“It might help if you close your eyes,” Sebastian suggested, his voice kind.
Katie nodded and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she waded through her memories and tried to focus on what she remembered. “I recall a tall, substantially sized man. He had black, almost obsidian eyes. His eyes haunted me for the longest time—and then in a recent dream, I saw the rest of his face.”
With her eyes closed, Katie heard the scratching sounds of charcoal on paper.
“Do you remember the shape of his face, Katie?” Sebastian asked.
“I think he had a round face,” Katie said, her eyes still closed.
“Any distinguishing features or marks on his face,” Nelson asked.
“A scar—a thick white scar below his mouth, shaped like a moon.” Katie’s eyes flew open. “I just remembered that. It wasn’t in my dream. How strange.”
“It could be this process of sitting and actively visualizing the attacker’s face while someone sketches beside you that may have nudged your memory in the right direction,” Sebastian said with a smile. “I’ve seen this happen before.”
“Remarkable,” Katie said.
“How is the sketch coming along, Paula?” Nelson asked, leaning forward. He was sitting directly across from Paula and was clearly angling to see the sketch.
“It’s coming along just fine, thank you very much, and I’d thank you not to peek,” she huffed, shifting in her seat to hide the drawing from his view.
“Well, it’s a very good start,” Sebastian said, with a quick wink at Katie. “Do you recall any other distinguishing features?”
Katie nodded. “Thick eyebrows. They looked like one large, furry eyebrow.”
“So, one brow across his face?” Paula asked.
“Yes.” Katie shivered involuntarily.
“All right, give me a moment to catch up.” Paula bit her lower lip as she sketched furiously, the charcoal scratching loudly on the paper. When she finished, she turned the pad toward Katie. “Like this?”
Katie tilted her head and stared at the picture. “Hmm…something isn’t quite right.”
“You’ve made his face heart-shaped, if you ask me,” chimed Nelson, who’d stood up and was now looking over Paula’s shoulder.
“I didn’t ask,” Paula said, smiling tightly. “But I’ll make it rounder.” She reached for a small scrap of cloth on the table and gently smeared the edges of the drawing.
“His face was longer, not round like a circle, more like an egg shape, and he had a wide forehead with heavy lines across.”
“What about his eyes, Katie? What shape do you see?” Sebastian asked.
Katie closed her eyes again and pushed herself to remember. This is for Wendel. “His eyes were beady, dark, scary.”
Paula sketched quickly. “What about this?”
Katie opened her eyes again and examined the sketch. “Yes! That looks like his eyes. Well done, Paula.”
Paula smiled and shot Nelson a smug look.
Nelson arched a brow and shot a challenging look back.
Katie was becoming even more curious about their exchange.
“What about his nose?” Sebastian asked, clearing his throat. “Noses can be a very distinguishing feature.”
“He had a bumpy nose,” Katie said, touching her own nose. “And it was crooked as if it had once been broken,” she added. “And at the bottom, it lifted a little with wide nostrils.”
“How close did he get to you, Katie?” Paula asked.
