ChasingShadows Read Free

She
rubbed her nose, smelling her own freesia perfume, and forced herself to ignore
Alex’s haunting cologne. “Certain dreams are warm and fuzzy, others are
horrible, evil.”
    She glanced at Alex’s face to weigh the impact of her words.
A boulder boasted more expression than he did.
    O’Malley nodded and flicked a hand at her to continue.
    Relief flowed through her. She loved a receptive policeman.
They were much easier to work with. “This morning I had a premonition.” She
related all the details of her dream, including the presence of the illuminating
full moon, giving voice to a timeframe.
    O’Malley scribbled in his notepad, while Alex’s dark gaze
remained riveted on her face, disconcerting in his intensity.
    “I don’t believe the kidnapping has happened yet. I didn’t
sense or see completion, only anticipation.” Her heart wrenched again in
sympathy for the unwary child and family. In case her senses were wrong, she
asked, “Has such a kidnapping been reported?”
    O’Malley gave her a measured stare, tapping his pen on the
table edge. “No.”
    “An abduction will occur, and it will happen nearby.”
    “Because you dreamed it? Do you know the girl’s identity? The
kidnapper?” Alex jabbed the tabletop with his index finger after each question.
“Didn’t your dream tell you that?”
    She expected the grilling. The NYPD had put her through
dozens of similar interrogations. But she wasn’t prepared for the niggling doubt
Alex dumped in her mind. “I wouldn’t recognize either one of them if they sat
next to me. I wish I could.”
    Alex folded his thick, muscled arms across his chest. “Then
how can you help us?”
    Juliana averted her gaze from Alex’s tanned arms, exposed
beneath the rolled-up sleeves of his white dress shirt. Inside, desire surged
at the thought of those strong arms around her, and she batted the insane
feelings down. She brushed clammy palms on her skirt, hating her nervousness. Hating
that Alex caused it.
    Why Alex? Why now? Every police case she’d ever assisted
with flipped her life upside down while she dreamed her way through it. She
certainly didn’t need this complication or the attendant distractions.
    Sweeping her thoughts aside with effort, she shifted her
attention back to the detectives. “I’ve connected with the kidnapper’s mind. I
may have encountered him somewhere, touched an item he touched, saw his
picture, heard his voice. When I experience this sense of invasion, the
criminal’s thoughts, emotions and feelings will surface in my dreams. I’m
ninety-nine percent sure I’ll dream of the actual kidnapping.”
    “Are all your visions about strangers?” Alex’s
calculated question pushed the long-locked door to her buried memories open
another inch.
    Bastard! Anger surged through her once again. She
swiped away the perspiration tickling her forehead, hating that Alex had
reduced her to this state. “Sometimes I dream of things and events happening to
people I know. I don’t only dream of crimes happening to strangers.”
    Another thick hush blanketed the room. O’Malley’s sudden
scrawling on his small notepad drowned out any other sound.
    Juliana peeked at her watch before her gaze darted to the
slate-blue door behind the two men. She cut through the silence in a rush of
words. “The kidnapping will happen soon. When it does, I’ll provide as much
assistance as I can. Check my references. I am not wasting your time.”
    Alex’s eyebrows arched and he gave a curt nod. “Fine.”
    O’Malley quit writing and lifted his head. “We’ll be in
touch.”
    “Thank you for your time.” She stood, clutching her
portfolio to her middle and adjusting her purse strap over her shoulder.
    With brisk steps, Juliana walked out of the conference room
and down the empty hall, surprised that they just let her go without an escort.
She gave an inward shrug and kept walking.
    Halfway through the squad room, she felt a touch on her arm
from behind. As