Simon Says_. Walk (Kate Morgan #6)(76)
Author: Dale Mayer

 

He frowned at her and slowly shook his head. “No, but obviously from now on, I’ll be wondering,” he muttered, as he looked around. He shook his head, as his gaze went in the direction where all the forensic vehicles were. “Really don’t like hearing about a kidnapping. That sucks.”

 

“If you see anybody acting suspiciously or you hear anything off, let me know, will you?” She handed him a card and then turned and walked away.

 

*

 

Simon opened the door to Kate. She looked tired, worn out, and it was the early hours in the morning. “What the hell?” He rushed her inside. “You look exhausted.”

 

“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you go wandering around, checking out areas. We found the vehicle used to kidnap Samantha.” He stopped in his tracks. She shook her head. “There was no sign of her and no blood, outside of a little bit in the trunk of the kidnap vehicle.”

 

He closed his eyes in relief and then opened them. “So you have the vehicle. … Then that means you have the owner.”

 

“It was parked in a long-term car park. The owner is in Europe. By the looks of it, has been for a couple months now, doing some internship.”

 

“Jesus, so somebody might have known that.”

 

“Somebody could have known that, or somebody could have also just taken a vehicle that they potentially hadn’t seen moved in a while. Whether that means weeks or months, or whether they know the owner of the vehicle, I don’t know. It’s an opportunity, but it’s not an answer.”

 

Simon nodded slowly, as he put on the teakettle and then turned to her. “Did you eat?”

 

She shook her head. “I raced out of here, after I left you, headed to the office, and within a few hours we had the vehicle. Now that’s good news.”

 

“What about video cameras?”

 

“I found on the feed where Samantha was kidnapped, just a few corners away from the women’s shelter.” He frowned at that, and she nodded. “I know, but I don’t think Samantha had anything to do with that place.” And then she stopped, when a strange expression crossed his face. “Did she?”

 

“I have no idea.” Simon raised his hands in frustration. “I don’t personally have anything to do with her.” He busied himself making tea and then turned to look at Kate. “I had groceries brought in. Do you want some toast and eggs?”

 

She nodded. “That would be great, and then I’ll crash for a few hours, before I meet Rodney at the office.” She yawned just then.

 

“Maybe you want to sleep before eating?” When she looked at him bleary-eyed, he nodded. “Taking the decision away from you.” He nudged her onto her feet. “Let’s get you to bed. You can have some food in the morning.”

 

With her tucked into bed, sleep was a long way off for him. He checked his watch, but it was way too early to contact Lisa. He went through all his files, but he had absolutely nothing on Samantha Cole or any record of anybody working at that car park or any of the businesses around the women’s shelter. And he worked with multiple women’s shelters, and they were all hidden in the city. It never occurred to him that anybody would be hitting a women’s shelter because of his assistance.

 

Exhausted, he decided to crash and get a few hours sleep, before Kate got up and hit the road again. As he went to lie down, he got back up again, feeling an odd disassociation. He closed his eyes, sat back down, and immediately stood up again and walked out of the bedroom.

 

And then a voice behind him said, “Stop.”

 

He froze.

 

“Now take five more steps in front of you.”

 

He immediately took five more steps, and yet he came up against a wall before he completed the fifth. He slammed his nose against it and cried out, wincing, only to realize he’d been walking with his eyes closed. In the background he heard laughter, harsh caustic laughter. He froze as he realized that he had connected to the asshole or to the victim who was doing the walking.

 

He tried to connect again to see where they were, but all he got was the same bedroom. As he tried to drift himself further back in time, he was back out in the woods. He could almost smell the pine around him. It was the strangest of feelings. He sat back down on his bed, buried his face in his hands, while he tried to figure out if he could pull anything good from this.

 

Kate gently stroked his arm and whispered, “What’s the matter?”

 

He twisted to look at her and replied, “The asshole has somebody out walking again.” Her gaze went from sleepy to sharp in seconds. He always loved that about her mind. Something was so awe-inspiring, seeing somebody so aware and so intent, so focused. So many people would say that they lived in the present, but really they were always reminiscing about the past or dreaming about the future. But, in Kate’s case, she was right here; she was present in every conversation, and right now she was locked on to every word he said.

 

“Tell me everything,” she replied, as she shifted upright.

 

He closed his eyes and explained about sitting and then standing and afterward hearing about the order to walk five paces.

 

She nodded slowly. “Okay. Could you sense anything about a location? Could you sense anything about the voice?”

 

“He was having way too much fun, for one,” Simon noted. “As far as the location, all I got was a really strong sense of pine.”

 

“So you were outside. Did it rustle under your feet? Could you feel anything?”

 

“No, that was weird. Almost as if I snapped out of it before I could sense what was under my feet.” He lifted a foot and stared. “Jesus Christ,” he cried out.

 

She shifted and turned on a light. His feet were completely black. She bolted off the bed and slammed up against the far wall, her hand across her mouth.

 

He shook his head. “I have no idea.” He got up slowly and gingerly walked into the bathroom, and sure enough he could wash it off. His shaky hand reached up to pull his hair off his face, as he stared in the mirror. “Grammie, you didn’t tell me about this part,” he whispered. He stared back down at his feet, but they were clean now. If not for the dirty washcloth in front of him, he would have thought for sure he had imagined the whole thing. As he stepped back into the bedroom, he realized Kate would never forget this.

 

“Please tell me that you were out walking when that voice told you to walk.”

 

He frowned. “No, I was here, in the bedroom.”

 

She nodded. “And earlier, any chance your feet were dirty from before?”