The Remains of the Dead

by Wendy Roberts

  Sadie’s own thoughts drifted, and she thought about work and then Trudy. Then Maeva said something to Dawn that snapped Sadie’s attention back.

  “You should cancel the hold you put on that wedding dress. Unfortunately, you won’t get your deposit back.”

  “But it looks perfect on me,” Dawn protested.

  Maeva shrugged and resumed her humming once more. “The style doesn’t suit you. It’s too poufy. You’d look better in something with straight lines. Besides, you won’t need the dress, since you won’t be marrying Billy.”

  Dawn gasped and yanked her hands from Maeva’s grasp.

  “That’s all right. We’re done,” Maeva replied, calmly.

  Dawn stared at the psychic with her mouth open and her eyes blinking back tears.

  “You can’t just end it like that,” Sadie objected tersely. “You need to leave things on a more positive note.”

  “I’m not a motivational speaker,” Maeva drawled. “I just call ’em as I see ’em.”

  Sadie gave Maeva a lethal gaze, then turned to Dawn. “Don’t get yourself all worked up. It’s all a load of hooey. She didn’t even get your fiancé’s name right.”

  “Billy’s my pet name for Noel,” Dawn whispered. “I call him Billy because he likes Billy Joel. He’s always singing that song ‘Just the Way You Are.’ It’s our song.”

  Sadie hated the smug look on Maeva’s face and would’ve loved to slap it off her face. Instead she just laughed it off.

  “Don’t you see? Chloe probably told this woman all this information when she made the appointment,” Sadie said. “Let’s go back to Fado’s and grab a bite to eat.”

  Sadie got to her feet.

  “No.” Dawn shook her head. “You should get your reading too. It’s a two-for-one, remember?”

  “And that sale is for this week only,” Maeva added.

  “Do it,” Dawn said firmly. “Maybe she’ll tell you that you’re going to meet someone tall, dark, and handsome.”

  “Fine.” Sadie plunked her butt back down on a large pillow.

  “So if there is a dark stranger in my future, can you make him rich, too?” She asked, winking at Dawn. “Oh, and can we make this quick?”

  “I don’t offer drive-thru service,” Maeva remarked coolly. “Concentrate on what you’d like to know.” She positioned her cushion closer to Sadie’s.

  Sadie thrust her hands across the table and Maeva wrapped her cool fingers around them. The medium began her humming, and just when Sadie felt like she would be ruined from ever watching The Wizard of Oz again, the sound abruptly stopped.

  Suddenly Maeva was on her feet and racing across the room. She grabbed a small garbage can and vomited violently and repeatedly while muttering angry curses between retches.

  Sadie and Dawn faced each other with matched looks of disgust and revulsion and got to their feet.

  Great. The woman has a stomach virus and she just touched me, Sadie thought. She couldn’t wait to wash her hands.

  They were headed for the door when Maeva swore loudly and muttered the name “Trudy” under her breath.

  Sadie’s mouth went dry and she felt the hair on the back of her neck prick up.

  “Let’s go,” she whispered to Dawn.

  “You should’ve warned me,” Maeva said.

  She turned to face them as she wiped her mouth with a crumpled tissue.

  “Warned you about what?” Sadie asked warily.

  Maeva narrowed her eyes and shook her finger at Sadie. “That you walk with the dead.”

  7

  The bizarre visit to the Psychic Café pretty much killed Sadie’s desire to confront Dawn about her relationship with Noel. Instead she decided to go straight home, where Pam was waiting to offer friendship, support, and a glass of California Pinot Gris.

  “I don’t get it,” Pam said after listening to Sadie’s complaints about the evening. “Which part bothers you most, that this psychic told your sister not to marry Noel before you could or that you’re not the only person in the world with supernatural powers?”

  “You’re enjoying this a little too much,” Sadie said dryly.

  “Sorry,” Pam replied through a smile that did not look the least bit apologetic.

  “I’m not the bad one here. I only want Dawn to see the mistake she’s making with Noel.” Sadie put her feet up on the coffee table between them. “I don’t want to see her get hurt. When Brian died she was a wreck.”

  “Not you, though. You were a rock. Hell, you held up your entire family. Although that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. As I recall, you could have benefited quite a bit from a little psychological help. You still could.”

  Sadie scowled at her.

  “I’m just saying the truth,” Pam stated, her palms up in surrender.

  “Remember the first time a spirit talked to me on a job? It was that old lady who got shot by a burglar.”

  Pam stifled a giggle. “You thought you’d flipped your lid. You were afraid to go back inside the house unless I went with you.”

  “Yeah, well, I went to see a therapist then, remember? He told me it was all a stress-induced hallucination because of Brian.”

  “And now you’ve had years of stressed-induced hallucinations. How does it feel?” Pam smiled.

  “Now it feels great. I’m helping people. Sure they’re already dead, but I’m still helping.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “But in the beginning it wasn’t great. It was awful, and I believed him that it was all caused by stress.”

  “But now you’re fine. So what’s your point?”

  “Dawn’s not fine. Maybe Noel is her stress-induced hallucination. If Dawn is looking to replace Brian with Noel and if I can get her to see that, then maybe I’ll save her some heartache in the end. I want her to be happy, and I’m glad she’s found someone, but a marriage based on her need to replace Brian can’t be good.”

  “You’ve given all of this far too much thought.” Pam leaned back in her chair. “And you do realize that no one else sees the resemblance to Brian except you?”

  Sadie flicked that away with a wave of her hand, but Pam kept talking.

  “Then I guess the good news is that, according to Madame Maeva, you won’t have to worry, since Dawn and Noel won’t be getting married after all.”

  “I’m not exactly ready to join the Madame Maeva fan club.”

  “You think she’s a fraud?”

  “I’m hanging on to some healthy skepticism.”

  “Um, isn’t that a little like the pot calling the kettle black?”

  “The first time I told you that I talk to dead people, you were freaked out, too,” Sadie pointed out.

  “Sure. It took some time to adjust to, that’s all.”

  “It’s a tough thing to swallow, and that’s why I don’t go around making it public knowledge,” Sadie admitted. “Anyone who’s as obvious about their so-called ability as Madame Maeva probably has none, beyond being a shyster. She’s not like me. I provide a service. I help lost spirits find their way.” She looked at Pam. “And, yes, it sounds crazy even when I say it. I’m not always successful, but I try—and I don’t charge a fee for that service.”

  “So that’s what pisses you off, that she’s making money off her gift?”

  “Yes. No.” Sadie shook her head. “Hell, I don’t know if she even has a gift. The woman actually hums ‘We’re Off to See the Wizard’ while she does a reading!” She shouted. She took a calming sip of her wine. “Let’s drop it.”

  But Pam wasn’t quite ready to let it go.

  “I guess Chloe could’ve given the psychic information about Dawn, but she doesn’t know about your job and your weird abilities, right?”

  “Dawn swears she’s never told anyone. Not even Noel.”

  “And even if she had, how would Maeva know about Trudy?”

  Sadie frowned into her glass, then finished off the rest of her wine.

  “Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe she didn’t say ‘Trudy.’ I
t could’ve just been a word that rhymed with ‘Trudy.’”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know…. ‘Moody’?”

  Pam laughed.

  Sadie thought about the tape that Maeva had thrust into Dawn’s hands before they’d bolted from the premises. It would be easy enough to get the tape from Dawn…but suddenly Sadie was just tired and no longer cared.

  “Can we change the subject?”

  “Okay. How are things going at the new scene? Is Trudy still bothering you?” Pam asked.

  “It would be easier if she would actually speak to me instead of waving her hands around and making strange gestures, like this—” Sadie imitated the thumbs-up motion Trudy had used a couple of times.

  Pam curiously leaned forward.

  “Was it more like this?” She made the gesture more precisely, with the palm of one hand assisting the thumbs-up hand.

  “I guess so.”

  Pam’s eyes grew wide.

  “Oh my God, Sadie. Is this woman deaf?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “That looks like American Sign Language, and in ASL that gesture means ‘help me’!”

  The more Sadie thought about it, the more it made sense.

  “She hasn’t been ignoring me. She just hasn’t heard me,” she murmured.

  She pulled her cell phone from her purse and scrolled through the listings until she saw Kent Lasko’s number, then dialed.

  “Yup?” was the greeting offered, and Sadie recognized the voice as that of Kent’s brother, Christian.

  “Can I speak to Kent?”

  “Sure, hang on.”

  She heard him call Kent to the phone.

  “Hi, Sadie.”

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “My brother said a woman was on the line and she sounded hot.”

  “Oh.” Sadie felt herself blush to the roots of her hair.

  “You’re not calling to cancel our dinner plans tomorrow, are you? Because I’m going to cook you a meal that’ll knock your socks off.”

  Sadie cringed.

  “Oh. I thought we were going out.”

  He was quiet for a few seconds.

  “Would you prefer a restaurant over my gourmet cooking abilities?”

  “No offense…”

  He paused again.

  “No problem. I know a great Italian place on Fifth.”

  “I know it.”

  “How’s seven o’clock?”

  “That’s fine. By the way, can I ask you a question about Trudy?”

  “Um, sure, I guess so.”

  “Was she deaf?”

  “Yes, she was. She was born deaf, and she taught at the King County School for the Deaf. I just assumed everyone knew that.”

  “I saw a fancy phone in her den.”

  “Why were you in the den?”

  “I needed to find the insurance papers,” Sadie said quickly. “Anyway, I saw that fancy phone and it looked like something a deaf person would use, so I was curious.” She was in a hurry now to end the call. “I’ll see you tomorrow at seven.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” he said sexily.

  Sadie turned to Pam. “She was deaf, even taught at the local school for the deaf. Do you think she was trying to speak to me using sign language?”

  “It looks that way. Part of my training as a special education teacher had me studying basic signing to communicate with the autistic students who didn’t have verbal skills.”

  “Come on,” Sadie said, getting to her feet. “We’re going out.”

  “I hope it’s to see whoever can make you blush like that over the phone.”

  “Nope. We’re going to visit Trudy.”

  “You can’t make me,” Pam stubbornly announced on the doorstep to the Toth residence. It was raining buckets, and Sadie was shivering under the small overhang at the back door while she struggled to find her key.

  “Look,” Sadie said, “the house is clean. There’s no evidence of what happened here. You’ll be fine.”

  Pam looked at her friend with a pained expression.

  “I really don’t know why I let you talk me into this.”

  Sadie unlocked the door and they stepped inside. Pam looked around, and Sadie pointed out that the only thing that was amiss on the main floor was that the living room was missing a sofa and a few floorboards.

  “Is she—you know—is she here?” Pam whispered.

  “You don’t need to whisper,” Sadie said with a smile. “Let’s try upstairs.”

  When Pam seemed hesitant, Sadie added, “There’s a very good chance she won’t even show up.”

  “Okay.” Pam sighed and followed Sadie up to the master bedroom.

  Once inside the room, Sadie looked around with disappointment. No sign of Trudy.

  “I’ll check the den,” she told Pam. “You wait here.” And she ducked out of the room.

  “Guess we’re out of luck.” She announced as she reentered a moment later.

  “Good. Let’s go,” Pam said with relief.

  “Not yet.” Sadie grinned. Trudy had appeared, standing beside Pam.

  “Oh God,” Pam whimpered, looking to where Sadie was focused. “Is she here?”

  Sadie nodded. “I wish you could see her. It would make this easier.” Sadie turned slightly to face Trudy.

  “You’re deaf, right?” Sadie asked, carefully mouthing the words so Trudy could lip-read.

  Trudy’s response was immediate, an enthusiastic nod followed by a flurry of hand gestures.

  “Whoa, hold on!” Sadie shouted. “I’ll copy the signs to my friend so she can translate, but she only knows basic sign.”

  Trudy began to move her hands more slowly. With her index finger she drew a line down the palm of her other hand, and Sadie copied the motion.

  “I think she wants to know what happened,” Pam said.

  “Well,” Sadie began, “as I explained to you before, you’re dead, Trudy. I wish there was a nicer way to say it, but there isn’t.”

  Another hand signal followed, and again Sadie copied it for Pam.

  “She wants to know how.”

  Sadie blew out a breath. “Well, if you’re asking how I can see you if you’re dead, then the answer is I don’t know. Most people can’t see you. Near as I can figure, you need to pass on some kind of message to me, and that’s why you haven’t moved on to the next dimension.”

  Trudy nodded slowly.

  “Do you know how you died?” Sadie asked her.

  Trudy’s hands went to the brutal gash at her throat and made a slicing motion.

  “Yes, you were cut there, but do you know who did it?”

  She nodded yes with a sad look.

  “It was Grant. He killed you and then himself,” Sadie said.

  Trudy frantically shook her head no and started screaming.

  “Stop!” Sadie shouted and held up her hands in a calming motion. “Look, I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s important that you know the truth. If you stay in denial, you can’t move forward. You’ll just be stuck here.”

  Trudy was violently shaking her head no.

  “Trudy, the police have evidence that Grant killed you with a knife, then shot himself downstairs.”

  Trudy threw back her head and screamed again, and the word “no” shrieked from her lips.

  Sadie turned to Pam. “She’s screaming no. I thought she couldn’t speak.”

  Pam shrugged. “She’s not mute. Many deaf people can speak, they just choose not to.”

  Once Trudy stopped screaming, Sadie asked her, “Are you trying to tell me it wasn’t Grant who did this?”

  “Not Grant.” Trudy signed, sobbing.

  “Then who? Who did this if it wasn’t Grant?” Sadie demanded.

  Trudy let out a long sigh and her shoulders relaxed. Then her essence began to shimmer.

  “Oh no you don’t!” Sadie shouted. “Don’t you dare vanish before you tell me who did this!” But it was too late. One
more simple gesture and Trudy was gone.

  “Damn! She left,” Sadie said. “She offered me a wonky peace symbol, and then she was gone.”

  “Maybe she’ll be back?” Pam asked, but she was obviously relieved that her duties as translator were over.

  “No. She’s gone. For good. The shimmering,” Sadie said, trying to explain, “it means they’ve gone over. I guess she delivered her message.”

  “That Grant didn’t kill her?”

  Sadie nodded and suddenly felt excruciatingly tired.

  “Let’s just go,” she said.

  “But you helped her go over. That’s a good thing. Usually you’re on a natural high when you help a spirit.”

  “It all feels wrong,” Sadie said. “I didn’t help her. Not really.”

  “Sure you did.”

  They didn’t speak again until they were back in Sadie’s car and pulling away from the curb.

  “Do you believe what she said about her husband not being the killer?” Pam asked.

  “I don’t know.” Sadie pursed her lips. “Sometimes the dead aren’t much more reliable than the living. Maybe she just doesn’t want to believe the truth.”

  Trudy’s insistence kept playing in Sadie’s head, and she found she wasn’t quite ready to let sleeping dogs, or vanishing ghosts lie. After a restless night, she called Detective Petrovich and offered to buy him lunch.

  “What’s this all about?” he asked warily.

  “You’ve been sending me business for a few years now, Detective. I probably owe you a lunch or two,” Sadie said.

  “I don’t send you business,” he replied evenly. “When asked about cleaning a victim’s place, I simply tell the families that they should check the Yellow Pages. It’s not my fault you’re the only company listed to handle sweeping entrails. Scour Power only takes on drug lab shit.”

  “Okay, so it’s not a thank-you lunch. Think of it as two professionals enjoying a bite to eat,” Sadie said smoothly.

  Pause.

  “Look, I realize you’ve probably already heard, but I’m still a married man.”

  “Heard what?”

  “I’m separated. The wife kicked me out, but still, I just can’t…not that you’re not a knockout, Sadie, but I’m not dating yet.”