Chapter 3
Jarred stands over the body, staring down at the young woman’s face, her eyes staring up at him as if asking why this has happened to her. He lifts his head as he hears the voices of two of his team members talk to the news people about the body and giving as little information as they possibly can. He smirks and looks up, watching the news people leaving disappointed since Jock and Elizabeth hadn’t given them much for their newspaper. Once they are gone, Jarred returns to his car and knocks on the window to let Janice know that she can join them behind the building. The door opens and out steps Janice, ready to work, eager even, to find the person who has been murdering innocents left and right. She follows Jarred, saying hi to the rest of the group, though she could tell that they are confused as to why she is there and walks up to the body.
Janice stares down at the empty glass eyes as she waves her hand over the dead body to see who had murdered the young woman, the blue light slipping form her fingertips and toughing the body. She looks at Jarred and holds out her hand so that she can take him back with her. He narrows his eyes, being one of the ones who like to use science and technology more than dealing with magic, but he takes her hand to see what it is that she can do so he knows how she can help the team. She grasps his hand loosely, pulling him into the past with her. They watch as the young woman goes into a shop in order to buy some new shoes. Janice and Jarred follow her into the shop without moving, but by moving with their minds, Janice helping Jarred out since he has never done it before.
“Whatever you do, don’t let my hand go. If you do, then you will not be able to see what I see,” she warns him as she tightens her grip on his hand. “And we can talk if needed. The others can hear us just can’t see what we are seeing so they can take down notes and everything while we experience what she does by being with her.”
“Got it,” Jarred says and keeps an eye on the woman as she looks at the shoes. “You guys ready to take notes?”
“Sure are, Jarred. I already have my wrist notepad opened and ready to go,” Elizabeth tells him as she watches in awe as Janice and Jarred seem to be standing there yet not really there at the same time.
Jarred grasps onto Janice’s hand, afraid that one slip up and he will lose his connection with the past. They continue to watch her as she leaves the shop with a box of new gray boots under her arm and heads for a dress shop next. They look at each other and groan at the same time, “Shopping trip.”
They hear laughter from the team and laugh along with them. Jarred waves his hand at them, to keep them quiet as he watches the woman duck inside to find a dress to go with her shoes. A few moments go by and she steps outside with Jarred and Janice at her heel, Jarred telling Elizabeth everything that they see while in the past even though it might not be relevant to the case. Finally, the end of the day arrives and they ready themselves for what is to happen most likely next, watching her die. But it never came. She went shopping and then nothing. The day ended and there are no memories of what had happened or of who had killed her. Janice looks at Jarred completely confused as to what has just happened. She was alive and then she was dead with no memories of what happened.
“The memory thief stole the memory of her death but I feel like there is more here. Something else is missing from her memories but I can’t figure out what. I will have to travel further back in her past but that will take ages,” Janice tells him, feeling confused and concerned.
Jarred nods and the two are back in the alleyway standing with the other three in the team and the body. Janice lets Jarred’s hand go and stares down at the poor woman, wondering what she can do for her but not sure that her magic will help in this case after all. “I need to jump in the other deaths too to see if their death memories have been taken from them. That might be one connection. I also want to see if I feel like another memory is stolen, a pretty big memory from what I feel.” She crosses her arms over her chest, rubbing her arms as if she is cold but it is a warm day. She looks at the others, her eyes somber as she chews on her lower lip, visibly shaken that she can’t see what she wished to see right away.
Jock pats her on the shoulder, “Hey don’t sweat it, Janice. I can tell that you are good at what you do. You will figure it out and we can all help you. You have our numbers in your phone right?”
Janice nods, “Yes I do. And thanks Jock, I will definitely give you all a call once I have learned anything. Do you think that they will let me take the files home so I can jump back? I need the actual report to help me jump into their past.”
“If they do, then we need to be there so that we can get the information that you collect. Or we can do it at another location other than your place, like an old empty warehouse or something,” Elizabeth pipes in as the group turns and walks back towards the front of the building, allowing the cleanup team to take care of the body and other items at the scene.
Simon, the fourth member of the team, walks over to his own steam car and looks back at Janice, “Let me talk to Mr. Stephens about letting us borrow the reports and then we can start jumping tomorrow?”
Jarred laughs, “Ah yes the smooth-talking Simon will be on the case and he will get us those files no problem.” He pats his friend on the shoulder and gets into their cars to head back to the office to finish the report to add to the unsolved file for the memory thief.