The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) (35 page)

             
Peterson gestured for the officer to join him.               

             
As the patrolman made his way past Alex, the doll brushed up against him. Suddenly, an image appeared in his mind and then it was gone.  But, it left him extremely puzzled.  Something about this situation didn’t seem right.

             
Meanwhile up at the podium there was a brief discussion then Roy turned back to his officers saying, “According to Officer Patel here, Anderson and his daughter were eating at Frankie’s Diner off Route 22.  Just before the news came on they finished eating and got out of there in a hurry.  In the process Katie forgot this,” he held up the doll.  “I suspect she loves this doll a lot and probably wants it back real bad.  Now let’s make that happen.”

             
“That might not be easy Chief,” pointed out one of his officers in the front row, “Anderson’s got a record for being a hothead and getting into fights.”

             
“I wonder if anyone asked the people at the diner, if the child looked frightened or happy when she was with her father,” murmured Marianne curiously. 

             
Alex was wondering the same thing, but for a totally different reason.  But before he could say anything, Chief Peterson addressed them.  “Do you have something to share with the rest of us?”

             
Marianne nodded and repeated her remark.

             
Peterson frowned and checked with Officer Patel who merely shrugged.  “That’s a good question.  I want someone to go back to the diner and check into that.  Meanwhile, I want the rest of you out there and looking for Katie and her Dad.  If you find them, be careful how you handle him.  Try not to do anything too rash in front of Katie.  She’s going through enough already.  We don’t want her to see her Dad get shot if we can avoid it.  That’s all.”

             
Ronnie quickly made her way over to Alex and Marianne.  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

             
“Roy ordered me to show up this morning, remember?” Alex replied absently.

             
He needed to see that doll again, something wasn’t right.

             
Before Ronnie could speak, Roy addressed them from the podium. “Son, unless you’re about to tell me something I want to hear you best leave.  I haven’t got time for more of that Twilight Zone crap you were giving me yesterday.”

             
Ronnie gave Alex a warning look and said quietly, “As you can see, this was not a good time.  Take Marianne with you and go home.  I’ll be in touch later okay?” 

             
“No, I need to see that doll,” he told her firmly.

             
Jack Thompson, who had been walking past at that moment, stopped and stared at him for a moment.  Then he asked, “What for?”

             
Marianne answered, “We want to try some Psychometry.  The child will have left some impressions on the doll.  We may able to figure out where they were headed.”

             
The big officer stared at the woman and then at Alex. “You knew that fourth floor was there at the Graham place before we even got there, didn’t you?” he murmured.  Then without waiting for a reply he turned to his boss, “Chief, we need that doll.  We’re going to try a psychic experiment with it.”

             
Peterson’s face turned red as he slammed his fist on the podium, “WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT KIND OF BULLSHIT RIGHT NOW.  GET THOSE TWO CIRCUS FREAKS OUT OF MY SIGHT!”

             
“But what if these two are for real?” insisted Thompson.  Several of his fellow officers, who hadn’t left the room, paused to listen. 

             
Peterson stormed away from the podium and right up to Alex. “All right Mr. Psychic.  Let’s see you do something useful,” he snapped and shoved the doll into the younger man’s hands.

             
Ronnie was about to protest, but Marianne put a hand on her shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

             
Meanwhile, Alex was studying the doll.  It had seen a lot of hugs and love over time.  Undoubtedly, it was sorely missed by its owner as Roy said.  Already he could feel the emotions washing over him. 
Darkness, pain, isolation, confusion... 
He needed to go deeper.  Anchoring himself as Marianne had shown him, he brought down the barrier and pushed the door open. 

             
Happier times, there were never any fights or shouting.   That had only started a few months ago…
Images began to come now.  Disjointed and in no particular order.  They never were, except on rare occasions and this wasn’t one of them.  But he was able to piece them together.

             
Finally, he turned to Veronica and said, “You should be one of the officers to fetch Katie and her Dad.  Bring a physician with you.  And have the person check her legs and her back, there’s a reason she’s been wearing long pants instead of shorts in this warm weather.”

             
Roy looked troubled at these words and asked, “Any idea where we can find them?”

             
Alex nodded, “They went to stay with a friend of her Dad who works at a hotel just across the state line.  And I happen to know the owner of that place.  Cassandra…”

             
“Someone call?” said the lady in question entering the room.  “I just got back from the city and came here to see you Chief Peterson.  You called yesterday about something going on at Graham Manor?”

             
Roy nodded, “Yes, but that’ll have to wait.  We’ve got a situation and we could use your help.”  He quickly gave the heiress a rundown of the situation.  “Mr. Hill here,” he spared a look at Alex, “seems to think we can find them at your hotel.”

             
“Can I have the year, make and model of their car?” asked Cassandra, pulling out her phone. “I’ll have security run a check in the employee parking area.  That’s where they’d be most likely try to hide the vehicle if they’re holding out at the hotel.”

             
Five minutes later, they had their answer. “Why don’t you have a couple of your officers come with me in my limo,” suggested Cassie helpfully.  “That way they won’t see you coming and try to make a run for it.”

             
Roy turned to Veronica and Jack, “You two go with Miss Elliott.  I’ll send Patel and Morgan for back up.  They’ll block the driveways in case Anderson tries to take off in his car.” 

             
After they left, he turned to Alex and Marianne, “I’d like you two to hang around.  Why don’t you wait in the canteen?”

             
The pair nodded and left. 

              Once they were gone Peterson turned to one of his subordinates, “If this winds up being a dead end, I want you to toss those two in a cell for wasting police time.  I’ll be in my office.” 

             
Turning away, Roy headed for his office.  He didn’t like treating his young friend like this, but too many weird things were going on.  The fact that they’d already found Anderson’s vehicle thanks to Alex only made things worse.  As he walked down the corridor he could already hear some of the officers whispering about ‘Sarge’s Psychic Boyfriend’.

              An hour later radio and television programs were interrupted to report the safe recovery of Katie Anderson and her father.  By evening, the news agencies were able to reveal new facts about the abduction.  It had been discovered that young Katie’s mother had suffered a head injury during a car accident where she had been a passenger. 

             
After declining treatment she’d gone home and had not told her husband what happened.  So when her usual understanding and caring nature had been replaced by strange moods and sudden outbursts of violence, he was completely at a loss.  As neighbors began to complain about the disturbances, Mrs. Anderson placed a restraining order against her husband claiming he had become abusive to both her and their daughter, and he was forced to move out. 

             
Then two days ago, at a supermarket, Ken ran into Katie’s teacher who expressed serious concerns about his daughter.  According to the teacher, Katie had become withdrawn and quiet.  Anderson remembered his wife’s strange and violent behavior and suspected Katie was now on the receiving end of that abuse.  With the restraining order still in place, he had no choice but to try and get his daughter out of harm’s way.

             
With these new facts brought to light, all charges against Anderson were dropped, and his wife was currently undergoing tests at the local hospital for treatment.  Her doctors believed she could eventually make a full recovery.

              As the radio repeated this story for the third time in an hour Roy stared out the window of his office.  He had seen it with his own eyes, but was still having trouble accepting it.  The Youngster had given them all they had needed to find the girl and her father.  He had even warned them to go easy on Katie’s dad because things were not what they seemed. 

             
He rubbed his eyes and sighed, “I’m not Alice staring down a rabbit hole.  I can’t believe in even one impossible thing before dinner.” But in his mind he saw the look on Alex’s face as he’d held that doll. 
What about something unlikely yet possible
?

             
Shaking his head, he looked to his coffee cup for solace, but found it empty.  So he got up and headed over to the Canteen, where he spotted Pam and Jack Thompson.  They were sitting at a table nearby and he overheard their conversation.

             
“So Alex just held the doll and was able to get all that information?” Pam was saying.

             
Jack nodded, “It was amazing.  I always knew there was something different about that guy, but… wow.”

             
‘You ain’t kidding
,
’ thought Roy quietly. 

             
The blonde dispatcher shuddered, “Kind of creepy though, don’t you think?  I mean, what else can he do?”

             
“Good question,” her companion nodded.  “You know, when he helped us find that hidden fourth floor over at the Graham place?  I think he already knew it was there.  He didn’t seem the least surprised when we found it.”

             
The Dispatcher’s eyes widened, “If that’s the case, then why didn’t he say anything?”

             
Roy didn’t wait to hear any more, he was already wondering the same thin
g
. 

dark clouds
gather

             
Over the next two weeks there were no new deaths, and no new discoveries.  The only crimes had been the usual drunk driving, a burglary and a couple of domestic disturbances.  But all was not well.

             
Hurricane Mary was making her way up the coast and would arrive within the next 48-72 hours.  The weather stations were predicting she’d make landfall as a level 2 storm or less.  But if she swung back out to sea she could gain strength and things could get much worse.

             
Although the town of New Swindon was located inland, they had seen remnants of hurricanes that caused considerable damage in the past.  Wind would knock down power-lines and uproot trees, while the rains could cause serious flooding.  The town’s population was already gathering food supplies, batteries, radios, and flashlights.  Others were pulling out the wooden covers to nail over their windows in anticipation of Mary’s arrival.

             
Just across the New York state-line, Cassandra was making sure her hotel would be ready to weather the storm as well.  She had also contacted local agencies letting them know she had space for evacuees and those stranded by the storm if needed.

              During this time, Alex had continued his re-training with Marianne and her husband.  Most days they came to him, but occasionally he and Veronica would drive north for an hour to the university where the Matheson’s worked.  As a result of these visits, any remaining skepticism that may have lingered in the back of Veronica’s mind, were completely erased.  Learning to become an anchor for Alex psychically had opened her eyes and mind in ways she’d never expected. 

             
For one thing it had strengthened the bond between them.  Their lovemaking had become more intense and deeper than ever before.  And Alex had begun to let her experience his feelings for her more and more, even when they weren’t in bed.  The downside there was that she found it to be a bit of an aphrodisiac at times.