Hide'n_Go_Seek

by Mayer, Dale

  "Maybe her phone isn't on. Or her battery could be dead. Not everyone remembers to keep phones charged. Hell, she might not want to talk to you or me, for that matter."

  Stan stomped his feet on the outside mat and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm worried, Kali."

  "I was worried last night," she muttered. "Grant's here. Come in and we can ask him what he knows."

  "Oh good. I hoped it was his car." Stan bolted for the kitchen. Kali followed at a slower pace. The late afternoon heat had dissipated with the early evening bringing a chill as the sun started to descend behind the hills. Kali detoured to her bedroom and snagged a sweater. Pulling it over her head, she walked into the kitchen.

  In the middle of the kitchen, Stan stood wringing his hands, his gaze switching between Kali and Grant. "Grant, I can't get rid of the feeling that, this time something bad has happened."

  "I hate to play the devil's advocate here; however, we also need to consider other possibilities." Kali interjected.

  Both men turned to face her.

  Kali threw up her hands. "Sorry, I'm worried, too. I also remember searching in a mad panic for her last night, only to find she'd made a trip to the hospital."

  "Would she get a nosebleed two nights in a row?" Stan pulled his cell phone out, checking for a message. He put it away again. "Surely, she'd check her messages."

  Kali eyed Stan. Flushed and on the point of weeping, his frail build appeared even more fragile. Kali glanced over at Grant. "Have you heard anything?"

  Grant sighed. "No, nothing. Stan, we're looking for her. There's nothing you can do but wait. We'll let you know as soon as we find her."

  "Thank you." Stan's face crumpled, fatigue morphed into despondent acceptance. "I'm too old for this shit. I'm heading home. Call me if you find out anything. I won't rest until I know Julie's safe. First Brad, now Julie." Shaking his head, Stan walked out, his steps slow and shuffling. Poor Stan. His world was crumbling.

  Her shoulders slumped. She knew how he felt. She walked over to Grant. Shiloh passed her, heading to a patch of sunlight on the deck. "Now that he's gone, did the team have anything new to add about Julie? And thanks for coming alone."

  "No. They don't know anything yet. And you're welcome. I considered bringing Thomas along as he's fairly open, but decided I'd hold off a little longer, for your sake." He watched her, his eyes level, his voice steady. "Why so tense about Stan?"

  "I didn't want you to mention my sketches to him." Kali brushed past him as she led the way to the deck. "Stan is a staunch Catholic. I don't think he'd see them as a gift from God."

  The sketchbook lay closed on the table where she'd left it.

  Grant followed. As she reached for her sketchbook, he reached for the page with the instructions. His gaze locked onto the name and phone number on the bottom. "Stefan was here?"

  She paused. "Yes. And what a weird visit that was."

  "You're lucky to have seen him at all. The man's a hermit." He hesitated. As if the question was dragged from him, he asked, "What did you think of him?"

  Kali studied his face, sensing but not understanding the uncertainty or maybe insecurity that colored his energy. "I think he knows his stuff. He arrived out of the blue. He said he 'heard' me call. I'd planning on phoning him when the door bell rang and there he was."

  "He's very powerful."

  "And gorgeous." She shook her head. "He should be a cover model."

  "I believe he's been asked. He's a very private person. You should feel honored."

  That made her pause. She thought about Stefan's visit and the sense of urgency for her to practice his instructions. "He could have called me. Or waited until I phoned him. He didn't. He came here to talk to me. To assess me, maybe?" She looked up at Grant. "It was a good - really weird - visit."

  Grant's face turned grim. He didn't offer any comment on Stefan's behavior. "He obviously helped you, since you called and told me you'd drawn a new picture?"

  "Right." Opening the sketchbook in her hands to the proper page, Kali studied her sketch. Next she flipped to the first picture she'd drawn. The one they'd followed to find David. Grant's curious gaze followed her every movement.

  "I believe this first picture depicts Julie and that it's precognitive in nature. So it's foretelling the future."

  Grant stepped closer and studied the picture with her. Kali flipped to the new one. "In this one, I think the event has passed and the victim is dead."

  "Julie?" His voice was so neutral, she wanted to kick him. She wasn't sure what she'd expected. The drawing screamed at her. From his reaction, he could have been looking at a sunset scene.

  "No, I don't think so." Neither the lines of the face nor the body, didn't fit.

  "Why do you think this victim is dead?"

  Again, the neutral tone. Did nothing get to him? Or had he so much experience with psychics drawing weirdo victim pictures that nothing fazed him?

  "The blackness, the absence of light - of hope." Kali flipped to the first picture. "Here, for all the horribleness of this one, there exists a lightness or sense of life." As she flipped to the latest picture, she said "On this one, it's dead, buried, empty, the picture...lifeless. The woman depicted is dead." She took a deep breath, "I think it represents the other victim. The one we missed."

  He raised his gaze to lock onto hers for a long moment. Had she said neutral? There was nothing neutral in his eyes. Determination, hope and fear burned deep in those gray eyes. She realized he was scared she was right, yet hoping that she was onto something. She wanted to hug him, tell him that everything would be fine. Odd. They both knew it would never be okay for the missing victim.

  His eyebrows came together at a fierce angle. "Why wouldn't you have done a precognitive of this woman instead of seeing the event afterwards?"

  She laid the sketchbook on the table. "I thought about that. I think it's because I was in Sacramento or sleeping off the exhaustion from that trip at the time."

  He considered her point. "No sketchbook, time or energy."

  "More than the lack of time and energy, my focus was on helping those people right in front of me. I might have picked up on this victim if it hadn't been for that disaster but..."

  Grant reached for the book, flipped between the two pictures. Finally, he said. "I can see what you're saying based on the pictures."

  "Obviously, it's all interpretation - guesswork, if you will."

  "So yesterday was all about locating Julie, but instead, we found a different victim. And today is about finding the 'missed' victim who may or may not be Julie."

  Kali blinked several times, processing his statement. "Sounds bizarre when you put it that way." Studying the new picture, she added, "The problem here is nothing speaks to me. I have no idea where she's buried."

  Reaching for the sketchbook, she returned to the old Julie picture. "I really thought we'd find Julie last night."

  "At least we found David. Could the second picture represent David?"

  Kali studied the sketch, shaking her head slowly. She dropped the book on the table. "No. This person is smaller yet again, slightly built. Female." Hands on hips, she turned to face him, her head tilted to one side. "I'm beyond confused. Why so many victims in such a short time span? Has a timeline been developed?"

  "We're listing the Sacramento victim as the beginning of the timeline. Unless you can offer a different one." He studied her. "With all the deaths you've seen, have any others been similar, connected even in the smallest way? Other murdered victims that have been buried?"

  Bralorne. Kali stared at him in shock. How had she missed it? She blinked, sinking into her chair as she thought it over. Speaking slowly, trying to focus her thoughts, she said, "I don't know. Maybe. I hadn't considered it before. Everything surrounding the other victim was different. I didn't connect the dots."

  Grant crouched in front of her. "What victim? Tell me."

  Kali filled him in on the murder victim she'd discovered in Bralorne. "The man had b
een buried. There didn't appear to be any attempt to keep him alive. No oxygen tank." She swallowed hard, trying to remember details. Guilt plagued her. Why hadn't she made the connection? "This guy had survived the disaster with only a broken arm and bruises. He'd been one of the lucky ones."

  "That connects." At her nod, he continued, "A very distinctive MO, making him potentially our first victim. Possibly the one that set this killer on his path. That's huge. Each victim gives us information, knowledge about the killer. We need to run the suspects. See who was at Bralorne and in Sacramento." He withdrew a notepad from the back pocket of his pants and jotted notes. "What else can you tell me about the event?"

  Kali's cell phone rang. Shiloh whined. She got up and walked over to Kali, butting up against her leg. Kali frowned at her reaction, dropping one hand on the dog's head. Picking up the phone, she checked the number. Not recognizing it, she showed the number to Grant. He wrote it down.

  "Go ahead and answer it."

  She put the phone close to both their heads. "Hello."

  The same damn laughter.

  "Still trying to figure it out, huh?" His voice had the same tinny sound as before. "You're not making this much of a challenge are you?"

  "Why the poor trucker? What did he do to you?" she said, her voice tight and controlled.

  "David? Oh, David never did anything to me, except live. No, David was supposed to die years ago during the San Francisco quake."

  "Wait, you mean you killed David because he had the gall to survive?"

  Laughter floated through the line. God, she hated that sound. She held the phone a little away from her head so Grant could hear.

  "An interesting way to put it. God called him home, David refused to answer. It's my job to make these people show up for their appointment, even if they're a little late."

  "And Julie? What could she have done to you?"

  A heavy silence took over the space between them. An ugly silence.

  Tight anger threaded his voice. "That's good. That's very good. Julie's a survivor. I'm sure she'll survive for a while."

  The killer laughed again, a more normal laugh than earlier. If anything, it terrified her more. Then he hung up.

  Kali very slowly, very carefully closed her cell phone. Taking a deep breath, she said, "All our fears, our worries were correct. The asshole has Julie."

  Grant, already dialing on his cell phone, disappeared inside.

  Kali dropped her head to her arms. Everything hurt, her head ached, her heart wept, her soul cried for this to stop. God, she was so tired. Her adrenalin and excitement long used up. Her eyes drifted closed. A minute or two of respite, that's all she needed. Just until Grant finished making the necessary calls.

  And she fell asleep.

  ***

  Julie opened her eyes, blinding pain stabbing the back of her eyeballs. A moan escaped, the sound barely audible. She shifted her head, confused. Scared, she tried to move, only couldn't. Where was she? What had happened? Darkness surrounded her. Blinking rapidly, she struggled to clear the black spots before her.

  She couldn't see anything.

  Her eyes drooped, her head sagging to one side. She tried to swallow. Sandpaper scraped the delicate tissues of her throat in a futile search for saliva. Cloth filled her mouth. Panicking, she struggled to push the material out of her mouth with her tongue. Managing to get it out far enough to breathe easier, she got her first swallow. Several attempts later, her throat eased. A shudder of relief worked up her spine and she sagged in place. Carpet scratched her cheeks. Where the hell was she? What the hell had happened?

  Weird shapes formed in the darkness.

  Squinting, she tried to focus. Nothing changed. Shifting her position, she gasped. Her shoulders hurt, her back ached. Her hands constrained. Every movement brought her up against a wall.

  A wall?

  No. She blinked as reality seeped in. Consciously, she moved experimentally.

  She'd been tied up.

  As that understanding filtered in, the odd look of the area surrounding her made sense. She was in a small enclosed space of some sort. Kali had been right. Someone had been after her. She'd been kidnapped.

  She screamed.

  ***

  Hidden in his bower deep on the neighbor's property, Texan adjusted the binoculars so he could see the drama playing out in Kali's house. He could hardly contain his glee.

  Plans, plans, and more plans. He'd jumped into this scenario a bit recklessly and a little quicker than normal. Now adjustments had to be made. Anticipation rippled through him.

  The phone calls, well, he really enjoyed them. Except this last one. The smile dropped from his face.

  They knew about Julie. How?

  Even though he knew about Kali's black magic, it had been a stunning blow to hear Kali mention Julie's name. Still, knowing wouldn't help her find Julie. Not this time. He'd stashed her for the night and would move her tomorrow.

  He couldn't contain the ripple of excitement. Finally, Kali had gotten in the game.

  She probably thought she was safe, her evil strong enough to go against anything. So naive. A contented sigh washed over him. Evil aligned with evil, but good always won out. It had just taken him a while to understand his true mission and how SAR rescues were negatively impacting the Lord's wishes. And Kali was the queen of the infidels. She had to be stopped. First, though, she had to learn the error of her ways. He owed her that. They'd been friends once. She'd be given a chance to turn the devil aside...to fess up to her black magic before he returned her to her Maker.

  Slipping from the bower, he wandered to the edge of the woods and a favorite tree stump. The leaves crackled dry and crisp under his feet. The summer heat had baked the earth. Surprising for this time of year. The undergrowth usually kept the ground moist, if not actually damp.

  Tilting his head back, he beamed a smile into the night, his eyes closed, almost in benediction. His soul walked lighter these days. He was grateful.

  He hoped Kali slept well tonight.

  She'd need it for the challenges that lay ahead.

  She had to prove herself worthy of salvation.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Kali snapped her head up. What the hell? Dusk had started to settle, giving the sky an odd half light. She searched her surroundings, groggy and disoriented. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she frowned. Surely, she'd only closed her eyes a second ago.

  "Hi. Feel better?"

  Grant's face came into focus. "Hey." She cleared her throat and tried again. "How long did I sleep?"

  "Ten to fifteen minutes."

  Her mind struggled to put the foggy pieces of reality back together. She massaged her stiff neck. "Julie?"

  "No news yet. We're waiting for a profile that should be coming out of our office anytime. We tracked the phone number to a disposable cell phone."

  He dropped a piece of paper on the table in front of her.

  Kali yawned, her brain fuzzy. "What's this?"

  "The short list of names."

  Her brain clicked on, now wide awake. "Of potential suspects?"

  She picked the sheet up and peered closer. And blinked. The first name listed caught in her throat before shocked surprise took over. "Brad? Are you serious?"

  "Not really but we have to consider it. He was at the site where the first victim was found."

  "So were many other people. He's gone missing, remember?" she snapped, outraged that her best friend could have been considered.

  "Kali, this isn't about personal feelings, it's about who had motive and opportunity. Please. Take a look at the names and cross off the ones you don't feel could have done it - just give me a reason." He held out a pencil.

  She glared at him, snatched the pencil from his hand and with a thick bold stroke knocked Brad's name off the list. "If you put him on this list, you might as well add him to the list of potential victims."

  Silence. "I did."

  She winced and turned her attention to the other
eleven names. She knew four from the center. Francoise, a Frenchman, was a good man and a close friend of Brad's. Briefly, she wondered if anyone had told him about Brad's disappearance before remembering, no one was to know yet. "Francoise works with several centers, so I'm not sure where he is right now. You'll have to check on that. I haven't seen him in years."

  She crossed the third name off the list. "Sam had a back injury two years ago on a site. He can't do any heavy lifting."

  Grant raised an eyebrow and noted the reason in on his notebook. He'd probably double check everything she said. Then again, he had to, didn't he?