by D C Young
“He’s not coming home tonight, remember, mom?” she laughed.
I had totally spaced out the fact that Anthony was away at a week-long scouting retreat. I chastised myself aloud for being such a mental case. “Geez, Sam!”
“Go ahead and call Allison, I’ll just grab a frozen pizza for supper,” Tammy laughed. “We certainly don’t want to disorient you by adding the distraction of making supper.”
“Yeah, well…” I let the retort die out when I couldn’t think of a catchy comeback. I sighed, shook my head and then looked for the phone. It took several minutes of looking under things in several different rooms, but I finally found it and punched in Allison’s speed dial number.
“Hey Sam,” Allison responded. “What a surprise!”
“I thought you were psychic,” I laughed. “You should have known I was about to call.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Sam,” she laughed.
It was an old joke that never got old; for me, anyway.
“Hey, I want to run a name by you,” I started in, ready for whatever juicy story connected Allison to Sledge.
“Alright, run it by me.”
I suddenly realized that the only name I had in my mind for Sledge was Sledge. I hesitated a moment as I tried to remember if he’d given me another name or not. It took a minute, but the name finally popped into my head. “What do you know about Josh Slader?”
There was a long pause as Allison ran the name through her mind. “You mean Sledge? How do you know Sledge?”
“I was about to ask you that same question. He showed up and asked me to help him with a BACA case… well, not really a BACA case, somebody has gone missing…” I stopped myself. My purpose was to find out what Allison knew about Sledge not to give her a rundown of our case. “Anyway… Tammy picked up a psychic connection between you and Sledge.”
“Tammy is really coming along with that. I’m so proud of her. How did she handle it this time?”
“She was actually pretty casual. It probably had to do with the fact that she had the vision while riding behind Sledge on the back of his Harley. I think the latter was more overwhelming than the former.”
“That is good to hear. She’ll become more and more comfortable with her gift as it develops.”
“So, about Sledge?” I prompted.
“You’re sort of connected to him without realizing it.”
“Did you refer him to me?” I asked. Allison might have been the friend of the friend Sledge had referred to.
“No. You’re connected to him through that little girl you rescued up near Stockton.”
“Analisa?” The child’s face and name had popped into my mind instantly. It was no accident. I’d been wishing to know what had become of her since I turned her over to Allison. How she connected to Sledge didn’t register at first, but then Tammy’s vision came to mind. “She and Sledge…”
“Sledge has been helping out at the center for a long time, but he completely flipped head over heels for Analisa the second he saw her. It seems to be mutual. I promised to start the paperwork process so that he can adopt her.”
“Can a single guy do that?”
“It’s not easy, but it can be done, because of what Sledge does, it makes it more possible.” Allison laughed. “Besides, who is going to say no to Sledge?”
I had no response. I had gotten used to strange things happening in my investigations. There was always a little surprise twist, but that wasn’t exactly the twist I had been expecting.
“So, how are you connected to him?” she asked after a long pause.
I gave her a quick rundown of how Sledge had met and what had taken place. When I finished, Allison immediately had a suggestion.
“Why don’t the two of you start your investigation with Analisa?”
“I’m not following you. What would Analisa have to do with this?”
“Tammy made the connection for a reason, love,” Allison laughed. “You might as well follow up on it. How about we get together at Gold Coast Children’s Home tomorrow afternoon?”
“Sure, why not?” We had nothing else to go with and maybe Allison was right about Tammy’s connection having a purpose behind it.
Chapter Six
I have to say that every preconceived notion that I had about Sledge disappeared in an instant when I saw the mountain-sized biker with tiny little Analisa. Though I thought it impossible, there wasn’t a trace of the ruggedness, nor the deep growl in the big man’s voice when they came together in the play room at Golden Coast Children’s Home. In an instant, I saw that tiny little girl wrap that massive man around her little finger.
“I could never have imagined…” I breathed.
“When love hits, it conquers the world, Sam,” Allison responded.
We watched the two of them play for a little while and it was sweet as well as entertaining. I could have sat and watched them all day, but we needed to figure things out. “How do we want to do this?
“Probably just go straight into it,” Allison suggested. “She’s a lot more perceptive than you think.”
“But how, she’s just a child?”
“A child with some extraordinary powers. I’ve interviewed her a few times. You’ll be surprised.”
“Does Sledge know about her gift?”
“I think he’s suspicious, but he’s downplayed it and allowed her to just be a kid.”
“That’s really what she needs,” I replied. I didn’t like removing her from the ranch and from Juanita Esperanza, who in spite of her many evils, did love and care for the child. Okay, right up until she abandoned her in an attempt to escape. She had escaped, but fate had caught up with her fast car on a sharp turn. “What has she told you already?”
“I’ve never really asked her much about her past,” Allison replied. “I’ve mostly just assessed her gift whenever I’ve had time alone with her.”
“I’m still not sure how this connects to the kidnapping ten years ago,” I said.
“Trust your daughter’s gift,” Allison responded and stepped forward. “Analisa? Do you remember Sam?”
“Sure. She’s the vampire lady that brought me here, but she’s a good vampire and not a bad one.”
Sledge narrowed his eyes and looked at me. He didn’t need to voice the question.
“It’s a game we played… when I brought her in from the ranch… well… it’s a long story.” I really didn’t want to go into too much detail, so I turned and smiled at Analisa. “Did you miss me?”
“A little bit, but Mister Sledge comes to visit me a lot and so does Miss Allison. Miss Juanita, my tia, she never comes to visit any more because she died. They told me they would take me back to my mommy and daddy, but I told them I didn’t want to go because they were mean to me. Besides, I don’t think they were really my mommy and daddy.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked, I reached out and took hold of her small hand.
Analisa shrugged. “I just feel it and sometimes another mommy comes to see me. She sings to me. I can see her, but nobody else can see her. I never see my daddy, but maybe someday Mister Sledge will be my daddy.”
“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Sledge asked. He was clearly uncomfortable about what we were doing.
I was about to respond when I noticed that Analisa closed her eyes, squeezed my hand more tightly for a few moments and then looked up at me. “Tammy told you to come talk to me, didn’t she?”
I had no ready response. I hadn’t expected that. I looked toward Allison.
Allison nodded.
“Yes.”
“She’s just like me. She sees things other people can’t see.”
Sledge stared at me. He was completely lost in what was going on. He started to say something, but Allison touched his arm and shook her head slowly.
“That’s right.”
“I don’t know where the girl is. I never saw her, but I think Mister Oscar knows.”
“Mister Oscar?” I a
sked.
“He’s the one who brought me to my tia, but I don’t think she was really my tia. She was nice to me, not mean like the people they said were my mommy and daddy. When I was with tia we sang songs a lot and rode horses, but Mister Oscar didn’t go with us and he didn’t sing either.”
I remembered the trance which Analisa’s song had caused. It was how Juanita Esperanza had nearly gotten away with swiping an entire herd of cattle from her neighbors. As I was sorting through the old case, it came to me who Mister Oscar was. Oscar Valencia was an accomplice in Juanita’s scheme, but had stayed just beyond the reach of prosecution.
“Mister Oscar brought you to your tia?” I asked.
“Yes and I think he knows about my real mommy too.”
I started to ask another question, but stopped. We had a lead that led to someone else who had been involved in at least one kidnapping. Was it connected? There was really only one way to figure that out and Analisa wasn’t going to have any more answers.
“Tammy said you would be helpful and you were.”
“I hope you find that girl.”
“Me too, sweetheart. We’re going to go, but we’ll come back to see you soon.”
I gave Analisa a hug, watched as she hugged Allison and then the two of us backed away to allow her and Sledge to say their good bye. They had a precious little ritual that they went through and we didn’t want to interrupt them.
When Sledge finally joined us, he was quiet, but I could tell that something was brewing underneath. It wasn’t until we got outside that he spoke.
“You two want to do some explaining to me?” he growled. “I saw and heard an awful lot of stuff in there that I don’t understand.”
Allison went straight to answering his questions. “I thought you had already seen it in Analisa, but I’ll go ahead and tell you. It’s something you need to know and get used to. She has paranormal gifts. At minimum, she’s psychic. Sam’s daughter, Tammy has a similar gift and made the connection when she rode on the bike with you. I also have paranormal gifts.”
Sledge listened without comment, nodded a couple of times and then looked at me. “And you?”
“I’m a vampire.”
Chapter Seven
Sledge surprised me. I had expected him to freak out, tell us we were full of crap and walk away. I hadn’t seen it coming when he suggested that the three of us and Taz make a visit to Oscar Valencia. Allison declined, so that left me alone with Sledge and probably on the back of his Harley. I doubted he would want to ride in my minivan, even if he would fit. I wasn’t comfortable about that idea and started to suggest an alternative plan, but Sledge stopped me.
“We’ll just bring Caroline along then,” Sledge grinned. “So, where is this Oscar Valencia?”
“Nevada,” I responded as I crawled onto the back of his bike.
“Good. I’ve needed to open this baby up since I gave her that tune up.”
Sledge took me home and dropped me off at the curb in front of the house.
“I’ll be back at daybreak,” he called out as he gave the bike a little throttle and pulled away.
With Tammy staying with a friend over the weekend and Anthony on his scouting trip, I had the house to myself. That gave me plenty of alone time to flip back and forth between whether I wanted to ride on the back of a Harley all the way to a remote part of Nevada on the California border with a man I barely knew or come up with a sensible, alternative plan. Before the sun came up the following morning, I was dressed in what I thought was cool, biker garb and waiting at the curb.
The sun wasn’t much over the horizon when the rumble of two Harleys awakened my suburban neighborhood and pulled up to the curb in front of my house.
“What will the neighbors think?” I muttered, and then smiled because I knew that they’d already seen plenty of strange stuff going on at my place and probably had some rather astonishing stories to tell about me.
“Hey,” Sledge nodded as he pulled up and shut off his bike.
“Mornin’,” I replied.
“Mornin’, Sam,” Caroline called out, crawling off of the back of her husband’s bike and coming toward her with her hand extended. “I had an extra pair of chaps that might fit you. I outgrew them after Jackson was born. You know how that works, huh?”
Actually, I didn’t, I’d managed to keep myself pretty fit after my children were born and had even trimmed up nicely once I’d become a vampire. A vampire’s metabolism sort of balanced out and the undead tended to remain pretty well toned. I accepted the leather leggings with a simple response, “Thanks.”
The slim, protective leather chaps finished out my look nicely. I’d absconded with Tammy’s leather, moto jacket, put on a pair of black boots, jeans and a bandana, but with the leggings, I truly was a biker chick. If Tammy could see me now.
It was an exhausting day. The miles flew by and we eventually pulled up in front of the seedy drive up motel and restaurant just across the border in a town, with little more than a flashing light, the hotel and restaurant and a couple of convenience stores. The trip had been thrilling, but I was ready to stop vibrating and give my butt a rest.
“Beautiful ride, huh?” Caroline chirped as we stretched our legs and tried to get feeling back into our butts.
“It was, but, wow…” I grimaced as I tried to work out the kinks I’d accumulated from head to toe.
“What do you think?” Sledge asked as he and Taz joined us a few minutes later. “We grab a bite to eat and then head on south to talk to this Oscar dude?”
“Actually,” I responded. “If it’s okay with you guys, I think we ought to call it a day and just stay here. Besides, it might get dark while we’re trying to find the place and I’d rather surprise Oscar in the morning instead of at night if you don’t mind.”
Dark wasn’t any problem for me, but it was the excuse I was going to use. What I really wanted was a break from sitting on the back of the bike and a chance to do a little scouting around before we wandered into Oscar Valencia’s place unannounced.
Sledge shrugged. “You’re the boss. We’ll get checked in and then go get something to eat.”
We’d gone through the check in process and Caroline and Taz had disappeared into their room for a moment. I was about to enter my room when Sledge stopped me.
“I thought vampires could see just fine in the dark,” he said in a low growl.
“Yeah, but we don’t know what we’re walking into and I might need you three to be able to see.”
Sledge nodded. “Okay. So, you gonna join us for dinner? You don’t eat regular food, I guess.”
“Actually, I do… but that’s a really long story. I’m going to go scout out where we’re going and what we can expect.”
“Alone?”
“You don’t really know much about vampires, do you?” I grinned as I pushed the motel room door open and stepped inside. For an instant, I considered the fact that Sledge was going to have to make excuses for my absence in the restaurant and for the rest of the evening. I probably should have given him something to work with, but he was a big boy, literally, he ought to be able to cover for me.
I pushed the thought aside and prepared to go on my scouting trip. I shed the chaps and jacket, and then went to check the window in the bathroom. It wasn’t a large one and it didn’t open very wide, but I didn’t need it to open very wide. Letting out a sigh, I closed my eyes, climbed up onto the toilet to reach the window, squeezed through it and came out on the back side of the seedy motel.
I climbed up a service ladder to the roof and gave myself the half hour it would take for it to get dark. As soon as I felt it was safe, I went to the edge of the building and jumped. As I took flight, I envisioned my flying form, felt the change take place and felt my speed pick up. I turned toward the south, the direction of Oscar Valencia’s farm and hurried my pace. Although I would have I preferred to see the layout of the place with a little bit of light still on it, the darkness would be fine, at least
for me. His place appeared a lot sooner than I thought and I was well under the cover of darkness when I arrived. I made several lazy circles around the place and got an overall view before I moved in and perched in the top of a big tree. From that position, I listened and watched as I made plans for what I would do once darkness fell.
Chapter Eight
“Are you feeling better this morning?” Caroline asked as we gathered out in front of our rooms to mount up for the ride south.
“Yeah. How is that bug you picked up?” Sledge asked in his deep baritone. I thought I detected a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.
So it was a stomach bug that had kept me from dinner, breakfast and who knows what other events while I was scouting out Oscar’s place.
“I saved you some crackers and Caroline put some tea in her thermos if you need it,” Taz announced.
“You just say the word, Honey,” Caroline smiled with that pained look people get on their face when they’re trying to be kind to a sick person.
“You let me know if you need to pull over,” Sledge growled.
“Thank you. All of you, but I’m feeling better this morning. I made some tea in my room and had a granola bar.”
“Well then, let’s get this show on the road,” Sledge ordered. We took our respective seats; the bikes rumbled to life and then let out their deep-throated roar as they pulled out of the motel parking lot and onto the highway headed south.
“Just tap me where you want to turn,” Sledge called over his shoulder before giving the throttle a boost that drowned out all sound.
I had followed the roads the evening before and knew the route we needed to take. Five miles south of what served as a town was a dirt lane that jutted off to the right. When we came near to it, I reached up and tapped Sledge on the right shoulder. We took the turn and started up the lane at a much slower pace than we’d taken on the highway. The pace got even slower as the road became worse and was little more than two parallel cow trails.
