or places. It was confusing for her to interpret at first. We spent several years on the reservation after Mr. and Mrs. Casey passed away. My grandmother was a powerful medicine woman and taught Sam how to interpret these feelings.”
“What kind of feelings?”
“She can sense the aura left in a room or surrounding a body that can tell her things about a killer or the victim.” Abby flashed a smile filled with pride and affection. “My grandmother used to say that the victim either had to be cold to the touch or cold-hearted in order for Sam’s powers to work.”
Jake eyed her strangely. “And you believe this?”
Abby’s dark eyes danced. There was a secret world behind those eyes of hers, a secret world that only Sam and Alex seemed to have a key to.
“There are many unexplained things in life, Jacob. We can’t see electrical currents, but we know they work. We can’t see radio waves or even gravity, but we have no doubt they are there.”
“That’s true,” Jake agreed, “but, unfortunately, our judicial system requires solid evidence and logical conclusions. And these little visions Sam has just don’t fall anywhere in line with those requirements.”
A comfortable silence surrounded them. A large bee droned over to a cluster of day lilies near the patio. A gathering of finches splashed in the birdbath near the Florida room. Jake could feel Abby’s eyes on him, studying him, probing. Probing what?
“One thing you have to understand about Sam, she hasn’t had it easy. I don’t want to make excuses for her.”
Jake shifted his gaze to Abby, her smiling eyes, the genuine love in her voice whenever she mentioned Sam’s name.
“She withdrew after Mr. and Mrs. Casey died. She didn’t talk much and children can be cruel. Then when the visions started, kids thought she was a freak. Adults understood she had a powerful gift. Until…”
Jake arched one eyebrow.
“There was a murder on the reservation,” Abby explained. “A young boy. The authorities thought he had played with matches and accidentally set himself on fire. But Sam walked through the rubble of the boy’s house. She saw what had happened to him, somehow knew who did it.”
“I would think everyone would be thankful that the truth came out.”
“Yes, but tell that to the young men who were afraid to even talk to Sam for fear she could read their every thought. Tell that to the adults who suddenly realized she might be able to discover secrets about them.”
Jake pondered Abby’s comments as he studied the remnants of coffee in the bottom of his cup. His face must have displayed his unswayed skepticism because Abby asked, “You still doubt Sam’s ability?”
“Well, you have to admit,” Jake added, “it isn’t something I run into every day. And I can almost see people taking two steps back whenever she walks into a room.”
“Grandmother told Sam that people are more receptive to healing powers. But other powers should not be advertised. Unfortunately, Sam chose a line of work where she can use her powers. I guess I should be glad she is callused enough to survive the opposition she encounters.” After a few moments she added, “Sam also tends to take lightly the danger she puts herself in. Promise me you’ll keep an eye on her.”
For the first time since he met her, Abby’s eyes showed genuine fear. He touched her hand and said, “Of course.” Jake leaned over to place his cup on the patio table. His shirtless torso was tan and muscular. He felt Abby’s hand on his back, a back he rarely exposed. When he heard her gasp, he stood up, felt his face flush. He thought he saw tears edge their way to the corners of her eyes. He departed abruptly explaining, “I should get dressed.”
Abby watched Jake leave. She leaned back against the table shaking her head in shock. Raised welts, old scars, had criss-crossed Jake’s back starting at the shoulder blades and disappearing below the belt line.
When she placed her hand on one of his scars she saw a vision of a boy, no more than six, shielding a woman, his mother perhaps, who was cowering in a corner. A leather strap cut across the boy’s back, literally ripping his shirt off.
The visions had come quick, split frames like watching a slide projector. The one that came into clear focus was the boy tied to a bed on his stomach, naked, his back and rear cut and bleeding profusely and then the strap slapping across the back once more, sending blood spraying onto the walls and sheet.
She knew more than ever that she made the right decision to use the sweat lodge. Jake had built an emotional wall around himself and now Abby knew that only the spirits would be able to penetrate that wall. Only they would be able to help him open his heart.
Chapter 35
Jake watched Frank through the glass partition in Sam’s office. Frank was on the phone with the Dallas VA Hospital.
“I thought Abby had told you she was my mother,” Sam said.
“She thought you had told me. All this time I thought she was your housekeeper.” Jake watched Frank hang up the phone and lean back in his chair shaking his head. “This doesn’t look good,” Jake observed.
Frank walked in and closed the door. “George Abbott, one of Preston’s fellow Army buddies, conveniently passed away last night.”
“Complications from surgery?” Sam asked.
“The doctor thinks there was a problem with his insulin. The nurse on duty said he received his proper dosage at six o’clock. But he seemed to have a suspicious amount in his system. I talked to the Dallas P.D. Told them Abbott was an integral part of our investigation and we would like them to treat it as a homicide.”
“That’s just great. Someone is picking off our witnesses one by one. First Leonard Ames dies in a car accident in 1976. Who’s next?” Sam asked. Janet buzzed Sam on the intercom. Benny was on the phone. She pressed the speaker button. “I hope it’s good news, Benny.” Benny informed them that Captain Murphy would be issuing a press release to the Chasen Heights Post Tribune informing them the Hap Wilson case was closed. Murphy’s memo to Benny requested that Benny report the preliminary tests were inconclusive on the cause of death but that drugs had not been ruled out.
“He can’t do that.” Sam looked up at Jake. “Can he do that?”
“He’s doing it,” Frank chimed in.
“I’ve already received the toxicology report, Sam.” Benny’s voice blared through the speaker phone. “It’s all negative. Basically, what Murphy says is correct. Cause of death is inconclusive.”
“But you and I both know Hap was murdered. How could he possibly want you to infer in your report that drugs might have played a part?” Sam argued.
“He’s closing the case is what he’s doing, and my hand is being held to the fire to sign off on it.”
“Can’t you stall him?” Frank asked.
Jake leaned on the desk, close to the phone. “How much longer can you hold the body?”
“As long as necessary.”
Sam ended her call with Benny and started pacing. The more she paced, the angrier she became. “It had to be Preston. He’s pressuring Murphy to close the case. Murphy is such a sonafabitch. He should be fired.” She picked up the phone and dialed Chief Connelley. “Do you know where he went, Mary?” Sam sat down at her keyboard and pounded out a note to Connelley on the computer. “That’s okay. I’m sending him a message. Do me a favor and read it to him when he calls in and have him call me ASAP.”
“What do you want your memo to accomplish other than pissing off Murphy because you went over his head?” Jake asked.
“That’s good for starters.” She pressed the ENTER key. “I don’t care what he says, I’m not giving up on this case. You two can do what you want.” She watched as the two men exchanged eye contact. Years of working together made Jake and Frank think like one. Sam never had the experience of knowing or even appreciating how that felt. “You think I’m crazy?”
“Other than ancient depositions, Sam, we’ve got nothing to work on,” Frank confessed. “The depositions
