Free Don't Touch by Elise VanCise

ever want your sister back in
your life you need to stop treating her like she’s damaged goods.
Have a nice day Miss Reign.”
     
    Without waiting for a reply he went to the
car and slid into the driver’s seat. He peeked in the mirror at the
woman in the back seat. It took every ounce of control he had not
to slam the door shut. “Ryan you okay?”
     
    She nodded but looked like the wind had been
knocked from her sails. He knew if they took her home right now she
would set in that house alone with that sadness she was holding
onto when they first met. “How about the Kessler place. Maybe you
can pick something else up. I know it’s still empty. Want to give
it a go?”
     
    He was rewarded with a crooked grin. “Sure,
why not.”
     
    The Kessler house was indeed empty, devoid of
life. No one wanted to rent a dead girl’s house. The furnishings
were there just as Tina had left them. As if, the little house was
waiting for Tina to come home. Ryan looked around and all the rooms
felt like they were missing something.
     
    She stepped into the living room and a shiver
ran down her spine. She could feel the heaviness in the room; it
was the weight of death. She knew that sensation well from the
morgue. It had been a while but she recognized it.
    The sun shone through the windows
highlighting the rust colored stains in the carpet kneeling down
Ryan took off her glove. The floor was cool to the touch, the
carpet rough on her fingers. She sucked in a deep breath and fell
backwards with the shock of the vision.
     
    Jackson was right there ready to come to her
aid. She put out a hand. “I’m okay. Just wasn’t expecting that.”
She laughed. “You know, I should know better than that by now. Each
time it’s so different you really never know what to expect.”
     
    This time she sat butt on the floor as
Jackson sat close by. Touching the stains again she felt the brush
of weeds on her legs. She was outside, blindfolded. Her hands were
tied and being led somewhere. The blind fold gaped and she could
see brush, trees, grass. They were in the woods. Suddenly she was
pushed down and a scream ripped from her throat.
     
    Jackson pulled her away from the stains when
she screamed. He was worried for a moment when she just lay in his
arms unresponsive. Then Ryan blinked and buried her face against
his chest trembling. He stroked her hair careful not to touch her
skin. “Shh. It wasn’t real. You’re safe here with us.”
     
    Ryan tried to shake off the emotions that did
not belong to her and melted into the comfort. “That’s just it. It
was real. It’s what happened to Tina Kessler. Not all of it but…
she was so scared. She didn’t know him, didn’t understand why he
wanted to hurt her. We…. They were in the forest. There was nothing
to say where just the usual scrub oak and brush you find everywhere
in Lake County.
     
    He pushed her to the ground and straddled
her. It wasn’t sexual. He wanted to take in her fear. I saw the
knife in his hand and knew what he was going to do as he raised it.
Tina knew he was going to kill her that this was the last breath
she would take.”
     
    She suddenly realized where she was. Curled
up in Detective Prince’s lap. She moved back blushing. “Too bad the
other scenes have been in use for so long. I don’t think I could
sort out a specific image yet.”
     
    Jackson stared at her and he started to
laugh. Thomas snorted and shook his head. She was starting to get
ticked off when Jackson brushed her hair from her face. “After all
that you’re ready to take on more? If you were this determined in
the medical examiner's office I know it wasn’t your fault if a case
went unsolved.”
     
    She just sat and looked at the two of them
feeling extremely tired. She wobbled a bit from exhaustion as they
stood.
     
    Thomas steadied her elbow. He remembered the
first time she opened the door and wouldn’t let them near her. She
had come a long way in a short time. He only hoped