in a state of grace. There would be no redemption for her sin.
“I’m sorry,” she managed to whisper.
“Shhh, child.” A man’s voice with the sweet flavor of the South spoke from beside her. “You just hold on.”
She felt a warm hand on her abdomen, covering the wound. At first touch, the pain diminished, growing steadily less. Her vision focused for just a moment and she saw a man. “Are you God?”
He smiled. “Lord no, child. I’m just Joe.”
Cia pulled herself back from that moment. “I lost consciousness then. When I woke, I was in the hospital. He was there, standing beside my bed, holding my hand. I asked him again who he was, and he said he was Joe.
"He stayed with me the entire time. It didn’t take long to figure o
ut that no one else could see him but me. I started to think I was crazy after a few days. So much so that I asked for a psych evaluation. I screwed up and confessed about Joe.
“I was sure I would get booted from the force. And sure enough, I did. Three days before I was released, I got the word. A day later Brett Wade, the Director of the SACU, showed up with Delilah. She saw Vacher. He was there, watching.”
“And Joe?”
“She didn’t see him. Has never seen him.”
“Why didn’t you see Vacher?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Joe was protecting me from seeing him.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you saw Joe?”
She nodded. “I know what you’re thinking. I thought the same thing. Delilah saw Vacher. What if Vacher was presenting himself to me as Joe? I couldn’t be sure. The man she described wasn’t who I saw, but I was new to all of the psychic stuff. What if he was screwing with me?
“When I got out of the hospital I went through all of the necessary training and joined the SACU. I’m surprised they took me. Joe was still there. I couldn’t trust him, couldn’t trust me. So, I ran from him and myself. I drank myself into unconsciousness every night, screwed around and took stupid risks.”
“Why didn’t you tell someone?”
“I don’t know, Kade. Fear? Shame? The fact that I hated myself? All I know is that once I started down that path I couldn’t get off it. I became convinced that Joe really was Vacher and it was only a matter of time before he either used me for his evil or I killed myself to escape him.
“It almost happened. I got drunk, way too drunk to drive, and ran over a man. Ran right over him. I managed to get out of my car and the man was dying. I was too damn drunk to even dial 911. Then suddenly Joe was there. He knelt down, put his hands on the man and suddenly the man was healed.
“He apologized. Actually apologized. He’d been walking home from the pub. Must’ve had a few too many and fell over in the road. How lucky he was that I’d come along before someone ran over him.