by Anne Patrick
The images lost to her, she stepped from his arms and met his gaze. "Don't you get it, Austin, that's what he's counting on? That's why he takes their heads and trims their nails. He knows we won't be able to catch him. He's too smart, smarter than we are."
"Then we'll just get smarter because I won't let you do it, Jo. It's too dangerous."
"I know what I'm doing, Austin. Besides, I can't stop now."
"You're no longer having visions about the victims are you? The visions you're having now are of him, aren't they? They have been since that night in the forest. You lied to me."
She turned from his injured expression and started to walk off, but Austin was quicker.
He stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "Talk to me, Jo. I thought we were friends, that you trusted me?"
"We are friends, and I do trust you." She wrapped her hand around his. "There's only one other man that I trust as much as I trust you, and he's known me a lot longer."
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Then why didn't you level with me about the real reason you wanted to come here today?"
"Because I knew you wouldn't bring me if I did, and as hard as it is for you to understand, I needed to come here, Austin. I have to know everything I can about this guy if we've any hopes of stopping him."
"According to Agent Washington, the last time you used your gift to get at the killer, it almost cost you your life. Don't think for a minute that I'm going to stand by and let that happen here."
She smiled at his concern for her welfare, further confirmation that things between them were quickly heating up. "Well you don't have to worry any further. I've learned all I need to know. It's smooth sailing from here on out."
Refusing to turn loose her hand, he leveled his gaze on her. "I want you to promise me you'll do whatever you have to do to stop the visions. It's too dangerous."
"If it were only that easy," she said softly.
"There has to be something you can do."
"There is, we can catch him," she said with a nervous laugh.
"How can you make light of this, Jo?"
"Force of habit. Comes with being scared out of my mind," she admitted, and when he draped an arm across her shoulder she leaned into him. "I guess you know now I'm not as fearless as I pretend to be."
"I'm glad. It's not healthy on a guy's ego to have a woman around who fears nothing."
"Geez, you cook a guy breakfast and he automatically thinks you're head over heels for him."
He grinned. "Well if you expect me to keep it professional between us, I suggest you go back to wearing the signature FBI attire."
"What, you don't like my dress?" she asked, knowing he'd probably have a stroke if he knew his daughter had been the one to suggest the dress.
"That's the problem, I like it too much."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Austin drove back, which was fine with Jo, as it gave her a chance to sort through the mass of images and information she'd gathered from her experience. It had been difficult, and mentally taxing, but she'd managed to accomplish a lot today.
"Any plans for dinner tonight," Austin asked as they pulled into the city limits of Claremont. "Keeping it strictly professional of course," he'd managed to add before she could answer.
She met his smile. "I'm afraid I can't. It's time I get to work. To do what I came here for."
"Start on your profile, you mean?"
"I think I've gotten all I need to begin. So for next few days, you won't be seeing much, if any, of me. No one will."
"You're not leaving town, are you?"
"No, I'll still be staying at the motel. This is the part where I have to interpret all that we've learned, so it's imperative I'm not disturbed."
"Is this the part Agent Washington spoke about, the one that places you in so much danger?"
"No that's past. This is the part where I become very unpleasant to be around, and we're not far enough into our friendship for me to feel comfortable with you seeing that part of me."
"You mean you get worse?" he teased and she joined him in laughter.
*****
Austin pulled to a stop in front of Jo's motel room and she turned to him. "I want to apologize ahead of time for any phone calls you may receive from me at two or three o'clock in the morning. Sometimes I just need someone to talk to, to help keep me grounded."
"Think nothing of it. I'm used to being awakened in the middle of the night."
Jo climbed from the Jeep and was headed to her room when he called out to her. She walked back to the driver's side and met his worried expression. He reached up, brushing his hand across her cheek. "I'll be here, Jo, anytime, just call."
She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'll be fine." She watched as his Jeep disappeared from the parking lot, thankful that he'd been there for her today.
Jo changed into her sweats and went for a run, hoping to clear her head enough to get started. On the way back she made a stop at the grocery store, picking up a stash of junk food to last a few days along with some other accessories she might need. She knew she should probably get a good night's sleep before she started, but she was too primed to wait another day. Hopefully the rest she got while staying at Austin's would be sufficient, or at least enough to get her through the next forty-eight hours.
Back at the motel, she decided she'd better check her messages from home since it'd been two days since she'd thought of it. The first six were from friends, one of them extending an invitation to join her in the Poconos for the weekend, one of her favorite places to get lost in for a couple of days of needed rest. She thought she might take her up on it, figuring she may need it by the end of the week. Two messages were from Agent Washington, reminding her she needed to check in with him, which she didn't want to take the time to do right now. It was the last message on her machine that bothered her the most.
"Jo, it's Mom." Jo lowered herself to the edge of the bed. "I'm hoping you're checking in with your machine. I know you've been busy, but I'd really like to see you before you leave. It's been two years, sweetie; don't you think that's a bit ridiculous? I love you, Jo, and hope to see you soon. Please be careful."
She slowly hung up the phone as tears welled in her eyes. Her mother had taken the first step, now it was up to her. She had two choices, either she continued to let the guilt and resentment gnaw away at her, or, she would confront her mother once and for all.
'I can't deal with her right now.'
Jo took in a couple of short deep breaths and forced herself to focus on the present. After grabbing the grocery sack from the bed, she carried it to the table and removed the six-pack of spring water, along with the packaged sandwiches, and placed them in the small refrigerator, leaving the chips and candy bars in the sack.
She then retrieved her laptop from its black carrying case, waited for it to boot up, and pulled up the case notes. Next, came all the files Austin had given her and her notes. She placed them in front of her on the bed, along with the victim's photos and their files. Having stripped out of the sweatshirt, she sat in sweat pants and a sports bra, dreading the task ahead.
Her mind clear of all thoughts, she peered at the photos lined above the files of the victims. She read over each victimology, sorting through all the pieces gathered about the crimes, what she'd felt at the airport and the information from the files. Slowly, the profile of the killer began to take shape in her mind. A vivid picture of his personality started to surface.
Twelve hours into her journey, Jo forced herself to stop long enough for a shower. A decision she'd made to help ease the exhaustion, but one she regretted the moment she stepped in under the spray of water.
The moment the water pounded against Jo's skin, vivid images of being placed in a tub of water flashed through her mind. Goosebumps rose on her arms and legs and her heart rate began to quicken. She saw the silhouette of a man hovering over her, his long slim masculine fingers grasping her hand, then her fingers. Her breath was labored,
but she was fully conscious. Her limbs feeling almost numb as if she was paralyzed from the neck down.
Suddenly the fear transformed into eroticism, as the sensations changed from that of the victim to that of the killer, and Jo found herself looking upon the nude body of a woman in a large white bathtub, submerged in water up to her chin. Adrenaline rushed through his veins as he stared at the helpless woman, the woman's selfishness and arrogance no longer present. He'd been waiting months for this moment, the satisfaction far exceeding what he'd imagined.
He slipped on a pair of latex gloves then picked up a sponge and began to bath the woman's body. He glanced briefly into her eyes and sensed her fear. She knows she's going to die and there isn't anything she can do to prevent it. She is paralyzed, powerless to do anything but watch in horror as her body is being prepared. The excitement grew in him as he witnessed the woman's strength fade. She is no longer thinking of only herself, but those she is leaving behind. He wondered if the woman had known her fate, would she have changed the way she lived. Would her family have come first instead of her career? None of that matters now, it's too late.
Having stepped away from the body, he took the white cord from atop of the wooden workbench then paused, gazing down at the defenseless woman. Tears formed in the woman's eyes and her mouth was open, as if to scream; only no there was no sound. Leaning over the tub he placed the cord around the woman's neck and began to apply pressure. The woman's eyes widened and the veins of her neck began to bulge, pressing against the delicate white skin.
The veins in Jo's own hand began to swell, her knuckles turning white.
'This isn't happening, this isn't real.'
He stared into the woman's eyes; the terror he saw was exhilarating. The woman continued to struggle, but only in her mind. Like the others, she was strong and determined, but she was losing the battle. His eyes fixed on the woman's eyes; he gathered all his strength and pulled on both ends of the cord.
'This isn't really happening. You're going too far, come on back where it's safe.'
The woman's chest slowed its movement as her heart slowly began to give out.
'Come on, breathe. Open your eyes. This isn't you. This isn't real. The woman is already dead and you aren't the one who's killing her.'
The woman's eyes began to roll back in her head, the muscles of her jaw loosening. He could almost hear the woman's heart beat as it slowed and he felt a smile forming on his lips. It was ending too quickly, though; he needed it to last longer. He never wanted to lose that control; he needed it to survive.
A piercing pain shot through Jo's head and she jerked her eyes open. A steady spray of cold water filled her mouth and she began to gag. It was then that she realized she was lying on her back in the tub. Horror-stricken, she rose quickly to shut off the shower, but the same piercing pain that had brought her crashing back to reality, hit her again, prompting her to grasp the sides of her head. Simultaneously she raised her leg and kicked at the faucet with her foot. It took two tries, but she finally managed to turn off the water.
Exhausted, Jo lay there, staring at the rose-tiled ceiling, the pain in her head, subsiding. "I'm getting too old for this." Gathering what little strength she had left in her, she pulled herself to her feet. The room swayed and she reached out to grab the shower curtain, only it was no longer there. She barely grasped the towel rack in time, preventing herself from falling face forward out of the tub. The shower curtain lay on the bathroom floor, ripped loose from the plastic rings that once held it up.
Jo stepped from the tub and stared at herself in the mirror above the sink. For a brief instant, she didn't recognize the face staring back at her. A thin line of blood streamed down the corner of her eye from a half inch cut above her left eyebrow, the area around it already turning a light purple. She grabbed a white washcloth from the towel rack and turned on the faucet. Her hand shook as she dabbed the cut. A sharp sting made her wince. Leaning closer to the mirror she checked her pupils and found they were normal.
"No concussion, that's good." Jo looked around the bathroom at the mess she'd made. Not only had she torn the curtain down, but there was also water everywhere. "Good thing I don't prefer baths or I'd probably have drowned." With every available towel, she could find she wiped up the water then dumped the wet towels in the tub. "The maid's really going to love me when I'm done."
Jo sat on the edge of her bed and waited for her hands to stop shaking. Then picking up her laptop, while the memories were still fresh in her mind, she typed in a reenactment of the murder that'd just taken place, through both the mind of the victim, and the murderer.
An hour later, stunned and still anxious from the event, Jo stared at the telephone. She knew she couldn't go to sleep feeling this way; she was liable to have a nightmare and wake the entire population of the motel. She dug out the phone book and looked up Austin's home phone number then glanced at the neon light of her alarm clock. It was 4:30. He wasn't even up yet. But he'd said to call, that he was used to being awakened in the middle of the night. Without further hesitation, she picked up the phone and dialed his number.
"Jo?" he answered after only one ring.
"How'd you know it was me?"
"Wishful thinking."
Jo raked her hand back through her hair. It was so good to hear his comforting voice. "You weren't in bed?"
"No. I was watching an old movie on TV, and thinking about you, and what you're going through."
Now she felt guilty for calling and wished she'd never told him of the process she had to go through. "I'm okay, Austin." She tried to reassure him. "Just taking a break."
"Did you eat anything?"
She couldn't remember if she had or not. "Yeah, carry-out," she lied, not wanting to cause further worry in him.
"Are you making any progress?"
"Some." Jo thought of how she'd almost drowned herself in the shower only a short while ago.
"I wish there was something I could do to help you through this."
His offer tugged at her heartstrings. "You are helping. You've no idea how good it is to hear your voice."
Austin chuckled. "It's only been twelve hours."
But it seemed like weeks having just awakened from a journey like few she'd ever known. "So I miss you," she admitted much to her own surprise.
"So you are head over heels for me?"
"Does that frighten you?" she asked, praying at the same time that her honesty wasn't scaring him.
"No. Does it frighten you?"
"The only thing that frightens me is how natural it feels. For instance at the last site when you picked me up and hugged me, or last night when you were lying on the sofa and I was holding your hand."
"We keep this up and I'm going to have to drive over there."
"As inviting as that sounds, I think you'll agree, we need to keep whatever feelings we may have for one another at bay. At least for the time being."
"You're right. We need to stay focused."
Keep it strictly professional. It was the sensible thing to do.
But if it was so sensible why did she feel so bad. Why couldn't she get him out of her thoughts? Why did she think about him whenever he wasn't around?
"Just so you know, I haven't felt this way in a very long time."
Geez! He wasn't making it any easier. So, to prevent further temptation, Jo decided she better end the call. "I'm going to let you go so you can get some sleep."
"That's not likely to happen now."
She laughed. "Night, Austin."
"Goodnight, Jo."
*****
Thanks to Austin's calming voice, Jo was able to get in two and a half hours worth of sleep. It was just after seven when she dressed in her running clothes, tied on her Nike's and went for her run. Reversing the route she usually took, she ran through her old neighborhood first. As she neared the street where she grew up, she paused at the corner as she always did and glanced toward her mother's house. The two-story Victorian with a wr
aparound porch and elegantly carved slender railings and columns looked to have a fresh coat of blue paint, as did the white trim.
Glancing up at the second story corner windows, Jo recalled how she used to stare out in anticipation when waiting for a friend to show up to rescue her from her dungeon. She could almost visualize herself running from those windows, out of her room, and riding the railing of the staircase to the bottom, and be out the door before they pulled up to the curb. It was a miracle she hadn't broken her neck on one of those daring escapes.
The front door opened and a small woman with gray hair stepped out onto the porch. A black shoulder bag was draped over her shoulder and she carried a newspaper in one hand, and a mug of what Jo knew was coffee in the other. A smile formed on her lips as the woman glanced at her wristwatch. ‘You're running late, Mom, better hurry.' Jo contemplated running on over and saying ‘hi', but knowing she had another day or two of work waiting for her back in her motel room, she didn't. Jo quickly ducked behind some bushes as the dark blue Saturn drove past.
It wasn't just work that kept Jo from talking to her mom. She was scared. Afraid her mother wouldn't understand the real reason Jo skipped out on her father's funeral.
Shaking the disturbing thought from her mind, she took off in the direction of the town's square, her pace quickening, the adrenaline wiping out the anxiety at seeing her mother after two years of being shut out of her life.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Austin sat at his desk and stared at the phone just as he had been doing off and on all morning. It'd been two days since he'd talked to Jo and he was going nuts. Twice since Wednesday, he'd driven by her motel, tempted to knock on her door. He'd even thought of taking up running after he'd caught a glimpse of her this morning as she sprinted across the courthouse lawn. Doubting he could keep up with her, though, he decided his bi-weekly visits to the local gym, were exercise enough for him.