Delia's Shadow

by Moyer, Jaime Lee

  Spooning eggs into a dish gave me a moment to wrestle with my doubt. The ghost was real; I’d seen him several times. I couldn’t say for certain what part Teddy played in Esther’s past, only that he had strong ties to her. She wanted Teddy with her and in the end, that’s all that mattered.

  I smoothed the hair off her face and kissed her cheek. “Eat some breakfast now. You’ll feel better and you can have a nap afterward if you like. Teddy will come back to visit soon.”

  On some mornings, Esther was eager to feed herself, the portion of her that remembered family determined to lift part of the burden from them when she could. Today she let me feed her, listless and staring toward the corner of the room. I chatted on, telling her what Annie had planned for dinner, small bits of gossip from Sadie, and describing the walk I’d taken with Gabe last evening. Nothing cheered her or drew a response.

  My appetite faded as she withdrew further. I felt responsible and that my asking about Teddy contributed to Esther’s melancholy. Her need for the ghost worried me.

  Esther’s ghosts knew I saw them, were as aware of me as Shadow. Perhaps if I gave permission they’d return. Summoning ghosts was a frightening thing to think of doing, but if it comforted her, I was willing to try.

  I put the dishes aside and took her hand. “Mama Esther, tell Teddy it’s all right if he’d like to sit with you at breakfast. I don’t mind. And I promise not to send him away.”

  Her gaze came back to me slowly. Understanding took longer still. “Teddy’s afraid she’ll make him leave too soon. He can’t go yet.”

  Esther’s small hand weighed nothing as it rested in mine, her aged bones hollow as a bird’s wing. I squeezed her fingers gently and smiled. “I gave him my promise. Even if I wanted him to leave, I wouldn’t know how to send Teddy away. He can come back when he likes.”

  She came straight up off the pillow and clutched my arm tightly enough to hurt. “No, no, no … that other girl, the one who follows you. It’s not fair for her to make him leave. She watches over her boy and … and I need Teddy here. He can’t go yet.”

  Esther thought Shadow meant to send Teddy away. I couldn’t say she was wrong. Now I wondered if my ghost spoke to her too and how Esther knew Shadow was watching over someone. Being afraid of upsetting her more made my voice quiver, but I had to ask. “I don’t think she’d send Teddy away, not if you need him. Has she told you her name? Or who it is she’s protecting?”

  Shadow shimmered into view at the foot of the bed, the first time I’d seen her in more than a day. She was clean and neat, the shawl over her shoulders and hands hanging at her sides. The ghost never showed the punishment she’d taken at the killer’s hands where Esther might see. I was the only one who saw her bloodied and bruised.

  The ghost glided down the farside of the bed, her eyes fixed on Esther and a hand reaching for a cross that wasn’t there. Shadow stood out of Esther’s reach, her face a mask of sorrow and grief. She didn’t want harm to befall anyone in our house, I was as certain of that as I was that my parents had loved me.

  Esther looked into Shadow’s eyes and her fingers slipped off my arm, her body going limp. “She stares and won’t talk to me. But Teddy knows. Teddy’s afraid. He shouldn’t be afraid in my house.”

  I eased her back on the pillows and smoothed wispy white hair off her face. Each day she faded more, grew thinner and more confused. For the first time I lied to her, seeking to give her a moment’s peace and comfort. That I desperately wanted the words to be true didn’t make it so. “Everything will be all right, I promise. Rest now. Annie will be up soon to sit with you.”

  She muttered under her breath for a moment, garbled sounds and words that made no sense, and shut her eyes. I held her hand until her breathing grew quiet and I knew she slept.

  Shadow drifted closer to Esther and watched her sleep, hands pressed to her stomach in the stoic pose I knew well. The ghost remained mute, all her secrets locked behind green eyes. She couldn’t tell Esther those secrets. Shadow needed to share them with me, but I’d been too frightened to accept the full burden.

  Other people’s lives might depend on what I could learn. I needed to find the strength to face Shadow’s memories without losing myself to them. Asking Dora for help was a good first step.

  I gathered up dishes, tea cloths, and napkins as quietly as I could, a now familiar ache settling in my chest. Grief was an old friend.

  Fear of what tomorrow might bring was new. I didn’t relish becoming acquaintances.

  Gabe

  Gabe checked the time and switched off his desk lamp. The clock chimed five o’clock as he gathered up the files and papers scattered over the green blotter, stacking them neatly before adding the files to the pile in his bottom drawer. Locking the desk was his final official act for the day. He’d read the coroner’s reports and viewed Baker’s photographs a hundred times, the killer’s letters at least that many times.

  Reading them another hundred times wouldn’t show him anything new. Gabe could recite every scrap of information, every clue and threat in the killer’s letters from memory. He needed to stop obsessing about this case before he became incapable of anything else. There were more pleasant ways to fill his time.

  He’d found an excuse to visit the Larkin house almost every evening for the last two weeks. Taking reports from the men on duty, checking with Annie to make sure the patrolmen weren’t imposing on her offer to feed them, and giving her the duty roster for the next week were all valid reasons for him to be there.

  And all completely unnecessary. Reports and duty rosters were handled in the station house, and Jack kept a sharp eye on the men outside the house. Gabe knew none of his squad would push Annie’s hospitality too far. He’d handpicked the men on guard, only choosing officers he thought trustworthy in any situation.

  Lying to himself lasted all of one day. Gabe made up excuses because he wanted to see Delia. He couldn’t deny his eagerness to spend time in her company and get to know her better.

  She appeared just as happy to see him. They’d gotten into the habit of taking long walks each evening, discussing anything and everything but the murder case. Arriving to see her under the pretense of duty left him feeling slightly guilty. Once he’d started, Gabe couldn’t find a graceful way to break the pattern.

  The only reason Gabe saw for going on like this was cowardice. That changed tonight. If he wanted to see Delia or take her to supper, he should just say so. He pulled down the roller shade and grabbed his coat and hat off the rack.

  Jack lounged against the wall outside Gabe’s office, coat over his arm and cap in hand. “I was going to give you five more minutes before I came in after you. We have a cab waiting at the curb.”

  Gabe’s mood sank. He stuffed the fedora on his head, determined not to take the sudden spell of grumpiness out on Jack. “Where are we going?”

  “Delia and Sadie are having supper with Isadora. We’ve been invited to join them.” Jack gave him a sly smile. “I took the liberty of accepting for both of us. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

  The tension knotting his shoulders and the back of his neck eased. He was always on edge now, waiting for the call to the next murder scene. Two weeks had come and gone since the night he’d walked through Elaine Meadow’s cottage and gone back to his office to read the letter addressed to him. Gabe had no illusions that the killer had stopped hunting victims. They just hadn’t found the bodies.

  Gabe shrugged on his coat as they walked, his good mood restored. Supper and conversation with Delia was just what he needed. “That was good of you, Sergeant. I foresee a bright future for you as a social secretary. Is Henderson driving the girls to meet us?”

  “That’s what Sadie’s note said. One of the officers assigned to Isadora will drive her to the restaurant.” Men arriving for night shift passed them in the hall and nodded. Others going home for the day hurried toward the station’s main room. Jack lowered his voice. “Baxter’s staying at the house with Annie and Esther.
Everyone’s taken care of.”

  He nodded, but didn’t answer.

  Shift change was in full swing, the main room crowded and noisy. The desk sergeant waved as they left, but he was too busy assigning patrols and taking end-of-shift reports to do much else. That was fine with Gabe.

  A brisk wind whipped down narrow streets as they stepped outside, carrying the scent of the ocean into the heart of the city. Fog would follow the wind in from the sea. The bite in the air was damp as well as cold, and Gabe flipped up his collar for the short walk to the waiting cab.

  Jack pointed down the block. “The cab’s in front of the tailor shop. I promised an extra tip if he’d wait.”

  The cabbie drove a small, two-horse hack and no roses decorated the doors, but the memory of Terrance Owens strung up in the park punched Gabe in the gut. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at the man in the driving seat. “Jack, starting tomorrow we both carry pistols. On or off duty, I want you armed. See what you can do about getting sidearms issued to the men in the squad who don’t have them. Make sure the men guarding Sadie and Dora are carrying weapons by morning.”

  “I’ll take care of it.” Doubt clouded Jack’s face, but orders weren’t questioned. Voicing his doubts would come later. “What about Mrs. Allen?”

  “Her sister is ill. She went to Sacramento to help out with the children. I don’t expect her back for close to a month.” Gabe started toward the cab again, the jitters in his stomach settling once he got a good look at the cabbie. The driver was no more than twenty-two, skinny, and with barely enough muscle to control his horses. He wasn’t the murderer. “I put her on the train myself early this morning. We’ll worry about her once she’s home again.”

  Jack gave the cabbie the name of the restaurant and they climbed inside the shoddily kept hack. They were forced to slam the door several times before the latch caught. The cab lurched away from the curb, merging into the flow of traffic heading deeper into downtown. Gabe sat back and a spring poked him in the back through the thin upholstery. He slid forward to the edge of the seat, thankful they weren’t going far, and waited for Jack’s questions.

  He didn’t wait long.

  “Why the pistols, Gabe?” Jack frowned and tapped his fingers against the side of the cab. “Why now?”

  His partner respected Gabe’s decisions and rarely asked for explanations, believing there were good reasons behind them all. Even with Jack, he didn’t want to push that belief too far. “We found Terrence Owens’s body more than two weeks ago. A few days later we found Elaine Meadows’s cottage but there’s been nothing since. He’s still out there, Jack. I don’t trust how quiet it’s been. You read that last letter.”

  “Calm before the storm.” Jack watched out the window for a moment, scowling fiercely. “You could be right. He made a lot of threats in that letter. Without finding bodies, there’s no way to know if he’s carried any of them out.”

  “He did. The heart in that box came from someone.” The conviction that the killer was biding his time and planning his next move had been growing in Gabe for days. Just because they couldn’t see the results didn’t mean nothing was happening. “This man threatened you and me by name. That means everyone close to us is in danger as well. I’ll feel better if all the officers on this case go armed until we catch him.”

  “If we catch him. He might decide to disappear again.”

  “I don’t think he’ll stop killing this time. My father always believed something happened to drive the killer away and I think Dad’s right. We’ll find him.” The only thing that kept the nightmares at bay and let Gabe sleep at night was the belief they’d catch this killer. He didn’t know if he could live with himself if the murderer slipped away. “Right now he thinks he’s smarter than we are. You and I are going to prove him wrong.”

  Delia

  Officer Henderson opened the door for us and Sadie swept into the restaurant, a curly-haired conqueror no man could hold against. I thanked Henderson and followed at a slower pace. Watching heads turn was half the fun.

  I wasn’t disappointed. People at tables near the front did watch Sadie strut past, but this restaurant was designed for nefarious meetings. That limited her audience. More than half of the tables were set against a wall of the building and enclosed by latticed walls on two sides, creating secluded dining areas closed off from view of the other patrons.

  Brocade curtains in rich greens and golds covered the entrance of each alcove. The unoccupied dining rooms were dark, curtains looped over brass hooks on one side. Unlit candles sat in crystal holders in the center of the dark-wood tables and in seashell wall sconces.

  The curtain was still drawn back in the room Isadora had chosen. She sat with her back to the wall and directly in front of the door, taking deep drags on her cigarette and blowing clouds of smoke toward the ceiling. Rhinestones glittered on the bright blue cloche covering her blond bob. The matching blue dress she wore was simple and not near as flamboyant as the outfit I’d seen her in last, but fortune-telling called for a certain dramatic flair. Supper at the Stone Rose was a more sedate occasion.

  Her eyes narrowed as we drew closer, no doubt watching Shadow trail behind me. The sense she was good at what she did and not a sham was stronger than the first time we’d met. Dora saw ghosts differently, but her world still teemed with spirits. We had that curse in common and I trusted her as a result. If anyone could help me pry secrets from my ghost, Isadora Bobet could.

  “Dora! You look stunning in that outfit.” Sadie spread her arms wide, folding Isadora into a hug and kissing her cheek. The way Dora held the cigarette out of the way showed long practice with Sadie’s greetings. “You picked the perfect place for all of us to have supper. The boys should be here soon. Jack promised they’d arrive on time even if he had to drag Gabe out of his office. Is Daniel joining us?”

  “No, he stayed home to lavish attention on the bird. Tom-Tom’s been languishing in his cage while we work the fair and Daniel feels guilty. He’s afraid the silly creature will start plucking his breast feathers again out of spite.” Dora turned to me with an apologetic smile. “We have a parrot. The wretched bird is nothing but trouble, but Daniel adores him.”

  Sadie took the chair next to Dora. The two of them traded gossip about friends they held in common, none of whom I knew. I listened to distract myself, amused at the shocked tone in Dora’s voice as Sadie related some minor social scandal. The waiter circled the table, filling water goblets and laying menus out at each place. He kept his head down, but his eyes seldom left Sadie.

  Dora exchanged looks with me, rolling her eyes as if to say “another one,” and picked up talking to Sadie without missing a word. I choked back a laugh. She really was Sadie’s friend.

  The waiter left and I went back to silently rehearsing what I’d say. This supper meeting was my idea. Now I found myself growing nervous. Sadie didn’t know about Esther’s ghosts and recounting the last nightmare to Dora was necessary, but wouldn’t be pleasant. I wanted the hard parts over, including asking Isadora for help. That might prove to be the most difficult task of all.

  My back was to the door, but the way Sadie’s face lit up let me know Jack had arrived. I took a sip of water and fiddled with the napkin spread over my lap, all so I wouldn’t turn too quickly to see if Gabe had accepted the invitation for supper.

  How relieved I was to see him following Jack was complete foolishness. We’d spent every evening together for the last two weeks, but supper tonight was entirely different circumstances. I’d a right to be nervous.

  Sadie stood to greet Jack, the embrace she gave him far different than how she’d hugged Isadora. Jack brushed fingers lightly over Sadie’s cheek before sitting next to her. They clung to each other more now then when I’d first come home, touched and held hands more often.

  We’d talked after Gabe put guards on the house and I knew how frightened Sadie was something might happen to Jack. This wasn’t a normal case. The danger was always in th
e back of her mind, as it was in mine. Late at night, when the house was quiet and outside sounds were dulled by fog or distance, I thought of little else. The fear something might happen to Gabe stopped me from getting closer, I knew that. Knowing made me angry.

  Gabe took off his coat for the waiter to hang up and smiled. “Good evening, Delia, Sadie. Jack says I have both of you to thank for inviting me.”

  Sadie beamed and leaned forward. “Inviting everyone to supper tonight was Delia’s idea. She has something very mysterious she wants to discuss with all of us. I couldn’t pry the secret out of her.”

  Dora extended a hand to Gabe and gave him a lascivious smile. “Lieutenant Ryan, how lovely to see you again. I’m so glad you could join us.”

  She meant for him to kiss her hand, but Gabe barely touched her fingers. Even so, I saw a blue spark snap between them. Dora winced and Gabe drew his hand back sharply. “Good evening, Dora. I thought we’d established last time that shaking hands wasn’t a good idea.”

  Isadora pouted, sticking out her bottom lip almost as prettily as Sadie. “I’d hoped that was a fluke, Gabe. I guess I’ll have to concede the field.”

  Gabe ignored her and took his seat. He turned to me, smiling and openly curious. “Should we hear what you have to say or order first? This meeting was your idea and it only seems fair to let you decide.”

  I knew Gabe well enough now to guess he meant to put me at ease. It didn’t work. Blushing wouldn’t kill me, but being the center of attention felt odd and slightly uncomfortable. “Ordering first might be best. And perhaps we should ask the kitchen to delay sending the food out. This isn’t a conversation I want to have while eating.”

  Dora ground her cigarette into the pot of sand behind her. Her teasing manner dissipated with the last of the smoke curling around her head. “How much of this concerns the ghost? You call her Shadow if I recall.”