Days of Darkness

Chapter 7

"Yes," Cruthers said after a moment's thought. Curiosity made her a good detective and was her greatest weakness. Teegan held out her hand. Cruthers hesitantly reached out and took it. I watched her expression leave confusion and enter the bliss of an initial bonding. I felt, through Teegan, her dedication to work and her husband. She prided herself in seeing how far she could bend rules to achieve her goals, usually solving crimes, but more recently the resolution of a vehicle warranty issue that pissed her off. Her smile deepened, and I saw a trickle of blood form beneath her nose. Teegan quickly broke the link.

"Damn!" Cruthers said, "I think I just solved the Crosby murders." She absently wiped the blood from her nose. "Who are you and how do I learn to do that?"

Teegan

Besides Caleb, Detective Cruthers was the most enthusiastic person I had ever bonded with. She had latched on and drove to use the bond to solve issues on instinct. I would have expected our music to be similar, but it wasn't. Hers was a deep bass like throbbing, almost like native drums. It took Caleb and I a long time to convince her of the cost of such activity, beyond a mere b****y nose. I had to bond with Samuel as well, just to keep the confusion in the room to a minimum. He was amazed, but like Victor thought it was more a blessing than a tool.

"So what are these Crosby Murders?" Victor asked, trying to understand Cruthers' earlier statement.

"A cold case," Cruthers said, "It fell to my desk when my mentor retired. He was obsessed with it, which naturally piqued my interest as well. I always felt I could solve it, you know, prove my worth, but a forty-year-old murder is a tough nut to crack." She laughed to herself. "Imagine, it was the old curtains that were the giveaway. Those two boys were too young to die like that and to think it was the old biddy all the time. Too bad their grandmother passed away so many years ago. I hate when someone gets away with murder."

"She killed her own grandchildren?" I asked, unable to relate that to my grandmother.

"For the inheritance," Cruthers said excitedly, "The parents died in an accident, leaving everything to the twin boys. That left Grandma out in the cold since her son was no longer there to care for her. The state decided she was too old and feeble to care for the boys, so family services were going to place them in a foster home. She turned to desperate methods. She fooled everyone, probably milked her age. Brilliant in a way."

"How do curtains lead you to her?" Caleb asked.

"It was her hobby, her love," Cruthers said, "quilts, clothes, curtains, anything else made of fabric." She paused a moment, her eyes moving toward me. "No one saw it all, but you let me see it all through multiple memories. Pictures and reports miss so much."

"Accessing other minds is expensive," I said.

"Maybe, but it's so powerful," Cruthers said, her smile growing. "Think of the crimes we could solve."

"It usually knocks you out for a while," Caleb said. "We don't even know if it causes permanent damage."

"It's awful to feel when it involves anger," I added. Caleb nodded in agreement.

"So, how do dirty curtains lead to the solution?" Samuel asked.

"All the curtains in the house were pristine, yet the ones over the broken window were faded and frayed. The perpetrator supposedly threw a brick through the window to gain entry. No one gave it a second thought, but it was on their minds." She laughed again. "Who else would change out the curtains before throwing a rock through the window? Only the person who valued the real curtains, the ones she made. Who else would know where the old curtains were stored? Vanity catches more crooks than you know."

"That's a little vague as proof," Samuel pointed it out.

"Oh, there's more that makes sense now," Cruthers continued, "lots of little things fall into place. They were stabbed with cloth shears and no one even considered how the murderer knew where they were. I, and everyone else had always thought she had left them out, but that doesn't jibe with her cleanliness. There wasn't a hint of dust in the place. She was never considered, because who would consider a weak old grandmother. Until a few moments ago, I didn't either." She sighed, "There was a man who lived in the neighborhood who had been accused of p********a in the past, and everyone concentrated on him. It was thought that the boys put up a fight, and he panicked. There was no physical evidence to tie him to the scene, but he was always the main suspect."

"She seemed bedridden," Cruthers said, "used a walker to get around. It was all for show. She lost the act when she moved to Florida. I saw her in court, answering for a speeding ticket, upright and walking without effort. I'm not sure what mind was showing me that. You have no idea what your gift can accomplish."

"It's not a tool," I reminded her, "there's a penalty, and it can be brutal. Nothing that costs that much can be worth using haphazardly."

"How did the military find out about it?" Cruthers asked. She put it all together quickly. There could only be one reason why they were here, once you knew the truth.

"They funded my creation," I said sadly. I hated this part of my birth. It made me feel less human. Caleb stubbornly sent me love, forcing his way in and demanding I acknowledge how human he thought I was. It was all easier to accept with him inside of me. I explained what I understood, leaving some names like Uncle Hank out of the explanation.

"I smell a lawsuit," Samuel said. He was serious, but I found the timing perfect. Caleb started laughing first, and I followed. "No, I mean it," he continued, "they'd settle out of court just to keep something like this quiet."

"I don't think I need the money," I said, looking about the room, "and certainly not the publicity."

"They think you might be a weapon," Cruthers continued her train of thought.

"Or a threat," Caleb added, "they're still working on it. Right now, they are probably leaning toward the threat theory."

"Why would they send uniforms if they wanted you dead?" Cruthers asked.

"The attack wasn't from the military," I said, "there are people who think playing with human DNA is the devil's work."

"Fanatics," Caleb added.

"Well-funded fanatics," Cruthers said, thinking out loud again.

"It's why we brought her in early," Victor said, "Corbett wanted us to wait until she was 21, but he made provisions to speed things up if her location became public."

"You bonded with Corbett," Cruthers stated. Leaps in logic were child's play for her.

"As a newborn," I admitted, "though he was also the first one I didn't bond with. At that time I didn't have a lot of control. Mom didn't like him, and I guess I deferred to her judgment. I was too young to remember any of it."

"It was the worst day of his life," Victor said, "I'll have you know he regretted how he handled you and your mother. He wasn't used to failing, and certainly not used to being so wrong."

"So," Cruthers said, her brain still working hard, "you can project when you're in danger. Turn a brain to mush."

"I don't like that part," I said, "Caleb gets lost, and something ugly takes over."

"Caleb can do it without you?" Samuel asked with surprise.

"We're completely connected," Caleb replied as I nodded, "Everything I know, she knows and vice versa."