The First Ghost

by Marguerite Butler

  “I know about the burritos.”

  I almost drove off the road. “Shit! Corinne, you scared me half to death. Yeah, they belong to Dr. Seleman.”

  “I thought they belonged to Tamaguchi.”

  “Why would you think that?” I couldn’t picture the uptight scientist in white eating cheap burritos.

  “Because he took them all from the fridge. I staked out the fridge like you suggested. He came up there midmorning, put them all in a sack and left with them.”

  “But Duncan said that Dr. Seleman buys them.”

  “I know what I saw.” She crossed her arms.

  “How long did you stay?”

  “Until I saw Dr. Tamaguchi take the burritos. I followed him. He took them out back and threw them in a dumpster.”

  “Maybe they were all tainted. I need to go get them.” I looked for a place to turn around.

  “Too late. They emptied the dumpster already. Tamaguchi put them in a few minutes before the trash people came.”

  “Did he know when to expect the trash pickup?”

  “I don’t know. I’m just…”

  “Telling me what you saw. I’ll pass it all on to Fierro.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “The detective handling your case. He’ll know what to do.”

  “My, aren’t we chummy? Is that where you were last night?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Must have been that cute doctor.”

  I allowed myself a little smile. “He looks even better with his clothes off.”

  Corinne gasped. “I don’t know whether to be shocked or envious.”

  “You can be both if you want to. I think Ruth is out of town. Either that or she’s holed up in your apartment and pretending to be gone. Where is the key again?”

  “First step of the staircase. There’s a key holder taped in there. Will you go in the apartment if she’s not there?”

  “Of course. I want to search it without Ruth there. And if she comes back I can act all righteous on Susie’s behalf.”

  “I can’t wait to see her. There she is!”

  I had called ahead. Susie Simpson was standing in the vestibule near the glass doors. I pulled in and she ran out and got in the car. The wind had started picking up around three, and the skies were full and heavy.

  Susie was understandably nervous. “Did you get ahold of Ruth?”

  “Aunt Susie looks so good.” Corinne began crying immediately. It took effort to ignore her sobs.

  “Ruth wasn’t at work today,” I said.

  “What if she’s not home?”

  “We don’t need her. We have a key.”

  Susie’s face was creased with worry. “Can we do that? Are you sure?”

  I had pondered how much to tell her. Looking into her guileless blue eyes, I knew that the answer was nothing. I couldn’t spoil her vision of the world. “I’m absolutely sure. It has to be legal. I have a key.”

  “But is it right?”

  “The right thing to do would have been to pack Corinne’s things up and send them to you. The right thing to do would have been to return your calls. The right thing would have been to give you Billy, not drop him off at the pound as soon as Corinne died. I don’t care what Ruth thinks.” The vehemence in my voice surprised even me.

  Susie sat back in her seat. “Oh.”

  I parked right in front of the apartment. “Corinne told me the key would be here,” I said, feeling around under the stair. “Got it.” I held up the key case. “Just in case we need it.”

  As I expected, Ruth didn’t answer. I unlocked the door and flicked on the lights. The place was empty.

  Which room was Corinne’s? I hesitated. There was a main living area and then rooms that shot-gunned out. Bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.

  “That one.” Corinne sniffled and pointed.

  “This way,” I told Susie, following the direction of Corinne’s finger.

  “Look at my room!” Corinne said. I hurried to see. Boxes were ripped open and items spilled out. Dresser drawers hung open. I stepped around a broken lamp.

  “What a mess! Who would do such a thing?” Susie followed me in.

  “I don’t know.” This was hardly what I had expected. I stopped by the dresser and slipped a hair scrunchie with strands of blond hair into my pocket. “We’d better check around the apartment,” I said, uneasily turning back to Susie. “Corinne’s things could be scattered all over.”

  “I’ll check the bathroom.” She went out.

  I paused to add a tiny little pug figurine to my coat pocket, then hurried after Susie.

  Susie wandered out of the bathroom, her eyes glazed over. “I think I’m going to be sick.” She put a hand on the wall to steady herself. Then she threw up.

  “Aunt Susie?” Corinne said.

  I shoved past the dazed woman and hurried into the bathroom. Ruth Yeshu was more than out of town. Ruth’s body lay half in the shower. Copper-scented blood painted the walls in smeary handprints, like she had repeatedly tried to rise up.

  “Sorry, doll,” Hephzibah said. “You’re too late. Ruth’s already crossed over.”

  I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn’t. She didn’t look real, more like a rag doll that had been flung down. She was wearing a bathrobe and nothing else. The dark edges around my vision closed in and I felt lightheaded, dizzy.

  I swallowed hard. “When?” I whispered.

  “About fifteen minutes ago. It took her a long time to bleed out.”

  Don’t panic, I told myself. “How was she?”

  Hephzibah cocked her head. “Confused and sad. But she crossed over without a fuss.”

  “Did she say anything about Corinne or who did this to her or...anything at all?”

  Hephzibah shook her head. “Sorry.”

  I stumbled backward, but before I left the room, I picked up Ruth’s lipstick and charm bracelet.

  * * * *

  I had the presence of mind to use my cellphone to call 911, which is how Susie and I ended up sitting outside on the stairs trying to convince a Sergeant MacAllister that we had nothing to do with Ruth’s death.

  “I told you already.” I pulled my coat tighter. I was shivering even more than I had earlier. Probably shock, although it was quickly giving way to anger. “I brought Susie to get her niece’s things. We had a key.”

  “Sergeant, why aren’t these ladies in someplace warm?” The gruff voice flooded me with relief.

  “Fierro.” I stood and was surprised that my legs felt rather wobbly. He put a large hand on my shoulder to steady me.

  Sergeant MacAllister put his notebook back in his pocket. “She claims you can vouch for her.”

  “Of course I can. I’ll take Ms. Mahaffey’s statement. You make sure the crime scene is secured.”

  “They stomped all over the place,” he said in an accusatory voice.

  “We didn’t know it was a crime scene.” My stomach contracted as I thought about the items I had collected. It was hard to look Fierro in the eye.

  “Thank you, Sergeant. I’ll handle this portion of it.”

  “I take it you’ve met?” A short, swarthy man who was a good fifteen years senior to Fierro stood behind him looking on with some amusement.

  “Yeah, this is Portia Mahaffey. She’s sort of a witness in the Corinne Simpson case. Portia, this is Vic Tessler. He’s my partner and a big asshole, so let me apologize up-front.”

  “Nice mouth you got there, Fierro. Mahaffey. I don’t remember no Mahaffey in the Simpson thing.”

  “She’s more like a concerned party. She was a friend of the deceased.”

  “Which deceased? Seems to me we’ve got two dead roommates.” Tessler popped a stick of gum in his mouth.

  “I’m Corinne’s friend,” I said. “Not Ruth’s.”

  “You didn’t like Ruth much,” he said.

  “There wasn’t much to like.”

  “Mahaffey. You any kin to Eleanor Mahaffey? I heard she came to visit
Fierro.”

  “She’s my cousin.”

  “Ah,” Tessler said as if that explained things. “You resemble her is what made me think of it.”

  “So how about you see to that lady over there.” Fierro gestured to Susie. “Take her statement and see she gets to her hotel safely. She’s a nice lady so don’t give her none of your crap. Susie Simpson. She’s in town to get her niece’s stuff.”

  “Sure. No problem, boss.”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “Whatever. I guess you’ll be making sure Ms. Mahaffey gets home safely?”

  Fierro ignored him. “And keep an eye on the crime scene. Make sure they get everything. I’m not sure I trust MacAllister to run it.”

  I had another guilty twinge that no one had thought to search me, but I kept my mouth shut. Tessler set off to tend to Aunt Susie. I pulled my coat tighter.

  “You’re freezing,” Fierro said. “Sit in your car with me. I’ll drive you home.”

  My teeth were chattering, but I stammered out. “I c-c-can d-d-drive m-m-myself.”

  “Unh-huh.” He held onto my elbow and steered me toward the car. I fumbled in my pocket for the keys and handed them over. The car blew cold air for a minute as he put the hearse in reverse and backed us out.

  “You gonna tell me what’s really going on here?”

  “We really did go to get Corinne’s things.”

  “Unh-huh. Where’d you get the key?”

  “Corinne told me where to find it. Oh hell, I was also going to search the apartment because of the way Ruth was acting. I was sure she had something to do with Corrine’s death.”

  He mulled the thought over. “She might. She just might.”

  “She died about fifteen minutes before we got there.”

  He was startled. “You talked to her?”

  “I wish. She had already crossed over. It took her a long time to bleed out, though. I don’t know when she was attacked. Just when she died.”

  “And where did you get this nugget of info?”

  “From Death. But she prefers to be called Hephzibah.”

  He stared at me. “Holy shit,” he muttered.

  “I found out something about the burritos too.” I filled him in on the conflicting information. “So they could have belonged to Dr. Seleman or they could have belonged to Dr. Tamaguchi.”

  “And Tamaguchi disposed of them?”

  “That’s what Corinne said.”

  “Interesting.” We both fell quiet. “You talk to Death?”

  “Yeah.” I glanced over. “You believe me?”

  “I always have.”

  “Why? Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful and all, but why? It sounds crazy.”

  He nodded. “Sounds crazy. It is crazy. Could be the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. But you aren’t crazy. Everything you’ve ever told me has checked out. That says something.”

  “I think you’re better with the idea of solving cases with ghosts than I am.”

  He kept his eyes straight ahead. “I’ve seen a lot of bad things. Maybe I want to believe. I want there to be something more out there. I need it.”

  I sat back and closed my eyes, feeling worse than ever about lifting things from the crime scene. Fierro’s trust mattered to me, and I’d just abused it. No amount of rationalization would make that right.

  Chapter 15

  Fierro came inside my apartment with me. “I’m supposed to be getting a statement from you. I need you to come downtown tomorrow and give a formal one on paper.”

  “An edited version?”

  “You might leave out the part about having a conversation with Death.”

  I puttered around making tea. Fierro dropped onto one of my kitchen chairs. “I was starting to think that Ruth had killed Corinne,” I admitted.

  “She might have. Hey, buddy.” He scratched Billy’s head absently. Billy raced off to get his Dingo. “Just ’cause she got killed doesn’t mean she wasn’t involved in Corinne’s death. Tell me what you saw.”

  When I closed my eyes I could still see Ruth, lying half in the shower, her dark hair spread around. Blood everywhere. I could smell the room.

  “Maybe I should rephrase that,” Fierro said. “You’re looking kinda gray. First body?”

  “No, I’ve seen dead bodies all my life.”

  “But not like that.”

  “No,” I agreed. “Never like that.”

  “Tell me about the rooms. Anything stand out?”

  I thought for a moment. “When I went into Corinne’s bedroom, I had the feeling it had been searched. Things had been pulled out of boxes. Someone must have been in a hurry. I didn’t go into any other room except the bathroom.” I placed the kettle on the stove and sat opposite him.

  “It would help if you pretend not to know me tomorrow.”

  I drew back. “Excuse me?”

  “I meant at that research place. The one they worked at. We’ll have a search warrant by tomorrow morning for their work areas. Don’t acknowledge that you know me. It could be dangerous for you.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “You don’t think that way. Which is nice,” he added. “But it could be dangerous. That’s two dead girls. I don’t want to go for three. Even with Killer here to protect you.” He threw Billy’s Dingo for him. Billy bounded after it and returned it to Fierro, who dutifully threw it again.

  “Congratulations. You just became his new favorite person.”

  “We’ve got to talk, doll.” Hephzibah stood by the fireplace. The grim look on her face made my stomach lurch.

  I stood up. “I’ve got to take this.”

  Fierro looked puzzled. “The phone rang?”

  “Not exactly. Excuse me a minute.” I went back to the bedroom and closed the door.

  Hephzibah followed me by walking through the door. “Corinne’s mark may already be gone. She’s in play. There have been Reclaimers working the area, and I mean heavily. And demons. There are two demons patrolling the city. Brothers. Demons usually hunt alone, but these two hunt as a team. This is in addition to the demon you’ve already attracted. I don’t know what you did to him, by the way, but he’s royally pissed.”

  “I burned him.”

  “I’m sure you had your reasons.”

  “He attacked the girls in my apartment.”

  “That’s a good reason.”

  “Is Corinne here?”

  “She can’t be far. I want you to call her.”

  I sat on my bed. “I didn’t know I could do that. Does that work?”

  “Sometimes. If they’re tied to you, like she is. You gotta yell real loud.”

  “I’ll try.” I snagged Billy’s leash on my way out the front door.

  “You’re leaving?” Fierro said.

  “Just taking the dog out. I’ve got to call Corinne up and get her to cross over.”

  “I didn’t think it worked that way.”

  “Apparently I just need to yell loud enough. I’m gonna try it outside.” I opened the door and Billy darted out. I decided he wouldn’t go far and stuffed the leash into my pocket.

  Big fat flakes drifted down, cozying the landscape, softening the hard edges of the city. It’s an illusion. We aren’t far enough north to maintain the snow blanket. By rush hour tomorrow morning it would be gray slush again.

  Billy didn’t care. He was charmed by the cold mouthfuls. He chased the floating flakes, gulping greedy bites of snow.

  Feeling slightly foolish, I stood outside and yelled Corinne’s name. Just before I was ready to quit, she materialized.

  “He’ll get cold.” Corinne hovered over Billy.

  “Looks happy to me,” Hephzibah said. “Anyone ever tell you you’re a fussbudget?”

  “You know nothing about dogs,” Corinne said.

  “Damn things are always barking at me. Cats. Now that’s an animal I could live with. You know. If I was alive.” Death snorted laughter at her own joke.

  I felt vulner
able and exposed standing there with Corinne. Every shadow made me twitch. Were the Reclaimers lurking nearby, waiting for the last vestiges of the mark to fade? Was there a demon around the corner? “Have you told her?” I whispered to Hephzibah.

  “Told me what?” Corinne flitted closer.

  Hephzibah shot me a warning look. “Nothing to worry about.”

  I took a deep breath. “Corinne, you know how seriously the police are taking things now. Fierro’s on the case and he won’t give up. You’ve seen Aunt Susie. Billy is being cared for. You can go now.”

  “But...”

  “No buts. You can’t stay here. Don’t you want to see your parents? You’ve done everything you can here. The loose ends are almost all tied up. It’s time. Look around you. Isn’t this the image you want to go with?” I gestured at Billy, who was still chasing snowflakes.

  “She’s right,” Hephzibah said softly. “Let me take you across.”

  Corinne flitted over to Billy and hovered for a moment. He ignored her and plowed face-first into a shrub. He popped out, sneezing. His tongue lolled out the side of his mouth.

  She closed her eyes and bent her head. Her long hair slid in front of her face like a curtain. I gave her a minute. Finally she lifted her head. “All right. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” Her chin trembled.

  “Good girl,” Hephzibah said.

  “Thank you.” Corinne turned to me. “Thank you so much.” She waved at Billy, who was too busy playing to notice. “Be a good doggy.”

  I was surprised to blink back tears. In a funny way, I would miss my first ghost.

  I watched Corinne and Hephzibah move together and then, they were gone, like someone had flicked a switch. Billy trotted over to me, the bristly hairs on the back of his neck raised; his eyes were wary. I knelt to rub his cold little ears.

  “It’s okay, boy. She had to go.”

  But he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were fixed over my shoulder. He growled. I froze, then slowly turned my head.

  Red beady eyes were close to mine. Its fetid breath was overpowering. The demon roared, and I fell backward on my rump. Billy rushed forward, barking as ferociously as anything weighing twenty pounds could.

  The demon sat back, studying the little flat-faced dog curiously. It drew its lips back exposing jagged teeth in a grimace that was part smile, part snarl. A noise rumbled deep inside, which enraged the little dog further. At first I thought the demon was growling, but its sides shook. It was laughing.