by R. D. Brady
Laney watched her friend, worried about how she was handling all of this, but also worried about what she had overheard. “Kati, what did you mean when you said that Max could see ghosts?”
Kati’s head popped up in surprise
Laney cringed. “Sorry. I kind of overheard.”
Kati sighed, curling her legs under her. “I don’t know why I didn’t tell you. I guess I just figured you had enough going on without more drama.”
Laney took Kati’s hand. “You guys are my family. I know these last two years have been crazy, but that hasn’t changed.”
Kati squeezed her hand back. “I know. I know. I think I’ve just wanted to keep it to myself. If I did, then maybe it wasn’t real.”
Laney nodded. “I get that. But any chance you could tell me now?”
Kati spoke slowly. “It started a few months ago. Max kept talking about these imaginary friends. I never really thought much about it. Not until Sally.”
“Sally? His friend from the park?”
Kati nodded. “Her full name is Sally Richards.”
Laney paused. “Why do I know that name?”
“Because she was the little girl who went missing about two years ago.”
Laney flashed on a little girl with red hair and bright blue eyes. “Right. Her body was just found yesterday.”
Kati nodded.
“What does she have to do with Max seeing ghosts?”
Kati sighed. “Max is the reason they found her.”
CHAPTER 29
Two Days Ago
“Mom, can we go to the park today?” Max asked as he ran into the living room in his new Spider-Man shirt and jeans.
Kati looked up from her paperwork. She hadn’t slept much the last two nights; ever since Max had mentioned David, she’d just tossed and turned. So early this morning she’d gotten out of bed and driven to the school. She’d picked up a bunch of paperwork from Laney’s desk, and was planning on a day working from home. She just needed a change of scenery, she assured herself on the way back to the estate. And it wasn’t because Max said he spoke with his dead father.
Kati looked into Max’s hopeful face. “Um, I don’t know, honey. I have a lot of work to get done.”
“Can Maddox take me?”
Maddox was just coming up from the basement, a basket of laundry in his hands. “What? The park? When I have an incredible morning of laundry folding planned?”
Max laughed, ran over to Maddox, and grabbed his leg. “Please, Maddox. Please.”
Maddox caught Kati’s eye. She nodded. “If it’s okay with Maddox, it’s okay with me.”
“Maddox?” Big blue eyes stared up at him.
“Agh, he’s using his powers of cuteness on me. I cannot resist. Okay, Max. Go grab your jacket.”
“Yes!” Max sprinted out of the room.
Maddox placed the laundry basket on the counter. “Okay if I leave this here?”
“Sure, no problem. And thanks for taking him. I’m a little distracted this morning.”
Maddox leaned against the counter. “I noticed. Everything okay?”
Kati struggled to keep her voice even under Maddox’s intent stare. “Yeah. Just didn’t sleep much.”
Maddox glanced over his shoulder toward the stairs, then sat down next to Kati. “Last night, Max kept saying that he promised Sally he’d play with her today. Have you met Sally?”
Kati shook her head. “No. Sally’s one of the imaginaries.”
Max walked into the kitchen just then, his jacket on upside down, the collar near his waist. “She’s not imaginary.”
Kati laughed at the sight. “Come here, you.” She pulled it off him and put it on correctly, zipping it up. “So what does Sally look like?”
“She has red hair like Laney.”
“Oh, I see. And where does Sally live?”
“At the park. That’s where her dad left her.”
His words left Kati with a chill. She opened her mouth to ask him more questions but he ran over to Maddox. “Up.”
Maddox twirled him up. “All right. We’re out of here.”
Max waved at his mom over Maddox’s shoulder. She gave him a half-hearted wave in return. She could hear them laughing on their way to the car, and she smiled. Maddox was good for her son—almost like a father.
Then Max’s words from the night before came back to her: He said he should have taken the other road that night. She shook her head and said aloud, “It’s nothing. He’s imagining things.”
She turned her attention back to the paperwork in front of her. She tried to focus, but Max’s words seemed to be on an unending loop in the back of her mind: “That’s where her dad left her.”
Imaginary. Sally is imaginary, she thought. And he just guessed about David. Or maybe I mentioned it once and don’t remember.
She forced her mind back to her work. But after another twenty minutes of getting nowhere, she finally pushed it aside and pulled over her laptop.
I’ll just do a quick search, ease my mind, and get back to work, she thought as she entered “Sally, missing, Baltimore” into a search engine. Then she got up and made herself a cup of coffee and tried not to notice the tremor in her hands.
She placed the coffee next to her computer as she took a seat, then scanned the search results. Almost immediately, Kati’s heart slammed to a stop. There, at the bottom of the first page, was a picture of a little girl with red hair. Kati quickly clicked the news story next to the picture.
Sally Richards, age seven, had gone missing two years ago. The last person to see her had been her father, who had visitation rights. He claimed she had said she was tired, so he’d put her down for a nap, and when he’d gone back to check on her later, she was gone.
Kati sat back from the laptop, feeling numb. She only hesitated for a second before grabbing her jacket and rushing out the door.
She told herself to calm down as she approached the playground a short time later. She could see Max; he was the only kid there. But he was holding an animated conversation with himself.
Or with Sally, she thought.
Maddox caught sight of her and walked over. “Kati? Is everything all right?”
Kati made herself nod. “Yeah. Good. Has anyone else been here?”
Maddox shook his head. “No. It’s just been us.”
Kati nodded and walked over to Max. He caught sight of her and his face broke into a grin. “Mom!” He ran over, throwing his arms around her. “I thought you couldn’t come.”
She tried to smile. “I thought I’d take a little break. Have you seen your friend Sally today?”
Max nodded. “She’s in the sandbox.”
Kati glanced over to the empty sandbox, the hairs on her arms rising. Then she knelt down to face Max. “Max, you said Sally’s dad left her here. Do you know where?”
Max nodded. “Yeah. “ He pointed to a large oak tree twenty feet away from the playground. “Right there, under the tree. Can I go back and play?”
Kati could only nod; the lump in her throat was too large for her to talk around. She stood on shaky legs. Pulling out her cell phone, she dialed.
A deep male voice answered. “Detective Mike Chapman.”
Mike had been Rocky’s old partner back in Syracuse.
Kati cleared her throat. “Hey, Mike. It’s Kati.”
“Kati!” She could feel the smile through the phone. “How are you guys doing? How’s Baltimore?”
“Um, it’s good. How’s Syracuse?”
“Not bad. Little cold, but hey, par for the course, right?”
“Right,” Kati agreed. “Listen, Mike, I was wondering, do you know anybody on the Baltimore PD?”
Mike paused. “Everything okay, Kati?”
“I’m not sure. I, um… I need a favor, and I’m hoping you can help me out.”
CHAPTER 30
Kati stood at the edge of the playground, her gaze darting between Max and the parking lot. She had explained to Maddox about finding th
e information on Sally online. She knew he wasn’t convinced, but that was okay.
“You know it’s probably just his imagination,” Maddox said.
Kati nodded. “I know.” But she didn’t believe that. The more she watched Max, the more convinced she became that he wasn’t playing alone.
Maddox nudged her. “They’re here.”
Kati glanced over at the police car that had pulled into the lot. A tall African-American officer stepped out of the car and a black lab hopped out after him. The dog sat still as the officer snapped a leash on him. Then the two made their way over to the playground.
Kati nodded at Maddox. “I’ll be right back.”
She headed toward the officer, who waited at the edge of the playground for her to join him. The lab sat patiently next to him, wagging his tail. “Ms. Simmons? I’m Officer James.”
Kati nodded. “Call me Kati. Thanks for doing this.”
The officer nodded. “Mike said you might have something. Where are we looking?”
Kati pointed over to the big oak. “Can you check under that tree there?”
“No problem. Be back in a bit.”
Maddox walked over to join Kati. Neither of them said anything as they watched the officer and dog do their job. Kati realized she was holding her breath and forced herself to breathe.
The dog sniffed the ground dutifully, but seemed unconcerned. But when it got within about ten feet of the oak, it went still. Then it started going in circles, sniffing the ground in frantic motions. Finally it reached a spot two feet from the tree, sat, and howled.
The sound went right through Kati. She grabbed onto Maddox’s arm. “Oh my God.”
CHAPTER 31
Present Day
Laney wasn’t sure what to say—or think for that matter.
“They found Sally Richards’s body at that exact spot,” Kati said, her face pale, her hands clutching a couch pillow.
“Are they sure it’s her?” Laney asked.
Kati nodded. “It was a little girl, and she was wearing the same dress that Sally was reportedly last seen in. It was her.”
A sense of unease rolled over Laney. What did this mean? Did it mean anything?
“Are you sure he didn’t…” Laney’s voice trailed off. She couldn’t think of any way Max could possibly know where Sally Richards’s body was. Max had been only three when the girl disappeared.
“His friends aren’t imaginary,” Laney said.
Kati shook her head. “No.”
Laney felt stunned. Max had said that Drew and Rocky had stopped by to visit him. She felt a little warmth at the idea. But that warmth cooled a little when she remembered what he’d said next. Something’s coming. Something bad.
“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I wanted to. I guess I was hoping it wasn’t true. I mean, look at everything that’s happened. You’re the ring bearer. Saving me and Max was part of your destiny coming true. And your mother is—well, she’s someone important. And Jake and Henry and the others… But me and Max, we’ve always been, you know, not really part of it. But now…” She paused, as if she was afraid to say the words aloud. “Now I can’t help but think that Max has a role, too. And I really, really don’t want him to.”
Laney nodded. “I understand that. Really, I do. But we can protect him. We can keep him safe.”
“How?” Kati’s eyes looked wild. “By keeping him under guard for the rest of his life? He’s only five. Even if it’s true, even if he really does play a role in all this craziness, it can’t be until years from now. Doesn’t he deserve a chance to be a kid?”
“He does. Of course he does. And we’ll make sure he has it.” Laney paused. “Does Maddox know?”
“Yes. I asked him not to say anything.” She looked Laney in the eyes. “And I’m asking you not to say anything either.”
“But after today—”
Kati shook her head. “No. It’s not related. No one knows about Max. And all the kids that are going missing are angelic, right? That’s not Max.”
“Does anyone else know?”
“Just Dom.”
Laney sat back. “Dom?”
“I talked to him earlier today. I thought he might have some insight.”
“Did he?”
Kati shrugged. “He spoke about the root race. And he said Max was psychic. That he could see ghosts, and that ghosts could reach out and touch him, even if he didn’t want them to.”
Laney shivered at the thought. “Anything helpful?”
“Well, he offered to run a couple of assessments, including blood and DNA testing. But I declined.”
Laney smiled in spite of the circumstances. She could picture Dom being excited about figuring out the origins of Max’s ability. “That sounds like Dom.”
Kati gave her a half smile that quickly evaporated. She shook her head. “But it can’t be related to the attack today.”
“Maybe …” Laney tried to figure out how any of this fit. If Max was actually psychic—which Laney still wasn’t sure she believed—how would anyone else even know?
Kati shook her head. “We still don’t know which one of the boys those men were after. It can’t be Max. I mean, what’s more likely: that they were trying to grab the five-year-old son of a normal, single mom, or that they were trying to grab the teenager of a billionaire nephilim?”
“Well, when you put it like that,” Laney said, trying to smile. “But Kati, you will let us keep Max under protection until we find the people responsible for the kidnappings, right?”
Kati looked at Laney for a long moment before finally nodding. “Yes, of course. I would never do anything that would risk Max’s safety.”
CHAPTER 32
Danny closed his eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the cool night air. Sitting with his back against Dom’s shelter, his arm around Moxy, he tried to wrap his head around everything that had happened.
Those men had wanted to hurt him and Max. Or maybe just him. Or just Max. He still couldn’t be sure which of them they’d been going for. He pictured Max. Was I the target, or was I just in the way?
A wind blew and the trees rustled, making Danny shiver a little, but he didn’t want to go back inside for a jacket. For the first time he could recall, Dom’s place made him feel a little claustrophobic.
He heard the blast door inside open and mentally laid bets as to who was coming after him. When Patrick stepped out, Danny said, “I lost.”
“What do you mean?” Patrick sat down next to him, Moxy in between them.
“I bet myself it would be Laney who’d come to take me back.”
Patrick ran his hand through Moxy’s fur. “Actually, I asked her to let me check on you. And I’m not here to bring you back—just here to see how you’re doing. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”
Danny gave a mirthless laugh and gestured to the trees. “There are at least two guards in those trees. And Laney had Cleo brought back from the school. She’s prowling around here somewhere.”
Patrick nodded. “They just want to make sure you’re safe.”
Danny opened his mouth to argue, then shut it. Why did he want to argue every time someone said something like that? He knew Patrick was right.
Instead he leaned his head back and stared up at the stars. They were out in full effect tonight. The image of the man lying in the alley came back to him. But that image then shifted to his father, Keith Wartowski.
He shoved the thought aside. “Have you heard anything from the hospital?”
Patrick shook his head. “No. Nothing.”
Danny nodded, not knowing what to say.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Danny shook his head. “Not really.”
Patrick didn’t say anything. He just sat next to him, waiting.
Danny knew what he was doing. He was letting the silence play out until Danny spoke. And after a few moments, Danny realized he wanted to do just that. �
��You were a Marine, right? In Vietnam?”
Patrick nodded. “Yes. I was one of the last out of the country.”
“And after that you became a priest.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Patrick was quiet for a moment. “I saw and did a lot of horrible things when I was a soldier. And when I got out, I needed some peace. I needed to feel like I was giving back. Like I was doing good work. The priesthood offered me that.”
Danny looked over at Patrick. He loved Patrick, but he didn’t understand him. Danny’s life revolved around facts and certainties. Patrick’s revolved around faith and God—things Danny’s logic couldn’t work his head around.
Patrick reached over and squeezed Danny’s hand. “What happened today wasn’t your fault. You did what you needed to do.”
Danny looked away, feeling a catch in his throat. “Wasn’t it? I nearly killed that man. I’m not any better than he is. Not any better than—” He cut off, an image of his father again floating into his mind.
“Not any better than who?”
Danny was silent for a moment. “My father,” he said at last, hating how tiny his voice sounded.
Patrick leaned back and nodded. “You don’t talk about him. But from what I gather, he was at times a violent man.”
Danny scoffed. “At times.” He went silent again, not wanting to talk about his former life, but at the same time the words felt like they were going to burst out of his chest.
He pictured his father: his big beefy face, his big beefy hands. Danny winced. Finally he spoke, needing the words to come out.
“He never liked me. I was never tough enough, never strong enough. My brothers, they’re like him. Rough, violent. He never knew what to do with me. Kept telling me I needed to be a man.”
“How old were you when you left home?”
Danny sniffed. “Eight.”
Patrick sighed. “Parents can leave lasting effects, even if their behavior is completely wrong. Probably especially if it’s wrong.”
“The guy in the alley. He kind of looked like my dad.”