by E. C. Bell
I looked at Eddie. He had the same look on his face. Maybe I’d helped them both. Not a bad day’s work, if I had.
A cop walked past, then stopped and looked at James and me.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” he said and hooked his finger at us, indicating we needed to follow him, ASAP. But before I could follow, Eddie’s mother reached out and grabbed my sleeve. I turned and tried to plaster a smile on my face.
“I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me,” she said.
“You’re welcome,” I whispered, pointing to the line of women moving away from us. “You have to go.”
“I know.” She smiled. “You gave me something I never thought I’d get.”
“I’m glad.”
She leaned forward. “Did he—move on?” she mouthed.
I glanced over at Eddie, who was still standing beside her. “No. Not yet.”
“I hope he finds what he needs.”
“So do I.”
I turned and scurried after James. We turned a corner and then both the book club and Eddie were out of my sight.
“That was Eddie’s mother, wasn’t it?” James asked. “What did she want?”
“Just wanted to thank me.” I pointed to the impatient police officer waiting to escort us to wherever we were going. “Why aren’t we going with the others, do you think?”
“I imagine Sergeant Worth wants to have words,” James replied. “And then you’ll have to tell me what you did to help her.”
“Yeah,” I said and walked away from him to the cop. “We’re ready to go.”
I didn’t really want to go talk to Sergeant Worth. She was going to be angry, and that was never good for us. But it would be much better than talking to James about Eddie’s mother. Or about Eddie.
I WAS RIGHT about Sergeant Worth. She was mad. I only felt a teeny bit better when I realized she was more mad at Stewart than she was at us.
“I told you to stay away from that place, James. You could have been killed.” She glared at him over the top of some very old-fashioned looking reading glasses, then ripped them off and slammed them down on the mountain of paper on her desk.
“I know,” James mumbled, doing his best “I’m a bad boy” routine. I didn’t think she was buying it. “But we felt that time was of the essence—”
Worth’s face tightened, and she slammed her hand down on the desk top—and her glasses. I heard one of the arms snap off and stared down at my shoes.
“Time—essence?” she yelled. “And what if one of those women had been killed. How would you have felt then?”
“Not good,” James mumbled, then looked up. “But we went there to stop them, you know. And no one was hurt—”
“Not because of you, but in spite of you!” Worth bellowed. James finally stopped trying to make things better, which, as far as I was concerned, made things better almost immediately.
“Now, which one of you is going to tell me what happened while the arrests were being made?” she asked. She swept the broken glasses into the trash and squinted at the open file in front of her.
James and I glanced at each other. I was the one who had seen everything, and James had burned his bridge. Much as I hated talking to the woman, it would be me. I put up my hand, tentatively, like I was in sixth grade, about to answer a question I wasn’t exactly sure of, to a teacher I didn’t like at all.
“Speak,” Worth said. “Succinctly, if you can.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said and stared back down at my shoes. It was easier to pretend I wasn’t in danger that way. I quickly went through events after Welch’s attempt to break out of his own backyard and Stewart’s brutal impromptu interrogation after that. To give Worth her due, she didn’t stop me once. She even waited for a beat or two after I’d stopped talking.
“Did you see this?” she asked, looking at James. “Can you corroborate what she saw?”
“No. I was with our client. But the rest of the police saw.”
“What was going on there?” she muttered, scribbling down notes and frowning furiously.
“He was trying to get Welch to confess to Brown Eddie’s murder,” I said. “And somebody else’s, I think.” I didn’t know if I was being helpful or stupid, but I did know for sure that someone had to do something about what had happened there.
“Whose?” Worth said.
“No idea. But if I had to guess, I’d bet it had to do with his son, Luke.”
“Hmm.” Worth leaned back and shook her head. “We thought he was all right after Luke died. Thought him wanting to get back to work was a good sign.”
“Looks like it wasn’t,” I muttered, hoping this would all stop soon. I desperately wanted to get out of here, have a three-hour shower, and then a drink or two. Or three. Jeez, maybe James was right. Maybe I was leaning a bit hard on alcohol to get me through.
I only jumped a bit when Eddie oozed through the closed door and sidled up to me. “When can we get outta here? You promised me you’d move me on.” His voice shook. “I really need to do that, soon. Hearing Luke’s old man losing it out there is really taking it out of me, man.”
I tried to look at him without acting like I was really looking at him. Didn’t work out quite as well as I’d hoped.
“You got a problem, Marie?” Worth asked.
“I—I need to use the washroom,” I said. Fast thinker, me, but a quick bathroom run was actually not a bad idea. I could talk to Eddie about Stewart, actually use the washroom, and—
“Hold it,” Worth said shortly. “We’re not done here.”
“He’s not here now,” Eddie said. “He left. Bet he’s gone to the hospital, to find out who else Ambrose killed.”
I didn’t even pretend not to react. “What?”
“I said hold it,” Worth replied.
“I said he’s probably at the hospital losing his mind on Ambrose Welch.” Eddie sighed. “Why?”
I’d finally remembered something Mom had taught me, years before. It was when she’d first realized I had the “gift” and was determined to make me just like her.
She had told me that spirits trapped in our plane of existence can have an effect on the living around them. Usually, the effect wasn’t good.
I realized that Luke was doing that to his father. Making him crazy, just by being around him. Making it so that his father could not move on with his life, just like Luke couldn’t move on with his death.
“Can we go soon?” I asked. Worth rolled her eyes.
“I still have a few more questions for you. Just wait!”
So I suffered through the rest of her questions, letting James take the bulk of them and get back on her good side.
Stewart wasn’t acting crazy because he was a nasty man. He was acting crazy because Luke was haunting him.
We just had to get out of here. I wriggled on my chair. Man, now I did have to pee!
Eddie:
I Haven’t Seen You in a Long Time, My Friend
THE CHICK COP kept Marie and James answering questions for another hour and a half, just to be a bitch, I think. It looked like poor old Marie’s back teeth were floating, the way she beat it to the restroom.
I followed her there, thinking we were going to talk, but she told me to bugger off. So me and James stood outside the door and waited.
She sure took her own sweet time. I almost went in a couple of times to see if maybe she’d fallen in or something, but I didn’t. Did the gentleman thing and didn’t feel like I deserved her glower when she finally pushed the door open.
Apparently she’d been waiting in there for me. Hey, how was I supposed to know?
“Let’s go to the hospital,” James said. “We need to check on Honoria. Make sure she’s all right. And you have to get your head checked.”
“No,” Marie said. “I have to go somewhere else first.” She looked up at him with those big eyes of hers, and I watched James melt. Man, the guy had it bad.
“Where do you need to go?�
�
“To Angus Stewart’s house.”
James opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. “Why?” he asked, his voice tight and high, like he already knew the answer, just needed her to confirm it.
“Trust me,” she said. “It’s the only way to save Stewart.”
“We were just in Sergeant Worth’s office!” James exclaimed, scurrying after her. “If he needs saving, why didn’t you tell her to do it?”
“Because she can’t do what he needs, James.” Marie smiled over her shoulder at him and even I melted a little bit. “But I can.”
“And we need to go to his house?”
“Yes. Because his son’s still there.”
“But Luke’s dead,” James said.
She looked down at her feet. “Yes.”
“And you think he’s still—there.” James’s voice had gone flat, like he was trying his best to work out a difficult algebra problem in his head and was failing.
But I understood. I understood absolutely.
“We gotta go,” I said. “We gotta go, now.”
“Yes,” Marie said. Her voice was quavering like she was terrified. Which she probably was. “Please, can we go? I’ll explain everything as soon as I do this.”
“Promise?” He stopped and grabbed her by the hand, forcing her to stop, too.
She stared into his eyes for a long time, then slowly nodded her head. “I promise,” she whispered.
I hoped she would. The guy deserved to know the truth about the woman he was absolutely head over heels in love with.
I knew for a fact that she didn’t realize how he felt about her, and I wasn’t even sure he knew how he felt himself. But I could feel it coming off them in waves and felt a brief spurt of envy.
I’d screwed up my life, no doubt about it. I hadn’t even fallen in love, but the regret about that felt like a distant ache. It was probably better that I’d never been in love, or had kids. Looking at the way I’d lived, I should probably be relieved that I hadn’t procreated. I hadn’t had the chance to screw up the next generation.
No, the one thing that I really, truly regretted was not being able to say goodbye to Luke. That boy had been my best friend, no doubt about it. And I’d let him down terribly at the end. If I could have had one wish, it would have been to have a do-over where he was concerned.
It looked like I was going to get my final wish.
At last.
IT WAS A pretty quiet drive to Stewart’s house, I must say. I think Marie was regretting what she’d promised James, and I think James was regretting going along with Marie about going to Stewart’s place without any evidence as far as he could see. I didn’t really blame him—I wouldn’t have bought it either. Being dead, well, that kind of changes a person’s perspective on things, but I could get where he was coming from.
“We’re here,” Marie whispered, pointing at Stewart’s house. “Just pull up front and wait. I’ll be back soon.”
“What—” James started, then shut his mouth, and shook his head. “Right. I get all the answers after you’re done. Right?”
“Right.” Marie didn’t actually look like she believed her own words. “Do me a favour though. If you see Stewart pull up to the house or whatever, please let me know.” She twittered anxious laughter. “I don’t want him to catch me in there.”
“I will,” he said. “Be careful.”
She got out, and I followed her.
“You want to know how to get in the house?” I asked.
“Not yet,” she muttered.
I looked back at James, who was watching her progress up the walk. “Why not? You’re going to tell him all about me when we’re done here anyhow. What’s the deal?”
“I haven’t decided yet how much to tell him,” she said stiffly.
“Oh come on!” I barked. “You promised the guy!”
“I know!” she cried. “Can we talk about this in the house?”
“Fine.”
“Do you know where a key is? Please say under a rock by the front step!”
“Under a rock by the front step.”
She stopped and stared at me. “Are you kidding?”
“Yeah, I am,” I replied. “Last time I was here, there was one in the mailbox.”
“What cop leaves the key to his house in the mailbox?”
“I guess the one who knows nobody would be stupid enough to steal from him.” I shook my head. “I wasn’t, anyhow.”
“Really?” She walked up the steps and pulled open the mailbox, then ran her fingers across the bottom.
“Really,” I replied. “He’s got guns. Lots of them.”
“Oh.” She pulled her hand from the box and opened it, smiling triumphantly. On her palm sat a house key.
“Told you.”
She put the key in the lock and turned it, then blanched when we heard someone inside yelling.
She turned to me, her face ashen. “Prepare yourself,” she whispered.
“Prepare myself? What do you mean—”
But by that time, she’d swung the door open, and I was face to face with Luke.
He looked at me and almost faded from sight.
“Eddie,” he whispered. “What are you doing here?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered back. Then everything went black.
LONG STORY SHORT, I fainted. Yeah, yeah, a ghost fainting, how pathetic can a guy get, right? I came to with Marie leaning over me.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
I didn’t bother answering her. I needed Luke. “Where is he?”
“He’s—hiding,” she said. “I’m sorry. I should have warned both of you it would be a bit of a shock.”
“Damned straight you should have.” I struggled to sit up, then gave up and stayed on the floor. “He’s been stuck here the whole time?”
“Yes.”
“By himself?”
“Yes.”
“That’s brutal.” I turned my head and looked down the hallway, and thought I could see a hint of light from around the corner that led to the kitchen. Man, she wasn’t kidding. He was hiding.
“Luke, bro!” I called. “Come here!”
He stuck his head around the corner, and I almost laughed. He was as bright as Casper in those stupid cartoons.
“Man, you scared the shit outta me, dropping like that,” he replied. “If you weren’t already dead, I woulda swore—”
“Yeah, well, nothing that dramatic.” I hoped I couldn’t blush. That whole fainting thing was pretty embarrassing, and I didn’t want to dwell on it.
“Eddie,” Marie said. “It’s almost time.”
“I know,” I said. “Just give me a minute.”
“But—”
“Just one minute,” I snapped. I turned away from her and looked at Luke.
“Man, it’s been an age since I’ve been in this house,” I said.
“We used to have some good times here, didn’t we?” Luke asked. He slid to the floor beside me and stared up at the dusty light fixture above our heads.
“We did have some,” I said, even though it wasn’t exactly the truth. His father never let him have any fun at all. But hey, whatever. He could remember the place any way he wanted. His death.
“You should stay,” he said. “We can hang out. Just like the old days.”
I turned my head and looked at his translucent profile. He wasn’t glowing as brightly as he had before. Didn’t know what that meant and couldn’t work up the energy to care. I was so tired.
“I don’t think so, Luke. She’s going to help me leave.”
“But you just got here.” He didn’t turn his head. Just stared hard at the light above our heads like it was the only thing that mattered anymore.
“Not here,” I said and waved my arms. “I gotta leave all of this. She told me. I don’t have to just hang around, Luke. I got a choice about that.” I blinked. “I bet you do, too.”
“Really?” He flopped his head to the side and sta
red into my eyes. “You think so?”
“Really.”
“How?”
“I have a gift,” Marie said. “I’ll help him.”
Luke glanced at her. “Will you help me, too?”
“You think you’re ready to leave this house and go to the next plane of existence?”
“I sure am tired of being stuck in here.” He looked at me and his face creased in concern. “Is something wrong?” he asked. “You’re—disappearing.”
“He’s right,” Marie said. “I can barely see you.”
“Is that good?” I felt light. Like I was barely attached to this world any longer.
“It is if you’re ready,” she said.
“Take me with you!” Luke cried, struggling to roll over on his side. “I don’t want to stay here alone anymore.”
“Can I take him with me?” I asked Marie, and then I laughed. I sounded like Luke was a dog in the pound or something.
“You can help me help him,” she said. “If you want.”
“I want.”
Marie walked between us and put her hands where our chests would have been if we had been alive. Her touch soothed me until I felt that the only thing holding me to the earth was her hand and then her voice.
She talked about letting all that was earthly go. Luke asked her some question, and even though I was right beside him, I could barely hear his voice. I don’t know if it was because he was speaking so low, or because I just wasn’t hearing anything of this earth any longer. Whatever it was, she leaned over him, looked him in the eye, and answered him.
“No,” she said. “It won’t hurt.”
Good, I thought. He’s had enough of that.
I felt warmth under her hand and then saw the light begin to swirl around her.
“Make your choice,” she said, her voice calm, soothing. “Make your choice and move on. You have nothing more to learn. You can move on.”
The light from my chest moved up her arm. Wound around and around, and then began to intertwine with light winding up her other arm. Light from Luke. I could feel his strength in that light, even as I offered him mine.
“Come on, buddy,” I mumbled. “This is going to be great.”