Chapter 28

Getting closer to the back entrance of the building, I could feel the Texas heat in gradual waves. Walking through the door into the sunlight was like passing through those plastic dividers in a grocery store from the refrigeration rooms to the regular store rooms. You could tell a distinct difference in the temperature.

I followed Stanfield to the same unmarked car he’d driven earlier. When we got to it, he stopped and turned to face me. “Tell me,” was all he said.

I stopped just out of arms reach wondering if he’d spoken to me or if he had a Bluetooth earpiece for his cell phone. His ears were in clear view, being that his hair was so short, so obviously he was talking to me. “Tell you what?”

He nodded his head back toward the building. “Tell me what you saw.”

I glanced back too. Part of me wanted to simply tell him and have done with it but another part knew it wasn’t my secret to tell. I looked back at him. “I’m not sure how much to tell.” That wasn’t going to help me.

“Tell me what you saw,” he repeated.

I looked up at the pale blue sky. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen, but there was a subtle shift in the blue to a light tan or beige along the edges where the sky met the city. It was air pollution, the effects of so many people packed into such a small space, and all the cars, trucks, and industrial exhaust being pumped into the air. I didn’t remember seeing anything like it back at home.

Looking away from Stanfield was only diversionary. He was still staring at me, waiting for me to talk when I looked at him again. “Why do you want to know so badly?”

He glanced at the building. I looked back over my shoulder but no one was there. He was still watching me. I knew he was. I looked at him again. “You asked me earlier why I believed you so easily.”

I nodded but didn’t say anything.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was going to say something profound, something he normally didn’t talk about. I could see the anxiety in his aura. It shifted and rolled. He didn’t want to talk about it, but maybe he’d never had anyone else to talk to before. I waited, just like he had waited.

“I know someone who is ... what’d you call it? Powerborne?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

He nodded. “I won’t say who. But I’ve known their secret for years. It bothers them.”

I nodded again. “I can understand. They feel like they’re alone. Like no one else could understand what they’re going through.”

He nodded this time. “Yeah, something like that.”

I glanced back at the building this time. I had an idea of why he wanted to know. “You’re wondering if anyone else is going through what your friend is going through.”

He nodded.

“I don’t know if they are or not. I couldn’t tell you how they feel about it or if they’ve talked to anyone. I just know that there are Powerborne in your department.”

“Could they have helped with Dan Baxter?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe, maybe not. They might have only made things worse, not just for the situation but for themselves. You already know what it’s like for your friend. Imagine how other officers would take it if they found out one of their own was like that.”

He nodded. “I see your point.”