Jack of My Heart

Don't Lose Your Head

"Alright. What happened then, Psych?" Singer crosses his arms. I sniffle and cross my arms.
"What?" I frown, not really liking the nickname.
"The show about the psychic... you know what, nevermind. Tell me how he died, and if you say decapitation you will be kicked off this crime scene so fast, your head will fall off," Singer points an angry finger at me.
"Okay, I got it, I got it. And the head severing wasn't the cause of death, that happened post mortem. A sort of trophy for the killer. The real cause of death was an overdose on LSD," I inform them, trying not to look at the body.
"And how do you know that?" A young woman who was kneeling by the dead man demands. She has a shock of bright white curls tied back into a ponytail, but still extremely long. The brilliance of her hair glimmers against her deep bronze skin, the long locks looking so soft it's almost hard to believe they're dyed.
"Well—I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met before, Jack Langdon." I stick out my hand.
"Laney Tolsford. Continue?" She raises her eyebrows. Do police just not like to shake hands? I take my hand back and give an embarrassed smile.
"Right. You can do a blood tox if you don't believe me, but trust me, that's what you'll find," I say, giving a little nod to the body. When my eyes hit it again, I feel a surge of pain in my back, almost centered. I crumple to the ground with a cry and grip the rug on the floor, opening and closing my other fist rapidly.
"Turn him over! Turn him over," I point to the body, head down as I try to get over the pain. The C.S.I woman complies and everyone goes silent.
"Holy shit," Detective Danowitz finally says. Vincent helps me up from the ground, checking me over for any external wounds. The man has an axe head sticking out of his back, right where the pain in my back is.
"So, I was wrong about the cause of death, but there was definitely LSD involved," I look over to the body.
"I'd say," Laney mutters, casting a glance at me from under a raised eyebrow.
"He's right," the C.S.I woman begins, "I'm Jennifer Cassidy, by the way."
I smile at her, which she returns with an even bigger grin.
"Jennifer," The captain booms, then points to the body with his head.
"Sorry, yeah. I mean, he's right about the head; the oxygen exposure and the way the blood is congealing indicates that the head was taken off after he died... that's incredible," She turns her glimmering eyes on me. Her coworkers stare at me as well, but do not share her excitement. I let out a nervous laugh as the giant captain starts to step toward me, and I back up until I hit a wall. The captain follows in my footsteps and towers over me.
"May I have a word, Mr. Langdon?" He growls. I gulp and try my best to maintain eye contact with him, but my eyes flick to Vincent, who is staring up at the captain with a look of rage.
"Uh, yes, sir, of course," I grin, but I'm completely terrified. He grabs me roughly by the arm and drags me into the hall, slamming my shoulder up against the wall and holding me there so I don't escape. Not that I'd try, and not that I'd get far, but I guess I can see where he's coming from.
"How the hell did you know all that?" He demands.
"I just... when I saw his body, it was like I... like I was him. I saw how he died, I just... knew," I tell him, the once overbearing pain in my back shaved down to a dull sting.
"Drop the act, Langdon," Captain Singer pulls my shoulder off the wall, then slams it back.
"I'm being serious!" I grit my teeth at the new ache in my shoulder.
"Sure. You told Martruto that this isn't the first time you've seen a dead body. Does this happen every time or was this a special occurrence?" Singer taunts.
"Actually, it does. I thought it was my own memories, but it would explain why my neck and head hurt so much," I think aloud, then meet the captain's confused glare. "I mean, yes. It has happened before."
"So, what, you're psychic?" He asks, still keeping the mocking tone.
"I don't know. I don't think so," I reply, shaking my head. Singer opens his mouth to demean me, but closes it when he turns his head to the left. His lips twist into a fake smile and he releases my shoulder, taking a step back. He looks back at me, then shakes his head and walks back into the apartment. I wonder what he saw; I think, my head turned to look out the window as I follow the captain. My question is soon answered when I bump into Vincent who apparently was standing in the door frame.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir," I apologize, dusting him off.
"Don't worry about it. Did he threaten you?" He looks back into the apartment.
"What? No! He just obviously had some questions," I answer, brushing myself off.
"Yes, and so do I," He mutters, moving out of my way and letting me pass through.