Hindsight (9781921997211) (18 page)

‘When did you want me to do it?' I asked.

‘Today.'

‘What, both of them?' I squeaked.

‘Yes, one in Adelaide, so we probably won't be back until later this evening.'

I blinked in shock. I hadn't considered that he might want me to do it straight away, but there was never going to be a good time.

‘I'd better shower and get dressed then.' I stood up and glanced at Gran. Going by the expression on her face — knitted brows and lips of string — she had a few more choice things she wanted to say to Detective Ed Dyson. Good. He deserved it.

CHAPTER

20

Ed drove in silence. Cass was lost in her own thoughts. She hadn't taken very long to get ready, much to his relief. He was still smarting from the chewing out her grandmother had given him. She'd told him in no uncertain terms that his behaviour of the day before was not acceptable. She'd told him she was sorry for his loss but that it did not excuse boorish behaviour and that he basically needed to grow up, get over himself and learn to recognise when someone was being genuine. He sat there, eyes downcast. He couldn't even feel very annoyed about it. Everything she'd said was true.

Ed looked at Cass out of the corner of his eye. She was wearing a moss-green jumper and jeans. She didn't look like she was wearing any make-up; she didn't need it anyway, she had perfect skin. When she'd opened the door to him dressed in a daggy dressing gown and ridiculous pink pyjamas he'd almost laughed out loud. It was the look on her face that stopped him. She was so grumpy about being disturbed that any smart comments on his part weren't going to get him very far.

‘Which one are we going to first?' she asked.

‘I thought we'd go where Old Mick died first. Better to do South Road while it's still daylight. Less chance of us getting run over.'

‘Tell me about the other one. Who was she and how did she die?' Cass asked.

‘Her name was Marcy Lucas and she worked at Adelaide University. She was attacked on the way to her car one evening. We think the killer meant to take her with him like the others. Initially he knocked her out with some chloroform but then he must have changed his mind so he killed her and took her eyes.'

‘How did he kill her?'

‘He broke her neck.'

‘Oh.'

‘Would you experience that if she was already unconscious?' Ed asked.

‘I don't think so. It would be like the Janet Hodgson one. I only experienced it to the point where she passed out.'

‘So it shouldn't be too bad for you then?'

‘I suppose not if you think being attacked and having a chloroform-soaked rag held over your face is not too bad,' Cass said.

‘Point taken, I just meant that compared to Old Mick's, it shouldn't be as horrible.'

‘Yeah, great, let's save the nice murder for later.'

‘I can't say anything right, can I?'

‘Nope.'

Ed sighed. He was trying really hard but she wasn't making it easy. After his performance yesterday he couldn't blame her. He decided to change tack and try to take her mind off what was ahead.

‘Tell me about your family. Is it just the three of you?'

‘Yeah, none of us has a great track record with men. My granddad died of cancer, my dad up and left and I'm heading for spinsterhood at a rapid rate.'

Ed grimaced, so much for putting her in a better frame of mind.

‘Sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound quite so snarly. My granddad was a lovely man and he and Gran were very much in love. Gran just hasn't been interested in anyone since he died. With my dad there was nothing very unusual; he and Mum just weren't suited. Her talent was only part of the problem. As for me, I've just never met the right person. I don't really get out and about enough.'

‘Socialising might be risky with your particular talent. It might freak people out if you had a vision in the middle of a party. Has that ever happened?'

‘Not at a party but it did happen when I was in a car with a date once. For some reason I never saw him again.' Cass laughed.

Ed relaxed a fraction. She had a great laugh and it lifted the mood in the car.

‘So does your gran have a talent too? Is it something that all the women in your family have?'

‘Yeah, we think it started with the German side of the family about three hundred years ago. We're not sure though because back then they had to be a bit careful about telling people in case they got labelled witches. Gran's a healer.'

Ed's eyebrows shot up, ‘I'm surprised that everyone isn't flocking to her door.'

‘She doesn't really do it much any more, not for clients anyway. Besides, she's not the messiah. She can't perform miracles. What she does is speed up the healing process. If someone can be healed, then she helps.'

‘So if someone is dying she can't help them?'

‘That's right; she tried to help Granddad and nearly died herself in the process.'

‘So how come you all have different talents? Isn't that a bit weird?'

‘What and all of us having the same talent would be less weird?' She laughed again. ‘Let's face it, we broke the mould when it comes to weird. I do know that these things tend to run in families. We're a bit unusual though because we all have really strong talents and it hasn't skipped any generations yet. The way I understand it is that, genetically, we're geared to be psychically sensitive. For each of us it manifests itself in a different way.'

Ten minutes later they turned onto South Road. Two kilometres further on, Ed pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the car. Cass sat there staring out of the windscreen before throwing open the car door and stepping outside. Ed followed and stood just behind her. Cars and trucks whizzed past her creating a backdraft that whipped her hair around her face. The grass on the verge was sodden and their feet sank into the ground. Ed shivered and tried to stamp his feet, creating a wet sucking sound as the mud reluctantly let go of each foot. He rubbed his hands together, trying to keep his circulation going.

He watched Cass look around. It was a desolate scene. Empty farmland stretched from both sides of the road. There were no animals in sight, just muddy fields dotted with the occasional tree, twisted and gnarled by battering from the wind.

After a few moments he walked up beside her and gently put a hand under her elbow. She flinched at the contact but didn't move away.

‘It's over this way. How do you want to do this? Do you want me to walk with you or just watch?'

‘You need to walk with me. If I have a vision I'll lose sight of everything except what I'm seeing in my head. You'll need to make sure I don't really walk in front of a truck.'

She walked over to where he'd indicated. The grass had been churned up by traffic, leaving a quagmire. Taking one careful step at a time, she walked into the muddy mess. Ed walked close behind her, holding his breath as he waited to see what would happen. She walked onto the edge of the road and stopped.

‘Cass?'

She didn't answer him. She just stood there, swaying slightly each time a truck whizzed past. He walked around and looked at her face. What he saw made him wish he hadn't. Her eyes were enormous, the pupils so large her eyes looked black. She stared sightlessly, without blinking. Her pale skin had gone almost blue with the cold and her mouth was hanging open in fear. He wanted to reach out and touch her but he didn't dare. The seconds dragged past with excruciating slowness. Without warning, Cass took a sharp rasping breath then gave a long, gut-wrenching scream. She swayed and Ed thought she was going to fall. Instinct took over and he grabbed her. A sudden jolt of agony shot up his arms as he touched her. Then it was over. She blinked and wobbled and her knees gave out.

Ed held her, supporting her weight. She leant heavily against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She shook violently and cried with deep, uncontrollable sobs. He half carried, half walked her back to the car and helped her inside. Running around to the other side he started the engine and turned the heater up full bore. He sat there, watching her anxiously, rubbing her back as she cried. His heart was pounding in his chest and his gut was clenched with anxiety. That scream had scared the crap out of him and the sudden pain he'd felt was like a massive electric shock. Fishing around behind the passenger's seat he found an old and battered box of tissues and passed it to her. He felt completely helpless. He knew now why Cass's grandmother had been so adamant that he look after her.

Gradually Cass started to regain control. She took deep shaking breaths. After another five minutes she slowly turned her head and looked at him. Her face was puffy and blotchy.

‘Are you OK?'

She looked at him. Her eyes held so much pain he had to look away.

‘I don't think I'll ever feel OK after that,' she whispered.

‘Can you talk about it yet?' He didn't want to press her but he really wanted to know what she'd seen.

‘Start the car and find me a place that sells coffee. I need a few more minutes and a hot drink first.'

The car was so hot that sweat was starting to run into his eyes. He didn't dare turn the heat down, though; Cass was still blue. He wasn't sure if it was from fear or cold but either way, the heat seemed to be helping.

A short time later they were tucked into a booth in the petrol station diner, mugs of steaming coffee clasped in their hands. Cass took a few sips then slowly put the mug down and looked at him.

‘It was the same person; the same killer.'

‘How do you know? What did you see?' Ed had so many questions he hardly knew where to start.

‘The vision started in a car. I couldn't move. I was looking at my hands in my lap and trying to move them but I couldn't. The man sitting next to me said something about it hurting a bit but not as much as the next bit would, then he laughed. It was the same laugh.' She shuddered as she said it.

‘The same as Janet Hodgson's killer?'

‘Yes.'

‘What did he look like?'

‘I couldn't turn my head but I could see him out of the corner of my eye and he had brown hair, I think, and fair skin. He was wearing a cap so I could only see bits of his hair poking out. He didn't seem overly tall or big but he was sitting down.'

‘What was his voice like?'

‘Australian — I mean, he didn't have an accent.'

‘Anything else about him you can remember? What was the cap like? What was he wearing?'

‘The cap was dark blue. He was wearing a khaki jacket and jeans. I think he had sandshoes on but I can't be sure. Oh, and he was wearing a wedding band.'

Ed blinked in surprise. It wasn't unheard of for serial killers to be married but it was unusual.

‘So what happened?'

Cass took a long sip before she responded.

‘We pulled over to the side of the road. It was dark by then and he came around to my side of the car and lifted me out. He dragged me round to the front of the car and propped me up against the bumper bar. Then he sort of crouched in next to me and waited.' Cass paused and swallowed a few times, tears started to run down her cheeks at the memory. ‘He waited for a truck to come and then he grabbed me and just tossed me out in front of it.'

She covered her face with her hands. Ed stared at her. He felt sick. He reached out and patted her shoulder, trying to comfort her. She uncovered her face and looked at him.

‘He was so afraid. You have to catch the bastard that did this.'

‘I'll do my best, Cass.'

‘I haven't helped much have I?'

‘Every bit helps, at least we know it was the same person and we know a bit more about him. With a bit of luck we might get more at the next one, that's if you're OK to keep going?'

Cass looked out the window at the cars pulling in and out of the petrol station. The last thing she wanted to do was have another vision. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the semitrailer bearing down on her. The fear was worse than the pain. The pain of the impact had seared through every nerve in her body but it was over in an instant, leaving only the nothingness of death. The fear was something she would never forget. It would haunt her dreams. A person who could cause that much fear and suffering couldn't be left free to hurt someone else.

‘I want to keep going. I need you to catch this guy.'

Ed let out a long breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. They finished their coffee and got back in the car. Ed pulled out of the station and they headed for Adelaide. Cass closed her eyes. She went quiet for so long that Ed assumed she was asleep until her voice interrupted his silent stewing.

‘So how long have you been a police officer?'

‘Since I was eighteen, nearly twenty years.'

She wanted to know what it was like to be a police officer. He told her some of the funnier situations he'd found himself in over the years. Before he knew it they were pulling into the car park where Marcy Lucas was killed.

Ed glanced over at Cass. Her expression was unreadable but she'd gone white again and her hands were clenched in her lap. Ed parked the car and they both sat there for a few moments. It was approaching five o'clock and there were only a few people around. ‘Her car was parked over there in the space next to the blue van. We think he attacked her as she was walking to her car.'

‘Where did she actually die?'

‘She was found lying behind her car.'

‘OK, let's get on with it,' Cass said.

She strode over to the car space and started to walk around its perimeter — Ed had to break into a jog to keep up with her. This time she got a hit almost straight away. The minute she reached where the car would have been she stopped. Ed just stood behind her and waited. He didn't want to see her face again. Once was enough.

He was expecting her to stand frozen to the spot but it was different this time. After a few seconds she threw her hands up and started to struggle with an invisible opponent. Ed had to step back to avoid being battered by her flailing arms. Then she threw her hands up to her throat and fell to the ground, gurgling and gasping, her legs kicked out as she struggled to breathe. Ed started to panic; could she actually suffocate?

A couple of students noticed the commotion and came over to see what was going on. They looked on nervously, whispering to each other.

‘Should I call an ambulance, mate?' one of them called out.