Free Hide'n Go Seek by Dale Mayer

like she'd been waiting forever.

    She knew the victim had been murdered. She even thought she knew how. She didn't know why or by whom. And that's where the problem stood. She'd considered volunteering more information to the police; only they were quite capable of finding out the cause of death on their own and would do it regardless of what she had to say.

    She didn't understand much about these psychic tugs, except that they refused to be ignored. It wasn’t as though psychic abilities came with an instruction manual.

    She'd blundered along in the beginning. Visions had begun to slip into her head, sometimes of the victim's life or their death, usually vague and always as confusing as hell. Even when she wasn’t on a disaster site, but sitting and watching television, the newscaster would mention a murder and Kali would receive a quick flash, a picture of the dead person. Even worse was not being able to discuss it with anyone.

    Her last freaky painting was a puzzle, too. So was this letter business. With any luck, Grant would solve the problem while she was away. She’d wanted to mention it to Brad but couldn’t find the right moment. There’d been no time and too many ears to hear what she needed privacy to say.

    Her butt had gone numb from sitting for so long. Kali sighed and shifted again. Most of the other teams had flown home. She thought she'd seen Lauren and Todd still working, but she had no idea where Brad and Jarl had gotten to.

    Powerful lights turned on suddenly, brightening the atmosphere. Another police cruiser arrived. Kali watched, hoping this would end her wait. An older, grizzled officer walked toward her.

    "Hi, are you Kali Jordan?"

    Kali straightened in relief.

    "Sorry, you had to wait so long. Let me take your statement and you can go home."

    The process was over in a few minutes

    "Kali! Jesus, there you are."

    Kali spun to find Todd running toward her, a ragged look to him. She could relate. "Hey. Am I glad to see you. I was afraid everyone had left already."

    "I saw you talking with the police, what the hell happened?" he asked, concern shifting away the fatigue in his face.

    Kali winced. "Just the norm. Shiloh found another body."

    Todd frowned, staring in the direction of the collapsed apartment building.

    "No, not here." She pointed toward the direction she'd walked away from. "Over there. I walked Shiloh over to the woods to relieve herself."

    Todd shook his head. "She shouldn't have been working there."

    "Nope, she shouldn't have. You know yourself that it's hard for the dogs to separate the intensity of a disaster site from the surrounding areas. Besides, what's the chance of another body that far from the site?" She linked her arm with his. "I'm glad you're still here."

    "Lauren has left and I'll be leaving soon. A couple of people are staying behind." He searched her face. "Can you leave now? There's another flight in," he glanced at his watch, "an hour and a half."

    Kali groaned. "I so want to be on it." She bent down and scratched Shiloh behind the ear. "Yeah, you're ready to head home, too, aren't you girl?" Shiloh wagged her tail and licked her hand. "Come on then. Let's pack up and get the hell home."

    Straightening, she realized the night had gone quiet. If she hadn't been staring blindly in the direction she might have missed it. Murmurs wafted through the crowd, growing in volume as one of the crime scene officers carried out something large and awkward. As he placed it in the back of the van, she caught a better glimpse. Her blood ran cold.

    Tucked in a clear bag, tagged as evidence, was a large metal tank of some kind - shaped almost like an oxygen tank.

CHAPTER EIGHT

    K ali pulled the Jeep onto her gravel driveway, parking at the front of her house. She frowned when she noticed the dark truck parked to one side.

    Grant. And a stranger.

    This she didn't need. The door opened and Grant stepped out. Shiloh barked. Kali murmured to her, "I know. Bad