by C. M. Sutter
“Not at all,” Jack said. “Thankfully, we’re in a killing slump in Washburn County right now. Do you want to set something up?”
“Would noon tomorrow work for you guys?”
“Sure thing. We’ll expect Jesse then.” Jack said goodbye and placed the handset back on the base. He closed Mary’s file, minimized the screen, then checked the time. It was nearing lunch. He looked out over the bull pen through the wall of glass. The detectives sat at their desks and worked diligently on closing old cases. He couldn’t ask for a better team. Jack pushed back his chair and walked to the door, then cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.
“Let’s go, people.” Jack cupped his hand to his ear. “I hear the vending machines calling your names.”
Amber laughed and tipped her head toward Kate. “Clearly he’s caught something and isn’t in his right mind. Since when has Jack ever encouraged us to go have lunch unless we had a crazy case and had forgotten to eat for a full day.”
“Yeah, what’s up, Boss?”
Jack pointed at Kate. “Glad you asked. We have a few things to discuss over our turkey clubs.”
Chapter 3
“But why does the Chicago Homicide Division want to talk to me?” Kate chomped on her chips as she waited for his response.
Jack scratched the stubble on his cheek before answering. “I believe you piqued Jesse’s curiosity when you told him you had psychic abilities. You even offered to tell him about them someday.”
“True, but someday has come a lot sooner than I’d expected. He’s a detective in the homicide division of the Chicago Police Department. Don’t they solve hundreds of cases every year?”
“Of course they do, but they’re stumped on this one. The Chicago FBI is working hand in hand with the homicide division, and nobody has gotten anywhere.”
“So I’m their last resort?”
“No, Kate, it isn’t like that. There have been many cases over the years where reputable psychic detectives are called in to assist. You know that firsthand.”
“I do, but that was before I graduated from the police academy and got hired as a real deputy with a badge. Back then, I was just a consultant who pitched in when my help was requested.”
“And it is again. But helping the CPD solve this case is entirely up to you. Nobody is twisting your arm. Anyway, according to Sergeant Lutz, Jesse is coming here tomorrow to talk to you about your previous cases and the help you’ve given them in the past.” Jack peeled the cellophane away from the plastic tray his sandwich was sealed in. He placed his turkey club on an open napkin and shook out his bag of corn chips next to it. He watched Kate’s face as he sipped his soda.
“You don’t care if I work with the Chicago PD for who knows how long?”
Jack grinned. “Are you afraid to go, Detective Pierce, or are you just worried that we’ll forget about you?”
“Both, damn it.”
“You do have a week of personal time off, and I’m not about to give anybody else your job. Think about it, but there’s another issue I want to run past all of you.”
“We’re listening,” Amber said. “I hope it has something to do with a pay raise.”
Jack winked at her. “I have been working on the budget, but that isn’t what I was going to say.” He looked at each person at the table. “Mary has expressed an interest in being promoted to full-time detective instead of just helping out when needed. I want your opinions on that.”
Kate wrung her hands. “See, I knew you wanted to get rid of me.”
Jack laughed openly. “That’s the furthest thing from the truth, and actually, if Mary was promoted to detective, she’d either be working with Horbeck and Jamison full-time, or if there was a need, she’d join you guys permanently on the day shift. Right now, I just want your feedback on whether you think she’s ready to be promoted. She has all the necessary schooling and has been on the force longer than either of you.” Jack tipped his head at Kate and Amber.
“I’m on board,” Billings said. “Mary is a great gal and a top-notch deputy.”
“Same here,” Clayton said. “It’s quiet at night until a case pops up, then Horbeck and Jamison are swamped with work, but then we are too. I’m good with whatever you decide.”
Jack turned to Amber. “You haven’t said anything yet.”
“That’s because Kate and I normally partner up. She also lives in the same house as me so I’m not sure what to say.”
Kate snapped her head toward Amber. “So you’re assuming he’s replacing me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Okay, you two.” Jack raised his brow at Kate. “If you decide to give Chicago PD a hand, I’ll let Mary take your place for a week to see how she does. After that, I’ll have her fill in where she’s needed most if she really wants to go forward with becoming a detective. I don’t see a reason not to promote her. Jesse is coming here at noon tomorrow, so you can spend your lunch with him in the conference room and talk privately. Like I said, Kate, you’d be doing a good service and helping out a city that has the country’s highest number of murders annually. They need all the help they can get, but it’s your call.”
“Nothing like guilting me into saying yes. I’ll think about it tonight.”
Chapter 4
That night, Jade caught Amber’s attention then tipped her head toward Kate. Amber rolled her eyes. Dinner was over, and the women sat in the living room, watching TV. Kate studied her cuticles as Spaz lay curled up on her lap.
“What’s up, Kate? Why are you so quiet?” Jade asked.
“I’m being replaced, that’s what’s up.”
Amber laughed. “You are not. Why would helping out the Chicago Police Department be so terrifying to you?”
Kate sneered. “Maybe if you were in my shoes, you’d feel the same way. Jack is trying to persuade me out of my comfort zone here in North Bend and send me to Chicago to help work a case because I have ‘psychic abilities.’” Kate made air quotes around the words.
“He does have a point. You are qualified, and that is your specialty. You’ve worked with them in the past, so what’s the problem?” Jade paused the episode of her favorite crime series they had been watching and waited for Kate to respond.
“Why do Sergeant Lutz and Jesse McCord have the right to disrupt my life? Sure, I’ve helped the CPD before, but I didn’t have a full-time job or a badge then either. I was a psychic consultant, not a real sheriff’s office detective.”
Jade wrinkled her brow. “But you guys have helped out Milwaukee, Minocqua, and a half dozen other police departments in the past.”
“Only on joint cases where we all pitched in and had a vested interest in solving the crime. I don’t have a dog in Chicago’s fight.”
Amber let out a sigh. “Kate, we’re all on the same side of the law. Chicago would foot the bill for all your expenses if that’s the problem.”
“You know it isn’t.”
“How about letting Jesse talk to you before you decide? Lending a hand to other police departments—especially if they requested your assistance—looks really good on a resume.”
Kate jerked her head toward Jade. “See what I have to put up with? Your sister is deliberately mocking me right now.”
Amber chuckled. “I’d never let Jack replace you. He knows I have to live in the same house as you.”
Kate threw a couch pillow at Amber and stormed off to the kitchen.
Jade shook her head and resumed the television show. “If you’re getting a beer, we’ll take a couple too.”
Kate returned to the living room seconds later and carried three beer cans. “Here.” She passed them out and took her seat.
“Why don’t you explain to me why Sergeant Lutz requested your help. I’d consider it a compliment if a police force as large as Chicago’s personally asked me to give them a hand. Don’t look at it in a negative light, Kate. Be open-minded.”
Kate popped the tab on her beer can and let out a puff
of air. She turned to Jade. “I guess if you look at it that way, you’re right. Apparently, two high-profile attorneys in Chicago have been murdered in the last month or so.”
“Come to think of it, I did hear about the murder of their assistant state’s attorney. That’s what this is about?”
“I guess so. They didn’t have any clues to work with on the first case, and now a prominent criminal defense attorney was just murdered too, both in the same manner. They’re obviously thinking the murders were committed by the same person, and they haven’t had any luck solving the cases.”
“But those lawyers wouldn’t have worked together,” Jade said. “Why would somebody go after two attorneys representing opposite sides of the fence?”
Amber rearranged herself on the loveseat and fluffed the pillow behind her back. “Exactly, and now I understand why Chicago requested your help. The murders wouldn’t make sense if it’s the same perp. The PD knows you have the capability to uncover clues they can’t see. At the very least, you can lead them in the right direction. It’s a good thing, Kate, and something to be proud of if your assistance does make a difference.”
Kate groaned. “You’re right, and I’ll go ahead and do it. In my heart, I know Jack isn’t going to replace me. I guess I’m just jealous that I’ll be out of the loop for a while.”
Amber rolled her eyes. “And I’m jealous of you. I’ll be sitting at my desk working on whatever boring paperwork is lying in front of me while you’re solving high-profile murders in Chicago. Damn, I wish I had psychic abilities. You’re gifted, Kate, so embrace it and don’t lose any sleep thinking about it. You’re doing the right thing. Speaking of sleep, I’m going to bed.”
Kate lifted Spaz off her lap and stood. “Yeah, me too. Tomorrow should be an interesting day.”
Chapter 5
I listened to the barely audible tick of the clock’s second hand as it inched closer to noon. Jesse was scheduled to arrive any minute, and I was a nervous wreck. I tapped my fingers on the inch-thick folder containing all of the cases I had helped out with in the past. My personal demons, and information on how all those cases were solved through my dreams, had also been documented and compiled in a spiral notebook next to the folder. When Jack’s desk phone rang, I took in a deep breath. I was certain that any minute, Jan would escort Jesse through the bull pen door, where I would whisk him away to a private area and reveal the folder of cases that proved my psychic gift was real.
Jack rose from his desk and pushed his door closed with his foot.
I frowned and turned toward Amber. “What the hell was that about?”
Amber shrugged. “Maybe it’s a personal call.”
“Jack doesn’t have a personal life, and Jesse should have been here by now. I thought that was Jan calling to say he’d arrived.”
“I’m sure Jack will fill us in if it’s something we need to know,” Clayton said. “You’re just feeling antsy.”
“Whatever.” I began reviewing the cases I had helped the Chicago PD with years before.
Jack’s office door opened minutes later. He stood at the threshold and raked his hair, a sign something was wrong. He jerked his head at me. “Kate, I need a word with you.”
I pushed back my chair and frowned at Amber then followed Jack into his office.
He pointed at his guest chair then closed the door. “Have a seat.”
“What’s wrong, Boss? Did Jesse cancel?”
“Not deliberately.”
“Excuse me?”
Jack glanced at his phone. “That call was from Sergeant Lutz. Apparently with this latest discovery, he was too busy to update me earlier. It seems Jesse has gone missing and has been unaccounted for since yesterday.”
“As in Monday?”
Jack nodded. “Sergeant Lutz mentioned when he called here yesterday that Jesse was late for work. That’s the reason he made the call in Jesse’s place. Evidently, Jesse never showed up.” Jack took a sip of coffee. “The sergeant sent a patrol car to Jesse’s house after numerous calls to his cell phone went unanswered. His house was empty, the car was gone, and Bandit barreled out the door as soon as the patrolman made entry.”
I shook my head. “Something is definitely wrong, Boss. Jesse cares about Bandit as much as Jenna did. He told us that, and he wouldn’t deliberately leave that poor dog alone. Bandit has been through enough trauma in the last few months.”
“I know, Kate, and between the ongoing case and now Jesse’s disappearance, the homicide unit doesn’t know which way to turn. They don’t want to abandon one of their own, but they have nothing that indicates Jesse is dead. Sergeant Lutz runs the homicide division, not the missing persons division.”
“But Jesse is second in charge at that precinct. That has to carry some weight.”
“It does, and Bob is beside himself with worry, but he’ll have to pass it off to the missing persons division.”
“Unless I focus my energy on tracking down Jesse instead of helping with the murder case.”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t know. That isn’t why they requested your assistance.”
“It isn’t, but I know Jesse. My abilities will be better utilized working on someone I’m familiar with than finding the killer of people I’ve never met.”
“But that’s what you do. The cases you’ve worked on in Nashville and Chicago dealt with people who were strangers to you.”
I dropped my shoulders. “Okay, then I’ll help with both cases.”
Jack rubbed his chin. “I don’t want to step on any toes. You were supposed to be taken under Jesse’s wing on those murder cases, and I doubt Lutz has the time to work with you on his own.”
I stared at my lap in disappointment. “So, I’m not going to Chicago?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Please call him back, Boss, and tell him I’ll pitch in on anything he wants me to work on. I’d really like to help find Jesse, though. He’s been missing for more than twenty-four hours, and everyone knows that isn’t a good sign.”
Jack rapped his knuckles on the desk then tipped his head toward the door. “Okay, I’ll give it a shot and let you know what he says, but in the meantime, keep working those old cases.”
I stood, pushed in the guest chair, and thanked Jack as I left his office. Back at my desk, I grabbed a stack of paperwork and dug in.
Billings spoke up. “What’s going on?”
I glanced at Jack before speaking and saw that he was already dialing out. I cupped my mouth and answered. “Sergeant Lutz called to tell Jack that Jesse is missing. I don’t think they have time to deal with me right now.”
Amber lowered her voice but was clearly shocked. “What! He’s missing?”
I nodded.
“Now is the perfect time for Lutz to deal with you. They already had their hands full with the recent murders and the press hounding them, and now Jesse’s gone missing? Chicago PD needs your help now more than ever, even if they don’t realize it.”
“That’s what I told Jack.” I gave the office window another glance and saw he was still on the phone. “Supposedly, Jack is talking to Lutz again.”
Seconds later, Jack hung up and opened his office door.
I spoke under my breath. “Here he comes. I guess we’re about to learn the verdict.”
“Kate, go home and pack a bag.” Jack looked at his watch. “I’ll pick you up in a half hour and take you to the train station. Lutz will have an officer waiting at Union Station for your arrival. He’s booking a hotel room for you close to the homicide division, and they’re giving you a daily stipend.”
I stood and grabbed my folders, purse, badge, and sidearm. “Yes, sir, and I’ll do my best to help Chicago’s finest.”
“I have every confidence in you, Kate.” Jack checked the time again. “Go ahead and leave now. I’ll be in your driveway at one o’clock.”
I said goodbye to my colleagues, told Amber I’d call her that night from Chicago, and walked out. I was nervous a
nd excited at the same time. I would embrace the gift I’d never asked for instead of thinking of it as a curse, as I sometimes did. I’d hit Chicago running and do whatever Sergeant Lutz needed me to do, and I hoped that would include finding Jesse McCord.
Chapter 6
The beating he’d endured Sunday night had brought Jesse in and out of consciousness for more than a day. He squinted and tried to focus, but the room spun too fast. He closed his eyes to keep from vomiting.
What the hell is going on, and where am I?
Sweat dampened his shirt, and his heart pounded rapidly. Jesse turned his head slowly to the right, hoping to stop the spinning. He cracked open his eyes again and saw light peeking in beneath the closed door. He looked left. A heavy blanket covered the window alongside the bed and prevented him from knowing if it was day or night. He had no concept of time.
Footsteps sounded beyond the door. Somebody was headed his way. Jesse couldn’t move or defend himself—but against whom? Was it the man who’d asked for a light when Jesse walked to his car Sunday night? Jesse couldn’t think clearly and his mind was going in a hundred directions.
The knob turned, and a man entered the room. With the illuminated hallway at his back, he was nothing more than a black silhouette in Jesse’s eyes.
“Who are you, and what do you want with me?” The ragged voice that came out of Jesse’s mouth surprised him. It cracked as if he hadn’t had a thing to drink in days.
The man snickered. “It’s time for another injection, Detective McCord.”
“How do you know my name and why am I here?”
“Full of questions, aren’t you?” The man slid the stocking cap mask down over his face, revealing only his eyes and mouth. He approached Jesse with a syringe in his hand.
Jesse twisted and turned, but he was secured to the twin-sized bed, preventing him from escaping the needle heading toward his vein.
“Why fight it, Detective? You’ll feel euphoric in a few seconds.”
“Get that needle away from me, you son of a bitch!” Jesse wrenched against the restraints to no avail as the man buried the needle in his arm. Jesse felt the pinch and then the push of the plunger. Seconds later, a hot rush overtook his body. His eyes darted left and right, and his heart began to beat rapidly.
