The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) (36 page)

             
But she wasn’t complaining.  Things had been real tense at the station with no new leads in the case.  The D. A. had shown up the day before and went on at length about how important it was to find the killer of the two teenagers, Dr. Wells and Paul Chase. 

             
“Do you have any idea how it looks when a police officer is killed and we don’t have anyone to bring to trial?” he’d said at one point.  “It doesn’t inspire confidence in the public when you guys can’t find justice for one of your own.”  When the man finally headed out of the building, practically every officer at the station was quietly flipping him off. 

             
Even Roy had to restrain himself much as he shared his team’s feelings. 

             
Ronnie thought briefly about going in, even though it was her day off, but decided against it.  Besides the unsolved murders and the D. A., Alex’s recent demonstration of his ‘talents’ had set tongues wagging all over the station.  She kept half expecting to hear it around town as well.  So far her co-workers were keeping it in-house, possibly out of respect for her.  But how long could she count on that?  Probably until the next bombshell was dropped and God only knew when that might happen.   

              Back at the station, Roy’s wife Alice had decided to visit in an effort to lighten the mood.  For the last few days her husband had come home and growled for an hour or two, before finally telling her what was going on.  She didn’t like the idea that Alex was a ‘person of interest’ any more than he did.  But she was confident the real killer would be found and all would return to normal.

             
In fact she was so sure this would happen, she’d decided to bring a box of photos from some of the previous Policeman’s Balls with her.  She and Pam were in charge of the decorating committee and this gave them a chance to do a little research to see what had been done in the past. 

             
They were sorting through the photos at the Dispatch Desk, in between calls.  And now Jack Thompson and Olivia Jackson, who had just come off patrol, paused to look as well.  Neither had ever been to any of the previous Policeman’s Balls, so both were curious to see what the upcoming one might be like.  Slowly some of their co-workers gravitated to the dispatcher’s desk until a crowd of about a dozen had gathered.  A few of the older officers laughed at seeing themselves in years past, while the younger ones were admiring the ballroom and complaining about suits and tuxedos.  None of them noticed their boss emerge from his office and come up behind them. 

             
“What’s going on here?” he demanded loudly.  Instantly there was a parting of the ‘blue sea’, as the officers moved out of the way to reveal the guilty party, Alice.

             
Folding his arms he said sternly, “Disrupting an entire station could be costly madam.”

             
“I don’t see how, I’m already serving life sentence with you,” she replied smartly.  But her eyes twinkled lovingly at him.

             
“And it’ll stay that way as long I’m in charge of the parole board,” her spouse nodded with satisfaction.  This was followed by a loud chorus of “AW!” from the crowd.  With one look, Roy managed to disperse most of them.  Only those who were officially on break remained and they were busy looking at the photos.

             
Veronica’s partner Ryan was one of them.  As he glanced over the photos, one in particular caught his eye “When was this one taken?” he asked holding it up.

             
Alice looked over and exclaimed, “You found one with Alex in it.  That was from sixteen years ago.  He opened the Ball with his grandmother that year, because her husband had another heart attack and was still recuperating.  You remember that one don’t you Honey?”

             
Roy frowned and thought back to that night.  He remembered a blonde- haired boy a dancing with Constance Hill.  The hairstyle was quite different, but the eyes and smile hadn’t changed at all. 

             
“I remember,” he finally nodded with a smile.  It had been a wonderful evening with no mishaps.  The town had been looking forward to it and had been on its best behavior.  But a week later, all hell broke loose up at Graham Manor.

             
Pam finished the call she was on and eagerly leaned over to see the photo.   “Sarge’s boyfriend as a kid?  Let me see!” she exclaimed, but then a frown crossed her face as she looked.  “Hey isn’t the girl he’s dancing with the same one who disappeared from the Graham place?”

             
No one noticed Roy stiffen upon hearing those words.  Or the look on his face that said, ‘No!  Don’t let it be her.’

             
Meanwhile, Alice took a look at the picture and nodded, “Yes, that’s Rachel.  You can see the big bump in her dress.  She must’ve been about eight months pregnant at the time.”

             
“I thought that was her in the photo,” commented Ryan, “She used to be my babysitter.  I always wondered whatever happened to her.”

             
“You’re not the only one,” sighed Alice not noticing her husband turning away.

              Roy shook his head and closed his eyes.  Alex had been around at the time of Rachel’s disappearance AND he had known the girl.  Why hadn’t he said anything whenever the subject was brought up?  And how well did he know her?  Did he used to visit her?  Is that how he knew about the hidden fourth floor?  If so, why lie about it?

             
Now his mind turned back to the night he’d found Alex down by the bridge after he’d disappeared for an hour.  ‘He’s the one who urged me to check my voicemail messages.  Did he already know Wells was dead?  The hospital was well within walking distance,’ he thought grimly. 

             
This led to more troubling thoughts.  Like the fact that Alex didn’t have an alibi for when the teenagers or Chase had been killed.  Could it be possible?  Had they been wrong about the Youngster all these years? 

             
There was one way to find out.  Without pausing he quietly headed back to his office and reached for the phone.  It was time for another talk with the Youngster.

              Alex was waiting for his lady love in the Ballroom.  They had just been leaving the house to go practice when her cell phone rang.  Checking the caller I. D., she saw it was the station and told him to go on, that had been fifteen minutes ago. 

             
He had just finished walking through their new Tango routine when he sensed something was very wrong.  A moment later, Ronnie walked in with a very troubled look on her face.  Upon spotting him she snapped her fingers and pointed to a spot directly in front of her. 

             
Instantly he obeyed. 

             
“Why didn’t you tell me you knew Rachel?” she asked, without ceremony.

             
The question took him by surprise.  “I didn’t know...”

             
“There’s a photo of you dancing with her down at the station that says otherwise Alex,” she snapped.  “Now I’m begging you to tell me the truth.”

             
He looked her straight in the eye, “Darling, I’ve never met any girl called Rachel in my life.”

             
“You can tell it to Roy down at the station,” she said turning away.

             
“I’m telling the truth Luv,” he insisted, following her outside.

             
She paused but didn’t look back at him.  “I want to believe you.  But Alice identified you in the photo.”

             
“I’ve danced with a number of girls,” he pointed out, “And not all of them have told me their names.”

             
“True.  But maybe you’ve been holding out on me again.”

             
He shook his head, “Not when it comes to Rachel, I would never…” 

             
Whirling around she snapped, “But you already did!  You went to the Graham Manor with Jack, remember?”

             
“Because I was afraid we might wind up finding her corpse,” he told her.  “And after sixteen years she wouldn’t have been a pretty sight.”  Then he added under his breath, “I’d know.”

             
“So you’ve seen dead bodies before, huh?  You didn’t mention that either.”

             
He gave her a pained look, “It fell under the explanation of ‘It’s not fun being what I am sometimes’.  If you want all the details I’ll tell you, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

             
For a moment neither of them spoke.

             
But he could sense a part of her wanted to smack him upside the head for that last crack.  And he couldn’t blame her.  He knew damn well that she’d seen plenty during her years on the force.  And she’d been waiting a long time to learn what happened to Rachel.  How could she not be on edge?

             
Finally she said, “Get in the car, I’ll drive.”

             
Silently, Alex obeyed.  The closing of the car door sounded louder than usual and ominous.  During the last few weeks, it had seemed like telling Veronica about his powers and sharing them with her had brought them closer. 

             
But at the same time people he’d known and trusted, like Roy and his crew, were seemed to be eyeing him with distrust.  If felt like a chasm had opened between him and his friends, and all he had with him on this side was Ronnie.  Now it seemed like she had somehow wandered across the divide and joined the others.  For the life of him, he didn’t know how to bridge the gap.

              Roy was looking out the window of his office, when they came in.

             
“Am I being charged?” asked Alex bluntly.

             
“Are you guilty of something, son?” replied the older man, without looking.

             
“Only of being madly in love with your second in command,” his friend replied.

             
“In that case, you’re just here to help clear up a few things.” Peterson turned to his second-in-command, “Sergeant why don’t you hit the gym, I understand you’re between practice dummies.”

             
“How did…”

             
“Someone ordered a replacement, through Pam.”

             
Ronnie glared at her boyfriend who shrugged and said, “I didn’t know who else to ask about getting you a new one.  Besides, she told me that police officers could get a discount if we placed the order through here.  Come to think of it, is there a bigger discount if we place a bulk order?”

             
“SIT!” barked Veronica.

             
Both men obeyed instantly. 

             
Then her boss frowned, “What have I told you about using that voice around me?”

             
She shrugged apologetically.

             
“Anyway,” Roy continued, “There’s something I want you to look at son.”  Picking up the photo he handed it to his visitors saying, “That was from the Policeman’s Ball sixteen years ago, recognize anyone?”

             
Veronica leaned over her boyfriend’s shoulder and winced. 

             
Roy felt sorry for her, but he was more interested in the Youngster’s reaction.  So far he was just sitting there staring at the photo.  The only movement he made was to raise one eyebrow quizzically.

             
“Well?” asked Veronica in a tight voice.

             
“She was a good dance partner,” Alex replied quietly.  “I remember I wanted to ask her out, even though I knew she was older than me.  But she never gave me her name.  Plus she seemed distracted the whole time, like she was only there physically but her mind was somewhere else.”

             
“Did you ever see her again?” asked Veronica in a tight voice.

             
“Yes, I did,” Alex nodded solemnly, “Quite recently in fact.  This is the girl I met on the bridge that night at the Open House.  The one I gave my jacket to.”

              Half an hour later Ronnie was sitting near the podium in the Squad Room, once more.  She had left Alex in the canteen with Alice who was asking about the upcoming Policeman’s Ball. 

             
‘He’d seen Rachel!’  The thought both excited and terrified her.  Had it been Rachel or her ghost?  Alex hadn’t been clear on this point, probably because of her boss being present.  But she hadn’t had a chance to ask her lover for more details because Roy immediately ordered all available officers to report here.

             
It was just as well she hadn’t had a chance to ask Alex.  Roy was still having a difficult time accepting the possibility of psychic phenomenon being a reality, and he wasn’t the only one.  She could feel the eyes of her fellow officers staring at her.  And every time she turned to look at them, their attention would be drawn to someplace else in the room.  Quietly she sighed.