35
Julia drove Paul and Bennie to the middle of the field of tall grass behind the house, bordered by the treeline where the ghost gun had been found. It was pitch black everywhere but in the long cones of their headlights. Insects buzzed crazily around them, flying in and out of the beams.
“Are you sure it came from here?” Bennie glanced at Julia from the passenger seat, her expression dubious in the dashboard lights.
“Yes, I think so, I felt it from this direction.” Julia felt the strange sensation again, somewhere inside her.
It wasn’t the dread of a premonition, and she saw no vision, but it was more like she was compelled to do something, it carried even the urgency of compulsion.
“Bennie, did Courtney tell you that I have some psychic abilities?”
“Yes, she did.”
“Okay, so I know it sounds a little crazy, but you have to trust me on this. I might be a rookie, but I do have this power, and I have to start letting it help Courtney.”
Bennie nodded. “Go for it. What do we have to lose?”
“I believe you, Julia,” Paul said from the backseat. “What’s it telling you?”
“I don’t know, but we need to look around.” Julia got out of the car, and Paul and Bennie followed suit, cutting the ignition but leaving the doors open and the headlights on, so they could see.
Bennie scanned the scene. “I don’t see anything except a pasture.”
Paul turned. “Wait a minute. I think this is where the neighbor’s house was.”
Julia sensed he was right. “Bill McKenna, with the neighboring farm?”
“Yes, I remember one of my earliest visits, Kay told me the house used to be here.”
Julia’s heartbeat quickened. “Maybe there is a connection between Kay’s murder and Shoemaker’s.”
Bennie flicked on her flashlight and shone it on the grass. “I wonder where the house used to be.”
Paul parted some tall grass. “We should be able to find a foundation, don’t you think?”
A half an hour later, they’d managed to locate a rough concrete foundation shaped like a long rectangle with a square in the back, like an addition. It was overgrown with grass, but it created a platform taller than the surrounding grass.
Bennie put her hands on her hips. “So what does this tell us?”
“I’m not sure.” Julia walked around, hoping to get a vision. She didn’t see anything, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave just yet.
“They found his body in a well,” Paul said, musing.
“Let’s find the well,” Julia said, half to herself, remembering back in Tuscany.
Bennie nodded. “That shouldn’t be hard.”
Paul pointed. “Okay, I’ll go left. Julia, go up the middle. Bennie, you go right. One of us will find it.”
“Bingo!” Paul cried, and Julia rushed over with Bennie behind her.
There, some three feet above ground and hidden in the tall grass, stood the brick rim of an old well.
On impulse, Julia tore out some grass to see it better, and so did Bennie and Paul.
They cleared enough to expose patchy concrete that filled the well.
Julia stopped. “Why did they fill it in?”
“Safety?” Paul answered.
Bennie snorted. “Or destroying the evidence?”
“We have to find out more about McKenna.” Julia turned to Bennie. “The cops told us they have an arrest warrant out for him, but people walk around all the time with warrants out for them. Is that true, Bennie?”
“Yes. It’s surprisingly easy to avoid a warrant. The key is to keep your nose clean.” Bennie shook her head. “But why would McKenna come back to kill Kay?”
“The missing piece from the clean-up?” Julia asked, thinking aloud.
“We don’t know enough yet.” Bennie slid out her phone. “Understood. I’ll get my investigator working on this. No reason to wait. We need to step it up.”
Paul nodded. “We’ll get online at the motel and see what we can find out.”
“Good,” Bennie said, texting. “I’ll go back and get this case in hand. If we win at the preliminary hearing, Courtney goes free and none of this matters.”
If we win, Julia said, praying.