Looking at Nathan as if he’d lost his mind, Jursic’s eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch. Ignoring the FBI agent, Nathan continued to plead to the dead man’s spirit. “Kane, I know you saw what happened here. Please come with me, and you’ll be able to tell me everything that happened. I swear it.”
Nathan quickly stood and crossed to the stroller. Jursic grabbed his arm and roughly spun him around. “What the fuck are you doing? We can’t leave. We have to stay and talk to these people. They’re our only hope of finding the kid.”
“I can’t explain right now, Jursic, but I know someone who can help. Leave some of your men and bring a few with us. I’ll explain everything on the way. Hopefully, we’re not too late.”
Nathan broke Jursic’s hold and grabbed the blanket from the stroller. Without looking back at the chaotic scene, he trotted to the vehicle silently praying Kane had heard him and followed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Since reading had turned into a morning of calisthenics, as Jared had predicted it would, Jody took a much-needed break. Trying to concentrate on his newspaper, she playfully tapped her foot on his thigh. “I’m in the mood for a Dr. Pepper.” Glancing over his tablet, he offered her a warm smile. He’d never had the courage to try a Dr. Pepper until he met her. He had to admit, the sweet, soft drink she enjoyed so much had become a guilty pleasure they often shared.
“Would you like something from the kitchen while I’m in there?”
“I might consider a few sips of your drink.”
“You got it.” Jared slapped Jody’s ass for good measure as she walked by before returning his focus to the tablet.
Mere seconds later he heard a quick intake of air as if she’d been startled. Jared shifted his attention and saw Jody. She hadn’t quite made it out of the room but managed to turn back toward him. She stood stock still with one foot in front of the other as if glued in place. She’d gone pale. Her eyes had clouded over and appeared unfocused while her hands fisted tightly at her sides. Her breathing came and went in short, raspy gasps.
The peace he’d felt moments ago had been ripped out from under him, quickly giving way to anxiety. He knew the signs. He knew what he was seeing. His little monkey had somehow been caught up in the grips of something paranormal. Something or someone had invaded her mind’s eye. This episode, whatever it may be, had come on so quickly she hadn’t had any warning at all.
Jared hustled across the room and reached out to Jody’s hand, but she jerked it away. “Monkey, tell me what’s happening,” he cried, trying desperately to take control of the uncontrollable.
Just then the doorbell chimed followed by an insistent rapping on the front door. Knowing instantly something vile had just shown up at his doorstep had fear clamping its razor-sharp teeth into his gut.
To help Jody, he had to find out what had happened. He didn’t want to leave her alone for a second, but he had to. He ran to the foyer just as Nathan screamed Jody’s name from outside. As soon as the door opened, he rushed in followed by several men Jared didn’t know, all of whom were visibly upset and obviously federal agents.
Jared reached for his throat as panic partially closed his airway. “What’s happening?” he managed to croak.
Nathan pushed past him. “Quick! Where’s Jody?”
The men rushed into the living room, where they found Jody on her knees, holding her chest and gasping for air. Still unaware of the dire circumstances which had reached out from beyond and claimed Jody, Jared knelt beside her and latched onto her hand. Unwilling to let her pull free, he clutched her arm tightly with his other hand knowing full well his rough treatment would leave bruises on her delicate skin.
Jared’s bellowing voice belied his fear and commanded her attention. “Jody, listen to my voice. Don’t get pulled in all the way. Listen to me. Tell me what you’re seeing.”
Not having a clue what to expect, the strangers nervously gathered in a semicircle. Nathan yelled orders. “I need everyone in the room to take your phones out and video what’s happening. Keep your cameras trained on the woman. Make sure audio is on.”
Jody’s eyes were so wide open they almost hurt. Her chest heaved as she desperately tried to get much-needed air into her oxygen starved lungs. Somewhere in the distance, she heard Jared pleading.
“You’ve got to separate yourself from the event, Jody. Listen to my voice. Tell me what you’re seeing. Tell me what you’re feeling.”
The room went dead silent as everyone waited for her response.
“There’s a man.” Trying her best to keep her wits about her and analyze what she felt and saw, had Jody tilting her head slightly to the side. “I think I know him. I’m sure I’ve seen him somewhere.”
Her body violently jerked as if she’d been punched. Looking down at her chest, she removed her hand from where the blow had landed. Blood ran through her fingers making her stomach heave with the need to wretch. For a moment, fear had gripped her in its clutches and removed all cognitive thought leaving widespread panic in its wake. The shock from being gravely injured left her whimpering and unable to speak. Finally, she found a way to force the words from her mouth. “I’ve…I’ve been sh…I’ve been shot!”
The men who’d invaded their home started speaking in hushed but urgent tones.
“No, Monkey, you have not been shot. There is no blood. Do you hear me, baby? No blood. You’re here with me in our living room.”
Jody’s body begin to quake as if she were going into shock. Jared grabbed her shoulders and shook them hard. “Back away from him, Jody! Back away from the man that’s been injured. Now! Push him out of your body if you have to, but get rid of him! You’re feeling his pain, not your own.”
Her breathing came so fast, she’d be hyperventilating soon if she couldn’t slow it down. To try to control her body’s reaction to the spirit who’d jumped her, Jody slammed her eyes shut and squeezed them together with all of her might. Somewhere off in the distance, she heard Jared screaming at her. She couldn’t quite make out what he said, but she instinctively knew to move toward his voice.
All but breathless, she finally forced herself to speak. “He jumped me like Fiona did. He’s hurt. He’s bleeding. He’s scared. Oh God, Jared! He doesn’t know he’s dead.” Beckoning the strength to get through this mess, she squeezed Jared’s hand as hard as she could. The man’s fear and sorrow swamped her. “I think he’s been shot. The wound hurts so bad, I can hardly breathe.”
Nathan got on his knees next to Jody. “Kane—is the man you’re seeing Kane? He was the person protecting Mikala. Is it Kane?”
Jody thought she heard Nathan somewhere in the distance. She couldn’t take the chance of splitting her concentration at the moment. Barely being able to hold onto the essence of herself, had her focusing on Jared’s touch and voice alone.
Persistent as always, she recognized the fact that Nathan proceeded to scream at her. He was doing everything he could to get her attention. Somewhere deep inside her, though, Jody knew her survival of this attack depended on doing what she and Jared had practiced. She couldn’t take the precious time needed to try to comprehend what her friend was saying. She couldn’t risk averting her attention long enough to talk to him, not yet. The spirit of the injured man was systematically draining all of her precious energy and had her fighting her own battles.
“Look at me,” Jared snapped, shaking her again to take control of the situation. He forced her head up, and what he saw in her eyes scared the hell out of him. Her eyes were dead.
Still not knowing the cause behind this psychic event, but at least having a name to go on, Jared issued orders in a way a man like his ex-military employee, Kane, would understand. “Kane, if this is you, you must leave her body. She can’t help you when you’re inside of her. You must leave. She’ll be able to talk to you when she’s free of you.”
A loud popping noise, accompanied by a sudden shift in the room’s air pressure had everyone jumping back. Fear gripped the FBI agents who
happened to find themselves mixed up in this freak fest. They all took a long nervous step away from the woman who appeared possessed.
Physically spent after the domineering spirit had left her body, Jody collapsed where she sat. Suddenly limp, Jared managed to carefully pick her up and put her in his lap. As they had practiced, he poured every bit of his strength into her. He visualized the power within him flowing into her depleted body. Needing confirmation that Kane’s spirit had left her personal space, he kissed her cheek and asked barely above a whisper, “Concentrate on my voice, Jody. Is Kane still here?”
One of the unknown men bent down in front of Jody and spoke barely above a whisper. “Ma’am, I’m Special Agent Jursic. I’m not sure what’s going on here, but Nathan told me you might have information on the kidnapping of Mikala Spurl. She’s the granddaughter of Lincoln and Jessie Spurl.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “Yes, Kane’s here.” She spoke as if she hadn’t heard the stranger’s voice. The only answer forthcoming was to Jared’s question.
Jursic opened his mouth to speak again when Nathan forcibly pushed him aside. “Kane, what happened? What did you see?”
Her eyes barely open, and her body still limp, Jared held her tightly tucked into his chest, continuing to transfer his much-needed energy. Her whisper had been so quiet that the agents shuffled closer to hear her.
“He said they came out of the trees at the park. There were people all around, and he had let his guard down. He was sitting with his back against a tree. The stroller with the little girl was in front of him. They were playing peek-a-boo. He didn’t hear the shot, but he felt like he’d been sucker punched by someone. He says, he reached down and realized blood was pouring out of his chest.
“There were three of them. One who acted as a lookout. One to grab the girl and one to take care of me.” Jared didn’t miss her use of the word me.
“Jody, you need to separate yourself from Kane.” He demanded, hoping his voice conveyed the power she needed to separate herself from the dead man. “Put a little space between the two of you. Come toward my voice, Monkey.”
Waiting through the long, agonizing pause for her response left everyone in the room nervous. Jared started to tell her to back away again when she finally began to speak. “He says they were professional. There had to have been a silencer on the gun they used because he never heard the shot.”
Jared recognized how hard Jody was working to remain calm when she finally spoke again. “He chased after them.”
One of the burly FBI men interrupted the dialog with an angry shout. “This is bullshit! What the fuck are we doing here? The bodyguard was dead. He never moved after being shot. He didn’t chase after them. We all know that. Why the fuck are we wasting our time here? We need to move!”
Nathan stood and shoved the man backward with great force. “Leave the room right now.” Fuming, the man finally backed down and left.
Nathan moved back to Jody’s side. “Jody, baby, did Kane see a vehicle?”
They all witnessed a slight nod of her head. “White…CJK-989.” Jursic started dialing his phone immediately to call in the plate number.
“Can Kane describe the three men?”
Blankly, Jody stared off into the corner of the room before finally nodding her head. “Three women.”
Shocked, Jursic screeched, “What?”
“He says that’s why no one paid any attention to them when they took the child—it was three women.
“I’m losing him.” As Kane’s spirit started backing away, her energy depletion had left her voice nothing more than a weak whisper. “He’s leaving.” Her bottom lip quivered with emotion as her hand rose slightly in an attempt to wish the spirit goodbye. “He doesn’t want to go, but he must. His people are here to help him cross over.”
The men stood over her and watched in awe as a beautiful smile bloomed on her face.
Nathan bent down in front of Jody and held out a child’s blanket which had been speckled with the bodyguard’s blood. “Do you think you can get anything from Mikala’s blanket?”
Before the personal item could touch her, anger and disbelief had Jared growling and pushing him away. Refusing to let go of Jody, he couldn’t put much force behind the shove. “Have you lost your fucking mind? Look at her. She’s completely drained. I won’t let her do any more right now.”
“Jared, be reasonable. We’re looking for a four-year-old girl. She could be dead very shortly if we don’t get information to act on.”
Shaking his head fiercely, he continued to rock the love of his life back and forth like a baby. This nightmare has to end! “No!” Immovable in his decision, he had a death grip on her. He was more afraid for her right now than he’d ever been for himself.
Jody reached out and gently grazed Jared’s lips with her fingertips. When she had his attention, though weak, her voice held resolve to see this through to the end. “Jared, I know this is difficult, but I have to see if I can help. What if she were our baby? You’d want any help you could get. You’d demand it, as would I.”
Having the green light to proceed from Jody, Nathan pushed through Jared’s stranglehold to get to her. Before he could give her the blanket, Jared spoke in a dangerously low, rage-filled voice. “I won’t forget this, Nathan.” The words were spoken with force and held such contempt that Nathan froze for a moment.
“Jared, a little girl’s life is at risk. If we don’t act fast, she’ll be dead. I know it in my heart. I wouldn’t put Jody through this if there were any other way.”
When it became apparent his plea had landed on deaf ears, Nathan scooted forward. “Here’s her blanket. Can you pick anything up from it, Jody?”
Jared saw the fear in Jody’s eyes when the blanket came within reach. He also recognized the exact moment sheer determination took over and she stuck her hand out. As her fingers clutched the tiny blanket, her body began to thrash wildly. It became apparent her psyche was no match for the nightmare in which the child currently resided. Her head flew back as a terror filled scream wrenched from the back of her throat, compelling everyone in the room to crouch down out of fear. As if she’d had some form of a frozen seizure, her jaw suddenly clamped down making her screams sound more like a terrified animal caught in the grips of death.
As her body quickly shifted between violent spasms and sudden stiffness, it proved impossible for Jared to hold onto her. Their safety net of physical contact had been shattered. As if possessed, she gained the freedom from Jared’s tight grasp and scrambled from his lap, spider walking backward. She backed away from the unseen threat so quickly that she stumbled and landed in a heap on the floor.
Before she could physically hurt herself, Jared tried to regain control by rushing her and forcefully grabbing her face between his hands. She struck out at him, landing blow after blow. Pure terror dilated her eyes. He threw his body on top of her and pressed his nose to hers, screaming at the top of his lungs. “Back away from the emotion, Jody. You have to back away! Listen to my voice. Concentrate on my voice only! Come to me, Monkey. Come to me.”
As her tremors subsided and the fight left her body, he knew she was doing everything in her power to manage not only her fear but that of the little girl’s. Finally seeing a slight spark in her eyes, he knew she’d been able to gain a little distance from the child’s emotions. Without breaking contact, he sat up and pulled her back into his lap.
Speaking in a clear sharp tone, he demanded her full attention. “Just like we practiced, Jody. Separate yourself from the emotion, and tell me what you’re seeing.”
“We’re in the back seat of a car. We’re in a car seat.” She reached for her head and winced. “We’re feeling so groggy. We think they gave us something to go to sleep. We’re holding a sippy cup.” Her hand rose as if she were showing the men the child’s cup. “We’re starting to feel very heavy.” Her voice started taking on the characteristics of talking in her sleep. Her words were jumbled and extremely slurred.
&n
bsp; “Jody, baby, listen to my voice. Move toward my voice. You must step outside of the child.”
Her eyes opened a slit, and he knew he was getting through to her.
“Tell me about the car, Jody.”
“It’s not the same car from the park. It’s red and has dark windows. It’s newer than the car at the park.” Suddenly alert, Jody bolted up and looked to her right. She kept moving her head around as if she were watching a tennis match.
“What are you looking at, Jody?”
“The woman sitting next to me is mean.” Jared sighed, knowing by her mannerisms and speech, she’d been pulled back into the child’s body again. Her lips thrust out in a pouty manner as if she were a child being scolded. “She’s yelling at the other women in the car.” She started relaying the conversation she overheard to the men in the room. ‘Sharla, stop your goddamn blubbering! You knew what we were doing from the very beginning. You knew what the plan was.’
Jody jumped in fear. Her eyes became huge as she quickly straightened her head to look in front of her. “The woman driving is beating on the steering wheel with her fist. She’s yelling at the woman in the back seat. ‘Back off me, Brenda! I’m hanging on by a thread here. Let’s just follow the plans on the list and do it without yelling.’
“Wait!” Jody threw an arm out in front of her. “We’re pulling into a parking lot.” Jursic bent down and got in her face. “What parking lot? What is the name of the business?”
“There’s a big yellow and orange sign. It says Safe Storage.” Jody jumped in fear again. She was obviously listening to something because her eyes widened in alarm. “Unit 21.”
She started struggling with an unseen assailant. Her arms flailed. Her legs kicked out. She viscously punched and kicked at the air. Her fists pummeled Jared as if she were fighting for her life. Just as it looked as though she’d been somewhat restrained, he’d lost his hold again. Her arms flew above her head in a defensive manner. “No!” her scream heavy with terror, rattled the men’s nerves as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. Her breathing became short, panic-filled pants.
Troubled Spirits Page 21
