finger over first one cheek and then the other.” Her hand gripped Gabriel’s, her short, neat nails biting into his skin. “Yes! Yes, I do. Moonlight glinted off shoes in my vision.”
“What did they look like in that vision? Were they shiny or dull?”
“Shiny. Almost as shiny as they were here.”
Harley spoke up. “Take her home, Gabe. We’ll take over from here.”
“I’m not going anywhere. You still need my help,” she contended, shooting a desperate glance at Gabriel.
Her look of betrayal slashed through him when he agreed with Harley. He tried to lessen the blow. “You passed out. You need time to recover. Let them handle it from here.”
“I’m fine. How are they going to find the body without me?” She shoved at his chest. Reluctantly, he loosened his hold.
“They’ll find the body. We know he didn’t go very far because his shoes weren’t dusty. That limits the search range.” Gabriel tried to sound reasonable. He could tell by the set of her mouth that Kalesia wasn’t in the mood to be reasonable.
“Hey, Major. Take a look at this.” All heads turned.
Harley crossed to where his deputy crouched. On the underside of the wooden table was a small patch of what could be dried blood. He got to his feet, careful not to disturb the area any more than it already had been.
“Hansen, radio for a forensic team. Oh, and get hold of Charlie and tell him to bring his dog. Then take Steele and Ms. Brannigan back to town so they can pick up their car.”
“Major Harley…” Kalesia pleaded.
“No argument.” His expression softened. “Let me do my job.”
Gabriel squeezed her shoulders in warning. “You’ll let us know when you find something?” he said to his friend.
“The minute.” Harley turned away, his attention already elsewhere.
“Gabriel, I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here.” She shrugged his arm off. “It isn’t fair. I can be of help.”
“Harley will let us know what he finds. You can’t just ignore the fact you fainted.”
“It was just the shock of the vision. It won’t happen again.”
“You can’t be certain of that. The vision caught you by surprise this time, what’s to say it wouldn’t again.” He allowed a hint of impatience to color his low tones.
“It won’t,” she maintained. “I think I reacted so strongly because of the resonance left by his presence. It triggered my vision. It’s the first time I’ve actually been at the scene of one the crimes.”
“That’s exactly what I’m driving at. Look,” Gabriel gripped her chin and firmly turned her face to his. “It overpowered you when the violence was comparatively minor. What do you think would happen if you stumbled onto his grave? Hell, what do you think would happen if you found the exact spot where the killer pulled the trigger?”
Long lashes lowered, extinguishing the defiant, pleading gleam in her eyes. She sighed in defeat. “All right, Gabriel. We’ll go back to your house.”
* * * * *
Tipped back in his favorite chair, Gabriel stared at the night-shrouded river. Kalesia was withdrawing from him. He could feel it. He closed his eyes against the unexpected pain.
His right hand fisted and then slowly opened.
He knew she was feeling as resentful as hell because they had not allowed her to help with the search. Hell, maybe she even had a point. Maybe she did have the right to be there when they found the body. All he knew was that when he saw her white face and haunted eyes, he wanted to bundle her up and promise nothing would ever frighten her again.
She’d shrugged off his attempts to explain. Just pled weariness and headed without a backward glance toward her room.
Alone.
The creak of bedsprings carried clearly on the night air. Gabriel glanced at the open window just feet away, a self-derisive grimace twisting his lips. A drape fluttered in the light breeze. No light showed but it didn’t stop his imagination.
Just like last night. He had sat out
“What did they look like in that vision? Were they shiny or dull?”
“Shiny. Almost as shiny as they were here.”
Harley spoke up. “Take her home, Gabe. We’ll take over from here.”
“I’m not going anywhere. You still need my help,” she contended, shooting a desperate glance at Gabriel.
Her look of betrayal slashed through him when he agreed with Harley. He tried to lessen the blow. “You passed out. You need time to recover. Let them handle it from here.”
“I’m fine. How are they going to find the body without me?” She shoved at his chest. Reluctantly, he loosened his hold.
“They’ll find the body. We know he didn’t go very far because his shoes weren’t dusty. That limits the search range.” Gabriel tried to sound reasonable. He could tell by the set of her mouth that Kalesia wasn’t in the mood to be reasonable.
“Hey, Major. Take a look at this.” All heads turned.
Harley crossed to where his deputy crouched. On the underside of the wooden table was a small patch of what could be dried blood. He got to his feet, careful not to disturb the area any more than it already had been.
“Hansen, radio for a forensic team. Oh, and get hold of Charlie and tell him to bring his dog. Then take Steele and Ms. Brannigan back to town so they can pick up their car.”
“Major Harley…” Kalesia pleaded.
“No argument.” His expression softened. “Let me do my job.”
Gabriel squeezed her shoulders in warning. “You’ll let us know when you find something?” he said to his friend.
“The minute.” Harley turned away, his attention already elsewhere.
“Gabriel, I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here.” She shrugged his arm off. “It isn’t fair. I can be of help.”
“Harley will let us know what he finds. You can’t just ignore the fact you fainted.”
“It was just the shock of the vision. It won’t happen again.”
“You can’t be certain of that. The vision caught you by surprise this time, what’s to say it wouldn’t again.” He allowed a hint of impatience to color his low tones.
“It won’t,” she maintained. “I think I reacted so strongly because of the resonance left by his presence. It triggered my vision. It’s the first time I’ve actually been at the scene of one the crimes.”
“That’s exactly what I’m driving at. Look,” Gabriel gripped her chin and firmly turned her face to his. “It overpowered you when the violence was comparatively minor. What do you think would happen if you stumbled onto his grave? Hell, what do you think would happen if you found the exact spot where the killer pulled the trigger?”
Long lashes lowered, extinguishing the defiant, pleading gleam in her eyes. She sighed in defeat. “All right, Gabriel. We’ll go back to your house.”
* * * * *
Tipped back in his favorite chair, Gabriel stared at the night-shrouded river. Kalesia was withdrawing from him. He could feel it. He closed his eyes against the unexpected pain.
His right hand fisted and then slowly opened.
He knew she was feeling as resentful as hell because they had not allowed her to help with the search. Hell, maybe she even had a point. Maybe she did have the right to be there when they found the body. All he knew was that when he saw her white face and haunted eyes, he wanted to bundle her up and promise nothing would ever frighten her again.
She’d shrugged off his attempts to explain. Just pled weariness and headed without a backward glance toward her room.
Alone.
The creak of bedsprings carried clearly on the night air. Gabriel glanced at the open window just feet away, a self-derisive grimace twisting his lips. A drape fluttered in the light breeze. No light showed but it didn’t stop his imagination.
Just like last night. He had sat out
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