CHAPTER TWENTY
Laura shook her head when Nate took a step towards her, holding up a hand. “Don’t,” she said. It was just the two of them in the interview room now, but she didn’t feel ready to leave. “I can’t believe we got it wrong again.”
“This is normal,” Nate reminded her. “We always have to fight through the different leads until we find the one that works. If there was an obvious culprit, they wouldn’t need to call in the FBI. You’ve just forgotten that because you’re frustrated about your – you know.”
Visions. He didn’t even want to say the word. “Yeah, well. We’d be a lot further along right now if they were working.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Nate said. He was probably just trying to be kind, but the failure burned into her like a brand against her skin. She hated herself for a moment, hated that she couldn’t get the visions to work, hated that she wasn’t a good enough detective to solve the case without them. Hated that she was wasting time on thinking these things instead of going out there and finding the next lead.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she snatched it out as if it was on fire, hoping for a new clue. But her heart only skipped a single beat when she saw it was Chris on the caller ID – and then she hated herself for being apprehensive instead of excited to speak to him, too.
“It’s Chris,” she said, shortly. “My, um.” She didn’t really know what to call him. Boyfriend? That felt too juvenile, but they were definitely dating.
“Right,” Nate said quickly, gesturing towards the door as he stepped in that direction. “I’ll give you some privacy.”
He was gone before she’d hit the answer call button, taking a breath before speaking to try to stop her voice from sounding so short. “Hi, it’s Laura.”
“Hey!” Chris’s voice was far too upbeat, making her wince. “How’s it going with your case?”
“You know I can’t tell you any details,” Laura said, which wasn’t fair. She knew that he only meant to ask if it was going well or not. It was just that she couldn’t bear to tell him that they were getting nowhere.
“Oh, right,” Chris said, sounding a little taken aback before he rebounded. “Well, I was just wondering about this weekend. I wanted to book something, but obviously if you’ll still be out there, there’s no point. What do you think? Will you be back in time?”
“I don’t know,” Laura sighed. “It’s like asking me how long a piece of string is. The case is over when it’s over.”
“Right, I get that,” Chris said. “I was just wondering if you had, I don’t know, a gut feeling or something. If you think you’re close to solving it or if it’s going to be a long and difficult one.”
“I don’t know, Chris,” Laura said, gritting her teeth. “I never know. I’ve told you that before!”
Her voice came out so much harsher than she intended it to. “Got it,” Chris said, his previous exuberance all but gone. “I’ll, um. Hold off. Let me know if you do get it figured out, and if there’s still time I can always book something at the last minute.”
“Chris,” Laura said, sighing, knowing she needed to apologize. “I’m sorry. You’ve caught me at a really bad time. I’m just – I’m stressed out.”
“Good luck with it,” Chris said, brushing over her. “The case, I mean. I’ll see you when you get back.”
“See you,” Laura began, but he’d already put down the phone.
Damnit. She’d messed up again. Chris was an understanding kind of guy, but how much patience did he have before he would get tired of her being snappy and unappreciative? At least she didn’t worry anymore about him turning out to be violent like his brother, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to lose him.
And if she lost him, she lost access to Amy – lost the chance to make sure she was alright.
God, it was all falling apart. Laura held onto the back of the chair with one hand and sunk her head into the other, wishing it wasn’t so hard. They’d reached a dead end in the investigation and all she’d been able to muster so far was a vision of someone cheating and a creepy nightmare. She wanted a drink. She really wanted a drink. If she snuck out without Nate seeing –
The door opened and she sensed more than saw Nate enter the room, knowing him by his presence, by the sound of his footsteps. She didn’t need a drink. She would be fine without a drink. She had to stay strong.
“Everything alright?” Nate asked, coming to a stop beside her.
Laura dropped her hand from her head and looked up with a dull nod, letting her hand settle on the back of the chair next to the other one. “Just wish we were getting somewhere,” she said.
“We will,” Nate assured her. “Trust me. This killer isn’t going to get away with it for long. We’ll get him.”
“It’s how long he gets away with it that worries me,” Laura said, taking a deep and slow breath. She just needed to calm down and focus. She needed –
A spike of pain went through her temple and she stopped thinking, waiting for the vision to suck her down into it and show her what she needed –
There was a man, walking along, his back to her. All she could see was the back of his head. Short-cropped black hair. A blue collar – a collared shirt, so something smart. She tried to take in every detail that she could, anything that might identify him. If this was their killer – or even his next victim – she needed to remember. She needed to know.
It was so dark, so hard to see. Even the edges of his head were fuzzy, like they were threatening to spiral off into the darkness all around him. There was no sense of time or place, no sense of motion. No – she thought maybe he was walking. But to where, where from? She had no answers.