Roy turned to Veronica and Jack, “You two go with Miss Elliott. I’ll send Patel and Morgan for back up. They’ll block the driveways in case Anderson tries to take off in his car.”
After they left, he turned to Alex and Marianne, “I’d like you two to hang around. Why don’t you wait in the canteen?”
The pair nodded and left.
Once they were gone Peterson turned to one of his subordinates, “If this winds up being a dead end, I want you to toss those two in a cell for wasting police time. I’ll be in my office.”
Turning away, Roy headed for his office. He didn’t like treating his young friend like this, but too many weird things were going on. The fact that they’d already found Anderson’s vehicle thanks to Alex only made things worse. As he walked down the corridor he could already hear some of the officers whispering about ‘Sarge’s Psychic Boyfriend’.
An hour later radio and television programs were interrupted to report the safe recovery of Katie Anderson and her father. By evening, the news agencies were able to reveal new facts about the abduction. It had been discovered that young Katie’s mother had suffered a head injury during a car accident where she had been a passenger.
After declining treatment she’d gone home and had not told her husband what happened. So when her usual understanding and caring nature had been replaced by strange moods and sudden outbursts of violence, he was completely at a loss. As neighbors began to complain about the disturbances, Mrs. Anderson placed a restraining order against her husband claiming he had become abusive to both her and their daughter, and he was forced to move out.
Then two days ago, at a supermarket, Ken ran into Katie’s teacher who expressed serious concerns about his daughter. According to the teacher, Katie had become withdrawn and quiet. Anderson remembered his wife’s strange and violent behavior and suspected Katie was now on the receiving end of that abuse. With the restraining order still in place, he had no choice but to try and get his daughter out of harm’s way.
With these new facts brought to light, all charges against Anderson were dropped, and his wife was currently undergoing tests at the local hospital for treatment. Her doctors believed she could eventually make a full recovery.
As the radio repeated this story for the third time in an hour Roy stared out the window of his office. He had seen it with his own eyes, but was still having trouble accepting it. The Youngster had given them all they had needed to find the girl and her father. He had even warned them to go easy on Katie’s dad because things were not what they seemed.
He rubbed his eyes and sighed, “I’m not Alice staring down a rabbit hole. I can’t believe in even one impossible thing before dinner.” But in his mind he saw the look on Alex’s face as he’d held that doll. What about something unlikely yet possible?
Shaking his head, he looked to his coffee cup for solace, but found it empty. So he got up and headed over to the Canteen, where he spotted Pam and Jack Thompson. They were sitting at a table nearby and he overheard their conversation.
“So Alex just held the doll and was able to get all that information?” Pam was saying.
Jack nodded, “It was amazing. I always knew there was something different about that guy, but… wow.”
‘You ain’t kidding,’ thought Roy quietly.
The blonde dispatcher shuddered, “Kind of creepy though, don’t you think? I mean, what else can he do?”
“Good question,” her companion nodded. “You know, when he helped us find that hidden fourth floor over at the Graham place? I think he already knew it was there. He didn’t seem the least surprised when we found it.”
The Dispatcher’s eyes widened, “If that’s the case, then why didn’t he say anything?”
Roy didn’t wait to hear any more, he was already wondering the same thing.
dark clouds gather
Over the next two weeks there were no new deaths, and no new discoveries. The only crimes had been the usual drunk driving, a burglary and a couple of domestic disturbances. But all was not well.
Hurricane Mary was making her way up the coast and would arrive within the next 48-72 hours. The weather stations were predicting she’d make landfall as a level 2 storm or less. But if she swung back out to sea she could gain strength and things could get much worse.
Although the town of New Swindon was located inland, they had seen remnants of hurricanes that caused considerable damage in the past. Wind would knock down power-lines and uproot trees, while the rains could cause serious flooding. The town’s population was already gathering food supplies, batteries, radios, and flashlights. Others were pulling out the wooden covers to nail over their windows in anticipation of Mary’s arrival.
Just across the New York state-line, Cassandra was making sure her hotel would be ready to weather the storm as well. She had also contacted local agencies letting them know she had space for evacuees and those stranded by the storm if needed.
During this time, Alex had continued his re-training with Marianne and her husband. Most days they came to him, but occasionally he and Veronica would drive north for an hour to the university where the Matheson’s worked. As a result of these visits, any remaining skepticism that may have lingered in the back of Veronica’s mind, were completely erased. Learning to become an anchor for Alex psychically had opened her eyes and mind in ways she’d never expected.
For one thing it had strengthened the bond between them. Their lovemaking had become more intense and deeper than ever before. And Alex had begun to let her experience his feelings for her more and more, even when they weren’t in bed. The downside there was that she found it to be a bit of an aphrodisiac at times.
But she wasn’t complaining. Things had been real tense at the station with no new leads in the case. The D. A. had shown up the day before and went on at length about how important it was to find the killer of the two teenagers, Dr. Wells and Paul Chase.
“Do you have any idea how it looks when a police officer is killed and we don’t have anyone to bring to trial?” he’d said at one point. “It doesn’t inspire confidence in the public when you guys can’t find justice for one of your own.” When the man finally headed out of the building, practically every officer at the station was quietly flipping him off.
Even Roy had to restrain himself much as he shared his team’s feelings.
Ronnie thought briefly about going in, even though it was her day off, but decided against it. Besides the unsolved murders and the D. A., Alex’s recent demonstration of his ‘talents’ had set tongues wagging all over the station. She kept half expecting to hear it around town as well. So far her co-workers were keeping it in-house, possibly out of respect for her. But how long could she count on that? Probably until the next bombshell was dropped and God only knew when that might happen.
Back at the station, Roy’s wife Alice had decided to visit in an effort to lighten the mood. For the last few days her husband had come home and growled for an hour or two, before finally telling her what was going on. She didn’t like the idea that Alex was a ‘person of interest’ any more than he did. But she was confident the real killer would be found and all would return to normal.
In fact she was so sure this would happen, she’d decided to bring a box of photos from some of the previous Policeman’s Balls with her. She and Pam were in charge of the decorating committee and this gave them a chance to do a little research to see what had been done in the past.
They were sorting through the photos at the Dispatch Desk, in between calls. And now Jack Thompson and Olivia Jackson, who had just come off patrol, paused to look as well. Neither had ever been to any of the previous Policeman’s Balls, so both were curious to see what the upcoming one might be like. Slowly some of their co-workers gravitated to the dispatcher’s desk until a crowd of about a dozen had gathered. A few of the older officers laughed at seeing themselves in years past, while the younger ones were admiring the ballroom and complaining about suits and tuxedos. None of them notice
d their boss emerge from his office and come up behind them.
“What’s going on here?” he demanded loudly. Instantly there was a parting of the ‘blue sea’, as the officers moved out of the way to reveal the guilty party, Alice.
Folding his arms he said sternly, “Disrupting an entire station could be costly madam.”
“I don’t see how, I’m already serving life sentence with you,” she replied smartly. But her eyes twinkled lovingly at him.
“And it’ll stay that way as long I’m in charge of the parole board,” her spouse nodded with satisfaction. This was followed by a loud chorus of “AW!” from the crowd. With one look, Roy managed to disperse most of them. Only those who were officially on break remained and they were busy looking at the photos.
Veronica’s partner Ryan was one of them. As he glanced over the photos, one in particular caught his eye “When was this one taken?” he asked holding it up.
Alice looked over and exclaimed, “You found one with Alex in it. That was from sixteen years ago. He opened the Ball with his grandmother that year, because her husband had another heart attack and was still recuperating. You remember that one don’t you Honey?”
Roy frowned and thought back to that night. He remembered a blonde- haired boy a dancing with Constance Hill. The hairstyle was quite different, but the eyes and smile hadn’t changed at all.
“I remember,” he finally nodded with a smile. It had been a wonderful evening with no mishaps. The town had been looking forward to it and had been on its best behavior. But a week later, all hell broke loose up at Graham Manor.
Pam finished the call she was on and eagerly leaned over to see the photo. “Sarge’s boyfriend as a kid? Let me see!” she exclaimed, but then a frown crossed her face as she looked. “Hey isn’t the girl he’s dancing with the same one who disappeared from the Graham place?”
No one noticed Roy stiffen upon hearing those words. Or the look on his face that said, ‘No! Don’t let it be her.’
Meanwhile, Alice took a look at the picture and nodded, “Yes, that’s Rachel. You can see the big bump in her dress. She must’ve been about eight months pregnant at the time.”
“I thought that was her in the photo,” commented Ryan, “She used to be my babysitter. I always wondered whatever happened to her.”
“You’re not the only one,” sighed Alice not noticing her husband turning away.
Roy shook his head and closed his eyes. Alex had been around at the time of Rachel’s disappearance AND he had known the girl. Why hadn’t he said anything whenever the subject was brought up? And how well did he know her? Did he used to visit her? Is that how he knew about the hidden fourth floor? If so, why lie about it?
Now his mind turned back to the night he’d found Alex down by the bridge after he’d disappeared for an hour. ‘He’s the one who urged me to check my voicemail messages. Did he already know Wells was dead? The hospital was well within walking distance,’ he thought grimly.
This led to more troubling thoughts. Like the fact that Alex didn’t have an alibi for when the teenagers or Chase had been killed. Could it be possible? Had they been wrong about the Youngster all these years?
There was one way to find out. Without pausing he quietly headed back to his office and reached for the phone. It was time for another talk with the Youngster.
Alex was waiting for his lady love in the Ballroom. They had just been leaving the house to go practice when her cell phone rang. Checking the caller I. D., she saw it was the station and told him to go on, that had been fifteen minutes ago.
He had just finished walking through their new Tango routine when he sensed something was very wrong. A moment later, Ronnie walked in with a very troubled look on her face. Upon spotting him she snapped her fingers and pointed to a spot directly in front of her.
Instantly he obeyed.
“Why didn’t you tell me you knew Rachel?” she asked, without ceremony.
The question took him by surprise. “I didn’t know...”
“There’s a photo of you dancing with her down at the station that says otherwise Alex,” she snapped. “Now I’m begging you to tell me the truth.”
He looked her straight in the eye, “Darling, I’ve never met any girl called Rachel in my life.”
“You can tell it to Roy down at the station,” she said turning away.
“I’m telling the truth Luv,” he insisted, following her outside.
She paused but didn’t look back at him. “I want to believe you. But Alice identified you in the photo.”
“I’ve danced with a number of girls,” he pointed out, “And not all of them have told me their names.”
“True. But maybe you’ve been holding out on me again.”
He shook his head, “Not when it comes to Rachel, I would never…”
Whirling around she snapped, “But you already did! You went to the Graham Manor with Jack, remember?”
“Because I was afraid we might wind up finding her corpse,” he told her. “And after sixteen years she wouldn’t have been a pretty sight.” Then he added under his breath, “I’d know.”
“So you’ve seen dead bodies before, huh? You didn’t mention that either.”
He gave her a pained look, “It fell under the explanation of ‘It’s not fun being what I am sometimes’. If you want all the details I’ll tell you, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
For a moment neither of them spoke.
But he could sense a part of her wanted to smack him upside the head for that last crack. And he couldn’t blame her. He knew damn well that she’d seen plenty during her years on the force. And she’d been waiting a long time to learn what happened to Rachel. How could she not be on edge?
Finally she said, “Get in the car, I’ll drive.”
Silently, Alex obeyed. The closing of the car door sounded louder than usual and ominous. During the last few weeks, it had seemed like telling Veronica about his powers and sharing them with her had brought them closer.
But at the same time people he’d known and trusted, like Roy and his crew, were seemed to be eyeing him with distrust. If felt like a chasm had opened between him and his friends, and all he had with him on this side was Ronnie. Now it seemed like she had somehow wandered across the divide and joined the others. For the life of him, he didn’t know how to bridge the gap.
Roy was looking out the window of his office, when they came in.
“Am I being charged?” asked Alex bluntly.
“Are you guilty of something, son?” replied the older man, without looking.
“Only of being madly in love with your second in command,” his friend replied.
“In that case, you’re just here to help clear up a few things.” Peterson turned to his second-in-command, “Sergeant why don’t you hit the gym, I understand you’re between practice dummies.”
“How did…”
“Someone ordered a replacement, through Pam.”
Ronnie glared at her boyfriend who shrugged and said, “I didn’t know who else to ask about getting you a new one. Besides, she told me that police officers could get a discount if we placed the order through here. Come to think of it, is there a bigger discount if we place a bulk order?”
“SIT!” barked Veronica.
Both men obeyed instantly.
Then her boss frowned, “What have I told you about using that voice around me?”
She shrugged apologetically.
“Anyway,” Roy continued, “There’s something I want you to look at son.” Picking up the photo he handed it to his visitors saying, “That was from the Policeman’s Ball sixteen years ago, recognize anyone?”
Veronica leaned over her boyfriend’s shoulder and winced.
Roy felt sorry for her, but he was more interested in the Youngster’s reaction. So far he was just sitting there staring at the photo. The only movement he made was to raise one eyebrow quizzically.
“Well?” asked Veronica in a tight voice.
“She was a good dance partner,” Alex replied quietly. “I remember I wanted to ask her out, even though I knew she was older than me. But she never gave me her name. Plus she seemed distracted the whole time, like she was only there physically but her mind was somewhere else.”
“Did you ever see her again?” asked Veronica in a tight voice.
“Yes, I did,” Alex nodded solemnly, “Quite recently in fact. This is the girl I met on the bridge that night at the Open House. The one I gave my jacket to.”
Half an hour later Ronnie was sitting near the podium in the Squad Room, once more. She had left Alex in the canteen with Alice who was asking about the upcoming Policeman’s Ball.
‘He’d seen Rachel!’ The thought both excited and terrified her. Had it been Rachel or her ghost? Alex hadn’t been clear on this point, probably because of her boss being present. But she hadn’t had a chance to ask her lover for more details because Roy immediately ordered all available officers to report here.
It was just as well she hadn’t had a chance to ask Alex. Roy was still having a difficult time accepting the possibility of psychic phenomenon being a reality, and he wasn’t the only one. She could feel the eyes of her fellow officers staring at her. And every time she turned to look at them, their attention would be drawn to someplace else in the room. Quietly she sighed.
Roy entered the room and headed straight for the podium. “All right, I just got off the phone with the labs in New York. It seems they sent two people to the Graham place just hours ago to gather more samples from the stream. Now as you all know, we suspect that there’s something in that water…”
“Any idea what is, Chief?” interrupted one of the newest officers, a rookie from Lakeville.
Ronnie saw the look on her boss’ face and turned away, trying to stifle a smirk. Her old partner hated being interrupted and had a special way of dealing with people who did it to him.
The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) Page 24