Hide'n Go Seek (22 page)

Now this woman continually surprised him, too.

He gave her a sidelong glance. The information might not scare him; still he had to wonder how she could deal with it all.

With every new tidbit she revealed of herself, he became more fascinated and alternately more disturbed. This was heavy stuff. She'd turned out to be a complex myriad of witch, siren and philanthropist. Impossible to ignore.

Grant snuck a glance her way. Returning his gaze to the road, he shook his head. He had it bad.

His lips quirked. Here he was working through his feelings and she was staring at him, wondering at his lack of reaction. Her abilities disturbed her, while he found them fascinating. It was her ability to
handle
them that disturbed him. That didn't say much for his state of mind.

A sigh escaped. He was an idiot.

The silence in the car grew to deafening proportions. Kali stared out the window, anywhere but at him. Had he taken the news with his usual stoic attitude or had he decided to drive her to a mental hospital?

"Hmmmm."

"That's it?" She glowered at him. The dark interior of the vehicle couldn't begin to hide his knowing look.

"Sure. There's not much I haven't heard after working with Stefan all these years, you know. And hmmm means I'm thinking."

Kali couldn't believe it. "Good. Fine." She waited a beat. "You know, you may have
heard
a lot from Stefan, but I've never told anyone, ever."

"Right. A little too mild a reaction, huh?"

"Ya think?" Kali couldn't believe it. It would be the last time she shared a secret with him.

Grant glanced at her, a light shining in his eyes. "So tell me how you really feel."

"Ohh. Ohhh, you...you," Kali stuttered to a complete stop. Her fists clenched and unclenched. Closing her eyes, she focused on deep breathing. In the silence of the car, she heard a sound. One she'd never heard before. No way. She turned to look at Grant. He was spluttering. Spluttering for Christ sake. Unfreakin' believable.

He caught her staring at him. His lips quirked. His smirk widened to an outright smile. Before her astonished eyes, he broke into a guffaw, his laughter infectious.

Good Lord. She hadn't thought he had it in him. She laughed. "Wow."

Grant shook his head, a goofy grin decorating his face. "I'm not that bad. Surely?"

"Yeah, you are." Kali bolted upright to stare into darkness. "Where are we?

Grant pointed at a sign up ahead. "We're heading north to Portland. Remember?"

"We've been out for a while."

"A bit. Any more directions?"

Kali dropped her head against the headrest. "No. What a stupid waste of time."

"Not necessarily. Now you know I can laugh."

Smiling, she answered, "There is that. Maybe we should just turn back." Endless darkness surrounded them, with only the beams of the headlights to light their way. A prophetic sign maybe. Her eyes drifted closed under the hypnotic influence of the steady hum of the engine.

Her neck throbbed, she reached up to massage the muscles, but the pain worsened. Kali twisted her head to the right. Sharp pains shot upward. She moaned softly.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. My neck started hurting."

"Your neck or your intuition?"

Raising an eyebrow, she glanced over at him. "I don't know. Maybe?"

"Yes or no?" Grant raised an eyebrow, sending her a sideways glance.

"I usually get a funny prickling at the back of my neck, not sharp pains." And normally, she wasn't deluged in weird colors. This time her normal mental state of lavender blended with a dark blue, becoming almost black in color. She sensed the anger building in the seething morass.

"Maybe we aren't supposed to go back yet. There's a turnoff ahead. Tell me if you get more twinges." Grant pulled the vehicle up to the corner, edging the vehicle slightly off the road.

The pain stabbed into the back of her brain. Her stomach heaved. "Ouch."

Grant stopped the car. He looked at her, then turned the steering wheel, directing the vehicle onto the side road.

Immediately the pain eased. "Ahh, much better. Not perfect, but not stabbing at me either." The dark energy also eased back to a dull purplish black.

They hadn't driven only a few hundred yards when the pain and the angry colors bashed into her consciousness.

She gasped. Bile crawled up the back of her throat, bringing a sick taste to her mouth. She coughed slightly.

Grant hit the brakes, peering in her direction. "Well?"

The stabbing stopped. Kali sighed in relief. "It's gone."

They peered through the window into the gloomy surroundings. A dirt road loomed on Kali's right. Even in the dark of night she could see the ribbons twisting toward her. Her neck twitched. "Turn here. She's up here."

Kali no longer had any doubts. Images slammed into her. Children playing, a family gathering, laughter and arguing combined as faces and places flashed too quickly to catch as the impressions rolled on.

Grant shook his head as he drove the car onto the dirt road. "We are going to have a talk after this. I can't believe that even after seeing your sketches, you didn't tell me about this."

The visions receded, letting Kali catch her breath.

"Shiloh is my cover. To make it look like she's the one finding the bodies." Kali leaned forward, peering through the windshield. "The paintings and sketches are a new development. Not expecting them, I didn't have a cover story ready."

"Anything else you've hidden from me?"

Shearing pain stabbed through the back of her neck. The colors throbbed.

"Stop!"

Kali held her breath, waiting for the pain to ease as the vehicle rolled to a standstill. Kali pointed to his window in the direction where angry ribbons twisted in the night sky. "She's over on the crest."

"God."

Kali hopped out.

Grant exited the car, flashlight in hand and walked over to stand at her side. "There's nothing here."

"Yes, there is. I wish I'd brought Shiloh now. She'd have picked up the decomp." Closing her zipper against the chill of the night, she pointed at storm clouds off to the north. "We need to hurry to beat the storm."

Grant lifted his head to study the horizon. "Why didn’t we bring Shiloh, again? If we find anything, I'll have to get a team here fast."

"We didn’t bring Shiloh because she’s tired, because I didn’t expect to actually find anyone, and besides…we don’t need her," Kali said, her tone grim. "The victim is just a few yards up." Sand and loose gravel grated under their feet. The hoot of an owl sounded far off in the distance. With the stormy weather coming in, the air practically crackled with static.

"How'd the killer expect you to find her way the hell out here?"

"I have no idea. No one, and I mean no one, knows about my weird psychic skills." She thought about that for a moment and realized it was no longer true. "Except you and Stefan."

"The killer may have suspected it anyway. Even if only as an explanation for your successful record."

She glanced at him, his face a pale circle in the dark. "Except these skills are relatively new. That reputation was established long before these weird twinges showed."

"But this person wouldn't know that."

"Christ." The killer could be putting her years of success down to otherworldly reason instead of experience. By being forced to play the killer's bizarre game, she was actually proving the killer right about her 'mad skills.'

The clouds separated, releasing the moon from its shadowy prison to highlight the violent movements of energy twisting and churning at one spot.

"Why don't we do this stuff in daylight?"

Grant strode forward, passing her slightly. "You tell me - this is your show."

"No, this is the killer's show." Kali stumbled in the dark, caught herself, and carried on. The terrain leveled off. They angled around a crop of bushes and stopped. They were at the top of a knoll with the ground dropping off on the other side.

Kali stopped, hands on her hips, to catch her breath. "Right, she's here. At least I think she is. Normally, I have Shiloh to confirm something like this."

Grant walked closer. "The dirt is loose and the slope accessible on the downward side." As he shone the light over the surrounding area and the big evergreen in front of them, Kali saw some of the dirt had fallen away. Moonlight highlighted the skeleton roots, exposing huge hollows underneath. The dirt pile underneath suggested something was buried here.

She bent over, scraping up a handful of soil, before letting it slip through her fingers. "It's sandy. With the dry spring and summer we had interspersed with heavy storms, this is a perfect burial place begging for a crazy killer."

"I need to call a team."

"And if she's not here?"

"Is she?" His gaze locked on hers.

"I think so. But are you willing to call out a team without confirming there's a crime scene?"

"How much information can you get about her? Can you show me a spot where there is less dirt that I might be able to brush away enough to confirm what we have? We have to make sure we disturb the area as little as possible though."

Grant rested the flashlight on a root where it cast a yellow light in the gloom. "And I'll try to grab a couple of pictures before we touch anything." He pulled a camera out of his pocket, surprising and momentarily Kali was blinded as several flashes went off lighting the sky.

When he was done, she suggested, "You're at her feet. It might be better to try for her face?"

"You can tell?" Poor light or not, she could see her statement had thrown him. He studied the ground.

Kali stepped forward. "Yes. She's in a relaxed fetal position with her head here." She pointed out the correct layout. "She's facing us." She placed her hand gently where the woman's head lay hidden. A large chunk of earth slid down. "Try there. The layer is thinner now."

Pulling thin gloves from his pocket, he bent to where she pointed and scooped one handful of dirt away. Sand slid into the newly created space. He worked gently for a few minutes. Kali was mesmerized by his gentleness as he brushed the dirt away from the pile. He treated the area with deference. Her heart warmed. He believed her. An odd euphoria swept over her. Followed by doubts. What if she were wrong?

"There." Kali cried out. "Stop. I think I see something."

Leaning back on his haunches, Grant reached for the flashlight.

"I need more light." He flashed the light down on the spot - and reared back.

She crowded beside him. "What? What did you find?"

Eerie flickering light shone on the exposed surface. A small delicate nose blended into the grains of sand. A gold earring with an emerald starburst twinkled in the dirt. Kali sucked in her breath, tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. Although expected, nothing prepared her for the reality of what she faced.

And nothing could camouflage the eye that stared out - accusing them both.

Recognition slammed into her. Kali jumped back with a small cry.

Grant spun, reaching for her. "It's okay." He laid a gentle hand on hers. "We found her. That's why we're here. To bring her home." He tugged her trembling frame into his arms. "Take a minute. Breathe."

She shuddered. Closing her eyes briefly, she leaned into his comforting arms. Nothing could stop the image from burning into her memory, where she knew it would stay for the rest of her life. Sorrow washed over her. Pulling back slightly, she gazed up at him.

Pain speared her heart. "I know her. Her name is Melanie Rothschild."

G
rant stood on Kali's front doorstep. He should have let someone else make this call. Stan maybe. It would have been easier. But it wouldn't have been right.

The news would hurt her regardless of who delivered it. Maybe he could at least give her a few answers to go with it. Even worse, no one who knew about this was going to be able to talk about it. Not until the killer had been caught, just in case it
was
case related.

He rang the doorbell before stuffing his hands in his pants pockets. Inside the house, Shiloh barked. Kali's voice murmured softly. He loved the soft caring in her voice. Her voice took on an almost sing-song tone when she spoke to the dog.

He didn't want to break her heart today. But his news would. He glared at the low lying clouds. Rain could break before he made it back to town. He didn't have this window of time but had made it happen anyway. He'd yet to make it to bed. Talk about a shitty night. He rubbed his whiskered chin, wishing he'd had time for a shower and shave first. Still, he was here. He could find an hour for her.

The door opened.

Kali's face lit up with surprise...and he hoped with pleasure.

"Kali, may I come in?"

The surprise dropped away, a hint of dread slipped in to replace it. Wordless, she opened the door wide enough for him to enter. "I have fresh coffee. Would you like a cup?"

"Thanks."

She led the way to the kitchen. "I presume you have news about last night. I have to admit that I didn't sleep very well. Just the thought of-"

"I didn't come about last night." He hated to see her step falter, her back stiffen. Her shoulders hunched as if fearing a blow, but despite that, she slowly turned to face him.
"I'm sorry. I wish I had better news."

She swallowed. "Just tell me."

Shit. Still, straight out was best. "We found Brad."

"What?"

"He's dead."

Kali closed her eyes briefly and bowed her head. Her hand climbing to her neck, she sagged into the first chair. She tried to speak, but no words came out. Shiloh came to her side, whining deep in her throat. She laid her head on Kali's leg.

To give her a moment, Grant walked over to the coffee pot and poured her a cup. Returning, he placed it on the table beside her. He walked to the open porch doors and stared out at the sky that couldn't make up its mind.

"What happened?"

He walked back, pulled out a second chair and sat down in front of her. Reaching over he picked up one chilled hand and warmed it in his. "We don't have all the details at this point. His body was found a few hours ago. Apparently it had been there for a while."