by Maria Quick
‘Somebody mentioned jokes.’
That was you!!
‘Was it? Oh, right. Well, anyway, what was I talking about?’ he pondered, before clicking his fingers as he remembered. ‘Of course! Look at me, I am halfway through this guy. Look!’
Stop whining, I can’t look. He’s already nervous, I’m not about to stare at his torso. Stop that!
‘I wasn’t doing anything,’ he sulked, taking his fingers out of the poor man’s eyes. ‘I’m bored. How long is this flight?’
A couple hours, I think. We’ve also got one stop. Think you can entertain yourself? I need a megaton of sleep.
Waving his hand one more time in front of the guy’s face, he finally sloped off towards the cockpit.
‘Fine. I’ll let you know if they’re napping,’ he called back, disappearing through the door.
Holding my head in my hands, I breathed deeply until I figured I was calm enough. I opened my eyes to see the guy peering at my computer screen, baffled. He saw me looking at him and gave me a strange look.
‘I hope to be the next Mark Twain,’ I informed him, wishing I was wearing lens-free glasses so I could snootily push them up my nose.
As it was, he gazed back to the random sentences and blinked at me.
‘Good luck with that.’
He then shuffled as far away from me as humanly possible, leaving me free to finally close my eyes and rest.
The rest of the flight and the next one were thankfully uneventful. George had decided the cockpit was simply fascinating and spent the whole journey in there. Except for the time I looked out the window to see him dancing on the wing. That... took me by surprise.
He started badgering me the second we landed in Miami, but I stood my ground this time and refused to acknowledge him until we were in the hire car, away from the general populace.
‘Did you talk this much when you were alive?’ I groaned.
He threw his hands up in the air, laughing.
‘Oh, now you talk! I’ve been going stir-crazy here, thinking you could no longer see me or something. It totally freaked me out. I thought I was stuck. What were you doing?’
‘What I said I was doing. No talking in planes or airports. Or any public place, for that matter. Learned that lesson many times, the hard way,’ I shuddered, pulling out straight into a ten-mile long traffic jam. Great. The AC was broken and blasting hot air and the car wasn’t even a convertible. Add to that George chattering in my ear and what a beautiful day this was turning out to be. I should’ve stayed in school.
‘You could have at least looked at me,’ he pouted, folding his arms. I couldn’t believe his attitude. Wasn’t he the one complaining that I was a child only yesterday?
‘Right, whatever. Shall we move on?’
‘Sure. What’s our play?’
‘Our what?’ I asked, inching along ever so slowly. The hotel I’d booked claimed to be a ten-minute drive from the airport. This was a long ten minutes.
‘You know,’ he went on, shaking his head disbelievingly at me. ‘Our plan. God, are you a detective or not?’
‘Not,’ I answered firmly, wondering again why I was here. ‘I’ve said this from the start.’
‘Yeah, why is that? You seem to hate helping guys like me and Ronnie. You know that’s weird, right?’
‘Yup, that’s the weird part about this,’ I agreed sarcastically.
‘I’m serious! A lot of people would kill for this. You see the dead-’
‘Ugh, this again?’ I groaned. I thought that whole conversation was finished.
‘Yes, this again. You never actually answered my question earlier. What are your plans after school?’
I bit back whatever retort was forming in my mind because I could see he wasn’t about to give up with this question. And the answer was, I didn’t know. I had one year left of school and no path in mind. At all. I used to get good grades until I realized I got attention for it, cueing more bullying from Brandon. Ever since that, I kept to distinctly average scores in all classes. It was better that way. Besides, I didn’t particularly enjoy any of them either. I took no extracurricular activities; my spare time mostly being taken up with random lucies. I guess it’d make sense for me to somehow make a career out of this, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do anything, come to that. I was happy where I was, and I had enough cash to stay like this for years to come.
I doubted College Boy here would understand. He was in fully-fledged revolutionary mode, whereas I was still an angst-ridden teen. He was ready to change the world but I was still hating it. At least I admitted that to myself, though. That’s got to count for something.
‘Don’t have any plans, but I’m rich so I don’t need any,’ I summed up succinctly. I correctly gauged his reaction as his face filled up with disgust.
‘You could make a difference.’
‘So could we all,’ I shrugged, finally pulling into the hotel parking lot. ‘Why didn’t you study medicine or work in a homeless shelter?’
He frowned.
‘That’s not the same thing. And maybe I would’ve done voluntary work in my spare time,’ he sniffed. ‘I guess we’ll never know now.’
I didn’t even bother replying. It was such a typical response from do-gooders everywhere. He wasn’t the first person to suggest I use my father’s hard-earned cash to fulfill their own agenda. That in itself was another thing that bothered me. It wasn’t even my money in the first place, and yet people treated me as if I was the millionaire. Like, what am I supposed to do? I don’t wear designer clothes, I don’t get manicures or facials or whatever. I drive a regular-looking car to school, for God’s sake. And still, in spite of all that, I get asked for donations. It’s never small, usually a couple hundred or thousand bucks. Who asks schoolkids for that type of money? I mean, come on. I’ve never been asked to give my time, either. They want me for one thing and when I refuse, suddenly I’m the bad guy.
‘I would have!’ George said firmly, which was cute. Everyone’s a believer in hindsight. ‘I always intended to-’
‘So, why didn’t you?’ I sighed, shutting off the engine and relishing the end of that journey.
‘I didn’t have the time. I had college-’
‘How many hours a week?’
He stopped himself from answering and only glared at me.
‘It’s not the same.’
‘Sure it is. Why is your time more valuable than mine?’
‘Because... forget it. You wouldn’t understand.’
‘And you wouldn’t understand me. And we’re unlikely to understand each other any time soon, so shall we drop it?’ I suggested, hoping he wouldn’t start a debate about morals. I couldn’t bear it.
Luckily, he nodded, albeit a little petulantly.
‘Great. I’m going to check in. Stay in the car until I come back.’
I unbelted and put my hand on the door ready to leave.
‘Wait. We still need a plan.’
‘Look, I don’t know. And I’m not about to discuss my entire life with you, alright?’ I snapped.
‘Whoa, hey. I didn’t mean that. I meant about Ronnie and his wife.’
‘Oh. Right. Well, that’s different. I need a background check on him. And her, come to that. I don’t even know his full story yet. I’ll have to wait until he eventually resurfaces. Did he mention a meeting place at all?’
‘Yeah, some bar on a beach a little south of here. He didn’t say when, though.’
‘Of course he didn’t. Hope sunbathing doesn’t bore you. Could be a long wait,’ I groaned.
‘I don’t mind. What did you mean by background check? You said the cops don’t listen to you anymore.’
‘Nope, that’s still true. I have a lawyer friend up in Seattle who can dig around. And if that fails, which she often does, it’s down to Mickey D.’
He looked confused.
‘Didn’t you eat on the plane?’
‘Mickey D is a kid from school
. Not really a friend, but he’s an eager beaver.’
He stared at me, waiting for more explanation.
‘He’s fat.’
‘Oh. And do they know about, uh, this?’
‘In a sense- it’s a long story,’ I concluded. ‘I’ll tell you later.’
8
I’d met Ally Merchant eighteen months ago, on a road trip with my dad. He’d had a big game that he’d been completely stressing over, so he’d pretty much left me to wander off on my own. I think he’d had a girlfriend at the time who was supposed to be watching me, but she’d wanted to shop and I hadn’t. By mutual agreement, we’d ignored each other the second my dad left the hotel every day. We’d sworn each other to secrecy, and promised not to rat the other out.
I still told him afterward, though. Bye bye girlfriend.
I’d had a lucy following me the whole trip, which had been irritating. His name was Rico, and he’d died in a gang shootout. Stray bullet. The poor guy wanted me to avenge his death somehow, but what could I do? I was a fifteen-year old girl. I wasn’t about to immerse myself in gang politics in another state. I’d been in the midst of telling him just that when Ally had crept over, eavesdropping.
She’d given me a hell of a fright. It’d been a rainy day in a pretty drab park, so I’d thought that we were alone. It was getting to be a pretty big argument when I’d spotted her staring at me. I’d quickly pointed to my Bluetooth headset that I wore religiously for such matters.
‘I’m on a call, do you mind?’
‘You mentioned Rico Alvarez. You were talking to him, weren’t you? Is he here?’ she’d asked, gazing at the obviously-clear path.
I’d been pretty speechless. Never in my life had I had that reaction. Suspiciously, I’d given her the once-over, wondering if she was the crazy one here. Dressed in a sharp black suit jacket and skirt, with a white shirt – and tie – she didn’t seem that crazy. Her shoulder-length brunette hairstyle was conspicuously bland, as was her light makeup. Maybe she was a government agent.
‘Sorry, don’t know who you’re talking about,’ I’d shrugged, turning back to Rico. He’d walked over to her a little ways and I’d followed him with my eyes. She’d noticed me move my head and tried her hardest to look for him, bless her heart.
‘She’s a lawyer,’ he’d informed me. ‘She was working on our case I told you about.’
‘What case?’ I’d sighed, briefly forgetting myself. Instantly, she’d beamed at me.
‘He’s there, isn’t he? He knows me. Rico!’ she’d called out.
‘Did you listen to a word I’d said?’ he’d asked, frowning. ‘Our civil rights case. Those guys had taken over our apartment block and the cops weren’t doing anything. Ally here was the only one who wanted to help out.’
I’d looked back at her, disappointed for his neighbors. She didn’t seem like she had any fight in her. But she was only the second non-lucy who had ever believed me right off the bat, so I’d give it a whirl.
‘Alright. Yes, I am talking to Rico. He told me you’re his lawyer for his apartment-’
‘Yes, that’s right. Hi, I’m Ally,’ she’d said, coming over and offering her hand to shake.
‘Anna,’ I’d replied, taking it. I was still suspicious, but she’d seemed okay. I guess.
‘Is he alright? How’s the afterlife treating him?’
‘Uh...’
I’d shifted my eyes over to where Rico was still waiting. He’d shrugged.
‘Can’t complain,’ I’d surmised, before turning back to Ally. ‘Why can you- um, how do-?’
‘How do I know you can see ghosts?’ she’d finished, with a frankly creepy grin on her face. ‘I see things. I have seen things for as long as I can remember.’
‘But you can’t see Rico,’ I’d pointed out. ‘And you only know I’m talking to him because I mentioned his name.’
Undeterred by my rationalizations, she’d only smiled softly. I think they’d actually spurred her on.
‘Maybe “see” isn’t the correct word. But I know there’s another world out there. I’ve felt things. You know when you just know things?’
‘Of course, I’m a teenager.’
At least Rico’d sniggered. Ally’d seemed a little perturbed, but she’d brightened up as I’d allowed her to spill her guts on what she’d seen and heard over the years.
Boy, was that a long list. Alien aircraft, ghosts, auras, crop circles. That was only the relatively normal stuff. Don’t even get me started on the anti-vaxxing.
I’d somehow managed to keep a straight face throughout her whole, oft-contradictory saga of mystery. I could pick so many holes in her stories I could use them as a fishing net.
But at the end of the day, I was still intrigued by her. She did, in spite of it all, believe me.
She could stay.
After checking in, I gave her a call and put her on speaker. I hilariously decided not to clue George in. He narrowed his eyes at my smile.
‘Anna!’ she said breathlessly, almost questioningly. You know, come to think of it, she was always breathless. I guess it’s a weird hippie thing. Don’t want to upset the cosmos with a loud voice.
Or something.
‘Hey, Ally.’
‘Is everything alright? I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.’
Okay... Last time we spoke was about two weeks ago. I probably called every couple days before that. Time moves differently when you don’t believe in it.
‘I’m fine, Ally. Listen, I have a lucy here who-’
‘A lucy?’ she exclaimed.
I gritted my teeth, aware that George was giving me a funny look. I swear, she’s not usually this crazy. She’s usually a different type of crazy.
‘Yeah, a lucy. He-’
‘I don’t understand.’
I was starting to get a little irritated. There is a lot that Ally doesn’t understand; basic science, for one. But lucies? Heck, she’s been on that since she found out about them. Now she’s suddenly decided that she doesn’t understand? For context, she has been an avid listener to all my lucy issues since we met. Not once has she ever expressed anything resembling disbelief. That was the one thing I could rely on in my sorry life. My only friend was gone forever, my dad was becoming a stranger, and I had a sneaky suspicion that every lucy case I worked would be my last. But Ally? I could rely on her steady fruitiness to remind me that everything would be okay.
And she chooses now to suddenly turn on me?
‘What don’t you understand? Are you okay?’ I griped.
She sighed, leaving me waiting on tenterhooks for her to launch into a mopey monolog. Thankfully, she didn’t.
‘Yes, I apologize. I think my chi was out of focus,’ she explained.
Ah, there we go. The old loon back in business. George was staring at my cell like it was a bomb.
‘Great. So, the lucy’s a Brit. He was killed by his wife on vacation in Miami. Name’s Ronald Higgins. His wife is called Angela. They’re in their mid-fifties, or thereabouts. She hasn’t reported him missing, and he doesn’t seem to be missed at all,’ I listed, becoming aware that I wasn’t hearing pen scratches or typing. ‘Are you still there? Are you even listening?’
‘Yes. I’m just... I thought you would be- I read your horoscope a few weeks ago,’ she clarified. I managed to hold in my temper as George’s eyes bugged out of their sockets. ‘It said that you’d be making a great, significant change and that your life would go down a different path altogether. I thought you’d be leaving lucies behind. I know how much heartache they’ve caused you.’
Wow. Sometimes, she left me completely speechless with her outright stupidity. I mean, really? I’ve lost count of the times that my horoscope told me I’d be making a significant change in my life. So far, still the same cranky ass I’ve always been.
‘Ally,’ I told her gently, ‘sometimes, horoscopes are wrong. Okay? There has been no change in my life at all.’
Well, apart from me causing my only
friend to die, but I was happier to pretend that didn’t happen.
‘No change,’ I reiterated sharply. ‘Lucies are still a part of it. Can you find out anything about the Higginses for me?’
‘Of course, Anna. I’ll get right on it.’
Thank God for that. I hung up before she could tell me about planetary alignments. George was still staring at the cell.
‘I never knew people actually believed in horoscopes,’ he commented. Probably the nicest thing he could’ve said about her.
‘Wait till you hear what else she believes in,’ I laughed, searching for my shorts and sun cream. I didn’t usually need it at home, but here I’d probably burn like the devil.
‘I can take a guess. Is Mickey like that, too?’
‘No, Mickey’s alright. I’m not sure he really believes in you guys, but he goes along with it because I don’t hum fast food theme tunes around him.’
‘So, what does he do in this relationship? You’re the medium. Ally searches through legal documents. Mickey?’
‘He searches other stuff.’
‘Computer geek?’ he translated, nodding.
‘He wishes. He isn’t good enough for that. But social media, Google, stuff that I could otherwise do myself but am too lazy to.’
‘Ah. But between the three of you and the lucy-’
‘We get it done. Used to, anyway. The way it used to work, I got the information I needed and passed it on to Ally. She has a few contacts in the legal system, so she was able to direct investigations the right way. Of course, the majority of lucies I find are around Dayton, and my local Chief now doesn’t want to hear from me ever again.’
‘Yeah, why is that? You never said.’
‘It’s a long story,’ I groaned. ‘I do not want to go into it now. Basically, I screwed up a big arrest for him and made him look like a fool. That’s his version of events, anyway. It was pretty horrible, but it wasn’t my fault. I was totally innocent. It was in a big house that I thought was abandoned. I thought I was saving a lucy’s baby and then suddenly there was a shootout with a couple gang members dead. If you ask me, that’s a good deal. But Rathers didn’t think so. So, now I’m banned from helping out. I’m all alone.’