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Cassie backed up a few feet and started doing a wide circle around the crime scene. Harris followed behind, presumably to make sure she didn’t trample on any potential evidence. Cassie was grateful for the reprieve from the conversation, though she could still feel Harris’s frustration in the air.
Cassie noticed the air around her was already warm and humid, and the breeze didn’t do much to quell the heat. She felt comfortable as she always did in the summer but noticed many of the cops sweating underneath their uniforms.
What Cassie couldn’t feel was that same hint of electric buzz that she had felt at the city morgue where she had anticipated Elizabeth’s presence and almost felt like her old self. The one who had been able to tap into her abilities and offer guidance on a case.
What did she do in the past? Close her eyes and feel for the other world? No. The other world came to her, uninvited and unrelenting. She spent a decade trying to control it, trying to lead a normal life, and here she was unable to tap back into it. What was holding her back?
It couldn’t be because Novak was gone. The little boy’s spirit and Elizabeth’s initial visit disproved that. Her powers had faded, but they hadn’t gone away.
And as she embroiled herself further into this case, she could feel her gift wanting to come back. The buzzing of electricity was under the surface. She could feel it wanting to reach out and grab onto her.
But then she thought of work. And that made her think of Jason. And her family.
Could she live a normal life with these abilities? She had spent a long time alone because of them. Would she be able to hide them if she had a social life, a love life? Would she want to? And if she didn’t, what would the people around her think? Would they think she was crazy, or would they embrace her abilities? Would they try to take advantage of them?
“Are you getting anything?” Harris hissed.
Cassie was yanked from her thoughts. The questions filling her mind were not ideal for keeping a clear head. She turned to Harris. “No, I’m sorry.”
Harris was saved from offering empty reassurances when a pudgy, balding officer walked up to them. He looked between Cassie and Harris but must’ve dismissed any questions he had.
“The media’s here,” he told Harris. “She’s here.”
“Shit.”
Nineteen
As soon as Harris and Cassie made their way back to the trail, Cassie didn’t have to wonder who “she” was. Cassie spotted the blonde reporter she had seen on the news channel the other day. Her curls were as bright and bouncy as ever, and the look on her face was one of triumph. The reporter knew Harris didn’t want her there, and she didn’t care.
Harris turned back to the pudgy man. “I don’t want anyone near that crime scene who doesn’t belong. The media gets nothing. Not even a grainy image of her body, got it?”
But Cassie wasn’t paying attention to their exchange. She watched as one of the guards left his post and walked right up to the reporter. He tossed a look over his shoulder before leaning in close to her and whispering something. Cassie couldn’t hear what they were saying, but by the look on the woman’s face, she was trying to turn on her charm. It wasn’t working, and the man pointed a finger at her and walked away. He returned to his post and looked back at Harris, catching Cassie’s eye in the process.
“What are you going to say to her?” the pudgy man asked as Cassie tuned back into their conversation.
“Whatever I need to,” Harris said.
Cassie didn’t know wh
at to do. She didn’t want to leave in case Harris still needed her, but she also didn’t want to be caught on camera. Chances are she already was, but she could be mistaken for another detective.
Still, Cassie inched her way to the barrier where a few more stragglers looked on. Most of them had the decency to keep their phones away, but for the ones who didn’t, Cassie offered her back.
Harris’s voice wasn’t difficult to hear. “Ms. Campbell. Always a pleasure.”
“Is it, Detective?” The reporter’s southern twang was in full effect this morning. “I get the distinct impression you don’t want to talk to me.”
“It’s not personal.” Harris kept her tone professional. “I’m trying to do a job, Ms. Campbell, and when I’m distracted by the media, I have trouble doing that job.”
“The people have a right to know whether or not there’s a serial killer on the loose in Savannah.”
“As I explained the other day, I cannot release details of an open investigation. We must uphold the integrity of the case to ensure there is no misinformation.”
“Do you think there’s a significance that all the women who’ve been killed have had their hearts ripped out of their chest? What do you think that means?”
Harris looked like the reporter had sucker punched her. She recovered but had revealed that Ms. Campbell had perhaps hit too close to home. “Like I said, I can’t comment on an open investigation. Once I’m able to release any details, I’ll be sure to contact one of the other news channels.”
Cassie had the distinct pleasure of seeing a flash of anger cross the reporter’s face. Harris turned around and stalked toward Cassie. The detective grabbed Cassie’s elbow and steered her further away from the growing crowd.
