Congenital Witness

In the summer of 1964 eighteen-year-old Evelyn Smithson had just finished her shift at Rooneys Diner in downtown Minneapolis Minnesota. In her eighth month of pregnancy the teenaged runaway was exhausted and looking forward to a relaxing evening in her apartment. But when Evelyn stepped out into the darkness and the pouring rain she was mugged and brutally stabbed. Since Evelyn Smithson was now the fourth young woman in the downtown area to be attacked in precisely the same manner residents feared they had a serial killer in their midst. As Evelyn lay there dying on the city sidewalk she reflected on her life and the events that had led to this horrific scenario praying to God to save her unborn baby. Minutes later the young pregnant woman was discovered by her best friend Shirley Mulrooney who immediately summoned an ambulance. Unfortunately as the emergency room staff worked diligently to save the life of Evelyn Smithson they realized that was a losing battle; however the viable fetus could be saved via emergency cesarean section. Sadly just as her newborn daughter took her first breath of life Evelyn Smithson exhaled her last. Since the babys father was purportedly killed in Vietnam and the mother was now deceased the orphaned child was soon adopted by a loving affluent couple in Rochester Minnesota. Franklin and LaVonne Barth named their newborn daughter Cassandra. At long last their lives were full again and Cassandra enjoyed a typical happy childhood...until thirteen years later on a cold December night when everything changed and Cassandras life would never be the same. With the onset of her first menses thirteen-year-old Cassandra Barth became plagued by horrendous nightmares and daytime visions of the brutal stabbing death of a pregnant woman she had never seen or met. As a result Cassandras health disposition and schoolwork suffered tremendously spiraling the adolescent into a dark depression. As a last resort her parents took her to a psychiatrist and with the aid of hypnotherapy the Barth familys lives were cast into an abyss of questions worry fear and intrigue. Through their daughters hypnotic sessions Franklin and LaVonne Barth learn that the woman in Cassandras dreams is none other than her birth mother Evelyn Smithson. Therefore the time had come to reveal the truth about Cassandras birth and subsequent adoption. But even more frightening was the fact that Evelyns killer as seen through the eyes of Cassandra while under hypnosis doesnt resemble the serial killer who had been convicted of her murder all those years ago. In light of Cassandras unique and extraordinary connection to her deceased mother the psychiatrist and detective working the case invite a composite sketch artist to join their team. During that session a concrete image of Evelyn Smithsons killer soon emerges which sends the detective in an entirely new direction on his hunt for the truth. Will Cassandras visions of her birth moms murder help find the real killer? Is it possible that this executioner had been living freely amongst them disguised as one of their most prominent and beloved citizens for the past thirteen years? Will Cassandras involvement and intuitiveness ultimately lead the authorities to this cold-blooded murderer or has this gifted adolescent unwittingly constructed a portal making her his next target?