Page 27 of A Touch of Murder
As he waited, he took the time to look around Adam's apartment. It was simply furnished, nothing fancy or expensive. He noted a few photos on the wall in the living room. One was of what had to be Adam at maybe six or seven years old. He was standing with a woman that Barret guessed was his mother. The two were standing on a pier, overlooking a lake somewhere. Beside it was a photo of an older dog. Adam had his gloved hand sitting on top of the dog's head. Barret thought how sad it was that Adam couldn't even pet his dog without a glove on. He couldn't imagine going through life without feeling the touch of simple things like a dog's hair, or even a person's handshake.
He heard the shower turn on and returned to the kitchen, glancing in Adam's fridge to see what he might have for them to drink. He pulled out a pitcher of what looked like iced tea and filled two glasses with ice before filling them full. He set them on the table with the food, hoping that since the tea was in Adam's fridge, he'd be okay with it.
It wasn't long before Adam came out wearing sweatpants, socks, and a long-sleeved t-shirt. He'd changed gloves and now wore a gray pair. His hair was wet, but he looked more awake than he had when Barret had first come in.
"Thanks for this. I probably would have slept all night without eating. I didn't expect to sleep so long." Adam took a seat across from Barret.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You were pretty weak when I got you home. I figured you wouldn't take the time to cook, and I was starving. Ally's didn't have meatloaf left, so I got us both the chicken fried steak. Hope it's okay."
"It's perfect." Adam reached for a roll. "Have you been working this whole time?"
Barret nodded. "I took everything you told me today and added it to what we already had. I think we're getting a good picture of what happened the night she was taken. Tomorrowwill be a big day as we search for more information based off what you told us."
Adam rubbed the back of his neck and cringed. "If I can help in any way…"
"You okay?" Barret noticed how Adam moved as if he'd been in a physical fight.
"Yeah, just part of the aftereffects." Adam opened the plastic to-go box and started to cut into his food.
Barret set his fork down and narrowed his eyes. "Tell me the truth. You don't just see visions, you feel them too, don't you? Everything that was done to Trina, you felt." His chest tightened at the thought, but now that he'd said it, it all made sense. He'd seen Adam flinch at times while describing the attack. He'd seen the tears falling down Adam's cheeks. At the time, he'd thought the tears were in sorrow for what the girl had been through, but no, those tears had been because of the physical pain Adam had felt. "Shit, Adam, if I'd known, I'd never have asked you to go through that."
Adam shook his head. "I knew what I was doing, and how bad it might be. I wanted to find answers. Even if you'd known, I would have insisted on doing it. I'll be okay. I'm just tense. It's not like the pain lingers because it wasn't really happening to me. I feel the jolt of it when viewing it, but it doesn't linger. What does stay with me is the way I tense during the viewing. It takes a day or so to let my muscles ease a bit after, but it's not as if I'm physically injured. Don't worry about me. The sleep and shower helped."
"Damn it. You should have told me."
"Why? So you could stop me from doing it? No. We got a lot of information you needed because of what I can do. The little bit of discomfort I feel tonight is nothing compared to what she went through. I wanted to do the reading on Trina. I admit it was a little worse than I'd anticipated, but I have no regrets havingdone it." Adam took a bite of his food. "God, this is so damn good."
Barret shook his head but picked his fork back up. "Is there more I should know about how this affects you?"
"No. There might be a nightmare or two, but I'm sure you have those as well. It's expected after something like this. I'll be fine. Like I said, this isn't the worst reading I've done. I've seen and experienced worse." Adam took a drink of tea, then sighed. "Let it go, okay? Tell me what you did today."
Barret didn't want to let it go, but what was done was done. He'd be sure not to ask Adam to help on a violent case again. Hell, had he felt Roy's heart attack when he'd seen it happen? Why would someone put themself through something like that time and time again? "I updated the whiteboard with the information you gave us and made a list of things we need to follow up on tomorrow. Would you be okay if I send Maggie back over to get a sketch of the second suspect?"
"I was going to mention that idea as well. I thought about it in the car on the way back here but was too tired to discuss things at the time. I'll be in the shop all day. I have an appointment with a client at eleven, but any time in the afternoon should work."
"I'll give her a call in the morning and let her know. She can call and set up a time that will work for both of you." Barret buttered a roll. "Have you ever seen a sleeper cab on a semi?"
Adam shook his head. "I know what they are but never seen one. Why?"
"I think what you saw—the area they kept Trina—was in a sleeper cab. Do you have your laptop?"
"It's in my office downstairs."
"I'll just use my phone." Barret searched for images of sleeper cabs, then handed the phone to Adam. "Is this anythinglike what you were seeing? They can differ some, but you get the idea what they are like."
Adam looked at the photos for a moment, then nodded. "Most of these are a little bigger than what I saw, but the concept is the same. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what we're looking at. It was a lot dirtier. Is there any one detail that might tell you what kind of truck it was or what company it belonged to?"
"Not that I know of, but I'll head over to the truck stop tomorrow and talk to some of the mechanics there. They'll know more than anyone else around here. You gave us a lot to look into. Nothing solid, but it's a hell of a lot more than we had before." Barret sighed. "Are you really okay?"
"Yeah. I slept hard. Got up to use the bathroom, had another candy bar, and I was back out until you woke me. I can't thank you enough for bringing food." Adam smiled as he stirred his green beans around. "Are you okay? I know hearing the things I said couldn't have been easy for you."
"No, but I knew most of it already from the autopsy report. There were a few surprises, but not as many as you might think. I just pray those assholes left their D.N.A. all over her. When we catch them, we'll have a slam dunk case, and they won't have a chance of ever getting out of prison." This was one case Barret looked forward to testifying. He'd love to stare down those killers and see them rot behind bars after.
Silence fell over them as they ate, and Barret liked that they didn't have to talk to be comfortable around each other. It was a bit amazing that his last week had revolved around Adam, when he'd never had contact with him before in the five years Adam had lived in town. He now understood why his sister liked Adam so much and had always talked highly of him. He was sure that once this case was closed, he'd still drop by to visit and see if Adam might want to go hiking or maybe even sneak away for a camping trip one weekend.
"You'll be at her funeral tomorrow night?" Adam asked.
"Yeah, I'll be there working, but I'd go even if I didn't have to work. What about you?"
