Borderline [On hold for major revision]

Chapter 14: Follow-Through

Chapter 14

“So what was with that whole episode yesterday?” Terra asked. We were standing outside a coffee shop a couple blocks away from the police station. She’d ordered an espresso con panna, but somehow I ended up paying for it. I didn’t even have a chance to buy anything for myself.

            “Don’t know,” I responded. “I was kind of freaking out last night. I feel a lot better now, though.”

            “That’s good to hear. But really, I think that maybe you should consult, like, a professional or something.” She lowered her voice at the word “professional”, making me wonder exactly what she meant.

            “A professional what?”

            “Like…” She lowered her voice again, “a psychic.”

            I was suddenly glad I hadn’t gotten a coffee, because if I had then I probably would have spit it out right then. “A what? Why would you possibly think that would help?”

            She took a sip of her drink before answering. “I just mean…Well, before, your whole super-instinct thing could be explained scientifically. You know, like you’re more aware of the signals your subconscious is sending you or whatever. But what happened last night, if you were right, that’s diving into the realm of the supernatural. And Cal, that’s not normal.”

            “I know what supernatural means,” I said dryly. I didn’t want to consider it, but she was right. Before yesterday, yes, I was different than most people, but not completely unique. There were definitely other people in the world that had sharp instincts like me. But I had never heard of a single person who could sense when food is bad like I had. It just didn’t happen in real life. “And I ask again: Why do you think a psychic could help?”

            “Well, since you’re turning into one or something like that, I just thought that maybe they could explain how the whole process works. Like, what triggers it or that sort of thing.”

            “Great plan. Now, where do you propose we find a psychic in Falkner, California?”

            She was silent for a moment. “Oh. Good point.” She finished up her coffee and tossed it in a nearby trashcan. Together, the two of us started the short walk back to the police station. “Ya know, I really hope Rogers will just stop being annoying and show up already. I don’t like having to come all the way over here to do work.”

            And just like that, she was over her idea of me seeing a psychic. I was secretly relieved.

            “Terra, you do realize that you can almost make it here faster than you can get to the Border Patrol station. I’m the one that has to take the long way.” She lived on the far east side of Falkner, only a mile south of the police department. I, on the other hand, lived a several miles to the west out in the desert region, technically not even within the city’s borders.

            “I just feel like this whole thing is sort of pointless.”

            I couldn’t help but agree with her; if Rogers wasn’t missing, why were we looking for him as if he was? It looked to me like he was hiding himself for a reason and we wouldn’t be doing him any favors by trying to find him. I nodded and together we went into the building.

            We did the exact same thing as yesterday. Vasquez, Wolfe, Terra and I all sat together in an empty conference room and scanned for details we might have missed. We looked at his regular travel patterns, any recent break in those patterns, and the site where he was last seen. After we’d talked an hour with little to no progress, I offered to go get some fast food for everyone.