Corinne (Book One of The Red Diamond Saga) (12 page)

When they finished breakfast, Daniel had to head in to work. He had transferred to patrol so that he would not be expected to spend weeks away from Corinne doing undercover work. Although he found the job quite boring, the benefits it offered, namely the opportunity to be with Corinne more often, were worth it.

Corinne had been working on and off, but she could not settle into a job. Every place she went she could sense what people were feeling. Their emotions, whether toward her or not, were like a constant pressure upon her body and mind. It made it very difficult to function.

She had just given up on a job with a lawyer; because his underlying nature was so deceitful she found it incredibly difficult to keep a straight face when greeting his clients. Her hopes of being a family court judge seemed impossible now, as any time she stepped inside the courthouse she was nearly crippled by the assortment of emotions and the general sense of desperation that permeated its halls. She, Aaron, and Lisa had recently discovered a new use for their abilities.

It had happened by accident at first. Corinne had a horrible dream about a man being struck by bricks from a collapsing building. She had no idea who the man was, but she recognized the building. When she had confided in Aaron and Lisa they had suggested they try to prevent it from happening.

After analyzing Corinne's dream they were able to determined the approximate time of day, and even the possible date of the collapse. None of them expected to be right.

They had stood by the building for an hour with no sign of the man from Corinne's dream. They were about to give up when he came walking around the corner. In the same moment, the building they stood beside began to crumble.

Aaron was there to deflect the bricks that fell, saving the man from severe injury if not death. Lisa was close by in case anyone got hurt, and Corinne was rewarded with the experience of feeling the man's ultimate gratitude for Aaron's help. Ever since, she had decided that if they could, they should try to help others with their abilities. She could think of no other reason to have them, and perhaps if they did some good with them, Corinne might find what she was considering to be a curse, to be less burdensome.

When Daniel left for work Aaron lifted his chin in Corinne's direction as he folded his arms.

“When are you going to tell him?” He asked sternly.

Corinne shifted uncomfortably as she brushed her hair back behind her ears. “When he needs to know.” She replied cryptically.

In the hallway, with the door still partially open, Daniel heard their words clearly. The quick anger that rushed through him beckoned his temper to crack. He could storm back inside and demand answers. He could threaten to call off the engagement.

Instead he pulled the door shut and drew a slow steady breath. He thought he had finally convinced Corinne to trust him, but in the end, he was certain, she was only pretending. He could only wonder if the love she claimed to have for him was part of the ruse.

“So, maybe you can tell me how exactly you let this happen?” His voice was thick with a Russian accent and heightened with irritation. When he smacked the newspaper down on the table in front of Conner, the man jumped. His head was throbbing with pain from the alcohol he had consumed the night before. He lifted his weary gaze up to meet the displeased features of his supervisor.

He was a short man, with a stature barely passing five feet. He was bundled in a fur coat that lent a feminine air to his petite frame. Were it not for the absolute dominance of his presence, he could easily be mistaken for a weak man.

Instead, when he looked at Conner, there was no question that he owned him. His black eyes were tiny rings of fury that threatened to dismember Conner for his recent actions.

“I did not let it happen.” Conner replied as respectfully as he could. “I saw an opportunity to bring Corinne back into the fold. You know as well as I do how important she is to the project.”

The man leaned his hands on the table and pushed his face closer to Conner's until if he chose to, he could have checked his reflection in the man's slick bald head.

“What I know is that if you were not so light handed with these freaks they would not dare to disobey.” When he spoke, small flecks of spit splattered on Conner's cheeks. He knew better than to wince or draw back. The man before him was not light handed in any way.

“Of course, of course, you are right.” Conner mumbled as he lowered his head shamefully. “I thought perhaps giving them a little freedom would offer their skills an even better chance to develop to their fullest extent.”

The man sneered as he sank down into a chair at the table. He rested his head on the fingertips of one hand and tapped the surface of the table with the fingertips of the other.

“And what of your skills?” The man asked evenly. “Why haven't you used them to reclaim our rebels?”

Conner swallowed thickly. He did not know how to explain how hard he had been trying. It was as if he had no impact on Corinne, who whenever he attempted to manipulate her energy, managed to deflect it like a piece of lint on her blouse.

“Corinne is more powerful than I could have ever expected.” Conner attempted to explain, much to the annoyance of the man who sat across from him. “She has abilities I never expected her to have, and she-”

“Get to it!” The other man commanded with impatience.

Conner grimaced as he knew that his next words would cause even more fury. “She is not afraid of me.”

The man pounded his fists against the top of the table as he raised his voice. “Put fear in them Conner, that's what I told you from the time those little brats were born. If you had put some in their mother none of this would have ever happened.”

Conner ran his hands across his face as he nodded at the man's words. He could not deny the truth in them. “Please, you must understand. If we just give them a little more time-”

He was interrupted sharply by his superior. “No Conner, you need to understand that if you do not get your pets under control, I will.” He stood abruptly from the table and glowered at Conner. “If I have to wrangle them, I swear to you, I will shut this whole operation down.” He jabbed his finger hard against the table right in front of Conner. “Do you understand?”

Conner nodded despite the rage that his words summoned within him. “Yes sir, I understand.” He replied submissively.

With one last long glare the man turned away from Conner and left the room. Conner was left in a place of desperation. He knew what would happen if the operation was shut down. Not only would all of his research go to waste, but all of his projects would be destroyed, including Corinne, Aaron, and Lisa.

Daniel could barely keep his mind on the road as he drove his patrol car through the neighborhood he was responsible for. Every time he started to calm down, Aaron's voice cropped up in his mind, asking Corinne when she would tell him. Corinne's answer infuriated him the most. He turned sharply down a side street.

His partner knew Daniel well enough to keep quiet. He was a rookie and was aware that Daniel had transferred out of necessity. He found the man to be a bit of a loose cannon sometimes, especially after the incident where he held a man at gunpoint. Of course it had been to save his fiancée but still, the young officer was always wondering when Daniel might try some other crazy stunt. From the way he was driving, he was pretty sure that it might be today.

“You want to grab a drink?” Stanley, the rookie asked as cheerfully as he could.

“We are on duty!” Daniel barked back, without tearing his eyes from the road.

Stanley held up his hands quickly. “I meant a soda, or something.” He muttered and shrank back in his seat.

Daniel did not answer; he just took another sharp turn. Stanley sighed as their ride plunged back into silence.

“You want to talk about it?” He finally asked as casually as he could. When Daniel slammed on the brakes Stanley had to brace his hand on the dashboard to keep from sliding out of his seat.

Daniel's furious gaze met Stanley's. “No.”

Before Stanley could respond, the radio announced a call. Rather than be further questioned by a rookie, Daniel picked up the radio and volunteered to respond. He flipped on the lights and the sirens and slammed on the gas.

Stanley did not ask any more questions.

When they arrived at the call, they parked in front of a small brick house. It was lifted slightly off the road by a low sloping hill. Its grass was trimmed and the walk was free of leaves. It was clearly cared for. Daniel and Stanley approached the other officers who were already present and talking to an obviously frantic woman.

“You are not listening to me!” She shrieked as she shoved a photograph at one of the officers. “He did not wander off!”

Daniel stepped up to the woman and smiled tolerantly. “Ma'am, could I see the picture.” He asked as placidly as he could.

The woman whose dark brown hair was tied back in a low ponytail appeared to be beside herself with anxiety. She was in her thirties, and the picture she handed to Daniel with a trembling grasp was of a little boy. His dark brown hair was long and cut into a bowl shape around his head. His cheeks were still chubby with youth and he knelt beside a soccer ball.

“Someone took my son.” She said sternly when Daniel glanced up and met her worried eyes.

One of the first officers on the scene spoke in a patronizing tone. “The kid was playing alone in the backyard; she saw him about fifteen minutes ago. Now he's gone. We're thinking he went to a friend's house, or something.” The officer shrugged.

Daniel scowled at him and reminded himself to have a conversation with the man about courtesy. He knew that he was probably right about the boy, but the woman shook her head sharply.

“No, no, no!” She screamed in frustration. “Kyle knows the rules. He knows not to leave the yard. There is a fence, and he knows not to go with strangers.” She gasped desperately as she snatched the picture back from Daniel. “Someone took my son!” She held the picture tightly against her chest. “Why won't you help me?”

The other officers shook their heads, but Stanley asked to see the photograph. He began questioning the mother about whether she had seen anyone suspicious in the neighborhood. Daniel walked around the side of the house. The back yard was fenced, but the fence was fairly low. Still, it would take a lot of effort for a young boy to climb over it and there was nothing pushed up against the side of it. When he saw something on the pristine blades of grass beside the fence he felt his heart sink.

He spoke into the radio on his shoulder. “We're going to need forensics and a child abduction alert, now.” He commanded. When the other officers heard his words they joined him on the side of the house.

“Did you even look?” Daniel asked the first officers who had arrived with a sharp tone. “Is it that difficult to do your job and check out the scene?” His fury was growing with every word he spoke. “You realize that you might have just killed this kid because you were lazy. It's been twenty minutes now. Every minute counts in a child abduction.” It took all of his will power to restrain from knocking the officers’ heads together. They could only stare down at the grass with fearful expressions.

“Oh no!” The woman wailed as she walked up behind them and caught sight of what had drawn their attention. “Oh no, please no!” She wailed and collapsed on to the ground beside the pool of blood that had collected, the carmine contrasting the emerald green of the grass she so carefully tended.

Daniel eased her up into his arms and half-led, half-carried her away from the crime scene. He did his best not to get emotionally involved in the crimes he investigated, but there was no way to shield yourself from the potential murder of a child.

By the time Daniel made it back to Corinne's apartment that night he was too exhausted to even remember her words from earlier. When he stepped into her room, she opened her arms to him the instant she saw the anguish in his expression. He crumpled into her embrace and she simply held him for a long time as he relished the warmth of her arms around him. She was his reward; no matter how difficult of a day he had, as long as he had Corinne to look forward to, nothing could defeat him.

When he was finally able to speak, he shared what he could about the kidnapping. They had not found any evidence beyond the blood. They had no leads as to who had taken the boy and so far there had not been any ransom calls. To Daniel, as sad as it was to think, there was only one possibility. A stranger abduction. They never ended well. Kyle's age worked against him as well. It was unlikely anyone would abduct an eight year old, as children were more difficult to brainwash at that age. He feared that by the time he woke up in the morning, the boy’s body would have already been found.

“I am sure he will be okay.” Corinne said firmly. She needed to say it to reassure herself. She did not want to imagine a beautiful little boy simply disappearing. It crossed her mind that perhaps her mother had felt that way. Had she felt as if her babies were stolen from her, even though she abandoned them? Daniel shook his head.

He was not convinced. With a subtle kiss he left her to take a shower. Maybe he could wash off some of the anger and frustration that were building within him.

Corinne lay back on the bed and stared aimlessly at the air before her. She did not even know her mother's real name. She guessed that Conner did. In fact he should know exactly who she was. This led her to the next question.

What had happened to her mother after she had escaped with her babies and abandoned them? What must have happened to her to cause her to leave Aaron as she had on the side of the road? If she had gone to all the effort to save them, why hadn't she simply run with them rather than leaving them behind?

Corinne groaned as each question led to another question. She buried her face in her pillow and tried to block out an endless stream of unknowns. As she began to drift off to sleep, she was abruptly startled by the face of a little boy with dark brown hair and chubby cheeks. He was weeping, soundlessly. He lifted his hands, his small fingers outstretched, and reached for Corinne.

Corinne tried to reach out in return, but when her mind focused in on the boy, he suddenly disappeared. She tried to resurface from her sleep, but she could only drift deeper. She saw dark corridors. She could smell dirt. She was certain she was underground. In the distance she could hear men talking to each other. They were light in tone, but she could not understand their words. They were speaking a different language that she could not place.

She began to follow one of the men when she saw him walk past. He did not notice her. He turned down another corridor and then climbed up a set of stairs that were built into the wall of the tunnel. Rung by rung he went higher, and she drifted up behind him. When he reached the top, he opened a hatch, and climbed out into the sunlight. He closed the hatch right on top of Corinne, but that did not slow her down. She drifted right through it.

They were surrounded by woods. When she turned back to get an idea of what the building they came out of looked like, there was no building. In fact she could not even see the hatch the man had opened. It was as if there had never been anything there to begin with. The man lit a cigarette and began pacing back and forth as he smoked.

Corinne watched him the entire time. He dropped his cigarette and squashed it with his dirty boot. Then he opened the hatch which was disguised by foliage and dead leaves and climbed back down the ladder. The hatch closed behind him. Corinne tried to drift back through but she could not. She tried opening the hatch but it would not budge. She was still yanking at it when she heard Daniel's voice.

“Corinne, it's okay.” He said as she blinked a few times and slowly awakened. She found her hands were wrapped around the post of the bed and tugging as hard she could.

“Kyle.” She breathed as her mind slipped from dream state to reality. Daniel's gaze sharpened as he studied her.

“What about him?”

Corinne glanced warily at Daniel. She did not want to confess the full extent of her abilities. She was afraid that if she did, he might rethink his desire to spend the rest of his life with her. She was happy to have Aaron and Lisa in her life again but she could not imagine being without Daniel.

He had not bargained for all of this, and was already so patient with her. How could she throw another wrench into their relationship? Would he even believe her?

All of the anger Daniel had felt over Corinne keeping things from him surged through him and then collapsed into pure hurt. He stood from the bed and ran his hands through his silky brown hair as he walked toward the door.

“You once told me you trusted me.” He said as he paused by the bed room door. “I told you, you did not have to say it.” He turned back to face her, but did not take a step closer. “You said you meant it.” He grasped the knob on the door and turned it. “You let me know when you actually mean it.”

He ignored Corinne's attempt to speak and thrust the door open. He closed it behind him with such force that the wall shook around it. Corinne had no words to offer that could explain why she could not simply tell him everything. She stared at the back of the door where he had once been standing and realized that whether she told him the truth or kept her secret, she was going to lose him.