Читать книгу The Vision - Linda Blum - Страница 12

The constant blinding light that shone in Judy’s eyes was giving her a headache. Anxious for a reprieve, she got up from her chair only to be gently pushed back down again.

“We’re not done yet,” the voice said.

Judy squinted trying to see who the person was behind the voice. The only thing that was visible was that damn light. It was so powerful it blocked out everything else.

“What is it you want?” Judy groaned.

“Where were you on March third at two-thirty p.m.?”

“At school.”

Judy heard the shuffling of papers and whispering of voices.

“Our records don’t show this,” the voice replied sternly.

“Call the school and talk to the principal, Mr. Vanderbelt. He’ll verify this,” Judy advised.

The sound of a pen or pencil scribbling on paper echoed throughout the room. When it stopped Judy once again heard the sound of muffled voices. When the murmuring stopped, the questioning began.

“What kind of relationship did you have with your mother?”

“We were very close, why?”

“Did you ever argue?”

Judy wondered where the woman was going with this question and didn’t particularly like it. She wondered if she should say never, or tell the truth. She opted to be honest.

“Sometimes,” she said.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” the woman asked.

“Look,” Judy gritted her teeth in frustration. “I loved my mother, but there were times when we didn’t agree on things and argued.”

Again the sound of frantic scribbling and hushed tones resonated through the room.

“Is it true that you blamed your mother for your father’s death?”

Judy was thrown by this question. How did they know this?

“Yes, but...” Judy started.

The woman interrupted her before she could finish. “So you did have some animosity towards her.”

“I did not!” Judy shouted. “When my dad died I was upset and angry. My anger was directed at everyone including God for taking him away from me.”

The woman huffed. “So why in your time of grief would you be mad at your mother? You figure you would be turning to her for comfort and support not pushing her away.”

Tears began to stream down Judy’s face.

“My dad and mom had a big fight the night before he died. They were yelling and screaming at each other. It wasn’t good for dad to get so upset.”

“What do you mean?” the woman asked unemotionally.

Judy sniffled. “My dad had a bad heart.”

“Do you know what they were fighting about?”

That night was clearly etched into her mind. She had been studying in her room when the yelling began. Racing downstairs she found her mother and father in a heated argument. She heard her mother accuse him of drinking and her father denying it. Her mother called him a liar saying she could smell the booze on his breath. Even Judy smelt the pungent odour lingering in the hallway.

She peeked in the room and noticed her father suddenly turn pale. She remembered him looking like that the last time he had an attack and was worried that he was on the verge of another one. She stormed into the room hoping to calm them both down. Her mother ordered her to leave immediately, while her father stayed silent. That was the last time she saw him alive. The next day he had a heart attack and died.

Judy was angry with her mother for not realizing when to stop badgering him and her father for drinking when he knew he shouldn’t. Her anger didn’t last long though. Uncle Will came to the rescue and spoke with both of them. He got her mother to stop feeling guilty and allowed Judy to vent her feelings.

“My dad was drinking when he wasn’t supposed too,” Judy replied sullenly.

They began drilling her with questions after that. Their badgering went on for a while leaving Judy feeling totally exhausted and at her wits end. She had enough of glaring lights, loaded questions and mystery interrogators. It wasn’t until they asked her if she wished her mother died that day instead of her father that she lost it.

“What kind of people are you!” she yelled.

When no response was given, Judy stood up in search of the door. She was about to make a quick exit when someone shut it.

“Where do you think you’re going?” a voice asked from behind.

Judy spun around in anger. “I’m leav...” Her words stifled by what she saw.

In front of her stood the green-eyed woman and beside her was a young girl with the same features.

Like the woman, her only feature was her green eyes. Even the clothes she wore were nothing special;

jeans, running shoes and a plain white dress shirt. The only discernible feature was the necklace she wore.

It had two crossed arrows hanging from it. A twinge of familiarity came over her as she gazed at it.

“Can I see that?” Judy asked as she advanced towards her.

The woman quickly stepped between them.

“I think it’s time we take you to your cell.”

Judy glanced at her in disbelief. “Cell! What cell?”

“Your new home,” the woman sneered. “You are being charged for your mother’s murder.”

“I’m no murderer,” she shouted. “You’re the murderer. You’re the one who killed my mother.”

“Prove it,” the woman snickered.

The anger Judy felt inside was so strong that she raised her hand intending to slap the smug look off her face. Something cold and metallic clamped down on her wrist just when she was ready to strike. Looking on in alarm, she saw a handcuff dangling there. Her heart raced wildly when she felt another one lightly touch her other wrist. Quickly she jerked her hand away. The woman grabbed her roughly trying to put the other one on, but Judy pushed her away knocking her to the ground and then dashed for the door. She raced down the corridor frantically searching for a way out. She finally found an exit and left.

The sound of yelling in the background prompted Judy to quicken her pace as she headed towards the school. She had to get to Mr. Vanderbelt fast. He’d clear up this mess. When she finally reached the school, she ran directly to his office, but he was not there. She looked for the secretary, hoping she would know his whereabouts, but she was nowhere to be found either. Just as she was leaving the office, she noticed the woman enter the building with some police officers. Judy ducked back inside hoping not to be seen, but was too late.

“There she is!” the woman shouted.

She turned and ran down the hall looking for a place to hide. As she rounded the corner, she saw the entrance to the roof. Quickly she opened it and started up the dim stairwell. When she got to the top, she tried to open the door but it would not budge. She shoved her shoulder roughly against it and the movement forced it to open.

As Judy began walking, she felt something hit her leg. Looking down she noticed the handcuff dangling from her wrist. She had to get this off or it would draw too much attention. She pulled a bobby pin from her hair, slid it inside the lock and began moving it around. There was the sound of a click and the cuff flew open. She was absently rubbing the tightness in her wrist when she heard the sound of sirens in the distance. She looked down and saw police officers keeping the crowds of curious bystanders at bay. Judy scanned the crowd in search of Mr. Vanderbelt but found no sign of him.

“That’s weird, he’s usually here,” she said out loud.

“It is too bad that he can’t come to your rescue isn’t it,” said a voice from behind.

Judy spun around to see the green-eyed woman and the young girl.

“It’s time to come with us.”

“No way!” Judy shouted. “I’m not going anywhere with you!”

The woman closed in quickly and began placing the cuffs on her wrist. Judy grappled with her trying with all her might to escape. During their fight she lost her footing and fell backwards over the edge. She could feel the force of gravity pulling her down and was helpless to do anything but wait for the inevitable, death.

Just before she felt the end approaching, her eyes flew open. Looking anxiously around, she noticed Ren sleeping soundly beside her. Her heart beat wildly as her brain tried to comprehend what had just happened. After a few minutes, she got out of bed and headed downstairs. Sam showed up following closely beside her. The dog was glued to her side the whole time almost tripping her as she walked down the stairs.

“Girl, give me some room,” Judy whispered.

When they got to the kitchen, Judy forced Sam to lie down. The dog didn’t particularly care for this and began whining. When Judy bent down to console her, their eyes locked. Judy sensed that she was trying to tell her something so she opened herself up to the message. Sam conveyed that she was concerned about her and wanted to stay close. She was trying to comfort and protect Judy, not be a pain in the ass.

“Thank you girl,” Judy said as she rubbed behind her ears. “I’ll be all right.”

Sam plunked down by the counter staying close as Judy went to put the kettle on. She watched the dog watching her and chuckled. Her abilities enabled her to communicate with Sam as well as other animals. She never realized she was able to do this until a few years ago.

Judy first experienced this on one of Jay’s field trips to a local farm. She recalled stopping to pet a horse in a stall and getting a strong sensation that the animal was unhappy. A voice in her head said it longed to run in the field. The shock of hearing this surprised Judy causing her to look directly at the animal. The horse began shaking its head as if to confirm what she heard.

At first Judy didn’t believe what had just happened, rationalizing that what she had just experienced was probably due to her love for animals. However, when she saw the chickens squished together in cages suspended in the air a feeling of sadness washed over her. She sensed these animals also yearned for the freedom to roam the land. As she passed by them they began squawking loudly as if verifying her thoughts. The real clincher was seeing the mother pig tied up tightly in her pen. She was told this had to be done as the mother may harm, or even kill her young. As Judy passed by the animal she felt a strong sense of animosity coming from her. The mother pig snorted and glared at her. It seemed she also was upset about being restrained.

From that moment on, Judy knew she could telepathically speak to animals as well as sense their feelings. It amazed her what the animal world had to say, making her wonder if people would treat them differently if they were able to feel and hear what she did.

Judy looked absently out the window. Her thoughts strayed to the dream, the appearance of the younger girl and the necklace she was wearing. A sense of familiarity washed over her again, the same feeling that she had in her dream. She searched her mind trying to think what the connection could be, but came up blank. Reaching for the phone she dialled her uncle’s number. On the seventh ring a sleepy voice answered.

“Hello.”

“I had another dream,” Judy said excitedly. “This time there was another person in it with the green-eyed woman.”

There was silence on the other end.

“Uncle Will did you hear me?” she asked impatiently.

“Judy is that you?”

“Of course it’s me,” she sighed heavily. “Did you hear anything I just said?”

“It’s seven in the morning,” he grumbled. “My brain doesn’t work well at this hour.”

Judy glanced at the clock on the microwave.

“I’m sorry. I never realized the time.”

“That’s because you never pay attention,” Will grumbled.

She ignored the criticism.

“Look, I know it’s early, but I have something important to tell you.”

Judy began retelling the dream to her uncle. As she recounted the details, a feeling of excitement and hope began to bubble inside her. Was it possible that they were finally getting some answers to her mother’s death after all these years?

“How about I come over so we can talk about this,” Will suggested.

“That would be great,” Judy said.

Within an hour Will was knocking at the door.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said hugging her uncle.

“So am I.”

Sam was glad too. She walked up to him with her tail wagging and her nose angled at his crotch. Will blocked her then reached to scratch behind her ear. While petting her he noticed her staring intently at Judy.

“What’s up with Sam?” Will asked.

“She’s concerned about me,” she replied.

“I am too,” he muttered.

They discussed Judy’s dream in detail. Since dreams are symbolic in nature it was hard to interpret the sudden appearance of the younger woman. Was she an accomplice or did she represent someone else, even possibly Judy?

“Hope told me that a person in a dream could represent alter egos of yourself.”

“Hope told you this,” Will said in surprise.

“Yep.” Judy took a sip of her tea. “She got some books from the library and started investigating the meaning of dreams.”

He laughed. “What is she, a dream detective?”

“Be nice, she’s just trying to be helpful,” Judy said.

Just then a sleepy Ren came in the room.

“Ren what are you doing up so early?” Judy asked.

“I could ask you both the same question,” he said yawning.

“Your wife called me to come over,” Will said.

“Why?” Ren questioned, as he looked at Judy with concern.

Judy told Ren about her dream. He was slightly hurt that she called her uncle instead of waking him, but understood that she needed a psychic perspective on this. The three of them sat for a while going over the possibilities. Was this younger woman somehow connected to the older woman? Could she have been involved in the murder?

“I hate to say this,” Ren started. “But is it possible that all of this is just a dream and nothing more.”

Judy instantly felt angered by his comment. How could he think that? A voice inside quickly diffused her annoyance when it reminded her that she, too, had thought the same thing. Judy began giving some serious consideration to this. Her gut, however, told her what she was experiencing was real.

“This isn’t just a dream,” Judy replied confidently. “These images I am getting are very powerful. I can feel it.”

“What do we do now?” Ren asked.

“I want to go to the police and have my mother’s case reopened,” she announced.

Ren stared at her in disbelief. “What are you going to tell them, that your dreams are exposing the murderer? Do you really think they will take you seriously?”

“I don’t know.”

“You better give this some thought before you do anything rash,” Ren advised.

Will sat in silence as he listened to them debate over the situation. At times he agreed with his niece and other times with Ren. It was hard to know what the right choice was. As Ren and Judy carried on their discussion, his mind began to drift back to that awful time.

He recalled talking to one of the detectives on the case, Butch Hawke. He always remembered that name because it sounded like a character from some TV crime show. Detective Hawke, however, didn’t fit the persona of a detective. He was very soft spoken, friendly and upbeat. If Will had met him in other circumstances, he would never have thought that he worked on the police force.

Over the course of the investigation, he frequently spoke with Butch. He even began showing up at the restaurant for dinner. One night, Butch had a few too many drinks making him a bit freer with his words. It seemed he was becoming frustrated with the investigation and the fact they had many suspects, but not enough evidence to make a conviction.

Will understood his plight and wished that his psychic abilities would help to reveal the murderer. He said as much to Butch. To Will’s surprise, Butch was intrigued by this and began questioning him about his abilities. That night they learned a lot about one another. It seemed like they were becoming fast friends. Unfortunately, when the murder case went cold so did their friendship.

Many years had passed since Will spoke with Butch. The memory of him popped into his mind the instant Judy announced she wanted to go to the police. He knew that if anyone would believe in Judy’s dreams it would be him.

When there was a lull in the debate, Will interjected, “I think I know the person we should contact. Years ago I frequently spoke to one of the detectives on the case, Butch Hawke. He seemed like he was a very open-minded person. I could contact him and see what he could do for us.”

Ren was reluctant at first until a voice in his head said. “What if it was your mother? Wouldn’t you do the same thing?” After of few moments he realized he would.

Ren sighed. “Do you need any help?”

“Just leave everything to me,” Will said.