Page 63 of Race to Save Her

Cisco seemed to be hanging out with Midnight; they were in their own worlds. Katie watched Cisco and admired his beautiful coat and his strength—but he was gentle with the cat.

She opened her laptop and began searching for details about the metal fastener or tool-like pieces they had found to see if she could find anything similar. It appeared to be specialized, which would narrow down who would use them and where they would be purchased.

As Katie searched, she found fasteners, washers, and corner pieces—but nothing as particular as what they’d taken into evidence. She was growing tired and decided to lie down and rest her eyes for just a moment…

Katie walked down a familiar street where there were flowers and lawns. There were houses burning and the smoke became thick, swirling in big black plumes. She was going somewhere, but she had forgotten where. Why couldn’t she remember? What was she missing? She was having a difficult time breathing. Where was fire and rescue?

She stared at the buildings, which weren’t residential homes anymore, but rather identical manufactured homes. One of them had what looked like graffiti sprayed across the front in big letters. She kept trying to read what it said. Finally, she deciphered it.

Katie knows…

Knows what? She stopped. The street was becoming blacker and the smoke was as thick as a wall and closing in fast.

Katie felt someone touch her arm and she turned. Suddenly, she saw Ames in front of her, smiling, but in a sinister way. His eyes looked like fire.

“You know what you need to do.”

Katie woke with a start. Her heart racing. Her chest heavy. She couldn’t get that image out of her mind.

“Hey, you okay?” said the most wonderful voice.

John came over and sat next to her, holding her tight.

“I didn’t hear you come in,” she said. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“You didn’t expect me to ignore the fact that you almost lost Cisco today.”

Katie fought back tears. It wasn’t about Cisco, really, but about the cases. They were haunting her.

“Hey,” said John gently. “You’re not okay.”

Katie was shivering, not because of the cold, but because she felt as if something icy was creeping up behind her and there was nothing she could do about it. “This case is making me self-doubt, and then Cisco…” She remained calm, trying to keep her self-control.

John hugged her and kissed her until her shaking eased. “I’m worried about you.”

“I’ll be fine. Maybe not now, but I will be.” She brushed her fingers along his handsome face. “Thank you for being here.”

“We have each other’s backs.”

Katie smiled. “We have been through a lot.”

“I’m right here and I will always be.”

They snuggled up and sat in silence, knowing they were one team and would be there for each other. She knew that what happened today scared him also, but he would be her rock.

The body parts, the feeling of someone watching and making Katie part of the focus, and the not knowing made the investigation seem more ominous.

The unrelenting chaos was coming faster and there was no way to entirely prepare or stop it—she had to be ready.

THIRTY-SIX

Friday 0645 hours

“Sorry I canceled running this morning,” said Katie. Her body was aching and she needed to sleep.

“No problem. You needed your rest,” said John.

They were having their morning coffee and enjoying the quiet time before they had to go to work, where real stress and intensity reigned.