| |
HE WAS CAREFUL TO SLIP through the police station while everyone was busy with shift changes and finishing their reports for the day. A sinister smile formed across his face as he thought of how easy it had been to fool these imbeciles.
He watched the file room waiting for the opportune moment. He saw it when the receptionist left the room. Moving quickly, he slipped in before the door closed.
He looked down at his watch to see that he had been searching through files for over two hours with no luck yet. He wanted to find anything the department may have on Detective Grace Hutcherson.
She was fairly new to the New Orleans Police Department and her previous employer had only forwarded the pertinent information. There was nothing in here that helped him regarding her “psychic abilities” she claimed to possess.
It made little sense that her abilities were progressing, and she had started to get to him. He had been haunted with these abilities all of his life, but he never told anyone of his capabilities. They would probably treat him as an outcast just as his mother had.
***
HUTCH’S MIND TRIED to move through the muddled exhaustion of her brain, but everything seemed to short circuit. She was so tired. She pushed the papers away from her desk and decided to go home and wait for Mike.
Hutch was not in the mood to cook so she stopped to pick them up a pizza before getting some much needed sleep. She’d spent her day looking over the files and had found little useful information.
Before leaving, she walked over to Ledet’s desk to tell him she was leaving. Bryant left earlier stating he had a date tonight and needed a break from the case. She couldn’t blame him there. She was thankful she had Mike to help her get through the monstrosities of this case.
With each step she made, her legs felt as if they were filled with lead. The thought of going to bed sounded heavenly.
She found Ledet sound asleep at his desk. She gently shook his shoulder to wake him.
Ledet woke up with a start. He looked around to find that he was still at his desk. Hutch stared down at him, “I hated to wake you, but I figured you would be more comfortable in your own bed instead of at your desk.”
Rubbing his face, “I guess you are right. You’re going home as well?”
“Yes. I have to get some rest. My mind doesn’t want to cooperate anymore.”
Ledet stated, “I won’t be able to sleep. As soon as I get home, I will pace the floor thinking of this case. I am always like this when I work these types of cases. You go home and rest, though. At least you have someone waiting at home for you.”
As he turned his attention back to the mounds of paperwork on his desk, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He was right; at least she had Mike in her life. Before leaving, she told him, “Please try to get some rest. You won’t do us any good if you are so exhausted you can’t function. You and I both know I am right.”
***
AS LEDET WAS DECIDING if he should leave for the day, he heard a light knock on the door. When he saw the dispatcher’s face, he felt his stomach tighten as he waited for the news. He felt hollow and sick. Another young woman’s life had been cut too short. His whole body dulled as the sick feeling turned to nothing. There was no emotion left in his body. It was as if he had been too anesthetized to feel anything.
He picked up the phone and called Hutch. She’d just left to get some rest, and he had to drag her back.