The Rising

by Lynn Chandler Willis

  “But the memory of his dad is a happy memory,” Ellie said. “And it’s the last memory he had before the accident. And we know Jerome Kenton was involved in the accident, and he definitely has a strong reaction to Kenton. So how can it be both?”

  “He didn’t say his dad was with him during the accident,” Deveraux said. “He said he was with him after.” A slight grin played on his lips, and Ellie wondered what the heck that was about.

  They were going around in circles. And she was tired and getting dizzy. “We’ve already established there was no way his father was with him after the accident. At least not here in the hospital. We’re missing something, and apparently it’s connected to the morgue.”

  Deveraux was smiling now, not just grinning. “There doesn’t always have to be a logical explanation.”

  Ellie cocked a brow and glared at him. Certainly he was beyond tired and talking out of his head. “The opposite of logical is illogical. So you’re saying the explanation is illogical?”

  “To the non-believer.” Deveraux’s eyes brightened as if he’d just been given a shot of pure adrenaline.

  “An afterlife experience,” Jesse said, his voice rising with excitement. “Of course! He said he was walking with his dad—”

  “Along a beautiful shiny road,” Deveraux finished.

  “Like a road paved in gold. The yellow brick road,” Jesse said.

  Ellie stared back and forth at each of them like they had completely lost their minds. “You’re joking…right?”

  “This child’s seen Heaven.” Deveraux was looking at Jesse now in some sort of weird camaraderie that obviously didn’t include Ellie.

  Sure, she was a believer. She just wasn’t so sure she believed this theory. “OK, let’s all come back down to earth for a minute.”

  “How else can you explain him talking with a man that doesn’t exist on any surveillance tape?” Jesse asked. “He said he was talking with his dad after the accident. After the accident, he was clinically dead. Right, doc?”

  Deveraux nodded excitedly. “Exactly. The thought crossed my mind earlier because there was just no scientific explanation for why this child is alive.”

  “The Lazarus Syndrome,” Ellie said, remembering her earlier conversation with Dr. Terry.

  “To very extreme measures, but yes,” Deveraux said.

  All of this was getting a little too freaky. Ellie sank further into the chair and scrubbed her hands across her face, hopefully washing away the confusion and exhaustion. “OK, so what you’re both saying is this child had an out-of-body experience, hooked up with his dad in heaven, and then, through some Divine Intervention, somehow came back to life.”

  “Yes,” Deveraux and Jesse answered in unison.

  Ellie burst out laughing. She laughed until her eyes were wet with tears. She got up and paced around Deveraux’s office, catching glimpses of his pictures in foreign countries as a missionary, the plaques on his wall with biblical sayings and prayers. And Jesse! Where had all that come from? What happened to the Jesse she took home with her that night so long ago? She sure wouldn’t expect to see that Jesse in church on Sunday.

  “OK. We’re assuming a lot here,” she said. “One, that the kid’s father is dead, and two, that he’s in heaven.”

  “The first one’s not difficult to confirm,” said Jesse.

  Ellie spun around and glared at him, fighting back another gut-wrenching laugh. “We don’t even know who his father is. We don’t even know who this kid is!”

  Jesse stared back at her with an intensity she wasn’t used to, not from him. “We know his name is Landon. We know he’s six years old. We know there’s a possibility his father’s dead. And, somehow, Jerome Kenton’s connected.”

  ****

  Ellie sank into the passenger seat, cupped her hands together, and blew warm air into them. What had she done with her gloves? “You really believe all that…stuff?” Her teeth were chattering.

  “You don’t?” Jesse adjusted the air vents, forcing the heat to blow toward their faces.

  “I believe in heaven, yeah. But I’m not sure about all that ‘just here for a visit’ stuff.”

  Jesse laughed. “You’re funny.”

  He lightly tapped the brakes as they neared the intersection of Main and Danville Road. There was little traffic on the roads as most sane people had taken the weather forecasters’ advice about staying in. Although the light was red, Jesse eased through the intersection, not sacrificing the forward momentum for small legalities. At the next intersection, he carefully turned left and kept the car in the deep tracks heading out of town.

  “Where are you going?” They were now heading in the opposite direction of the office.

  “I’m taking you home. Unless you have somewhere else you’d like to go first. But you’d probably be hard-pressed to find anything open now.”

  She watched the wipers slap at the snow. It was difficult to see the front end of the car through the thick flurries. She’d never been through white-out conditions, but she imagined this was pretty close. “And how are you supposed to get home?” She didn’t even know where Jesse Alvarez lived, and she wasn’t overly excited about driving home on roads she wasn’t familiar with.

  “Maybe I should have said I’m dropping you off at home. I don’t think you’ll be needing your car tonight.”

  “Maybe you should have asked first if I’m on call.” She smiled sarcastically. Whether she could drive in the snow or not, if she was on call, Jack expected her to show up if needed.

  “Gotcha covered, partner. But you’ll have to call me. My pager hasn’t been re-programmed yet.”

  Partner. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about the whole thing. Mike Allistar would probably be retiring come summer, and they’d need the extra hand. But why had Jesse come back to CID? There was a small part of her that was a little flattered, thinking maybe, just maybe, he came back because of her. And that thought in itself confused her…and scared her. Realistically, though, what other department was there for him to go to? He was a good cop and a great investigator—he’d moved out of a patrol car years ago. Why he’d returned to CID wasn’t the real issue that piqued her interest. Why’d he leave vice? That was the real question.

  Surrounded by the warm blowing air and the comfort and safety of her partner’s excellent snow driving skills, her eyes fluttered as she fought to stay awake. She sure didn’t want to doze off now, especially now. Not with thoughts of Jesse swirling through her brain. He’d invaded enough of her life already. She sure didn’t want him invading her dreams, too. “So. What’s on tap for tomorrow?” she asked, forcing herself awake. “Are we supposed to check the guest list with Saint Peter?”

  Jesse smiled. “Good idea, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it. Some people don’t come back, you know.”

  Ellie slightly nodded and smiled half-heartedly. “So, we really don’t have any way to confirm the heaven story.”

  “Just believe. Just believe.”

  Ellie rolled her eyes. She didn’t know what she believed anymore. “Well, I’m sure the DA’s office would like something a little more concrete.”

  “That’s why God blessed us with technology. We have databases for everything. I’ll key all this new information into the registry and could almost guarantee will get some hits.”

  “What new information? All we have is his name may be Landon.”

  “White male, aged six, first name Landon, father deceased. We’ll get a hit.”

  “Father may be deceased,” she said, still unsure of all this heaven stuff.

  Jesse tsked. “O ye of little faith.”

  Faith. Her faith in the Man upstairs had taken a major hit the day they buried her mother. Her faith in mankind had all but dissolved the day she saw her first murder victim.

  She sighed heavily. The last thing she wanted right now was a sermon. Especially from Jesse. “I do have faith in some technology,” she said. “I think we have enough for a warrant to search J
erome Kenton’s home, especially his personal truck and even the delivery truck.”

  “The delivery truck’s probably not going to do any good. Even if we found blood, it’s probably contaminated with fish blood. Unless we found hair fibers, any other evidence probably wouldn’t hold up in court.”

  “Maybe we will find hair fibers. O ye of little faith.”

  Jesse grinned for a moment then frowned and shook his head. “Given everything we’ve got, sorry, but I don’t think it’s enough for a warrant, sweetcakes. It’s enough to bring him in for questioning, or at least pay him and his wife a visit at home.”

  “Richie Chambers said Kenton was talking about his wife going back to New Orleans for a while,” Ellie reminded him. She doubted Jack would dig deep enough in the budget to pay airfare for a trip to New Orleans for an interview. Interviewing Mrs. Kenton may pose a problem.

  Jesse carefully turned onto Ellie’s dead-end road. The little country lane looked like a velvety picture on the front of a Christmas card. There were no streetlights, and tonight there was no need. The snow blanketing the few yards illuminated the area with a beautiful white glow. Massive pine branches drooped under the weight of the powdery snow as gray-white smoke rose from chimneys. The smell of burning wood was strong and homey, bringing with it the knowledge of warmth and comfort.

  Ellie’s heart sank when she saw her little house. Her father’s car was in the driveway with a thin layer of snow accumulating in the tire tracks. They’d been here awhile. There was only one reason her father would have left the hospital hours ago.

  Ellie unlatched her seatbelt and was out of the car before Jesse had parked. She moved as fast as she could through the snow and along the slippery walkway and hurried through the front door. Aunt Sissy was at the small kitchen table sipping from one of the chipped coffee mugs. Their eyes met and Sissy smiled. “Helped myself to some tea. Hope you don’t mind.”

  Ellie stared at her a moment, judging her look. Her eyes were clear and bright, no redness. Her expression was ordinary, same ol’ Aunt Sissy. “Of course I don’t mind. Where’s Daddy?”

  Sissy cocked her head toward the bathroom. “In the shower. Peggy was resting comfortably, so we left before the roads got any worse.”

  Ellie let out the breath she’d been holding since seeing the car in the driveway. Every muscle in her body relaxed to the point she was scared she’d melt like a snowman. She tossed her coat on the sofa. “Hot tea. That sounds good.”

  “The water should still be hot.”

  Ellie was fixing herself a cup of tea when she heard the front door close.

  “Everything OK?” Jesse called from the living room.

  “Well hello, gorgeous,” Sissy said. She got up, went into the living room and gave him a deep hug. A little deeper and longer than Ellie thought necessary, but she was too exhausted to go there.

  “You two look rather tired.” Sissy took Jesse’s coat and hung it over one of the kitchen chairs. Ellie hoped that wasn’t an indication he was planning on staying awhile. Her bed was calling, and she didn’t know if she trusted leaving Sissy alone with him. No telling what they’d end up talking about.

  “You want some hot tea? Ellie, fix him a cup of tea, please. Warm him up a little bit.”

  Yeah, you’d like to warm him up, wouldn’t you?

  Ellie filled the teakettle with more water and put it back on the stove to boil.

  “How’s Peggy?” Jesse asked. He sat in one of the kitchen chairs. Begrudgingly, Ellie set the cup she had fixed for herself in front of Jesse.

  Who was he to be asking about her family members? Not that she really considered Peggy a family member.

  Sissy slowly shook her head. “‘Bout the same. The pain meds are keeping her knocked out most of the time. Probably won’t be much longer.”

  Ellie wondered if it would be totally uncool to pray for Peggy to hold on until she got this case cleared. She really didn’t have time to attend a funeral right now. Not that she planned to attend anyway. Oh, who was she kidding? There was no way she could get out of this one. Not if Aunt Sissy, and apparently now Jesse, had anything to do with it.

  Her father padded into the kitchen wearing plaid pajamas, a flannel robe, and bedroom scuffs. He greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and soft hug with an arm around her shoulder.

  “Reverend Saunders,” Jesse said. “Just the person I wanted to talk to.”

  Ellie cocked an eyebrow and glared at Jesse.

  “We had the most amazing revelation today, and I wanted your opinion.” Jesse pulled out a chair for Ellie’s father then leaned into the table and sipped his tea, quite comfortable.

  “Concerning the little boy? Very interesting case. I’ve been following it some on the news.”

  “This hasn’t made it to the news yet—and hopefully it won’t,” Ellie said, glaring harshly at Jesse.

  Jesse ignored her. “He told Ellie the last thing he remembered before waking up in the morgue was talking with his father. We’ve established that just wasn’t possible.”

  “We think, it’s not possible,” Ellie interjected. She finally fixed herself a cup of tea and fixed one for her father. Obviously, this conversation was going to happen regardless of how badly she wanted to crawl into her warm bed. She scooted behind Sissy and wedged herself into the chair scrunched between the table and the window. How come she always got stuck beside the drafty window?

  “Anyway,” Jesse continued, “we’ve established through surveillance video, no one entered or left the morgue while the child was there. He’s said his father wasn’t with him before the accident, but he talked with him before he woke up in the morgue. We asked him to describe where he talked with his father, what kind of room they were in and—”

  “Jesse thinks he described heaven,” Ellie said and rolled her eyes. She hated to steal his thunder, but she was really tired, and the rate he was going telling this story, they’d be there all night.

  “Really,” her father said, looking at Jesse with widened eyes. “How did he describe it?”

  Jesse glared at Ellie then turned back to her father. “He said it wasn’t a room. He said they were walking along a road, a beautiful, shiny road.”

  “The roads shall be paved in gold,” her father mumbled.

  “Exactly!” Jesse said. Ellie was waiting for the high five, but her father wasn’t exactly a high five kind of guy.

  “And then the child woke up in the morgue…” her father said slowly in a slight voice. “After being pronounced dead.”

  “There’s a medical term for it,” Ellie added quickly before this thing went much further. “It’s called the Lazarus Syndrome. It’s more common than people realize.”

  Jesse stared at her, his face twisted with questions. So she made that last part up about being common. It probably was, though. No telling how many undocumented cases hospitals had every year.

  “Did the child say what he and his father talked about?” Her father looked to Jesse for the answer.

  Jesse shook his head. “No, all he said was his dad told him he missed him.”

  Her father sipped his tea, deep thought creasing his forehead. After a moment, he continued the conversation. “I’ve never personally been involved in a rising, as they’re called, but from my research and talks with people who have been involved, most often the risen has a message for someone. It’s usually something so obscure no one but who the message is intended for would understand it.”

  18

  “Will you stop all that pacing?” Aunt Sissy said. She poured herself a cup of steaming coffee and carried it into the living room. She sat on the sofa, her legs curled beneath her. “He said he’d be here by seven thirty. According to your clock, he’s still got fifteen minutes.”

  Ellie peered out the window again, her agitation growing by the second. This is why she hated being without a car. She should have never let Jesse drop her off. She’d already be in the office digging into Jerome Kenton’s life if she had her car. />
  “I don’t know why you didn’t just let him spend the night.”

  Ellie turned around and glared at her crazy aunt. “And where was he going to sleep? This isn’t exactly Motel 6.”

  “You’re right. They’re a lot more hospitable.” She yawned then sipped her coffee. “Don’t even get me started about the possible sleeping arrangements. You have no imagination, child.”

  “Oh, I have plenty of imagination, and I don’t like what I’m imagining right now.”

  Sissy grinned and patted the sofa. “Come. Sit. You’re going to be exhausted before you ever get to work.”

  Ellie sighed heavily then sat down beside Aunt Sissy on the sofa. Sissy lovingly wrapped her arm around Ellie’s shoulder and gave her a deep hug. “You’re wound tighter than a spring. You need to learn to relax.”

  Ellie took a deep breath, knowing what Sissy said was the truth. “There’s just so many things going on right now, I can’t seem to shut off my mind. If it’s not one thing, I’m thinking about another.”

  Sissy ran a gentle hand over Ellie’s hair and smiled. “And how many of those thoughts are Mr. Alvarez’s doing?”

  Ellie sighed then leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees and resting her chin in her hands. “I don’t want to think about him. Not like that, anyway. And all this talk about heaven and believing and secret messages… I mean, where is all that coming from? That’s not the Jesse Alvarez I…”

  “Slept with months ago?”

  Ellie didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to.

  Sissy tucked a lock of stray hair behind Ellie’s ear and gave her another hug. “That Jesse was safe. This Jesse, the Jesse that’s grown and matured and shares the same beliefs you do deep in your heart, frightens you because you could actually fall in love with this Jesse. And that’s scary. Falling in love and wanting to be with someone all the time…it’s terrifying.”