Haunted Love

by Jessica Frances

  “Before I let you go in, know that this is going to be a crime scene again. You can go in because I’m with you, but I have one rule, and if you try to break it, I won’t give you access to her house again.”

  “What do you mean? What rule?” Flynn asks, distracted with his gaze glued to my house.

  “Don’t go upstairs. I don’t want you to see her room. I called a cleaning company today, but they won’t be in for two days. You are not to go upstairs, okay?”

  Flynn is silent as he takes in Aiden’s words. Ultimately, while anger and disgust are evident, he settles on appearing disinterested.

  “Fine, whatever.” Flynn shrugs out of his seatbelt; however, as he grips the door handle, I notice his hands are shaking. Aiden sees it, too.

  “Good. Stick close to me so I can keep an eye on you. And stay quiet while I’m with the others, and no one will question why you’re with me.”

  He nods, his eyes staring at the house. When Aiden opens his door, though, Flynn follows.

  A police officer informs Aiden that the would-be robber busted my front door in, and there is a small hole in the living room wall that wasn’t there previously. My neighbor noticed the man entering the house, and after a couple of minutes or so, he saw him storming out. He called the police; however, since it was dark outside, and the man was wearing dark clothing, he wasn’t much more help than my description of my killer.

  It is interesting that the man was only in my house for such a short time. He either realized he was seen and knew he didn’t have time to steal anything, or he was after something small enough that could fit in his pocket. What do I own that is worth stealing, though? I have an old TV, a computer that I hardly use, and some cheap jewelry. Nothing exciting.

  “Why would he put his fist through here?” Aiden asks himself out loud, his attention focused solely on the hole, lost in his own mind.

  I shift my focus to Flynn, who has only made it a few steps into my house, his eyes glassy with unshed tears and his unfocused stare on photos I have of us along my wall. My heart breaks watching the emotions play across his face.

  After several minutes, he retreats, sitting on my front steps outside, his body shaking as he silently cries.

  “Aiden…” I cry out, unsure what I need him to do. Is it asking too much for him to comfort Flynn? Do I really care if I’m asking too much? Flynn needs someone, and I can’t be that someone for him anymore.

  “He was after those files. He came straight into this room, stood here and realized the boxes were gone, and then he punched the wall and stormed out. It is the only thing that fits,” Aiden mutters to himself.

  “Do you really think the man that came here tonight was my killer, that he really is after the files? Was I murdered because of them?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m beginning to think those files are the key to solving this. I need to get back onto that list of names we made.”

  I nod, but my mind shifts back to Flynn. “Flynn is outside, and he’s not doing so well.”

  Aiden’s attention finally comes to me, and then he follows me outside and over to Flynn.

  “You okay, buddy?”

  “I thought I could do it, but I can’t. I can’t be in her house where I was visiting with her just a couple of weeks ago. I can’t look at all those photos knowing I failed her. Standing in there, it’s like she’s coming back, like I’m just hanging around her place to wait for her. I can’t do it.”

  “It’s okay. There isn’t a rush for this. Tomorrow, I’ll come over and fix the lock on the door, and when you’re ready to come back, you can.”

  “But what if that guy comes back? I should take everything away. I don’t want her personal things stolen. What if they take the photos? I want them.”

  “Well, thieves don’t usually steal photos. They aren’t worth anything to them. However, I think the guy here tonight wasn’t here to steal Thea’s things, but something she had that belonged to your dad. I took it out of the house, though, so there is no need for him to come back.”

  “Do you mean the files that you asked me about yesterday? Why are they important?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just a hunch at the moment, but I think they might be connected.”

  Flynn nods, his body sagging. “I’m tired. Do you think you could take me home now?”

  “Sure. Let me finish up with the uniforms, and then I just have one quick stop to make on the way back.”

  Flynn nods again.

  I stay with him as Aiden jogs over to the two police officers and has a quick word with them. I assume they are going to have to get a crime scene crew out here again, and I wonder how soon until houses begin to go up for sale along my street. We used to have a quiet neighborhood here. Clearly not anymore.

  Aiden returns to us quickly, and seeing how exhausted Flynn is suddenly looking, I almost beg him to leave whatever errand he is insisting on doing until after we drop Flynn off. I keep my mouth shut, though, realizing I have been asking a lot of Aiden lately. I shouldn’t push so much.

  I really have to bite my tongue when he goes into a store to buy groceries. Not only could that have waited, but we weren’t even in need of anything. I had enough in the fridge to still cook him breakfast tomorrow and pack a sandwich for his lunch.

  I’m glad I keep my opinions to myself, too. He takes the groceries with him as he walks Flynn to the door, and then he walks into his kitchen and starts loading up his fridge.

  “What are you doing? I didn’t ask you to buy me food.” Flynn awakens from his tired state to stare at Aiden in shock. I think we might have the same expression on our faces.

  “I know, but you clearly need the food, and now you have it.”

  “I don’t need you buying me food. I can afford to get my own.” Flynn sounds wary now.

  “I’ve seen several photos of you not just at Thea’s house, but also ones on this fridge here”—he pauses to tap the fridge door—“and you look like you’ve lost weight since they were all taken, even in just the short amount of time since Thea passed. She wouldn’t want you starving yourself. You might not have much of an appetite these days, but just eat, anyway. Something is better than nothing.”

  “What would you know about what Thea would want? You didn’t even know her.”

  “Are you telling me your sister wouldn’t care that you’re not eating properly? Are you saying, if she weren’t here right now, she wouldn’t be cramming food down your throat? She wouldn’t make you breakfast every morning and make you eat lunch and dinner, too?”

  “How do you—?”

  “Listen, I never got to know Thea while she was alive, but since working this case, I have seen what a good person she was. It is also obvious she was a good sister who loved you. You don’t seem to have anyone here looking out for you, so until you can look after yourself, I am going to keep kicking your ass because I think it is what she would want me to do. So just eat the damn food.” Aiden is growling by the end, and I have to resist the urge to kiss him. If I wasn’t already confused and in denial over my feelings for him, his actions and words to Flynn would have guaranteed my undying love for him. However, I keep a firm grip on my denial, wrapping it around me.

  Flynn snorts, his smile afterwards surprising not only me, but clearly Aiden, too.

  “She used to have this thing about eating three meals a day. I don’t remember it, but I was told that, after our parents died, I didn’t want to eat at all. I was upset. She force fed me for three days. Like, held me down, sat on my legs, and shoved food in my mouth. Our grandpa said, the first time he saw it, it made him laugh. He told me, after he found out the news about what happened to our parents, he didn’t think he would ever be able to laugh again. But then he walked into the kitchen one day and saw Thea and me, and he laughed until he was crying. Ever since, she has had a thing about cooking. I never ate so well as when I lived with Thea. I also have never been nagged at so much about eating.”

  Aiden chuckles while rolling hi
s eyes at me. “She sounds like she was a strong-willed, stubborn sister.”

  “She was. And you’re right; she would want me to keep eating properly.”

  “And just putting it out there, but I doubt she would be happy to know you’re drinking so much. Maybe cut it back a bit, okay?”

  Flynn turns to stare at his kitchen counter, the one that was previously full of empty beer bottles before Aiden cleared them away. He gapes for a moment, clearly lost in thought, before he finally nods his agreement, which is the same time I release a sigh of relief.

  “I’ll see what I can do. Thanks for everything, man—for the food, for dinner, for arranging all this stuff for me. I know it isn’t in your job description, but I really appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome. I may not have known your sister, but I feel connected to her. This case is important to me, and I won’t stop until I’ve caught her killer. I promise you.”

  Flynn nods again, holding his hand out, which Aiden immediately shakes.

  “Thank you.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Aiden

  The rest of the week flies by so quickly I have to wonder how the hell I made it to Thea’s funeral in what feels like the blink of an eye. Every hour of the day has felt like a minute¸ which is saying something, because I have gotten fucking nowhere with Thea’s case.

  My days have been split between going over the Anna Jarvis investigation, and interviewing her family again as well as her ex-coworkers. Nothing about her screams thief; however, going through the shop owner’s account of what went down paints a very different story.

  I do think there is something fishy going on with him. He might not have obvious red flags flying up the signal he is a bad guy, but his financial situation doesn’t make sense. He should be broke, not living comfortably enough to pay his mortgage on time and put food on his table for his five children and wife. He was struggling until about five years ago when things started to get a little easier. Then, a year and a half ago, everything went quiet. Every bill was paid on time without fail, and his store became a beacon of hope for his neighborhood. In a place that is full of crime, there hasn’t been so much as one shoplifter at his gas station.

  It doesn’t fit.

  Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find the concrete evidence I need. Thea and I have been staking out the place every night. We spend our time talking, sitting in silence, or listening to Eric Bell’s tapes. For me, it is often torture not to fall asleep through his droning talk of boring cases and leads. However, for Thea, it is a torment in a different way.

  Often, her eyes are distant as she listens to her father’s voice. Only last night, during the recording we were listening to, he left the recorder on while he took a phone call from his wife. The conversation was short and not much was said, but his tone changed to one of a loving husband, and his declaration of love before he hung up had Thea replaying that part over and over.

  The rest of my waking time has been taken up by going over the list of names we have from Eric Bell’s old cases. It hasn’t given me any solid leads, not like I had hoped. If her father’s files are the key, I’m not seeing it.

  The more dead ends I find, the more I realize I might be wrong. Some people are sick and twisted inside. Maybe Thea’s murder was merely a random and tragic event. Or maybe the guy was after the files because, in his possible drug-addled brain, he thought they contained something else entirely. Either way, I feel stretched to the limit. I am getting nowhere fast on anything.

  Now, I am standing at the back of a small crowd in a public park as Thea’s closest friends, co-workers, and past students talk about how much they miss her, reciting stories and memories they have of her.

  I feel like an intruder being here, regardless that, in some ways, I know Thea just as well—if not better—than most of the people here.

  Flynn is standing at the front of the gathering, surrounded by friends. It appears at least some have made it here for Thea’s funeral. I’m glad because that kid needs somebody. While I’m willing to help him out, I shouldn’t be the only person to do it.

  If I had known him before all this, I would probably appear more sincere. However, to him, I most likely seem like I feel sorry for him. I’m working his sister’s murder case; therefore, my generosity and concern will simply be looked at as pity. He won’t expect me to remain around after the case is closed. Maybe he won’t want me to still be around, a constant reminder of what happened to his sister, but I will be. I made Thea a promise, and I fully intend to keep it. Flynn doesn’t have to be alone through this, and until I’m sure he has a handle on this and is going to be okay, I’ll be there for him.

  Thea’s snort from next to me drags my attention back to my surroundings and the here and now.

  “Can you believe that?” she whispers, as though anyone other than me could hear her.

  “Believe what?” I worry I have missed some of the conversation while I was lost in my own thoughts.

  We have been able to get along this entire week, and I don’t want that to stop now. Not only for my own sanity, but it has been nice to have an easy rapport with her. I still feel some awkward moments between us, ones where an accidental touch causes an overreaction on both of our parts. I’m fairly certain we are both trying to remind ourselves that starting anything up is a majorly bad idea.

  Yet, as we have found a routine together, I realize how easy this could have been if she were alive. This is genuinely a woman I could have dated, someone who would have had the chance to move past the single date I usually bother with. I could absolutely see myself being left in a love drunk state like Max is living in that would have me thinking of words like marriage and forever eventually with her. I’m not sure if I have dodged a bullet or if I should be furious to have that chance taken away. I should probably feel both.

  “That woman up there, Mandy, is slobbering over herself as she tells everyone a story that is not even true! I’ve barely spoken more than three words to her in my life. She only just started at the school a semester ago, and I had almost zero interaction with her!”

  I stare at the woman who indeed is covered in tears and probably snot. She’s almost howling in her grief over Thea when a man eventually moves towards her, wrapping his arms around her back and leading her away.

  “I guess they must have been three amazing words you spoke,” I whisper, smiling at the laugh she gives me. Given we are at her funeral, she is holding up remarkably well.

  “Well, I do have a way with words. You better watch out; if you say hello to her, she might assume you’re actually asking for her hand in marriage.”

  It’s my turn to snort, my eyes drifting over to the woman who has suddenly decided to stop making a spectacle of herself now that most of the eyes of the crowd are away from her. I watch her eyes lock with my own before she looks me up and down. Then she actually winks at me, a smile playing on her lips.

  “Unbelievable! Is she making eyes at you at my funeral!” Thea shouts. Her voice right next to my ear makes me wince, and I shift my body so my side is now facing Mandy.

  “Calm down. Nothing is going to happen,” I tell her.

  Thea’s distaste for that woman makes her completely unattractive to me. She definitely has drama written all over her.

  “It better not. I mean, you’re…” Thea’s voice trails off.

  I turn to look at her, putting myself back in Mandy’s line of sight again. “I’m what?” I’m honestly curious as to what Thea was about to say. Was she going to say I’m hers? Is that what I hope she was going to say? Does that mean I consider Thea mine? I guess she technically is since no other guy can even see her.

  “You’re my friend. You’d never be interested in a woman who would be so rude at my funeral,” Thea finishes quickly.

  I reproach myself for hoping she would be thinking anything else. This situation between us is crazy enough. I don’t need to start feeling anything more than friendship for her. Besides, I have alrea
dy established to myself that this can never be anything more. It can only end badly, so we are friends until she leaves me for … well, wherever you go when you die.

  Sadness settles inside me as my eyes stray to Flynn. His grief is evident, and a woman who looks his own age is hugging his side, most likely helping him to stand. Three men surround them who I assume are his friends from New York. Two have a hand on each of his shoulders, giving support. None of them move to the front to talk about Thea.

  Her only family is Flynn, and now he has no family. It’s not fair that a kid so young with so much life left to live has to be saddled with so much loss. Although he’s only seven years younger than me, the gap between us feels much more than that.

  “I hate seeing him like this. I would give anything to go over there and be with him, give him a hug and tell him everything is going to be okay.”

  I don’t know how to respond to her. Part of me wants to make that happen for her—no matter how impossible it is. I don’t want her to feel so sad. I want to help her, and being unable to pisses me off. I already can’t seem to solve her murder, and now I don’t even know how to make her feel better.

  We watch the rest of the funeral in silence. More tears are shed from several others regaling their stories of Thea. There are also more than a few laughs shared from the small gathering. Thea’s favorite music is played, and then everyone moves over to the seats and benches already set up in the park where a picnic of Thea’s favorite foods are shared.

  The mood lightens over the meal, and people soon begin to leave. The urn with Thea’s ashes is left untouched. I wonder where Flynn has decided to spread them. A plaque was placed next to where her parents are buried. I suppose he could lay her to rest over their graves so she can be with her parents.

  I told Thea she should leave that decision to him, though. Partly because it would be weird for me to know somewhere personal Thea would want to be laid to rest, and partly because I think Flynn might regret not deciding it himself one day. I’m mostly a stranger to him; as a result, he would undoubtedly feel guilt at leaving everything to me, even if I do have Thea making all the choices.