kitchen.
“I think she’s been buried alive. Why would someone do this?” she asked. “Why would someone take Amy?” Her gaze searched Theo’s.
“What makes you think that?”
Jillian froze. She couldn’t tell Theo what happened. He’d never believe her. “I don’t know. I just do. I think she’s in a cemetery. There’s an air tube…”
He sighed. “Jillian, it was a mistake to call you in on this case.”
Jillian racked her brain. She had to stay close. She had to stay involved. Theo couldn’t take her off. She was panicking and on the verge of being out of control. Breathe. Breathe. “What if we bring my partner in?”
“Lynn?”
Jillian nodded. Lynn Bowers would be close enough to keep her informed but distanced enough to profile the perp.
Theo appeared to be thinking it over. Some semblance of composure returned. She took another large gulp of air and blew it out slowly.
He scratched his bald head. “I don’t know, Jill. She’s never worked with us before.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s not qualified,” she argued.
“I don’t know. Howard Walters is our backup guy.”
She was at the end of her rope. She had to confess about encountering the ghost. “Theo, I can do this. I have information that might help. And I’m comfortable with Lynn.” She continued, forcing herself to slow down, to sound like the professional she was. “I have a witness to Amy’s abduction.”
Deep furrows creased his brow. “A witness?”
She nodded. “Yes. He’s not a…conventional witness. But he did see what happened.”
Theo looked skeptical.
Jillian produced the button from her pocket.
His mouth fell open. “That’s evidence.” He pointed at the button. “Jillian, tell me you did not take evidence from a crime scene!”
She stammered. “I…I… You don’t understand.”
His hands found his hips. “I can’t believe this! Why would you hinder an investigation by taking evidence? You know better than this.” He glanced out the gauzy drapes, watching as police cars began pulling up. “Did anyone else see you take this?”
She shook her head. “No. Wait. Let me explain.”
His eyes got big. “You better start fast.”
“I think this button may have belonged to a Civil War soldier. Amy was…well…” This was going to sound ridiculous and Jillian knew it. “She was sending him to the Light. It’s a thing she does and—”
“I know what it is. I’ve seen Ghost Whisperer .” His tone was derisive.
“When I was looking at the evidence earlier, I picked up this button and all these crazy images started coming to me. It was like I was inside Amy’s body.”
Theo’s raised eyebrow sparked desperation. Jillian jabbered on, her words fast and clipped. “I could see her hands. Her clothes. It was her, Theo. I know it. And I…I could see a man. A Civil War soldier. And…”
Theo looked as if he were trying to absorb it. “Are you telling me some kook dressed up like a soldier kidnapped your sister?”
“No. No. The soldier was…is…a ghost.”
Theo stared.
Jillian’s fingernails dug into the velvet. “He witnessed the abduction. He told me.”
“He told you?”
“I know how crazy this sounds. But you, yourself, told me I had a sixth sense. Well it’s true. I do. I just…I just haven’t…used it in a long, long time. I’m not comfortable with it the way Amy is. But I did see Amy. She’s buried somewhere…”
Theo snorted. “I said you were a good profiler. I didn’t mean for you to go goofy on me.”
“ Please . You of all people have got to believe me. I talked to the ghost. Right here. Right there at that table.” She pointed.
He shot a wary glance at the Ouija board. “With that thing?” He pointed at it.
Jillian shook her head. “No. He was here. He sat in that chair and told me what he had seen.”
“A Civil War soldier?” He was clearly skeptical.
She stood and paced, her heels sounding on the wood floor. “I know it’s crazy. I