Kaitlyn Jones, Surviving Death

Kaitlyn Jones, Surviving Death

© Copyright 2002, 2003, 2013, 2018 Kathleen J. Shields. All rights reserved.

Published at Smashwords

This book is a work of fiction. Places, events, and situations in this story are purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

ISBN-13: 978-1492766438

ISBN-10: 1492766437

Kaitlyn Jones Surviving Death

By Kathleen J. Shields

Tom’s not dead! I would feel it!

Having been so connected, would she feel different?

This exciting second book of the Kaitlyn Jones series will answer this… maybe.

Kaitlyn Jones the exceptionally strong telepath, now reeling over the news of Tom’s death is suddenly thrown into the midst of a true mystery. Is he really dead? With reluctance in her heart, disbelief and conflicting dreams strengthening an inner feeling that something is not right; Kaitlyn embarks upon a cross-country journey to seek the truth.

With an investigators determination, she stumbles into a career that introduces new opportunities, new enemies and opens old wounds. While on an emotional roller coaster of grief, determination and humility, she is led to an amazing discovery. Join Kaitlyn on this tumultuous journey as she discovers the truth behind it all.

If you thought The Creation of Kaitlyn Jones was an exciting book, you’ll be astounded to see what’s going to happen next!

Chapter 1

Congratulations! The crowd cheered as they raised their beer mugs into the air and praised Tom. It was a great party – everyone was laughing and smiling. The bar was full of commotion; clanking glasses, pool balls being racked, the jukebox blaring over dozens of conversations. The air reeked of smoke and a light haze covered the bar, as multicolored neon lights seemed to add a wild glow to the assemblage. Attempting to conceal her location, Kaitlyn kept in the shadows at the far end of the bar and watched the commotion from afar. It was a wild night to witness, but it was necessary that Kaitlyn be here.

So, Tom, now that you’ve made detective, which case are you going to solve first? his buddy and partner in the police force asked loudly so that everyone could hear. Tom chuckled as he looked at his slightly chubby friend Ken who had a receding hairline and big brown eyes.

Well, Ken, I was thinking about starting with the caper of the missing donuts, do you have any insight on that? Everyone burst out laughing except Ken who shyly looked up then spoke.

Actually, I was hoping that you could solve the caper of the missing doughnut holes! Everyone laughed as the two of them shook hands. It was an ongoing office joke about Ken’s love of donuts. Ken’s two donuts a day diet was always good for a laugh or a quick pick-up to a boring day. Ken, being rather hefty, had stuck to his diet of two donuts a day, eating healthy otherwise. With his extra exercise, he had amazed most of the department with a weight loss of twenty pounds in six months time.

Over the past few years, Tom could not have asked for a better partner and friend than Ken. He was there for Tom during some really tough times and helped Tom out when he was put on leave pending an investigation of a case. He would have him over to his home many nights for dinner when he could tell that Tom was lonely. Ken’s wife, Sarah was a wonderful, loving woman who could cook some fabulous meals. Tom especially enjoyed her homemade lasagna. It had a key flavor that Tom could never quite put his finger on. Throughout all the years, Sarah would never tell the recipe, she just loved keeping Tom guessing and she was always smiling. Her bright red hair only accentuated her rosy red cheeks and when she smiled, she seemed to light up the room. Tom knew he was lucky to have a dear friend like Ken. Therefore, he kept telling himself this as Ken began telling the guys one of Tom’s most embarrassing stories.

So, we’re doing routine patrols one night when dispatch calls in and says there’s a possible 10-75 at 35th and Main. Tom and I headed over there and when we approached, the neighbor lady was standing out in the hallway with her white hair in rollers. She was wearing a robe and slippers and was pointing to the apartment next to hers. She told us that we had better hurry, as it was sounding bad in there. Tom listened for a moment, hearing what could have been construed as a woman crying when he hears a man yell out I’m gonna kill you for this! Immediately, Tom pulled his gun and kicked down the door. As he raced into the room, ready for action, he stopped when he saw this guy; butt-naked, handcuffed spread-eagle to the bed. Looking to the side of the room, he saw a slightly shocked woman standing there, fully dressed and holding a digital camera in her hands. As she burst out laughing, the whole scene began to make sense. To Tom’s embarrassment, he had stormed into a room where a bitter woman was getting back at her cheating boyfriend. Everyone laughed as they pictured the scene and the look that had to have been on Tom’s face at that moment. Tom smiled, and then spoke up.

The really good part was that she had already downloaded the pictures onto the Internet, and better still, she had his permission recorded on tape. He had agreed in exchange for the handcuff keys. Everyone continued laughing and one of the guys spoke up.

I sure wouldn’t want to piss off that woman! All the guys laughed as Tom looked over at Victoria who was smiling brightly. Victoria, the vivacious redhead Tom had been seeing smirked as she decided then to add her two cents to the conversation.

Laugh all you want guys, but that woman has never been happier, Victoria said as she pulled Tom into her arms and kissed him. Dropped jaws and an awed silence filled the room as everyone who hadn't realized before, now realized that Victoria was that woman.

As the bar’s silence began to lift, everyone again began laughing as they lifted their beer mugs to Victoria’s honor.

Victoria smiled at this show of encouragement as she began to remember that intrepid night. She had spent so much time that night explaining her actions to Tom as he took his report, that he found himself asking her out for coffee. Tom was so enthralled by her coolness under such circumstances that he found himself laughing hysterically at the coffee shop. By the end of the night, Tom knew he wanted to know more about her, so he asked her for a date and they have been together ever since.

Tom was having a great time at his party tonight. His group, off to one side of the bar, was keeping to themselves, away from the other patrons. Everyone was having fun, laughing and carrying on, until the fight started. Two men from the opposite side of the bar began yelling. One pushed the other and before anyone knew it, people were being hit over the heads by pool sticks and others were joining into the fight. As Tom and a few of his fellow officers rushed to try and break up the fight, a very loud noise was heard, deafening the onlookers.

As people were screaming and heading toward the exit, Ken scrambled through the melee trying to find Tom. It wasn’t until most of the people had cleared out of the building and the bartender had switched on the main lights that Ken found Tom. He was lying on the floor, surrounded by blood.

Call an ambulance! Ken yelled as he ripped off his shirt and placed it over the bullet hole in Tom’s chest. He could tell Tom wasn’t breathing so he began CPR. Others from the force gathered around and looked on as Ken tried desperately to save Tom’s life. Kaitlyn watched from the shadows and her eyes began to water. She then lost sight of Tom as the others filled in the circle.

Standing in the shadows of the bar, Kaitlyn saw the silhouette of a man moving slowly towards the exit. At first, she couldn’t tell who it was, but she knew that it was important. She kept watching as he moved closer to the back door and quietly opened it. As the moonlight entered the room through the open door, she watched as the man turned to look at the people surrounding Tom’s body. It was almost as if he were taking one last look when the light hit his face just right and she recognized him. Tom? Kaitlyn called out, but no one heard her. She watched as he walked through the door and let it close behind him. She couldn’t follow or move. It was as if she was glued to the spot.

As the door was closing, she called to him again. Instead, he turned to watch the paramedics rush into the room. The crowd backed away from the scene for the paramedics. They worked on Tom’s body for a few moments, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. Then they pulled out the paddles and shocked his heart. The paramedics tried, but to everyone’s astonishment, sadness, and dismay, Tom was pronounced dead on the scene and covered with a sheet.

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With a serious crick in her neck, Kaitlyn jerked up straight in the bus seat and tried to figure out this dream she just had. Noticing that the woman sitting next to her was looking at her rather strangely, she realized she must have disturbed her.

Are you okay? She asked.

My old boyfriend just passed away. Kaitlyn admitted sadly.

Tom? She asked catching Kaitlyn off guard, You said his name a couple times while you were sleeping.

Oh, yes. Kaitlyn acknowledged, settling back into her seat. That was a really weird dream, she thought to herself.

She had dreamed that she was at the party, at the bar where Tom was shot and killed. Had her subconscious mind created the bar scene so she could experience it? Or was this something more? Was this one of her dreams that took her into the past? Could it have been like the time that she dreamed about her mother’s kidnapping which had actually taken place seventeen years before? That dream had only happened when she was actually sitting on the site where it had happened.

As Kaitlyn looked out the bus window viewing the endless wheat fields, she thought about the end of the dream. She had watched a man leave the bar, and when he turned to look back one last time, it looked like Tom. But, it couldn’t have been Tom, could it? Kaitlyn wondered about this for a while. Did the moonlight serve as a white light taking his soul up to heaven? Or was there something more involved here? Did Tom actually leave out of the back door during all of the confusion? No, she had seen his body on the floor. She had seen the paramedics cover his face and declare him dead. What on earth did this dream mean? She remained deep in thought about this dream for the rest of her trip.

As the bus finally came to a stop at the station in Kaitlyn’s hometown, she realized that this journey was beginning to take its next step. From the moment that Susan told her the news of Tom’s death; she had begun a journey to prove Susan wrong. Kaitlyn remembered well the moment Susan told her the news two long days ago and she thought back to how she handled the news.

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As Susan walked into Kaitlyn’s room, she knew her task was going to be difficult. She had lived with Kaitlyn for the past two years and had learned her roommate’s disposition. Knowing that Kaitlyn would be awake by now, and hopefully in a good mood, she prepared herself to tell Kaitlyn the horrible news. She trembled with the thought of having to do this difficult task. Finally, after watching her friend dive into her closet throwing clothing around, she spoke up.

Kaitlyn, I have something I need to tell you.

Have you seen my red sweater? Kaitlyn asked her friend; whose second worst habit was going into Kaitlyn’s closet and borrowing her clothes. Knowing that Kaitlyn wasn’t listening to her, Susan began to shake, she was having a very hard time trying to form her words. The idea of having to repeat this ghastly news even once nearly made her sick to her stomach.

Kaitlyn, I need to talk to you.

What about? Kaitlyn asked with her back turned towards her roommate, her attention was still focused on the closet. She didn’t hear the quivering in her friend’s voice, nor did she sense the anxiety that her friend was feeling.

Kaitlyn, please! Susan exploded. Finally, Kaitlyn turned to Susan. Her frustration at having to turn away from her task was evident on Kaitlyn's face.

What is it, Susan?

It’s about Tom. Susan said wearily.

What about him? Kaitlyn asked caught off guard after hearing his name after all of these years.

He’s dead.

As Kaitlyn stared at Susan, it seemed as if it took forever for the words to make sense. Kaitlyn’s mouth dropped open as she slowly began to comprehend what Susan had just told her. With her eyes wide and shock beginning to fill her face, she scanned Susan’s face for some shred of hope that Susan was just playing a horribly sick joke. But as she stared at her friend, seeing the sadness, remorse, and pity, Kaitlyn knew then that Susan was not joking. Tears began to well up into Kaitlyn’s eyes. As she felt the burning sensation of tears forcing their way out, Kaitlyn refused to give in to the tears. She made herself remain calm and continued to stand there in disbelief.

You’re wrong. Tom’s not dead. Kaitlyn said calmly.

I got a call from his mother just a few minutes ago. Susan exclaimed.

Well, it wasn’t her.

Yes, it was her. It was Marge McKinney and she sounded pretty upset. Susan stammered.

Well, I don’t believe it. I would know if Tom was dead.

Kaitlyn, it’s also here in the newspaper, Susan said as she showed Kaitlyn a computer printed copy of the newspaper article.

What is?

The story of his death is on the front page of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Kaitlyn stopped. Susan had printed the front page of San Diego’s online newspaper to show the column and Tom’s picture for proof. Kaitlyn wanted to simply doubt it since it was easy to create a fake article on the computer, but then she looked over Susan’s shoulder and noticed that the computer screen was still on that web page. Kaitlyn took the paper from Susan and looked at it. She wanted desperately to prove Susan wrong, so she examined the picture. Looking for a flaw, anything, to prove that it was someone who looked just like Tom. Desperately hoping that it was a really sick joke and that the picture was a fake, Kaitlyn stared at the picture. It wasn’t the same man she had known from high school. This version of Tom was older and wiser and his hairstyle was different. There were now laugh lines around his mouth. However, as she looked at the picture and looked into his eyes, those eyes that had looked into her very soul so many times, the eyes that with a glance could tell her everything she had ever wanted to hear, suddenly Kaitlyn recognized this man. This was a man who was full of love and caring, a man who had so much to offer and to give. This man that she had loved so incredibly that it made her physically sick to think back to how horrible she had been to him. Suddenly Kaitlyn forgot how to breathe.

Kaitlyn’s body begun an automatic shutdown. Her lungs forgot to breathe and her heart seemed to have stopped beating. Suddenly, tears filled her eyes. Feeling as if she were going to drown in her own tears, she closed her eyes. However, as she did, the room went dark and started spinning. She couldn’t feel her legs or arms, she became light headed, uneasy on her feet. Feeling as if Earths gravitational pull was suddenly thrown off kilter Kaitlyn fell.

Kaitlyn! Susan screamed as she ran to help her fainting friend. Susan took hold of Kaitlyn’s arm but in her haste to reach for her friend, she was pulled down also and landed on her instead. Susan began to panic. Kaitlyn! Oh my God, Kaitlyn, wake up! She slapped her friend on the face, wondering if she should get water or perform mouth to mouth. Kaitlyn’s eyes then opened quickly which made Susan jump.

Kaitlyn, are you all right? Susan wanted to be there for her friend. She wanted to help her through this sad time and to give her a shoulder to lean on. But Kaitlyn didn’t want any of it.

It’s a lie.

What is? Susan asked with shock.

Tom’s not dead. Kaitlyn said with so much certainty that Susan did not know what to think. Kaitlyn had fainted and now she was in denial. Susan knew that Kaitlyn was about to go through her worst life experience ever and she was grasping at ideas of how to help.

It’s in the paper… Susan began trying to make sense of Kaitlyn’s statement.

I don’t care if the pope said it! Tom is not dead! I know that I would feel it. Kaitlyn insisted.

What do you mean you would feel it? Susan asked curiously having heard this statement twice.

Kaitlyn had never told anyone of the telepathic link she had with Tom. She had never wanted to break the secret that he had sworn was so important for her to keep. They hadn’t communicated telepathically with each other for four years, but once a connection like that was made, it couldn’t ever be severed, could it? Kaitlyn began to doubt herself and to doubt the idea that she and Tom had really ever been close enough to know each other that well. But there was one thing she did know, even though they weren’t as close as they had been in the past, her heart would feel slightly different if he were truly gone. She had to believe this, she had to believe that she would have felt differently the very second his soul left this planet. She wasn’t sure why, but she really had to believe it or otherwise she would surely go crazy.

Kaitlyn I’m so sorry I had to be the one to tell you this. Susan knew Kaitlyn was in denial, and she also knew Kaitlyn needed to go to the funeral. She needed to get closure, to see the body. She knew that with Kaitlyn’s personality, she would believe it was a lie until she proved it wrong. So that night, Kaitlyn left with her bags packed for a weekend trip. Her heart was determined to find the truth.

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As Kaitlyn’s bus arrived at its final destination, Kaitlyn took a deep breath and prepared for this visit. This was her first trip ‘home’ since she left five years ago. She felt uneasy during the entire trip, being back would be weird, she could sense it. As she stepped off of the bus and grabbed her bag, she suddenly felt this whole thing about Tom could really be true. She had been attempting to contact Tom, to see if she could still do it, to see if just maybe he was still alive and the newspapers were wrong, but he hadn’t contacted her back. And when she saw the town, the town she had known so well, the crying eyes, the mourning in almost every citizen and then finally Tom’s mother, she knew in an instant the whole thing was true.

Marge. Kaitlyn said nearly crying herself. Marge looked up from her damp tissue and half smiled.

Kaitlyn sweetheart. She cried holding out her arms. Kaitlyn went to her and held her. She knew the woman well. After Kaitlyn’s father was killed she lived with Tom and his mother for almost a year before she left town.

He was so young! Marge cried. "He had so much life! How could this have happened?

It doesn't seem possible. Kaitlyn sighed as she held the grieving mother in her arms. Together they stabilized each other and made their way to the funeral parlor. When they arrived there, they were met with some rather unsettling news, Tom’s body had just arrived from California but it arrived already cremated.

What do you mean it was cremated? Marge cried with grief. I never gave anyone permission to do that! Kaitlyn tried to calm Marge, to keep her from ripping someone’s head off but she was just as angry as Marge about the situation.

We apologize Mrs. McKinney he just arrived that way. Maybe you could call the San Diego morgue?

-------

With no body, no face to grieve for; to gather that last bit of closure, every visitor was filled with bewilderment. Marge was beside herself with so many emotions, she didn’t know which to express first. She was so sad about her loss, angry at not being allowed to make that final decision or see her son one last time, embarrassed when everyone asked why she did it and annoyed each time she had to explain what happened. Marge was getting tired of it all, all she wanted to do was crawl up in her bed and grieve for her only son and here she was forced to be mature about the situation and try to keep it together for everyone else’s sake.

As the afternoon became evening and Kaitlyn and Marge finally arrived home to rest up and prepare for tomorrow’s funeral service, Kaitlyn could sense Marge wanted to say something. Kaitlyn however excused herself and went up to her old room and pulled out her black dress to hang up and dewrinkle for tomorrow. As she turned from the closet and looked around at the very unchanged upstairs, Kaitlyn began to remember just how great it was living with Tom. As she walked down the hall to Tom’s room she saw his door was closed. Hesitating on whether she should go in or not she flashed back to one of her most favorite days.

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As Kaitlyn ran up the stairs the fact that Tom’s door was closed never occurred to her. As she threw the door open and ran into Tom’s room, Tom turned from his desk and looked at the huffing teen catching her breath.

So much for knocking.

You know I don’t like rules. Kaitlyn dismissed as she walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss. Anyways, you won’t believe what happened today.

A fire drill during 5th period?

Well yes, but you were there; I’m talking about during my class.

You taught your girls how to fight?

I’ve been teaching them that for the past three months, I mean between me and Susan.

Oh, Tom smiled. Did you finally make it on the cheer leading squad? Tom asked knowing that would just rile Kaitlyn up.

No. She pouted as she took his hand and bent it playfully backwards. Tom laughed as he saved his hand then he stood from his desk and walked over to the window.

Well I don’t know. What happened today in your class between you and Susan?

We bonded. Kaitlyn sighed as