Chapter 27: I Must be Dreaming

I have recreated this part of the story from the accounts given later. I am just going to narrate them and try to stay as close as I can to what I was told about the events. This is how it started for Rebecca. Jimmy.

Special Agent Rebecca Hampton woke from a most bizarre dream and looked around her bedroom. The clock said 3:18 AM. She reached into her nightstand for the pad and pencil she kept close to every phone in the apartment. She wrote the name Diane E. McKenzie, and the word, 'Unsolved?" on the pad before rolling over and going back to sleep.

At 5:00 AM, when the alarm went off, Rebecca was already awake and ready to start the day, she finished tying up her shoes before heading out for her morning run. "Got to keep it short this morning," she thought to herself. "Got to get in early and finish up so I can leave." She was trying to get out of town before traffic got too heavy. With a little luck she could clear the valley before traffic got real bad, be there before dinner and take Amy an ice cream for dessert. The thought of her little sister always brought a heavy feeling in her chest. She told herself yet again that this could be the last visit. That Amy could come out of it any day. As much as it hurt to see her lying there oblivious to the world around her, she refused to give up. The doctors still reported consistent brain activity. Occasionally they reported periods of increased activity that could mean she was fighting her way back through to reality. So far it hadn't happened. But Amy was still alive and there was still hope. She still hadn't decided on a book to take. "Maybe I'll look for something new on the way."

She was at her desk at 7:30 working on the final draft of yet another report she had gotten stuck writing. "Jeez," she muttered to herself, "am I ever going to get back in the field?"

"Not with that attitude," came a voice from her doorway. She looked up to find Samuel Rodriguez, her best friend and supervisor standing in the doorway watching her.

"Hey, Rod, what are you doing here this early in the morning? You don't usually grace us with your happy presence until at least 9:00. Selena kick your sorry butt out?"

"Happy to see you too, Bex, Selena and the kids say hello. As to why I'm in early? I just wanted to be the one to tell you that you're finally being cleared for shooting that asshole at the bank. Sorry it took so long. Officially nothing has changed, but I thought I would let you know that starting Monday you can put the vacancy sign back up on your door."

She jumped out of her chair and hugged the big Mexican. "Oh, thank God! I don't know how much more of this I could stand. I'm actually up to like 30 words a minute typing. Is that disgusting or what? You didn't have to pull any strings or have anyone 'hit' did you? I mean I already owe you more than I care to think about."

"No," he chuckled. "I didn't have to pull strings. C'mon, Bex, everyone knew it was a clean shooting. You took out three perps single handedly and saved a dozen hostages. This was all just routine and you know it. The bad news is they aren't going to pay for the dress." He ducked away from the fist that was suddenly headed his way. "I'm kidding! Of course they're going to pay for it! Say, why don't you come by for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Sorry. No can do. I'm visiting my sister this weekend. Can I get a rain check?"

"Kind of hard to get a rain check on a standing invitation, so how is Amy doing?"

"Well the doctors say there have been sporadic increases in brain activity lately, episodes that closely resemble normal dream activity. They say that it's times like these she is most likely to come out of it. So, I just wait and pray. It'll happen. I'm just not sure when."

The phone rang and she picked it up, "Hampton. Good morning, Paul. Yes, I've got it right here. Okay, see you in a few minutes." She hung up and turned back to Rod.

"I'll try and come by Sunday night if I get back early. If not, I promise to come one night next week, okay." There was a knock at the door. It was Paul and she waved him in. Reaching back she pulled the report off of her printer. "Here you go, Paul. Thanks. Oh, before you go, I need you to run something for me. The name is McKenzie, Diane E. She's about 5-foot-10, blonde; run it through the unsolved net, and let me know what pops up, thanks."

Paul left and Rod asked her, "What's that all about? I don't remember seeing anything on a McKenzie?"

"Probably nothing, I don't really expect him to find anything."

"Where'd you get it?"

"Trust me, Rod. You don't even want to know. Maybe I'll tell you if something pops up. Listen, I got a ton of stuff to finish if I'm going to beat traffic out of town. I'll try to make it Sunday night. I'll call you if I'm gonna miss, okay."

"You'll call? Right, how many times have I heard that before? Say hi to Amy for me. Tell her everyone sends their love."

She turned back to the daunting task of clearing her inbox. She was still at it at 10:30 when Paul called back.

"Hampton."

"Miss Hampton, it's Paul. I got several hits on McKenzie. Most promising is three years old, up in the Bay area. Eighteen year old female Caucasian, kidnapped, found dead a few weeks later."

"You're kidding."

"What?"

"Oh sorry, just mumbling to myself, anything else."

"Rape and torture from the autopsy, body was cleaned and staged. The scene was totally sanitized. No physical evidence at the scene. They think she was killed somewhere else and then dumped there. Real neat and tidy, bathed, hair done, dressed, makeup, you'd think she was headed out for a date."

"Shit. Where was it?"

"Santa Clara. You want me to see what I can get."

"No. I want you to get what you can get. I want everything you can find. Today's Friday; call someone in the local office. I want as much as they can get today sent over-night by the end of the day. I want it on my desk by 10 AM Monday, the rest they can send as soon as they can put it together. Anyone gives you grief you call me. I'll give you my cell number... Really? Where did you get it? Never mind, I don't want to know. You call me. Midnight, I don't care. I want as much as possible by Monday morning, I want the rest by mid-week if they have to drive it down here. Bring me the preliminary stuff as soon as you can sort it out and get it printed. Thanks, Paul."

Special Agent Rebecca Hampton hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. She closed her eyes and strained to remember every detail of last night's strange dream that she could. She stared at the phone and wondered. Trap the line? No, not yet. Let's see what happens first. At 12:30 she returned from lunch to find a folder on her desk. McKenzie, Diane E. typed neatly on the label. She opened the file and started reading. At 2:30 she called Paul back.

"Paul, get someone in tech to put a trap on my phone. I need it done within the hour, I am expecting a call around 4:00, I want it traced and recorded. Call me back when it's done. Thanks."

A half hour later a tech showed up in her office and played with her phone for a few minutes. "Everything will come in through this line. If it's not the call you want, press this button and it will cancel the 'trace and record' and shunt it to a clear line to free this one up, any questions?"

"Nope, I got it, thanks."

At 3:45 Rod walked into her office. "Bex, there's someone named Jimmy on my phone for you? Did you give someone my number?" She flew out of her seat and grabbed the phone. The number came up blocked. <<Damn!>> "This is Special Agent Hampton. Who is this?"

"You know who this is. Did you find anything?"

"Hell yes I found something. You knew I would, didn't you?"

"I thought you probably would. I hoped you wouldn't. I know you're in a hurry to go visit your sister so I'm not going to keep you. I'll see you again soon and we'll talk."

"You son of a bitch, how do you know about my sister!?"

"It's not like that really. I know that this is going to be hard for you to believe, but considering everything else that's happened so far it shouldn't be that much of a stretch. Amy told me to contact you. <<Oh my God>> I could feel the blood drain from my face I'll explain later. By the way, Amy wants you to bring one of the 'Narnia' books. She said those are her favorites. I have to go so you can finish tracing this call before you leave."

The line went dead. She grabbed the phone off her desk and dialed. "Paul, a call just came in to Rod's phone, I want to know where it came from and I want a team out there as soon as possible to go over that whole area. I doubt if they will find anything, but do it anyway. Do you need the phone? Let me guess, you already have the number. Yeah, thought so. I'm starting to like you, kid. Call me when you find something." She hung up and handed Rod's phone back to him.

"What the hell is going on, Bex? Who was that?"

"Short version? I have no clue. Not who he is, how he got your number, nothing. All I know is that he knows about that girl." She pointed to the folder. "He says he saw her killed. But he didn't know where it happened, who she was, nothing; just a general description and a name. Paul tracked the name to a three-year-old cold case up in Santa Clara. I've got a preliminary summary. He's getting the rest of it sent down. Be here early next week."

"So how did you find out about it?

She just shook her head. "Can't tell you yet," She looked up and met his eyes. "Trust me on this, you don't want to know and you wouldn't believe it if I told you. Let's wait and see how it plays out. It's an old case and we have nothing to go on unless Paul finds something," she paused before continuing. "My head says he won't, but my gut tells me he will."

She caught the look in his eyes, turned, and stared out the door. "I got a bad feeling about this, Rod. So far the source is anonymous. On a case like this it usually means he's involved. Either he's the perpetrator or an accessory. The idea that either would have the balls to call us is not a good sign. I think what we have is the odd probability. I don't think he's either. I hope I'm right. Watch your back, Rod. The fact that he somehow got your cell phone number scares the bejeezus out of me. And, he knows about Amy."

She was just leaving Irvine headed south on I-5 when her phone rang. "Hampton. Hi, Paul, what have you got for me? A pay phone? Shocking. Where? Where? Outside a parts store in Victorville? Any chance there was surveillance anywhere we may be able to get? Didn't think so but I had to ask. What did the team find? Anything? What do you mean nothing? No fingerprints? Not even a partial? They dusted the actual keys right. No footprints? Tire tracks? Witnesses? Any of the employees see who was using the phone at around quarter of four? Damn. Oh well, it's disappointing but not surprising. Thanks, Paul. Have a good weekend. I'll see you Monday." As she reached Mission Viejo she saw a Borders Book Store just off the freeway. She bought a new copy of, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis and got back on the road. An hour later she was eating a modest dinner at a small local diner. She got a piece of apple pie al a mode to go and drove the last two blocks to the research center that watched over her sister. After all this time, everyone knew her and pretty much ignored her as she walked the familiar hallways to Amy's room. She stopped at the nurse's station before going to see her sister. An elderly black nurse was making notes in a file as she walked up.

"Hi, Bonnie, how's the world treating you?"

"Good evening, Miss Hampton! It's so good to see you again. We're doing just fine, thank you. It's a good thing you came tonight. I leave noon tomorrow for two weeks in Hawaii! Now that the kids are finally out on their own David and I are finally taking that vacation we've been promising ourselves."

"Good for you! Have a great trip. Do me a favor? Mail Amy a coconut. Here, let me give you some money."

"Oh, don't bother. That's just a lovely idea. I'll do it first thing. No, really I don't want your money. I'm going to put my name on it so she has something to remember me by when she goes home."

That was what she really liked about this place. Everyone, right down to the janitors took a personal interest in all the patients. And they were universally convinced that they would all get better one day.

"Thanks, Bonnie. You have a good time. Be careful of the sun over there though. It'll fry you in no time."

Then she headed off to Amy's room. Amy was propped up slightly in bed. Her hair was neatly combed to cover the patches leading to the machine monitoring brain activity and someone had even painted her finger and toenails. A small vase of fresh flowers sat on the table next to her bed. The soft jazz playing on the small clock radio covered the sound of the heart monitor. Rebecca kissed her on the cheek then settled herself on the edge of the bed and started eating her pie.

"How are you, sweetie? They taking good care of you? You look very beautiful today. Sorry it's been so long since I've been down. I've been stuck at a desk typing for weeks. Rod came by this morning to tell me I could go back to work on Monday. He said to say hi and tell you Selena and the kids send their love. Paul said to say hi too. He's turning into a real asset."

She paused for a moment, and then continued. "Sweetie, do you know someone named Jimmy? Someone called today. He said you told him to call me about something really bad. I'm a little worried about what he told me but I'm looking into it. I promise I'll be careful and I'm going to have someone keep an eye on you too, okay." She brushed Amy's hair back over one ear. "I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you, sunshine. And he knows who you are and that scares me a little bit, so I'm going to have to make sure you stay safe. Okay? Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. But we need to make sure that you are safe so you can get better. The doctor's have been telling me good things about you. But you're still not eating all your vegetables." She said, giving Amy's nose a little tweak. "So you promise to keep being good and eat all your vegetables and one of these days I'll let you share my ice cream, okay? Good. Now then, one thing my mystery caller told me was that you like the Narnia books. So I went today and bought a brand new copy. Think you can stay awake while I read it? Well let's just see, shall we."

And with that Rebecca Jean Hampton, hard-boiled investigator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation sat down in a chair, opened the new book, and in between bites of pie and ice cream, began to read it to her little sister. For now, the cares and stresses of the world, the problems and complaints of the job, and all the criminals large and small were forgotten as she spent time with the most important person in her world.

At 10:15 she was awakened as her cell phone went off. She pulled it from her purse and stood up to stretch the kinks out. The chairs were comfortable enough for sitting, but definitely not for sleeping. She thumbed the receive button and answered.