by Deborah Camp
“Get away from me.” She dug harder in her purse and glanced around, nervously. “I’ll scream, motherfucker.”
He reached behind, under his jacket, and his hand closed on the butt of the gun. He kept smiling at her because he could tell it scared her. His smile did that to women. Scared them. “You’ll scream, huh?”
“Yes!” She’d found her keys and yanked them out with a triumphant flourish.
“It’s hard to scream with your mouth full of lead.” He whipped the gun out of his waistband and pointed it right at her red mouth. He saw stark fear blow the pupils in her eyes before the gun flashed and she fell like a sack of potatoes at his feet. He kicked her bloody head. “Go ahead and scream, bitch.”
He shoved the warm gun into his waistband again, reached down and grabbed her keys and purse off the pavement. Sliding behind the wheel, he fired up the car’s engine and drove away. Nobody came running out of the bar. The jukebox was too loud and the women inside screeched with laughter. The parking lot was dark, feebly lit by a bar sign that had only a few of its bulbs functioning. Instead of “Badlands” the sign now spelled out “Bdnds.” She’d parked at the back of the lot where the light barely reached. Yeah. It’d be a while before anybody found her.
And by then? He’d be vapor in the wind . . . He laughed hard, so hard that his eyes teared up. The power he wielded stiffened his cock and made his heart boom in his chest. He’d put that bitch in her place. Thinking she was too good for him . . . that she could flick him away from her like he was an insect. It felt damned good to get rid of one more snobby skank. He was doing mankind a fucking favor!
A dog barked and something grabbed his foot and yanked on it . . . the world outside the windshield vanished. Trudy blinked and came back to herself as Mouse nipped at the toe of her slipper again to get her attention. She’d brought the stuffed porcupine over to Trudy, dropping it by her feet. Mouse wagged her tail, waiting for Trudy to throw it again.
Trudy scrubbed her face with her hands, dislodging the last of the visions and extracting her from the murder she’d witnessed. By rote, she reached for the stuffed toy and threw it for Mouse to pounce on again before she went upstairs, moving like a sleepwalker to the den to find Levi.
He sprawled on the sofa, his attention on the TV. “The movie is over. You’re in time for all the bad, bloody local news, though.” Smiling, he glanced in her direction, and did a double take. He shot up and clamped his hands on her shoulders. “What’s going on?”
“He just killed a woman in cold blood.”
“Who? Lincoln?”
“Yes.” She wrapped her arms around his middle and relaxed against him, closing her eyes and trying not to see the blood and hear the gun blast echoing in her head. “He left her in the parking lot. The b-bar is named Badlands. The dead woman’s name is Sally.”
He let go of her to grab his cellphone off the table. “I’m calling Myers. Maybe the woman is still alive.”
“No.” Trudy swallowed the bile that made its way up her throat. “She’s dead.”
“Hey, Myers?” Levi spoke into the phone. “Trudy was just in the bastard’s head again and saw him murder a woman. It happened in the parking lot of a bar called the Badlands.” He looked at her, his smile tentative and full of sympathy. Suddenly, a muffled scream rent the air.
“Stuart!” Trudy gasped.
“Go to him, Tru.” Levi made a shooing motion.
Trudy raced toward Stuart’s bedroom. Stuart sat up, eyes wide, his small chest heaving. “It’s okay. I’m here.” She sat on the bed and embraced his stiff, trembling body. “It was a bad dream, honey. It’s okay, though. I have you, Stewie.”
He hugged her back and pressed his damp face between her breasts, his rapid breath making her blouse flutter.
“He was in it,” he mumbled. “That man that feels like ice.”
“Ike Lincoln,” Trudy said, kissing the top of his head. “But you’re safe, baby.” She closed her eyes and rocked back and forth, needing to feel him secure in her arms as much as he needed the security of hers. What she’d witnessed at the hands of Lincoln writhed in her mind and twisted her gut. He’d murdered that woman as if he were swatting a fly. The man didn’t have a chip on his shoulder; he had a whole block of ice on it. Anyone who slighted him, especially any woman, was erased by him.
“If I know what he looks like, does he know what I look like? Does he know that I live here now?” Stuart snuggled closer, rubbing his cheek against her. “He knew about the new house.”
“Don’t worry about that. We have security all the time. Even when you’re at school.”
He sniffed. “The police will find him.”
“Yes.” She inched back and framed his small face in her hands. Smiling encouragement, she kissed his forehead and then the tip of his freckled nose. “I’ll slide into bed with you, okay? We’ll snuggle.”
Lifting the covers, she settled on the bed and Stuart rested his head on her shoulder, cuddling close against her side. She wrapped one arm around him and began to softly sing Count Your Blessings. She felt him relax and heard his breathing even out. He liked for her to sing to him and she liked it, too. By the time she’d crooned the last note, he’d fallen back to sleep. She hoped he’d been counting his blessings. Movement near the door drew her attention. Levi was silhouetted there.
“Everything okay?” he whispered.
“Yes.” Slowly and carefully, she extracted herself from Stuart. He murmured something, frowned a little, then plopped onto his other side and dropped back into his dreams. She moved on cat feet out of the room and left the door ajar, just as Stuart liked it.
“You’re so good with him,” Levi whispered, his eyes warm and his smile even warmer. “What was the nightmare about?”
“That night, of course, and the man who feels like ice. What did Bill Myers have to say?” she asked when they were in the living room.
“He’s sending cops to the bar. He’s pretty sure it’s the one out by Cabbagetown. An old neighborhood bar that’s seen better days.”
“Which means that Lincoln is still in Atlanta.”
“Right.” He sat in one of the chairs and patted his lap. “Come here, baby.”
She complied, grateful for his arms around her and the stroke of his lips along her cheek and chin. “I’m scared for Stuart, Levi.”
“I know. But the cops are closing in on Lincoln. They might even grab him tonight since you had a vague idea of the car he took.”
“This man is a chameleon. He’s been outpacing the law most of his life. He changes his appearance every so often and doesn’t drive the same vehicle long or have the same job for more than a few months. I bet he even uses different names and has several fake IDs.”
He rubbed his chin along the top of her shoulder. “His luck’s running out.”
“He knows where Stuart lives and so he knows where Stuart goes to school. That’s too much for him to know. Stuart isn’t safe, Levi.”
“He has security on him twenty-four-seven.” He met her worried gaze. “You want to keep him here? Want to home school him until Lincoln is arrested?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed and slumped against him, feeling helpless and confused. She cursed Sissy Franklin’s big mouth again. “Has Sissy called or texted you since you told her to get lost?”
“I don’t know. I blocked her number and gave orders at work not to put her through to me – ever.”
She straightened and pushed his hair off his forehead. “When it’s over, it’s really over with you, huh?”
He shrugged. “I’ve never actually cut someone off like that before. Other than my father, but he was the one who cut me off first.”
“I suppose you miss her . . . friendship.” She ran her fingertip around the collar of his t-shirt. She giggled when he tried to bite her hand.
“No, I don’t miss her . . . friendship,” he mimicked. “Anyone who disrespects you has no place in my life.”
His cellphone buzzed in
his jeans pocket, making them both jerk. He dug it out and nodded. “It’s Myers,” he said, then answered the call. “What’s the news, Detective?”
“Found the car, but not Lincoln,” Myers’ deep voice emerged clearly from the speaker. “We’re fanning out, trying to chase him down. We did find the woman’s body in the parking lot of the bar. Just like y’all said we would. One bullet to the head. She’s been identified and we’re notifying next of kin. That’s all I have for you. I’ll check back with you tomorrow.”
“Right. Thanks for filling us in.”
“Sure. And, well . . . if Trudy . . . uh, if she sees him in her head or however it works, be sure to call me. I don’t care what time it is. We need to get this scum off the streets.”
“Will do.” He ended the call and chuckled, darkly. “Always interesting to hear the police try to describe what we do, isn’t it? It’s like they can’t say words like ‘psychic connection’ or ‘spiritual communication’ or even ‘ESP.’”
“Hey, even we have trouble describing it,” she reminded him, then stood and grabbed his hands. “Come to bed.” She pulled, helping him to his feet, then flung her arms around him and tipped her head back to look into his half-lidded eyes. “We have to keep Stewie safe, Levi. It will kill me if anything happens to that child.”
“We’re on high alert around here, baby. Lincoln won’t be able to slip up on us. Also, don’t forget that you and Stuart can feel his presence.”
She nodded, but her worries didn’t lessen. If anything, after what she’d seen Ike Lincoln do tonight, her concern for Stuart’s safety had doubled.
Chapter 16
Seated in the back of the Navigator, Trudy realized they were turning into the drive that snaked around Stuart’s school. She set aside her folders full of notes about Re-Home applicants and another with contracts and construction notes pertaining to their new home, which was within days of being finished enough that they could start furnishing it.
School had let out and Ned Thompson, their guard/driver, eased the big SUV behind a silver Mercedes. Trudy scouted the area for Stuart and saw Dixie Beech, part their other security detail, park behind them in another big, black SUV. Normally, being shadowed irritated Trudy, but she was glad for them now that Ike Lincoln was still free as a bird and knew that Stuart was in their care. She spotted Stuart as he skipped down the front steps of the school, saw him glance around, locate the cars, and head in their direction. He stopped for a minute to talk to a curly-haired boy, examining something in the boy’s hand, grinning, and then continuing toward the cars again.
Thompson left the Navigator idling to step out and open the rear door for Stuart. “Good afternoon, Stuart.”
“Hello, Mr. Thompson.” Stuart scrambled into the backseat. “Hi. I don’t have homework,” he told Trudy before she could ask. “We’re going to the museum, right? You promised!”
“Yes, I know.” Trudy patted his knee. “We’re off to see the dinosaurs at Fernbank.”
Ever since a teacher had mentioned the museum a few weeks ago, Stuart had been insisting on seeing its impressive dinosaur fossils and recreations. Although she wanted to keep him under lock and key, Trudy knew it wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be made to feel more frightened by being confined to home or school. Levi had encouraged them to go one day after school, so today was it and Stuart was so wound up he was jittering on the car seat.
“Buckle up,” Trudy reminded him as the car inched forward. “What was that other boy showing you a minute ago?”
He had to think a second before he recalled. “Oh, a Star Wars trading card. Darius has a really old one of Princess Leia.”
Really old. Ancient. Like a dinosaur. Trudy chuckled to herself. “Princess Leia is a great character. She was one of the first females in an action film who saved herself and helped save the guys while she was at it.”
He thought about that for a few seconds before shrugging it off. “Can you or Levi do the Jedi mind trick?”
“What’s that, precisely?”
“You know, how Obi Wan can make the Storm Troopers do what he wants. Like he tells them, ‘This isn’t the droid you’re looking for,’ and they repeat it and walk away. Can you do that?”
“No. And neither can Levi.”
“You think I could someday?”
“I don’t know. Why? Did something happen that makes you want to control what people think?”
“It might be fun. I bet the kids at school would think I was a Jedi Knight.”
Would they? She doubted it. If they were anything like the kids in her school had been, such a talent would result in them treating him like a leper. “Remember what we said about kids being mean to kids they think are different? I’d be careful about what I wished for, if I were you. I think it’s best that we should explore what you can do already and figure out how you can use it to help others.” She observed his scowl of disappointment. “You wouldn’t want to control someone’s thoughts any more than you’d want someone to put thoughts in your head, right?”
He rubbernecked as they passed a road construction crew. “Look at that big, old hole they’ve made in the street!”
“Stuart?” she prodded.
“Huh?”
“Would you want someone dictating your thoughts and actions?”
“No, but, you do that.”
“No, I don’t.” She glared at him, stymied by his perception of her abilities. “People’s thoughts enter my head, but I don’t control what they do or how they think. If I could do that, I’d stop them from breaking the law and taking lives.”
“When I’m grown up, will that happen to me? Or like what happens to Levi?”
“It’s not like that, Stuart. You’re born with certain abilities and talents. As you get older, you’ll just learn how to control them and use them beneficially. Levi and I will help you with all of that.”
“I can tell what people are thinking sometimes. I just thought I could learn the Jedi Knight trick.”
“First of all, it’s not a trick. It’s a skill. And it’s a skill that you shouldn’t use for kicks or to impress your classmates.” She poked him in the ribs, making him giggle. “And you’re not a Jedi Knight. Not even close!”
He grinned at her, showing off the gap between his front teeth where he’d lost another baby tooth. “Darius has seen these dinosaurs and he says they’re the biggest of anywhere.”
She grappled to keep pace with his hairpin turns of conversation. “Yes, they’re supposed to be humongous. The literature on them said that one of them is more than a hundred feet long.”
“I wish Levi was with us.”
She smiled, touched that he liked having both of them along. “I’m sure he does, too, but he’s booked solid this week and next. Plus, he’s making up for when he took the day off to celebrate his birthday.”
“That was fun,” Stuart said, grinning.
“It was.” They’d played a round of miniature golf – which Stuart had won quite handily – and then had taken in a movie and dinner. At home, they’d enjoyed the cake Trudy had baked for the occasion and Levi had opened presents. Although he acted as if the fuss being made over him was silly, she’d known without a doubt that he’d enjoyed every minute of the day. He’d especially liked the model space station Stuart had gifted him. He and Stuart had spent hours putting it together.
“I texted Levi a few minutes ago to remind him that we’re going to the museum. He was in a conference meeting.”
“Is it sigh-kick stuff?”
She laughed at how he still said psychic with the emphasis on the first syllable. “No. It’s construction stuff.” She shifted to look squarely at him. He was so cute, it was hard to resist not giving him a Tucker hug. Dressed in brown loafers, navy slacks, tan belt, white shirt, and navy pullover sweater, he stared past her out the car window, his mind probably on all things prehistoric. “We got some good news today.”
His gaze slid to her. “About that bad man?”
�
�No.” I wish. “Something good, though. We have a firm court date for your adoption. January eighth.” She held her breath, watching his every expression. She could swear he was trying hard not to bust out and grin, ear to ear. “You still want to be our son, don’t you?”
He fiddled with the strap on his safety harness. “I kind of already am.”
She caved, slipping an arm around his shoulders and hugging him against her side. “Yes, but in January we’ll make it official.”
“Official.” He squirmed, and she loosened her hold on him. “Can we watch the movie?”
“What movie?” she asked, still thinking about his adoption. There was a movie?
“Darius says there’s one at the museum about flying dinosaurs that’s really, really cool.”
“Oh.” She slipped her hand down the back of his head before straightening away from him. So much for court dates and adoptions! “Sure, I don’t see why not.”
They chatted about dinosaurs and movies featuring dinosaurs the rest of the way to the museum. Stuart was dumbstruck when he saw the museum entrance where two big dinosaurs dominated the area.
“Cool!”
Thompson stopped the car. “You want to hop out here, ma’am? Adam Beckell is in the car behind us. He’ll escort you inside and then we’ll meet up after we park the cars.”
“Okay.” She smiled when Beckell appeared and opened the car door for them. Stuart unbuckled and sprang out, but Beckell placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him from dashing ahead. “Wait for me, Stuart. No running in there. We walk together. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He tapped a foot, displaying his impatience with her.
“Thanks, Adam,” she said to the guard, then took one of Stuart’s hands in hers. “Look, Stu, this plaque says that these dinosaurs roamed Georgia.” She pointed to the information and Stuart perused it.
“Oh, right! They’re hadrosaurs.”
Trudy glanced at Adam and gave a helpless shrug that made him smirk. “Let’s go in.”
The museum lived up to the hype. Stuart was agog, dragging her from one amazing sight to the next. None was more impressive than the eight-ton Gigantosaurus that looked ready to munch on an Argentinosaurus. Above them, hung a flock of prehistoric birds, adding to the thrilling scene. Stuart stood planted in one spot, his head thrown back, his eyes gobbling up every detail – each razor-sharp tooth and spiky vertebrae.
