Chapter 27

It was late by the time Jim, Lorraine, and I called off our studies. We all learned that extreme distraction caused me to drop whatever I was manipulating, but nothing broke, which was a relief to me. We also understood that, just like doing anything mundane, the more I practiced at maintaining control while they attempted to distract me, the more I improved. It wasn’t as easy as holding the objects in my hands while they tested me, but it was quickly getting there.

The three of us decided we would test other aspects of my power the next time I went by to visit. Jim even suggested I stop by once a week so they could help me as well as learn along with me. I was all for that.

Lorraine walked me to the front. A different officer sat behind the desk and it looked much darker outside. I hadn’t realized just how much time had gone by.

I took my visitor’s badge to the desk. The officer, a sergeant by the rank insignia on his sleeve, never flinched when I gave him my name.

“C’mon,” Lorraine said. “I’ll give you a ride home.”

“No,” said the Sergeant. We turned to look at the officer. “An officer is going to drive you,” he said.

“Why?” I asked.

“You’re not to be left alone,” he said, and pointed at the same set of chairs I sat on earlier.

I grinned and nodded at Lorraine. “She took me to lunch earlier. What’s the difference now?”

“Yeah, she took you to lunch, and look what happened,” he said.

“An armed robbery in progress was my fault?” I asked.

“Sounds like a case of the Lady doth protesting too much,” he said and pointed at the chairs again. “Sit.”

I looked at Lorraine. She stepped up to the desk. “I am more than capable of taking him home, Sergeant Hall.”

Suddenly, I felt like a child two adults were arguing about.

He shook his head. “I have my orders, Lorraine. He is waiting here.”

“Right,” she said, not sounding encouraged. “So, then, who’s coming for him?”

“Detective Hathaway,” he said.

“Oh!” Lorraine said and then turned to me as if this was good news.

For a second, I lost my breath, as if someone had punched my gut.

She noticed my expression and then asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve talked to Detective Hathaway twice,” I said. “And both times, she spoke to me like I was a con artist trying to pull someone over their eyes.”

“Why would she do that?” she asked.

I shook my head and said, “My theory is that she simply doesn’t believe I possess the power I do, even after a demonstration.” Either she’s in denial, or she’s noticed how other officers treat me like a criminal they haven’t caught yet, and she’s doing the same.

Lorraine frowned. “Wait, who’s been treating you like that?”

“You were here for what Sergeant Hall said, right?”

She sighed. “He was joking.”

“And a joke or prank is only funny if the target of that joke or prank laughs,” I said.

“You’re taking this way too seriously,” she said.

I nodded. “Okay. Hang around,” I said, as I walked over to the chair and sat down. “We’ll find out together why she believes I shouldn’t be alone.”

She pointed at the door leading back to the labs. “But I still have work to do.”

I nodded. “It’s okay,” I said softly, attempting to ease my next statement. “At this point, I don’t want to hang out with me either.”

“Now, that’s not fair.”

I couldn’t win. No one wanted to believe me. Even trying to convince someone of something didn’t work. I was tired of arguing. Everyone was going to do what they felt they needed to do, and I would have to do the same. Something suggested that I would end up facing Garret alone, and at this rate, that something was right.

Lorraine continued to stand in front of me, with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. I shook my head, breaking eye contact, and said, “No, you’re right. It’s not fair. Go on back to work. I’ll do what I need to do.”

“What? Do you need me to hold your hand while you do it?”

I met her eyes and said in the most somber tone I could manage, “Facing death? No. I wouldn’t ask anyone to do that for me. Go back to work. Enjoy your life.”

She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Have you ever been stalked by someone who intended to kill you?” I asked.

“No, but...”

“I am,” I said. “And there’s nothing the police can do about it.”

“Now, that’s going too far, isn’t it?” she asked.

I turned to look at Sergeant Hall. “Sergeant, how many times have you had to draw your weapon on someone?”

He frowned and thought about it. “Twice,” he said. “Scared the hell out of me both times.”

“And in those circumstances, in the most basic sense, how did everything turn out?”

“My partner and I were lucky,” he said. “Both times, we caught the person we were after off guard. We took them in without a fight.”

“Can you imagine an instance where you and your partner have your weapons drawn, ready for anything or anyone, but then someone attacks you in a way you never saw coming—or thought possible?””

He shook his head. “We both continue to train, so nothing like that happens.”

I nodded. He wasn’t helping. Neither of them understood what I was facing, the absolute terror I felt, or my hopelessness. I wanted to lash out, but I couldn’t do that. A demonstration was the best I could offer. Thinking about Sergeant Hall’s chair, I pulled it around and from behind the desk.

“What the hell?” he exclaimed and then tumbled out of the chair to get away.

Lorraine shook her head and glared at me. “That was childish, Ral.”

“The Sergeant doesn’t seem to think so,” I said. “I caught him off guard.” I turned to Sergeant Hall again. “Would you have expected something like that even with your weapon ready and watching for threats?”

He looked at me as he moved the chair around, making sure whatever made it move before wasn’t in control. “There’s no way I could have seen that coming.”

“What’s your point?” Lorraine asked me.

“You and Tom only saw a portion of the things I can do,” I said. “The guy stalking me can do that, and far more.”

She blinked in thought, and Hall moved his chair back to the desk. She watched him sit down at his desk and make adjustments to the chair, as if I had changed its settings - which I hadn’t. Then she looked at me. Her aura told me that her understanding was getting closer.

“Do you think there are any cops out there who would be prepared for something like that?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, but then, you don’t believe you’re ready, either.”

“Oh, I know I’m not,” I said. “If I had a few weeks to practice, then maybe, maybe, I would be more prepared. But right now?” and I shook my head.

Lorraine took a breath to say something else when the front doors opened.

I hadn’t been expecting it, but it was raining. I could hear the patter of raindrops hitting the steps leading up to the front door. The person who came in stopped on this side of the doors and shook out her coat. It was Detective Hathaway. She stepped up to the desk without looking at me or Lorraine. “Sergeant, I’m here to collect Ral Sutton.”

The Sergeant gave her the same bored expression he had given me and simply held his hand out toward me.

She looked my way and then glanced at Lorraine. Then she smiled and looked for all the world like she was the happiest person on the planet. “Hey, Lorraine. How are you?”

Lorraine didn’t smile. She nodded and said, “Busy.” Then she turned to me and said, “See you next week?”

I nodded, surprised that we would continue to work together after coming very close to having an argument, and turned to the Detective while Lorraine headed for the door leading back to the labs.

Hathaway lost her smile and looked at me. Her aura said she wasn’t angry or happy. In fact, there was nothing else going on. It was one of the very few times I had seen an aura which was so relaxed and unemotional. “Let’s go, Sutton,” she said.

She turned and headed for the exit. I got to my feet and followed her. No, I wasn’t happy about this, but I wasn’t sure what I could do either. Was I supposed to oppose her? I wanted help with my problems, but I didn’t know if she was going to help or do something to hinder me further. Then I stopped at the doors leading outside. The rain wasn’t heavy, but it was steady. I watched her, hunched over in her trench coat, as she went down the steps. Then I hunched over too, not wanting to get my sling wet, and headed out after her.

Having a longer stride, I made it to the passenger side door before she got around to the driver’s side. I found the car locked. She climbed in and closed her door before unlocking the passenger doors so I could climb in. I started to get in front and she stopped me. “No, get in the back.”

I gave her the glare she deserved - she could have told me to get in back when she saw where I was standing before she climbed into the car. Then I closed the door, stepped over to the back door, yanked it open with my telekinesis, and climbed in. I was wet, but not soaked, from the rain. I considered the possibility of using my shield like an umbrella, but my shoulder hurt too much to raise my arm that high. Essentially, there was nothing I could do about it. Instead, I focused on Hathaway and our destination. I pulled the door shut and asked, “Where are we going?”

She didn’t answer me. She simply looked at me through the rearview mirror. “Put on your seatbelt.”

One of the things I learned from using my powers with Lorraine and Tom was that the more I used them, the better my control. So, I pulled on my seatbelt, moving it as if I were using my hands. Hathaway watched me the whole time, but never said a word.

She waited for me to buckle my belt before putting the car in drive and pulling away from the building.

I rode in silence for a moment and then asked my last question again, “Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to a safe house,” she said without looking at me again.

A safe house. They couldn’t keep me at a safe house forever. To my knowledge, no one knew what Garret looked like. For that matter, I didn’t know what he looked like. How were the police supposed to capture him if they didn’t know his appearance?

“How long will I be at this safe house?” I asked.

Hathaway glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “I’m not sure. It’ll depend on how long it takes to catch the killer.”

There were two ways I could take that. “Oh!” I said, sounding surprised. “So you’ve figured out who killed Bethany?”

“Not yet,” she said, “But we’ve got several leads we’re following.”

Which, to me, meant they weren’t any further along in the investigation than the last time I spoke to her. I was also concerned that she hadn’t let go of the idea that I was somehow involved. If her opinion of me wasn’t going to change, and there was no new information on Garrett, then there was nothing to ask, which meant, for the moment, I would sit tight and wait to see where she took me.