The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) (21 page)

             
“Get on with it you twit!” shouted Cassandra from somewhere in the crowd.

             
“And annoying little heiresses,” he added smoothly.

             
“HEY!”

             
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” he finished and pushed open the doors.

             
People gasped at the sight of the massive room.  The lights of the huge crystal chandelier, reflected off the mirror walls which seemed to triple the size of the already huge room.  A large orchestra, at the far end of the room, struck up a waltz number as the awestruck guests entered.

             
After making sure all was going well, Alex wandered out onto the terrace for some solitude.  Instead he found Cassandra already out there gazing out at the moonlit grounds. 

             
“It’s even more beautiful than I remembered,” she sighed as he approached. “Are you going to take people on a tour of the rest of the place?”

             
“A few of my assistants from the city are taking care of that.”

             
“What if they get lost?”

             
“Rescue puppies are standing by,” he winked,

             
They stood side-by-side in companionable silence, looking up at the stars.  Then he said casually, “You seem more at ease now.  Back in the kitchen you seemed eager to get away.”

             
“I was trying to come to grips with a long-running dilemma.”

             
“I see,” he nodded, picking up images and feelings from her without meaning to.  There were times when he wished Cassandra was more guarded about her talents.  Unlike him, she was wide open and never seemed to learn how to close her powers off. 

             
She must’ve sensed him picking up on her thoughts, because all of a sudden she said, “You can tell Veronica she was right. And that I’m going to stop being such a bitch to her.”

             
“All right,” he nodded, “And I’m supposed to know what this all means.”

             
Cassandra turned to him and stared at him.  “Come on, I’m sure you of all people have suspected that I’m actually a lesbian for some time.” 

             
“Actually I thought you were bisexual…” he began, but his phone went off again and he answered it.  After a quick conversation he hung up and informed his friend that her offer had just been surpassed.

             
“Probably Ellis,” she sighed pulling out her phone and texting instructions.  “He wants to turn this place into a golf course.”

             
“Seriously?” Alex frowned, “With the winters around here?  I can see it all now.  ‘Aw bad luck there Jerry, right into a ten foot snowdrift.  Shall we get the snowblower or do you want to take a two stroke penalty?  I say, Frank watch out for the Snowman hazard over on the ninth.  That carrot nose can really throw your swing off.’  And wait till they get to the water hazard.  Beware of skaters and ice fishermen.”

             
“Introducing a new sport to the Winter Olympics ladies and gentleman, Extreme Snow Golfing,” Cassandra laughed putting away her phone.  

             
A moment later Lady Gaga started singing from Alex’s pocket once more and he began to wonder why he bothered putting it away.   Pulling it out, he read the message.  The figure it mentioned made his eyes bulge and his jaw drop. 

             
“I think that’ll put an end to the bidding,” remarked Cassie with satisfaction. 

             
“You didn’t have to that high,” he told her.

             
“Do you have a problem with it?”

             
“Nope!”

             
“I’m glad to hear it.  Now all you have to worry about is the fact that one of your guests has wandered down by the bridge,” she gestured towards the stream.

             
“Bloody hell, Roy’ll have my hide,” Alex muttered, hopping over the railing.  “If he comes by, keep him distracted while I go fetch that person.”

             
“How?” Cassie asked curiously.

             
“Flash your knockers at him or something,” he told her and headed off down the slope.

              Inside the police station Veronica was hanging out at Pam’s desk when the aroma of Italian cuisine interrupted their conversation.  “Mmm, that can only mean one thing,” the dispatcher murmured.

             
“Yeah, I need to get my wallet out,” said Ronnie, with a heavenly smile. They had both been starving for the last hour.

             
“Or you could just take me into your office for a strip search,” suggested Julie as she put the food down on the counter. 

             
“Lose the bill and I’ll do it if she won’t,” said Pam checking out the bags.

             
“Sorry, best I can do is to take a pass on my tip,” Julie told her.

             
“Oh, in that case Sarge can take care of you, OR the tip,” the Dispatcher replied as a call came in.

             
“Ah, the loyalty you inspire in your colleagues,” observed Julie as her friend handed her the money which included a big tip.  “Spoil sport.” 

             
Ronnie was about to reply when Pam suddenly looked up and said, “It’s the Morgue.  Shall I patch it through to your office?”

             
Shaking her head Ronnie took the phone from her. “Hi Charlie what’ve you got for me?”  A moment later she rolled her eyes and added, “Besides your oversexed imagination.”  

             
Julie and Pam sniggered, but Ronnie immediately focused on what the Medical Examiner had found out so far.

             
By the time Dr. Wells assistant had finished, Veronica didn’t feel so hungry anymore.  It must’ve shown on her face, because the other two were studying her closely.  After asking him to fax the report, she hung up.

             
“What’s wrong Ronnie?” asked Julie.

             
“A few days ago, the Medical Examiner found traces of an unknown element in the lungs of Paul Chase and those kids who nearly ran you down.  Now in all three cases, there was a strange smell on the bodies.   The other day, Alex encountered that same smell over at the Graham estate coming from the stream and notified us.  Roy went out there and took a sample of water and gave it Dr. Wells.  And sure enough the mystery element was in the water.  This morning Wells called asking for another sample so he could run a few tests and send some over to a lab in New York to have the element identified.  So I went and got it for them and dropped it off this afternoon.”

             
“And the mystery element was gone, right?” suggested Pam.

             
“No,” Ronnie replied in a controlled voice, “It was still there, along with traces of decomposed tissues.  Initial testing indicates they may be human in origin.”

             
As Pam shook her head and went to answer another incoming call, Julie leaned over and said quietly, “Let’s go to your office.”

             
Ronnie knew what she meant and did not resist as she let herself be led down the hallway and through the door with her name on it.  As soon as they were inside, her friend took her by the shoulders and studied her closely.  “You’re afraid some of it might’ve come from Rachel, aren’t you?”

             
Veronica’s face hardened, “I don’t want…” she began.  But, her muscular friend was already hugging her saying, “You don’t know, so don’t think about it okay?  It’s probably not even human.  If that mystery element is poisonous, it probably took out a bunch of animals over the years.  Now, usually most critters will avoid an area that has carcasses.  But that stream gets pretty swollen and moves pretty fast, which would’ve swept the bodies downstream.”

             
“So other animals would have met the same fate.  Good point,” Ronnie nodded hopefully.  “Which means we better keep people away from that bridge, the area could be more dangerous than we originally thought.” 

              Alex carefully made his way down the incline towards the bridge.  He knew in spite of the groundskeeper’s efforts, there were likely to be rabbit or gopher holes lying in wait.  And it wouldn’t do to be seen tumbling down the small hill.  Cassie would never let him hear the end of it.

             
As he drew nearer to the bridge, his mind went back to the other day when he had visited Jason.  He must have picked up on the events of the past, and had witnessed them as if they were taking place all over again.  Such things had happened to him before.  He’d often wished his abilities had come with an owner’s manual.  Something like:

             
‘CONGRATULATIONS!  You are now the proud owner of the Mark Infinity Psychic Upgrade.  You may experience chilly rooms, sound effects, déjà vu, and cold spots.  If you also purchased the visual expansion pack, seeing spirits is guaranteed.’

             
He had just reached the bottom of the slope when it struck him.  Silence enveloped the area.  But it wasn’t just the lack of sound, he wasn’t sensing anything nearby.  Usually he could sense something in the background, animals, birds, etc.  They acted as a sort of psychic white noise.  But, there was nothing.

             
He was about to go back and see where things cut off, when he heard a splashing noise. Turning he spotted a teenage girl standing waste deep in the water.  She was soaking wet and looked frozen to the bone.

             
Without thinking, he called out to her and rushed down to help.  She headed towards the shore and waited for him.  Immediately, he whipped his jacket off and placed it around her shoulders. “Are you all right, Luv?” he asked gently.

             
The girl seemed a bit dazed and kept staring at the bridge.

             
“Do you have friends parked over on the other side of the stream?” he asked.

             
She looked at him but said nothing. 

             
“If not I’ve got friends up at the manor who can help…” he began.  But the girl’s face, what he could see of it through her dripping hair, went rigid.  So he quickly changed gears.  “I also know a fellow who has a cottage on the other side of the bridge, who would be more than glad to make us some tea and whatnot.” 

             
The girl nodded and headed towards the stone structure, leaving him to follow. 

             
They had just reached the center of the bridge when that same unnatural cold from the Morgue suddenly hit him like a bullet train, almost taking his breath away.  A moment later, the stench from the Impound Lot joined the party as well.  It seemed to engulf them on all sides and was so overpowering, he could barely stay upright.  He felt his body swaying to and fro as if the bridge itself was undulating beneath his feet. 

             
The ‘wail’ erupted all around him.  Alex clamped his hands over his ears, but once again it proved useless.  The cry tore through his very being, wreaking havoc in its wake. 

             
Cracking open one eye, he could see the girl clinging to the bridge.  He could sense her fear and concern, but none of it was for herself.  It was all for him.

             
He started to crawl towards her towards her but then the world twisted and warped past him.

             
All of a sudden he found himself back in the corridor leading to the Morgue, heading for the dreaded double doors.  The passage seemed to stretch on and on, while the walls flew past him at tremendous speed.  Yet the doors at the end of the hallway remained far in the distance. 

             
‘I don’t belong here.  I don’t want to be here’, he kept thinking and realized it was his own reluctance that was keeping the portal at bay.

             
“Someone must know,” said a man’s voice from nearby, breaking his concentration. 

             
Suddenly the doors rushed towards him, and opened wide…

              Charles O’Connor hung up the phone and turned to his boss saying, “Sergeant Hottie wants a copy of the report as soon as it’s ready.”

             
Dr. Stephen Wells barely looked up from the sample he was examining under the microscope.  With a sigh he removed the slide and replaced it with another. 

             
Behind him the cold metal table used for examinations stood empty.  Beyond that, a set of metal doors made up one entire wall.  All but two of the spaces behind those doors were vacant at the moment. 

             
After a moment he straightened up and sighed, “Barely recognizable, but human in origin,” he announced.  The sound of his voice reverberated off the sterile metal walls, making it seem loud and eerily hollow.