Lullabies & Dead Bodies, page 12
He stepped away from the podium and his eyes met Isaac’s. Chief Branson took Hayes’ place at the podium, and Isaac followed Hayes back inside knowing exactly what he was thinking. Once they were in the elevator and headed back up to the fourth floor detectives section, Hayes turned to him.
“Our department leak is at it again.”
“Seems that way, sir.”
“Do you have any clue where that leak is coming from?”
“If we’re assuming the person who leaked this nugget is the same person who gave up the safe house a few months ago, then we’re talking Natalie Bains.”
They exchanged a look.
“Do you have any other possibilities, Ike?”
“The only one I thought it might be was Pete Vega, but that was back before I got to know him. I’ve got zero clue, Lieutenant. But I don’t like the idea of Deputy Chief Jay Schiffer getting wind of any of the details of our investigation of this case.”
“Neither do I. And without any idea of where the leak is coming from it’s going to be all but impossible to keep that from happening. I want you to continue to play this close to the vest, you hear? Let Miller and Dorn go through the typical motions. Vega too. But you continue to look into that other angle we’ve discussed. Anything having to do with that stays between you and me. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Isaac went through the rest of his day on autopilot while his mind raced with the possibilities, attempting to figure out who their department mole was. He had a very short list that included only about three names, and he played the motives out from every angle in his mind.
When he wasn’t preoccupied with that puzzle he was mulling over his collision with the mystery dirtbag from Tammy Lane’s apartment complex parking lot. The images from that run-in were more than disturbing, and Isaac toyed with different ways of locating the guy and dealing with him.
By the time he climbed into his metallic blue Mustang GT at the end of the day Isaac was mentally exhausted. And it wasn’t just those two things dogging his mind. There was also the small matter of discovering that his monsters were mutating again, stretching, and growing into something unrecognizable and horrific.
In need of encouragement as much as information, he pulled out his cellphone and initiated a FaceTime call. The screen came to life and his grandfather, Sterling Taylor, smiled at him.
“Isaac!”
“Hey, Grandad. How you doing?”
“Well, I’m doing just fine. This is a surprise though. We don’t usually video chat until the weekend.”
“Yeah, I know. Is this a bad time? You busy?”
“Oh, I’m never too busy for you. What’s on your mind?”
Isaac grinned at his grandfather’s strong Tennessee accent. Sidney often commented on his own slight accent, but Sterling’s was thicker than buttermilk gravy.
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“Ask away. I’ll try to answer.”
Isaac sighed, not knowing how to put his worries into words.
“Well, you remember back when I first visited you out there and we walked around the pond?”
“Of course. I remember that first conversation vividly.”
“Well, you said something that day about only being able to see the future whenever Grandma Eugenia was near, at first.”
“That’s right.”
“I assume that means that at some point, you were able to see the future all on your own, whether Grandma was near you or not?”
“That’s exactly what it means. It’s sorta like muscle memory, I think. Once your amplifier helps you make that connection a few dozen times it just becomes second nature.”
Isaac sat back in the driver’s seat and absorbed that simple explanation.
“Hmm. Well it really freaked me out when it happened earlier today. I was at work and Sid wasn’t anywhere around. But I suppose your theory does make sense, doesn’t it?”
“I believe it does. The trick is trying to control whether you see the past, the present, or the future whenever you touch someone on purpose.”
That took Isaac by surprise. “Wait. You can do that?”
“You can too, I would imagine. It just takes some concentration.”
Isaac sat in wonder with that for a minute, and a strange sort of sadness slowly washed over him.
“I feel like there’s so much you could’ve shown me and taught me over the years if only we’d been allowed to have contact.”
Sterling nodded, and Isaac took note of the look of regret on the older man’s face.
“I know it.” Sterling’s voice was full of sorrow. “And I’m so sorry we didn’t get that chance. Oh, I wanted to bond with you and share the things my mama shared with me about our abilities.”
“It wasn’t your fault that we never got that chance, Grandad.”
Just thinking about how his father, Brock Taylor, had purposely kept them apart all of his life made Isaac angry. All because Brock had been ashamed of his father’s psychic abilities when he was growing up.
“I know. Damn that son of mine.”
“And you know what? It’s not too late either. We can still bond and share; you can still teach me everything you know about our affliction.”
Sterling laughed. “Affliction! I like your sense of humor Isaac.”
Isaac smiled.
“And you’re absolutely right! I can still teach you everything I know. Everything I’ve learned over the years. Everything my mama taught me. Everything that was handed down from her mama and her mama’s daddy. Yes, I can… and it’ll be wonderful!”
11
“Are you okay, baby?”
Sidney’s question jolted Isaac back to the here and now. He’d been preoccupied with thoughts of the reporter’s question about the old Lullaby case, and about his hit and run with the dirtbag in the parking lot of that apartment building. All evening his mind had done a non-stop ping-pong between those two topics, leaving him unable to concentrate on much of anything else.
Thankfully, his earlier conversation with his grandfather had taken at least one worry off his mind — the fact that he’d seen the future without Sidney present was simply the natural evolution of his psychic abilities. It was normal, even if it sounded terrifying.
He took a breath and looked at Sidney, who was curled up next to him on the couch.
“I’m sorry, darlin’. What’d you say?”
“I asked if you were okay? You’ve been kind of quiet all night long. You barely said more than five words at dinner.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve just got a lot on my mind with this case.”
“I saw a clip of your lieutenant’s press conference on the news before you got home. He didn’t seem to want to talk about whether these two deaths are related to the old Lullaby case.”
“No, he didn’t. We were actually trying to keep that connection out of the media for now. But apparently we failed.”
She ran her hand down his bare arm, and then slipped it into his hand, lacing their fingers together. Isaac savored the contact and lifted their joined hands to his mouth, planting a kiss on the back of hers. He looked at the clock across the room.
“You’ve been doing that all night too.”
“Hmm?” Isaac looked at her. “Doing what?”
“Watching the clock. You got somewhere to be?”
Isaac sighed and tried not to see the flashes in his mind yet again. They had been replaying over and over since that afternoon, driving him nuts. He let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her so close she was nearly in his lap.
“Listen, I know that I promised you my undivided attention for the rest of the evening, and we were going to binge watch that new series and everything.”
“Yeah?”
“But I’ve got something else that I really need to go do tonight.”
Sidney studied him, and Isaac lightly tugged on one of her bouncy curls.
“Okay.”
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be. And if all goes right, I’ll probably end up back at the station for a bit before the night’s done.”
That seemed to surprise her.
“You’re going out? At this hour?”
“Yeah. I have to. And I don’t want to lie to you about it.”
“Then don’t.”
Isaac swallowed and looked her in the eyes.
“I have to go try to stop a bad guy from hurting someone else. Something he’s apparently done a lot of in the past.”
He stared into her light champagne-colored eyes and he could see her measuring every word he was saying. Maybe even the words he wasn’t.
“This has nothing to do with the Lullaby case, does it?”
Isaac silently shook his head.
“This is a superhero, random act of justice thing? Someone you’ve accidentally touched?”
She was amazing. How the hell she read him so easily he would never know. Isaac hated that superhero comparison and she knew it, but again he stayed silent and only nodded, momentarily spellbound by her.
They stared at each other for a long moment before she finally spoke again.
“Do me a favor. Don’t go alone.”
He hesitated and considered her request. It wasn’t a convenient one, but he supposed it was reasonable.
“Okay.”
Isaac looked out the windows of his car, peeking at the dive bar with an odd mix of feelings swirling around inside him. Part of him loathed the fact that he was going to have to go inside. But the bigger part of him knew it was more than necessary.
It had taken him nearly an hour to find the right bar, and all he’d had to go on were the small bits he’d seen of it in the flashes from earlier in the day. But he knew he wasn’t too late. The last flash had shown him exactly what time he needed to be in place.
He jumped slightly when the passenger side door of his Mustang opened. Pete Vega slid into the seat and closed the door, staring at him with an attitude.
“What’s this about, Ike? I thought you said you didn’t go to bars anymore unless you absolutely had to.”
“I did.” Ike’s gaze returned to the door of the bar as he responded.
“And you have to go into this particular bar tonight?” Pete’s tone was sarcastic. “At nearly midnight?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Isaac finally tore his gaze from the bar and looked his partner in the eyes.
“Because when that guy from the apartment building parking lot bumped into me today, I saw him attack several women. Of all ages, even elderly ones. Brutally. Violently. He’s a serial rapist, Pete.”
“Jesus.”
The word was a tired sigh on Pete’s lips, and Isaac wasn’t sure if it was because of the information he’d just given him, or because he was exasperated with his partner’s psychic shenanigans. And honestly, Isaac wasn’t sure he much cared which it was at this point.
“He’s going to strike again in about twenty-five minutes. You and I are here to catch him in the act and finally get him off the streets.”
Pete turned in his seat and stared at him with an expression Isaac couldn’t read.
“And so what? We’re just out here at night now, like off-duty Psychic Batman and Robin? Is this how it’s going to be now that you’re not running from your abilities anymore?”
Something about that question pushed Isaac’s buttons, and he glared at him.
“If you don’t want to be here, Pete, you can go.”
“Why am I here?”
“You’re here because I don’t lie to Sidney. And when I told her what I was doing, she asked me not to go alone. Now, I would’ve preferred to call my brother, but Adam’s not trained in police work. You are. But maybe next time I’ll call Lt. Hayes or Curt Dorn, and you can stay in bed with your new girlfriend, or keep sleeping, or whatever the hell else you were doing when I called, okay?”
Pete stared at him, clearly surprised by the unexpected outburst.
“No, you won’t. You’ll call me.” Pete glanced out the window with a mulish expression. “I’m Psychic Batman’s sidekick. Curt Dorn can’t hold my jockstrap, much less your cape!”
Isaac grinned at the pouting smirk on his friend’s face, and Pete rolled his eyes.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“The plan is to go inside and watch him, and then follow him out. Hopefully catch him in the act.”
“All right, well. Let’s do this.”
They exited the car and made their way to the door. The instant they stepped inside Isaac was smacked in the face by the familiar and unwelcome stench of stale beer, cigarette smoke, and desperation.
He steered Pete to an empty table in the back corner, open enough that they could watch the whole area, but far enough away to avoid another accidental collision that might send him chasing other rabbits down holes he did not want to explore.
The cop in him scanned the place, quickly taking note of the back exit and the exact number and position of every less-than-upstanding patron in attendance. He even spotted which ones were packing a firearm with just a glance, and he was sure Pete had cataloged all the same information. It was simply what cops did.
A trio of college guys out for a harmless beer sat at the bar, while a table in the center of the place held an unhappy couple in the midst of a breakup. Isaac leaned in close to Pete and gestured toward the end of the bar with a lift of his chin.
“There he is.”
Pete followed his line of sight.
“I see him.”
“And there’s his victim. The brunette.”
Isaac motioned across the room to a table where four college girls were laughing and talking and flirting with the college boys seated at the bar.
Pete surveyed the scene and nodded. Then he looked at Isaac.
“So, when’s this going down?”
“It already is, Pete. This guy’s been stalking her all day long.”
They watched the scene play out for a few minutes and Isaac waved away the waitress with a distracted shake of his head.
“Hey? Does this bother you, Ike? Being in here?”
Isaac kept his eyes on their targets.
“A little. I’d be lying if I said the atmosphere didn’t have my mouth watering. But that young woman’s in danger. That’s why I’m here.”
He glanced over at the clock hanging above the bar. The same one he’d seen in the flash. His heart rate kicked up a notch.
“She’s going to say goodnight to her friends now.”
As they watched, the girl leaned over and made a big show of hugging each of her friends. Then she got up and walked to the door, giving them a wave.
Isaac’s breathing shallowed.
“And now he’s going to follow her out, grab her at her car, and pull her into the secluded area on the south side of the bar.”
They watched him down the last of his beer, set the empty bottle on the bar and head for the door.
“How far do we let this go, Ike? Catch him in the act… surely that doesn’t mean we watch him rape her.”
“Hell no. We stop him before penetration, but we need definite intent.”
Pete nodded, and Isaac got to his feet.
“Let’s go.”
They hustled out of there, and Isaac’s gaze fell on the calendar behind the bar. The one he’d seen in his flash.
The warm night air prickled his skin, and Isaac scanned the empty parking lot and walked to the entrance of the secluded area left of the bar. He could hear the girl’s muffled screams and they both drew their weapons and quietly stepped into the shadows.
They saw the much larger man roughly shove the girl up against the brick wall of the bar. His body leaned into her, pinning her there while one hand covered her mouth and the other lifted her skirt and tore off her panties.
The scum was completely unbuckled and pulling himself free of his trousers when Isaac stuck the barrel of his Sig Sauer against the man’s head.
“Cleveland Police. I’d put that thing away if I were you.”
The man turned shocked eyes to look Isaac in the face.
Then he shoved him hard in the gut.
Isaac fell backward.
The man took off in the other direction.
He never even saw Pete coming.
It was an NFL-worthy tackle, and Isaac grinned watching his partner slap the cuffs on.
“Let me go! I didn’t do nothing!”
Isaac turned his attention to the young woman who was in total hysterics on the ground. She was crouched into a ball and crying uncontrollably, holding her head in her hands.
“It’s okay, miss.” He used the most soothing tone he could muster. He crouched down near her. “It’s okay now.”
He reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, but thought better of it and drew back.
“He can’t hurt you now, miss. It’s all over with.”
Without warning, she launched herself at him.
Isaac froze.
“Thank you,” she sobbed into his chest. “Thank you for saving me!”
She hugged him tight, and Isaac stayed perfectly still. If he made the wrong move he could touch her arm, or her cheek could brush against his, and skin-to-skin contact was the last thing he wanted.
“It’s okay, it’s all right. I-I need to call this in to my department, okay?”
Thankfully, she took the hint and let him go. He smiled awkwardly at her.
“We’ll need you to give a statement, all right?”
He stood and pulled a faded purple bandana-style handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her. She took it gratefully, wiping tears and snot as she nodded.
“Yes, I can do that. Anything you need. I’m just so thankful you guys were here.”
As he dialed he looked over at Pete. The rapist was still hanging out in parts while insisting that he hadn’t been doing anything wrong. Isaac couldn’t help but laugh.
“Batman and Robin, huh?”
“Whatever,” Pete said with a cocky shoulder shrug. “They ain’t got shit on us.”
12
“You seemed to sleep a little better after you got in last night.”
