Bad Connection (22 page)

“How's that?”

“I think God showed me what happened to Elena, even though it was after the fact, just so it doesn't happen to Kayla.”

“I hope you're right.”

Then Tony explains that the plan is to start out first thing in the morning. 'You'll probably want to hit the hay early;
we'd like to be out on the road as soon as the sun comes co up. We'll begin with the site where Elena was found.” He glances nervously at Ebony, as if he's worried about me. “It's cleaned up, of course, but I'm hoping the location itself will stir something up for Samantha. Maybe God will give her a vision
or
something. We've collected a lot of evidence and have some clues, but that's about it.” He turns and looks at me. “Other than your composite drawing of this Colby character, whom no one seems to have seen, we don't have a clear suspect yet.”

“Well, I'll really be praying tonight,” I tell him. “I'll ask God to help us.”

“Me too,” says Tony.

“I'm with you,” agrees Ebony. Then we tell Tony good night and head to our room. “I hope you don't mind rooming with me,” she says as we go inside the large room with two queen-size beds. “But I promised your mom that I would keep an eye on you.”

“Not at all. I'd probably feel uncomfortable being in a room by myself anyway.”

“Well, I'm exhausted,” she says. “But if you want to watch TV or anything, feel free.”

I admit that I'm tired too, and we both are in bed before ten o'clock. But as soon as the lights are out and it's quiet, other than the street noise down below, I am wide awake. Finally, after tossing and turning for nearly an hour, I get up and go sit by the window, just looking out, although there's not much to see down there besides the pool and other parts of the hotel that wrap around it.

It's my first time in Arizona, and I try to imagine how Kayla must've felt coming here. Where did she go? What did she see? Where did she stay? It's about midnight when I return to bed, so tired that I'm asleep before I know it.

I
ve made a huge mistake,” I say to the man who's approaching me now, too fast and too deliberately. We're out in the desert, trying to find the site where Elena was killed, but somehow I've gotten separated from the others. And now I'm in trouble. Big-time trouble.

I'm slowly backing away from this guy, glancing over my shoulder for a place to escape to but knowing there is nowhere to run. Only the wall of the building behind me. Why did I let myself get into this position? Why am out here all by myself with this horrible, evil man? I can feel his evil— seeping from his oversized pores—as he moves closer toward me.

“Take it easy, sugar,” he says in a voice that's tinged with a southern accent. “I ain't gonna hurt you. Just let me explain everything nice and slow and easy. Okay?”

“I just want you to leave me alone,” I say in what I hope is a firm l-mean-business sort of voice. “I've made a mistake, and I jUst want to leave now.”

The guy looks vaguely familiar to me, but I'm sure we've never met before. His face is ruddy and pudgy, and his eyes are small and pale and slightly close together. Kind of a pig face, although I wouldn't dare say this. I already
know that I've offended him simply by trying to get away from him.

“Just calm yourself down, little girl,” he tells me, still approaching, now only a couple feet away. “I know I'm not exactly what you expected to find here, but you'll like me…once you get to know me. I'll be your sugar daddy, and you'll be my baby. I'll be good and sweet to you, just as long as you are good and sweet to me, doll face.”

And now I am flat against the wall. Through my T-shirt, I can feel the coolness of cement blocks pressed against my back. It would be a relief in this hot dry air, except that I know I'm trapped.

'Please/'
I beg this horrible man, “just leave me alone.” But he continues moving closer. So close now that I can smell the body odor emanating from his sweaty blue T-shirt.

“I made a mistake,” I say again. “I didn't mean to come here.”

He leans forward, and his hot stinky breath, a combination of sour milk and stale tobacco, makes me want to gag as he plants both of his hands on either side of my shoulders. “Just relax, sugar. I ain't gonna hurt you.”

I raise my arms, double pny fists, and begin to scream and flail against him, begging this monster to go away.
“Leave me alone!”

“Samantha!”

He's shaking me now—but when I open my eyes, all I see is Ebony. She's standing over me, still in her silk pajamas, but looking down at me with real concern. My heart
is racing so fast that it feels like it's about to separate itself from my chest.

“Oh, Ebony!” I cry in frightened relief. “It was a dream!
A really bad dream”
I'm trembling, and it feels like I can barely breathe as she wraps her arms around me, patting o me on the back, rocking me from side to side.

“It's okay. Just relax and breathe. You're all right now, Samantha. Take a deep breath.
Relax.
You're in the hotel room with me. You're safe.”

Finally I'm calm enough that I'm able to talk, and I tell her about the terrifying dream.

“Do you think it was Colby?” she asks when I'm finished.

“Yeah. I didn't realize it in my dream, or not at first anyway. I mean, he looked familiar, but at the same time I'd never seen him. I remember feeling confused, and for some reason I kept telling him that I'd made a mistake.”

“I'll say.” She shakes her head. “Well, don't worry, Samantha. There's no way we'll let you anywhere near that man.”

“It was so awful, so freaky. I don't think I've ever felt that scared before. That must've been how Kayla felt…and Elena too.”

“No one should have to go through something like that.” She sits on her bed and folds her arms across her chest, “Not even in a dream.” Then she looks at the clock on the bedside table. “I'm going to get up now. You go ahead and sleep in a little more if you want.”

“Like I even can now.” I push the twisted covers away from me.

Before long, we've both showered and have eaten our room service breakfast and are waiting by the front door for Tony Mendez to come get us.

This is Willie and Kevin.” He nods to the two men in a similar SUV parked behind him. They'll be our backup, just in case.” He winks at Ebony. “Good to be prepared. And we've got more available if we need it.”

Ebony waits until we're in the car with Tony before she informs him of my latest dream. Then Tony asks me to go over it in detail as he drives us out of town and onto a highway. Ebony takes notes, for the second time.

“So this creep in your dream looked like the man in the composite drawing?” asks Tony. The Colby character?”

“Yes. But I didn't really get that at first. And he wasn't wearing the apron that said
Colby
on it.”

“And that building you backed into?” he continues. “Did you get a look at it?”

I consider this. “You know, I think maybe I did actually see it, like earlier in my dream. I think it's the first thing that I saw actually. Let me try to remember…” I close my eyes and lean back, wishing that Michael Taylor were here to coach me. Then it comes to me. “Yes!” I say suddenly. The building is what started the whole thing. I was walking in the desert; it seemed like we'd been hunting for the place where Elena's body was found, although that doesn't make sense since you know where it is. Anyway, I was walking and I was hot and I discovered this building, but it didn't really look like a building since it was really short and low to the ground, you know? Like probably just a bit taller than I
am. I guess I thought it was maybe a place for animals orsomething. It was made of cement blocks that were - painted; I remember the feeling of peeling paint on it. I think it was like a tannish color because it kind of blended in with the dirt. And I was walking toward this building when the man came up from behind me, and I turned around. That's when the dream got really vivid—and scary.”

They're both quiet in the front seat, and suddenly I'm concerned that something is wrong. Or maybe I'm just not being very clear. “Does that make any sense?”

“Yes,” says Tony. “It makes a lot of sense. But I guess that's why I'm feeling worried.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Well, these dreams you have, sometimes they're prophetic, right?”

“Sometimes…”

“Well, what if your dream was some kind of a warning for you personally, Samantha?”

“Yes,” says Ebony quickly. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

“Huh?”

Ebony turns around in the front seat and looks at me with concerned eyes. “What if you're in danger by coming out here with us?”

“But why?” I ask.

“I don't know
why,”
she says. “I mean, you're
with
us. Tony has backup. We're all armed. I honestly don't see how anything could possibly go wrong. “

“But that dream worries me,” admits Tony.

“And I promised your mother that I'd protect you.”

“And I'm sure you will.” I remember my initial surprise this morning when I saw Ebony strapping on her handgun, now hidden beneath her white linen jacket. But then I realized that's part of her job.

“But that dream.” Tony slows down now, like he's looking for a pullout, and I'm getting worried that he's going to turn around and take me back to the hotel. “What if it was for you, Samantha?”

“I don't think it was,” I try to sound assuring. “Honestly, you guys, I think I was just walking in Kayla's shoes, you know? I've had dreams like that before where I feel what she feels and see what she sees. At least I assume that's what's happening. I guess I won't know for sure until…”

“But I don't want to put you in danger,” Ebony says firmly.

“I really don't think I'm in danger,” I say with confidence. “Honestly, I think God gave me that dream so I can show you something today. Maybe you'll even catch this Colby creep.”

Tony glances at Ebony. “What do you think, Detective?”

Ebony turns fully around now, looking me straight in the eyes. “Are you certain, Samantha?”

I sort of shrug. “Who can be certain of anything? Besides God, that is?”

“I'm calling for more backup.” Tony reaches for his phone.

Thanks,” says Ebony.

“And would you mind repeating the description of that setting over the phone for me, Samantha? I want someone
back at the office to see if they can track down where a little building like that might possibly be located.”

“No problem.”

After Tony puts in his request for more backup, he hands the phone to me, and I tell a woman named Virginia about what I saw in my dream. “And you say the cement blocks were cool to the touch?” she asks after I'm done.

“Yes.”

“Do you know what time of day it was?”

I think about this. “It seemed really bright out. Like it was midday. But I don't know for sure.” She asks a couple more questions then thanks me and hangs up.

Now I look out the window and am amazed to see the mountains. “Those look like the mountains that Michael drew in his landscape composite,” I tell Ebony with excitement. “Just like the ones in my vision.”

“Yep,” says Tony. “We're getting warmer.”

“It seems like it should be easy to find that building,” I say hopefully. “And maybe that will lead us to Colby and possibly to Kayla.”

“It
seems
that way.” Tony sighs. “But the fact is, there is a lot of country out here. And so much of it-looks exactly the same. You could drive for days in circles and never find what you're looking for.”

“Oh…”

So I sit back in my seat, enjoying the air-conditioning as I watch the desert scenery passing by. But as I sit here, I pray. I beg God to break through; I beg Him to
show me something specific—something that will help us find Kayla.

Finally after turning down a series of gravel then dirt roads that feel like a maze I would never find my way out of, Tony comes to a stop near an old, gnarly-looking tree.”This is it, ladies.”

The other SUV is right behind us, and we all wait for the dust to settle before getting out. And when we get out, the air is quiet and still, and although it's only nine-thirty, it's already getting pretty warm outside.

“Take your time,” Tony says to me in a quiet voice. “Just walk around and see if anything comes to you. But don't go past the taped-off sections. We still need to protect the crime scene in case we need to collect more evidence.”

“I'm going to walk along with you,” says Ebony. “But I won't say a word. I just don't want you getting more than a foot or two away from me. Especially after that dream you had.”

So I walk around with Ebony by my side, and I try to feel something—something beyond the sadness, that is. Mostly I experience this heavy sense of gloom that seems to hang thickly in the air. Finally I stop and sit on a big rock that's partially shaded by the twisted old tree, which looks to be about a thousand years old. '

I just sit here and try to imagine how this must've felt for Elena. What went on here? Was she already dead when he dumped her? Or did he kill her here? I could've asked Tony these questions, but now I just run the scenarios through my head and wonder. As I'm sitting here,
wondering and pondering and trying to remain tuned in to God, I notice something like a hill off to my left. Of course, there are lots of small hills and rock formations all over the place, so I'm not sure why this one is any more notable than another, but for some reason it catches and holds my attention.

“What's over there?” I call out to where Tony and the others are standing around by the vehicles.

Tony walks over and asks what I'm talking about.

I point to the hill over there. “What's that?”

“That ridge?”

“Yeah.”

He shrugs. “It's just a ridge, I guess. Why?”

“I just have this feeling about it. Like it's familiar or something.”

“Did you see it in one of your visions or dreams?” he asks hopefully.

“Not that I can actually remember, but sometimes I don't remember every little thing. Like the dream last night. I didn't remember, at first, how I got to the place where I was backed up against that wall, you know?”