Gheist

by Richard Mosses

  “He’s not dead? I can’t even trust my mom’s word on that.”

  “I’m sorry if I misled you,” Kat said, the softer tone returning. “He is dead. It’s just he’s not moved on.” This Ghost Whisperer crap was not what she was cut out for. If it had been anyone else she’d have let them do it themselves.

  “He’s a ghost? Is this a joke? Did your classmates put you up to this?”

  Kat looked at Clint, surely if there was a cue for him to do his thing, this was it.

  Clint nodded her on. He looked tongue tied and more than a little nervous. “What do I say to him?” Clint said. “He’s an older man than I’ll ever be, who’s seen more life than I ever will.”

  “I’m not joking, sir,” Kat said, before losing her patience. “For God’s sake, Clint, grab the bull by the horns. You can defend me from your family, but you can’t talk to your son?”

  “How dare you judge me? You don’t have kids, what do you know?” Clint said with increasing anger.

  Kat saw him weave an image of himself and step into it.

  “What the hell?” said Professor Danton, pushing his chair back as far as he could when a cowboy materialised in the room.

  “Hi, Son,” said Clint. “I’m sorry, I can’t hold onto this for long.”

  “Dad? You look like you stepped out of one of Mum’s old photos.”

  “I’m sorry you had to grow up without me,” Clint said. “You won’t be surprised to know that was your mum’s fault.”

  Professor Danton relaxed a little bit. “No, I guess not.”

  “I think I’ll leave you two to get acquainted. I’ve got some debts to repay,” said Kat, opening the door.

  “Thank you,” said Danton.

  “My pleasure,” Kat said, glancing at Clint. “The least I could do.”

  36

  After spending most of the rest of the day downloading programs and following Amy’s instructions on typing and compiling code they had, apparently, created a worm that would find the video of Amy’s abuse, by looking at the video data rather than just the file name, and eat it then destroy itself. Kat was still unclear why Amy couldn’t have done it herself, but then it had been exhausting for her, never mind what Amy would have to endure to create so many lines of code.

  “Are you sure about this?” Kat said.

  “Yes,” said Amy, without hesitation. “I’d like to do more, but someone might notice it and kill it.”

  “I might not be able to see you after this,” said Kat. “Thank you for all you did. We wouldn’t be here without you.”

  “Don’t be silly. It’ll be ages before it gets rid of all the copies. Especially if they’re offline.”

  “OK. I’ll upload it now.” Kat pushed enter and the tiny file was sent to a popular file sharing site to start its work. “That’s it?” Nothing dramatic happened. Amy didn’t fade out. No sirens went off as the cops came to arrest her for destroying internet files. Amy did seem to have a weight lifted from her.

  “That’s it. Silent as a ghost.” Amy laughed.

  “Silent as a ghost,” said Kat. “Come on, the others will be waiting.”

  They went through to the church, where Evelyn had agreed to hold a memorial service for Jack.

  Carlos and Vincent had showed up, along with Melchior, dressed in jeans and a white shirt, their arm in a sling. Clint had returned from his meeting with his son. Fingers was still acting like he had no idea what had happened. Everyone seemed to have decided to play along. Word had spread and several others had come along too, some Kat thought she recognised from that first service.

  “Thank you all for coming,” said Evelyn, in her plain white smock. “We’re here to mourn the loss of Jack Malone, who has forgotten himself for once and for all time. Jack was known to many of you having been in this parish since the 1960s. His afterlife was long and he remembered much in that time. I’d known him since I was a little girl and my grandmother warned me to avoid him as he was a dark man full of anger and hate. But the Jack I knew was humble, he didn’t pretend he hadn’t lived a life of violence, but he also lost some of what had driven him. By the time I came into office he was still a spikey, awkward man, but could be helpful and looked out for those who had forgotten themselves as well as those newly remembered. Clint will say a few words.”

  “I’d known Jack almost as long as I’ve been dead,” Clint said. “Recently I was told we were enemies in life. He killed me. I can’t say for sure, but I know that’s not how I knew him. And he found that hard to believe too. If in life we were enemies, in death we were friends, and that’s how I’ll remember him.” Clint sat back down.

  Fingers stood. “Jack was my mate, we hung out together. He was always worrying about something, but it meant he’d always got my back because he was always looking over his shoulder. Jack had a big knife, but he never used it. He had a bigger heart and he used that all the time.”

  Kat swapped places with Fingers. “I didn’t know Jack for very long. But speaking of hearts, he helped me get mine back. I knew a man who was looking for redemption for the life he’d led. For that I will always be thankful, and I hope he finally found it.” Kat returned to her seat.

  “Our loss brings us further sadness, as Jack will be lost to us forever,” said Evelyn. “It gives me no joy to inform you that those who have forgotten themselves will no longer be welcome in this church.” This set off some murmuring. “The forgotten are not as harmless as they appear to be. I was attacked by them, here in this house, and I know some of you were too, elsewhere. This Legion of forgotten souls is growing larger every day and we must fight them, or everyone will forget, living and dead.”

  Evelyn seemed to have run out of steam. This sounded more like a rallying speech than a memorial service, but Jack’s loss was pertinent and if the threat Evelyn perceived was real, then the drones were a significant concern for everyone.

  Now that Evelyn had finished the service broke up and Kat began to say her goodbyes, expecting to not see her friends when her heart was replaced.

  “Thanks again for the car,” she said to Carlos. “You may have some awkward questions from the cops, if they follow up on me after the casino.”

  Carlos just shrugged, looked slightly embarrassed when she shook his hand. “We’ll still be able to see each other,” he said.

  “In the sense of perceiving one another, sure,” said Kat. “But I’m going home to Scotland. So you’ll have to make do with a video call.”

  In another life, maybe it might have worked, but he’d only ruined it for himself. She’d had one boyfriend too concerned about money too many.

  “I hope you have a safe journey,” said Melchior.

  “You too,” Kat said, giving Melchior an awkward hug.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Melchior said.

  “Surely you can do a world tour now? Most people do a residency on the Strip at the end of their careers. You can have a whole new era.”

  Melchior smiled. “Maybe you’re right. First I think I want my own island.”

  “As long as I can visit for a holiday, sounds good to me.”

  “You’ll be welcome anytime.”

  Fingers was looking unsure of himself. “Whatever else happened, whatever you can’t remember, we couldn’t have done what we did without you,” Kat said. “We broke into that vault, and walked out again. You did it. You’re a legend.”

  “My greatest heist and I’ve got no way to tell the story,” said Fingers. “It’s like I wasn’t there. I’m gutted. No one will believe me if I don’t tell it with my own words.”

  “I think that’s what they call poetic justice,” said Kat, hoping to get a rise out of him.

  “I don’t understand,” said Fingers. “Is that a fancy way of saying ironic?”

  “I’ll see you around,” she said. “Look out for Evelyn for me.”

  Fingers threw her a lazy salute.

  After everyone had left, Evelyn and Kat went back through to Evelyn’s living room,
Clint followed along.

  “I just wanted thank you for comin’ with me to see Clinton Junior,” said Clint, holding his hat in his hands.

  “You’re welcome,” said Kat. “It was no trouble.” She sat down on one of the kitchen chairs.

  “I think I’m ready to move on, now,” said Clint.

  “Really? That’s great, right?” said Kat. Clint didn’t look too sure he wanted to. Evelyn used some cable ties on her ankles and wrists.

  “I’d…I’d like you to stay,” said Evelyn, pausing from her preparations. “I mean I need your advice. It will be essential in helping us.”

  This started to feel too familiar and Kat wanted to resist her freedom being removed. She felt her heart in the jar beside her begin to beat faster. Breathe, breathe deeply. She got herself calm again. She was with people who would help her.

  “I can hear it, strongly now, like a siren song,” said Clint. “If I ignore it, will I get another chance? I don’t want to end up like Jack.”

  Evelyn smiled. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve that might help you with that. Both to protect you and help you go in the future. Please, I need you.”

  Kat felt like she should give them some space and would have gotten out of the chair if Evelyn hadn’t already bound her to it.

  “Okay,” said Clint, who appeared more at ease. “Mind if I stay?”

  “No,” said Kat. “You know I could help too. Sounds like you could do with an extra pair of hands. Someone who knows a few things about how it all works.”

  “Nice try, Ms McKay,” said Evelyn. “But we have a deal. I know you’re an honourable person.” She finished grinding some dried herbs in a mortar and lit a large candle. “There, we’re ready. OK?”

  “OK,” said Kat, who suddenly wasn’t. This is what she’d been working towards for so long, but she’d gotten used to not really feeling anything. It had saved her a lot of grief, and joy. Could she cope with being whole again?

  Evelyn had already begun. She took a pinch of the dried herb powder and blew it through the candle flame. It sparked and puffed into a small cloud of smoke. Evelyn wrapped her hands in the smoke and lifted the lid of the jar. She began to mutter in a language that was different to what Kat had heard before. Evelyn reached into the jar and pulled out Kat’s heart which was beating strongly.

  Standing in front of Kat, Evelyn pushed her hand, and the heart, towards Kat’s chest. There was no resistance as the hand and heart moved inside like there was an invisible flap. Kat was pushed onto the wooden back of the chair.

  It was there, she could feel it, fluttering and then pounding. Her heart.

  Evelyn pulled her hand back. Kat felt it catch in her chest and her whole body was pulled up with Evelyn’s hand stuck wrist deep inside her. Kat’s back arched, her legs and arms bound beneath her, as Evelyn struggled to withdraw. Evelyn’s chanting got faster, more panicked. Her hand popped free and Kat collapsed back into the chair, sweat pouring off her as adrenaline surged through her. Kat felt like she had just sprinted a hundred metres. Blood pounded in her head, her temples throbbed.

  An overwhelming sense of joy flooded through her, mingled with a wave of, what was it? Love? Yes. She felt such love for everything. Kat was filled with a golden light which she thought shone out from her onto everything, she was everyone. Then there was peace. Time had stopped. The curls of smoke from the candle and herb powder hung motionless in the air, each eddy visible. Tiny motes catching the light. Evelyn looked shocked and pleased, her face a naked book.

  Time moved. Kat sobbed. That pure golden moment was lost to her, already a fleeting moment, already her recollection was being shredded. She wanted to go back. She was cold. The light was gone. She was alone. It took a moment before she realised the screaming was coming from her throat. She felt so much and it hurt like needles and knives piercing and cutting her. It was like when Billy left her, only far far worse. She just wanted it to end. She wanted to die.

  The slap gave her real pain to think about. Her face hot and wet from tears. Her throat was raw. Slowly it all faded to grey. Her body, her mind, put up filters, muted the stimuli.

  Kat smiled. She was alive. She looked around. “Did Clint leave?”

  Evelyn looked beside her. “No,” said Evelyn. Kat could only imagine Clint bending over, hat in his hands, looking at her with concern. “How are you feeling?”

  “Everything. It hurts and it pleases. And I can’t see the dead anymore.” She was whole again, but something else was missing.

  37

  Kat hadn’t unpacked since preparing to move so it didn’t take her long to throw what little she’d taken out back into her case, after a long shower and a longer sleep. She’d dropped by the diner to formally hand in her notice, but given how few shifts she’d done recently they kinda already knew. Kat took out a few dollars from her final pay packet for gas and food between here and LA, the rest she left in the envelope scoring off her name and adding Connie over it. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

  Kat headed out to her car and found the extra set of keys she’d had cut. She added these to the envelope. Once she knew where she’d parked it, she’d let Connie know where to get it.

  In the office she was handing over the envelope, trusting it would all get where it was intended to, when Connie came out from the Manager’s room.

  “I was just putting this in safe keeping for you,” said Kat.

  Connie looked critically at the concierge and took the envelope. “What’s this for?”

  “I just wanted to say thanks for all your help. I’m going home, to Scotland.”

  “And you weren’t going to say goodbye?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want…” Kat started again. “I thought it would hurt too much.” She tried to smile but couldn’t manage it. “You’ve been so kind to me. Like my second mum.” Tears welled in Kat’s eyes.

  “And you’d not say goodbye to your Mama?” Connie hugged Kat, who knew that in the past she hadn’t. She wouldn’t do that again. “I don’t want this, whatever it is,” Connie said. “One day you’ll find someone who needs you and you’ll do this for them, for me. Understand?”

  Kat broke away and nodded.

  “OK. Now you go home, but don’t forget to call your second Mama once in a while. I know people in Scotland. It’s not so far away.”

  Back in the car, Kat tried to compose herself, her packet of tissues a damp mess. Maybe if she finally left this place she’d stop feeling so much.

  She started the engine and drove out. Kat headed down the Strip one last time, past the towering casinos, leaving behind the glitter and glamour. She laughed to see a billboard ad for Melchior’s show. Kat drove on south following Route 15 to California.

  38

  The construction site was a warren of shadows and skeletal steel. This casino was only just starting to be erected. Most of the basement area had been excavated and lined. The supports for the first floor were being put in place.

  Clint had spent enough years working on sites like this to know to watch his step. Some instincts never left you, like riding a horse, knowing what weather was coming by smelling the air. Clint breathed in, over the dry concrete dust and wet cement he caught the damp in the wind; it was going to rain. He also caught her perfume. At least she’d showed up this time.

  Her scent used to relax him, make him feel, for want of a better phrase, at home. But something had changed. She was bored of him, that was it. She didn’t return his calls, kept skipping dates. It must’ve been a week since he last saw Marie-Claire.

  He should turn around and go. That’s what his instincts were telling him. Why would she meet him here of all places? Why not that cocktail bar she liked or Vince’s Steakhouse where she could always get a table? This was a typically dramatic setting for her, though. She was like one of those dames in a Bogart movie where he was a PI and they were trouble. Clint remembered that time he’d had to deck Dutch because she claimed he’d tried to feel her up. They both knew nothin
g like that had happened, but he’d needed to keep up appearances. Later he’d bought Dutch a scotch and cigar.

  Clint circled round, being careful his shoes didn’t make too much noise, scuffing on the sand or kicking a piece of stray aggregate. There didn’t appear to be anyone else here.

  “Marie-Claire?” Clint said. He took out his cigarette case, selected one and lit it. The golden glow of the lighter flame was vivid in the silver and grey of the building site at night.

  “Over here,” he heard her say. He walked through to the middle of the site, feeling exposed. The air was warm as well as damp but it still sent a shiver through him. There she was, her moon shadow stretched out towards him. It seemed silly, childish, but he wanted to avoid standing on it.

  “Why are we here?” Clint said.

  “I have some news I wanted to share with you. Somewhere quiet,” Marie-Claire said.

  “You could’ve come to my place,” Clint said.

  “Where the phone never stops ringing for you?” Marie-Claire said. “I wanted you all to myself for a change.”

  “Well here I am,” said Clint. He stepped on the cigarette and opened his arms, but she didn’t step forward into his embrace.

  “I’m pregnant,” Marie-Claire said. It came out like she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

  That was the last thing he’d expected. They were going to have a baby? How? He knew how, but how could he look after a child? He was destined for a short life. He’d just been lucky so far. The black blizzards should’ve taken him, as should the hedgerows of France, and any number of business activities he’d been in since then. But this was good, wasn’t it? “When’s it due?” Clint said.

  “Why should you care?”

  “If I’m going to be a father, I’d like to know when.”

  “I never said it was yours,” said Marie-Claire, and Clint felt his guts twist.