CHAPTER 20 – IN THE END….

The choice was simple. Following Juan isn’t an option. I trade the gun in my hand for the shovel and go back to the grave.

“Hold it right there,” Detective Olson says, coming out from the trees.

I can only imagine what she thinks. Wet and muddy, I probably look like I’m burying my boss. Enough of the coffin is exposed to show the similarity of the crime to Janet’s, and I have nothing but faith to make my case.

“There was someone here,” I explain.

Beth looks at our surroundings. It’s dark and the trees around us are foreboding. “Which way did he go?”

“Toward the road.”

“I’ll go have a look,” she says.

Two other officers join us. She waves for one of the uniformed men to go with her, and the other stays with me. The beam of his flashlight hits the coffin, and a lump forms in my throat as I see through the clear plastic. We’ve uncovered the part of the coffin at Nadiya’s head. I’m relieved she’s actually there, and I kneel down and brush aside more of the mud to get a clearer view. She blinks in response to the light and opens her eyes.

I’m probably the first thing she sees. What reflects back is fear, her mouth open in shock as she lies still, trapped. It’s not exactly the reaction I was hoping for, but I’ll take it.

“We’ll get you out,” I assure her. Apparently, she understands, nodding shakily.

Only now do I realize that Juan was right—the game isn’t over. Freeing Nadiya won’t be as simple as lifting the lid.

I turn to the officer. “How fast can we get the bomb squad here?”

His flashlight moves, following my hand to illuminate the dial and digital display on a small box. Four wires protrude from the opening.

“More than three minutes,” he says.

“Hand me the light.”

Juan was willing to sit here and watch me, so maybe this isn’t the threat I think it is? I’ve dug around the box and it hasn’t exploded yet. I don’t know anything about bombs other than what I’ve seen in movies, but damn this looks real.

Behind me I can hear the officer talking into his walky-talky. I interrupt him. “I need something sharp.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

“Can you defuse it?”

“I’m not trained.”

With a frustrated growl, I turn back to the coffin. The light shows me Nadiya’s face through the muddy plastic. I can’t let her die. Pushing at the mud, I find that the tools of my own destruction have been left for me. My fingers close around a pair of wire cutters.

Four wires. What’s the point of being psychic if I can’t pick the right wire?

Cutters gripped tight, I let my hand hover over the dial and the wires, trying to sense something unusual. Nothing. I can’t focus.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. What have I got—90 seconds? “You better step away,” I warn the officer.

Like a blind man, I fumble with the wires. One feels hot; I cut it. I count to three before I open my eyes and see the digital dial still blinking.

The first was either a dummy, or it isn’t enough. It shouldn’t be as hard to pick one the second time around, but it is. I’ve started to wonder if my judgment might be flawed or if Juan is using my sixth sense against me. He’s read my thoughts, invaded my dreams. I’m almost tempted to choose the wire that feels cold.

Almost.

With a single snip, I sever the second wire, watching with relief as the power to the clock goes out. I have just enough adrenalin left to loosen the seal on the coffin with the wire cutters. The policeman joins me with a penknife, and within a minute, we’re prying open the lid.

My first words to Nadiya are, “Don’t move.” The rain and the cold can’t be comfortable, but I’m concerned she’s hurt. Fortunately, I hear the officer calling an ambulance. And now that I’m sure she has air, I can wait—wait to say everything else I want to say.

I’m still on all fours over the coffin. I can’t stop the shaking. I sense movement, and lift my head to see Nadiya sitting up, nearly eye to eye with me. The look of fear on her face is gone.

She throws her arms around my neck and pulls me forward, off balance. Hands free of my own weight, I return the awkward embrace, propped half against the coffin lid and half against Nadiya. Moments later it becomes more than just a hug and I close my eyes, shutting out everything but our kiss.

She never does as I ask.

Sometimes, that’s a really good thing.

***

The ambulance takes longer to arrive than it should have. Maybe Nadiya has a point about my living in the middle of nowhere. She’s resting on a gurney, covered with a white blanket. I’m seated beside her holding her hand. It’s not a terribly romantic moment, but I’m too relieved to care.

Detective Beth Olsen rides along with us to the hospital. “We searched the property as best we could, but found no trace of the man you described.”

I know she’s left the other two officers behind, but I’m not hopeful. It wasn’t part of Juan’s plan to be captured.

Her tone is accusing as he gaze flickers over to Nadiya and then back. “You ran away from me at McCaul’s Antique Shed. I didn’t find you at the cemetery. Why did you go back to your place?”

“I met up with Juan at the cemetery. His clues led me home.”

Beth looks tired. “I ran the suspect name through the database,” she says. “There was a Juan Galarraga, Navy, demolitions expert. He was killed in action two years ago.”

I’m not sure how to respond to that. The Galarraga’s moved away, so I would not have heard this particular news, and yet it fits with Juan’s claim of reinventing himself.

“Ghosts don’t kill people.” Even I can admit that. I pull the blue blanket a paramedic gave me tighter around my shoulders. “He’s going by a new name, Jack Gallo.”

I can tell that Nadiya’s listening. Her skin is pale, but her eyes are bright. “You know him?” she asks.

“Do you?” Beth asks, lips pursed. “That would of course provide the motive.”

“He lives in Los Angeles. White Toyota. His license plate number is 2YCJ551.”

With a nod Beth says, “I’ll run it. Anything else?”

I can feel the steel of the gun against my skin, so I pull the weapon from the waistband of my jeans and take a look at it.

Beth immediately asks, “What’s that?”

“Nothing,” I reply and put the gun away. “It’s mine.”

Beth appears about to say something else. I meet her gaze, half expecting her to tell me to put the weapon on the floor. She wants to believe me, I can tell, but Jack has been clever and as Beth said before, I’m almost too good.

Nadiya looks at me for reassurance. “Will he be back?”

I try to offer comfort, but I have to be honest. “I’m not sure. I can’t see the future.” Maybe if I say it enough times, someone will believe me.

Beth turns her attention to Nadiya and asks, “Do you feel up to telling us what happened?”

Absently, Nadiya rubs her head, touching a bruise on her temple. “I honestly didn’t see much of anything that I think will be helpful. I pulled off to the side of the road when I saw another vehicle in trouble, but before I could get out, something hit me from behind. I blacked out. I have an impression of a man from looking in the side view mirror, but that’s it.”

“Hum,” Beth says, “I was hoping for some sort of visual. If it’s anything like the last one, we won’t find much evidence in the coffin.”

I’m not about to apologize for opening the coffin or half climbing inside in bad weather. My blood, as well as mud, is likely smeared on the interior, but the kiss is something I don’t regret. A ghost of a smile appears on my face, and I look down at Nadiya. It was definitely one of the better case endings I’ve had. I’ll need to see about repeating the experience soon—the kiss, of course, not the kidnapping.

The thought of kidnapping turns me somber again, and I try to find a way to end the interview. “Any chance we can take care of this later?”

We turn into the hospital and I can see the bright lights through the windshield. The siren goes off and I realize that my phone is ringing. I can tell from the ring tone that it’s my sister.

“Bailey,” I say.

“Hale!” she shouts into the phone. Her excitement bounces into my ear. “I only have a second. I just called to tell you not to worry.”

I frown. In the background, I hear some sort of motor, but I’m not sure what kind. “Bailey—”

The ambulance comes to a halt and everyone starts to get out. I’m suddenly reluctant to move.

“I’m on my way to Vegas. I’m getting married.”

My eyes open wide. “Bailey—”

“I’ll call you in a few days. Oh, wait. Jack wanted me to tell you.”

“Wait—”

“—that he can’t wait to see you.”

{END}

To Be Continued in Second Sight

Special acknowledgements to:

Nefertiry, The Bloody Sponge, Kikyuu, Amarone., Erini Cade, Kyllorac, Arianna Sterling, Imalefty, artificial destiny, Serenity Richards, FormerNoAccountOnFP -- and all the other readers from the Review Game. Without you, this would have stopped at Chapter 5.

Thanks to everyone for all their help and support so that I can officially declare this project complete. OK, I might edit, but don’t expect any major changes, I just like to get things close to perfect. So, if you have comments, please feel free to leave a review or PM.