“I gotta say, Eden…” Garrett shook his head. “That was pretty intense.”
With a teasing smile, she said, “Tell me about it.”
“I hate to jump right in, but can you tell us what you saw? I mean”—Alex glanced at Garrett then back to her—“I think we got enough to paint a general picture, but the more details you can give, the better. But only if you’re up for it.”
“Absolutely.” She sounded confident enough, but immediately following her response, Eden began to sway.
“Whoa.” Alex’s hand shot out. “I think you’d better sit down.”
“I think you’re right,” she chuckled softly.
Grateful she couldn’t see how badly he was shaking, Alex carefully guided her over to one of the chairs at the table.
After another deep breath, she looked up at the two men. “His name is Josiah. He grew up on a farm. His parents were very strict, especially his father.”
“Yeah,” Garrett scoffed. “We kind of gathered that from some of the things you said while you were…under.”
With a small grin, Eden nodded. “Sorry. I sometimes forget that I say things out loud during visions like that one.”
“Don’t apologize.” Alex sat down next to her. “Just take your time and tell us everything you saw.” With a wink he added, “It won’t hurt us to hear some of it twice.”
“Okay.” Eden opened her mouth to start again, but Sergeant Murphy chose that moment to come barreling in.
“She get anything?
It really pissed Alex off when the guy spoke about her like she wasn’t even in the same room.
Knowing this, Garrett responded before Alex had the chance to comment. “Eden was just about to tell us what she saw, Boss.”
Murphy, the arrogant prick, shot Alex a look. “So, the cardswerehelpful?” To Eden, he tipped his chin and said, “Let’s hear it.”
Pulling out a chair across from them, Eden waited for the jackass to sit down before starting over. To her credit, the amazing woman kept her voice calm and professional.
“The killer’s name is Josiah. I don’t know his last name. He had a sister. Mary Grace.”
Eden became choked up just mentioning the sister. The three men waited quietly while she regained her composure before continuing.
“The memory I picked up on was from a few years ago. My best guess is he’s in his late twenties now. Possibly very early thirties. Josiah and his sister grew up on a farm. I got the feeling it was someplace not far from here. They lived off the land. No electricity or modern-day amenities.”
“How do you know?” Murphy asked gruffly.
Eden looked over at him. “The clothes I saw appeared hand-made. And the majority of the vision took place in a barn or outbuilding of some sort. The farm equipment in the background looked like they were from a century ago. A hand-pushed, rotating mower. One of those old tillers you latch to a horse or mule and walk behind. Nothing like what today’s farmers would use.”
“The Amish still use equipment like that. Illinois doesn’t have near the amount of Amish as, say, Pennsylvania, but there are a few communities scattered across the state.”
“Josiah’s family lived very similarly to the Amish way of life, but I got the feeling they weren’t part of an actual Amish community.”
Alex felt his brows turn inward. “What makes you say that?”
Shifting to face him better, Eden explained. “The Amish are very loving and caring people.”
“And Josiah and Mary Grace’s father was anything but.” Alex stared back at Eden, his knowing glance telling her they’d seen at least part of what the killer’s father had been like.
“Exactly.” To Murphy, she quickly explained. “I believe the man who calls himself The Liberator has some sort of psychic ability. I don’t know what, but I know he and his sister were raised to believe it was something to be ashamed of.”
Alex watched his boss fall back into his metal chair. “Great That’s just what we need. More of this psychic bullshit.”
“I assure you, Sergeant, it’s not bullshit.” Having just entered from the hall, Dan stared down at Alex’s boss. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but there are entire groups within the United States Military that study psychic abilities. They help soldiers who are gifted perfect their skills and are constantly discovering new ways to use those abilities to help keep our country safe.”
