Traces Of Truth: A Psychometric Thriller

Chapter 6: Psychic Killer?

A serial killer is on the loose, and it’s up to Jared and Claire to catch them. However, even with Claire’s psychic abilities, there are far too few clues and way too much overlap to narrow down their search. Though they know the killer wears a green poncho and used a flowery kitchen knife, nearly everyone in town owns those exact items, which means anyone could be the killer.

By the time they find the other victim (the streamer who was kidnapped before), the whole town goes into hysterics over these ominous events. They hold a town hall meeting to discuss what to do, and the debate boils down to holding a rite or installing security cameras.

Meanwhile, Jared decides that if everyone is a suspect then Claire will touch every single butt there is to catch the culprit. Thus begins their butt-touching-box service and Claire’s hilarious attempt at being a thug, but so far, no one is a match let alone a lead. Luckily for Jared, the town decided to hold a rite, which means everyone will be gathered in one place for Claire to use her powers.

During the rite, Shaman John Ponce suddenly becomes possessed by the victims, and a woman’s voice tells the crowd that her killer is here among them. The foreboding message lingers in the air as the group disperses, and the seeds of mistrust are planted.

As the weight of the situation dawns on Claire, she begins imagining how the killer will target her next, but Jared assures her that he will be her weapon and protect her. His swoon-worthy declaration seems to affect Claire, but alas, no amount of unintentional chivalry will alleviate her worries so instead she dons Hannah's helmet to cover her face. Pfft.

With helmet-wearing Claire by his side, Jared receives a tip about a possible third victim — a missing coffee delivery lady — so they retrace her last steps. Their investigation sends them down a string of butts (including Lance’s, which means his name is cleared for now), and once they find the crime scene, everything screams “murder” a bit too conveniently.

Since no body was recovered, Jared prioritizes finding the missing lady alive rather than catching the serial killer, and the next leg of their investigation leads them to the psychic cow farmer. When they begin questioning him, the cow farmer says that he hardly interacted with the missing lady, but Claire knows that he is lying. Having seen his memories, Claire recalls the two of them having a close relationship, and suddenly, everything the farmer does looks suspicious.

After dragging Jared away by calling his legs weak (much to his protests otherwise), Claire tells him that the cow farmer has the same powers as her. She wonders why she did not see him kill the others if he is the culprit, but Jared simply tells her that it all makes sense. Before he can explain, the cow farmer leaves in his truck, and our ragtag team chases after him.

While tailing the cow farmer, Claire and Jared lose him in the busy market, and she ends up following after him on her own. Just as her phone dies, the cow farmer pops out, and the two psychics circle one another, evenly matched in both power and skill. As she grapples with the cow farmer, Jared arrives right on cue, but instead of coming to her rescue, he gives her a passing glance and walks away. Ha!

Having figured out the truth a while ago, Jared finds the missing lady safely hiding and escorts her out. They return just as the fight between the psychics turns into a weird shaking contest, and in the end, the cow farmer wins.

As the case winds down, Jared reveals what actually happened (the lovers staged her death in order for them to run away from her debt), and though her situation is unfortunate, our strict detective will not let them off the hook. Before heading to the police station, Claire shares a conversation with her fellow psychic, and the cow farmer says that he trusts her boyfriend. Heh.

Besides the lovey-dovey moments he saw between Claire and Jared, the cow farmer mentions something odd: someone else was with them on the day of the meteor shower. This revelation is news to Claire, and she realizes that this means another psychic is out there and they know about her ability. It seems her tall tale about being the next victim may not be so far-fetched after all.