Where There is Light: Mind Bending Series, #4

By Lynn Tincher

Junna is gone without a trace. After weeks of searching for her in New Orleans and in the Collective Conscious, Detective Paige Aldridge returns to Louisville to investigate the murder of a fifteen-year-old boy. Unfortunately, she lands in the middle of something even more dangerous. Meanwhile, Visette tries to help Paige develop her power, but can Paige trust her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hydra Publications
• Release date: Jun 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393707936

Book preview

Chapter

One

Another horrendous death. Detective Paige Aldridge looked down at her blood-soaked clothes. Clothes covered in blood that was not her own. She thought for a moment about how she would drive home like that and half wondered if she should take a quick swim in the creek that ran beside her. Knowing she couldn’t, made her feel disgusting .

As the sun set, a dense fog rolled across the Ohio River, smothering an already drenched Louisville, Kentucky with an eerie golden glow. The red and blue emergency lights that flashed made the fog feel more ominous as the rain started to fall again.

Not wanting to ruin the seat of her car, Paige searched the trunk until she found a large green garbage bag that she had tucked in with the spare tire. Taking great care in tearing the bag from the side, she made it large enough to cover the seat. Opening the car door, she placed the garbage bag in, tucking it in as she went. Looking at her red and sticky hands, then at the steering wheel, she sighed. Determined to make it home and shower, she would clean the steering wheel later. Oh wait, she thought and ran back to the trunk. She grabbed a pair of the blue latex gloves from a box. With her hands wet, putting them on was difficult, and she wished she had remembered to throw them on before she ran down the hill. She would have to be tested again from having contact with someone else’s blood. Closing her trunk, she took a deep breath and looked around the scene once more. After deciding the rest of the team no longer needed her, she started to get behind the wheel.

Are you all right to drive? her boyfriend and partner, Jay Vittadini, asked as she took great care in working her way into the seat so that she didn’t disturb the garbage bag. His presence caused her

to

jump

.

Yeah, yeah, I’m all right. Paige said as she carefully turned the key in the ignition.

Okay, then. I’ll be home in a few. Be careful, you, Jay said as he tried to lean in through her open window to kiss her goodbye but remembered that her face was covered in blood.

Paige only nodded as she put the car in reverse, backed up and pulled away leaving him standing at the scene. She could see him watching from her rear view mirror.

---

Moments ago, Paige gave him all the information she had regarding the accident. Jay and the emergency crews were on the scene and could take care of the rest. She was in no shape to help any longer. Now, she just wanted to get home and get clean

herself

up

.

Paige shut down her mind the second she drove away. Not wanting to think about what happened, she sang with 70’s the song that was playing on the radio. She concentrated on the shower and maybe a cold glass of Angel’s Envy whiskey, a double in fact. Beer or wine simply wouldn’t do the trick after today.

As she waited at a stoplight, she noticed that a teenage boy was staring at her from the car beside her. What a sight she must have been all covered in blood, blue latex gloves only half on her hands, while she sang in her car; tapping her fingers on the wheel as best she could. The fingers of her gloves were flapping away as she tapped. She wondered if the boy thought she might have been on her way to a zombie walk or if she just murdered someone. However, Paige pretended she didn’t notice and kept on singing. He did pull out in a hurry and rushed past her when the light turned green. Paige laughed a little and

drove

on

.

After she had parked in her driveway, Paige peeled her sticky gloved hands from the wheel. Her hands stuck from the death grip she had on the steering wheel while driving. She saw her reflection in the mirror and looked at her face and hair. Both smattered and thick with blood. Paige felt as if her skin and clothing gained ten pounds from it. Destroying all of her clothes was her only option now. That was sanitary, and she needed to decontaminate. In more ways than one, she thought to herself.

As Paige gathered the garbage bag from the seat, she kept humming the last song she heard and made her way to the door. Her neighbor, Bob, started to say hello but took one look at her, turned, and went in the opposite direction, dragging his poor bulldog

behind

him

.

Maybe I am a zombie; she considered. I certainly feel like one and I definitely look

the

part

.

Paige unlocked her door, but before she opened it, she kicked off her shoes and socks, and wrapped them in the garbage bag. Harry scampered outside once she finally opened the door, so she jumped in the door pronto and shut it behind her to keep him for jumping up on her. He was happy to see her after all and he would go crazy over the smells on her clothing. Blood…someone else’s blood. Paige swallowed hard as she tiptoed toward the bathroom, grabbing more garbage bags from the kitchen as she passed.

Pausing at the sink, she placed her gun, holster, cell phone and other personal items on the vanity. She then stripped every stitch, including the latex gloves, and put all of the clothing methodically in one of the garbage bags, dropping the first bag into the second bag for an extra layer of protection. In the morning, she would take them to the precinct for incineration. I loved those jeans, Paige half laughed, half sighed at how she was learning to detach herself from things so she could function. At least she thought she was learning.

When Paige stepped into her shower, she closed her eyes and mouth to prevent anything from running in and leaned her head back into the hot stream. She let the blood wash from her, turning the water a dark red around her feet. The shower scene from the movie Psycho crossed her mind. After putting that thought out of her head, she let herself remember why the blood covered her to

begin

with

.

---

Just about an hour before, Paige noticed something out of the ordinary on her way home from work. About a mile from her home, she saw a line of broken trees with a set of tire marks leading toward them. Paige stopped her car to investigate. Just over the embankment and near the creek, she found a car that had swerved from the road, through the trees and flipped over on its top. Long blonde hair was cast through the driver’s side window and across what Paige thought was a tiny arm. The hand moved. She’s alive!

Paige ran down the embankment to help the young girl. She wasn’t much over seventeen years old and was bleeding from the neck and shoulder. She had to have a dozen or so of other injuries that Paige could not see from her vantage point. The car was still running as gas fumes filled her nose. She knew she had to

move

fast

.

She pulled her cell phone out of her jeans pocket and called 911 as she went to work on getting the girl removed from the car safely.

The door wouldn’t open. It was too damaged to budge. The roof was wedged into the earth. Climbing through the window and over the girl was her only option. Paige reached in and cautiously turned off the engine.

Looking for the seatbelt buckle, Paige crawled her way in through a small space in the window, trying not to injure the girl any further. After reaching her hand in as far as she could, she fumbled around until she found the buckle and released. The girl fell toward the roof and onto Paige. Struggling with her weight and the cramped area, Paige reversed her way out of the window. Catching her breath, she placed her hands under the girl’s arms and carefully wrenched her through the window.

The girl was unconscious but still alive as Paige pulled her free from the car. She tried to drag her farther. Her feet slipped on the wet grass, causing her to fall several times as she tugged her to a safe distance. Paige collapsed

over

her

.

It was not a massive explosion, just a loud rush of fire when it happened. The fire had enough heat that Paige could feel it on her face. Relief spread through her. They

made

it

.

She then turned her attention to the girl, trying to wake her. Hey there, sweetie. Can you tell me your name? Paige asked,

remaining

calm

.

There was no response from

the

girl

.

Hang in there. Help is on the way. Stay with me, all right? Paige then realized she should have looked for the girl’s purse to find identification.

The girl’s eyes started to blink as she turned her head side to side, trying to fight Paige off

of

her

.

It’s all right! It’s okay. Come on, stay with me, Paige begged. Paige could hear a small gurgle. You’ve had an accident, but you are going to be all right. An ambulance will be here in just a moment. Paige then found that the bleeding from her neck was getting worse. She applied pressure to try to

stop

it

.

Blinking, the girl spoke, "Don’t let me die! Please, don’t let me die. I have to…I need to find my brother. My broth…

brother

,

Ivan

."

"You won’t. Stay with

me

,

okay

?"

Paige was tough. There was no doubt about it. But this accident brought it all back. The girl seemed all too familiar. She’d lost most of her family thanks to her brother, Shepherd. It was strange how she didn’t feel any