by Dale Mayer
She sat down on the chair, tired but energized. There was something to his words she didn’t understand. How could she? There was so much going on. The energy was sapping everything out from her in these little sparks.
“You may find all of this easier to deal with in a day or two when things calm down. When your body and psyche have a chance to smooth the rough edges so it’s not so raw.”
“And yet it’s because of all this that I managed to find Anna.”
He gave her a gentle smile. “Exactly.” He turned to the kitchen and said, “We did not buy enough groceries for too many more meals.”
She barely heard, her mind locked into the maelstrom of emotions inside. She had developed in a major direction to help Anna. It could also be because a lid got ripped off her memories. Emotion flowed through her. Good emotion and bad – childhood ones ripping at her. She could hear insults from other children. Cutting remarks from her sister. Laughing, teasing from her brother. Just memories. Old memories. And yet nowhere in there were there any of her father. Apparently he had not been happy when her mother got pregnant with the twins. He’d taken off soon after.
She’d like to know if her mother got colder and angrier from that point or if she’d always been that way. Maybe she was only that way with Tavika. Given how messed up people felt after a trauma maybe she blamed Tavika for her father leaving. She’d never blame Travis. No. He, like Bellamy, were gold. Tavika on the other hand…
She sat content to watch Jericho once again take command of the kitchen and produce something that smelled absolutely lovely from the hamburger he’d bought.
She realized that not at any point in all these years did she consider tracking her father down. Maybe she should. Maybe he was just sitting off to the side waiting, hoping that when she grew up she’d contact him.
Her gaze fell to her hands in her lap. But she hadn’t.
She took a deep breath, easing more tension from her shoulders. Old injuries, wounds on so many levels came to the surface to be released. All she had to do was let them go. A cup of coffee was placed in front of her. She stared at it wondering where her love of coffee came from. She’d loved it even as a young child. And ignored those that tried to stop her. Her brother hated it. Her sister said it was poison. Her mother never touched the stuff. Maybe she loved coffee because once again the rebellious child was trying to make a place for herself in a family she didn’t fit into.
“Ease up on the heavy thoughts,” Jericho said. “Lots of old stuff’s gonna come up. See it. Observe it. Don’t get caught up in it, just let it go. Keep taking lots of deep breaths and let all this stuff fly away.”
She studied him, loving the lean, efficient movements as he worked in the kitchen. A man who knew what he was up to. A man who understood. He was so very capable.
She really appreciated that minimum of expended movement. There was no wasted effort in any area. It was fascinating to watch.
She considered all the men she worked with. Some were good. Some lousy. Most of them in between. They probably thought she was in the middle too. But she never gave more of herself to them than she had to. Because she gave all of herself to her work.
She winced. That probably didn’t say anything good about her either.
Jericho turned to study her. “It’s getting awfully dark in there. Depressing. Can you get rid of it all and bring in something light and easy?”
“Sorry?” she asked in surprise. “Not sure what you’re actually asking me to do.”
He turned around a large beautiful tomato, studying it intently. “Find a way in your mind to visualize all the darkness in this room and then imagine a filtration system sucking out the old and piping in good clean energy. That’s the fastest way to change the air in a room. Right now there’s so much stuff going on the atmosphere is dark. It’s your old stuff sitting here. Just let go. Not just from your body, but get rid of it from the area around you. Blast it out into space.”
That startled a laugh out of her. Obediently she closed her eyes and imagined an air filtration system completely exchanging the air. Happy to play along she turned up the knob on the imaginary system and blasted it throughout the small apartment.
“Whoa,” Jericho said in surprise. “That’s a powerful vacuum.”
She opened her eyes and stared around the room. It looked the same. But he was right – it was fresher smelling and lighter feeling. She shook her head in wonderment. “How is it everyone doesn’t know to do this?”
“That’s one of the travesties of our world right now. There’s so much the public could learn to use to make their lives easier, but none of it’s taught. And then when people do find out it all comes under the category of woo woo stuff that should be avoided.”
How sad was that? She picked up her coffee and had a sip. She loved the taste. Had he bought a fancy coffee when he’d been out? “Okay, what coffee is this?”
He laughed and brought over a plate of sliced tomatoes, onions, and pickles. He quickly returned with hamburger buns and patties. “It’s the same old coffee that you have. Once again the benefit of letting go of all that old garbage is it’s cleaning out your system and making you feel fresher. And that includes your taste buds. So if the coffee tastes much better imagine what these burgers will taste like.”
“I can’t wait.” With an easy atmosphere and lots of laughter, she quickly built a massive burger and dug in. After taking the first bite she just sat back and chewed in joy.
“See? Everything must have its time. But when it’s past its time it has to be released. When you release it you make room for something new, fresh. Doing this on a regular basis keeps your eyesight bright, your hearing strong, your taste buds excited.”
She quickly finished off her burger. As she wiped her fingers on the napkin her phone buzzed. She knew it was going to be dispatch, but she wasn’t sure how much more she could do tonight. Jericho reached across and covered her hand with his. “Another truth – everything happens for a reason in the time it’s meant to.”
Watching his face, she picked up her phone. She wasn’t sure what he meant, but when she considered all the things that had happened and she knew were still to come, it wasn’t reassuring.
“Bantrell here,” she said.
“We have a report of a deceased male in an office building on Main Street. Seventh floor.”
Tavika reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m on my way.”
She put her phone down and stared at the table. She’d wondered if this moment would come. Then she raised her gaze to Jericho. “I didn’t tell you but somewhere in the last couple of crazy days I had a vision.” She winced at the look on his face. “Although as I don’t see visions, maybe it was something else.”
She stood up, reached for her weapon holster. And then her jacket. Jericho followed her to the door. Silent at her side.
At the doorway she turned back to face him. “In that vision I was looking out from somebody’s eyes. It was like I was in the room staring down, but I was inside a body and could only see what this person saw. He was studying a dead man in an office building. The dead man wore a janitor’s outfit.”
She picked up her phone, shook it in front of him. “That was dispatch calling. They just found a body in an office building downtown.”
“I’m coming with you.”
For the first time she wouldn’t mind his presence there. Now that she understood he could do so much. But she said, “I can’t let you into the crime scene.” Then she tilted her head. “You could come in spirit form though.”
And his smile when it came was breathtaking.
As if an olive branch of friendship had been offered and accepted she could almost see the shift in the energy between them.
Acceptance was a powerful thing.
Still uncomfortable with what was happening between them, to the newness of it all, she picked up her keys and walked out the door.
*
He watched her go, loving the
smooth, long strides as she shifted from a woman dealing with a healing crisis to this professional heading out to do a job so few in the world could do.
He really admired her. What she’d done for Anna was unbelievable. His phone rang, making him laugh. He was so consumed with Tavika he’d ignored the early warning system. He pulled out his phone and answered it. “Hello, Hunter. How is Anna?”
“Alive thanks to you and Tavika.”
“Is she going to make it?” Jericho worried about that. Although her cord was still attached and physically her body was alive, he knew what the trauma could do to a young girl like that.
“We have to trust. The doctors are working on it, on her. There’s definitely some physical injuries. Looks like she was sexually assaulted many times.”
Hunter’s voice was carefully devoid of emotion. It was the only way he could discuss Anna’s injuries. A defense mechanism Jericho understood.
“Did you ask Dr. Maddy to help?”
“Yes. She did some work at the hospital. She’s worried Anna hasn’t returned yet. Dr. Maddy says she’s going to have to try and make that transition on her own.”
Jericho winced. So often death happened for reasons other than physical injury. This was a prime example. “At least she’s in the best hands possible. And she’s safe.”
“So now that Anna has been found, I thought I would help you with the Ghost.”
“Sounds good to me. Particularly since it seems we’re not getting far.”
“Tavika?”
Jericho was already shaking his head before Hunter got the word out. “She’s going through a lot right now – not sure she can handle another trip in to find him. Way too personal.”
“Right. So how about a ghost talk.”
“A what?”
“Sometimes, as you know, I can talk to spirits. Which is why I prefer to try and find people before they are dead. Because talking to ghosts really sucks.”
“That was just one case. You can’t let that woman’s anger stop you from doing something really cool.”
“Yeah, that wasn’t cool.” Hunter’s voice was light, but there was still the pain of failure inside.
It hadn’t been his fault in any way. Hunter had only heard about the case twelve hours earlier. He’d led the police to the right location. But not in time. The woman had died a few hours prior. And in a very unusual move, she stayed and managed to turn her anger and temper on Hunter when she realized he understood her. He’d been carrying that guilt ever since.
“I was wondering about speaking with some of his victims,” Hunter said abruptly.
“That would be good,” Jericho said slowly. “Do you have one in mind?”
“There’s one that’s been nudging me. I don’t know who he is though as he isn’t talking very much.”
“Interesting that he’s talking to you. What’s the connection?”
“He was in the military.”
“Gordon. He was a homeless man. We suspect he saw the Ghost murder a family twenty years ago. Likely Tavika’s. His throat was sliced open yesterday.” Jesus, was that just yesterday? Jericho loved the fact that Hunter was on the same wavelength. He didn’t waste any time bringing him up to speed. “But we have no answers on either of those two questions.”
“After twenty years?” Jericho asked. “Why would the Ghost kill him after all this time? And how did he find Gordon?”
“Let me try to talk to him.” Just as Hunter was about to ring off, he asked, “Where was his body found?”
Jericho described the alleyway.
“Good enough. Let’s see if he’ll talk to another military man.” And with that Hunter was gone.
As Jericho put his phone away he contemplated the other ghosts. He put out a couple feelers, but he wasn’t much of a ghost talker. He hadn’t gotten any nudges of ghosts wanting to talk to him either. That brought his thoughts back to another victim. The teenager with the broken neck. That didn’t make any sense to him.
Maybe he could do some more tracking down and find out if she really was one of the Ghost’s victims.
Where was Tavika now? She was just approaching the office building. He sat on the couch then jumped free of his body. He thought himself to her side as she walked into the building. He slipped in with her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned in wide-eyed shock then grinned.
Another connection was forged between them. Joined by cause, by skills. Soon he hoped joined in all ways. And yet there was no longer the physical need to mate. He was content with this process. This melding of the minds and motives. He knew it was just going to make the end result that much sweeter. And it was also going to make it very difficult for him in another way.
Given his profession, he’d avoided serious relationships. It was dangerous work and hard to explain to anyone not intimately involved. He’d need to find someone special. Someone psychic so she’d understand that part of his world. And be able to handle the type of work he did.
Although…he’d just done that.
He’d found that someone. And she was psychic. Now he had to convince her he was special, and they needed time together to see what they might have.
*
Hunter drove down the block toward the alleyway. Supposedly this was the spot where Gordon Denton had been murdered. He parked a few storefronts away. After locking up his truck, he walked the neighborhood and realized it was a typical commercial street.
There were a few stores, but it was mostly offices and a couple of lunch places on both sides of the street. It was small with no traffic lights. Also the energy here was low-key. A little bit fraught. But nothing major. In fact, there wasn’t very much in the way of energy surrounding the alleyway. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and approached the entrance. He stood there for a long moment.
All senses jacked up, he looked for signs of other entities. Ghost talking was a skill he’d slowly been building this last year. He’d managed to speak to several successfully, but there was never any guarantee. The trouble was often when you went to talk to a specific ghost there were others louder and clamoring for attention than the one you needed to speak to. And some ghosts just didn’t know when to shut up. He almost cracked a smile at that. The place to practice was the hospital because it was full of them, but there were almost too many people in the there. He’d tried the cemetery too with dismal results.
Sometimes there was nobody around. He just didn’t get it. He often wondered if ghosts had some kind of society on their side. He had no idea what and who Gordon would be in his ghostly form. Also ghosts fragmented into bits and pieces of who they’d originally been, but he’d been poking Hunter insistently.
According to what Jericho had said, Gordon had been fragmented on this side too. Hunter walked a few steps inside the alleyway, his senses not detecting any type of danger. But he also wasn’t detecting in any entity. Halfway into the alleyway he could see the dried blood on the cement.
He walked to the far end to make sure there was nobody else around before slowly walking back. Whatever possessions Gordon owned were already gone. There were dumpsters to the right of where he’d been sitting. It was possible somebody cleaned up, and it was also plausible his friends came to help themselves to whatever he left behind. And knowing several homeless people himself, he doubted Gordon would have cared.
He leaned against the opposite wall and studied the space. There was a certain amount of energy disruption, but it wasn’t bad. That surprised him. Often there was a tumultuous surge of energy left behind. But whatever had been here had dissipated.
It could’ve been the effect of Hunter walking along here. There was something about psychics being around that helped disperse violent energy.
As if once acknowledged it was free to move on.
He didn’t see any remnants of violent energy that would hold Gordon here, but that didn’t mean a whole lot. He waited a few minutes to see if anybody was around – to understand he was not going to hurt them.
Then he called out in a low tone, “Gordon, are you here?”
At the same time he sent out a ray of healing energy over where Gordon had died. “I mean you no harm. I’m here to talk with you…if you’d like to have someone to talk with.”
He should’ve brought Stefan, but he had a zillion other things to do than talk to a ghost. Stefan did a certain amount of rescue work, and as part of this band of merry psychics everyone was required to do some as well.
There were just so many souls that needed help crossing over it was too big a job for any one person and, in fact, for any one group.
He waited and rested against the wall, happy it wasn’t raining. What would it be like to live homeless like Gordon had? Having a shopping cart and a few cardboard pieces to create a shelter. He couldn’t imagine it was the easiest lifestyle.
But it would be freeing. No bills to pay, no maintenance. No responsibilities to anything or anyone but filling your stomach. He didn’t think he could survive in the city though. If he was homeless he’d rather camp out somewhere, except then essentially he would no longer be homeless as he would have created a home in the woods. Already failing his first duty of the experience.
Camping is nice. But food isn’t as plentiful.
The voice whispered through his mind so softly and gravely that in the beginning Hunter didn’t realize who was speaking. He used his peripheral vision to see his ghostly visitor. And sure enough the air to the side warbled and shifted. Being a new ghost it was often hard to come and go. But he figured Gordon had already had one foot in the grave for a long time. He lived with his ghosts. Maybe that made the transition a little easier for him.
“Did you have a hard time finding food in the city?”
There was a slight shimmer again from the side. The voice whispered, No, people are always throwing away perfectly good food. One just has to stay close to restaurants.
Hunter never thought of that. Considering there were several lunch spots here he could imagine they threw out a ton on a daily basis. It was kinda disgusting actually. Not that Gordon would’ve gone looking for it, but more that they threw it out at all. He hoped that some were kind and left the food out for him.