Red Scarf

Chapter 3

"At first my parents didn't believe me. Then I started telling them about things that hadn't happened yet then those things would come true, and that's when they realised that I was telling the truth. My mother finally told me that my grandmother also had the gift, although she thought her mother was a bit mentally disturbed. When I started telling her about the things I was seeing and hearing, she realised that all those years her mother was telling her the truth. That she could see and hear the things she did. I don't use my gift very often. I try to avoid most situations where I can get readings from people and items. I rarely allow people to touch me and I try to avoid touching people as much as I can. I take the stairs rather than the elevator."

Ryan kept quiet and listened attentively to every word Amy was saying.

"I have dreams as well. Last night I dreamt that a man wearing a red scarf was chasing me down a tarred road with high buildings on either side. I am still not sure if I was the one being chased or if it was someone else. It is rather complicated. I am not certain if I am explaining this very well." Amy paused and waited for the DA to say something.

"No, go on," said Ryan.

"When I helped Michael with the files, I got a flash when I picked up the box. I saw all the women dead, posed in their beds as if they were sleeping soundly. Only, I saw nine bodies, not eight. But the ninth body was not staged in her bed. She was in a park, and it looked like she fell asleep on a park bench."

The DA sat up straight.

"Are you telling me that you saw this body yesterday morning?"

"Yes, Sir. Yesterday morning, when I carried the box of files to the boardroom."

"And you saw her, lying on a park bench?"

"Yes, it looked like she just fell asleep on the park bench."

"What can you remember about the dream? About the man, that was chasing you?"

"Nothing much, I never saw his face and the only thing that was standing out in the dream was the red scarf he was wearing," said Amy. Amy stood up and started walking up and down in front of the DA's desk.

"Of course! The red scarf!" she exclaimed. "I didn't make the connection. It never occurred to me!" She turned to the DA. "The red scarf! It all makes sense now."

"I don't understand," said Ryan.

"The red fibres found on the girls, it must have come from the red scarf the man was wearing. In the dream, he was chasing me, but he was in fact not chasing me. He was chasing the ninth girl. She was already dead when I dreamed about her. I only saw the last few minutes before she died. I was running in my pajamas – or rather she was running in her pajamas. She must have gotten away from him somehow, and he was chasing after her because she must have seen his face. He couldn't let her live after she saw his face. He had to improvise. That's why she was on a park bench."

"Backup, Miss Bishop." Ryan held up his hand. "Are you telling me that you saw all of this in a dream or a flash as you called it. That you saw him chasing this girl down the street, in her pajamas, and that he was wearing this red scarf?"

"Yes, that's what I am telling you. In the dream, the girl wasn't dead yet, and I didn't know who the man was chasing her. The dream I had last night. The flash, I got from the box yesterday morning. That's when I saw her on the park bench. But I didn't make the connection until now. I only now realised that the man wearing the red scarf is the one who must be killing all those girls."

"John told me to keep an open mind. I am not sure how to do that." Ryan shook his head. "He asked me to trust him, and that I must trust you. Everything you will be telling me, will be the truth and that I must do everything in my power to protect you. Who else knows about what you can do? This...this gift you have?"