They weren't giving these guys good enough psych screenings.
What was he anyway? That would prove pretty useful to know in say, the next ten minutes.
I didn't have long to wait, this jerk was just dying to show off, who knew why? Because he could, like Carson.
“McGraw's an elemental.” Garcia let the comment drop like a stone in a lake.
We-were-so-screwed.
The Elementals could manipulate the four elements and it was NOT weather dependent. Fire, water, earth and air. God help us if he was like, on my level, controlling all four in the way that I had all five “hit-points” of the AFTD.
He obviously did not have all his dogs barking so I was not interested in show and tell.
I looked at Dad, he was frowning. I did a mental face-palm: there were three more kids from school that knew and the cops were involved... swell.
“If anything gets out of hand here, I have perfect confidence that McGraw can handle it to the letter of the law.”
Great, I bet.
Dad spoke up, “I don't think any of us will be unreasonable. There is no need for posturing.” Oh boy.
Garcia flipped open his notebook (pulse it, moron) and got a pen out. Who wrote anymore?
He turned to the girl, who's name floated just out of reach. “Miss Cote,” (that was it!), “... why don't you reiterate what you told me at the police station.”
Miss Cote came forward awkwardly, eyes downcast. “It's cot-A, ya know, a long 'A',” she corrected sullenly.
Cops growing out of the ground and she's correcting their pronunciation.
“Okay... Miss Cot-A,” he emphasized. “Please repeat what you told us at the police station for these folks.”
Cote looked at Tiffany, who shook her head, no.
So, Tiffany wasn't feeling like being outed either.
Cote rolled her lower lip, biting it with her teeth and staying silent. Garcia turned his whole body to face her, towering over her with his height, intimidating. She looked up at him, a shadow of doubt crossing her face.
“I thought I saw something over there by his parents.” She pointed in the general direction of Gran's tombstone. “But it isn't here now.”
“Now come on, you said a lot more than that,” McGraw prompted.
Dad gave him an unfriendly look and Garcia gave it right back.
Cote glanced over his way and sighed.
Tiffany said, “Mia, no.”
That was it! Mia. I hated forgetting peoples' names.
Mia went on, “We were just going to come out here and hang. And then we saw these guys,” she gestured to my parents and I like a loose unit, “and saw something else too. It smelled,” she said with distaste.
“What smelled?” McGraw asked.
“The dead woman,” she said finally.
Garcia smiled with triumph. Well, good luck with finding any evidence, I thought with a stab of satisfaction.
“But where is the dead woman now?” Dad's arms spread out on either side of him, no corpses here, guys.
Garcia and McGraw left Mia where she stood. They began a tight search of the area, moving in between tombstones where tall Douglas fir trees grew in great clumps.
The cops separated, stepping on top of Gran's grave without a downward glance. When I said undisturbed, I meant it. Not a blade of grass was out of place. It looked perfect.
McGraw turned back to Mia. “Where did you see this dead woman?”
“Right there,” she said.
He looked to where she was pointing, his eyes roving up to read the tombstone:
Here Lies Charles Doyle, beloved husband of Margaret “Maggie” Doyle. Born 1934, died 2000.
He read Gran's headstone next.
Don't ask Garcia, don't ask.
He asked, “One of your relatives, maybe? Doing a little visiting.”
“No. Actually, we were conducting experiments, as I mentioned earlier,” Dad repeated.
“Well, I did some looking.” He tapped his pen to the side of his head, indicating some thinking too. “I have the last five generations of both your families in my little notebook, right here.” He looked down then back up again. His eyes met Dad's in a direct challenge. “And here you all are, right at the family plot.”
He snapped the notebook closed with a tight grinding sound that made me give a little involuntary jump. Dad put his other hand on my shoulder. “But from what Miss Cote tells us, you were doing more than experimenting.”
I looked at Mia but she wouldn't look back.
The Weller kids had been quiet this whole time then Bry spoke up, “Caleb and I got into a fight, that's all. His dad tried to break it up when it got out of control.”
McGraw looked openly skeptical but took in Dad's appearance; the disheveled hair, the grass stains on the seat of his pants. He looked at Mom next, who shrank behind Dad. That clinched it for me, she didn't like him any better than I did.
Garcia focused all his attention on Bry. Taking in the blood all over the front of his shirt, then looking at Tiffany, the dried blood from the ruckus with Gran, still congealing underneath her nose.
He looked back at me.
“But not a scratch on you.” His eyes steady on my face.
“I guess I got lucky,” I said with only a small tremor in my voice.
“But the,” he opened his notebook, scanning with his index finger until he came up with the name, then tapped it once, “Weller boy, has what looks like a piece of his tongue missing. And the sister,” he looked down again, “Tiffany, has sustained trauma to her nose.” His eyes narrowed at me, barely more than slits.
“It's not Caleb's fault,” Tiffany rushed into the space in the conversation. “I just got in the middle.”
Silly me. I kept the surprise off my face, she was sure busy keeping things from the cops.
McGraw was openly scowling and Garcia looked thoughtful. They couldn't do anything. They'd have to chalk the whole thing up to a hysterical girl in a graveyard, thinking she saw things she didn't. Two boys getting in a fight, maybe over Tiffany. Duh, like that would happen but they didn't know that and a fight ensuing after Mia took off to rat on us.
The cops studied us as we calmly looked back.
Finally, Garcia turned to Mia. “Are you sure that you saw a dead woman? Or, are you willing to recant your testimony?”
“Recant?” Mia asked.
“Take it back. What you said. All of it.”
“Yeah... yes... I recant. I don't know what I saw,” she responded helplessly. No corpse and her two friends obviously siding with me. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
“I guess we'll have to be satisfied with that.” Garcia said.
The wind had come up so much it was distracting, whipping my hair and lashing my face.
“But know this: I thought I smelled a skunk, saw a skunk so there must be one.” Weird, just like Morginstern. Must be a contagious skunk fetish going around.
“You have my full attention Caleb, and for the record, I don't like being played. If I find out you're a Cadaver-Manipulator, we are lawfully bound to report that to the proper authorities. Don't let me find out you've been holding out on us.”
His hand came to rest on the baton strapped to his utility belt. Well hell, threatening-much. Mom made a sound behind me, Dad drew her into his body.
McGraw let a huge smile settle on his face, a look of concentration sitting oddly askew. Raising his palm up he said, “Be still.”
The wind that had been so annoying suddenly stopped. Yet, just about fifteen feet away it made the huge, low branches on the fir trees dance and move rhythmically. We were in some kind of eye of the storm. McGraw was showing his “juice” was working here; he was an air elemental (AE). Clyde-the-corpse's words, to whom much is given, much is expected, didn't apply to this guy. It was all about him.
Terrific.
“We'll see you again, Hart family. There will be a next time, and we'll be ready.” He turned and gave a moment's att
ention to the Weller kids and Mia, committing them to memory.
With that charming goodbye, McGraw gave another small, tight smile, closing his open palm into a fist and drew it into his body. There was an audible pop and the wind rushed back, a reverse whirlpool, to lash our faces again.
Garcia lingered, staring at our group, then turned and joined his partner.
That didn't go well.
We watched the police cruisers drive off, knowing that some vague threat had been issued, a warning. I looked at my parents worried faces and saw identical expressions mirrored on the kids I had met today: we're screwed.
CHAPTER 14
Tiffany turned to Mia. “You're such an ass-potato!”
Mia looked around for support, getting none, she retaliated with, “It looked bad to me. The old, dead woman and all. I didn't know what to do!”
Mom and Dad were watching this interchange with interest.
Bry walked up to Tiffany. “Leave it Tiff, we all did the best we could. AFTD has been hard for you too.”
I looked at their bloodied faces and felt responsible.
Dad turned to me. “Is this girl another AFTD?” he looked at Tiffany. “Just clarifying here.”
“Yeah.”
Tiffany looked at me. “I thought I was the only one.”
If I'd known sooner, we wouldn't have needed to be alone.
“No. I just found out that I had it.”
“How?”
I gestured to the grave behind me, Gran's grave. “It was an accident the first time. I told Carson and Brett,” I paused here, our school was big enough...maybe she didn't know them? But she gave me a gagging finger down the throat, she knew them, “...that I could hear the dead. Actually, John did.”
“Why would you guys tell them? They're dickheads.” She caught Mom's look and rephrased to soften the swearing some. “They're jerks to everybody.”
I nodded, perfect assessment. I'd agreed with the first one too.
“Because, I knew from Biology and some other stuff.” The roadkill came to mind and all the fun with the insects, also in Biology. “That I had AFTD... the frogs...” I shuddered where I stood, “that I may have enough,” I thought for a second, making airquotes, “ 'power' to prove that I wasn't some kind of coward.”
“Who the he... heck,” she looked at Mom, “cares what they think?”
“They were being jerks to me and I was tired of it. Jonesy,” Tiffany rolled her eyes, she really was good at that and Bry chuckled, “thought it'd be a good idea to show them what I had, that I wasn't a poser.”
“Does that seem like a good idea now?” she asked.
“No way.” I smiled, I couldn't help it.
Dad clapped his hands together, we all jumped. “This is all well and good but we need to discuss what happened, the possibilities.”
Tiffany and I looked at Dad with puzzled expressions. What were we supposed to think about? Gran was back, she helped out and I wasn't on my own with AFTD.
Dad turned to Tiffany. “Can you raise cadavers?”
“Zombies? No.” She looked at me for clarity.
She could do some other stuff, but not The Biggie.
“Sometimes I know where murdered people are. And,” she looked my way. “I can sense the dead.”
She must mean hear them, ya know, hear them. I told her so.
She shivered. “No, it's not like those loud voices you hear.” She looked at me with a grudging admiration, “that'd be bad.”
“It's like impressions of their feelings or thoughts, I don't know, it's hard to explain.”
We shared a moment of complete understanding.
“Jade told me about that bird thing outside of gym.”
Tiffany looked confused for a second then did an ah-huh. “Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that, LeClerc, right? Aren't you guys going out?”
“Yeah, that's the girl.”
Was there another Jade in our entire school? Totally rare name. Then a whisper wafted through my head: a girl with a “...name of stone.” That's right, Gran had said I needed to protect her. She must've been talking about Jade.
Tiffany was snapping her fingers in front of my face. “Hello, wake up!”
“Sorry,” I said. “Just thinking.” Geez, pushy thing.
I glanced at my parents. Mom said, “We have some things to talk about.”
“We do but I wanna,” I grabbed my pulse out of my back pocket, Tiffany did too, “add Tiffany to my pulse-contact before I forget.”
I thumbed my pulse and thought, add contact.
Tiffany walked over and laid her thumb on the pad and her contact info. appeared:
555.455.9830: Tiff Weller
“Tiff?” I asked.
“Yeah, I hate 'Tiffany'.”
“Why? Tiffany is a swell name,” Dad commented.
We both looked at him. I gave him the double-lame parent stare. Tiffany looked equally disgusted.
Dad said, “Alright... brother, chillax!”
“Dad, don't try okay?”
A ridiculous lack of coolness.
Tiffany recovered and looked around for the scraps of her hoodie. Seeing that the hood and armpits of her hoodie were beyond repair, I took mine off (the teenage uniform, hoodie, jeans and tennis shoes), handing it to her.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. I'll get it back on Monday.”
“I don't know, we may not test in the same building.”
That was true. It was alphabetical. Hart, Weller; probably not.
“Tuesday then.”
“Okay.”
“So, I have a huge favor to ask,” I began.
“What?” she asked with barely contained skepticism.
“Can you guys keep this thing a secret?” I gave her time to think.
She nodded slowly. “Yeah, you worried you're gonna have to go away, to that special school?”
I nodded. She knew what the deal was.
“Like Parker, right,” she expounded.
“Yeah, like that.”
She shuddered. “I'm so glad that I don't have the effed-up corpse-raising to deal with.”
We stood silently, thinking how much it sucked that I did.
“That was pretty cool that you raised your grandma.”
“Great-grandma.”
“Did ya know her?”
“No, she died the year I was born.”
“It was pretty tight how strong she was.” Bry rubbed his mouth.
“Yes, she showed remarkable strength,” Dad agreed.
“What grade are you in?” I asked Bry.
“Sophomore.”
I nodded.
“What did you do on your AP Test?” I was sorta curious to see what he had, being Tiff's brother and all.
“Math-Science,” Bry said.
“What focus?” Dad asked.
“Abstractions and Patterns.”
Dad palmed his chin thoughtfully, “Really... hmm.”
“Dad...”
“Right! Back on task,” Dad said.
Tiff had wandered over to the grave to get a closer look, shaking her head.
“I've seen this on the pulsevision, but to see it done in front of you, how we put her back and now it looks like it never happened.” She turned to Mia, silent all this time, “Come over here and check this out.”
“I'm not going over there.” Mia folded her arms across her chest, fuming.
Tiff sighed, “Okay, I am sorry I called you an ass...”
“... potato...” Mia supplied.
“... right... you pissed me off, bailing like that.”
She turned to me with that top shelf eye rolling routine she did. I struggled not to laugh. She was kinda funny, tomboyish... smart too. The story that Jade told me didn't agree with this Tiff that I had met.
“What had you all emo about the bird?”
She looked my way, then off into space for a second. “It was the first time I heard them. And the whispering,” she looked back at me,
“it's nothin' like what you hear, but it was pretty creepy.”
I nodded, that made more sense, I was freaked out the first time too. Can anyone say, Biology? Über-disgusting class. I suppressed a shudder. I knew I wouldn't be getting a good grade out of that.
We looked a little longer at Gran's perfect grave. Mia stayed away. The day had blown itself out and the wind was gone, leaving behind a pregnant stillness.
We said our goodbyes with assurances of not telling anyone about my issue. The parents didn't have to tell me that the more people that knew I had all five points of AFTD, the sooner I would get attention from the wrong people.
We left the cemetery, Mom giving a final glance at Gran's grave. Her Gran was truly lost, not just to death, but with a different memory superimposed over the old.
CHAPTER 15
Riding in the car seemed longer because Dad wanted to discuss everything to death.
“I suppose it isn't too redundant I mention the timing was less than ideal when Officers Garcia and McGraw made an appearance.”
Mom answered, “Yes, that was the worst of luck.”
A puzzled expression dominated Dad's face. “What intrigued me was they didn't ask any pertinent questions regarding what experiments I may be conducting.” He drove on, thoughtful and silent.
“It terrifies me to think that those two are hanging around like sharks, scenting blood, waiting for any confirmation that Caleb exhibits AFTD. I mean, corpse-raising.”
I had her there. “Mom...” I raised my eyebrows, “... is that the politically correct word?”
Mom blushed. “Cadaver-Manipulator.”
Those words had the ring of finality.
Dad turned to her, surprised. I wasn't, she came up with the most obscure crap on the planet.
“I have been doing some reading on the subject. What little I could find, doesn't seem to be much available. There isn't that much more written than what John gave Caleb,” she said.
Dad gave me eye contact in the rear view mirror then his eyes fell away as he turned on the left hand turn signal. I'd pulse Jade when we got home, the Js needed to know too. Another complication... they just keep on coming. Questions pinged around in my head speeding up, unanswered: could I put something back I raised? I'd done it before and it hadn't been this huge-ass problem. For the first time I thought that it would have been awesome to be able to talk to Jeffrey Parker. He would definitely have answers.
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