The Touch (11 page)

The rest of the search was less interesting.  Lexi had been through each of the rooms before and there was no sign of Chloe or anything out of the ordinary that she could tell.  By th
e time they were done with the second
floor, the photographer was already at work in Chloe’s room and Gabriel excused himself to confer with Cooper, leaving her alone with Allison in the living room while another technician searched through the computer in the study.

“This is all so strange.  I don’t understand how she could just be gone.  Why wouldn’t I have heard anything?  Why wouldn’t Neil have talked to me before taking her?” Allie rubbed at her temples and Lexi instinctively rose to get her some Tylenol and a glass of water. 

“Allie, have you noticed anything odd about Chloe’s behavior lately?”
s
he asked gently.

“Oh
,
not you too?  Do you honestly think she ran away?  I can’t imagine her doing that.  Even if…”

“Even if what
,
Allie?  Even if she thought the house was haunted?”

“Did she tell you that?”

So her sister
was
aware of Chloe’s fears.  “She did the other night.   That there were a bunch of ghosts in the house, playing pranks on her.  Is that what she told you?”

“I just thought she was trying to get out of taking responsibility for pulling those pranks herself,” Allie shook her head. 

“What kind of pranks?”

“Oh you know
,
little things.  My hairbrush would disappear and show up in the freezer, I’d find salt in the sugar bowl, stuff like that.”

“Then you don’t think the house is haunted?”

Allison opened her mouth to respond, but hesitated, mulling it over.  “No… no, I don’t think so.  I never believed in any of that but… do you think ghosts are real?”

There was something in her reply that made Lexi wonder if she hadn’t seen a thing or two in the house that couldn’t be explained, but there was no sense in pushing her over it.  The important factor was whether or not Chloe believed it and had taken off.  “Maybe.  I have no idea,” she shrugged.

“But shouldn’t you know?”

“How the hell should I know?” Lexi scoffed.

“Well
,
you have your…” Allison gestured to her gloved hands.

Of all people, her own sister should have known what she could and couldn’t do wit
h
her hands.  “
T
hat doesn’t have anything to do with ghosts, you know that.”  Allison started to
tear up again
and Lexi felt about an inch high for snapping at her.  “Look
,
I’m sorry, I’m gonna help you with this, okay?  The important thing isn’t whether or not you have ghosts; the important thing is getting her back.” 

“I want them both back,” Allie sniffed.

Lexi wrapped an arm around her sister’s shoulders.  “Yeah
,
I know sweetie, I know.”

Chapter
Six

The case just kept getting weirder and weirder.

First his old friend Neil disappear
ed
and then the little girl…
While Gabriel was ninety-five percent sure Chloe was safe in her father’s care watching TV and eating pizza, he couldn’t let go of that five percent chance that something else
had
happened to her.  The trouble was, without compelling evidence of foul play, his hands were tied as to the resources at his disposal.  Maybe if
he played up the runaway aspect
he could get a little more urgency given her a
ge, but it was unlikely that
Captain
Bristol
would
want to go full tilt on
the case
. 

And then there was Lexi.  Somehow or other she had him bending rules left and right, worming her way into his c
ase and into his thoughts.  He
started to wonder if she had some other magic ability to circumvent his good judgment
,
besides the little trick with her hands.  While Gabriel liked to think of himself as a fairly open minded guy, there were some things that stretched the limits of his beliefs.  Psychics and fortune tellers were definitely on the list of professions he took with a great big grain of salt. 
Too many of them were
swindlers
. 

At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel like he could trust
Lexi
.  That her heart was in the right place was definitely not in question.  He had to admire her zeal in trying to find her family; when he wasn’t bent on throttling her
,
that was.  She had a way of pushing her way into a situation she had no business being in the middle of and driving him to distraction
;
so that he ended up unsure if he wanted to kiss her
,
or staple her mouth shut.  So far the urge to kiss her was
winning out
,
but only just.

Gabriel poked his head in
to
the room, but froze when he caught sight of Allison’s tears, not wanting to intrude.  “We’re all done with the search
,
Allie,” he said gently.

“They didn’t turn up anything outside?  That’s good news, right?  That means she’s with Neil,” Allison sniffed, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.

He didn’t have the heart to break it to her; nothing was good news until they found Chloe.  “It means we’re gonna keep looking.
”

“So what happens now?” Lexi asked.

That was the million dollar question and the one that had to be finessed to keep emotional parents from flying off the handle when they couldn’t mobilize the entire police force to scour the county for their missing child.  At least not in this instance.  “There’s no playbook, we take every kidnapping on a case by case basis.  But… when it looks like she’s been taken by a family member, that does influence how we proceed.  I will recommend that we issue an Amber alert, but it’s up to my Captain to give the final go ahead.”

Allison frowned, “Why wouldn’t you?  I thought that was the usual procedure…”

“It’s designed for kids in imminent danger,” Tim volunteered, “and if she’s with her father, that might not qualify.”

She seemed to accept that easily enough and Gabriel breathed an inward sigh of relief that he
didn’t have to de
fend a decision that hadn’t even been made yet.  “In the meantime, her vital information will go into national database that’s accessible to all law enforcement.  We’ll canvas the neighborhood, question everyone and see if anyone saw her at the bus stop or get into a car on the road, or saw your husband’s car.  I’ll personally make sure that the local news affiliates get her picture and a few minutes of air time on the news tonight whether we get an Amber alert going or not.”  It was an easy enough promise to make
;
he had connections with the local paper who could p
oint him in the right direction
.  “The good news is that most likely she’s safe with Neil and he’s not exactly a master criminal,” he smirked.  “Sooner or later we’ll catch up with them.

“They’re done upstairs,” Cooper interrupted and Ryan gave him a nod. 

It was time to wrap things up, but first he drew Lexi aside, to lay down a few ground rules before she went poking around in Chloe’s room.  “You’re okay to take a look up there, but please try and leave it as undisturbed as possible in case further investigation is needed, okay?”

“I’ll be careful,” Lexi promised readily and he was satisfied that she understood the gravity of what he was asking her.  “Are you guys taking off?”

“Soon we will,” he nodded.  “I’ll stay on the scene until everyone’s ready to clear out.  I think they’re almost through with the computer and the uniforms are already moving on to the neighbors.  What about you?  Are you planning on staying the night with Allison?  Or are you heading for home after you…” Unsure how to put whatever it was she did with her hands, he
settled for gesturing
towards them.   

“I don’t know yet, I guess that depends on Allie.”  Lexi looked over at her sister and he was struck
,
not for the first time
,
by how different the two of them were.  Never in a million years would he have guessed that they were related.  Not because they were all that dissimilar physically, they both had the dark hair and dark eyes, but their personalities and temperament
were
so far apart. Given the type of boy he’d been in high school,
Gabriel
could understand his attraction for the older sister, but given his tastes now…

Lexi
was looking at him like she’d asked him a question and he blinked, trying for the life of him to figure out what it must have been.  “I’m sorry
,
what?”
h
e asked finally.

“I said
,
do you want to come up with me while I take a look at her room?  Make sure I don’t disturb anything
?
”

Gabriel knew he really should get going; there was plenty of work to be done to get the word out everywhere it needed to go about the abduction, but he had a few minutes.  Besides, while he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe Lexi could really do everything she said she could, he had to admit, he was curious as hell to find out what she picked up from the little girl’s room.  “Alright sure, I’ll come up and watch,” he allowed.  “For a few minutes anyway.”  Her answering smile made him feel like he’d made the right decision. 

It wasn’t strictly a crime scene since there was no
sign
that she’d been forcibly abducted, so there was no crime tape securing the room.  The inventory that he’d glanced over
indicated that
none of her clothes were
missing;
all of her stuffed animals and toys were left behind.  Letting Lexi take the lead, he stayed by the door, watching her examine the room. 

“I don’t know where to start
.  Her
DS is still here, she never goes anywhere without that,” Lexi frowned, picking up the small red gamebox.

“Maybe Neil was in a hurry, didn’t want Allis
on to know he was taking her?”
Ryan supposed aloud.  “Or maybe she didn’t think of it when he showed up out of the blue?  Hell, maybe he promised to buy her one of the new 3-D ones?”  There was no way of knowing until they found her. 

“Yeah maybe,” she sounded less than convinced and he propped himself up against the wall.  “I guess I’ll start with this.  It could take a while.”

“Already making excuses, huh?”
he
grinned, unable to resist needling her just a little bit, she was so cute when she got indignant
.  B
ut Lexi didn’t rise to the bait
,
other than to stick her tongue out at him and sit down on the side of the bed. 
Gabriel
noticed that she only took off one glove and took a deep breath, just like she had with his card the day before.  While she “looked” into the DS, he watched her expressive face process every little image that came into her mind, trying to guess at what she saw.  It was with an almost guilty start that he blinked when her eyes popped open, having been caught watching her, but what else was he supposed to be doing?  “Did you get anything?”

“No, not really.  Just a lot of her playing video games.  I could have gone back farther, but I’m interested in more recent activity, don’t you think?”

“Hey, you’re the expert at this, not me,” he waved off the question.

“But you’re the detective.   Shouldn’t I be focusing on more
recent memories?” s
he asked, clearly looking for confirmation.

“Yes, that sounds like our best bet for now,” he nodded.  “You can always dig deeper later if nothing turns up.”  Such a reasonable suggestion for such an unusual process… Gabriel still wasn’t sure how much he bought into it all.  She’d been spot on with her description of his bedroom that she’
d
“seen” on his business card, but there could have been a rational explanation for that, couldn’t there? 

“I need something else she has a personal connection with.  Something she isn’t so distracted by when she picks it up.  I wonder…” she set down the videogame and picked up a brown stuffed bunny that had seen better days.  “She used to love this thing,
only
I don’t know how much she cuddles with it anymore.  But sometimes if it’s something they have a strong affinity for, I can get a link to them now.”

“So
,
you’re saying you might be able to see where she is right now?”  Gabriel fought hard to keep the skepticism from his voice.

“That’s the idea,” she nodded, taking a deep breath.  “Wish me luck.”

Before he could even open his mouth to wish her anything, she closed her eyes again, hand grasping the matted fur of the stuffed animal’s belly.  The same set of emotions crossed her face again, but this time a pucker of worry appeared on her smooth brow.  While he watched, her breathing became er
ratic, brows knitting together.

“It’s dark wh
ere she is…” Lexi murmured;
eyes still tightly shut.  “There are no windows, no real windows… but there are curtains.  There’s a bed, an older brass bed and she’s on it, all alone.”  Perhaps without even realizing it, her body started to mimic the pose she described,
drawing her knees up to her chest
, she huddled against the bed.  “I don’t see Neil, or anybody else
,
but she’s scared.  She’s worried that no one will ever come back and she’ll be trapped there forever,” she took a deep shuddering breath. 

Gabriel moved closer, kneeling beside the bed.  “Just relax Lexi, can you tell me if she’s in a hotel room?  Or is it more like a bedroom?  Or a basement?  You said it was dark,” he prompted. 

“I can’t tell… it could be a basement.  There are ratty old curtains hung up on the walls
,
only drawings of the outside.  Someone is singing…” her head
tilted
to one side, as if she was straining to hear
,
“
t
hey’re singing a nursery rhyme.”

“Can you see who’s singing?”

“No
,
it’s like they’re in there with her but I can’t see…
Go away
… she wants them to go away, they’re taunting her with the song.”

“Who is
,
Le
xi?
”
Gabriel’s voice was low and steady, trying to help ground her from whatever it was she was experiencing.  “Who is singing to her?”

Instead of replying, Lexi’s voice rose in a quavering soprano.  “Take the keys and lock her up, lock her up, lock her up.  Take the keys and lock her up, my fair lady…” 

It was enough to send a chill down his spine, and he wondered if he should try and shake her out of it or see what else she could see. 

“Leave her alone!”  Her eyes popped open to stare sightlessly ahead, voice rising in terror.

Gabriel grabbed hold of her shoulders.  “Lexi?  Snap out of it.”  When she didn’t respond, he gave her a little shake.  “Alexandra?  Hey, come back to me now.”  His relief was palpable when her eyes
regained their
focus and she let go of the stuffed animal.  “Are you okay?”  He searched her face carefully, heart twisting as she dissolved into tears. 

Lexi nestled her head against his neck, seeking comfort as the tears began to fall.  “It was an awful, awful place.  We’ve got to find her
,
Gabriel.  Do whatever you have to do, but she’s not with Neil, she’s being held prisoner, I’m sure of it.” 

Wrapping his arms around her in a comforting embrace, Gabriel rubbed her back soothingly but didn’t respond right away.  What was he supposed to do, go back to his boss and tell him she had a vision and just
knew
that Chloe was being held
against her will?  “Shhh,
calm down now, we have to talk about this.”