just wasted his time. The police department had done a stupid campaign to polish their image with the community, and held diversity training so that the officers could better interact with the immigrant community. Of course, life would be a whole lot easier if the damn immigrant community understood how things worked in America instead of forcing his officers to change their ways to make the foreigners feel more comfortable.
His family had been part of this soil for centuries. His ancestors had arrived by ship after being kidnapped then stacked in boats like sardines. There had been no special privileges for them and they had survived and thrived. He cared about law and order, he didn’t care about creating good feelings and he wasn’t interested in made up concerns when there were burglaries and murders that took up most of his time.
He’d had some of his men having to focus on stupid stuff like illegal rituals—hell if you’re going to use a poor chicken as a sacrifice at least clean up the head after you finished using it—and he remembered a guy from another town having to educate some people about not killing chipmunks for consumption. Fortunately he didn’t have to interact too much with those ‘straight off the boat’. He knew immigrants’ ways were strange and didn’t want anything to do with them.
She was one of them. He could spot one a mile away, from the strange cadence of her speech to the way she talked about herbs as if they were magical cures. If people didn’t want to go to a licensed doctor and wanted to take the risk with some quack, that was their business. But he sensed her two little bottles had trouble written all over them. It was part of his job to be suspicious of everything—especially big business. However, that didn’t mean he wanted to do anything about it. He didn’t want to see her again, she didn’t know what she could be sniffing around and he didn’t want to educate her. “If she comes back here, come up with an excuse.”
He turned and pointed to another officer. “Follow me,” he said then walked back into his office and pointed to the bottles on the table. “Get rid of these.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And make sure they disappear.”
Chapter Seven
“Do I look crazy to you?” Teresa asked her sister Michelle later that day. They still shared the same family house they’d grown up in.
“Of course not,” Michelle said from the living room. She was still dressed for work, drinking coffee and looking over a new business venture.
“I know that police officer thinks I am. Nobody is taking me seriously. No, that’s wrong. Dr. Knox said nothing was wrong, but it’s still bothering me.”
“What?”
“The Valley Ray supplements. I had him test them and he said they were fine. And then this man had an accident and I know it was an allergic reaction to something—”
“Actually, something, you’re not certain. You can’t make these kind of allegations without direct proof.”
“You think I’m crazy.”
Michelle nodded. “Yes, if you think you can convince people just because you ‘sensed’ something then you’ve lost your mind.”
“Do you believe me?”
“What is there to believe? Yes, I know you have a gift, but that’s not enough.”
“You don’t take me seriously. Nobody really does. Do you think I pushed Bess down the stairs too?”
“That’s not fair.”
“I know what I feel.”
“So what? Being frustrated and angry about it will not change what people think.”
Teresa rested her hands on her hips. “And people think I’m weak and simple and naïve.”
“No, I don’t—”
“I have to do something daring. I have to be strong. I have to do something really daring, at least for me.”
Michelle put her papers in her briefcase. “Like what? Jumping in the bay like the man you think you’ll one day marry to see what the experience is like?” Michelle paused as a light entered her sister’s eyes. She grew nervous.
His family had been part of this soil for centuries. His ancestors had arrived by ship after being kidnapped then stacked in boats like sardines. There had been no special privileges for them and they had survived and thrived. He cared about law and order, he didn’t care about creating good feelings and he wasn’t interested in made up concerns when there were burglaries and murders that took up most of his time.
He’d had some of his men having to focus on stupid stuff like illegal rituals—hell if you’re going to use a poor chicken as a sacrifice at least clean up the head after you finished using it—and he remembered a guy from another town having to educate some people about not killing chipmunks for consumption. Fortunately he didn’t have to interact too much with those ‘straight off the boat’. He knew immigrants’ ways were strange and didn’t want anything to do with them.
She was one of them. He could spot one a mile away, from the strange cadence of her speech to the way she talked about herbs as if they were magical cures. If people didn’t want to go to a licensed doctor and wanted to take the risk with some quack, that was their business. But he sensed her two little bottles had trouble written all over them. It was part of his job to be suspicious of everything—especially big business. However, that didn’t mean he wanted to do anything about it. He didn’t want to see her again, she didn’t know what she could be sniffing around and he didn’t want to educate her. “If she comes back here, come up with an excuse.”
He turned and pointed to another officer. “Follow me,” he said then walked back into his office and pointed to the bottles on the table. “Get rid of these.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And make sure they disappear.”
Chapter Seven
“Do I look crazy to you?” Teresa asked her sister Michelle later that day. They still shared the same family house they’d grown up in.
“Of course not,” Michelle said from the living room. She was still dressed for work, drinking coffee and looking over a new business venture.
“I know that police officer thinks I am. Nobody is taking me seriously. No, that’s wrong. Dr. Knox said nothing was wrong, but it’s still bothering me.”
“What?”
“The Valley Ray supplements. I had him test them and he said they were fine. And then this man had an accident and I know it was an allergic reaction to something—”
“Actually, something, you’re not certain. You can’t make these kind of allegations without direct proof.”
“You think I’m crazy.”
Michelle nodded. “Yes, if you think you can convince people just because you ‘sensed’ something then you’ve lost your mind.”
“Do you believe me?”
“What is there to believe? Yes, I know you have a gift, but that’s not enough.”
“You don’t take me seriously. Nobody really does. Do you think I pushed Bess down the stairs too?”
“That’s not fair.”
“I know what I feel.”
“So what? Being frustrated and angry about it will not change what people think.”
Teresa rested her hands on her hips. “And people think I’m weak and simple and naïve.”
“No, I don’t—”
“I have to do something daring. I have to be strong. I have to do something really daring, at least for me.”
Michelle put her papers in her briefcase. “Like what? Jumping in the bay like the man you think you’ll one day marry to see what the experience is like?” Michelle paused as a light entered her sister’s eyes. She grew nervous.
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