Page 20 of A Touch of Murder (Touched #1)

Barret quietly made sure there were two bottles of water on Adam's nightstand alongside two Hershey candy bars.

He stared down at the sleeping man, wishing he hadn't taken him to see Trina today.

He had no idea that it would be so hard on Adam.

No one should have to witness the things he did.

And he knew for a fact Adam was seeing the attack on Trina because several of the things he'd mentioned, like the bite marks, matched up with the autopsy report Barret had read.

His respect and admiration for Adam grew as he'd watched Adam working.

It had been easy to think he was faking something like reading Mrs. Anderson's glove, but this, there was no faking this.

The tears that had streamed down Adam's cheeks as he was seeing the visions weren't fake.

They weren't empathy. Adam had somehow felt Trina's pain.

He had mentally put himself in Trina's place to find out exactly what she'd gone through.

He hated to leave Adam alone, but he really did seem okay other than being tired, and Barret had work to do.

He left Adam's bedroom and went back into the kitchen where he emptied the duffel bag, putting the remaining water in the fridge and the candy on the kitchen table alongside Adam's recorder.

He tossed the garbage away, then silently left the apartment, leaving the door unlocked so that he could return later and check on Adam even if he hadn't woken up yet.

Once in his car, he sat there for several minutes, going back over what he'd just witnessed.

It had been emotionally draining watching and listening to Adam while at the same time looking at Trina's beaten body.

As he finally pulled away, he thought of the nightmares that would probably plague him for days after hearing everything.

Being Sunday, the station's parking lot was nearly empty.

Vance was off today, just like Barret should have been.

But instead of going home and resting the rest of the day, he wanted to work.

He needed to take the new information he had and see if he could piece it together to form new leads they could follow.

He walked into the station and nodded his hello to Lily who was working dispatch.

She gave him a wave since she was on the phone.

Once at his desk, he sat down, glad for the silence while he collected his thoughts.

Later, he'd have to listen to the recording again and go through the hell of hearing how badly Trina had been abused, but he couldn't bear to do it now.

It was too soon, too fresh and raw. He wanted to hang his head and cry, and that was something, because he wasn't a man who cried often.

"How'd it go?" Captain Russel asked as he walked into the room from his office.

"It was tough, but we got a lot of information.

" Barret forced himself to focus on his job.

He pulled out a notebook from his desk as the captain pulled up a chair beside his desk.

"I know we can't use anything Adam Wrecker tells us in court, but he did give us some good leads.

And before you ask, he wasn't faking this.

Stuff he said matches up with the M.E.'s report and I know Adam hasn't seen that. "

"You don't need to sell me on Wrecker's talents.

I know he's the real thing. He's helped too many around this town for me not to know what he does is real.

Don't know how he does it, but I'm glad he has such an odd ability and can help.

" Captain Russel nodded to the recorder on Barret's desk. "Is it all there?"

"Yeah, but be warned, it's not easy to listen to.

It's enough to bring a grown man to his knees.

" Barret started to write as he talked. "He mentioned the green tattoo was a clover leaf with Lucky Charm written above it.

Adam wasn't able to tell exactly what kind of vehicle they were in, but it sounds a lot like maybe a sleeper cab on a semi.

I'll show Adam photos later when he's recovered and see if that matches what he saw.

That would mean we're probably looking for two truck drivers.

Maybe team drivers. That would also explain the body being found in Southern Utah. "

"Good lead, if it pans out. We're off the main highway here and don't get as many truckers through here as some areas. Might make it easier to figure out who was driving through town the night she was taken. Any info on the truck?" Captain Russel asked.

"No, he wasn't even sure it was a semi. He did mention the color red, so maybe a red rig? He also mentioned loud noise which could be from the road as they drove. Said he got the sense of rocking when they…" He let his voice trail. "Well, you know."

"Don't come a-knockin' if you see it rockin'." Captain Russel sighed. "Yeah, I get it." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, there were two men, not just one?"

"Yeah, two. One older, maybe fifty, the other younger.

Can't recall if he said an age, but twenties feels right.

Gave a description of both." Barret went on to tell him more details.

"I'll update the board with this new information, then tomorrow, I'll start showing the sketch around town.

I might have Maggie go back and see if she can get enough from Adam to do another of the second guy now that's he's seen him. "

"That's a good idea. I'm hoping once we get the lab work back, we'll have D.N.A.

to run. This was so violent I highly doubt that this was their first murder.

From everything you tell me, these men were cocky and confident.

Doesn't sound like there was any hesitation.

The thought of these two driving through our town again sends a chill up my spine.

" Captain Marshall stood. "Good work. You getting along with Adam? I know you were doubting him at first."

"Yeah. I'm good with him. After today, any doubts I might have had left are gone.

He's more than proven himself. Crazy as it all seems, he's able to do something none of us can.

I just feel horrible to put him through that.

No one should have to witness any of that, and he watched it all.

" Barret didn't say it, but he thought it went even deeper than that.

He thought somehow that Adam had felt it all. Not emotionally, but physically.

"He going to be okay?" the captain asked.

"I'll head over there later tonight and check on him.

I'll offer to let him talk to someone if he needs to sort through what he saw.

He said this wasn't the first time he'd done a read on a body, but who knows how much worse this one was than the others?

I'll make sure he's seeking help if he needs it. "

"Good. And tell him thank you from me and the department.

I don't want him to ever think we take him or what he can do for granted.

" Captain Russel stood and moved the chair back in place.

"I'll be in my office for another hour or so if you need anything.

My best advice is to leave this until tomorrow and go home.

Adam wasn't the only one who had a tough morning.

He might have seen it, but you still listened as he told you everything. Make sure you're okay too, alright?"

"I will," Barret promised, but even as he said it, he knew he would never tell someone not involved in the case what he'd heard today. No one needed to hear that stuff. Let the world stay blind to the evils of the world. He'd shoulder it just as he had other murders he'd worked.

Once alone, he stared at the notes he'd started. He drew a clover and wrote the words over it, and wished he had a green marker to add color to it. He had no idea what would cause two scars under the belly button and researched that for a little while, coming up blank.

Printing off images and using his crude drawings, Barret started to add things to the whiteboard.

Slowly, things were starting to come together.

Two men, probably in a semi, took Trina from her work.

They'd have to go back through all the video they had of the area and look for semi-trucks around at the time.

Possibly a red semi, or at least with red on it.

He needed to find out if the local truck stop at the edge of town had videos saved from the night of the incident.

Weeding through all the trucks would be a nightmare since the truck stop was just off the main highway, but if the angles were right, he could see which ones came off the main roads to travel farther back into the Hidden Falls area.

He made another list of things they needed to look into tomorrow.

He'd meet with Vance and the others first thing and get them working on checking off items on the list. A lot of it could be done while patrolling the area simply by dropping in local businesses, showing them the suspect's photo, and asking if they had video surveillance that hadn't already been collected.

Before he knew it, it was almost five in the afternoon.

His body felt the stress of the day, but he wasn't finished yet.

Barret quickly called in a to-go order at Ally's, then gathered his things.

He said goodnight to those in the station, then headed out to his car.

He glanced up at the setting sun and suddenly had the urge to pack up his tent and head to the mountains where he could get away from the horrors of this case and just get lost in nature for a while.

As badly as he yearned for that, it would have to wait.

He couldn't go anywhere until this case was closed.

Traffic was light as he made his way to Ally's. He loved that this town was small and no matter where he had to go everything was no more than a few minutes' drive. It beat the chaos of rush hour he'd faced back in Seattle. How he'd ever thought he could be happy in a big city was beyond him.