"Have you figured out who did that to her?" Her voice was starting to quiver, the emotions clearly about to break past her emotional dam.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, we haven't, but that's why we are here. Can you tell us about Amanda? Was she dating anyone? Would there be anyone that would want to harm her?" Echo tried to get Sarah to focus, but the woman was starting to lose whatever cool she had put on for the kids outside.
"She was an amazing woman. Kind, sweet, and a true young lady of faith. It was just so awful." Tears started to fall onto her cheeks, then she wiped them away on the sleeve of her jacket.
"So, you don't know of any issues someone might have had with her?"
"No. She broke up with her boyfriend a few months ago, but they remained friends. He works at the restaurant with her. I don't recall them having any fights during their relationship."
"Thank you for your time. If you think of anything else, please give me a call." Echo handed Sarah a business card.
"She deserved so much better than this." Sarah started to turn around to go back outside when Echo asked if we could take a look around.
"Of course. We will help however we can to catch her killer. Would you like a tour?" Sarah's tears seemed to be slowing.
"That would be nice," Echo answered, and Sarah went about showing us around the church, introducing us to any person that we encountered. Nothing seemed out of order to either of us as we walked around.
"This is my husband’s office. He's away for the week, visiting his mother down in California. I stayed behind to keep the church running until the weekend, when he will return."
Echo and I both took a step inside the room to look around, and her body stiffened.
"The scent," she whispered, and I tried to smell it, but it was lost to me. What I was taken aback by was that strange chaotic energy that I'd felt in Amanda's room. It was here. Faint, but still lingering in the fabric of the curtains and carpet.
“When is your husband getting back in to town? We’d like to talk with him as well about Amanda. Typical procedure.” Echo’s calm voice showed no hint of the clue she’d found.
There was a connection to Amanda and Lisa in this room.
“He gets back tomorrow evening.” Sarah’s energy flickered a little, too quick for me to catch what it meant.
“You must miss him a lot when he goes away.” Echo maybe caught onto more than I did.
“I do. We’ve been married for twenty-six years next week,” Sarah said, but her eyes didn’t hold that sparkle of a woman in love. I looked around her and focused more, feeling the energy. She was hurt. Jealous.
Something was going on with her and her husband. Question was, did it have anything to do with Amanda or just another couple in unhappy matrimony?
Chapter Seventeen
Echo
Asher and I left the church in silence.
Once we were in the car and heading toward the hospital, I asked him what all he got out of that whole scene.
“Same chaotic energy as Amanda’s place. Something’s going on between the pastor and his wife. Can’t tell if it’s related to Amanda or not. Otherwise Amanda seemed like she was a nice girl.” Asher sounded pensive, like he was trying to figure out how the puzzle pieces fit, but he was new at this. There were more pieces that needed to be found to see the bigger picture.
On to the hospital we went.
We chatted about little thoughts we had about the whole case as he drove his sexy, red Camaro. Ironic that we had the same car, but a nice surprise.
The hospital wasn’t too far away from the church. You could travel around Seahill in fifteen minutes on a good day. With traffic, it could turn into an hour. Luck was on our side today.
Asher parked the car in the lot, and we got out in unison, heading toward the hospital, when I spotted two familiar faces.
“Everything okay?” I asked Rose, the small blonde with the birthmark. She smiled at me and rubbed her hands together for heat.
“Yep. Phillip sent us. Thought we’d be helpful with your case. He didn’t tell us what the case was, but said we’d be useful. Plus—” She leaned in closer to me.
“Draco’s been curious about Asher ever since we mentioned that we met him,” she whispered, but not too quietly, so Draco and Asher could obviously hear.
Draco was standing there, stoic as ever. He was watching Asher with a curious look on his face.
“Asher, this is Draco. Rose you already met.” I introduced them, and Asher smiled at them.
“Howdy.”
That was his hello.
“Another wild one,” Draco huffed and then turned to walk toward the hospital doors.
“He’s a sweet guy. Just not great with people sometimes.” Rose watched Draco walk away. I knew how he felt. I was okay with people, but I was usually best on my own. I looked over Rose and took into account what her power was: emotions. Maybe she could get a read on people while I asked questions.
“Okay. The more the merrier,” I agreed, but knew I wouldn’t tell the chief about Rose and Draco being there. There was something bigger in the works than maybe I knew. Phillip wouldn’t have sent them if it wasn’t important. He told me about the bigger picture he was working toward before I left—a future where people like us could make a difference. A future that was worth fighting for. A place where we were all the dream catchers of the world, keeping harm away from the innocents. And succeeding. A better life for people with powers than what we have now. I had to believe in a future like that.
Asher placed his hand on my lower back to guide me toward the doors. I didn’t shrug off his touch, which would be my typical reaction.
“You’re purring again, kitten. Might want to save it for later,” Asher leaned in and whispered against my ear. Rose seemed oblivious to our encounter—and my purring—which I was thankful for.
Until she glanced back at me with blushed cheeks.
Right. Guess she knew that Asher and I had something going on.
Great.
Draco was waiting inside, and Asher stood next to him.
“Let’s head to the psych ward. Split up. Asher can play nice with Draco, and, Rose, you’ll come with me,” I delegated, and got a subtle nod from Draco. Asher grinned, and I knew he was going to probably piss Draco off. Rose looked excited.
We walked together, probably looking like a mob squad on our way to a hit.
As soon as we walked in the door, we divided and conquered.
A Dr. Nathan Bellmont was the man in charge in this ward, the head psychiatrist.
“I went to school for psychology,” Rose muttered just before we made it to the nurses’ desk.
“Hello, how can we help you?” one of the nurses asked us politely.
I told the woman my name, showed her my detective badge, and asked where the doctor was. She scanned her computer and then mentioned he would be getting out of a meeting with the chief physician soon.
I took the opportunity to ask her about Amanda.
“She was really sweet. Hard-working girl. She didn’t socialize much, but she worked so many hours I never thought much about it. She seemed tired all the time.” The woman looked sad for a loss of life, but not the loss of a friend.
“Do you know anyone who would want to cause her harm?”
She shook her head.
“She was nice to all the patients. She had a real knack for calming down the agitated ones. They seemed to act better around her. We haven’t told all the patients yet. I know some are going to be heartbroken at the news.”
“We’re sorry for your loss, and for the hospital’s loss. It sounds like she was very special here,” Rose told the woman, but not in her usual kind way. I looked to her with a brow raised, and she gestured for us to move on from the desk.
“Thank you for your time.”
The nurse nodded and went back to work.
“What?” I asked Rose as soon as we were out of earshot from the desk. Rose looked around then shrugged.
&n
bsp; “She wasn’t very broken up about Amanda. I kept getting jealousy from her. Like Amanda got all the attention, and now she has a fighting chance to be noticed. I didn’t get violent vibes from her, though. Just a bitch.”
Okay then.
I noticed Asher and Draco talking to a nurse. Her cheeks were blushing as she stood next to the two good-looking men, Draco playing the silent, broody one, and Asher the smiling, charming, bad boy.
Internally I had a laugh. Asher may be a nonconformist to his people, but his bad boy habits included reading and rescuing nearly-dead cats—not exactly what most would think as a rebel.
“Thank you for speaking with me, Dorian,” a male voice said from the now-open wooden door to Dr. Bellmont’s office.
There were two men standing by the door, one tall with short black hair, and the other gentleman was bald and a few inches shorter.
“The tall, dark, and handsome one is Dr. Dorian, chief physician of the hospital. Nice guy. Isn’t too much of a talker, though. I bet the other is our guy.” Rose nodded toward the men, and I started walking over.
“Excuse me, gentlemen. Mind if I have a word?” I flashed them my badge. Dr. Bellmont gave me a kind smile, while Dr. Dorian looked at me like I was inconveniencing him, but he’d go along with it because he had to.
“My name is Echo Cross, Seahill P.D. We are investigating the murder of Amanda Johnson. She worked on this ward, correct?”
Dr. Bellmont agreed, and went on to talk about how gifted Amanda was at her job and how much she’d be missed. It seemed to be a common factor with Amanda. Good for her that she made such an impact on people just by being so kind.
“I have a few things I must attend to, but, Ms. Cross, please have one of the nurses escort you and Ms. Griffin to my office once you’re done with Dr. Bellmont. I have something I would like to speak with you about,” Dr. Dorian said, then nodded a goodbye and walked off without another word.
“He’s like that, all about business. Typical case of lone wolf syndrome with that one,” Dr. Bellmont commented, and I could see it.
“Come into my office, ladies.”
As soon as I walked in, my senses were hit with the scent.
“Oh, what is that smell?” I pretended like the strong smell was bothering me.
“Ah, sorry about that. Before Dorian had come in to talk, I had been polishing my shoes. It does have a strong scent.”
Shoe polish. The strange, waxy scent I’d picked up where Lisa had been attacked was shoe polish.
A clue, and I’d found the scent at the pastor’s office too. Many men polished their shoes, though, so that didn’t make the doctor the killer.
I took a moment to take him in as he walked over to his chair.
He was probably five foot nine, in his late forties, and not in great shape. Looked like the stress of his job had given him some premature wrinkling, along with the baldness. His clothes were bland business wear: a button-up shirt, slacks, and black polished shoes.
The doctor was chatty as he started to give us details about Amanda’s job. He too mentioned the calmness that she gave the patients. After a total of fifteen minutes, I decided it was time to go meet with Dr. Dorian.
Dr. Bellmont was very eager to keep talking, and I was afraid if I stayed any longer he would take it as an invitation to ask me out.
Rose confirmed he was very interested in me as soon as we were out the door.
Chapter Eighteen
Asher
I felt the energy shift after Echo and Rose exited the office and started walking to the nurses’ station.
Something inside me was roaring to go to Echo and kiss the shit out of her. To acknowledge whoever was throwing off the energy of lust and make my claim known.
“Still a normal man,” Draco commented. He’d been asking questions here and there about my people. In all his thousands of years being alive, he’d never met someone who wielded magic that wasn’t from the gods.
We managed to get some info out of one of the nurses that was closest to Amanda. Well, as close as one could get with the girl. She obviously liked to keep her distance from people.
Amanda had a crush on one of the male nurses over in the ER. That’s why she’d broken up with her boyfriend from the restaurant—she wanted to be free for Neil.
While the girls were in the office, we’d walked over to talk to Neil. He’d been really broken up about Amanda. Apparently he had a crush too, but was too shy to make a move. Now he regretted not going for it. He couldn’t recall anyone having an issue with her, and as far as I could tell, no one did.
“Let’s go see what they found.” Draco and I met them at the desk, just as they were leaving the ward.
“We’re going to talk with Dr. Dorian,” Rose told us, and as if he couldn’t resist himself, Draco leaned in to kiss his girl’s cheek then pulled her into an embrace. Love.
I saw Echo watching them but couldn’t discern what she was thinking. Was she envious? Did she think it was odd that they were so lovey?
“I missed you too, kitten, how about a kiss for me?” I guess I went for asshole rather than romantic before I could stop myself. Rose snickered, and I even caught a flash of a smirk on Draco’s face.
Echo looked at me, probably debating what animal she would turn into later so she could torture me.
But then her hands gripped my shirt and pulled me in for a hard kiss, a kiss that seared my soul and claimed me as hers right in front of everyone. The same kiss I had been aching to give her moments before.
It lasted only a few seconds, but the tingling feeling coursing between us would last for days.
“Go, Echo!” Rose gave Echo props then the two girls dragged us in the direction of a waiting nurse.
Dr. Dorian and I had never had the pleasure of meeting, but everyone else has met him a time or two.
His office was tidy, a workaholic with no family, if I was going by the lack of personal effects in the space.
The man himself seemed okay. He greeted everyone and got straight to business.
“Amanda Johnson was a special girl, like you all. Which is something I gather you haven’t gotten from anyone else you’ve talked to.”
It was something I’d been wondering, and when Echo looked at me, I knew she’d been wondering the same thing. Whoever this killer was, he or she was killing people with gifts.
“I have reviewed every case that was filed about cuts like these in the past fifteen years. Every one of them had gifts,” he continued then paused for our minds to catch up.
Rose didn’t question that he knew everyone had powers, but Echo did.
“How did you know I have gifts?” Her question came out a little harsh. She was all about keeping things to herself—her being outed was not on her agenda.
The doctor stared her in the eyes, not once blinking at the face that was giving him a glare of death. Strong man.
“Esme isn’t the only one in the hospital that’s treated the gifted. I know a thing or two.” This man was honestly not afraid at all of the crew in front of him. His head turned to me, and it tilted sideways slightly.
“You I haven’t figured out, but assuming you’re with them, then you are either gifted or special in your own way. Regardless, I thought your crew would want to know that the killer is targeting those like you. Reporting my finding to the police would make it public knowledge, and that is not something I think would be good. My hospital is busy enough without the extra chaos that is already brewing.”
Dorian actually seemed a little mad once he was finished.
“Thanks for the tip.” Draco was the one to speak up in the silence echoing in the office.
The doctor turned his stare to Draco, who he hadn’t really looked at until now.
I checked the energy in the air, and I could tell that Rose was feeling everyone’s emotions, both of us hypervigilant for anything off.
Nothing. There was nothing that I would consider dangerous, and actually nothing at all, as if the ener
gy in the room was frozen instead of flowing naturally. I bet if the doc had a plant in here it would never die and stay in perpetual bloom. It was odd, something I hadn’t seen before. Like time had stopped in the room, but everything kept moving on as if nothing happened.
“If you need help with this case from a medical standpoint, I’d like to offer my services. This is my city, and I’ll be damned if some serial killer is going to take my people away like that.”
Okay then.
The good doctor was on our side, and he was angry enough that he wanted to catch the killer.
Chapter Nineteen
Echo
After Dr. Dorian’s offer to help, we left his office, and parted ways. Rose gave me a hug, and Draco smacked Asher on the back in a friendly man goodbye.
I was tired from talking to so many people, and really wanted nothing more than to relax for the rest of the day, but I had to go talk to people at the restaurant.
Asher and I decided to grab some food while we were there because I was starving and got cranky when I didn’t eat often.
While we ate, we asked questions, and then talked to the ex-boyfriend.
He and Amanda had split up on good terms. Asher had filled me in on why they’d broken up, and it seemed like the ex knew that. He wasn’t jealous, which to me was odd. I guess they were just better as friends than lovers.
It was late in the afternoon by the time Asher pulled into his parking space, and I was mentally drained.
The only leads so far were the shoe polish scent, and that Amanda had gifts, which made her a target. Usually the victims had some contact with their killers, so I’m guessing it was someone from the church or the hospital. My gut told me it was the pastor or Dr. Bellmont, but I would need to dig deeper before jumping to conclusions. Many men polished their shoes; it could be coincidence and there was something else I was missing.
Of course, when Dr. Dorian said that the killer was only targeting those with powers, his eyes flicked to mine briefly, and I knew my parents must have had gifts, if they were murdered by the serial killer. I’d thought about that often, since I have powers, so maybe they did.
Dusk (Hero Society Book 3) Page 7
