Vibrations (20 page)

“Whitney, will you promise me you’ll
stay out of trouble today? Don’t disappear and don’t try anything on your own.”
Nick didn’t know if he could bear to lose her again.

“Nick, I won’t disappear. But I
would like to go visit Derrick Kensington today. I’ll be careful.”

“Stick with the officer
assigned to protect you today. I’ll ride with Teddy and pick up my car on the
way home.”

He kissed her goodbye and tried
to concentrate on the case. The detectives on surveillance told them that the
coach hadn’t left his house all day. Nick wiggled around trying to get
comfortable in the car. His arm was aching and he was still exhausted.

“Looks like you’re still a
little sore buddy. Did you overdo it a little last night?” Teddy’s lecherous
grin made it clear he was digging for more information.

“I tell ya Teddy, you can’t
even imagine. I know I shouldn’t say anything but, wow!”

“So you seduced her into coming
back?”

“Maybe,” Nick said laughing. “But
her mental talents don’t just affect the bad guys. It comes in pretty handy in
other areas too.”

“Like she knows what you want
without asking?”

“No. Well, she might. But I can
feel…what she’s feeling when she’s having a, well you know what. It’s not like
anything I’ve felt before. It’s pretty hard to describe.”

Teddy studied his partner’s
face. “Maybe it’s just cuz you’re in love?” When Nick shook his head to indicate
it was more than that he asked, “She got any single friends?”

“I’ll have to ask. And not a
word to Whitney. Shit. She’ll know I told you. There’s one of the drawbacks.”

“I’ll try not to think about it
around her.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course next time I see you
two together, I probably won’t be able to think of anything else.”

“Great.” Nick groaned. “Try
thinking about food.”

* * * *

Whitney was hoping that she
would be able to draw Derrick out of his shell when she met with him. If he
wasn’t responsible for Kevin, he was probably in a lot of pain knowing a friend
had almost died and his mom was being blamed for it. The officer that drove her
waited outside while she knocked on the door. No answer. She could feel him
inside, but she had no way to make him open the door. When she finally gave up,
the officer brought her back to her car.

She didn’t want to go too many
places, since the killer would soon learn she was back in the valley. Instead
of staying at the station she decided to do some quiet detective work on her
own. Planning to stay in her car and imagining a boring stakeout, she didn’t
ask for anyone to go with her. Nick would be mad, but she planned to make it
quick.

She went down to the courthouse
and parked in the alley so no one would see her. She thought maybe she could
catch Derrick going to visit his mother. She saw a familiar form leaving the
building and realized it was Coach Hunter.

“I don’t get it.” Whitney
mumbled to herself. “I don’t see Teddy’s car. I thought they were watching him.
How did he get away from the surveillance? Wonder what he’s doing visiting Ann
Marie?”

She quietly got out of the car
and stood in the shadows of the building. The coach was walking her way. He
must have parked down the road to avoid having his truck spotted.

Whitney stepped out and said
hello to the coach.

“Hello Coach Hunter. How is Ann
Marie doing?”

He jumped back in fear and
stood staring at her. Whitney could sense he was afraid of her powers. He was
afraid they would find out about the manslaughter charge in Texas and he
wouldn’t be able to coach the boys any more. He had been to see Ann Marie to
tell her the truth and ask to be allowed to continue coaching.

Whitney felt sorry for him. She
took a step toward him to tell him not to be afraid. Before she could get the
words out of her mouth, he came at her like a linebacker and tackled her.
Whitney felt herself falling back toward the brick building.

* * * *

Nick yawned and stretched,
feeling a little better after his nap. Since nothing much was happening, Teddy convinced
him to get some shuteye. They were getting ready to call it a day, when Nick
heard Whitney’s cry.

“No. Ahhhhh.”

“Shit, Whitney’s in trouble.”

“What. What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. I heard her cry
out, and now nothing.”

Nick punched her number on the
cell phone and listened to it ring. No answer. He tried again. Where was she?
He called the station as Teddy turned on his lights and sirens and headed back
toward the city.

* * * *

Whitney opened her eyes and
heard her phone ringing. She felt her head and didn’t feel anything bleeding or
broken. She got back to her feet and made it back to the truck. The phone was
ringing again and she picked it up.

“Hi Nick. I’m okay. Sorry about
that.”

“What happened? I heard you
scream.”

“I know. I probably linked with
you when I got hit. I was going to check on Ann Marie and I saw the coach
coming out of the building. When I tried to talk with him, he knocked me down
and ran.”

“What! Damn. Teddy, he’s been
gone the whole time. He knocked Whitney down at the courthouse. We’d better try
to track him down.”

“Nick, I don’t think he meant
to hurt me. He was scared.”

“Yeah, maybe he has something
to hide.”

“He doesn’t know we know his
little secret already.”

“I don’t care. He knocked you
down and ran. That’s enough reason to pick him up. I’ll send someone to come
get you.”

“I’m fine. Really. I’m going to
head back to your house and meet you there. I’ll make something for dinner. You
can bring Teddy.”

“Don’t get out unless there’s a
unit outside. If you feel dizzy or anything, get yourself to the hospital or
call 911.”

“I will. You be careful.”

Nick and Teddy were
unsuccessful in tracking down the coach. He had probably gone into hiding
realizing he’d be in trouble for hurting Whitney. Teddy dropped Nick at his car
and followed him back to his house.

The patrol car was in front of
the house, and Whitney was outside talking to an officer on the steps. She
waved and walked toward Nick. Suddenly, Nick remembered that he had blabbed to
Teddy about his night with Whitney, and he dashed over to Teddy’s car.

“Maybe tonight’s not such a
great night for visitors.”

Teddy could see Nick was trying
to get rid of him, but it was too late. Whitney met them at the truck.

“Hi Teddy. Glad you could come.
Do you like chicken cordon blue?”

Teddy’s mouth started watering
but he stood riveted in place. Whitney looked from him to Nick and started
laughing.

“Man oh man. Can’t keep any
secrets with you two.” She narrowed her eyes and glared at Nick. “Guess I won’t
be doing anything with you that I don’t want Teddy to know about.”

“I’m sorry sweetie. It was so
amazing I had to talk to someone. Guy talk, you know. You girls do that stuff
all the time.”

“I don’t kiss and tell.”

She smiled and walked inside.
She’d probably be filling Tara in eventually, but she hadn’t had a chance just
yet. She should have known that Nick and Teddy would tell each other that kind
of stuff. They had been partners for a while, and that meant spending more time
together than a husband and wife.

Teddy enjoyed his dinner so
much he could hardly move when Nick walked him back out to his car.

“Man, not only is she gorgeous,
smart, and talented in so many ways, but she can cook too! Let me know if
things don’t work out with you guys.”

“You can just forget it bud.
She’s mine. You can enjoy her cooking all you want, but the rest is off
limits.”

“You just make sure to keep her
happy so that I can come for dinner.”

When Nick came back inside,
Whitney was sitting in his chair by the window.

“You guys discussing anything
else I should know about?”

“Yeah…I told him I’d fill him
in tomorrow if you came up with any new talents tonight.”

“Oh…you think you’re getting me
to bed tonight after blabbing my secrets all over town. I don’t think so.” Nick
took her hands and pulled her out of the chair. He held her tight and kissed
her neck.

“Whatever you say.” He could
feel the fires igniting already. She laughed and pushed him away. Then she took
his hand and led him to the bedroom.

Nick and Whitney slept late
that morning. Whitney was worn out and sore from the incident with the coach,
and Nick just couldn’t seem to get out of bed with Whitney snuggled up next to
him. He finally got up when the phone rang.

“Hey. You still sleeping? Did
you get a vacation and not tell me?”

“Hey Teddy. Whitney was worn
out, and I didn’t want to leave her alone.”

“I’ll bet. Well, thought you’d
like to know, the boy in the hospital is waking up. They think he’ll probably
be more alert tonight.”

“I’ll be there in about an
hour. Call me if he wakes up before that.”

Whitney heard the conversation
about Kevin. How many boys would it take for them to catch this guy? She hoped
Kevin had some answers. Whitney couldn’t bear the thought of what would have
happened if they hadn’t found him in time.

Nick finished his second cup of
coffee and kissed Whitney goodbye.

“I’ll call you later when the
boy can have visitors. Let’s hope we break this case today. You take it easy
today.”

“I will. I feel like I was run
over by a car instead of one man.”

“Just take care of yourself
today. Don’t go fishing for suspects with that pretty head of yours.”

Whitney blew him a kiss. “I’ll
be here, all by myself, just thinking about you.”

“Good. You can think about what
we can do tonight, once you’re rested.”

Teddy was waiting by his car
when Nick pulled up to the station. He looked upset.

“Check this out.” Teddy handed
the newspaper to Nick.

The front line read ‘Psychic
leads search for serial killer.’ The article was full of facts about Whitney’s
life, her home in Sedona, and past cases. It included a picture of her leaving
the station with Nick.

“Great. If the killer didn’t know
enough about Whitney before, he’ll be thrilled to read this one.” Nick hated
the idea of Whitney being played in the press with no concern for her safety.
He ready the byline and noticed it was the same reporter that had written about
her involvement in the case a when the story first broke.

“Teddy, do you know this guy,
Bill Carter? He’s the one that keeps writing articles about Whitney.”

“We’ve checked out all the
people following the case quite zealously, and he’s one of them. He’s a young
guy trying to make points with the paper. Lives over in Tempe, the college part
of town. Makes himself a real pest, but he isn’t a suspect. He writes like he’s
working for the Enquirer instead of the Gazette. He goes for the most
sensational stories.”

“Know anything about him that
isn’t on the up and up?”

“I heard he tried to make the
police force, but he has a record. He was picked up at a college drug bust.
Thought he might have been dealing, but he gave up someone higher up and got
off.”

“I don’t suppose he printed
that piece of news.”

“Here’s some more news,” he
said checking a text message. “They may set bail for Ann Marie. It hasn’t
happened yet. Just thought you should know.”

Teddy pulled out his notebook
to update his records. He liked to keep everything on paper so he wouldn’t miss
anything. They both liked to review the notes when nothing seemed to fit, and
it was Teddy’s notes that had lead them to the answers many times in the past.

“So who would have tried to set
her up?” Nick wondered out loud as they drove to the hospital. “Let’s go over
those notes again. I’d like to check back on a few people today, including the
coaches, to see who was missing from the area yesterday.” Teddy read to Nick as
he drove into the parking lot.

As they walked to the entrance
reporters and cameramen trying to get a picture or a statement blocked their
way.

“Are you the officers that
found the boy?” One man asked, shoving a mike toward their faces.

“Did you find the killer?” A
mall woman yelled over the crowd.

“Is it true the psychic lady
led you right to him?”

Nick turned to see who had
asked the last question.

A young man in his twenties was
holding a camera and shoving in front of the others.

“What’s your name?” He asked,
giving a friendly smile.

“William Carter.”

“Listen William, I have a
special news scoop just for you.” Nick motioned him back into the parking lot.

Nick walked quickly so no one
else would follow. Slowing down after a few minutes, he turned to the reporter.
“So William, you’re interested in the lady psychic?”

“You can call me Bill. I’ve
been following the case of the serial killer, and I know Whitney Bentley’s been
working with you guys on it. Can you give me a statement about her part in the
investigation so far?”

Nick stopped at his car and
leaned against the door. “What’s the big deal about her? Don’t you want to know
how your hardworking Phoenix detectives figured it out?”

“Aw, come on. I know you guys
don’t like working with psychics, but she’s a big story. I can make it worth
your while.” He rubbed his fingers together making his intent clear.

Nick smiled and walked around
the reporter until he had him backed up to his car. He leaned in close and
whispered.

“Tell you what, Billy. Mind if
I call you Billy? I can make this worth your while.”

The reporter’s eyes widened with
excitement, and then fear. Nick pushed him back into the car and twisted the
camera strap around his neck.

“This is how I can make it
worth your while.” Nick’s voice was a quiet growl. “You leave her alone, and
I’ll leave you alone. She doesn’t need you plastering her face all over the
paper every day. You ever think about how the killer feels about her getting in
his way?”