Third Eye Watch (A Serena Shaw Mystery) (3 page)

“Ms. Shaw, don’t listen to her. She’s secretly in love with me but thinks our age difference may reflect poorly on her.”

Serena had to smile at the kid’s impertinence.  Agent Glennon smacked the back of his head lightly with her gloves; then settled down on the sofa with her iPad.

“So where do you want to do this?” Andy asked.

Serena ignored him, holding her head with both hands as she heard a weird buzzing sound in her head. It seemed like a thousand bees had invaded her head.

“A cup of tea may help,” she thought and walked into the kitchen. She filled a stainless steel kettle with water and placed it on the stove.

xxxx

Andy had followed her into the kitchen and was now setting up shop on the kitchen table. He pulled out a sketchpad and brought out two charcoal pencils. Then he fiddled, arranging everything just right.

“Another OCD,” thought Serena with an inward smile.

Serena made black Darjeeling tea and poured it into two cups; then brought them to the table and sat down across from Andy.

Andy pulled a book out of his backpack and pushed it towards her.

“We’ll start with a general description first. Take a look in here, and tell me if any of these ring a bell”.

The book contained facial features in various shapes and colors. There were eyes, lips, mouths and foreheads.

The process was tedious. Serena couldn’t understand how she could remember that much detail about the men she had seen for barely a few seconds.

Andy talked non-stop while he drew, and a few minutes later, Serena could see an outline begin to take shape.

“Close your eyes, Ms. Shaw”.

“Close my eyes? Why?”

“Please. Just close your eyes.”

She did as he asked.

Andy began throwing rapid-fire questions, not allowing Serena more than a few seconds to answer before he asked the next and the next.

How thick were the eyebrows? Did they resemble any famous person? Hair or no hair? Any facial hair? Which guy, number one or number two? The color of eyes? Shape? Guy number two, taller or shorter? Was the suit gray or black? Midnight black or maybe it was a dark blue? Shoes, what kind? Any idea on the size, fourteen, think about a man in your life and think the size they wear, then compare it to the size you saw.   

It went on like that for a few minutes. Then, Andy said, “Ok, you can open your eyes.”

Serena blinked against the light, as Andy came back into focus. The buzzing had become frantic and her head felt as if it would explode.

Special Agent Glennon had joined them and now stood behind Andy. They both watched his pencil fly across the page as he erased a line here, added a shadow there.

“Alright, I’m done here,” Andy, said, turning the book around towards Serena.

“What do you think?” Special Agent Glennon asked Serena, as they both watched her reaction.

Serena sat back, amazed at how closely Andy had replicated the men she had seen, and even more amazed that Andy had been able to ferret out detailed information from her.

“Yes, it’s them,” she nodded.

“I’ll see you soon, try not to miss me too much,” Andy drawled at Special Agent Glennon when he had finished packing up his stuff, then winked at Serena and left.

Special Agent Glennon told Serena that she was posting two uniforms to keep her company for the next few days, and that if she saw anything unusual to call her, day or night. She handed her card to Serena and then departed.

It was almost seven am. Serena left a voicemail for her boss letting her know she was ill and wouldn’t be in.

xxxx

When she awoke, Serena saw that the television was on; she must have fallen asleep watching a show. A glance outside the bedroom window showed heavy snow coming down in fluffy cotton ball-like flakes.

The television people were in a frenzy; a winter storm warning was in effect for all local counties, and up to ten inches of snow was expected throughout the day, and into the overnight hours.

She smiled at the thought of not having to drive on the snow-covered roads, and stretched absently, then groaned as her bruised body protested.

“Oh my God, Sofia!” She sat up as she recalled the events of the night; then screamed in agony as her head protested the sudden movement.

When the pain receded, she found the remote and quickly flipped channels to see if any news channels were reporting a story about the disappearance of a young girl from a local neighborhood. But all the local channels were covering the “blizzard”; the news anchors gleeful as they interviewed random people, asking them pointless questions like “are you hoping for a snow day?” and “how much snow do you think we will get?”
Idiots.

Serena turned off the television and headed for the shower, allowing the scalding hot water to soothe her aching body.

She made coffee and toast and dialed Special Agent Glennon as she ate her solitary breakfast. Receiving no answer, Serena left a message, asking her to call back whenever she had time.

Special Agent Glennon called ten minutes later.

“Hi. Any word on Sofia?”

“No.”

“There’s nothing on the news either,” Serena told her.

“I know,” she said.

There was an awkward pause. Serena didn’t know what else to say. Then abruptly she asked, “Uhhh…..did you find out her last name?”

“Excuse me?”

“I was wondering what Sofia’s last name was. Maybe it was on her apartment lease?”

“Sofia Kristi was the name on her rental agreement. But there was no next of kin listed. We’re still looking.” Special Agent Glennon told her.

Serena hung up wordlessly, covered her face with her hands, and wept. For Sofia Kristi, a girl whom she had barely known and whom she had last seen with a bloody face being taken away by two scary-looking men. She knew she’d never forget her.

xxxx

Later that morning, Serena received a text from her mom, reminding her that she was expected home for dinner tonight.

Yikes, not today, she thought in helpless frustration.

Her mom had hound dog instincts. In addition to the bump on the back of her head, Serena had discovered a large scratch on her forehead, not recalling how it may have happened; she knew her mom would want to know how she got it. Serena and her younger brother, to this day, remained in awe over their mom’s ability to hone in and sniff out details about even the smallest things that happened in her kids’ lives.

I can cancel; claim something came up.

But then there’d be an inquisition. “Why can’t you come? Are you going somewhere else? Who did you meet? Why didn’t you reschedule it for another day? You know we miss you and your brother.”

And guilt. 

She knew her parents hated being empty nesters and having dinner with them once a week was the least she could do. Her brother did the same, on a different night.

She lazed around and then resignedly got dressed. As she waited for the elevators, she avoided glancing at Sofia’s apartment, although her breath accelerated as she relived the events of the previous night and the buzzing in her head continued.

When she exited the lobby, she saw a police car parked outside with two uniforms inside. When they nodded at her; the buzzing in her head spiked.

“Where is she going in this blizzard? I can’t wait to get home; the snow is making my old bones creak. Watching a chick like her ain’t half-bad. I need a beer.”

Serena missed a step and turned back to glance at the cops. But they weren’t looking at her.

“Weird,” she muttered, as she got in her car and started it. She gave silent thanks for the covered carports that prevented the need for cleaning the snow off her car, then backed out keeping her eye on the rear view mirror; happy that the cops followed.

It took the better part of an hour to drive the thirty miles to her parents home, and Serena’s head was pounding when she parked in her parents’ driveway. The police cruiser continued and stopped two houses down.
That’s good; it would so not do for mom to find out that I have a police escort.

Before she could use her key, her mom opened the door. 

She looked at Serena and said in a squeaky voice, “What happened to your forehead?”

No hello, no hug! Just “what happened”? Mamma-hound!

Serena had decided not to tell her parents anything about the events of the night before, because if she did, not only would they worry; they’d also pester her about moving back home. And she was afraid that it wouldn’t take much to convince her.
 

“It’s nothing mom. I banged it against the dresser,” Serena told her, sticking as close to the truth as possible. Her mom had a knack for asking roundabout questions, and she didn’t want to trip over too many lies.

“What”? “How?” “When”? “Were you drinking?” Her mom followed asking questions, a mile a minute.

“Yes mom, I was drinking,” she said.  “Water,” she added sarcastically. Her mom hated sarcasm, especially coming from her kids.

“Let her at least come inside.” Good old dad, always the rescuer for his kids.

Serena dropped her purse on the sofa and gave him a light hug, receiving loud kisses on both cheeks.

Dinner was ready; so they sat down to eat almost immediately. Her mom had made pav vada; a street food from Mumbai, India where her mom lived until she moved to the US in the 80’s. It was Serena’s favorite; a vegetarian burger made with potatoes. chopped cilantro, grated garlic, and finely blended jalapenos which were seasoned only with salt and fresh lime juice, fried in batter, and served on a hoagie bun with chutney.

“I hope she’s getting enough sleep.” “She looks tired.”  “I hope that idiot guy is not going to come back in her life.” “I wish she hadn’t moved out.”

Serena looked at her dad, then at her mom. Neither of them had been speaking.

“She must be lonely.” “Why is she looking at us like that?” “I hope nothing is wrong.”

“What is it Serena?” her mom asked, her voice worried.

“Something’s going on with her. She might tell her dad; I’ll tell him to call her tomorrow”.

Serena mumbled something and concentrated on eating, keeping her head lowered.

After dinner, they sat in their favorite spots on the couch in the family room and watched the news together. Her dad was a fan of Bill O’Reilly, and Billy was in his most arrogant form again tonight.

“Do you guys have plans this weekend?” Serena looked at her mom.

“We have a party to go to, you know, SOS,” said her mom. SOS as in “same old shit” was one of her mom’s favorites sayings

Then, she heard more.

“I hope she hasn’t lost her job again.” “But then again, maybe it will be good that she loses the job. Maybe then she will find something to do that she likes and is really good at.” “Why won’t she just move back home?”

Whoa. What was all that about?

Serena asked her dad about his work, keeping her gaze on him. His lips moved, but they weren’t saying what Serena also heard in addition to whatever he had answered.
“Hope she’s not burning the candle at both ends.”