by Amie Gibbons
“Why do ghosts always do this attack because heart broken or family members wronged you shit!” Dan snapped when we got back to the office and filled him and Jet in on what was going on. “Why, for once, can’t one of these assholes go on a killing spree of kiddie rapists? Now there’s a ghost I could get behind!”
“I’m with you,” Mender said.
“It’s happened,” Carvi said. “But again, they usually are tied to a person or thing, so they usually only get the one rapist. Though…” Carvi smiled and it was cruel. “There was one ghost who was a witch before she died. She did a spell to tie herself to a hotel and then lured guys there pretending to be a twelve-year-old in chatrooms. Guy showed up, she trapped him in a hotel room, haunted his ass until he was a sniveling, crying shell in the corner, and would finally kill him when she had another one on the hook.”
My mouth fell open. “That’s… I don’t know if that’s impressive or disturbing, but if they were going to hook up with a twelve-year-old.” I shrugged.
“Yep,” Dan said, “there’s a ghost I could get behind.”
“What happened to her?” I asked.
“Nothing. She’s still there,” Carvi said, smiling big, eyes glinting. “Don’t try to hook up with any twelve-year-olds in New York City. Actually, last I heard, she changed it up a bit, started profiles acting as anything from men selling children that would be waiting in the hotel room to fifteen-year-olds.”
Dan nodded. “I approve.”
“Hey.” Jet walked up, joining our little group and Mender stood up, standing in front of the circle we’d formed around our team’s desks.
We made quite a sight. Mender leading bits of different teams. She had me, Jet and Dan, Crowley playing second to her, the two vampires, Crowley’s probie, two techs and that Dr. Donahue lent to us from Metro’s paranormal unit, and me.
I almost expected her to say, “Welcome to the war room.”
“Now that everyone’s here,” Mender said. “We’re going to have our psychic update you all on what’s going on. Anything you have to add from your experiences would be appreciated. This thing does things we know ghosts can’t, but the signs all point to ghost, so put on your thinking caps and pay attention because after this, we’re hitting the ground running. Agent Ryder.”
I nodded and stepped up, Quil close behind me and Carvi walked up next to me.
Huh. Apparently, I was sharing the explanation.
Or they were playing bodyguard.
“This is a ghost, as far as we can tell,” I said. “But it’s not acting like a normal ghost. It isn’t bound by the same laws of magic as other ghosts, so that suggests a spell or something to free it from those rules… um…”
I looked at the group in front of me.
Right, no ums, no pausing, and no babblin’ like a chipmunk on crack.
“The ghost is targeting men who have at some point in their lives, had sex with a virgin and had it go badly.”
There were a few sniggers I was pretty sure came from Dan and at least one of the Metro guys. Dr. Donahue rolled her eyes and shot me a look I swear was full of contempt.
“By that,” I continued, “I mean physically during the act, or emotionally afterwards, or both. Since it is targeting men like that, we think it is either the ghost of a woman who had both types of trauma and killed herself, or, more likely, is a ghost summoned by a woman like that. We’re guessing since this is happening here, even with men who committed…” What? It wasn’t like they committed a crime. “Er, this act, in different places, that the ghost is probably of a woman who is in town.”
I nodded and the probie, (crap, what was his name?) pointed the remote to turn on the screen on the wall, and hit a few buttons to pull up the three men.
“Our main suspects are women that lost it to these three men,” I said. “One is Annabeth Williamson.”
Her driver’s license came up along with a list of links referencing her. “Looks like she’s workin’ late tonight so we’re going to talk to her first. She is Thomas Muller’s ex.”
The probie clicked and Thomas’s driver’s license, green card, and carry permit came up. “He was also a doctor, they’d become friends recently, and he said she lost it, er, I mean went crazy on Facebook about him, when he hooked up with a nurse and they haven’t talked since.”
I took a deep breath. Had to be more clear about throwing around ‘lost it,’ considerin’ the situation, but other than that, I was doin’ fine.
“Next up is Carolyn Carlson,” I said. Her license and links came up. “She lost it on her wedding night, it didn’t go well, and she later accused the husband of rape during the divorce proceedings. Sounds like the husband, which is Stewart, was a perfectly nice guy, but we also only have his side of the story.”
Stewart’s info came up and pity swelled in my chest as his grinning face stared back at me.
“Third is Edmund’s ex.” His info came up. “He doesn’t remember her real name. She went by Penny because she had red hair. And he was… not very gentlemanly when talkin’ about her. My money is on her. If anyone out of these ladies has an ax to grind, it’ll be her, but since he doesn’t remember her real first name or her last name, all we have to go on is she was in med school at Vandy five years ago and went to a law and med school mixer.”
“You’re psychic, right?” one of the Metro guys asked. “You can’t find her?”
I shrugged. “Not unless I have something to go on.”
“What do you mean?” Dr. Donahue asked.
“Well,” I said, “I already tried gettin’ something off Edmund’s body and it’s not talking. He had no emotional connection to her, so even if I could get something off him, it probably wouldn’t be about her. And none of the men seem to remember what they saw exactly when they died. We’re not sure why.”
“Actually,” Carvi said, stepping forward, “I have a theory on that.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Mender said, “this is Carvi. He’s acting as a consultant on this case.”
Carvi looked at her, face unreadable.
“The men don’t remember,” Carvi said after a moment, “because I believe the ghost, in the process of taking over the men, overrides their minds, and thus their ability to form memories, to do her dirty work.
“The only men who remember anything while possessed are the ones with magic. I also believe the magic is tied to something in their heads, some memory that pulls at the ghost. It’s something in their heads the ghost can track, because most of the women the ghost is seeking revenge for aren’t in town.”
“Also, the guys with magic are also the only ones who can move around in there,” I said. “The guys are all stuck in a little separate plane of limbo, and we’re pretty sure that has something to do with the ghost’s punishment for them too.”
I looked between Carvi and Quil. “Anything else?”
“I think that covers it,” Quil said.
Was it just me, or was he bein’ mighty quiet?
I don’t think he said anything to me on the car ride over.
“Dr. Donahue, I want you on those bodies,” Mender said. “We have the others coming in. You’ll be working with our Dr. Lang, documenting every tiny nick on these men, and working with our witch to find anything supernatural.”
Donahue nodded. “Where to?”
Jet jerked his head. “I’ll show you down.”
“Ryder and the vampires will be interviewing Dr. Williamson,” Mender said. “You guys get going.”
I looked around.
She wasn’t even sending somebody with us?
Like somebody more senior?
“What’s the problem, Ryder?” Mender asked.
“Um, you don’t want anyone to go with us?” I asked. “Like Jet or…”
“Ryder, do you need a babysitter?”
“No?”
She spread her hands. “Then move your ass.”
Well, alrighty then.
###
“Who�
�s still workin’ past nine o’clock on Halloween?” I asked as Quil pulled into the hospital parking lot.
“Doctors,” Carvi said.
“But she’s in research,” I said. “She doesn’t have patients and on call and all that stuff. Does she?”
“We will find out,” Quil said, turning off the car.
“Quil, is something wrong?” I asked as Carvi climbed out.
He shook his head and sighed. “Sweets, I am glad you are working out your issues, but, your outburst back at the house has me… concerned.”
“About what?” I asked.
Did he think me having a thing for Grant meant I didn’t love him?
“That you are very young, and have not learned how to process emotions, and that I would very much like for you to learn those things, because I love you. And I wish it were not with Carvi.”
“Ohhhhhh,” I said. “You’re not mad at me? You’re worried cuz Carvi’s… well, Carvi?”
“Yes,” he said. “There are feelings there, and he has proven he can not be trusted. And right now, you are trusting him with your mind.”
“I can hear you,” Carvi said.
“I know,” Quil said, climbing out of the car.
Carvi opened my door and I got out too.
“Guys, are we worried about the whole assassin thing at all?” I asked, looking around. “Especially being out in the open like this?”
“Unless the assassin is also psychic, you should be okay,” Carvi said. “Unless and until there’s something for them to latch onto, they can’t find you, and if we keep you moving, they can’t even find you by normal human means.”
“Okay,” I said.
But still.
“Carvi?” I asked as I walked between the guys towards the front of the hospital.
“Yes?”
“Did you make the assassin thing up as an excuse to come up here?”
He barked a laugh. “Lea, why do you think you have not heard from me since you were down in Miami?”
“I don’t know. I was thinkin’ you were mad at me.”
He sighed. “And that’s why. You think it is the man’s job to come to you. Always. You thought it was my job to call you, even though I was offering you lessons, so I did not call, because I knew eventually you would get it through your very stubborn skull that it is not everyone else’s job to come to you. I wanted that lesson to stick. I would not have thrown it away if it were not important. Your life counts as important.”
I looked down. “Oh.”
“Yes,” he said. “Lea, you have the unfortunate habit of trying to play mind games when you don’t actually understand what you’re doing. I suggest you learn, or you stop playing.”
“If I don’t know I’m doin’ it, how do I stop?” I asked as we walked through the automatic doors.
“That,” Carvi said, “is an excellent question. Which floor?”
###
“Hi,” I said, walkin’ into a lab on the sixth floor.
A woman jerked her head up from a microscope, nearly fallin’ off her stool.
She was at least as short as me and had curly brown hair that would probably be considered mousy on another woman. She had sharp dark eyes behind oval glasses and a cute face with practically no makeup besides some blush on high, round cheeks.
She was a lot prettier in person than she was in her driver’s license picture.
She clenched her fists and took an obvious deep breath.
“I’m sorry!” I said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine,” Annabeth said, her voice a little too loud and echoing off the hard edges of the lab. “I wasn’t expecting anyone so I’m a little jumpy.”
“Why are you workin’ on Halloween?” I asked, taking a few steps towards her.
She visibly tightened, and forced a smile.
“I have to get this done. So what do you want?”
I jerked.
Well, she didn’t have to be so rude.
“Lea,” Carvi said, stepping by me, “look around her work area. What can you tell me?”
Huh?
“What the… what are you doing here?” Annabeth said, voice going high.
Oh, my money was soooo on her now.
“It’s okay,” Quil said. “We’re investigators. We just want to talk to you. But we are also using this as a training opportunity for Ariana here. Do you mind indulging us for a moment?”
“Oh, okay,” she said, matter of fact and sharp. “In that case, I’m going to get back to this.” She pointed at her microscope. “Let me know when you need me.”
I squinted at her as she turned and perched back on her chair.
“Lea,” Carvi whispered, “tell me what you see.”
“Why are we whispering?” I asked.
“Because I don’t want to distract her or upset her when you start guessing what… is going on with her.”
“Ooooookay,” I said, lookin’ around.
The lab was immaculate, but I was betting most labs were because otherwise things would contaminate experiments and stuff.
There were counters surrounding the room, with different areas of various beakers and equipment. The areas followed enough of a pattern for me to tell where one person’s section ended and another’s began.
The long counter cutting across the room had three separate sections and AB’s was the one in the front, closest to the door.
I didn’t think that was what Carvi meant since their places were probably assigned.
Annabeth’s area was as immaculate as everyone else’s, everything straight and orderly. But she had printed out pictures pinned to the backboard above hers. Some were sayings about dedication, others were just pretty pictures of buildings, cats and sunsets. It was all together in a collage of sorts, but they lined up perfectly instead of crossing over each other like I’d put up something similar.
“She’s anal?” I whispered.
Carvi circled a finger.
Keep going. Right.
She had a ton of stuff up, while the other sections I could see had maybe a few pictures of families and pets.
“Likes decoration?” I asked.
“You’re the investigator, you tell me,” Carvi said.
I looked at Quil and he just smiled.
Well crap.
I looked closer. Her motivational stuff was all about dedication, motivation, wellness, and overcoming obstacles.
I looked down.
Just like with the pictures and sayings, everything was lined up. It wasn’t just clean. It was all in straight lines.
“Ohhhhhh,” I said, barely remembering to keep my voice low. “She has OCD. Like for real, not just a neat freak like Dan that we tease has OCD.”
Carvi nodded. “More than that, what did you notice about her personality? She was surprised and even seemed upset, and as soon as Quil explained, she nodded and went back to work. She’s completely ignoring us.”
“Ummmmm.” I shrugged. “Bad social skills?”
The guys shared a look.
“Close enough,” Carvi said. “She has Asperger’s. I don’t think it’s terribly severe, but she definitely has issues in social situations, especially if she doesn’t understand them. As soon as we gave her context for us being here, she calmed down.”
“Soooooo, you think she did it?” I asked.
Carvi raised his eyebrows.
“You think she didn’t do it?”
He shook his head. “I think we need to talk to her.”
Quil nodded, saying loudly, “Excuse me, Dr. Williamson?”
Annabeth looked up. “Yeah?”
“Can we talk to you now?”
“Of course.” She hopped off the stool and stood with her hands propped on her hips, squinting at the guys.
“We have to ask you a few difficult questions,” Quil said. “Is there a place we can talk where you’d be more comfortable?”
She paled, looking between us. “What happened? Who’s hurt
? Is someone dead? Oh my God! Someone’s dead and you’re here to tell me. Is it Maria? Is it Robert? Is it his heart? Is it Steve, or Jenny? Is it Paul?”
Carvi crossed the room, taking her hands fast, but no more so than a quick human, and stared into her eyes.
“Stop,” he said, voice gentle but so commanding I froze in place.
Her arms dropped, held up only by him and she obviously relaxed.
She grinned. “Thanks. I… ugh, have OCD. I’ve been in the middle of an episode the past few weeks and…”
“And having someone ordering you to stop helps because it takes the power away from you and cuts off the cycle,” Carvi said, smiling, still staring into her eyes. “I’ve dealt with a lot of OCD people and all of them like a good dom.”
She blushed, looking down.
“Your OCD and Asperger’s is what I wanted my young associate to pick up on,” Carvi said.
She grinned, giggling high and nervous. “Wow, you can tell. Okay, and here I thought I was working on it.”
Carvi kept hold of her hands. “We do have some bad news though. Thomas Muller.”
Her back jerked straight and her eyes flew wide.
She mouthed something.
Carvi nodded. “He’s been murdered.”
Annabeth’s knees buckled and she would’ve fallen to the floor if Carvi didn’t catch her around her waist. He lowered her to the ground and she sat against the cupboard next to her chair, curling her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around them, making herself as small as possible.
I walked up next to Carvi.
“I gave it to you cold because I wanted to see your reaction,” Carvi said. “No one, especially not someone with Asperger’s, is that good of an actor.”
She stared straight ahead.
“You thought it was me,” she said, voice flat. “Of course you did. He kept acting like I was a step away from boiling his bunny, so why wouldn’t you? I didn’t…”
Her head jerked up and she grinned. “He did this to get back at me! You’re not cops! You don’t even look like cops! You’re not dressed like cops. I mean, she’s in a hoodie and like a costume skirt under it! How did I not see it? He’s such a prankster and it’s Halloween. Oh my god, you jerks! You totally had me going.” She giggled.
“Hello, denial,” Carvi said, voice still oh so gentle. “AB, can I call you AB?”