Conduit (26 page)

“Right now, he’s spread out all along your mind. He’s
starting to grow up to take over your mind. The longer he’s in there, the
easier it will be for him to choke out who you are.”

“So how do we stop him?” Cassie asked again.

“For a weed that is intricately woven amongst the flowers,
you have to use a delicate weed killer so you don’t accidentally kill the
flowers. It may take time, but eventually the weed will die. In Emily’s case,
she needs to push out the weed as much as possible.”

“How does she do that?” Cassie asked.

“When she feels him trying to take over, she needs to push
back.” She turned on the couch to face Emily. “Don’t push back only a little
bit, but as hard as you can and with every bit of your strength. It will be
very difficult at first, even painful, but the new man in your life will help
you. He knows how to help you, even if he doesn’t realize it.”

Jake seemed to be the answer to many things in her life,
Emily thought. “How long will this process take? Will he stop killing once he’s
gone from my mind?”

“I’m afraid it will take a long time,” Marta said. “Because
he’s intertwined with your mind, there’s no way to get rid of him quickly. I
don’t know if he will ever stop killing. He’s evil, just as you said. In this
world, there’s not much that can stop that kind of evil.”

“If Emily pushes him out,” Cassie said, “he may kill a lot
faster. His profile suggests that he won’t stop, and if Emily fights him, it
may infuriate him and cause him to do more evil.”

“I’m not sure what to tell you about that,” Marta said. “I
am truly sorry for the women who have died and those who might be in danger,
but Emily is my first concern. She cannot continue to subject herself to him. It
will have far worse consequences for her if she allows him to stay in her mind.”

Cassie stood up. “I think we have a lot of work to do. Thank
you so much for everything.”

“Yes, Marta, thank you,” Emily said. “I don’t know how to repay
you for all of your insight and help.”

“You can thank me by coming back more often. If you bring
this new person in your life here tomorrow, we can work together to see if we
can push the evil out of your mind faster.”

Cassie grabbed another cookie for the road. “These are
delicious, and I will definitely be back, with or without Emily.”

Marta chuckled and gave Cassie a large hug. “You’re welcome
here anytime.” After Cassie walked out of the office, Marta embraced Emily. “You
have another question,” she whispered. “One you don’t want Cassie to know
about.”

Emily parted from Marta, but held onto her arms. She spoke
quietly so Cassie couldn’t hear. “If I have to open up my mind to him again,
what will happen?”

“He’ll choke out the flowers,” Marta said. “You will find
him, and he will find you. There will be no more hiding.”

Emily moistened her lips and looked toward the floor. She
didn’t want Marta to continue reading her thoughts, although she knew it was
impossible to keep her out.

“Do what you need to,” Marta said, “but what you are
thinking is too dangerous and I fear for your life if you do it. If you find
him, you won’t be able to block your mind from him. If he has you, he will not
let go. Keep your mind closed, Emily. At all costs, keep your mind closed.”

Officer Betsy Rogers knocked on
Lionel’s open office door. He glanced up from his paperwork and frowned at her.
“Door’s open, Officer,” he said. “No need to knock.”

She took several steps into his office and stood in front of
his desk. “Thank you, sir,” she said. She turned her head and acknowledged
Shawn.

“Do you have an update for us on hospital security tapes?”
Lionel asked.

“We retrieved everything we needed and we’ve reviewed most
of it. We found him, sir.”

“Is it a clear image?” Shawn asked.

“Very clear,” she said. “We have it set up for you in the
conference room.”

Lionel took a second to let his mind process the new break. “Let’s
go take a look.”

They followed her to the conference room around the corner
from Lionel’s office. Detectives Aurelio and Timmons were seated at the table,
with a television set at the head of the table, much as it was when they
reviewed the footage from the university’s security cameras.

Aurelio pressed play on the remote, and the images on the television
screen came to life.

Lionel watched for a few moments before asking, “What are we
looking at?”

“The emergency room, sir,” Officer Rogers said. “There are
three exits available, and there are two security cameras per door, each one
positioned to catch the comings and goings. This is the exit on the far west
side of the ER.”

“How does someone walk out of an ER after being hit by a
car?” Shawn asked. “Wouldn’t he be uneven on his feet, or at the very least woozy?
That should have drawn some kind of attention when he walked out.”

“Waters wasn’t driving that fast,” Officer Rogers said. “The
doctor’s report said that he only suffered some contusions and cuts, maybe a
concussion. He possibly had a couple of broken ribs, but he left the ER before
they could get x-rays.”

Lionel listened to the discussion around him, but kept his
eyes glued to the television. A tall figure walked toward the camera and looked
up for a full view of his face. Excitement pounded through Lionel’s body and
his limbs tingled. “That’s him,” he said.

Aurelio pressed pause on the remote, freezing the screen so
they could all see his face.

“David, a.k.a. John Smith,” Officer Rogers said.

“It seems to match the other tape, even though on that one
we only saw him from the back,” Shawn said. “But it’s almost identical to the
sketch from our witness.”

Timmons spoke up for the first time. “We’re getting prints of
this made and sent out to all units. Do you want to distribute this to the
media as well?”

“Yes,” Shawn said. “List him as a possible witness, but don’t
say it’s in connection with the murders. We don’t want to spook him.”

“Of course,” Timmons said.

“Officer Rogers and I will get another tip line opened up,” Aurelio
said.

“Looks like another late night answering all kinds of kooky
calls,” Timmons said.

“It’s all for a good cause,” Shawn said. “We’ve almost got
him, and it won’t be long now. No more victims.”

“That’s what I keep telling myself,” Timmons said.

“Good work, everyone,” Lionel said. “We should have him in
custody by tomorrow.”

As soon as Emily walked through the front
door, Jake grabbed her and kissed her. “I am so glad you’re back,” he said.

Emily blushed at his words and her heart skipped a beat. “I
missed you, too,” she said, and gave him another kiss.

“Is this how it’s going to be with you two?” Cassie asked. “I
don’t know if I can be around you guys if you’re going to be lovey-dovey all
the time.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t go for the old, ‘Get a room,’
comment,” Emily said.

Cassie laughed. “Yeah, well that, too.”

Bob came into the foyer and circled Emily’s legs. She
crouched down and scooped him up in her arms. “And how was this little guy
today?”

“He was surprisingly good,” Jake said. “He used his litter
box and we didn’t have any accidents. He even came out to play when I got home.”

Emily kissed Bob’s furry head and rubbed her cheek against
his soft fur. “You’re such a good kitty,” she said, her voice high-pitched, as
if talking to a small child.

“How did it go today?” Jake asked, as they walked into the
living room.

“We learned a lot.” Cassie said.

Emily sat down on the couch with Bob on her lap. “Have you
ever heard of conduits?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Jake said.

Without going into too much detail about their day, Emily
explained everything and told him that at least two of the victims had been conduits.
“Cassie’s my conduit,” she said, with a large smile.

Cassie winked and pride seeped out with her words. “I’m
special, too.”

“Seems like you’re in a much better mood than earlier today,”
Jake said. “I’m glad to see you both smiling again.”

“How did everything go with your meeting?” Emily asked.

“Couldn’t have gone better,” Jake said. “We’re all set for
the trial on Monday. Until then, I’m all yours.”

“Except tomorrow morning,” Cassie said. “We have to meet
with Uncle Leo to spill everything. You could always join us, Jake. It might
make things go easier if we have another psychic there who can corroborate what
we’re saying.”

“I don’t know, Cass,” Emily said. “What exactly are we going
to tell Uncle Leo? With everything we learned, it all sounds so strange.”

“We tell him how the killer is picking his victims and that
you’re at the center of it. Those are both very big pieces of the puzzle that
we need to tell Uncle Leo. He can keep you safe, and maybe what we found out
can help him find the guy before he kills again.”

“But none of it came to us through conventional methods,”
Emily said.

“You still have to tell him,” Jake said. “Show him the writings
you did. That should be enough to convince him you’re telling the truth.”

The thought of showing him the automatic writings terrified
Emily. “What if he thinks I wrote it after he came to us?”

“He won’t think that,” Cassie said. “He knows you’re
different, he just doesn’t ask about it. All you have to do is tell him what
happened. I’m sure he can figure out how to spin it when he tells others.”

“But we’ve never spoken with him about my gift.”

Cassie crossed her arms. “Jake and I will be there, so you
will have all the support you need and we can both vouch for the whole psychic
thing.”

Emily looked at Jake for confirmation. He smiled and nodded
his approval. She took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s meet with him in
the morning.”

“I’m going to call Uncle Leo now and make sure he comes by
the office first thing.” She dug in her purse and extracted her cell phone.

“Aren’t you going over there tonight for dinner?” Emily
asked.

“Yeah, but if I don’t schedule him now, he may not be able
to come by the office before he goes into the station. I don’t want to delay
any longer than tomorrow morning.”

Emily didn’t mind if they delayed the conversation another
year. She bit her bottom lip to avoid making any comments that would start
another debate and end with Jake and Cassie ganging up on her. As a
distraction, she ran her hand over Bob’s back.

Cassie frowned and gestured to the phone. “Voicemail.” Into
the phone she said, “Hi, Uncle Leo! I’ll be there in a couple hours for dinner,
but I didn’t want to forget...” She walked off into the dining room, still chatting
with his voicemail.

Jake sat down on the couch next to Emily. “Telling Leo is
the best thing you could do.”

“I know,” Emily said. “I’m just really worried about what he’ll
say.”

“Don’t worry about that. He won’t ridicule you, and this is
way too important to hold back because of insecurities. Cassie and I will be
there to support you and vouch for you, so there’s nothing to fear.”

“You would really tell a complete stranger about your
abilities for me?”

“I would do anything for you,” Jake said.

Emily watched his eyes as he said the words. Marta was
right, but he didn’t just look good on her, he felt good, too. Her eyes
traveled down his face to his mouth and desire flicked her tongue over her lips.
She leaned over with the full intention of sampling just a taste of him. Her
mouth grazed his and she decided she wanted more.

She scooted closer to him in the middle of their kiss and
bumped his nose. Their lips separated and they laughed over the awkward move.
Faces still close together, it only took a second to recover, and the kiss
became heated. Jake wrapped his arms around her and held her captive. Her
fingers reached for the back of his head and threaded through the ends of his
hair. She could barely contain her feelings for him, and they spilled out in
her kiss.

“Now I’m going to say you need a room,” Cassie said, walking
back into the living room. “I can’t even leave you alone for a minute.”

Emily backed away from Jake and covered her mouth with her
hand in embarrassment. Engrossed in Jake’s kiss, she forgot they weren’t alone.
She was grateful for the untimely interruption. If Cassie hadn’t come in, they
might not have stopped.

“I’m going to go home and grab a nap and a shower before
dinner,” Cassie said. “I’ll check in with you after dinner, unless you prefer I
leave you two alone tonight.”

“I’d rather you check in so we know you’re okay,” Emily
said.

“The offer is still up for you to stay here,” Jake said.

“Thank you, but no,” Cassie said. “We know Emily is his
target, and she’s safe with you. Knowing how dinner with Uncle Leo and Aunt
Barbara usually goes, we’ll be up late drinking and storytelling. I might even
stay in their spare bedroom, depending on how much I’ve had to drink.”

“I would feel much better if you stayed at his house instead
of yours,” Jake said. “But if you change your mind about staying here—”

“I won’t.” Cassie gathered her purse and slung it over her
shoulder. “I’ll see you both bright and early.” She gave a final wave and walked
out the front door.

“I’m so glad you got the answers you wanted,” Jake said. “I
guess I need to get one of those conduits, too.”

A smile claimed her mouth. “You already have one.”

Jake’s curious expression dissolved into one of surprise. “I
do, don’t I? That explains why I feel so much stronger around you, but how is it
possible that you’re both?”

“Apparently I have a rich family history of both psychics
and conduits. But it brought you into my life, and that’s all that matters.”
She brushed her lips against his, and their kiss quickly escalated. Bob jumped onto
her lap and climbed up between them to break them up. They laughed and Jake
picked him up to move him out of the way.

“Someone’s jealous,” Emily said. “We can’t seem to catch a
moment alone tonight.”

“I suppose that’s our cue to figure out what’s for dinner,”
Jake said, standing up.

She tugged on his arm, stopping him from walking away. “Do
you mind if we hold off on dinner for a bit. I really just want to sit here
with you.”

Jake smiled and sat back down on the couch. She relaxed
against him and he kissed her forehead. She wasn’t sure where her investigation
into the murders was leading, but finding out she was the killer’s intended
target had affected her more than she wanted to admit. She needed some quiet
time with Jake to clear her mind. Having him by her side would keep the killer
away, at least for a few moments.