from the tire tracks.”
“Your blood, too?”
She saw him nod. His aura flickered. “Yeah. That’s why they thought I’d been taken hostage.”
“They searched for you, right?”
“Yeah. That’s what Sam said. A week went by without any word or request for ransom. Sam was frantic. He was my partner, as well as my brother, and I hadn’t made any kind of attempt to contact him.”
J tilted her head. “I didn’t know the department allowed siblings to partner up.”
“There’s no written rule against it. It was just coincidence. Sam was already a detective here in town when I transferred in. I guess because we both had different last names no one was the wiser when we got paired up. That and the fact that we look nothing alike.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope. I took after Mom. I got her hair and eyes, plus I’m built a little shorter. Stockier. A bit more muscled across the back and shoulders than Sam.” A soft snort of laughter surprised her. “Sam took after his dad. I’m six foot, but Sam makes me look like a midget next to him. Anyway, he got the dark hair and dangerous looks that attracts the girls.”
“How long have you two been working together?”
“A little over four years. Five, come July. Anyway, I don’t remember anything after the raid. Absolutely nothing. What I do remember is waking up in the middle of the park in the dead of night.”
“The park? Here in town?”
“Not too far from that freaky statue, yeah.”
“You mean the one that feels like a clown on drugs?”
Kiel laughed.
It was deep and honest, and sent more shivers through her. Honest to goodness, her knees were feeling wobbly.
“Come to think of it, that’s exactly what that damn thing looks like,” he admitted.
J saw him make a movement and realized he was rubbing the back of his neck.
“So you woke up one night in the park. Then what happened?” she urged.
“Sooo, I walked home. That’s when I found the police tape on my apartment. And since I couldn’t find my key to get inside, I decided the next best thing would be to go over to Sam’s.”
“Bet he was floored.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” His voice grew very solemn. “Ten minutes later he was screaming in horror.”
During his dialog J had found herself slowly inching back toward him. His story was baring his soul. The retelling was also painful for him. She knew without asking that she was the only other person he’d given the truth to. Sitting back down beside him, she reached out to encounter the sleeve of a lightweight shirt. He was dressed in casual clothes.
“Why? What happened?”
“I was filthy. My clothes were hanging off me in rags and covered in blood. I looked like I’d been dragged through hell and back. He wanted to take me to the emergency room but I told him I felt okay. That all the blood and stuff must’ve come from someone else. Sam went into the kitchen to get me a dishtowel so I could wipe the worst of it away before calling the station to let them know I was back.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “He held out the towel for me to take, and m-my hand just…it just went right through it.”
A soft sob shook his shoulders. J reached out to find his hand. It was solid beneath hers.
“It scared you as much as it did him.”
She saw his head nod slightly. He wouldn’t look at her, but kept his head bowed.
“Then what happened?”
“We sat there staring at each other. After a while I got up and reached for the towel again. I could touch it then, if I concentrated really hard. We sat up the rest of the night and talked. Tried to figure out what to do. Little by little I discovered other things I could do. But what surprised us the most was that if I wanted to, I could look and feel human. Normal. Alive. No one could tell the difference. No one could tell I was…dead.”
There was a little hitch to his voice that made her pause. She leaned back slightly in surprise. He must have seen the look on
“Your blood, too?”
She saw him nod. His aura flickered. “Yeah. That’s why they thought I’d been taken hostage.”
“They searched for you, right?”
“Yeah. That’s what Sam said. A week went by without any word or request for ransom. Sam was frantic. He was my partner, as well as my brother, and I hadn’t made any kind of attempt to contact him.”
J tilted her head. “I didn’t know the department allowed siblings to partner up.”
“There’s no written rule against it. It was just coincidence. Sam was already a detective here in town when I transferred in. I guess because we both had different last names no one was the wiser when we got paired up. That and the fact that we look nothing alike.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope. I took after Mom. I got her hair and eyes, plus I’m built a little shorter. Stockier. A bit more muscled across the back and shoulders than Sam.” A soft snort of laughter surprised her. “Sam took after his dad. I’m six foot, but Sam makes me look like a midget next to him. Anyway, he got the dark hair and dangerous looks that attracts the girls.”
“How long have you two been working together?”
“A little over four years. Five, come July. Anyway, I don’t remember anything after the raid. Absolutely nothing. What I do remember is waking up in the middle of the park in the dead of night.”
“The park? Here in town?”
“Not too far from that freaky statue, yeah.”
“You mean the one that feels like a clown on drugs?”
Kiel laughed.
It was deep and honest, and sent more shivers through her. Honest to goodness, her knees were feeling wobbly.
“Come to think of it, that’s exactly what that damn thing looks like,” he admitted.
J saw him make a movement and realized he was rubbing the back of his neck.
“So you woke up one night in the park. Then what happened?” she urged.
“Sooo, I walked home. That’s when I found the police tape on my apartment. And since I couldn’t find my key to get inside, I decided the next best thing would be to go over to Sam’s.”
“Bet he was floored.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” His voice grew very solemn. “Ten minutes later he was screaming in horror.”
During his dialog J had found herself slowly inching back toward him. His story was baring his soul. The retelling was also painful for him. She knew without asking that she was the only other person he’d given the truth to. Sitting back down beside him, she reached out to encounter the sleeve of a lightweight shirt. He was dressed in casual clothes.
“Why? What happened?”
“I was filthy. My clothes were hanging off me in rags and covered in blood. I looked like I’d been dragged through hell and back. He wanted to take me to the emergency room but I told him I felt okay. That all the blood and stuff must’ve come from someone else. Sam went into the kitchen to get me a dishtowel so I could wipe the worst of it away before calling the station to let them know I was back.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “He held out the towel for me to take, and m-my hand just…it just went right through it.”
A soft sob shook his shoulders. J reached out to find his hand. It was solid beneath hers.
“It scared you as much as it did him.”
She saw his head nod slightly. He wouldn’t look at her, but kept his head bowed.
“Then what happened?”
“We sat there staring at each other. After a while I got up and reached for the towel again. I could touch it then, if I concentrated really hard. We sat up the rest of the night and talked. Tried to figure out what to do. Little by little I discovered other things I could do. But what surprised us the most was that if I wanted to, I could look and feel human. Normal. Alive. No one could tell the difference. No one could tell I was…dead.”
There was a little hitch to his voice that made her pause. She leaned back slightly in surprise. He must have seen the look on
Similar Books
