remains. Not a fresh body.”
“So this happened some time ago then?” Felicity interjected.
He nodded. “Yeah. Matter of fact, the medical examiner is estimating somethin’ like two years, but that’s not a definite until they run some tests. However, the skull is missing, and there are saw marks on the vertebrae. So, add it all up, and it’s a good bet we’re dealin’ with the same asshole.”
I still wasn’t finished being angry with myself, so I spat, “Well, then I should have picked up on it two years ago then.”
“Give yourself a fuckin’ break, Row,” Ben offered with an impatient shake of his head. “Who knows? You were prob’ly all Twilight Zoned ‘bout somethin’ else when this one happened.”
“That’s no excuse,” I grumbled.
“Yeah, well deal with it,” he replied. “I need ya’ focused right now.”
“What for? I snipped. “She’s already dead.”
“Listen, drop the attitude before I kick your sorry ass around the block,” Ben said. “I already told ya’ you don’t have the whole story yet, and your not givin’ me a chance to tell it.”
I wanted to fire off a retort, however, he was dead on the mark; so I kept my mouth shut and sat stewing in my own self-loathing.
“Gods,” Felicity said. “Don’t tell me there’s more.”
“Sorry, but there is,” he continued. “And, the way I got it figured the remains they found ain’t why you’re goin’ la-la all of a sudden, Row.”
“What then?” my wife asked.
He sighed and then gave his neck a quick rub. “This has been all over the news today, so I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it. At around seven forty-five this morning, one of the security cameras on the parking lot at Northwoods Mall caught somethin’. A young woman was abducted while she was on her way in to work. Went down pretty much the same way we witnessed it happen with Larson, white man. And, from what I saw on the tape, it was probably the same shithead doin’ it.”
“Oh Gods,” Felicity moaned.
I knew exactly how she felt. I was just too busy trying to ward off a sudden wave of nausea to be able to speak.
“Yeah, well,” he continued. “The security guard who monitors the cameras was just comin’ outta the crapper, so he only caught the tail end of it happenin’. He called nine-one-one, but by then it was too late.”
“Great,” I muttered sarcastically.
“Yeah,” he returned and then paused for a moment. “The tape wasn’t the best. Got a make and model on the car but no tags. Doesn’t matter though ‘cause it’s prob’ly hot like last time. Nothin’ real clear on the bad guy either. Just average height, dark hair, and stocky build; again, pretty much the same as with Larson.”
“So, who was the woman?” I asked. “Do you know?”
I’m not sure what made me ask the question. It may have simply been the desire to hang an identity on the abductee. Perhaps it was a need to make her into something more than a nondescript entity, especially since I was apparently feeling her pain. Still, judging from the tickle in my brain, there seemed to be something more driving me when I spoke the words.
He gave a nod. “Yeah. One of the other security officers managed to ID her as the manager of the Kathy’s Closet store there in the mall. Her car was…”
“Wait a minute,” Felicity cut him off, a deeply concerned look washing over her face. “Kimberly was abducted?”
Ben gave her a slightly confused glance while reaching into his pocket and pulling out his small notebook. He quickly flipped it open and glanced down. “Yeah. Kimberly Forest. You know ‘er?”
“Aye, Kathy’s Closet is one of my big accounts,” Felicity replied. “I shoot all of their catalogs, and Kimberly has done some of the fill-in modeling. We got to know one another the past couple of years.”
“Fuck me,” Ben muttered. “I’m sorry, Felicity. I didn’t know she was a friend.”
“No,” I announced on the heels of his comment.
“No, what?” he asked.
“No,” I repeated, looking over at Felicity. “I know exactly what you’re thinking, and you aren’t going to do this.”
“Aye, and you’re going to stop me?” she asserted.
“If I have to.”
“Try it,” she challenged, her voice taking on a hard edge.
“Jeezus H. Christ, will you two stop it!” Ben interrupted sharply. “I ain’t got time for this crap. Look, we got a missin’ woman and no real leads except for your freaky-ass hocus-pocus shit.”
We both looked back at him as he paused. There was a mix of pain and anger in his face, and even though his voice was harsh, it was underscored with a faint pleading tone. He was looking for help, not conflict.
He cleared his throat then lowered his voice and continued. “Now, if this sick fuck follows the same time frame as he did with Larson, Kimberly Forest is gonna be dead inside of twenty-four hours. That doesn’t leave us much time.”
“You’re right, sorry,” I apologized.
“Listen,” he said. “I wasn’t even gonna call you. I know what you two have been through, and I hate the thought of draggin’ ya’ through it again. But… But, since you called me…” He allowed his voice to trail off, staring back at me with an apologetic look.
“It’s okay,” I told him. “We all knew I’d end up in the middle again. It was only a matter of time.”
“So, do ya’ think you can help?” he asked. “Or is this just gonna put ya’ through hell for nothin’?”
“I don’t know. This seizure was just like before, Ben,” I explained. “I don’t remember anything.”
“Shit. Not what I wanted to hear.”
“I know, but I’m not going to give up yet.”
“Row, after what happened a few months ago…” he began.
“The hell is going to happen anyway, Ben,” I told him. “Look at what just occurred. Why Felicity called you. There’s nothing I can do to stop it, so I might as well try to use it to our advantage.”
“How you gonna do that if you don’t remember anything?”
“We’ll just have to try it again,” I offered.
“Try what? You mean the hypnosis?” Felicity asked. “Like last time.”
“Maybe,” I replied. “Or maybe something more direct.”
“Rowan, what are you thinking?” Felicity asked. I could tell she was already preparing her own veto for my yet to be announced course of action.
“Psychometry” was my single word response.
“What the hell’s that?” Ben asked with a harrumph. “Math for Witches?”
“Psychic impressions from physical contact,” Felicity explained.
He nodded. “So you mean like when you go all la-la from touching a victim’s body?”
“Exactly,” I replied. “But it’s also like when I ‘see’ things at crime scenes just by being there.”
“Okay, so that’s what ya’ call it.” He raised an eyebrow and gave his head a quick, sideways cant. “So you wanna go to the site of the abduction?”
“For starters.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“Let’s cross that bridge if we get to it.”
CHAPTER 30:
“So whaddaya need to do, Row?” Ben asked as he nosed his van into a parking space, levered it into park, and then turned in his seat to look back at me.
Felicity was sitting directly behind him in the back seat, and I was on the passenger side near the door. Agent Mandalay was in the front with him, riding shotgun. She had returned Felicity’s call just as we were getting
