Isaac stepped out of the house and took a minute or two to remove the shoe coverings from his shoes. Still holding Greer in his arms, he fished his cellphone from his pocket and placed a call. He felt bad about the hour, but then again this was the job, wasn’t it?
The phone rang four times before anyone answered.
“Hello?” The voice was muffled with sleep.
“Ms. Hunter? This is Detective Sgt. Ike Taylor.”
“Sergeant Taylor?”
She repeated the name, but Isaac wasn’t certain she was comprehending.
“Yes, I’m sorry for calling in the middle of the night, but it’s extremely important. It’s about a child who needs immediate help. Can you meet me at the University Hospital’s ER?”
“Now?”
“Yes, right now.”
There was a tired sigh. “Yes, of course. I’ll be there soon.”
“Thank you.”
He disconnected the call and then glanced around the front yard. The place was still swarming with police lights and uniforms. Isaac spotted the same young patrolman that had greeted him on his way in. He was standing by the tree in the yard, talking with another uniform.
Isaac took a few steps toward him and pointed. “I need your assistance.”
The officer snapped to, eager to please. “Yes, sir. How can I help, Detective Sergeant?”
Isaac held up his car keys. “I need you to drive my car to the nearest hospital so that I can hold the baby.”
The officer frowned. “Um, wouldn’t it be simpler if I hold the baby?”
Isaac stared him in the eyes. “Can you take him from me without touching my exposed skin or without making him start screaming again?”
The officer gave him a weird look that slowly morphed into understanding.
“I’ll drive, sir.” He held out his hand and Isaac dropped his keys into the man’s palm and headed off toward the car.
He slid in on the passenger side and adjusted the seat for his long legs. When the officer started it up he glanced over.
“You should know this is my personal car and I don’t want any scratches.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Also, I’m not strapped in and we don’t have a car seat, so just be careful, okay?”
The officer nodded vigorously, and Isaac could see the nervousness on the guy’s face as he pulled out onto the street.
Isaac held onto Greer and thought about how this poor little boy’s whole world had just been blown up. He was deep in his thoughts when the officer softly cleared his throat.
“Um, may I just say that it’s an honor to work with you, sir.”
Isaac glanced over at him again, but he didn’t respond to that.
“You’re like a legend at the third,” the young officer said, referring to the third precinct. “Even down in the patrol section the guys talk about your psychic… um… I mean, your special skills.”
The guy was quick to correct himself, and Isaac suddenly wondered if word was going around that he didn’t like to be referred to as psychic. He took in a deep breath and then sighed. He had to address this. Maybe if he did, the word would spread.
“What’s your name, patrolman?”
“Sykes, sir. Brad Sykes.”
“Nice to meet you, Sykes.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“But you should know that I don’t particularly enjoy talking about my special skills. Especially with strangers.”
“Yes, sir.” Sykes blanched. “I meant no disrespect, sir.”
“None taken.” Isaac fished his cellphone from his pocket once more as it dawned on him that he’d neglected a very important step. He placed a call and waited. It only rang twice.
“Isaac?”
He could hear the sleep in her voice, but he also heard the concern.
“Baby is everything okay?”
“Sid, I need you to listen carefully.” He kept his voice clear and steady. He needed for her to understand him. “Everything is fine. But I need you to meet me at the University Hospital ER.”
“What?” Panic flooded her tone. “Are you okay? Were you shot?”
Of course her first thoughts would go to him being shot, especially after what had just happened to Pete.
“No one has been shot, Sid. I’m fine. But I’m taking a very traumatized little boy to the hospital right now. A very traumatized little boy.”
He took great care to emphasize those last words, and he could almost see the moment it clicked for her. Even over the phone.
“Oh, my God, Ike. Your vision? It’s happening now?”
“Right now. And I need you.”
“Okay. I’ll throw on some sweats and be right there.”
“Drive carefully, Sidney. Everyone is all right. There’s no need to speed and possibly get into an accident.”
“Okay. I’m on my way.”
Isaac disconnected the call and felt Greer shudder yet again. He tightened his arms around him.
“It’s going to be all right, little one. I promise.”
“It’s a real shame what happened to the kid’s folks,” Officer Sykes said.
“Yeah, it is. But we’re going to find out who did this and make them pay.” He was replying to Sykes, but it almost felt like a promise he was making to Greer Thomas.
“Hey, it’s just too bad the kid can’t tell us what really happened, huh?”
Isaac thought about that. “Yeah,” he mumbled, but his mind was already off and wondering what exactly the poor boy had seen. And he wondered if he could possibly use his abilities to touch the boy and ‘see’ what he saw. He wondered if that was something Sterling could help him do.
They pulled into the ER parking lot and Isaac motioned for him to drive to the entrance.
“Let me out at the door, then park it and bring my keys inside. I’m going to need you to wait for me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Isaac got out of the car and rushed inside. The ER was dotted with a few people waiting to be seen, but it wasn’t one of those crazy nights of mass confusion. That was good.
He rushed up to the desk. “Excuse me, we need some help.”
The nurse looked up and her eyes popped like balloons at the sight of the bloody baby.
“Oh, my God.” She jumped to her feet and ran around the desk, calling out, “Dr. Westin, over here!”
She quickly ushered Isaac and Greer into the nearest empty cubicle. The doctor sprinted in two seconds later.
“Where is he injured?”
“No, no. I don’t believe he’s injured at all. I’m Detective Ike Taylor.” He flashed them his shield as best he could with the baby in his arms. “The child is the only survivor in an attack that killed both his parents. He’s extremely traumatized, but I just wanted to bring him here to make sure he’s physically okay.”
The nurse put a hand to her own chest, heaving a sigh of relief. “Oh, my Lord. I saw all that blood and I thought—”
“I understand,” Isaac nodded. And it dawned on him that this was the second time in as many days that he’d ended up covered in someone else’s blood.
“I’ll look him over. Just set him here on the gurney,” the doctor said.
Isaac lifted the boy from his chest to set him down, but the instant he did Greer screamed bloody murder.
He refused to let go of Isaac’s shirt, desperately trying to claw his way back into Isaac’s arms.
Isaac was flustered.
Mortification and guilt drop-kicked his gut.
He had no clue what to do, so he kept trying.
“It’s okay, Greer. I’ll be right here.”
None of his soothing words worked, and Isaac could feel the boy’s desperation and fear overtaking him.
Finally he stopped trying to set the boy down and just hugged him tight against his chest.
“All right, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You’re okay, little man,” Isaac whispered, rubbing the boy’s back. “I’m sorry. You’re okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
“That poor baby,” the nurse said.
“What exactly did he witness, Detective?” the doctor asked.
Isaac shook his head. “The scene was gruesome. Like something out of a slasher movie. We think he may have witnessed his parents’ murders.”
“That’s awful.”
With Greer finally calmed down, Isaac sighed and took a seat on the gurney, placing the boy on his lap. He looked up at the doctor.
“Is there any way that you could examine him right here, Doc?”
“Well, it’s a bit inconvenient, but we’ll give it a whirl.”
* * *
Sidney whipped her car into a parking space, her mind a jumbled swirl of questions and emotions. If she was this rattled about the mystery vision finally coming to be, what must her husband be feeling right now?
She’d been a witness at Christmastime when this little boy’s emotions had overtaken Isaac’s own. It had been terrifying to watch and she didn’t relish the idea of it happening again.
She had to admit though. She was immensely curious to find out what this mysterious vision was all about. Isaac had told her that the first time he had it was when they were on the beach, before they’d decided to have a beach wedding. That had been just about a year ago.
Sidney didn’t possess any psychic abilities herself, but she knew enough to know that event — whatever it turned out to be — was going to be significant for Isaac. Possibly for both of them.
She got out of her car and rushed across the dark parking lot, trying not to be bothered by the pitch blackness around her. The bright lights of the hospital were like a beacon.
She walked through the sliding doors and immediately spotted a uniformed officer just past the intake desk. Her gaze scanned the space as she marched down the hall.
“Isaac?”
“Sid?”
She heard his voice behind her and she turned to the cubicle she’d just passed. A curtain opened and Ike stepped around it holding a small child in his arms.
He was dressed in his jeans, but she did a double-take at the shirt. It was one of those generic green scrubs that hospital orderlies wear, and it was weird seeing her husband with bare arms in a public setting.
“Hey.”
“Hey, darlin’. I’m glad you made it.” He leaned down and kissed her lips.
Sidney looked at the bundle in his arms. “Who’s this?”
The little boy was dressed sparingly in a hospital t-shirt and a pair of pull-ups. His abundant curly hair was caught somewhere between golden-brown and sandy-blond, and it stuck out in all directions. Sidney found it odd that several of his curls were damp. He was sucking his thumb, his head laying against Isaac’s chest.
“This is little Greer Thomas Buckley. He’s the sole survivor of a vicious attack that left both of his parents stabbed to death in their home.”
Sidney’s gaze flew to Ike’s. “What?”
The note of horror in her voice was matched only by the horror she felt in her heart.
“He was clinging to his mother’s dead body when I got there,” Ike said, his tone sounding grave. “That’s why he was covered in blood in all of my visions about him.”
“Oh, Isaac.”
“I helped the nurse get him cleaned up just a few minutes ago. We gave him a sponge bath and washed the blood out of his hair.”
Sidney placed a hand on her own chest, trying to process this terrible tale.
“He screams anytime someone tries to take him from me.” Isaac sounded both shocked and perplexed by that.
Sidney couldn’t take it anymore. Tears sprang to her eyes and spilled out onto her cheeks.
“What did you see, little one?” she whispered, looking at the boy. And she wondered if he would remember any of this or if he was too young. Silently she prayed that he would be too young.
She reached out and touched his hair, her hand drifting down to rub his back. “Poor Baby Greer.”
The little boy’s eyes met hers and held for a long moment. Then he practically lunged, reaching his arms out to her.
“Oh!”
Sidney was caught completely by surprise, but she readily took him from Ike. He clung to her sweatshirt and wrapped both of his little arms around her as best he could and buried his face in her neck.
“Oh, it’s okay, Baby Greer. It’s okay.”
“Wow.” Isaac stared at her as though in awe.
“What?”
“How did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Sidney, he has not wanted to go to anybody else from the moment I first picked him up. Whenever someone tries or I try to put him down, he screams.”
Sidney didn’t have an explanation of that, and she was about to respond when a short, smartly dressed woman entered the cubicle.
“Okay, I just got off the phone with the director of child—” She stopped short and looked at Sidney. “Oh. Mrs. Taylor. Good that you’ve joined us.”
Sidney smile-frowned at the woman who had facilitated their home inspection and finalized their paperwork for becoming foster parents. She glanced between her and Isaac and back again.
“Ms. Hunter. What are you doing here?”
“I called Ms. Hunter because the detectives at the crime scene were having trouble getting Greer placed for the night,” Isaac answered, addressing the question. “So I hope you don’t mind, but I sort of volunteered us.”
“Us?” Sidney repeated.
“Well, yeah. We did just finally complete all the hoops to become fosters. And Greer Thomas here was in immediate need.”
Ms. Hunter held up both hands as if to say ‘hold up.’ “Are we not all on board here?” She looked back and forth between them. “Because I need you both to be onboard for this. I just got off the phone with the director of children’s services — who did not appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night — and we’ve agreed to place the child with the two of you until the next of kin can be located.”
Both Isaac and Ms. Hunter turned her way, and Sidney felt the hot spotlight.
“Oh. Y-yes. Of course. We’re both onboard.”
“Great!” Ms. Hunter was very peppy for this time of morning, and she typed something into her tablet. “Okay, like I said, this is just a temporary placement until the child is claimed by a relative. Usually these things only take a day or two to work themselves out. Unless the next of kin is across the country, or God forbid, out of the country. Then it may take longer. Like a week or more, but that’s not typically the case.”
“Well, locating the next of kin is at the top of our list at the PD, so it shouldn’t take too long,” Isaac told her.
Sidney heard every word of their conversation, but her focus was pulled to the little boy in her arms. He was sucking his thumb again, and his eyes were open. Every now and then she would feel him shudder, like he was trying not to cry anymore.
She couldn’t help wondering what must be going through his little mind. What was he thinking?
“How old is he?”
Her question brought Ike and Ms. Hunter’s conversation to a halt, and they both looked at her. Sidney stared back and forth between them.
“Well, I don’t know specifics just yet, but from a photo collage at the crime scene, he’s somewhere between two and three years old.”
“So he’s old enough to talk.” That was good, right? “Has he said anything to you, Ike?”
Isaac shook his head, a small frown settling in between his brows. “No, he hasn’t. Not a word.”
“I’m sure he’s still traumatized over what he must’ve witnessed tonight,” Ms. Hunter said. “Hopefully, he’ll speak once he’s in a space where he feels safe and cared for.”
“And on that note,” Isaac spoke up again. “I suggest we head home and see if we can’t get this little guy to sleep. He must be exhausted.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea, Detective. Oh, you did fulfill that bed requirement, correct?” Ms. Hunter asked, her pointed gaze bouncing back and forth between them again.
“The bed requirement,” Isaac repeated.
“Yes,” Sidney said, hoping she sounded honest. “We took care of that.”
“Excellent,” Ms. Hunter smiled at her and then turned back to Ike. “Please keep me informed on the progress in finding next of kin. I’ll want to speak to them right away,” Ms. Hunter said.
“Will do, ma’am. Thanks again for coming out at this hour.”
“No problem. You all have a good night. I’ll be in touch.” Hunter left the cubicle and disappeared around the corner.
Isaac leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, “What’s the bed requirement again?”
“Every foster child you take in must have their own bed,” Sidney whispered back.
Ike’s gaze met hers. “Right. Good thing we took care of that.”
“We haven’t taken care of that, Ike!”
Oh, my God.
Is this really happening?
We are so completely and utterly unprepared.
Those thoughts began to run through her head on a loop, making her head spin and her stomach swirl.
“Come on, darlin’. Let’s get going.” Ike placed a hand at her back and led her from the room, grabbing a small bag as they went.
He led her down the hall and toward the main doors.
“What about my car, Ike?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got that covered.” He raised a hand and motioned to the same uniformed cop Sidney had seen on her way in. The cop stood and hurried over to them.
“Officer Sykes, this is my wife, Sidney.”
Sykes smiled and nodded at her. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
Sidney opened her mouth to respond, but Isaac beat her to it.
“Sykes, I need you to drive my car and follow us home. Go ahead and radio in for a cruiser to meet us at my residence to take you back to the station.”
“Yes, sir. Lead the way.”
Sidney handed over her keys to Isaac and slid into the passenger seat of her car with Greer on her lap. Once they were on the road and headed home, her mind began swimming with all the issues surrounding this turn of events.
“You know, Ike… we may be in way over our heads here.” The trepidation in her belly leached out through her voice.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we have nothing at home for a little boy. Not a single thing. We don’t have toys or supplies. We don’t even have a proper bed. I mean, there’s the bed in the guest room, of course. But that’s way too big for a little boy. He could fall out of it. Where’s he going to sleep tonight?”
She could hear the disquiet in her voice morph into panic, but she couldn’t help it. They were so unprepared for this.
Isaac sighed. “We’ll figure it out, Sid. Actually, from the way he’s been clinging to the both of us, I’d be surprised if we could even get him to stay in a bed without at least one of us nearby anyway.”
Sidney looked over at him. “You mean you think he should sleep with us?”
“I don’t know if should is the right word. I’m just saying that tonight, that’s probably how it’s going to play out.”
“And you’re okay with that? He might touch you during the night, you know?”
Ike grinned and glanced at Greer. “I discovered earlier tonight when he insisted I hold him that it’s like holding Isla.”
Sidney nodded. “He doesn’t hurt your skin.”
“Not so far.”
They knew from Ike’s grandfather, Sterling, that children had that effect. It wasn’t until they grew older — and less innocent — that the pain would begin.
Sidney looked at Ike again. “And have you seen anything when you’ve touched him?”
Isaac shook his head. “Nothing significant. Nothing that’ll help us solve this case. But I’ve also been concentrating on keeping my psychic eye closed too. Especially once I stepped in that house and realized this was my vision coming to life. I didn’t want his emotions to overwhelm me like they did back at Christmastime.”
“That was probably smart.”
“Yeah. Although the thought has crossed my mind that I should maybe try to see if he can show me any part of what happened to him and his parents.”
“You think that would work?”
“I have no idea. I’ve never tried it with anyone so young before. I would definitely want to consult Grandad before I make the attempt.”
Sidney nodded. “Good idea.”
They were silent for a while and Sidney looked at the clock on her dash. 4:42 in the morning.
“Well, it’s way too early to call Zoe, but I guess I need to explain the situation and tell her I won’t be in today.”
“That’s probably not a bad idea.”
He pulled her car into their short driveway, and Sidney spotted the black cruiser with the bright blue POLICE emblazoned on the side parked out front. When they got out of the car she watched as Officer Sykes parked Ike’s car and returned his keys to him.
“Thanks a lot for the help, Sykes.”
“It was my pleasure to assist you, Detective.” He nodded at Sidney. “Ma’am.”
“Thank you.” Sidney smiled at him, and Ike led her to the house.
Sidney carried Greer inside and stood in the living room, just looking around.
“Sid? You okay, darlin’?”
“Yeah, I just…” She stopped, her thoughts jumbled. What came next? “I just don’t really know what to do here.”
She turned around and looked at Isaac. Her back was beginning to hurt. And her arms. And still this little boy hung on to her.
“I mean, most people… they have some lead time, you know? Some kind of prep time for this sort of thing. And they start with infants. With kittens essentially. Puppies, you know?” A soft laugh escaped her, but there was nothing amusing about it. “They don’t jump right into toddlers with zero training or skills.”
“Okay,” Ike moved forward, making a gimme motion with his hands. “Give him to me.”
He took Greer from her arms and the child went willingly without fuss, and Sidney shook her aching arms to stimulate the circulation.
“Look, I know that I just sort of sprang this on you, Sid, and I’m sorry for that. But I felt that I had no choice. You have to understand that the vision has been haunting me for an entire year.”
“I know, baby, I do understand that.”
“Well, I took that to mean that it was different. More important somehow. More personal. Like I was meant to be there for this kid. To help him however I can.”
“I get that, Ike.”
“And right before I got the call to go to the crime scene, I had a dream about it.”
“A dream?”
“Yes. I have never dreamed about any of my visions before. But I did tonight. And it was so real and intense, Sidney. I heard Greer screaming, I heard two gunshots.”
“Gunshots? I thought you said it looked like his parents were stabbed.”
“It did. But there was a gun at the crime scene too, and it had recently been fired. And when I got there, I realized that my dream must have been a real-time vision of what Greer was going through in that exact moment.”
Sidney shivered from the goosebumps that formed on her arms. “Isaac. You are connected to this little boy somehow. It’s like you’re tapped into his brain somehow.
“I know it.”
“How is that possible?”
“Who are you asking?” Ike’s voice went up a few octaves.
“And I wonder if that connection is ongoing or was it just to bring you to this night? So that you could be there to help him when he needed you most.”
“That’s a great question. I’m eager to talk to Grandad about all of it. But right now, I think the three of us should go to bed and try to get some sleep. My alarm is going to go off in just a couple of hours.”
Sidney sighed. “Yeah. And then I’ll get a crash course in motherhood.”