by Gerald Lopez
She clutched at the small gold crucifix at her neck. There was fear in her eyes—real fear—and not of me, but of someone or something else.
“Oh, sweet Jesus, help me. Lord help me, Jesus,” Nia said.
That was when Jimmy made his move. He got up, trying to run for the door. I ran for him then grabbed his waist and swung him around into the dresser. He fell to the floor at about the same time Nia ran out the door screaming.
“Jesus! Help me, Jesus!” Nia shouted hysterically.
Jimmy reached up and grabbed me around the legs, causing me to trip and bang my head on the dresser. It took me a couple of minutes to get back up after pushing Jimmy down. Finally I ran after Nia, but she was quick. Even though I jumped over several steps going down, she was ahead of me in the parking lot. Then as I hit the gravel, she was in the street—the pitch black street.
It was dark, the car was coming too fast and didn’t see her. It was over in a matter of seconds and I heard Jimmy scream out her name behind me… only it wasn’t really over. A fast, blinding ray of light—a blue light appeared. It was like a blue fireball hitting both the car and Nia at the same time. It ended with a huge blue, then gray explosion lighting up the night sky. What the hell had I just seen?
Chapter 6
Blue Light by Night
“Oh my God! Nia! Nia!”
Jimmy was screaming and all I could do was look straight ahead. What had I just seen? There was nothing left of the car or the girl; nothing but black dust. I was completely stunned. The sound of something metallic falling on the pavement behind me caused me to snap out of it. That could only have been the sound of keys falling. I turned, and saw that Jimmy had the Jag keys and was trying to get in the car, so I went straight for him. I tackled him and he screamed and clawed at me frantically. Somehow he got free and clicked the car doors open. This called for swift action, so I jumped up and kicked him hard in the back of the knees, sending him and the car keys to the gravel. Charlene came running out of the front office toward us, while I was still holding Jimmy tightly on the ground to keep him from getting up again. He was staring wide-eyed into space and his body was trembling. Then at the worst time, he started yelling and speaking incoherently.
“That light again! That damned blue light! Don’t let it get me—don’t let it! It just can’t be!”
Charlene took a good long look at him, then me holding him down before she spoke. “Oh my God, I saw it Jimmy! Poor Nia, that car came outta nowhere. I—I called the cops. They’re on the way.”
“Forget about the cops!” Jimmy said hysterically. “What about that blue light!”
Charlene looked down at Jimmy and I watched her… she wasn’t surprised by the mention of a blue light. And she had a hard, unsympathetic look in her eyes while staring at Jimmy. A look I’d seen in battle firsthand when I looked up into the eyes of an enemy who wanted me dead. I’d barely survived that fight.
“Baby-boy, I think you’ve gone crazy, Jimmy,” she said. “I didn’t see any blue light. Honey, maybe you need a li’l help. Did you see a blue light, Mr. Shayne?”
“I saw a light, like a spark from the engine or something, nothing unusual. When the car spun out the gas tank must’ve been hit.”
I neither trusted, nor liked Charlene, and I wasn’t about to tell her what I’d actually seen. In fact, I wasn’t entirely sure of what I’d seen. It was definitely not a spark from a car engine. Police sirens broke the now quiet scene and soon we saw familiar blue flashing lights in the distance.
Jimmy screamed and struggled again. “The blue light is coming back! Help me! Somebody help me!” He began sobbing uncontrollably.
I looked up at Charlene with my most flirtatious look. Something was going on here and Jimmy and I didn’t need to get caught up in it… time to go into my act.
“This dumb ass is so damn drunk he was crying about being trampled by pink elephants earlier,” I said. “You can see it’s all I can do to keep him from jumping in the Jag and wrecking it. I think he probably sees aliens coming to get him in those non-existent blue lights he’s talking about.”
Charlene’s eyes told me she was buying into my act, so I continued, “First, I have to flirt with the guy ‘cause he’s got something to tell me about my case—I was telling you about the case earlier. Then he won’t talk, so I get a couple brewskies in him and he starts seeing elephants and blue—freakin—lights. And here I was hoping I’d have some time to visit with you tonight.”
She looked at me smiling and shaking her big ole tits my way. My act did the job… reaching over, she ran her long fingernails down my bare chest.
“You are one buff son-of-a-bitch, Layton Shayne. Not many men around here with a six pack like you got. That dumb bitch Nia thought you had eyes for Jimmy. I knew it had to be part of your case. No guy that looks and acts like you can be one of those types.”
Two cop cars and a forensics van pulled into the lot. Charlene waved to them and then got back to me.
“I’ll talk to the cops about how that stupid Nia ran into the street and got herself run over. You get that dumb ass Jimmy calmed down in your room and I’ll send the cops up in a while. Once they start with idiot boy, you can come down here. There’s a small bedroom behind the registration area for quick naps and other stuff.”
“Good, at least my night won’t be a total waste,” I said. “Keep the door unlocked and the bed warm.”
I stood and hoisted a now practically comatose Jimmy over my shoulder. Looking back, I winked at Charlene while flexing the muscles on my free arm. Slowly I made my way through the parking area, which was hell on my bare feet, and back to my room. Before I went inside I looked back at the scene. It was now filled with cops, flashing lights, and one particularly interesting figure I could only see from the back. It was a fashionable woman in a long-sleeved, yellow jacket and knee-length skirt, but the interesting thing was her choice in footwear. She was wearing what had to be at least five-inch-high stiletto heels. It wasn’t the footwear of choice for any forensics expert that I’d ever met. And I’ve met quite a few in my career. Something hit me about this whole scene—something was wrong. My room door was still open, so I walked in, closed the door and laid Jimmy on the bed—careful not to inflict any more pain in his shoulders and legs. The poor guy instantly assumed the fetal position and began quietly sobbing. His mind was somewhere else and mentally he wasn’t feeling any pain. I stood next to him and tried to soothe him by rubbing his back. He was turning toward me when there was a knock on the door. Jimmy went back into the fetal position and I walked to the door which was half open.
“Frankie! I didn’t expect you,” I said.
“They called me in as I am the highest ranking officer available. May I come in, Layton?”
I opened the door all the way and ushered him in. As any good cop would do, he checked out his surroundings. Francisco started walking toward Jimmy, but stopped when he noticed that he was startling him.
“What is wrong with him? He looks a little messed up.”
“He’s more than a little messed up,” I said.
I got Francisco up to speed leaving no detail out, including the blue light or my theory about Charlene knowing something.
“Thank you for trusting me, Layton. I am worthy of it, so is Jimmy—probably. How do you want to play out the next scene?”
“Did Charlene see you walk up here, Frankie?”
“I don’t think so, she was inside making coffee for the boys.”
“Well then, I’ve got a quick plan to run by you before my meeting downstairs.”
* * * *
After a short time I put on a T-shirt, tucked one of my guns in my waistband, put my flip-flops on and walked out. I left Francisco with Jimmy and hoped my gut was right. There was real fear behind Nia and Jimmy’s eyes, but Charlene’s had a different look. Earlier, when Jimmy was mentioning the blue light, she had a steely and determined look in her eyes that I hadn’t forgotten. Besides the enemy I’d thought about ea
rlier, her look also reminded me of the kind of look I’d seen in hired killers or mercenaries in a war zone. I believed Jimmy had signed his death warrant by mentioning that blue light. And if I was right, Charlene would be the one to deal with him as she was clearly in the know about what was happening. With all of the confusion, now would be a perfect time for her to do something. Jimmy’s death could then be blamed on hysteria, drunkenness or any number of things. I walked into the office as Charlene was preparing more coffee to take out to the boys and the woman in heels. Something was still nagging at my thoughts. The cops and a forensics van arriving at the scene that quickly in this backwoods? They had to have been close by and waiting. But waiting for what? They didn’t know what would happen here. No, but they were expecting something. Charlene’s voice brought me back to reality.
“Hey, shug. Sorry it’s taking me so long. I had to call Nia’s pain in the ass brother and he didn’t react well. As if I was to blame for what happened to the girl. He was so pissed off that I’m glad the police are here in case of anything. Not that there’s much left for those forensics people to examine. I’ll be right back after I take some coffee to the boys in blue. You get that bed warmed up for me and I’ll show you what a real woman can do.”
She blew me an air kiss as she walked off with a tray that held napkins and coffee cups. Charlene was sure of herself, too sure of herself, and that would be her undoing. The fact that I was a more masculine fag had fooled her and that also told me something about her information source. They weren’t all-knowing or she would’ve been informed the femme-fatale act wouldn’t work on me. I moved where I would be out of sight but still able to watch Charlene deliver the coffee. It looked like there was a gun hiding under some napkins on her tray as she walked toward my room where Jimmy and Francisco were waiting. Soon my trap would be sprung. This was when I thought she’d make her move on Jimmy.
* * * *
I got to my room door just in time to hear Francisco yell ‘freeze’. That was my cue to take my gun out from my pocket and kick the room door open. Charlene and I were now face to face, or rather gun to gun.
“You son-of-a-bitch!” Charlene said.
She pointed her gun, aiming to shoot me, but was too slow. Francisco nailed her in the back of the head, splattering blood everywhere. The forensics expert and some cops were quickly called up, minus the lone female I’d seen earlier. At least now there was a body for them to examine rather than black dust.
* * * *
Francisco and I told the others the story that we’d made up earlier about Charlene being pissed off and jealous after having caught Jimmy and me together. We said that her state of mind after seeing Nia run over had caused her to react foolishly. Thankfully, Francisco was here and heroically saved my life. We also told them that Jimmy was not only suffering from shock, but also sleeping off too much booze. After a while the experts left, as did the cops. There was just Francisco, a sleeping Jimmy, and me.
“Things are okay for the time being,” Francisco said. “It has been mutually decided by everyone handling the scene that Nia’s death was an accident. The experts got everything they needed from here and soon the cover-up will begin.”
“Good,” I said. “Then there’s no reason I can’t tidy up this mess in here.”
“Let me give you a hand,” Francisco said.
The two of us cleaned the room and Francisco prepared to leave.
“It is clear that Charlene knew what would happen here tonight and was prepared to get rid of any loose ends,” Francisco said. “But as to why any of this happened I’m clueless.”
“Someone was afraid Nia would tell me something,” I said. “Whatever that something was, I think she was killed before she could talk. Either she was run over on purpose or it was a happy accident for those people who didn’t want her talking.”
“You and Jimmy stay safe, Layton. If everything happened because Nia was going to speak to you then the people involved moved quickly. I don’t think anything else will happen tonight but I am leaving a trustworthy officer downstairs to keep an eye on things. His name is Steve Landers, he is one of the good guys. Lock the door behind me when I leave.
I did as I was told as soon as he walked out the door.
Francisco was right about things happening quickly and people trying to cover things up quietly and without fuss. Something had sprung into action when Nia walked into my room. Charlene must’ve been given orders to watch everything and then do what must be done. This also meant that not all of the cops or investigators here were good guys. I’d also decided that Francisco was right and it was unlikely anything else would happen tonight. Charlene had messed up and the people behind the occurrences of the evening, whoever they were, wouldn’t try again tonight. I looked at myself in the mirror, then looked at Jimmy. We both had blood on us—I’d accidently gotten blood on him when I went to check on how he was doing. I walked over and gently and carefully picked him up in my arms. I was carrying him—not over my shoulder—but in my arms, like someone would carry a lover. I maneuvered us into the shower and turned it on. Both of us, still in our shorts, sat on the shower floor. The water came out cold at first and Jimmy shivered, so I wrapped my arms around him. Hot water finally started to run over our heads and worn out bodies. Holding Jimmy firmly, I popped his shoulder back in place. He let out a low gasp, then buried his head in my chest. Now I had to be both gentle lover and detective.
“I’m so sorry about that shoulder, baby,” I said, gently kissing the top of his head and holding his hand.
Jimmy finally spoke, quietly. “I’m sorry too, Layton, I wouldn’t have… I mean I would never have shot you… I swear.”
“I know, babe, I know. My biggest fear was that you might accidentally shoot yourself with that gun and I couldn’t let that happen. I’m not through with you just yet.”
We both laughed a little… then a lot. It was the kind of laughter that resulted from having your nerves severely tested.
“Thanks for saving me from myself, Layton. It hurt like hell when you did that to my shoulder, but I understand why you did it. It just felt like—like I was in a nightmare. An old familiar nightmare I’d forgotten all about.”
“A nightmare involving a blue light,” I said. “What happened to you, Jimmy? You were terrified of that light, and Nia was terrified of something.”
Chapter 7
Impressions
“Hazy images, Layton, that’s all I get is… impressions.”
Jimmy was still shaken up and his words were just popping out of his mouth. He was attempting to explain something that I didn’t yet fully understand, but I let him continue without interruption.
“Layton, it’s impressions and colors… and that blue and then black and… and images I can’t get out of my head… images that are terrifying… terrifying to me.”
I saw him shake his head violently as if trying to wake himself from a nightmare then it seemed like he finally awoke.
“Oh God! It’s back, it’s back! Did you see the blue light that hit that car tonight? Please tell me you did and that I’m not crazy.”
“I did, Jimmy, and it was like nothing I’ve ever seen. Whatever it was, that light deliberately targeted that car and left nothing of it or Nia. You’re not crazy. Tell me more about your experience with that blue light.”
“It helps to hear you say that you saw that light too. I’m much calmer now. I saw it—the blue light—for the first time when Anjelica and I were trying to sneak into a party being held at the old Kennedy estate. Sorry, I forgot to mention I was visiting Anjelica at the time. There was no way we could just walk in the front door, so we went on the property through a back way that we knew. Looking through the French doors in the rear of the house we could see the people inside. Then—”
He shuddered and started crying. I held his head to my chest and put my arms around him. It took a minute, but he began speaking between the tears.
“This guy, one of the guests, ran out of
the house as though he was on fire. We could see that he was in pain and he screamed… oh God how could I ever forget that scream? It shook me to the core. It was like pictures you see of people in flames running out of burning buildings, only there was no flame or fire. The guy was covered in a blue light… he glowed blue. It might’ve looked like light but there was an energy to it and it burned. That damned blue light burned through his clothes, his skin, and even his bones until all that remained was black dust. It was just like what happened to Nia and the car that hit her.”
He sobbed loudly into my chest, and I kissed the top of his head. The story sounded incredulous but I had seen that blue light myself, twice. I was now sure it was the light I’d seen at the restaurant and then when Nia and the car were hit with it—whatever it was. Jimmy was right about there being an energy to that light, a lethal and very dangerous energy. He lifted his head and began to speak again.
“Layton, I wanted to scream at the sight, but Anjelica put her hand over my mouth and got us both out of there. She made me swear never to tell anybody about it, not even her family. That’s when I saw how scared she was, I could see the fear in her eyes, but she was strong, she was always stronger than me. Anjelica knew we had to keep what we’d seen a secret or we’d be dead like that guy. We both looked at each other that night and knew that those people wouldn’t hesitate to use that blue light on us, to kill us. The next morning, Anjelica convinced me that it was all a bad nightmare and I believed it because mentally I needed to believe it. For a long time I would have the occasional nightmare about what happened but that’s all I remembered it as, a nightmare—until now. When Nia spoke to me… poor Nia. She told me where you were from and that she had to keep an eye on you or some people would send the blue light to get her. She wouldn’t say who the people were but she was scared.”