Read Carrots: A Shelby Nichols Adventure for Free Online Page A

most like the guy in the bank. Still, I wasn’t sure. There was something about him that didn’t seem right. But what if it was him and I messed up? “How certain do I have to be?”
    “We need to have a positive identification before we can press charges. Unfortunately, the only evidence we have is the mask, but a positive ID would be a step in the right direction. It would help us get a search warrant.”
    Dimples was pushing for number seven. That guy’s hair color seemed too dark, but what if he’d changed it? I focused real hard on their thoughts, but the glass was too thick. I wasn’t sure it was any of them. “Can you have number three, and number seven come closer?”
    Even then, I couldn’t tell. What I needed was the mirror gone, but how could I explain that to Dimples? “I’m just not sure. Is there any way I can look at them without the mirror in the way?” I knew that sounded funny, but Dimples was so eager for me to make an ID that he considered it.
    “I can’t let them see you.” He was disappointed, but then added, “How close do you need to be?” He was thinking about my premonitions.
    “I just need to be in the same room. If they all faced the wall so they weren’t looking at me, would that work?”
    How was he going to explain that?
    “You could let me slip in while they were turned for just a few seconds. No one would ever know I was there.”
    “All right.” He couldn’t believe he was going to do this. He took me down the hall, and opened the door to the lineup. He left the door open, and asked the policeman in charge to tell them to face the wall. I slipped inside for a second, and scanned their thoughts quickly, lingering on three and seven.
    Three was thinking about all the work he had left to do on his desk upstairs, so I knew it wasn’t him. Seven was sweating, but not because he’d just robbed a bank. He was running a meth lab in his basement, and was hoping the guys were clearing everything out before the cops got a search warrant. I sighed with disappointment. It wasn’t any of them.
    I slipped into the hall, and hurried back to the observation room. When Dimples returned, I gave him the bad news. “I’m sorry. None of them are him.” Dimples let out a string of profanity, but it was only in his mind so I tried not to look shocked. He led me back to his desk with pursed lips, and kept cursing in his mind. He wasn’t taking it well, so I decided to redirect his thoughts.
    “But you might want to check out number seven anyway. I think there’s something he’s real nervous about in his basement.” I hoped that was vague enough to make Dimples do something about it.
    He sucked in his breath, then scratched his head as he contemplated it. “I don’t know. I need probable cause to get a search warrant.”
    “I think it might be drugs. Has that guy ever been picked up for drugs?” I already knew he had. “Would it hurt anything if I was wrong?”
    “Just my reputation.” He smiled at me, trying to bring some levity into this weird premonition stuff. It was a little too strange for him, but if I was right, how could he not follow through? Stopping the bad guys was more than a job to him. It was a calling. That was why he had gone into law enforcement in the first place.
    We got back to his desk, and he searched my face for signs of insanity. I almost rolled my eyes and told him to knock it off, but instead, I took a deep breath and gave him a confident smile. I decided not to push it. He would do what he felt best.
    “I guess I’d better go,” I said.
    “Thanks for coming down, it’s too bad it wasn’t him.” The phone on his desk rang. “Can you hang on for just a minute?” I nodded, and he picked up the receiver. The conversation wasn’t long before he hung up. “That was the hospital. The other victim just died.”
    “Oh no.” The room seemed to shrink around me.
    “It’s armed robbery and murder now. I’ve got to go, thanks for coming down.