Wake for Young Souls, Part Two
Part One
Ryan woke up at eight the next morning, curling into his pillow. He knew that he’d have to get up and go to the Centre like he’d promised, but he didn’t want to emerge from bed just yet.
He finally sat up, taking in the silence of the house. Judging by said silence, Shane must’ve gone and opened Ryan’s store this morning, and let Ryan sleep in. Good man. Ryan couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face as he pushed himself up.
After a brief stop in the bathroom to go through his morning routine, Ryan made his way to the kitchen. He loved Shane’s house, and if it weren’t for Keltie still being stuck in his apartment, Ryan wouldn’t have much of an issue moving in with Shane.
Shane, being a photographer, clearly liked his rooms big and airy, and Ryan definitely approved of how friendly the rooms looked. On top of that, Shane’s house was so much bigger than his own apartment. In the living room alone, Ryan was sure he could fit his own living room, plus his tiny kitchen and bathroom, and possibly have room left for part of his bedroom. Not that Ryan was complaining; he liked his own place just fine - but all the rooms at Shane’s were so tastefully done. Ryan had found out on the first time he’d gone over to Shane’s house, that one of Brendon’s jobs had been as a self-employed interior designer. The baby grand piano that was tucked in one of the brighter corners of the room was a testament to how Shane still couldn’t bring himself to change things from how Brendon had decorated the room. The whole house combined both Shane’s and Brendon’s tastes and turned the house into something that looked like it belonged in one of the interior design books that still held a place of honor on the coffee table.
And, if Ryan were completely honest, he didn’t actually mind that Brendon’s taste was still prevalent in the house he’d once lived in. Brendon had damn good taste.
Not to mention that, if Ryan had still had doubts over whether Shane would rather be back with Brendon, they’d been taken care of last night.
Ryan poured himself a cup of coffee, sipping it as he investigated the cupboards for something to eat. He finally found a box of cereal and a bowl, adding milk and glancing over the newspaper as he ate.
As he’d expected, there was no mention of Darren’s case. That knowledge matched with what Darren had said about his case; about the Centre not wanting the public to know about the disappearances.
The front page mostly talked about the upcoming wedding of the daughter of Belladonna’s Daywalker mayor and the lavish expenses going into it. The wedding had been coming for a few years now, and Ryan, like most of the Nightwalkers he knew, had been following the relationship off and on since the couple first met at a local college. He amused himself, reading the article and shaking his head at where the money was going. He wondered if they’d picked out a photographer yet. It was something he’d have to ask Shane, at any rate. That seemed like something he’d know.
He glanced up at the clock on the wall of the kitchen and made a face as he realized it was nearly nine. If he got dressed and left now, and everything went smoothly, he could be back home by noon or so with the case files. That was, of course, if everything went smoothly. And it was, of course, the Centre, and things never ran smoothly.
He could still hope, though.
Ryan got dressed and headed to the Centre after a brief stop at his apartment to get the papers he needed for his consulting fees. As he got out of his car, he looked up at the tall building that housed the Centre. He still couldn’t believe he’d left it, and wondered if he’d ever get used to the idea that he’d quit.
He felt weird as he signed in at the front gate and took his visitor’s badge from the guard. At the elevator, he paused to figure out where he should start and figured his best bet would be to go to the Homicide Department and see Darren.
It took him a moment to remember which floor Homicide was on. After all, even when he’d been the head Medical Examiner, it wasn’t a floor he’d visited on a regular basis. The Homicide detectives usually came down to the morgue for their cases.
The elevator doors opened up on the right floor and he found himself looking out at a row of desks, half of which were currently occupied by various Nightwalker detectives. A few glanced over their shoulders at the ding of the elevator, but except for one or two of the more curious detectives, the majority went straight back to their paperwork.
Ryan stepped out of the elevator, glancing around and wondering which desk was Darren’s, because he couldn’t see Darren himself. He was just starting to wonder if he should either ask one of the detectives or just check each desk until he found the right one, when a corgi bounded down one of the aisles and skidded to a stop in front of Ryan. He blinked down at the dog before it pressed its forepaws against his shin, back end wagging as it yipped, clearly happy to see him.
It yipped again, taking a few steps down the aisle it had bounded down before turning and looking expectantly at him. Ryan knew that there weren’t a lot of random dogs running around the Centre, and although Ryan hadn’t ever seen Darren in his were form, something about the small dog seemed to remind him of the Homicide detective.
The weredog led Ryan down the aisle, and up a second one before it jumped up into a chair at one of the desks. A t-shirt was thrown across the desk, scattering paperwork, and a pair of jeans was half hidden underneath it. A few seconds later, Darren was pulling his jeans on with a faintly sheepish look.
“We got another vic in, and I needed to cool my head. There’s an advantage to being a weredog.” He shook his head a bit, pulling his shoes out of a desk drawer. After he put them on, he opened another drawer, pulling out a thick file out and handing it to Ryan. “That’s what I’ve got of the case from the start, including the autopsy photos and paperwork. I was just about to go downstairs to see if Frank had finished with the autopsy on the latest, if you’d like to join me?”
“Yeah, I would.” Ryan put the case file in his messenger bag and pulled out the consulting fee paperwork, handing it to Darren. “By the way, this is for hiring me as a consultant. It’s pretty straightforward, I think. The Centre will be paying for my time spent on the case, any expenses incurred in the process of working the case, things like that.”
Darren gave the paperwork a cursory glance, nodding a bit. “Alright. I’ll sign it and pass it along to William to approve it.” He glanced up at Ryan with a small grin. “It shouldn’t take that long, you’ll get them back by Nightwalker post tonight.” He got up, grabbing his badge and key card from the top desk drawer and shoving both items in his pocket. “Anyway, come on. Let’s head down to the morgue.”
As they headed down to the morgue, Ryan couldn’t help but think how surreal this felt, going back to where he’d spent so much of the past few years of his life before he’d quit and walked out of the Centre. He let Darren lead the way through the swinging doors, waving a bit when Frank stared at Ryan for a long moment before he finally shook himself and got to his feet.
“Oh my god, Ryan fucking Ross. Well, aren’t you a damn sight for sore eyes,” Frank exclaimed, reaching out to curl his fingers into Ryan’s arms, like he needed to make sure that he was actually seeing Ryan.
Ryan smiled reassuringly, knowing that he had left on awkward terms and had never really given Frank or Gerard an adequate reason why he quit. God, he hadn’t even seen them in over a year, and Gerard had been his college roommate, for fuck’s sake. Not to mention an ex-boyfriend. “Yeah, sorry I haven’t really been in touch. I own a store now, did you hear?”
“I heard something like that from Spence, yeah.” Frank patted Ryan’s arms, still looking unconvinced that Ryan was actually standing in his morgue. Spencer Smith, a vampire CSI, had been Ryan’s friend growing up, and was about the only person from the Centre Ryan was still in contact with.
Ryan was pretty sure that he was a horrible friend and would need to remedy that some time soon. As if sensing Ryan’s emotions, Darren cleared his throat, eyes going toward the ceiling in mock annoyance. Frank glanced at Darren as if seeing him standing there for the first time, and Darren smiled charmingly at him. “Ryan’s here as a consultant on my case. The one with the missing Nightwalker kids? As part of his job, he wanted to see one of the vics’ bodies and have a look at your records.”
Frank patted Ryan’s arms one final time before he pulled away, grabbing gloves from their box as he headed to the rows of freezers where the bodies were stored. Ryan and Darren grabbed lab coats and gloves as they followed him. Frank glanced at them, resting his hand against one of the drawers. “Here’s the thing. It’s no longer just Nightwalker children being vics. Whoever, or whatever, is doing this, has moved on to Daywalker kids as well.”
As Frank slid open the drawer to show them the young girl inside, Ryan had to do a double take. His eyes told him that there was a body lying on a drawer in front of him, but his ghost sense was telling him there was nothing there. That the drawer was physically empty.
He looked around at the other drawers, wondering if his ghost sense was going AWOL on him. In every case he’d ever worked with a body, there was still some sense of where the soul had been in the body, and even through the steel doors keeping the bodies of the morgue safe, he could sense which drawers held bodies and which were empty. He took a few steps to one side, pulling open a couple of drawers that he could sense were full, to find out that they indeed held bodies. He glanced over to the drawer Frank and Darren were standing by, to find them frowning at him. He shrugged faintly, opening a few of the drawers that he sensed were empty, only to find that they were, indeed, definitely empty.
“Something wrong?” Frank spoke up as Ryan slid the last open drawer closed again.
Ryan moved back over by them, shoving his hands in his coat pockets as he looked down at the dead girl. “Something doesn’t feel right here.”
“Duh. It never feels right when a kid dies.” Darren frowned faintly at Ryan, but Ryan could see that there was a bit of curiosity in Darren’s expression, like he was wondering what Ryan was noticing that he hadn’t.
“Well, there is that, that’s true.” Ryan chewed his lip as he wondered how best to phrase what he was feeling before deciding that the best way would be to just say it. He rested a hand on the young girl’s shoulder, wondering if the feeling would go away if he was in direct contact with the little body. It didn’t. “See, when we die, our spirit or energy, whatever you believe makes us us, separates from the body. I can sense that in a dead body, even if the spirit or energy’s gone to the Other Side. It’s like there’s still something left behind in our bodies by our energy, and, to me, it gives the dead body a certain definition. Mass, if you will.” He lifted his hand off the little girl, absently wiping his hand on his coat, like he could get rid of the lack of whatever the young girl had. “There’s nothing there, in this drawer.”
Frank frowned, looking up at Ryan before down at the body of the little girl. It was clear from his expression that Frank didn’t entirely understand what Ryan was getting at, but Darren was looking quietly at Ryan.
“There is something there, though. A body.”
Ryan made a small face, but he knew the comment was just Darren trying to understand what he was saying and how it would help him solve his case. “I know that. I’m not saying that this little girl isn’t there.” He gestured to himself. “I can see her, and I can touch her, but I can’t sense that anything’s there.”
He took a step back, pulling out one of the drawers. He didn’t know whose case the young Nightwalker’s body was involved in, but he silently hoped his death would get solved soon. He’d always felt bad when Nightwalkers or the occasional Daywalker came across his table when he’d been a Medical Examiner, but it was especially sad when they were younger than he was. “Take him, for example. I can sense him, as well as see him and touch him. I couldn’t tell you whether or not he’s crossed over to the Other Side, but I can tell you he’s dead. Not undead, they’ve got a different feel to them.”
Darren pointed to the body lying on the slab in front of them. “Like she feels?”
Ryan shook his head, closing the drawer he’d opened. “No. Vampires have this powerful energy surrounding them, even the ones that were just turned. Even the rare zombie that I’ve come across, and worse, have an energy to them. I can feel their mass.” He patted the drawer he’d just closed. “He feels like you’ve entered an empty room that someone just exited. All the normal dead bodies I’ve come across feel that way, except if they’ve been reduced to bone. And even bodies that have decomposed completely and since become bone, feel like an empty room someone’s exited, although it feels more like someone exited it years or even centuries before someone else came in.” He considered a moment before he continued, trying to figure out how to explain this to two people that didn’t have sense things the way he did. He imagined it would be a lot like if Darren tried to explain what a particular scent smelled like to him. “Since we’re on the subject, mummies feel like entering an empty room that’s been sealed off for ages before you unseal the room and step in.”
Ryan pointed to the body of the little girl. “She feels like a brand new empty room that no one’s ever entered, except maybe the person who built it. And I have never before felt that with a dead body, and I’ve seen plenty of things in the course of my work, both with the Centre and on my own over the years.” He shrugged faintly, wondering if the faint sounds he heard were real or just echoes of the things he’d seen. Considering the sounds were getting no reaction from either Darren or Frank, it was most likely the latter. “It’s an unsettling feeling.”
“Any idea what could do something like this?” Darren asked, looking curiously at Ryan, who stared at the dead little girl like he was expecting her to get off the drawer and come to him. “Any Nightwalker you’ve ever come across?”
Ryan racked his brains, closing his eyes to block out the sight of the little body as he thought. Finally and reluctantly, he shook his head and opened his eyes again. “I can’t think of anything. I know incubi and succubi drain their victims of energy, but there’s still a sense of being in the dead bodies.” He shrugged. “Maybe psychic vampires, I don’t know. I’ve never had to do an autopsy on a victim of a psychic vampire. I imagine it’s similar to other energy drainers, but perhaps the body feels differently. Like this.”
Darren nodded absently, looking down at the body again. “Alright. Well, if this one’s anything like the last few victims, knowing that there’s nothing left is a start.” He glanced at Ryan before looking at Frank. “Frank, do you mind giving Ryan copies of yours and Gerard’s autopsy notes on all the victims of my case? Ryan’s already got copies of what I’ve got so far regarding the case, minus those notes."
Frank blinked at both of them before nodding, going over to his desk to retrieve the notes in question. Darren moved closer to Ryan, lightly touching his elbow with a look of concern on his face. “You going to be okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“It’s not an easy feeling to have, that’s all.” Ryan dredged up a smile that seemed to satisfy Darren and took the folder from Frank when the Medical Examiner came back, putting it in his messenger bag next to Darren’s case file. “I was gonna ask you some questions about the vics, Frank, but.” He shook his head, shooting the little girl’s body another look. “I’m too unnerved by my sense being out of whack and AWOL like this.” He patted Frank’s arm, mustering another smile. “I’ll be in touch, okay? We’ll do lunch or something after I’m finished consulting on this case.”
Frank nodded, giving Ryan a skeptical look. “You better, Ry, or I’ll have Gerard or one of the vamps hunt you down or something.”
Ryan grinned, almost feeling like his old self again, as ifthe strange instance with the little girl’s body hadn’t just happened. “Gerard’s a fire witch. They’re not that good at hunting, but I get the message.”
He took off his gloves, tossing them in the garbage, and hung up his lab coat. He patted his messenger bag. “I’ll look over the file tonight and give you my take tomorrow, Darren. Cool?”
Darren nodded, waving a bit. “Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
Ryan waved to both of them, feeling strangely unreal as he got into the elevator and made his way back outside. He smiled a bit at the guard as he turned in his visitor’s badge, wondering if it looked as stretched and fake as it felt to him. The guard seemed to have no opinion though, and waved him through the gate and into the outside world.
Ryan took a deep breath, looking up toward the sky. Out here, so far away from the morgue, the strange experience a few minutes ago felt like it hadn’t happened at all. He shook himself as he made his way to his car, wondering where he should go from here. Either his place or Shane’s was a viable option, either one would give him privacy in which to go over the case. Or he could hang out in his store, which would, at the very least, distract him from this unsettling feeling. An empty apartment wouldn’t have the same effect. He glanced at his watch, and found that it was nearly lunchtime. That decided it for him. He’d head for the store, stopping at Greta and Thomas’ café on the way to get lunch for himself and Shane.
~~~
A little over half an hour later, Ryan was walking through the front door of his store, carrying the paper bag that contained two large plates of the café’s daily special - today’s special was grilled beef kebabs with fresh garden veggies - and two large slices of Greta’s amazing chocolate cake in one hand, and the tray that carried two large glasses of Greta’s sweet tea in the other. Ryan loved that Greta believed that he and Shane well deserved large portions of everything. Then again, Greta and Thomas had always been of that opinion regarding Ryan, ever since he’d met the two of them years ago, back when he’d owned his first store and had rescued their brand new café from a particularly annoying poltergeist.
Shane looked up from his book as Ryan came in, smiling a bit. “Hey, you. Did you run to the Centre already, then?” He smiled as Ryan set the bag and tray down on the counter, the smile widening as he saw where Ryan had gone. “And you brought food from Greta and Thomas’ café, too. I love you.” He leaned forward and kissed Ryan softly.
Ryan smiled as he kissed back. “Yeah, I already ran to the Centre. Had somewhat of a bad experience there involving Darren and Brendon’s case.” He waved a hand at Shane when he looked like he was going to ask about it, and turned his attention to taking the food out of the bag. “Don’t want to get into it. It wasn’t necessarily as bad as I’m making it out to be. Just not something I’d like to experience again. That’s all.” He patted his bag. “But I did get both Darren’s case file and Gerard and Frank’s autopsy notes. So we can go over them later, if you want?”
Shane nodded. He was still looking a bit skeptical, but Ryan knew that he’d leave it alone since Ryan asked. He turned his attention to the Styrofoam box holding Ryan’s peace offering, smiling at the beef kebabs. “Man, these look delicious. Once again, Thomas and Greta outdid themselves in presentation.”
“There’s dessert too,” Ryan smiled a bit, pulling out the containers with the chocolate cake in them and handing one to Shane. “Greta cut the slices huge, just for us.”
Shane grinned as he saw just how large the slices were. “Good god, I think Greta thinks we’re underfed.”
They ate their food, making small talk for a while, before Shane glanced at one of the clocks when it struck the hour. He placed his hand on the back of Ryan’s, smiling a bit.
“Hey, how about I make supper again tonight?”
Ryan smiled, turning his hand over so he could curl his fingers into Shane’s. “My place tonight? What’re you making?”
“It’ll be a surprise.” Shane kissed Ryan’s cheek, getting up and taking his uneaten piece of cake with him. “I’ll see you tonight then.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Ryan smiled after Shane, taking out the case file as he dug into his piece of chocolate cake.
After Shane left, the store stayed pretty dead. There were a few customers, but Ryan spent most of the afternoon focused on the case file, reading what Darren had written down and comparing various things with Gerard and Frank’s own notes on the same case.
By the time it was dark outside and Ryan had turned on the lights, he was toying with the idea of closing up early and going to his apartment to meet up with Shane and go over the case. He’d just made up his mind to do so, when the bell on the door alerted him to someone coming in.
The customer was a young woman, with curly brown hair that brushed her shoulders and large brown eyes. Her clothes seemed to be almost childish and short, like she hadn’t quite gotten the message that she was a woman now and not a little girl. He wasn’t entirely sure that the look should work on a young woman, but somehow, the girl made it work.
“Can I help you?” Ryan asked, taking a step forward.
The girl turned to blink at him before smiling slightly. “I was looking to buy a mirror. Do you mind if I look around?”
“Be my guest.” Ryan pointed over to where he kept most of the mirrors, and watched as the girl walked that way. There was something about her that he couldn’t quite place, and he shook his head as he turned his attention back to the case file. Even though he’d been poring over it all afternoon, he knew he’d have to go over the folder more thoroughly at his place, because this wasn’t the best place to do it. He especially wanted a good look at the causes of death in all the vics, and he didn't exactly feel comfortable spreading out the autopsy photos on the counter, where customers could see.
The girl came back to the counter after a few minutes, a faint smile playing across her face. “Excuse me.”
Ryan was struck again by how like a little girl she looked and he shook himself. “Yeah? Did you need help then?”
The girl nodded and he followed her over to the mirrors, where she pointed to one. It was a larger mirror, but Ryan knew that it wasn’t that heavy, so he picked it up and carried it over to the counter.
“Anything else, or is this going to be it for you?”
The girl shook her head and handed over her credit card as he rang up her order.
Out of habit, Ryan glanced at the name on the card. Her name was Elizabeth, and like the little girl look, seemed to fit whatever style the girl was going for. “Elizabeth, huh? Pretty name.”
The girl made a face, taking the card when he handed it back to her. “I prefer Z, but only my friends call me that.” She picked up the mirror. “Thanks, though. Have a nice night.”
“You too.” Ryan waved as the girl left, following her to the door. The street outside seemed to be deserted, so he made up his mind that he’d just close early, locked the door and flipped the sign to closed.
~~~
The minute Ryan turned the key in the lock to his apartment and swung open the door, he knew something was different. The furniture in his apartment looked different, older, with a dull light over everything. There was someone, a woman, happily humming somewhere to his left.
As he stepped into his apartment and got a better look around, he realized he’d lost track of the time by spending so much time over at Shane’s. Today was the anniversary of Keltie’s death, and one of the times she replayed the night of her murder.
He closed the door behind him, knowing that he was stuck in a moment in the past and that, for the time being, he was the ghost in Keltie’s universe instead of the other way around. Even though he knew it was a mean thought to have, he was grateful he’d come home to her replay, because it was a murder mystery he knew he’d have to solve to help her go to the Other Side. So far, though, he had no leads to go by. And at the very least, watching the replay and trying to gain insight he hadn’t had before would get his mind off Darren’s case for a little bit.
Ryan kept his messenger bag close to his side as he turned toward the large vanity that was now set where his TV usually sat. Keltie Colleen, a young woman in her late twenties or early thirties, was sitting in front of it, doing some last minute touch ups to her makeup and hair. Only in the replays was Keltie as solid as any Day or Nightwalker, and he took the time to look at her wedding dress and watched as she placed her veil on her head.
The young bride had just playfully pulled the veil down over her face, seeing how it looked in the mirror, when there was a loud knocking on the door. She turned toward it, frowning a bit as she pushed her veil back.
“Who on Earth?” She pushed herself up, making her way toward the door. Ryan stepped out of her way as she passed where he stood, and he turned to watch as she opened the door a crack to see who her unexpected company was.
Whoever it was said something that made Keltie shake her head, trying to close the door. Suddenly, whoever it was shoved the door open, knocking Keltie to the floor. Out of force of habit, Ryan glanced toward the door, knowing that he’d never see anything there, but still hoping that this time he would. Ryan had a theory that whoever had killed Keltie was a Nightwalker, and still alive, thus whoever it was was invisible in the poor girl’s replay.
“You can’t come in here!” Keltie exclaimed as she pushed herself to her feet, struggling with someone she was trying to push out. After a few minutes of fighting, she cried out and her hands flew to her throat, clutching at whatever was choking her. She gasped and choked for a minute, still struggling to remove whatever was cutting off her air supply. Ryan’s guess was that whoever had killed her had started out by choking her with their hands.
She gasped again, this time almost in relief as whoever was choking her stopped, but then her brown eyes widened in fear and her mouth fell open as she shook her head, hands coming up in a pleading fashion.
“Please,” she begged, and repeated the gasp.
Ryan wanted to turn his head from what he knew was coming, had seen so many times before, but he forced himself to watch as Keltie’s hands went back to her throat. This time, though, Ryan could see the rope cutting into the young bride’s neck and forced himself to keep watching as she clawed at it. Only when her murderer dragged her to the bathroom did Ryan close his eyes and try to block out the choking and gagging sounds coming from the shower. Beneath the horrifying sounds of the slow death, Ryan heard footsteps leave and realized he’d never heard them before. They sounded like a man’s heavy boot, but before he could fully place it, the door behind him closed and he was left with the agonizing sounds from the bathroom.
It always felt like a lifetime before the choking and gagging sounds subsided into a soft creaking sound as Keltie died, and even the creaking of the rope eventually subsided after a few minutes as his own living room emerged from the reenactment of the past.
At least this time, he’d learned that Keltie had been killed by a man. It wasn’t much, but it was something to start from. Keltie herself remembered being strangled and hung, but she couldn’t remember much about her murderer. Ryan knew it sometimes happened with murder victim ghosts; they’d only remember bits and pieces of their last few moments, and especially the way they’d died, not necessarily who’d killed them.
As soon as his couch reappeared, Ryan sat down on it, flicking on the lamp that sat next to it. He took the two case files out of his messenger bag, setting them on the floor before moving his coffee table to one side so he could spread everything out on the carpet.
He’d just gotten all the photographs from both case files situated the way he wanted them when Keltie appeared at the edge of his tableau, looking as awkward as she always did after she’d replayed her death. Although she denied it, Ryan wondered if Keltie felt guilty about either being murdered or being forced to replay her murder in front of him.
He smiled reassuringly at her, and was rewarded when she smiled back sheepishly. “I noticed something different in this replay. Something I’d never noticed before.”
“Oh?” Keltie pulled her skirts to herself as she settled down by the pictures closest to her, studying them with interest. She’d always liked when Ryan had brought his cases home when he’d been a Medical Examiner, and had always been a helpful pair of eyes as well as being a good sounding board if he had ideas that he needed to get out. “What was it? And what are you working on now? I thought you quit the Centre and stuff with ghosts and that.” She paused. “Except me, and when you want to do ghost related things.”
“Whoever did it was definitely a man. I was trying to not listen to you, erm.” He gestured vaguely toward the bathroom. Keltie glanced in that direction before looking back at him. She nodded to show she understood what he meant. “These footsteps came out of the bathroom and toward the door. Heavy boots. But before I could place anything significant about them, the door slammed and all there was left to hear was the sounds of you, y’know.”
Keltie nodded, biting her lip and looking a bit sad that he didn’t have anything more definitive. “It’s a start.”
“I’m figuring husband-to-be, future brother in law.” Ryan paused dramatically, glancing toward Keltie to see if he could get her to smile with what he’d say next. “Angry superintendent because you didn’t pay your rent. That last one’s totally where I put my money and I bet Shane would agree with me.”
Keltie smiled despite herself, shaking her head a bit. “I don’t really remember much, if anything, about who killed me. But knowing a man did it is definitely a step in the right direction to finding out who murdered me.” She looked at him before making a point of looking at the picture closest to her. “And these?”
Ryan smiled faintly, being well aware that Keltie was refusing to be put off. “There’s been a series of deaths involving Nightwalker children disappearing and then turning up dead. I got approached by the detective working the case and asked if I could help him solve it as a consultant.”
“Dead bodies aren’t your thing anymore.”
“No, not really, but the detective found out that I’m a ghost witch.” Ryan shuffled some photos around, trying to see if looking at it from different angles would give him a better idea of how these poor kids died. He wasn’t having much luck.
“Oh? And how did he find that out? Did he look your record up in the Centre’s database?” Keltie raised an eyebrow.
“Actually, he’s met Brendon.” At the sound of her gasp, Ryan looked up. Sure enough, Keltie was looking at Ryan, eyes wide, but this time her eyes weren’t wide in fear but in surprise. She’d been the first one to encounter Brendon and had woken up Ryan to get him to help the ghost. In fact, it had been her and Brendon who had called the Centre when Butch Walker, Brendon’s murderer, had broken into Ryan’s apartment to finish the job he’d started when he’d killed two of Brendon’s ex-girlfriends. Butch hadn’t been interested in killing Ryan, who had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time, but he had been interested in killing Brendon’s boyfriend, Shane. The last time Ryan had heard anything regarding Butch, he’d been put in a specially designed cell built for vampires at the Centre. He had no hope of ever getting out for attacking a Centre employee, killing three Daywalkers and attempting to kill a Nightwalker.
“I thought he crossed over.” Keltie scooted closer to Ryan, like she wanted to cling to every word he said.
“He had, but it wasn’t his time to die. So I guess they let him out for good behavior.” Ryan grinned at the look Keltie gave him for such a poor joke. “He’s a reaper now. He deals with Daywalker and Nightwalker kids when they die.”
“It’s always sad when children die, whatever they are,” Keltie said softly, looking down at the pictures again with a sad expression on her beautiful face. Ryan wished that he could reach out and pat her hand, but he knew it was impossible to do, as she had no substance to her and all he’d succeed in doing was making his hand freeze.
“Yeah, it is. If thinking I was seeing Brendon again when I wasn’t hadn’t made me quit, I think seeing all these Nightwalker and Daywalker children coming across my slab would’ve done that job for me.” Ryan shook his head. “I’m glad I’m no longer a medical examiner and have to deal with those autopsies.” He shook himself at the memory before turning a few photos toward Keltie. “C’mon. See if you can’t help me make sense of this case, would you?”
Keltie smiled faintly and nodded, leaning over the photographs and notes. Every so often, she’d rest a finger just over a photograph or note she wanted moved and would ask Ryan to arrange it for her.
Shane came in as they studied the various photographs and notes, setting his groceries down in the kitchen before coming back out and standing over both of them with his hands on his hips and a mock serious expression on his face. Both Ryan and Keltie looked up at him, Ryan with an innocent expression and Keltie smiling to herself. “And what are you two up to?”
Ryan knew that Shane couldn’t actually see Keltie, which was why she was smiling to herself, but as an incubus, Shane could certainly sense her energy and knew when she was around. Shane actually made a point of it to acknowledge her presence, something that Keltie loved greatly. “Keltie’s helping me figure this case out.” He pointed to where Keltie was sitting and smiling up at Shane, so Shane could look directly at her. “And hey, I figured out that a man killed Keltie. It’s the anniversary of her death and all. And I noticed that there’s heavy boot steps leaving the bathroom after the hanging. It doesn’t really solve her murder yet, but it’s a start.”
Shane pulled Ryan to his feet, smiling. “Come on. You can help me with supper, and we can talk about things that don’t involve this consulting case you’re on, or the whodunit in Keltie’s murder. At least during supper, please. Afterward, we’ll both put our heads together and try to make sense of your case and possibly Keltie’s death, if we’ve got the time.”
Ryan smiled despite himself. “Deal.”
~~~
“Witch.”
The voice was soft, but it invaded Ryan’s dreams and woke him out of a sound sleep. He sat up with a yawn before he even realized he was moving, and blearily looked around his bedroom, taking note that it was sometime around mid morning. He tried to focus on anything out of the ordinary before a darker shape detached itself from the shadows and came to stand at the foot of the bed. Whoever it was didn’t feel like an intruder - they had the same feeling he’d gotten from both Vicky and Brendon, but this figure was too tall to be either of them - and Ryan flipped on his bedside light. Beside him, Shane grunted in his sleep and pulled his pillow over his head.
Ryan sleepily looked down at Shane before turning his attention to the person standing at the foot of his bed. His first instinct that his unexpected guest was a reaper was correct, and he wondered how this guy was connected with the two reapers he knew. The reaper was tall, with black hair and dark eyes. There was a brief, almost lecherous grin on his face before the reaper composed himself.
“You’re the ghost witch I’ve been hearing so much about, yeah?” The reaper said, still standing at the foot of Ryan’s bed. Ryan was too sleepy to say much, so he yawned and nodded. “You know Brendon and Vicky?”
“Yeah, we’ve met.” Ryan rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up. “Who’re you and what are you doing in my bedroom in the middle of the night? Reapers don’t need ghost witches, I understand.”
“I’m Gabe.” The reaper looked around Ryan’s room as if he weren’t terribly impressed with what he saw. “Brendon and Vicky are among my group of reapers in this area.”
“Aah, that’s how you know about me, then.” Ryan yawned, wondering if Gabe would get to the point of his visit so he could go back to sleep. He also wondered if it would be impolite to demand that a reaper get to said point.
As if aware of Ryan’s thoughts, Gabe fixed him with a look, placing his hands on Ryan’s bed frame and leaning forward. “Brendon and his friend from your Centre are missing. We on the Other Side can’t find either of them. That’s where you come in.”
“Huh?” Ryan was definitely wide awake now, blinking in confusion at the reaper.
Gabe pulled a piece of paper from a pocket and handed it to Ryan. “This is the address of the last known place they were going. It would seem that Darren had gotten a break in his case some time yesterday afternoon, and, as soon as they could, which was some time this morning, both Darren and Brendon went to follow up on it. That was the last we’ve heard from them.”
Ryan looked down at the sheet of paper. He was pretty sure he knew where the place was located, and he doubted it’d take him long to drive over there if he went after lunch and before the evening rush. “Sure, I’ll check it out, but what do you want me to do about it?” He glanced back up and realized that he and Shane were alone once more.
He glanced down at Shane before checking the time again. He guessed that he could get another hour or two of sleep and have more than enough time to run to the address and look into it then. He glanced down at Shane again, wondering if he should wake the incubus up and tell him. He decided against it - Shane was never pleasant when woken up, so Ryan hoped that he’d still be around when he woke up. Decision made, he kissed Shane’s cheek, curling up and falling back to sleep for a few more hours.
Part Three
Ryan woke up at eight the next morning, curling into his pillow. He knew that he’d have to get up and go to the Centre like he’d promised, but he didn’t want to emerge from bed just yet.
He finally sat up, taking in the silence of the house. Judging by said silence, Shane must’ve gone and opened Ryan’s store this morning, and let Ryan sleep in. Good man. Ryan couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face as he pushed himself up.
After a brief stop in the bathroom to go through his morning routine, Ryan made his way to the kitchen. He loved Shane’s house, and if it weren’t for Keltie still being stuck in his apartment, Ryan wouldn’t have much of an issue moving in with Shane.
Shane, being a photographer, clearly liked his rooms big and airy, and Ryan definitely approved of how friendly the rooms looked. On top of that, Shane’s house was so much bigger than his own apartment. In the living room alone, Ryan was sure he could fit his own living room, plus his tiny kitchen and bathroom, and possibly have room left for part of his bedroom. Not that Ryan was complaining; he liked his own place just fine - but all the rooms at Shane’s were so tastefully done. Ryan had found out on the first time he’d gone over to Shane’s house, that one of Brendon’s jobs had been as a self-employed interior designer. The baby grand piano that was tucked in one of the brighter corners of the room was a testament to how Shane still couldn’t bring himself to change things from how Brendon had decorated the room. The whole house combined both Shane’s and Brendon’s tastes and turned the house into something that looked like it belonged in one of the interior design books that still held a place of honor on the coffee table.
And, if Ryan were completely honest, he didn’t actually mind that Brendon’s taste was still prevalent in the house he’d once lived in. Brendon had damn good taste.
Not to mention that, if Ryan had still had doubts over whether Shane would rather be back with Brendon, they’d been taken care of last night.
Ryan poured himself a cup of coffee, sipping it as he investigated the cupboards for something to eat. He finally found a box of cereal and a bowl, adding milk and glancing over the newspaper as he ate.
As he’d expected, there was no mention of Darren’s case. That knowledge matched with what Darren had said about his case; about the Centre not wanting the public to know about the disappearances.
The front page mostly talked about the upcoming wedding of the daughter of Belladonna’s Daywalker mayor and the lavish expenses going into it. The wedding had been coming for a few years now, and Ryan, like most of the Nightwalkers he knew, had been following the relationship off and on since the couple first met at a local college. He amused himself, reading the article and shaking his head at where the money was going. He wondered if they’d picked out a photographer yet. It was something he’d have to ask Shane, at any rate. That seemed like something he’d know.
He glanced up at the clock on the wall of the kitchen and made a face as he realized it was nearly nine. If he got dressed and left now, and everything went smoothly, he could be back home by noon or so with the case files. That was, of course, if everything went smoothly. And it was, of course, the Centre, and things never ran smoothly.
He could still hope, though.
Ryan got dressed and headed to the Centre after a brief stop at his apartment to get the papers he needed for his consulting fees. As he got out of his car, he looked up at the tall building that housed the Centre. He still couldn’t believe he’d left it, and wondered if he’d ever get used to the idea that he’d quit.
He felt weird as he signed in at the front gate and took his visitor’s badge from the guard. At the elevator, he paused to figure out where he should start and figured his best bet would be to go to the Homicide Department and see Darren.
It took him a moment to remember which floor Homicide was on. After all, even when he’d been the head Medical Examiner, it wasn’t a floor he’d visited on a regular basis. The Homicide detectives usually came down to the morgue for their cases.
The elevator doors opened up on the right floor and he found himself looking out at a row of desks, half of which were currently occupied by various Nightwalker detectives. A few glanced over their shoulders at the ding of the elevator, but except for one or two of the more curious detectives, the majority went straight back to their paperwork.
Ryan stepped out of the elevator, glancing around and wondering which desk was Darren’s, because he couldn’t see Darren himself. He was just starting to wonder if he should either ask one of the detectives or just check each desk until he found the right one, when a corgi bounded down one of the aisles and skidded to a stop in front of Ryan. He blinked down at the dog before it pressed its forepaws against his shin, back end wagging as it yipped, clearly happy to see him.
It yipped again, taking a few steps down the aisle it had bounded down before turning and looking expectantly at him. Ryan knew that there weren’t a lot of random dogs running around the Centre, and although Ryan hadn’t ever seen Darren in his were form, something about the small dog seemed to remind him of the Homicide detective.
The weredog led Ryan down the aisle, and up a second one before it jumped up into a chair at one of the desks. A t-shirt was thrown across the desk, scattering paperwork, and a pair of jeans was half hidden underneath it. A few seconds later, Darren was pulling his jeans on with a faintly sheepish look.
“We got another vic in, and I needed to cool my head. There’s an advantage to being a weredog.” He shook his head a bit, pulling his shoes out of a desk drawer. After he put them on, he opened another drawer, pulling out a thick file out and handing it to Ryan. “That’s what I’ve got of the case from the start, including the autopsy photos and paperwork. I was just about to go downstairs to see if Frank had finished with the autopsy on the latest, if you’d like to join me?”
“Yeah, I would.” Ryan put the case file in his messenger bag and pulled out the consulting fee paperwork, handing it to Darren. “By the way, this is for hiring me as a consultant. It’s pretty straightforward, I think. The Centre will be paying for my time spent on the case, any expenses incurred in the process of working the case, things like that.”
Darren gave the paperwork a cursory glance, nodding a bit. “Alright. I’ll sign it and pass it along to William to approve it.” He glanced up at Ryan with a small grin. “It shouldn’t take that long, you’ll get them back by Nightwalker post tonight.” He got up, grabbing his badge and key card from the top desk drawer and shoving both items in his pocket. “Anyway, come on. Let’s head down to the morgue.”
As they headed down to the morgue, Ryan couldn’t help but think how surreal this felt, going back to where he’d spent so much of the past few years of his life before he’d quit and walked out of the Centre. He let Darren lead the way through the swinging doors, waving a bit when Frank stared at Ryan for a long moment before he finally shook himself and got to his feet.
“Oh my god, Ryan fucking Ross. Well, aren’t you a damn sight for sore eyes,” Frank exclaimed, reaching out to curl his fingers into Ryan’s arms, like he needed to make sure that he was actually seeing Ryan.
Ryan smiled reassuringly, knowing that he had left on awkward terms and had never really given Frank or Gerard an adequate reason why he quit. God, he hadn’t even seen them in over a year, and Gerard had been his college roommate, for fuck’s sake. Not to mention an ex-boyfriend. “Yeah, sorry I haven’t really been in touch. I own a store now, did you hear?”
“I heard something like that from Spence, yeah.” Frank patted Ryan’s arms, still looking unconvinced that Ryan was actually standing in his morgue. Spencer Smith, a vampire CSI, had been Ryan’s friend growing up, and was about the only person from the Centre Ryan was still in contact with.
Ryan was pretty sure that he was a horrible friend and would need to remedy that some time soon. As if sensing Ryan’s emotions, Darren cleared his throat, eyes going toward the ceiling in mock annoyance. Frank glanced at Darren as if seeing him standing there for the first time, and Darren smiled charmingly at him. “Ryan’s here as a consultant on my case. The one with the missing Nightwalker kids? As part of his job, he wanted to see one of the vics’ bodies and have a look at your records.”
Frank patted Ryan’s arms one final time before he pulled away, grabbing gloves from their box as he headed to the rows of freezers where the bodies were stored. Ryan and Darren grabbed lab coats and gloves as they followed him. Frank glanced at them, resting his hand against one of the drawers. “Here’s the thing. It’s no longer just Nightwalker children being vics. Whoever, or whatever, is doing this, has moved on to Daywalker kids as well.”
As Frank slid open the drawer to show them the young girl inside, Ryan had to do a double take. His eyes told him that there was a body lying on a drawer in front of him, but his ghost sense was telling him there was nothing there. That the drawer was physically empty.
He looked around at the other drawers, wondering if his ghost sense was going AWOL on him. In every case he’d ever worked with a body, there was still some sense of where the soul had been in the body, and even through the steel doors keeping the bodies of the morgue safe, he could sense which drawers held bodies and which were empty. He took a few steps to one side, pulling open a couple of drawers that he could sense were full, to find out that they indeed held bodies. He glanced over to the drawer Frank and Darren were standing by, to find them frowning at him. He shrugged faintly, opening a few of the drawers that he sensed were empty, only to find that they were, indeed, definitely empty.
“Something wrong?” Frank spoke up as Ryan slid the last open drawer closed again.
Ryan moved back over by them, shoving his hands in his coat pockets as he looked down at the dead girl. “Something doesn’t feel right here.”
“Duh. It never feels right when a kid dies.” Darren frowned faintly at Ryan, but Ryan could see that there was a bit of curiosity in Darren’s expression, like he was wondering what Ryan was noticing that he hadn’t.
“Well, there is that, that’s true.” Ryan chewed his lip as he wondered how best to phrase what he was feeling before deciding that the best way would be to just say it. He rested a hand on the young girl’s shoulder, wondering if the feeling would go away if he was in direct contact with the little body. It didn’t. “See, when we die, our spirit or energy, whatever you believe makes us us, separates from the body. I can sense that in a dead body, even if the spirit or energy’s gone to the Other Side. It’s like there’s still something left behind in our bodies by our energy, and, to me, it gives the dead body a certain definition. Mass, if you will.” He lifted his hand off the little girl, absently wiping his hand on his coat, like he could get rid of the lack of whatever the young girl had. “There’s nothing there, in this drawer.”
Frank frowned, looking up at Ryan before down at the body of the little girl. It was clear from his expression that Frank didn’t entirely understand what Ryan was getting at, but Darren was looking quietly at Ryan.
“There is something there, though. A body.”
Ryan made a small face, but he knew the comment was just Darren trying to understand what he was saying and how it would help him solve his case. “I know that. I’m not saying that this little girl isn’t there.” He gestured to himself. “I can see her, and I can touch her, but I can’t sense that anything’s there.”
He took a step back, pulling out one of the drawers. He didn’t know whose case the young Nightwalker’s body was involved in, but he silently hoped his death would get solved soon. He’d always felt bad when Nightwalkers or the occasional Daywalker came across his table when he’d been a Medical Examiner, but it was especially sad when they were younger than he was. “Take him, for example. I can sense him, as well as see him and touch him. I couldn’t tell you whether or not he’s crossed over to the Other Side, but I can tell you he’s dead. Not undead, they’ve got a different feel to them.”
Darren pointed to the body lying on the slab in front of them. “Like she feels?”
Ryan shook his head, closing the drawer he’d opened. “No. Vampires have this powerful energy surrounding them, even the ones that were just turned. Even the rare zombie that I’ve come across, and worse, have an energy to them. I can feel their mass.” He patted the drawer he’d just closed. “He feels like you’ve entered an empty room that someone just exited. All the normal dead bodies I’ve come across feel that way, except if they’ve been reduced to bone. And even bodies that have decomposed completely and since become bone, feel like an empty room someone’s exited, although it feels more like someone exited it years or even centuries before someone else came in.” He considered a moment before he continued, trying to figure out how to explain this to two people that didn’t have sense things the way he did. He imagined it would be a lot like if Darren tried to explain what a particular scent smelled like to him. “Since we’re on the subject, mummies feel like entering an empty room that’s been sealed off for ages before you unseal the room and step in.”
Ryan pointed to the body of the little girl. “She feels like a brand new empty room that no one’s ever entered, except maybe the person who built it. And I have never before felt that with a dead body, and I’ve seen plenty of things in the course of my work, both with the Centre and on my own over the years.” He shrugged faintly, wondering if the faint sounds he heard were real or just echoes of the things he’d seen. Considering the sounds were getting no reaction from either Darren or Frank, it was most likely the latter. “It’s an unsettling feeling.”
“Any idea what could do something like this?” Darren asked, looking curiously at Ryan, who stared at the dead little girl like he was expecting her to get off the drawer and come to him. “Any Nightwalker you’ve ever come across?”
Ryan racked his brains, closing his eyes to block out the sight of the little body as he thought. Finally and reluctantly, he shook his head and opened his eyes again. “I can’t think of anything. I know incubi and succubi drain their victims of energy, but there’s still a sense of being in the dead bodies.” He shrugged. “Maybe psychic vampires, I don’t know. I’ve never had to do an autopsy on a victim of a psychic vampire. I imagine it’s similar to other energy drainers, but perhaps the body feels differently. Like this.”
Darren nodded absently, looking down at the body again. “Alright. Well, if this one’s anything like the last few victims, knowing that there’s nothing left is a start.” He glanced at Ryan before looking at Frank. “Frank, do you mind giving Ryan copies of yours and Gerard’s autopsy notes on all the victims of my case? Ryan’s already got copies of what I’ve got so far regarding the case, minus those notes."
Frank blinked at both of them before nodding, going over to his desk to retrieve the notes in question. Darren moved closer to Ryan, lightly touching his elbow with a look of concern on his face. “You going to be okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“It’s not an easy feeling to have, that’s all.” Ryan dredged up a smile that seemed to satisfy Darren and took the folder from Frank when the Medical Examiner came back, putting it in his messenger bag next to Darren’s case file. “I was gonna ask you some questions about the vics, Frank, but.” He shook his head, shooting the little girl’s body another look. “I’m too unnerved by my sense being out of whack and AWOL like this.” He patted Frank’s arm, mustering another smile. “I’ll be in touch, okay? We’ll do lunch or something after I’m finished consulting on this case.”
Frank nodded, giving Ryan a skeptical look. “You better, Ry, or I’ll have Gerard or one of the vamps hunt you down or something.”
Ryan grinned, almost feeling like his old self again, as ifthe strange instance with the little girl’s body hadn’t just happened. “Gerard’s a fire witch. They’re not that good at hunting, but I get the message.”
He took off his gloves, tossing them in the garbage, and hung up his lab coat. He patted his messenger bag. “I’ll look over the file tonight and give you my take tomorrow, Darren. Cool?”
Darren nodded, waving a bit. “Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
Ryan waved to both of them, feeling strangely unreal as he got into the elevator and made his way back outside. He smiled a bit at the guard as he turned in his visitor’s badge, wondering if it looked as stretched and fake as it felt to him. The guard seemed to have no opinion though, and waved him through the gate and into the outside world.
Ryan took a deep breath, looking up toward the sky. Out here, so far away from the morgue, the strange experience a few minutes ago felt like it hadn’t happened at all. He shook himself as he made his way to his car, wondering where he should go from here. Either his place or Shane’s was a viable option, either one would give him privacy in which to go over the case. Or he could hang out in his store, which would, at the very least, distract him from this unsettling feeling. An empty apartment wouldn’t have the same effect. He glanced at his watch, and found that it was nearly lunchtime. That decided it for him. He’d head for the store, stopping at Greta and Thomas’ café on the way to get lunch for himself and Shane.
~~~
A little over half an hour later, Ryan was walking through the front door of his store, carrying the paper bag that contained two large plates of the café’s daily special - today’s special was grilled beef kebabs with fresh garden veggies - and two large slices of Greta’s amazing chocolate cake in one hand, and the tray that carried two large glasses of Greta’s sweet tea in the other. Ryan loved that Greta believed that he and Shane well deserved large portions of everything. Then again, Greta and Thomas had always been of that opinion regarding Ryan, ever since he’d met the two of them years ago, back when he’d owned his first store and had rescued their brand new café from a particularly annoying poltergeist.
Shane looked up from his book as Ryan came in, smiling a bit. “Hey, you. Did you run to the Centre already, then?” He smiled as Ryan set the bag and tray down on the counter, the smile widening as he saw where Ryan had gone. “And you brought food from Greta and Thomas’ café, too. I love you.” He leaned forward and kissed Ryan softly.
Ryan smiled as he kissed back. “Yeah, I already ran to the Centre. Had somewhat of a bad experience there involving Darren and Brendon’s case.” He waved a hand at Shane when he looked like he was going to ask about it, and turned his attention to taking the food out of the bag. “Don’t want to get into it. It wasn’t necessarily as bad as I’m making it out to be. Just not something I’d like to experience again. That’s all.” He patted his bag. “But I did get both Darren’s case file and Gerard and Frank’s autopsy notes. So we can go over them later, if you want?”
Shane nodded. He was still looking a bit skeptical, but Ryan knew that he’d leave it alone since Ryan asked. He turned his attention to the Styrofoam box holding Ryan’s peace offering, smiling at the beef kebabs. “Man, these look delicious. Once again, Thomas and Greta outdid themselves in presentation.”
“There’s dessert too,” Ryan smiled a bit, pulling out the containers with the chocolate cake in them and handing one to Shane. “Greta cut the slices huge, just for us.”
Shane grinned as he saw just how large the slices were. “Good god, I think Greta thinks we’re underfed.”
They ate their food, making small talk for a while, before Shane glanced at one of the clocks when it struck the hour. He placed his hand on the back of Ryan’s, smiling a bit.
“Hey, how about I make supper again tonight?”
Ryan smiled, turning his hand over so he could curl his fingers into Shane’s. “My place tonight? What’re you making?”
“It’ll be a surprise.” Shane kissed Ryan’s cheek, getting up and taking his uneaten piece of cake with him. “I’ll see you tonight then.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Ryan smiled after Shane, taking out the case file as he dug into his piece of chocolate cake.
After Shane left, the store stayed pretty dead. There were a few customers, but Ryan spent most of the afternoon focused on the case file, reading what Darren had written down and comparing various things with Gerard and Frank’s own notes on the same case.
By the time it was dark outside and Ryan had turned on the lights, he was toying with the idea of closing up early and going to his apartment to meet up with Shane and go over the case. He’d just made up his mind to do so, when the bell on the door alerted him to someone coming in.
The customer was a young woman, with curly brown hair that brushed her shoulders and large brown eyes. Her clothes seemed to be almost childish and short, like she hadn’t quite gotten the message that she was a woman now and not a little girl. He wasn’t entirely sure that the look should work on a young woman, but somehow, the girl made it work.
“Can I help you?” Ryan asked, taking a step forward.
The girl turned to blink at him before smiling slightly. “I was looking to buy a mirror. Do you mind if I look around?”
“Be my guest.” Ryan pointed over to where he kept most of the mirrors, and watched as the girl walked that way. There was something about her that he couldn’t quite place, and he shook his head as he turned his attention back to the case file. Even though he’d been poring over it all afternoon, he knew he’d have to go over the folder more thoroughly at his place, because this wasn’t the best place to do it. He especially wanted a good look at the causes of death in all the vics, and he didn't exactly feel comfortable spreading out the autopsy photos on the counter, where customers could see.
The girl came back to the counter after a few minutes, a faint smile playing across her face. “Excuse me.”
Ryan was struck again by how like a little girl she looked and he shook himself. “Yeah? Did you need help then?”
The girl nodded and he followed her over to the mirrors, where she pointed to one. It was a larger mirror, but Ryan knew that it wasn’t that heavy, so he picked it up and carried it over to the counter.
“Anything else, or is this going to be it for you?”
The girl shook her head and handed over her credit card as he rang up her order.
Out of habit, Ryan glanced at the name on the card. Her name was Elizabeth, and like the little girl look, seemed to fit whatever style the girl was going for. “Elizabeth, huh? Pretty name.”
The girl made a face, taking the card when he handed it back to her. “I prefer Z, but only my friends call me that.” She picked up the mirror. “Thanks, though. Have a nice night.”
“You too.” Ryan waved as the girl left, following her to the door. The street outside seemed to be deserted, so he made up his mind that he’d just close early, locked the door and flipped the sign to closed.
~~~
The minute Ryan turned the key in the lock to his apartment and swung open the door, he knew something was different. The furniture in his apartment looked different, older, with a dull light over everything. There was someone, a woman, happily humming somewhere to his left.
As he stepped into his apartment and got a better look around, he realized he’d lost track of the time by spending so much time over at Shane’s. Today was the anniversary of Keltie’s death, and one of the times she replayed the night of her murder.
He closed the door behind him, knowing that he was stuck in a moment in the past and that, for the time being, he was the ghost in Keltie’s universe instead of the other way around. Even though he knew it was a mean thought to have, he was grateful he’d come home to her replay, because it was a murder mystery he knew he’d have to solve to help her go to the Other Side. So far, though, he had no leads to go by. And at the very least, watching the replay and trying to gain insight he hadn’t had before would get his mind off Darren’s case for a little bit.
Ryan kept his messenger bag close to his side as he turned toward the large vanity that was now set where his TV usually sat. Keltie Colleen, a young woman in her late twenties or early thirties, was sitting in front of it, doing some last minute touch ups to her makeup and hair. Only in the replays was Keltie as solid as any Day or Nightwalker, and he took the time to look at her wedding dress and watched as she placed her veil on her head.
The young bride had just playfully pulled the veil down over her face, seeing how it looked in the mirror, when there was a loud knocking on the door. She turned toward it, frowning a bit as she pushed her veil back.
“Who on Earth?” She pushed herself up, making her way toward the door. Ryan stepped out of her way as she passed where he stood, and he turned to watch as she opened the door a crack to see who her unexpected company was.
Whoever it was said something that made Keltie shake her head, trying to close the door. Suddenly, whoever it was shoved the door open, knocking Keltie to the floor. Out of force of habit, Ryan glanced toward the door, knowing that he’d never see anything there, but still hoping that this time he would. Ryan had a theory that whoever had killed Keltie was a Nightwalker, and still alive, thus whoever it was was invisible in the poor girl’s replay.
“You can’t come in here!” Keltie exclaimed as she pushed herself to her feet, struggling with someone she was trying to push out. After a few minutes of fighting, she cried out and her hands flew to her throat, clutching at whatever was choking her. She gasped and choked for a minute, still struggling to remove whatever was cutting off her air supply. Ryan’s guess was that whoever had killed her had started out by choking her with their hands.
She gasped again, this time almost in relief as whoever was choking her stopped, but then her brown eyes widened in fear and her mouth fell open as she shook her head, hands coming up in a pleading fashion.
“Please,” she begged, and repeated the gasp.
Ryan wanted to turn his head from what he knew was coming, had seen so many times before, but he forced himself to watch as Keltie’s hands went back to her throat. This time, though, Ryan could see the rope cutting into the young bride’s neck and forced himself to keep watching as she clawed at it. Only when her murderer dragged her to the bathroom did Ryan close his eyes and try to block out the choking and gagging sounds coming from the shower. Beneath the horrifying sounds of the slow death, Ryan heard footsteps leave and realized he’d never heard them before. They sounded like a man’s heavy boot, but before he could fully place it, the door behind him closed and he was left with the agonizing sounds from the bathroom.
It always felt like a lifetime before the choking and gagging sounds subsided into a soft creaking sound as Keltie died, and even the creaking of the rope eventually subsided after a few minutes as his own living room emerged from the reenactment of the past.
At least this time, he’d learned that Keltie had been killed by a man. It wasn’t much, but it was something to start from. Keltie herself remembered being strangled and hung, but she couldn’t remember much about her murderer. Ryan knew it sometimes happened with murder victim ghosts; they’d only remember bits and pieces of their last few moments, and especially the way they’d died, not necessarily who’d killed them.
As soon as his couch reappeared, Ryan sat down on it, flicking on the lamp that sat next to it. He took the two case files out of his messenger bag, setting them on the floor before moving his coffee table to one side so he could spread everything out on the carpet.
He’d just gotten all the photographs from both case files situated the way he wanted them when Keltie appeared at the edge of his tableau, looking as awkward as she always did after she’d replayed her death. Although she denied it, Ryan wondered if Keltie felt guilty about either being murdered or being forced to replay her murder in front of him.
He smiled reassuringly at her, and was rewarded when she smiled back sheepishly. “I noticed something different in this replay. Something I’d never noticed before.”
“Oh?” Keltie pulled her skirts to herself as she settled down by the pictures closest to her, studying them with interest. She’d always liked when Ryan had brought his cases home when he’d been a Medical Examiner, and had always been a helpful pair of eyes as well as being a good sounding board if he had ideas that he needed to get out. “What was it? And what are you working on now? I thought you quit the Centre and stuff with ghosts and that.” She paused. “Except me, and when you want to do ghost related things.”
“Whoever did it was definitely a man. I was trying to not listen to you, erm.” He gestured vaguely toward the bathroom. Keltie glanced in that direction before looking back at him. She nodded to show she understood what he meant. “These footsteps came out of the bathroom and toward the door. Heavy boots. But before I could place anything significant about them, the door slammed and all there was left to hear was the sounds of you, y’know.”
Keltie nodded, biting her lip and looking a bit sad that he didn’t have anything more definitive. “It’s a start.”
“I’m figuring husband-to-be, future brother in law.” Ryan paused dramatically, glancing toward Keltie to see if he could get her to smile with what he’d say next. “Angry superintendent because you didn’t pay your rent. That last one’s totally where I put my money and I bet Shane would agree with me.”
Keltie smiled despite herself, shaking her head a bit. “I don’t really remember much, if anything, about who killed me. But knowing a man did it is definitely a step in the right direction to finding out who murdered me.” She looked at him before making a point of looking at the picture closest to her. “And these?”
Ryan smiled faintly, being well aware that Keltie was refusing to be put off. “There’s been a series of deaths involving Nightwalker children disappearing and then turning up dead. I got approached by the detective working the case and asked if I could help him solve it as a consultant.”
“Dead bodies aren’t your thing anymore.”
“No, not really, but the detective found out that I’m a ghost witch.” Ryan shuffled some photos around, trying to see if looking at it from different angles would give him a better idea of how these poor kids died. He wasn’t having much luck.
“Oh? And how did he find that out? Did he look your record up in the Centre’s database?” Keltie raised an eyebrow.
“Actually, he’s met Brendon.” At the sound of her gasp, Ryan looked up. Sure enough, Keltie was looking at Ryan, eyes wide, but this time her eyes weren’t wide in fear but in surprise. She’d been the first one to encounter Brendon and had woken up Ryan to get him to help the ghost. In fact, it had been her and Brendon who had called the Centre when Butch Walker, Brendon’s murderer, had broken into Ryan’s apartment to finish the job he’d started when he’d killed two of Brendon’s ex-girlfriends. Butch hadn’t been interested in killing Ryan, who had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time, but he had been interested in killing Brendon’s boyfriend, Shane. The last time Ryan had heard anything regarding Butch, he’d been put in a specially designed cell built for vampires at the Centre. He had no hope of ever getting out for attacking a Centre employee, killing three Daywalkers and attempting to kill a Nightwalker.
“I thought he crossed over.” Keltie scooted closer to Ryan, like she wanted to cling to every word he said.
“He had, but it wasn’t his time to die. So I guess they let him out for good behavior.” Ryan grinned at the look Keltie gave him for such a poor joke. “He’s a reaper now. He deals with Daywalker and Nightwalker kids when they die.”
“It’s always sad when children die, whatever they are,” Keltie said softly, looking down at the pictures again with a sad expression on her beautiful face. Ryan wished that he could reach out and pat her hand, but he knew it was impossible to do, as she had no substance to her and all he’d succeed in doing was making his hand freeze.
“Yeah, it is. If thinking I was seeing Brendon again when I wasn’t hadn’t made me quit, I think seeing all these Nightwalker and Daywalker children coming across my slab would’ve done that job for me.” Ryan shook his head. “I’m glad I’m no longer a medical examiner and have to deal with those autopsies.” He shook himself at the memory before turning a few photos toward Keltie. “C’mon. See if you can’t help me make sense of this case, would you?”
Keltie smiled faintly and nodded, leaning over the photographs and notes. Every so often, she’d rest a finger just over a photograph or note she wanted moved and would ask Ryan to arrange it for her.
Shane came in as they studied the various photographs and notes, setting his groceries down in the kitchen before coming back out and standing over both of them with his hands on his hips and a mock serious expression on his face. Both Ryan and Keltie looked up at him, Ryan with an innocent expression and Keltie smiling to herself. “And what are you two up to?”
Ryan knew that Shane couldn’t actually see Keltie, which was why she was smiling to herself, but as an incubus, Shane could certainly sense her energy and knew when she was around. Shane actually made a point of it to acknowledge her presence, something that Keltie loved greatly. “Keltie’s helping me figure this case out.” He pointed to where Keltie was sitting and smiling up at Shane, so Shane could look directly at her. “And hey, I figured out that a man killed Keltie. It’s the anniversary of her death and all. And I noticed that there’s heavy boot steps leaving the bathroom after the hanging. It doesn’t really solve her murder yet, but it’s a start.”
Shane pulled Ryan to his feet, smiling. “Come on. You can help me with supper, and we can talk about things that don’t involve this consulting case you’re on, or the whodunit in Keltie’s murder. At least during supper, please. Afterward, we’ll both put our heads together and try to make sense of your case and possibly Keltie’s death, if we’ve got the time.”
Ryan smiled despite himself. “Deal.”
~~~
“Witch.”
The voice was soft, but it invaded Ryan’s dreams and woke him out of a sound sleep. He sat up with a yawn before he even realized he was moving, and blearily looked around his bedroom, taking note that it was sometime around mid morning. He tried to focus on anything out of the ordinary before a darker shape detached itself from the shadows and came to stand at the foot of the bed. Whoever it was didn’t feel like an intruder - they had the same feeling he’d gotten from both Vicky and Brendon, but this figure was too tall to be either of them - and Ryan flipped on his bedside light. Beside him, Shane grunted in his sleep and pulled his pillow over his head.
Ryan sleepily looked down at Shane before turning his attention to the person standing at the foot of his bed. His first instinct that his unexpected guest was a reaper was correct, and he wondered how this guy was connected with the two reapers he knew. The reaper was tall, with black hair and dark eyes. There was a brief, almost lecherous grin on his face before the reaper composed himself.
“You’re the ghost witch I’ve been hearing so much about, yeah?” The reaper said, still standing at the foot of Ryan’s bed. Ryan was too sleepy to say much, so he yawned and nodded. “You know Brendon and Vicky?”
“Yeah, we’ve met.” Ryan rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up. “Who’re you and what are you doing in my bedroom in the middle of the night? Reapers don’t need ghost witches, I understand.”
“I’m Gabe.” The reaper looked around Ryan’s room as if he weren’t terribly impressed with what he saw. “Brendon and Vicky are among my group of reapers in this area.”
“Aah, that’s how you know about me, then.” Ryan yawned, wondering if Gabe would get to the point of his visit so he could go back to sleep. He also wondered if it would be impolite to demand that a reaper get to said point.
As if aware of Ryan’s thoughts, Gabe fixed him with a look, placing his hands on Ryan’s bed frame and leaning forward. “Brendon and his friend from your Centre are missing. We on the Other Side can’t find either of them. That’s where you come in.”
“Huh?” Ryan was definitely wide awake now, blinking in confusion at the reaper.
Gabe pulled a piece of paper from a pocket and handed it to Ryan. “This is the address of the last known place they were going. It would seem that Darren had gotten a break in his case some time yesterday afternoon, and, as soon as they could, which was some time this morning, both Darren and Brendon went to follow up on it. That was the last we’ve heard from them.”
Ryan looked down at the sheet of paper. He was pretty sure he knew where the place was located, and he doubted it’d take him long to drive over there if he went after lunch and before the evening rush. “Sure, I’ll check it out, but what do you want me to do about it?” He glanced back up and realized that he and Shane were alone once more.
He glanced down at Shane before checking the time again. He guessed that he could get another hour or two of sleep and have more than enough time to run to the address and look into it then. He glanced down at Shane again, wondering if he should wake the incubus up and tell him. He decided against it - Shane was never pleasant when woken up, so Ryan hoped that he’d still be around when he woke up. Decision made, he kissed Shane’s cheek, curling up and falling back to sleep for a few more hours.
Part Three