The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) Read online

  Back at the station, Veronica was sitting behind her desk while Roy sat across from her reading the report they had discussed earlier. Every so often he would shake his head or mutter under his breath. She didn’t say anything, for fear of losing whatever ground she might be gaining with her boss. He was a skeptic, she knew. But if she could manage to get him to at least consider the possibility, it might make things easier.

  At that moment the door to her office opened and Ryan stepped in. “Sorry Sarge, but I heard the Chief was in here with you.”

  “Has something happened?” asked Roy.

  The young man shook his head, “I was just wondering if anyone got a chance to follow up on what we talked about yesterday?”

  Ronnie shot a questioning look at their boss, who sighed and said, “Your partner here went to the Morgue yesterday with his younger brother Charlie. It was his brother’s first time back since Dr. Wells died. They had a very unusual experience while they were there.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Ryan nodded and proceeded to tell Veronica what happened.

  When he’d finished, she turned to their boss and asked, “Did anyone get a chance to check it out?”

  Roy nodded, “Two of our people went and checked both the room and that locker.” Then he stood up and put a fatherly hand on the young patrolman’s shoulder, “Both were clean and dry son.”

  “But Charlie and I... We saw it, there was water everywhere…” Ryan stammered.

  Veronica spoke up, “You mentioned a smell before you opened the door of the refrigeration unit, right?”

  Roy’s eyes went wide, “The vapors. They must still been in the room from the night Wells died.”

  “What vapors?” asked Ryan in confusion.

  His two superiors quickly filled him in. Once they finished he sat down heavily and shook his head. “But, Charlie and I saw the exact same thing. People don’t share hallucinations.”

  “Were the two of you discussing the recent deaths?”

  Ryan frowned, “You’re thinking those strange fumes got to us and we talked each other into seeing the same thing, aren’t you?”

  “Do you have a better explanation?” Roy asked sitting down next to him. “Those lockers are part refrigerator, and the doors have a good seal. There’s no way anyone could’ve gotten the water inside the unit, and kept it there, while they closed the door.”

  “Then how come Wells looked like his whole body had been under water?” demanded Ryan. “What if there is a way to fill one of those lockers, and someone stuffed him inside and filled it with that weird water? Maybe they ran a tube between the locker and the seal.”

  Veronica raised an eyebrow, “Now there’s a thought. They could’ve carried the water from the stream in a tank on their back like a diver or an exterminator. Did anyone check the drains in the floor? There might be traces of the water down there.”

  Roy shook his head, “No, but we’ll have that looked into just in case. Though considering the darkness of the water, it probably would’ve left a stain on the floor and in the locker.”

  “We left that locker open. Maybe it evaporates with the liquid,” Ryan suggested.

  “Possible,” Roy admitted, “After all, we only found stains on Wells’ clothing and skin. The rest of the room was spotless.”

  “Cloth and skin are more porous and absorbent, than metal and linoleum,” Ronnie agreed.

  Roy looked from one to the other of his officers. “Interesting thought. It would certainly make things confusing on the surface. Now, assuming you’re right, what about Chase? How did the killer get the car filled up with the contaminated water? You’d need one helluva big tank to fill that wreck.”

  Veronica had an answer for that. “Overpower him, then use the hose on site and mix it with the contaminated water. No one was able to check for the level of concentration of the mystery element after you opened the door and the water rushed out. The only water left was a bit in the car, and what was in Chase’s lungs.”

  Roy looked at her admiringly, “Okay, but what about the locker last night? Why fill it up again?”

  “A trap for the next unsuspecting person to go in there,” suggested Ronnie. “Make it look like they suffered a hallucination, especially when nothing’s found afterwards”

  “Nearly worked,” Ryan sighed.

  Again Roy seemed impressed. But apparently he still had one or two points on his mind. “But why make the killings so elaborate? What do any of the victims have in common?”

  “The teenagers may have been a trial run,” suggested Veronica. “Maybe the killer has something bigger planned.”

  “Why kill Paul and Dr. Wells?” asked Roy.

  “The killer might have gotten worried that either one may have discovered something important, and silenced them by using the same method,” supplied Ryan helpfully.

  Now her boss’ eyebrows shot up, “You may have something there. It’s because of Wells we even found out about the mystery element in the water.”

  “Do we know what it is yet? Have we heard back from New York?” asked Ryan.

  “No. The boys at the lab are still working on it.”

  “Have they had any problems with hallucinations?” asked Veronica curiously.

  “No, but they only had a small sample,” Roy replied. “I’ll give them another call and see if they’ve learned anything. They might need to send a team in Haz-Mat suits to get a larger sample.”

  Ronnie breathed a mental sigh of relief. At least other avenues besides Alex were being considered. She only hoped that none of them would start pointing in her love’s direction again.

  It was early evening when Veronica came home to Alex on the floor with another woman. The stranger was in her early 50’s, with blonde hair and striking features. The two of them were seated in the Lotus position, holding hands with their eyes closed.

  “Excuse me…” she began.

  “This Marianne Matheson, my teacher,” Alex explained, eyes still closed.

  “Yoga?”

  “Psychic,” Alex replied, and finally looked up at her. “I told you, I’m out of practice, Marianne was my mentor. With everything that’s been going on I decided to call and ask her to give me a refresher.”

  He still remembered their first encounter. He’d been only nine years old and she had greeted him without speaking. He had returned the gesture. From that day on they spent many an hour like that. She was a warm and caring woman, with talents even stronger than his in some areas. Her ability with Psychometry was unlike anyone he had ever met. In time she taught him that skill. Eventually she also helped him reclaim a talent his mother had taught him. Sharing dreams… even daydreams.

  His mother had first demonstrated this gift when he was having a nightmare. She had sensed his distress from her own sleep, and had projected herself into his dream to alter it. And somehow he had been aware of what she had done. They talked about it the next day. In time they found they could even share daydreams, creating landscapes and adventures as well.

  He had tried to share this gift with his sister and father after her passing. But because he had started studying stage magic, Sharon simply accused him of using hypnotism on her. With his father, he was never sure whether he reached him or not, so he simply stopped trying.

  When he found out Cassandra was a sensitive he had tried it with her with great success. They had spent many a rainy day in those worlds they created together.

  The first time he tried it with Marianne she had been surprised, but not alarmed. She had actually found it amusing. “Well, I’ve not met many who can create a reality on the psychic plain,” she told him proudly, “Let’s see how far we can take it, shall we?” In time she had taught him to add more realistic elements to the landscape, like touch and smell.

  “I didn’t know psychics had mentors,” Veronica commented studying the woman carefully.

  “Alexander was more than a student,” Marianne Matheson replied opening her eyes and looking up at her w
armly. “He worked with me and my husband for several years as part of our team. Our job was to investigate people or places affected by paranormal activity.”

  “Was he of any use?” asked Ronnie.

  “Very,” Marianne nodded enthusiastically. “He was one of our best…”

  “Until Harlequin House,” Alex supplied quietly.

  Ronnie shot him a look of concern, “Is that the place that nearly killed you?”

  “Yes,” he replied calmly. “Marianne and her husband were among the team who rescued us. We’d never gotten out of there alive, without the two of you.”

  “Chalmers didn’t,” his mentor sighed.

  “Alex told me,” said Ronnie quietly, “I’m very sorry.”

  “Thank you,” Marianne smiled and turned to her student. “You’ve lost none of your strength, but you’ve put up too many barriers. They need to come down.”

  “So I’ve been told,” Alex agreed. “That’s why I called you. I need to know how to protect myself once I’ve lowered them. Something’s going on around here, that’s almost as strong as Harlequin House.”

  Marianne’s eyes widened, “That bad?”

  “It could just be that I’m just out of practice, and it just seems that way,” he admitted. “But I don’t think so. Plus, I’ve been reached out to.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Veronica.

  Marianne answered before he could. “Someone who’s been hurt by this menace has become fixed on Alex, believing he can help them. Now we can try to get them to transfer their hopes onto another, but that could be hard if not impossible. Our best bet is to get Alex back to flexing his psychic muscles and strengthening them.”

  Ronnie wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. “So where do you start?” she asked.

  Marianne smiled, “Well, first of all he’s going to need someone to help anchor him. When the visions are intense or really strong it’s easy to lose yourself in them. The bond I’m sensing between the two of you should be more than sufficient.”

  Veronica’s eyebrows shot up, “Me? But I’m not…”

  “Exactly!” the other woman beamed. “You won’t be affected by what’s happening and can keep him from being overwhelmed by what he’s experiencing. Just your presence should be sufficient, but other times a little more is required. Come we’ll start right now.”

  Ronnie wasn’t sure about this, but Alex had always been there for her when she needed him the most. Now she was being offered to do the same for him, so she joined them on the floor. Marianne linked their hands and began the lesson.

  The next morning Alex and Marianne walked into a seemingly deserted Police Station. The only person visible was Pam at the Reception/Dispatch desk, and she looked frazzled.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Roy’s got everyone in the Squad Room.”

  “What’s happened?” asked Marianne curiously. She had stayed overnight with Alex and Ronnie. The training had lasted until almost midnight and it had taken a lot out of her. She was so exhausted she barely noticed the phone ringing at 5:30 AM summoning Veronica to the station.

  It was now eight o’clock, and there had been no word from her.

  “We’ve got an Amber Alert,” the blonde dispatcher replied, “A messy separation. Father grabbed the daughter from school yesterday and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Supposedly he was abusing the child and his wife threw him out. We’ve been trying to locate them since last night.”

  Marianne looked to Alex, “They may need help, are you up to this?” she asked.

  He nodded and led the way to the Squad Room and entered. The space was packed with uniformed officers to the point of being standing room only. Even without his abilities, the tension in the room was easily felt.

  At the front of the room were two white boards and a podium. One of the boards was covered with photos, while the other had a time-line of events and sightings. Roy was standing behind the podium giving his team an update on the situation. He was looking very tired.

  Alex spotted Veronica standing off to the side of her boss. She, too, looked tense and worried. She happened to glance in his direction, and her face lit up.

  Roy must have noticed this because he paused in the middle of speaking to follow her gaze. As soon as he saw Alex he scowled, and then went back to addressing his officers. “Now we want to find Katie and her dad as quickly as possible. They could’ve crossed several states since yesterday, but we…”

  An officer entered the room and held up a doll, “Chief, we have a confirmed sighting from last night.”

  Peterson gestured for the officer to join him.

  As the patrolman made his way past Alex, the doll brushed up against him. Suddenly, an image appeared in his mind and then it was gone. But, it left him extremely puzzled. Something about this situation didn’t seem right.

  Meanwhile up at the podium there was a brief discussion then Roy turned back to his officers saying, “According to Officer Patel here, Anderson and his daughter were eating at Frankie’s Diner off Route 22. Just before the news came on they finished eating and got out of there in a hurry. In the process Katie forgot this,” he held up the doll. “I suspect she loves this doll a lot and probably wants it back real bad. Now let’s make that happen.”

  “That might not be easy Chief,” pointed out one of his officers in the front row, “Anderson’s got a record for being a hothead and getting into fights.”

  “I wonder if anyone asked the people at the diner, if the child looked frightened or happy when she was with her father,” murmured Marianne curiously.

  Alex was wondering the same thing, but for a totally different reason. But before he could say anything, Chief Peterson addressed them. “Do you have something to share with the rest of us?”

  Marianne nodded and repeated her remark.

  Peterson frowned and checked with Officer Patel who merely shrugged. “That’s a good question. I want someone to go back to the diner and check into that. Meanwhile, I want the rest of you out there and looking for Katie and her Dad. If you find them, be careful how you handle him. Try not to do anything too rash in front of Katie. She’s going through enough already. We don’t want her to see her Dad get shot if we can avoid it. That’s all.”

  Ronnie quickly made her way over to Alex and Marianne. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Roy ordered me to show up this morning, remember?” Alex replied absently.

  He needed to see that doll again, something wasn’t right.

  Before Ronnie could speak, Roy addressed them from the podium. “Son, unless you’re about to tell me something I want to hear you best leave. I haven’t got time for more of that Twilight Zone crap you were giving me yesterday.”

  Ronnie gave Alex a warning look and said quietly, “As you can see, this was not a good time. Take Marianne with you and go home. I’ll be in touch later okay?”

  “No, I need to see that doll,” he told her firmly.

  Jack Thompson, who had been walking past at that moment, stopped and stared at him for a moment. Then he asked, “What for?”

  Marianne answered, “We want to try some Psychometry. The child will have left some impressions on the doll. We may able to figure out where they were headed.”

  The big officer stared at the woman and then at Alex. “You knew that fourth floor was there at the Graham place before we even got there, didn’t you?” he murmured. Then without waiting for a reply he turned to his boss, “Chief, we need that doll. We’re going to try a psychic experiment with it.”

  Peterson’s face turned red as he slammed his fist on the podium, “WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT KIND OF BULLSHIT RIGHT NOW. GET THOSE TWO CIRCUS FREAKS OUT OF MY SIGHT!”

  “But what if these two are for real?” insisted Thompson. Several of his fellow officers, who hadn’t left the room, paused to listen.

  Peterson stormed away from the podium and right up to Alex. “All right Mr. Psychic. Let’s see you do somet
hing useful,” he snapped and shoved the doll into the younger man’s hands.

  Ronnie was about to protest, but Marianne put a hand on her shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

  Meanwhile, Alex was studying the doll. It had seen a lot of hugs and love over time. Undoubtedly, it was sorely missed by its owner as Roy said. Already he could feel the emotions washing over him. Darkness, pain, isolation, confusion... He needed to go deeper. Anchoring himself as Marianne had shown him, he brought down the barrier and pushed the door open.

  Happier times, there were never any fights or shouting. That had only started a few months ago… Images began to come now. Disjointed and in no particular order. They never were, except on rare occasions and this wasn’t one of them. But he was able to piece them together.

  Finally, he turned to Veronica and said, “You should be one of the officers to fetch Katie and her Dad. Bring a physician with you. And have the person check her legs and her back, there’s a reason she’s been wearing long pants instead of shorts in this warm weather.”

  Roy looked troubled at these words and asked, “Any idea where we can find them?”

  Alex nodded, “They went to stay with a friend of her Dad who works at a hotel just across the state line. And I happen to know the owner of that place. Cassandra…”

  “Someone call?” said the lady in question entering the room. “I just got back from the city and came here to see you Chief Peterson. You called yesterday about something going on at Graham Manor?”

  Roy nodded, “Yes, but that’ll have to wait. We’ve got a situation and we could use your help.” He quickly gave the heiress a rundown of the situation. “Mr. Hill here,” he spared a look at Alex, “seems to think we can find them at your hotel.”

  “Can I have the year, make and model of their car?” asked Cassandra, pulling out her phone. “I’ll have security run a check in the employee parking area. That’s where they’d be most likely try to hide the vehicle if they’re holding out at the hotel.”

  Five minutes later, they had their answer. “Why don’t you have a couple of your officers come with me in my limo,” suggested Cassie helpfully. “That way they won’t see you coming and try to make a run for it.”