The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) Page 17

  They had been the ones to fetch him from a hospital in Massachusetts, after Matheson had contacted them. His father and sister had been abroad in England and out of reach at the time.

  For days he had been afraid to go to sleep, terrified of finding himself back in that place and realizing he hadn’t escaped after all. His grandparents never left him alone and had eventually gotten him to eat and rest more quietly.

  Word of what happened, was never sent to his father. His rescuers had stressed the need for secrecy. The doomed expedition had lost four of the eleven who had ventured into that nightmare place. If word got out there would have been a full scale inquiry by the university. And he would have been held and he would’ve been called on to testify and relive his nightmare experience. No one wanted to put him through that, so the matter was dropped.

  Unfortunately, while he had recovered here with his grandparents, the other survivors suffered much different fates. Two were still institutionalized to this day. And as for Chalmers; his bizarre fate remained a mystery.

  Miraculously he had survived, in spite of the loss of blood and his lower leg. But he would have to be hospitalized for a few months. However, a few weeks after being admitted he disappeared from his room. His whereabouts remained a mystery for days and then weeks. Eventually, his body was found in front of the doors of Harlequin House, still wearing his hospital gown.

  To this day, no one was able to explain how he made his way back there or why his remaining foot was bare and completely clean.

  Getting out of the chair, Alex wandered into the living room and glanced out the big window. He could see the Ballroom from here. It had been a huge part of his recovery. For it was within those walls he’d taken his first dance steps.

  It had been a month after he escaped from Harlequin House that tragedy struck here. His Grandfather suffered his first heart attack. Unwilling to leave his Grandmother alone to face this trial, he had insisted on staying with her. Luckily, his father readily agreed. The extra time apart from his parent made keeping the secret, of what had happened in Massachusetts, that much easier.

  He never told his sister about it either. Such things as psychic abilities and haunted places were things that were not real, and anyone who believed in them needed their head examined. At least that was what she said before she found religion. Nowadays if he told her the truth there was a possibility he’d find himself burned at the stake. He wondered what Sharon would say when she finally realized her own son had such abilities. Although the boy was only three years old, Alex had already felt his nephew touch his mind more than once.

  And until the other day, he’d been deathly afraid to tell Veronica about what he could do. But she had accepted everything he told her without hesitation. She’d even told him that she’d met psychics before who had helped during some police investigations.

  A part of him wondered if this was really true, or if had she been humoring him.

  No, he knew better. She believed. And while this development had been reassuring to him, it had also been a little troubling. She’d always been adamant about him staying out of her work. But that had been before. Would she start asking for his help? And if she did, would he agree? Did he dare go down that path again?

  Turning away from the window, he went and fixed himself a pot of tea. He placed it on tray along with a large mug, cream and sugar. Then he carefully carried it to the living room, placed in on the coffee table, and stretched out on the sofa. He didn’t want to think about anything for a while.

  Grabbing the remote, he turned on the television and flipped through the channels until he found two rubbery monsters battling it out in Tokyo. It was followed by another movie in a similar vein with different monsters. He allowed his tired brain to wallow in the mindlessness of the film and fell asleep once more. This time his dreams were more peaceful.

  “This ain’t good,” muttered Roy staring at the report. It listed everything that had been found at the scene of Wells’ death. Among them was a handprint on the outside of the doors to the morgue, which did not belong to anyone on the hospital staff. But it did match a print they had on record here at the station, Alexander Hill.

  He put the report down and picked up the paper they’d found at the scene. The words, ‘Hill? Check with Sergeant Ross’ stared back defiantly at him. He sat back in his chair. Alex vanished from the party for an hour and was found near the source of the water used in all four deaths. And the hospital was less than a mile away, easily reached by foot in ten to fifteen minutes.

  By all rights he should’ve pulled the Youngster in for questioning, but there had to be a simple explanation. Hadn’t the Elliott girl also seen someone down at the bridge? He needed to talk to her. Ronnie might have her number, but that would mean telling her what was going on. But what choice did he have?

  Slowly, and very reluctantly, he got up from his chair and headed to her office.

  Counseling

  Cassandra smiled at the large cat in her lap. As soon as she’d arrived he’d come right up and checked her out. Apparently she passed inspection, because as soon as she sat down he’d immediately got on the couch curled up on her thighs. He even stayed there while she ate her breakfast, allowing her to balance her plate on top of him.

  “If you ever get tired of him, you have my permission to push him away,” Julie called out from the kitchen.

  “That’s okay, we’re getting along just fine,” Cassie assured her. Just then the big tom stretched his head up until it rested against the underside of her chin and started purring.

  Julie must’ve heard the sound because she popped her head out of the kitchen to see what was going on. A look of surprise crossed her face, “I don’t believe this! He’s usually hiding. Or sitting somewhere nearby glaring at my visitors. He terrorizes Alex.”

  “Really?”

  The big girl nodded. “Every time Alex comes over, Hercules here starts doing Kitty rips and knocks him over.”

  “His name is Hercules?”

  “Yup,” Julie smiled, coming over and scratching the cat’s head. “He’s twenty-five pounds of kitty muscle, no fat anywhere on him.”

  Cassandra was impressed. “I’ll make sure I stay on his good side.”

  “I think you’re already there,” Julie laughed and sat down, “I hope you enjoyed breakfast.”

  “Oh it was great, those omelets were to die for,” Cassie gushed, “and those muffins were killer. Especially the white chocolate ones, I never seen anyone do those before.”

  “They’re a specialty of mine,” Julie winked then added conspiratorially. “My mother doesn’t like any chocolate, but white. I made them for her one Christmas and she fell in love with them so much she even forgave me for being the way I am.”

  A dark cloud crossed over Cassie’s face. “She wasn’t happy about it when she found out you were a lesbian?”

  Julie shook her head firmly. “Mama is from Italy. Born and raised in the Catholic faith.”

  “I see,” Cassie nodded, “And what about your father? How did he take the news?”

  “In stride,” Julie answered honestly. “See homosexuality was not exactly a big problem among our tribe. In fact, among some tribes a woman who was a great hunter could also be a warrior. She was considered dual-spirited, someone imbued with both a man and a woman’s spirit. And if she was a good enough provider, she’d be given wives of her own.”

  Cassandra looked surprised and took another glance around the living room at the various Native American artifacts that lined the walls and tables.

  Julie was watching her and smiled, “They’re all genuine, if that’s what you were wondering. They’ve all been handed down among my family from generation to generation.”

  The heiress turned to face her again, “What tribe is your father from?”

  “Seneca.”

  “One of the original members of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois League,” Cassandra smiled.

  “Very good,” Julie applauded. “Do
you know the other name we’re called?”

  “The Five Nations,” Cassie answered, “Until the Tuscarora joined and then it was the Six Nations.”

  Impressed and pleased by this Julie said, “And for that, you can have another white chocolate chip muffin.”

  “Actually, I’d like to talk now. If you don’t mind,” the heiress replied quietly.

  “Of course,” Julie told her and sat down next to her. She had purposely waited for the girl to give her a hint as to when she was ready to talk. “Do you want to start, or have me ask questions?”

  “You start please,” replied Cassie without looking at her.

  “All right,” Julie agreed and leaned back in her chair, “Can you remember when you first knew you liked girls?”

  “Not really,” Cassandra replied, “I guess I always felt more comfortable around other girls. But I do know when I first got turned on by one.”

  “When was that?” Julie asked gently.

  “When I was sixteen,” Cassie paused and became even more embarrassed. “I got into a fight with another girl and…” her voice trailed off.

  Obviously this was hard on her so Julie said, “Take your time. Don’t rush yourself.”

  “We didn’t grab at each other’s boobs, or anywhere private,” Cassie explained quickly, “it was mostly hair pulling and pushing each other up against the wall, but both of us being naked at the time didn’t help.”

  This took Julie by surprise. “Where did this happen?”

  “Girl’s shower room back in high school,” the smaller woman replied turning red.

  ‘You poor thing,’ Julie thought and decided to try and lighten the moment. “Hey, don’t feel bad about how turned you on. I’m getting excited just thinking about it.”

  “Seriously?” asked Cassie.

  “No, but I thought it would take your mind off of how you’re feeling for a moment,” Julie told her honestly. “So what happened afterwards? Did you have any other encounters?”

  “Not with her,” Cassandra shook her head, “But I did find myself checking out other girls more and more. Mind you I only dated and went to bed with guys, but that never felt right.”

  Julie nodded. “I know what you mean. I thought about trying a guy once or twice but I felt icky just thinking about it.”

  This time the heiress stared at her speculatively, “You’re trying to make me laugh by saying boys are ‘icky’ aren’t you?”

  “Depends, is it working?”

  A smile started to break out across Cassie’s face, but then her cell phone rang. Reluctantly she pulled the device out and then frowned. “It’s Alex’s girlfriend Veronica!” she exclaimed. “Why would she want to talk to me?”

  “One way to find out,” Julie told her and waited as her guest took the call.

  After some brief pleasantries, Cassandra’s expression became more and more confused. She ended the call with, “I’ll come right away.” Then she turned to Julie and said, “I’m sorry I have to go. The police want to talk to me about last night. Apparently there’s been another death and they think Alex may be involved somehow.”

  “What?” cried Julie, then her own phone started ringing. Picking it up she immediately saw Ronnie’s number. “Do you want a wait a moment,” she told Cassandra, “I think I might be going your way.”

  Questions

  They arrived at the station in Cassandra’s limousine. The two of them had spent the entire drive talking about the odd-looking walking hanging on the back of the driver’s seat. It had a ball-shaped handle of white metal which was also affixed to the woodwork of the stick. Just below the handle, on one side was a curved lip.

  Cassandra had just finished explaining that it had belonged to one of her ancestors and that she occasionally needed it from time to time.

  Curiosity got the better of Julie. “May I ask why?” she inquired.

  “I have Epstein-Barr Syndrome,” her friend admitted with embarrassment. “I can seem perfectly normal for days, weeks, even months. But then it rears its ugly head and I’m the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I can barely get around, I ache like crazy, maybe have a fever, you name it.”

  Julie nodded in sympathy. Having a degree in Physical Therapy she’d studied up on a number of atypical conditions and the one Cassandra had just described was familiar to her. “You poor thing,” she sighed patting the girl’s hand.

  “I’m fine, don’t worry,” Cassie assured her and opened the car door. “Feel sorry for whoever ends up dating me in the future. They’ll have their hands full.”

  ‘Especially with your chest,’ Julie thought surprising herself. Except for the day they first met, she hadn’t thought about making a play for Cassandra. And now, knowing as much as she did about the girl, she wasn’t sure it would be a good idea. The heiress was going through a difficult phase with coming out to herself and then others. What she was going to need more than anything else was support, not a romantic entanglement.

  ‘Besides, you only intended to go on a couple of dates and then get her into bed for a good time. You don’t want a serious relationship remember? Not after what happened with your last girlfriend.’

  Julie frowned as she got out of the car. These thoughts had come from a part of her brain that had an annoying habit of pointing out the truth whenever possible. She thought of it as the “Chatty” part of her brain, since it never seemed to shut up.

  ‘Hey, you’re the one who chose to be aloof and unattached, Honey. Don’t blame me.’

  This time she mentally told her brain to fuck off as she and Cassie entered the station.

  Veronica was waiting at the front desk and did a double-take upon seeing them together. “You two know each other?” she said as they reached the desk.

  “We met a couple of days ago at my aunt’s restaurant,” Julie explained, planning on leaving it at that. But Cassandra had other ideas.

  “Julie’s helping me with some personal issues involving closets,” the girl added pointedly.

  “I see,” Ronnie nodded. It was obvious she caught the meaning and was a bit relieved. “Well, since you’re here together we might as well have my boss talk to you both at the same time. Follow me.”

  She led them down the hallway to Roy’s office where they were greeted by the man himself, and offered seats.

  After warning them both that what they were about to hear was not to go beyond these walls the police chief got straight down to business by saying, “Now Julie, I know you’re aware of the recent deaths of two teenagers who tried to run you down. What you may not know is one of my people was killed that same day while checking out the vehicle they had been driving.”

  This was news to Julie, “What happened?”

  “He got trapped inside the car and it somehow filled with water,” Peterson explained, “Now during the autopsies the Medical Examiner discovered that the water used to drown all three victims contained some unknown mineral, which is still being investigated at a lab in New York.”

  “Do you know where the water came from?” asked Cassandra studying him carefully.

  “The stream on the Graham estate,” Veronica answered, breaking her silence. “We got word that was the last place the teenagers were seen alive. Roy took a sample from the stream and tests revealed the presence of the unknown mineral.”

  “Which is why Alex said no one was supposed to go down there last night during the Open House,” Cassie nodded. “And that explains why he got so worked up when I saw that girl down by the bridge. The area was a crime scene. But how come it wasn’t taped off?”

  “We searched the area a few days ago and came up with nothing,” Roy explained, “but we were still waiting for results on the mineral to see if it had anything to do with why those kids tried to drown themselves.”

  “Do you think it had anything to do with what happened?” asked Julie, as a sense of worry crept over her. Uncle Jason lived near that stream.

  Roy hesitated before answering, “Yes, I do. You see I
received a voicemail from the medical examiner last night.” Here he turned to Cassandra, “Which is why I left the party so suddenly last night. It seems Dr. Wells started experiencing terrifying hallucinations after inhaling fumes coming from a water sample Sergeant Ross took from the stream in question. When I got to the Morgue he was dead. Drowned just like the others. Only this time it had happened in a completely dry room.”

  “When did he die?” asked Cassandra.

  “Sometime between 9:30 and 10:30,” Roy told her, “the same time Alex dropped out of sight from the party.”

  “And we found him an hour later, wandering around near the stream with his jacket all messed up and smelling of the tainted water,” she nodded uneasily. “How far away was the hospital?”

  “About a ten to fifteen minute walk,” Peterson answered.

  “You don’t seriously believe he had anything to do with it?” Julie exclaimed. “I mean come on, Ronnie, tell him…”

  But the chief cut her off, “Sergeant Ross has been removed from this investigation pending the outcome of this interview.”

  “I don’t believe this…” the muscular beauty began, when she felt a hand on one of her big biceps. “Easy,” Cassandra told her, “He’s just thinking in terms of what a lawyer might bring up in a courtroom.

  Julie glared at her companion and then turned to Ronnie who sighed and said, “She’s right. I can’t be seen possibly trying to protect someone I’m personally involved with.”

  Roy cleared his throat meaningfully and she became quiet again. Then he continued, “We have no way of proving Alex’s whereabouts the night the two teens died. Sergeant Ross was on the late shift and he was home alone working on his laptop.”

  “Which could be used almost anywhere,” Julie nodded.

  “Exactly,” Peterson agreed, “However, on the day Paul Chase died you were keeping an eye on him correct?”

  She nodded, “He was in bad shape. Poor guy could barely stand.”