Tapestry of the Past (19 page)

“In the…”
Kalesia
swallowed, a sickly cast to her face. “He was shot in the left eye.” She sank slowly onto the sofa and looked from one hard, closed face to another. “But in my vision I was shot in the chest. Surely that means something?” she protested, a shiver running over her.

“Were any of the other victims shot?”

She gave a slow shake of her head.

“Two of the victims in your visions were shot, execution style. We can’t ignore the similarity.”

“He’s right,
Kalesia
,” Badger said, moving to stand behind her and patting her shoulder. “We have to follow every angle.” He looked at the other men for confirmation.

Sam concurred. He sat beside
Kalesia
on the sofa. “At this point, we can’t favor one scenario over another.”

Wolf claimed the padded arm of the sofa. He picked up her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “We have to be thorough.”

I’ll be damned.
Gabriel watched in a state of bemusement as three of the meanest sons of bitches he knew rush to reassure
Kalesia
. He gave a disbelieving shake of his head. The woman hadn’t the slightest clue. When Badger patted her shoulder for the third time, Gabriel decided it was time to break up the small party.

“Badger,” he barked. “You and Wolf keep working the client angle. Sam, see if you can cross-reference that murder to anything in Crump’s file.” He shoved to his feet.

“Going out?” Wolf asked, a too-casual note in his deep voice and a knowing gleam in his eyes.

“You’re going out?” She shot a suspicious glance between the two men. “Now?”

Gabriel nodded.

She shot to her feet. “Not without me, you’re not.”
Kalesia
skirted the coffee table and stood in front of him, arms crossed.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Satisfaction welled. He reached out and rubbed a knuckle against her cheek. A small electric shock shot straight from his knuckle to his cock. It never failed to amaze him, the effect she had on his senses.

Dawning awareness lit her green eyes. “I think I’ve been had.”

“You,” Gabriel curled a possessive arm around her shoulders, “have a suspicious nature.” Damn, she felt good in his arms.

“Hah! Comes from hanging around with you. You’d make a nun suspicious. Where are we going?”

“To see a man about a missing person.”

* * * * *

“Sneaky. Real sneaky, Steele,”
Kalesia
mouthed in an aside as Gabriel held the glass door open and motioned her inside. “You know I hate these places.”

“Tom will be crushed to hear that.” Gabriel steered her around an arguing couple, wondering why he didn’t have that tight feeling in his chest that being involved in anything remotely resembling an investigation usually gave him.

“Yeah, sure, right. If he’s anything like you, it’d take a two-ton boulder to crush him.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that. Right after I tell him how much you like the yellow slicker.”

“Isn’t it illegal to blackmail a person in a sheriff’s office or something?”

“Only if you get caught.”

“Gabe! Back so soon?” Gary Parker looked up, surprise written on his plain face. Right ankle propped over his left knee, he finished wiping mud off the high shine of his shoe and tossed the rag into a drawer.

Gabriel squeezed
Kalesia’s
hand as she opened her mouth to respond. Without missing a beat, she gave a warm smile instead.

“Place grows on you after awhile.” Gabriel canted his head toward the closed office door. “Harley here?”

Parker grimaced. “He’s here. In a
helluva
mood, though.” He jumped as Harley’s door slammed open.

“Parker! Do you have that report ready?” Tom noticed Gabriel and
Kalesia
and scowled. “What are you two doing here?”

“We need to talk.”

“Why not? My day’s already shot all to hell.” He went back inside without another word. Gabriel, with
Kalesia
in tow, followed.

Harley settled into the chair behind the desk. He threw a pen on the cluttered surface. “Well? And I warn you, Gabe, I don’t want any more murders. I have enough on my plate as it is,” he grunted.

“How about missing persons or John Does?”

Harley groaned. “You know, Gabe. A
fella
could get real tired of seeing your face.”

“I need to see if you have any matches for a vision
Kalesia
had about two years ago. You know, one of those I asked you to check into nearly a week ago.”

“Don’t start. Do you have any idea of the number of crimes that come through this office in a day? This place is like a madhouse. I have more to worry about than possible murders more than two years old.”

It was the first time Gabriel could remember hearing Tom Harley sound defensive. But, then, being around
Kalesia
could do that to a man.

“Even after
Kalesia
led you to a body?” Gabriel asked, lacing his tone liberally with sarcasm.

Harley nodded. “Even after. Right now we’re assisting in the search for two children who disappeared. On top of that, the body of a hiker was found handcuffed to a tree in the forest.” Harley’s voice deepened. “Yeah, you could say I had more to worry about.” Their eyes met in a look of mutual understanding. Harley cleared his throat. “Any special reason to wonder about that particular vision now?”

“What caliber bullet was Crump shot with?”

Harley gave him a hard look. “9mm. Why?”

Gabriel nodded, his hunch confirmed. “The man I want you to run a check on was shot in the head with a small caliber round.”

“And that makes you suspicious?”

“Hell, yes. Anything that has even a remote resemblance to what’s happening currently makes me suspicious.”

“You’re grabbing at straws,” Harley warned.

Gabriel leaned back in his chair and pinned the older man with a hard look. “That’s why you sent her to me, isn’t it? Because I’m so damn good at grabbing straws?”

Kalesia
looked from one man to the other, a frown pulling the delicate, wing-like brows together.

Harley snagged a yellow legal pad and a pen. “Give me the details again. I’ll see what I can do.”

When he finished, Harley asked, “You’re sure that’s all you can remember?” The question was aimed at
Kalesia
. She nodded.

“That’s it. Even though that vision took place over two years ago, the details are very clear in my mind. It’s hardly something I would forget.”

Harley reclined back in his office chair and
steepled
his fingers over his stomach. The chair groaned alarmingly.

Gabriel waited for the rickety swivel chair to collapse. When it didn’t, he decided it was much like Harley, himself—a little used, a little battered but completely dependable underneath it all.

“Okay. That’s enough to get me started. If I turn up anything, I’ll give ya’ll a holler. What is it?” Harley barked, when Parker knocked once and stuck his head inside the door.

“Senator
Morne’s
on the phone again. Line three.” Gary Parker delivered the message and ducked back out.

“Shakespeare was dead wrong,” Harley grumbled. “It’s the politicians we need to get rid of, not the lawyers.”

“I read somewhere that most politicians are lawyers. Some are even law enforcement officers,”
Kalesia
murmured to Gabriel. He hid his grin at the wild blush that covered her face when Harley switched his gaze back to her.

“Which goes to show you what a model of efficiency looks like. By getting rid of the politicians not only do they become an extinct species but the lion’s share of lawyers do likewise.” Harley grinned, showing a lot of teeth. “Those who are cops are exempt.”

Gabriel grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet. He, better than anyone, knew the little witch fought dirty when cornered. And, damn, she looked like she wanted to sink through the floor. This time, he didn’t hide his grin.

Harley shifted in his chair. If he were a betting man, Gabriel decided, eying his friend, he’d bet Harley felt bad about teasing her. She seemed to have that effect on men.

Gabriel waited, counting off the seconds silently. Sure enough, in less than fifteen seconds Harley took pity on
Kalesia’s
embarrassment.

Tom made a short, shooing motion, the ghost of a smile on his mouth. “Go. Get. Let me tend my headache in peace.” The smile faded. He rubbed at his temple with one hand and picked up the phone with the other.

“I see you made it out alive,” Gary Parker greeted them after a quick check to make sure the door was closed.

“Barely.”
Kalesia
gave the young man a wry smile. “Somehow, I get the feeling your major doesn’t care much for the political system.”

“Now, ma’am, whatever gave you that notion?” Gary Parker grinned back. “The boss is a good man but politicians tend to give him a rash.” His expression turned serious. “
Morne’s
been riding the major pretty hard. Seems like he’s been appointed the head of some crime task force. That, along with his bid for reelection, means he’s been hanging around here tighter than a tick on a wet hound dog.”

“He’s finding fault with the Department?” Gabriel asked, his attention on the deputy seated behind
Kalesia
. He glared at Henry Pompano, who seemed altogether too interested in
Kalesia
. The young deputy, finally sensing the malevolent regard aimed his way, finally pulled his gaze from her ass. Gabriel pinned him with a lethal glance. Pompano went white. Ducking his head, he opened a file on his desk with shaking hands.

He should have beaten the shit out of the little twerp when he used weed killer instead of fertilizer on the seedlings.

“Not really. At least I don’t think so. It’s just he’s asking all kinds of questions and sticking his nose everywhere. Making us all
kinda
nervous. I’ll be really glad when the election’s over.” Another deputy walked up, a sheaf of papers in his hand, diverting Gary’s attention.

Gabriel gathered
Kalesia
with a hand under her elbow and started toward the door. “Bye,” she called back over her shoulder.

“See you, Miss
Brannigan
,” Gary and Pompano called out at the same time.

* * * * *

Gut-wrenchingly real images slid through
Kalesia’s
defenses like a thief through an unlocked window.

Unable to move, he waited for the pain.

Ghost-like fingers slithered down his spine, leaving blood in their wake—tiny droplets that turned into a river that welled into a carmine cascade.

Agony exploded and saturated the night…

“Wake up,
Kalesia
. Damn it, wake up!” Gabriel commanded, fear making his voice rough. He reached up and snapped on the lamp.

She woke with a start. For a long moment she stared at him, not seeming to recognize him, then she flung her arms around his neck. Underneath his palms, quivers racked her slender frame. Her gown stuck to her body. His own skin, he knew, was cold and slick with a thin film of sweat from his own dream.

Finally, a long moment later, he gripped her upper arms and held her slightly away. “What the hell was that about? You nearly scared me to death with your moaning and flailing about.” Gabriel swallowed a hard lump, remembering the tortured groans that had rent him from his own restless sleep. God, he would never forget the sounds. “I thought someone was killing you!” he ground out, unable to prevent his hands from roaming over her. Needing the feel of her warmth to assure himself she was in one piece.

“Oh God, Gabriel! They were torturing him.”

He stiffened. “They were torturing whom?” he asked, each word shaped with undue care.

“That poor man. The one I saw tonight.”

“You had another vision?”

“Yes. No. Oh God, I don’t know,” she stammered, tears trembling on the tip of her lashes. Her head fell forward and pressed against his damp chest.

“Calm down and tell me what you saw.” He rubbed soothing circles on her back and stared over her shoulder, seeing a growing darkness that had nothing to do with the night.

Kalesia
took a shaky breath. The sound cut straight through Gabriel. “This poor man was strapped to a table and they were torturing him.”

The darkness expanded. “Who was torturing him?”

“I don’t know.” Her voice broke. “I couldn’t see their faces.”

“What about the man being tortured? Could you see his face?” The darkness prowled. Searched for fine fault lines. If it found them, he’d shatter. Like a poorly repaired bowl. Malicious laughter echoed in his ears. It knew. Knew it was only a matter of time.

“Crimson. Everywhere.” She burrowed closer. “Table. Floor. The man.”

“His face. Did you see his face?” he asked again, forcing his mouth to work. Gabriel felt weird. As if a paper-thin sheet of crackle glass separated him from the real world. He could see it. Could almost touch it. But was apart from it.

Darkness crept closer.

Once it found the
spiderweb
of cracks, the darkness would spill out. Swallow him whole.

He’d be trapped. A shade, able to see life but unable to touch it. Forever.

Kalesia
shook her head against his chest. Long strands of her hair caught and clung in the dark mat of hair covering his chest. They gleamed like strings of silken fire against the ebony darkness. “His face was too covered in blood and bruises for me to see any details of his features. I’m sorry,” she whispered, her breath tiny pants, searing the icy coldness of his skin.

“
Shh
, don’t apologize. You can’t help what you do or don’t see.” His voice was a harsh rasp. He sounded like a man too long without water. Or one who had screamed himself hoarse, Gabriel thought in that distant part of his mind that still functioned.

“So much pain. Waves of it.” Her fingers dug into his sides. “Gabriel?” There was a tentative lilt to the question.

He needed to answer. To say something. But he couldn’t. So he waited.

“I know this doesn’t make sense but,” she tilted her head back and looked at him, “I could almost swear it was the same man I saw in my vision about Crump.”