by Dale Mayer
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?
"Johnson was supposed to go to the Sacramento site but pulled out at the last minute when his wife went into early labor. His name would have been on the original manifest, which probably has yet to be updated." She put a line through his name.
"Good. Keep going. "
Eight names left.
All male.
All white.
All young.
But not all single. That surprised her. "I can't see anyone who is happily married doing this." She glanced over at Grant, but his face was a blank slate. Did he place anyone here higher than any others? She didn't want any of them to be the killer. She knew them all, friends, coworkers, people she depended on at disaster sites.
Kali swallowed hard and studied the other names. "I saw Stephen and Ron from the San Francisco center at Sacramento, but didn't have much to do with them. I've worked with them both on various sites. They're both good hard workers."
She put question marks beside two names. "Allen and Joe are both happily married, a half-dozen kids between them and are heavily involved in community affairs. I can't see them having the opportunity to kidnap and murder these people."
"Strike them off and I'll make a note of them here."
Six names remained.
"As much as I want to, I can't find a reason to cross these guys off."
Grant accepted the list. "We'll check them over."
"Ask Stan, too. He knows stuff about everyone, way more than I do."
"Okay. I'll turn this over to the team to start on."
Kali frowned. "So what's next? How else can I help?"
"Rest. Do laundry."
She glared at him. "Aren't you funny?"
Tapping his thigh with the rolled up list, he cocked his head and considered her. "Draw?" His face turned earnest. "We need any and all help possible. I know that's not FBI policy, but I know what Stefan can do. Stefan hasn't connected to this guy. You have. Let's see what you can do."
Kali considered him. "We need tangible leads, not more conjecture. I may have been right once or twice, but I can’t count on being right all the time."
"Leads are good, yes. But as we're lacking those, we have to consider everything. And we don’t expect you to be right all the time - we won’t know what you can do unless you try."
Giving him a disgusted look, she agreed.
"I have to go inside and make these calls, as much as this area is under surveillance and this deck isn't accessible from the ground, I don't want you out here alone. I didn't mention it earlier as you were asleep, so I kept watch, but..."
Kali blinked. Then shuddered. She'd never given it a thought. She followed him inside and locked the door behind her.
With the sketchbook open to a clean page, she sat under the golden halo of the light in the living room and pondered the strange turn of events in her life. How had her only input to this mess become psychic art, when she excelled at searching for victims, especially murdered victims?
She sat back stunned.
Could she find the missing victim?
And if she could, then why was she sitting here?
If the victim was dead as depicted by her sketch, she could find her if she managed to get close enough. But what did 'close enough' mean? She had no idea. She'd accidentally fallen over their energy before. More or less. Pursing her lips, she considered the concept.
She went to locate Grant and test it out. Finding him in the kitchen, she said, "I need to go out."
Grant frowned. "Where?"
Kali sighed and wouldn't meet his gaze. "I don't exactly know."
Grant's gaze narrowed. "Explain."
This time Kali met his gaze, calmly. "I need to try something." She waved toward the sketchbook. "It occurred to me that my specialty up until now has been finding not drawing people." She came to a stop, not knowing how else to explain. With a defiant toss of her head, she added, "I want to give it a try."
"I'll go with you."
Kali stared at him, nonplussed. If nothing came of her attempt, she'd feel like an idiot. Who needed an audience to that? "You don't have to. I can go alone."
The niggling sense prodded her. Go. Now.
"No." Grant placed a hand on the small of her back, propelling her forward. "It's with me or not at all. There's a killer loose, remember?"
"Fine." Kali hurried to the front door. At the familiar sound, Shiloh bounded toward her, her tail wagging. Kali bent to cuddle her. "We're just going driving for a little while. We won't be long."
"You don’t want to bring her?"
Kali paused, frowning. "What I’m trying to do tonight isn’t something I’ve tried before. I don’t want to be distracted or influenced by Shiloh and her energy. As we’re only going to drive around for a bit, I think I’ll leave her behind. She could do with the rest, too."
Opening the door, she stepped into the cool night to check the temperature. Turning back, she snagged a jacket from the hooks by the door. Glancing at her slip-on shoes, she opted to change into sturdy hiking boots...just in case.
Grant waited for her on the gravel path. Stern, patient, professional, he was never really approachable. No, that wasn't quite true. With a casual glance his way, Kali blurted, "You rarely smile. Why?"
He raised one eyebrow and frowned. "That's not true. I smile a lot."
She hid her smile and said lightly, "Really, have I seen you smile?"
Shooting her a look, he added, "Yes, you have. Besides, there isn't much to be happy about right now."
That was a great conversation killer.
Grant continued to his car, opening the door for her. "We'll take my car. You can tell me where to go."
"Love to." She smirked and slipped into the front seat. Grant started the car and pulled up to the edge of the road.
"Which way?"
Kali closed her eyes and let the sensation roll over her. When she followed one of her twinges, a fuzzy bristling would usually nudge the back of her neck, sending her in a specific direction. She felt no such sensation this time. Knowing that Grant watched her, she closed her mind and opened the door to her alternate senses and relaxed. Since he'd witnessed odd behavior from her before, surely this wouldn't throw him.
"Left," she whispered. Kali slid into a relaxed state and blocked out the world. She kept her eyes closed for a while as they drove onto the main road. Sitting blind gave her an eerie insight into the bizarre world of darkness and trust.
She trusted Grant to keep her safe.
Her mind hiccupped. Her eyes opened. What the hell did that mean? Safe in the car? With her life? With her body? Oh God. She couldn't do this right now. She couldn't do energy work with all the unanswered questions. She had to focus. Slamming her eyes shut, she forced herself to draw on Stefan's instructions. Calm down. Relax. She was so caught up following her instructions, the twinge on the back of her neck that came out of the blue, making her flinch.
"Whoa!"
Grant hit the brakes.
Kali opened her eyes as they passed a road sign. They were on the outskirts of the city. "Left again."
Grant glanced at her, but obliged.
The road curved through hillsides and wooded areas. She searched the region. Now where? She waited for a couple of minutes. Nothing. She settled into the seat and closed her eyes again. Bringing thoughts about the victim to the forefront, she imagined her lost and alone and needing to come home. Kali concentrated on the fear, pain and horror of her last days, then brought in conscious awareness, a willingness, a need to find her.
Nothing crystallized. Frustrated, she set up a map in her head, waiting for the next step to appear, only to find herself blocked. Of course. Like her drawing, she'd tried to force the information highway to give up its secrets.
"Problems?"
Kali shrugged. "I don't know where to go."
"You knew the last two turns. They came clearly, didn't they?"
"Yes."
"So, let's not doubt the process. We'll keep driving in this direction until you say otherwise."
"Fine. But that's an odd attitude for a black and white FBI agent." How disconcerting to have him so amiable. Contrarily, she wanted to prod him out of the reasonableness. "What if I'm wrong," she muttered. "What then?"
"Then we drive home and no harm done." He shot her a curious glance. "How did you get the idea that I am a black and white kind of guy? Haven't we spent most of the last few days living in a gray area?"
Kali addressed the first comment and chose to ignore the rest, stymied for an answer. "I was wrong last time."
"No. Don't say that. You might have been wrong in regards to the identity of the victim, but you weren't wrong about there being a victim or where he was located."
"It might be different this time."
"Relax. The inklings won't come if you don't give them a chance.
"Maybe, but it's never worked like this before."
A pregnant pause.
"Before."
"That's something I haven't mentioned yet." Kali stared out at the window. Christ, she'd look like a certifiable nut case when this mess was finally over.
"Explain?"
"Shiloh makes a great rescue dog because she finds people that are alive. Finding dead people upsets her, but she can do it."
"Can she tell the difference?"
Kali glanced at him. "Definitely."
"And you're saying you can do the same thing."
"No, not quite," Kali answered slowly, considering her words. "Shiloh uses her nose and I...well, I use The Sight. With it I can find cadavers, but a certain type stand out for me. Shiloh can find them all."
"Cadavers come in types?"
"Yes." Kali took a deep breath, bracing herself. She'd never told this to anyone. "I see dark, seething energy in ribbons. They are always attached to people who have died violently - especially people who have been murdered."
***
Grant continued to drive, even though he had trouble processing her statement. He’d known about her psychic talents, but this? Could she mean it? Years ago he'd have run like hell to get away from such a concept. It had taken Stefan to open his mind.
Now this woman continually surprised him, too.
He gave her a sidelong glance. The information might not scare him; still he had to wonder how she could deal with it all.
With every new tidbit she revealed of herself, he became more fascinated and alternately more disturbed. This was heavy stuff. She'd turned out to be a complex myriad of witch, siren and philanthropist. Impossible to ignore.
Grant snuck a glance her way. Returning his gaze to the road, he shook his head. He had it bad.
His lips quirked. Here he was working through his feelings and she was staring at him, wondering at his lack of reaction. Her abilities disturbed her, while he found them fascinating. It was her ability to handle them that disturbed him. That didn't say much for his state of mind.
A sigh escaped. He was an idiot.
***
The silence in the car grew to deafening proportions. Kali stared out the window, anywhere but at him. Had he taken the news with his usual stoic attitude or had he decided to drive her to a mental hospital?
"Hmmmm."
"That's it?" She glowered at him. The dark interior of the vehicle couldn't begin to hide his knowing look.
"Sure. There's not much I haven't heard after working with Stefan all these years, you know. And hmmm means I'm thinking."
Kali couldn't believe it. "Good. Fine." She waited a beat. "You know, you may have heard a lot from Stefan, but I've never told anyone, ever."
"Right. A little too mild a reaction, huh?"
"Ya think?" Kali couldn't believe it. It would be the last time she shared a secret with him.
Grant glanced at her, a light shining in his eyes. "So tell me how you really feel."
"Ohh. Ohhh, you...you," Kali stuttered to a complete stop. Her fists clenched and unclenched. Closing her eyes, she focused on deep breathing. In the silence of the car, she heard a sound. One she'd never heard before. No way. She turned to look at Grant. He was spluttering. Spluttering for Christ sake. Unfreakin' believable.
He caught her staring at him. His lips quirked. His smirk widened to an outright smile. Before her astonished eyes, he broke into a guffaw, his laughter infectious.
Good Lord. She hadn't thought he had it in him. She laughed. "Wow."
Grant shook his head, a goofy grin decorating his face. "I'm not that bad. Surely?"
"Yeah, you are." Kali bolted upright to stare into darkness. "Where are we?
Grant pointed at a sign up ahead. "We're heading north to Portland. Remember?"
"We've been out for a while."
"A bit. Any more directions?"
Kali dropped her head against the headrest. "No. What a stupid waste of time."
"Not necessarily. Now you know I can laugh."
Smiling, she answered, "There is that. Maybe we should just turn back." Endless darkness surrounded them, with only the beams of the headlights to light their way. A prophetic sign maybe. Her eyes drifted closed under the hypnotic influence of the steady hum of the engine.
Her neck throbbed, she reached up to massage the muscles, but the pain worsened. Kali twisted her head to the right. Sharp pains shot upward. She moaned softly.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. My neck started hurting."
"Your neck or your intuition?"
Raising an eyebrow, she glanced over at him. "I don't know. Maybe?"
"Yes or no?" Grant raised an eyebrow, sending her a sideways glance.
"I usually get a funny prickling at the back of my neck, not sharp pains." And normally, she wasn't deluged in weird colors. This time her normal mental state of lavender blended with a dark blue, becoming almost black in color. She sensed the anger building in the seething morass.
"Maybe we aren't supposed to go back yet. There's a turnoff ahead. Tell me if you get more twinges." Grant pulled the vehicle up to the corner, edging the vehicle slightly off the road.
The pain stabbed into the back of her brain. Her stomach heaved. "Ouch."
Grant stopped the car. He looked at her, then turned the steering wheel, directing the vehicle onto the side road.
Immediately the pain eased. "Ahh, much better. Not perfect, but not stabbing at me either." The dark energy also eased back to a dull purplish black.
They hadn't driven only a few hundred yards when the pain and the angry colors bashed into her consciousness.
She gasped. Bile crawled up the back of her throat, bringing a sick taste to her mouth. She coughed slightly.
Grant hit the brakes, peering in her direction. "Well?"
The stabbing stopped. Kali sighed in relief. "It's gone."
They peered through the window into the gloomy surroundings. A dirt road loomed on Kali's right. Even in the dark of night she could see the ribbons twisting toward her. Her neck twitched. "Turn here. She's up here."
Kali no longer had any doubts. Images slammed into her. Children playing, a family gathering, laughter and arguing combined as faces and places flashed too quickly to catch as the impressions rolled on.
Grant shook his head as he drove the car onto the dirt road. "We are going to have a talk after this. I can't believe that even after seeing your sketches, you didn't tell me about this."
The visions receded, letting Kali catch her breath.
"Shiloh is my cover. To make it look like she's the one finding the bodies." Kali leaned forward, peering through the windshield. "The paintings and sketches are a new development. Not expecting them, I didn't have a cover story ready."
"Anything else you've
hidden from me?"
Shearing pain stabbed through the back of her neck. The colors throbbed.
"Stop!"
Kali held her breath, waiting for the pain to ease as the vehicle rolled to a standstill. Kali pointed to his window in the direction where angry ribbons twisted in the night sky. "She's over on the crest."
