I'd hate to break the news to him, but the closest Bigfoot lived in Southern South America. They had moved out of North America about thirty years ago.
Bill's Path looked odd. I wasn't sure what I was seeing, but it appeared as though the Path was pressing in on him. I could read everything coming off him, but things were falling towards him almost as much as they were drifting away. Was the Path imprinting on him instead of the other way around?
"Do you take drugs?" Logan asked.
"I told you, I'm not some crazy person. I don't believe in aliens, and I don't expect zombies to rise from graves." Sparks of orange popped into Bill's Path, but we didn't need that to see that he was anxious about the question. I tapped the table, seemingly lost in thought. Logan took the hint and grilled Bill on drugs until he admitted that he, along with his roommates, smoked a little pot from time to time.
Logan kept him talking, switching the subject as often as he felt like it. I think that's why he liked interrogations so much. You're supposed to switch topics to throw the person off. Logan was a natural.
"What time did you get home?" Logan asked.
"Around twelve-thirty. They weren't there when I got home."
"Anyone else around that knows where you were?" Logan asked.
"I don't think so, only my girlfriend."
"What classes did your friends take?"
They were talking about classes and school when Logan flipped subjects. "What's that around your neck?" Logan asked.
I, too, had noticed that Bill kept touching something under his shirt.
"It's ah, nothing, a necklace." Floods of orange and browns filled Bill’s Path, strong enough that the room would hold another layer of emotion for a long time to come.
Chapter 5
Taking a closer look at the necklace, I saw that it held a Path of its own that had extended itself. This wasn't the dim Path of an object that moved through an area, this held power on its own. It was possible that my imagination was running away with me, but my fingers itched to investigate the piece further. Since we were in a police station, taking evidence without a proper procedure was frowned upon, so we'd have to work through the locals to get what we needed.
We stood and thanked Bill for his time. Some officers at the door appeared to be eager to get back in, and barely took the time to point us in the direction of Lieutenant Parker. Actually, it was Logan that was pointed in that direction. They were trying their best to ignore me.
"Are you all taking him away?" The lieutenant asked when we approached his desk.
"I don't think he's done anything," Logan said.
"Are you all holding him?" I asked.
"Everything looks normal," Lieutenant Parker said, "but each of the victims disappeared for about thirty minutes before they turned up dead. We're trying to piece things together."
"We do want to investigate a little further, but we don't want to step on any toes," I added.
"What do you need?" The lieutenant's voice had sunk a level. Maybe he was being overworked.
"He's wearing something around his neck," I said. "We'd like to hold it for testing."
The lieutenant raised his eyebrows at us. "You want his necklace?"
"Yes. Taken into evidence with no one else laying hands on it," I added.
"We know how to take evidence." There was an edge to his voice. "Why didn't you collect it?"
I shrugged. "If you'd rather we take-"
"We'll take care of it." Lieutenant Parker left us standing.
Logan introduced himself to an officer at another desk. The man looked surprised at first, but the elf could manage to make friends anywhere he went. The man offered Logan a seat and before long, they were chatting.
I stood awkwardly, feeling completely out of place. People walked by, and I tried to stay out of the way.
A man bumped into me on his way by, despite having loads of room to walk. I almost apologized, but I bit my tongue. He walked into me; there was nothing for me to apologize for.
"Watch it, lady." His eyes and attitude dripped with disdain. He looked so young that he had probably walked out of the police academy yesterday.
I'd had enough aggravation for one day. "I'm pretty sure you have enough space to move around."
The man crossed his arms. "You don't belong in here."
"Right now, I'd rather be about anywhere else." I tried to keep the derision out of my voice. I can't say that I was particularly successful, but it's the thought that counts.
"You have an issue with us?" He dropped his arms and stood up straighter.
"There a problem, officer?" Lieutenant Parker asked.
I looked over at Logan who had stood watching the debacle, but he took a seat and grinned before going back to his conversation.
"She's in the way." The officer smirked in my direction.
Lieutenant Parker frowned at him. "Before you say anything else, officer, it takes a minute to walk across the room. It's pretty obvious how you two bumped into each other."
The officer glared at me and walked away.
"Sorry about that," the lieutenant said, as he watched the officer walk away.
My aggravation drained away, leaving gloom in its wake. "It's okay. I'm getting used to it."
He raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "You shouldn't have to get used to treatment like that."
"I've had a charming reception all around so far," I said, feeling dejected.
Lieutenant Parker started to talk, and then stopped.
Logan joined us, and I tried to look professional.
"Don't worry about it," I said. "I'm sure it was a misunderstanding."
"I have your evidence." Lieutenant Parker was addressing both of us for the first time. "Sorry it took so long, but it had to be documented."
They probably took pictures from every angle and recorded the object in meticulous detail, all because we wanted to take a look.
Logan took the necklace and signed for it. "We'll send it back your way as soon as we're done with it. Are you releasing the kid?"
"In a few minutes. He's looking over his official statement now."
"To follow up, we'd like to take a cursory review of the victims," I said.
"Sure, I'll call ahead and let them know you're coming," Lieutenant Parker said.
"Thank you," I said, my smile not as forged as it had been.
Lieutenant Parker looked like he was stuck in his own mind when he walked us out, but then with three possible homicides in one night, it was no wonder.
"Do you have all you need?" Lieutenant Parker asked.
"Yes," Logan said, "but it doesn't look like we have a case here. We'll ask someone to drop the evidence back to you in a few days."
"Feel free to stop by if you need anything else," Lieutenant Parker said.
"We don't do much work in town, but it was nice meeting you," Logan said.
Lieutenant Parker shook our hands. "It was nice to meet you, Agent Seale, and you, Agent Heidrich."
"Okay," I said, but my mind was already on our next stop, the hospital.
Logan didn't look bothered about going to the morgue. Standing next to me waiting to be let out, he was humming, and this time, it was music that humans could mimic.
A buzz and a loud clunk announced that we could leave.
"Agent Heidrich, can I have a word with you, in private?" Lieutenant Parker asked.
Logan winked at me, "I'll wait out front."
Wondering what Lieutenant Parker wanted, I waited until the door locked again.
"I wanted to apologize," Lieutenant Parker said.
I shrugged but softened the attitude by giving him a friendly look. "Like I said, it's no problem."
"I'd like to make it up to you."
"Really, there's nothing to make up for."
He looked me straight in the eyes. "I'd like to anyway."
I wanted to say there really was no need, but I didn't manage to get the first word out.
"Would you like
to meet me for drinks tonight?" he asked.
Drinks? That was not the direction my mind had been working towards.
"If you're free," he added after I'd been silent for too long.
Was my face going red? "Um, sure. I mean, yes. I'd like that." Yep, it had to be red now.
"Do you know Royce? Over on 10th street? We could meet there around seven."
I'd heard the name, but was completely unfamiliar with the place, but the Internet was my friend. "Sure, I'd like that."
Had I already said that?
"I'll see you at seven." Lieutenant Parker stepped around the corner, and the door buzzed again.
Walking out, my mind was far from the hospital. Had I been asked on a date, or was this him feeling bad for being rude?
I guess I'd find out tonight.
"Are you two getting together at some point?" Logan asked.
"You knew he was going to ask me out?" I asked.
"Well, I had to make sure he knew this might be his only chance. I wasn't sure how your side of the conversation would go. I know last fall-"
"We're meeting later tonight." I didn't want Logan to move our discussion to last fall, so at the truck, I snatched the tablet up, and started discussing the case while Logan drove.
Hank let us know the victims were in the same morgue, and Lieutenant Parker called to tell them we would be stopping by.
In the basement of the hospital, I looked over the bodies while Logan talked to the man who had shown us around. The morgue had some vestiges of deep blue showing grief, but for the most part, the Path was as sterile as their cleaning fluids. The usual day-to-day Paths of people at work circulated through currents.
The hit and run was messy, so I concentrated hard on avoiding the damage and reading only Zeke's Path. It was fading, but everything appeared normal. There were no traces of anger or betrayal lurking around. Oliver was the same way, but Raj was another story. The Path peeled away from him as though afraid to touch him. An unnatural pocket of nothingness surrounded him.
"I was told it looked like this man died of natural causes. Is that what you've found?" I interrupted.
"Preliminary reports show no external causes of death, but he did suffer a small aneurysm. We ordered a tox screen, but that will take a couple of days. Too early to say it was natural, though, at least not with certainty."
I braced myself before opening the floodgates of the Path, allowing it to pour over me, amplified a thousand fold. The sterile morgue turned into a tapestry of color. Shapes moved around as the past came into view, overriding the present. Blurry images of doctors and nurses walked around, and sheeted gurneys were moved in and out of the room.
Pulling myself towards the present, I watched ghosted images of the three boys being brought into the room for us. Raj's Path was a gaping hole, and worse. As his body was moved around, other patches of voided Path had sprung up.
Shivering, I moved the Path further forward into the present. It was more difficult than I anticipated, but the blank spots drove me forward. This read too close to what had or hadn't surrounded the gnome, Am. Once I managed to get close to the present, I saw that the Path regained its typical flow. It was lighter in texture and color, but it had reclaimed the empty spaces.
Closing my eyes, I shoved the Path aside. When I opened them, I blinked rapidly as the dull colors of the real world returned. Logan and I left, thanking the man for his time.
"What did you find?" Logan asked.
"It's like Am. The Path around him is a blank slate. Do you think Raj knew about the Lost?" I asked.
"Most people wouldn't be able to keep the Lost secret if they stumbled into it. Bill swore that no one knew about him, apart from another Lost on campus. I doubt that Raj knew anything. We can have Hank dive into his background to be safe."
Logan called it in as we left the building. Once in the truck, I added to the report that Kyrian gave me, giving the agency an instant update on the investigation.
"According to the report," I said, "Raj and Zeek disappeared after entering a club downtown. Let's go there and see if we can find out where they might have gone."
"Is this town big enough to have a club?" Logan asked.
"We're turning into a city, at least when all the college students are around," I said. "Haven't you noticed that businesses and subdivisions have been creeping toward our neighborhood in the country?"
"Might be time to consider moving further out. Get a few more acres, spread out a bit," Logan said.
"What you mean is that you want a place large enough to get your own horse."
Logan laughed. It had such a musical quality to it that it held me briefly entranced.
Feeling lighter, I looked back at the case file. "Should we bring Rider in on the case?"
"We can ask him to check it out later."
***
Downtown wasn't busy, and we were able to park the truck on the street.
Logan hummed and watched people pass by as I struggled to pull up the Path and coerce it to flow into the past. In the morgue, the past popped up without trying. Here, it fought me every step of the way. The weather was cool, but it didn't take long for me to break into a sweat.
Since hundreds of people had walked through this area, each leaving their mark, the past would help me pinpoint which flowing trail we needed to follow. By the time I sifted through the evening, I was fatigued from the effort. Too much use of the Path in one day was draining me.
Once in the past, it was easier to focus what I was looking for and follow the flow without burning as much energy. Zeek and Raj left the club. When they parted ways, I followed the ghosted past of Raj. He walked towards campus, pausing a few times briefly on the way. University Park held many old Paths, but as he continued through, he appeared to be alone. We moved past stately old buildings used for lecture halls and classes, but I barely noticed them. When we reached the front of the law library, Raj's Path stopped.
He was there and then gone with nothing in between. No one else was around, and the Path held no memory of him after that time.
I walked around in circles, catching stray bits of Path, trying to see if they tied to our case. It wasn't until Logan put a hand on my shoulder that I fell into the flow of the Path, moving to the present. For the first time in a long while, I was able to stop Reading the Path without much issue.
Well, it wasn't any trouble until it was gone. When the world turned ashen, I swayed, and then sat down hard on the ground having worked myself into exhaustion. There are records of other Readers following Paths into death. Thankfully, my partner knew when I'd had more than I could take.
"I sent Rider back for the truck," Logan said. "You look more tired than a cowboy at the end of a long drive."
"When did Rider get here?" I asked. My eyes felt like they were burning.
"I called him after we left the club. He stopped by the morgue to catch some scents. He joined us on Raj's trail. When I saw you were about done for the day, I sent him back for the truck. He can track down where Oliver went through the evening, then come back to follow Zeek’s trail."
Logan stared as I hauled myself to my feet.
"I think I may have let you go too far today," Logan said.
"I'll be okay," I lied. Exhaustion leaked out of my pores, and the chilled weather was sinking back in its place.
We heard screeching tires and looked up in time to see Rider swerving around a car. The front tire of the truck jumped the curb and Rider came to a stop in front of us, half was on the street and half on the sidewalk. I must have looked worse than I thought because he jumped out and came around to meet us.
"You look like a ghost," Rider said. "Let me help you into the truck."
"I can make it to the truck on my own," I said.
Rider kept moving towards me.
"Boy, you are never going to learn," Logan chuckled.
"Rider," I snapped, "if you pick me up and put me in the truck I am going to tranq you."
Rider st
opped and looked from me to Logan, confused. Logan laughed louder.
"You're not helping," I said to Logan.
I teetered, but there was no way I was letting anyone see me fall. If I couldn't control what my power did to me, I wasn't much use in the field. I certainly didn't want one of my partners to feel the need to save me from myself.
"I'll drive," Logan said, patting Rider on the back and taking the keys.
Rider looked confused and climbed in next to me. I decided to ignore the confusion and move on.
"Did you find anything on the trail?" I asked.
Logan turned the heaters up full blast and drove back to Rider's car.
"Nothing," Rider said, "since one of the deaths was similar to the gnome death, I thought I might find the same oddity in the area, but it was clean. There was no one around him when he died."
"Maybe we should check the Path where they died as well," I suggested.
Logan raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word.
Right, I thought. Stupid idea. "Tomorrow?" I suggested.
"We'll put it on the agenda," Logan said.
"Meet us at the house?" I asked as we drove up to Rider's car.
"I will meet you there," he said as he got out.
"Can we grab some coffee on the way back? I need a large dose of caffeine." I stretched out in the seat.
"Thinking of staying up late tonight?" Logan asked.
I sighed. "I should file this report. Plus, I want to pick Rider's brain more about the gnome scents and the trails here."
"You may be forgetting something. At around seven tonight," Logan said.
The reminder caused pixies to riot in my stomach. "There's a lot to do. I should probably call and cancel."
Chapter 6
"All that work will be there in the morning," Logan said. "Go out. Have some fun."
Biting my lip, I flipped through a few pages of the case file without paying attention. "I haven't been out with someone in ages. I'm not even sure what adults do when they go on dates."
Logan snickered.
"Okay, a first date, what do they do on a first date?"
AIR Series Box Set Page 36
