Sentinel Squared Chapter 2b betaed

They got there at the same time the Sheriff did. Jim and Blair watched as the car drove down the driveway and up to the cabin.

      Simon was coming back out of the house as the car pulled up. The three of them walked over to meet the deputies as they got out of their car. All three men froze as two very beautiful, and very identical twins emerged from the vehicle.

      Simon was the first to compose himself and walked over to introduce himself. Not only were the twins female, but they looked like they should be on the cover of Vogue. They both were around 5'10", in blue jeans and a T-shirt with long red hair and green eyes. Holding out his hand he said to the one getting out of the drivers seat, "Good morning, I'm Captain Simon Banks with the Cascade PD, and these gentlemen," he motioned to Jim and Blair, "are Detectives Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg."

      Taking Simon's outstretched hand, the driver said, "Good morning Captain, I'm Detective Catherine Waitland," she said and the motioning to her twin, "and my partner Detective Elaine Waitland. We're with the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office based out of the city of Omac." After everyone shook hands Catherine said, "We were on our way back to the station when your call came in. What can we do for you this morning?"

      "Well, to make a long story short, one of our friends..."

      "Dan Wolf?" Catherine asked.

      Simon nodded, then continued, "...lent us this cabin for the weekend. When Blair went to get the firewood, he discovered a little something extra in the wood pile."

      "Will you show us, please?"

      As they led the twins over to the woodpile, Jim said, "We were waiting until your forensics people got here before we started to download the pile and look for any evidence."

      "Well, unfortunately, you are looking at the forensics team," Elaine said.

      "Town that small?" Simon asked.

      "'Fraid so Captain." Catherine said.

      After they got to the woodpile, the twins first looked at the body inside the woodpile, and then started to look around the immediate area. Sometimes they worked together, and in constant contact, while other times they were apart, but acting like they were standing next to each other.

      Blair was watching them at work, and then glanced over to Jim to see him watching them as well. Several minutes went by before Blair asked, //"Could it possibly be this easy?"//

      Jim turned and looked Blair straight in the eye and said, //"It's possible, but how are they able to work apart like that?"// Jim answered.

      A moment later, Simon joined in. //"Excuse me, but could these two be what the Indian -- what was is name? -- Incacha? -- said would help you to finish your dissertation, because they look an awful lot like the two of you when you are working together?"//

      //"That's just what we were thinking Simon, but what do you say we take care of the business at hand before we go getting into all the Sentinel stuff?"// Jim suggested.

      //"I think that that would be a very smart idea to me,"// Blair and Simon
answered together.

      Several minutes later, the twins returned to their car to get the equipment that they needed. Once they got all of the photos that they could take with the wood in the way, they all joined in and started to download the pile to a spot that was about twenty-five feet away. Going over each and every piece of wood looking for any clues that they could

  find, they slowly got down to the bottom of the pile.

      Once they got far enough down that they could get to the body, the twins noticed that Blair was getting more and more uncomfortable getting near it, so Elaine went back to the car and pulled out a paper/plastic drape and covered the body. Blair relaxed visibly and mouthed "Thank you" to Elaine when she looked up at him. She just nodded and went about the task of going through the wood.

      When Jim saw what she had done, he too said thank you to her as they were passing.

      Finally, as they were down to the last two rows of wood, Blair spoke up, "Hey, I think I found something!"

      Everyone came over to see what Blair had found. Jim gave Blair a glove and he put it on before picking up the tri-fold wallet from between two of the pieces of fire wood. Holding it up by the very edges, he gently shook it open until he could see what was in the plastic window on the inside. Turning it so he could read the license inside the plastic shield, he read aloud, "James Lightfeather, 2245 Mountain Ledge place, Omac, Washington."

      Looking up, he could see how upsetting this piece of news was to the twins. "Did you know this man?" Blair asked.

      "Yes," Catherine said, then added, "I was afraid something like this was going to happen."

      "What do you mean," Jim asked.

      "Well," Elaine began, "James has -- had -- some land that the Lifeline Oil Co. wanted to drill on, but because James inherited it from his grandfather, he decided that he was not going to sell. Telling them as much, he thought that they had finally given up when the threats started. Nothing that could be proven in court mind you, but enough that he and his family were afraid to sleep at night. Then, two weeks ago, James went out to 7-11 to get his wife a carton of milk -- she's four and a half months pregnant -- and he never came home. I guess now we know where he went." Elaine said, resigned to the fact.

      "You know," Blair began, "this could be someone else."

      "Not a chance. James wears an aftercare that is special made just for him, and even through all the lime they covered him with, I can still smell it."

      The three men just looked at one another, knowing that their suspicions were now correct.

      Blair then proceeded to put the wallet into the bag that Elaine held out to him.

      Returning to the car, Catherine called for their Coroner's van, then returned to the group. Once the coroner got there, the twins turned the remains over to him as they proceeded to go inside the cabin so that their statements could be taken.

      They all settled down at the kitchen table as Jim went to make coffee.

      Blair couldn't stand it anymore. "Excuse me ladies, but I gotta know. How long have you been using your gifts in your police work?"

      The twins looked at each other as if they had been hit. "How did you know...?" they asked in unison.

      "Because, I have the same gifts," Jim answered them.

      Blair and Simon shot Jim a very surprised look at that admission.

      "Oh, really?" Elaine said, then added, "Is Blair your partner and Guide?"

      "Yes," Blair answered, "I'm also an Anthropology Grad student working on my Ph.D. on Sentinels."

      "Sentinels?" Carolyn asked.

      "I've never heard that term before." Elaine stated.

      "Yeah," Catherine added, "We've only heard them called Guardians before."

      "How did you learn to use your abilities? Did you have an initial Guide?" Blair asked

      "When we were very little, something like three or four," Elaine said, "we had out own invisible friend that taught us how to use our gifts. We still see him from time to time."

      "We used to help out Daddy when we were like five years old and he was just a Deputy at the Sheriff's Office. Now he is the Sheriff, and we run the investigations." Catherine said.

      "Actually, come to think of it, he paid us a visit last week. Do you remember that strange dream we had?" Elaine asked.

      "Yeah, now that you mention it. He said that there would be someone that would need our help, and that we should help in any way we can."