by H. P. Bayne
“Are you saying he’s possessed?”
An admission Sully didn’t want to make about Dez with a relative stranger, but he also had a job to do. Right now, job one was protecting his client.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. Avoid your house for now. And avoid Dez, whatever you do. Okay?”
“Sure, yeah, of course. I’m at a friend’s. I can stay here a while.”
“And Ciaran? He won’t be back from work for a bit yet?”
“No. He texted a few minutes ago, and he’s having a busy day. Oh my God, he can’t find out about this. If he knows I went to you with this, he’ll really think I’m crazy.”
“One thing I can say with some certainty is if Ciaran started acting like a jerk after you moved in, it’s not his fault. I’m going to fix this. I’ll get back to you once I do.”
He didn’t wait on a response, simply disconnected and got back to his run.
It hadn’t felt this far when they’d driven to Juniper Crescent, the time seeming to blink past when Sully had wanted it to crawl. Now, covering the distance on foot and with a crisis on his hands, Sully couldn’t reach his destination fast enough.
By this point, Dez—operating under the influence of Jim Blake—might have already left the liquor store, but Sully was hoping he’d spend some time there. His recollection of Blake had him pegged as a whiskey man, enjoying his rye neat or mixed with soda, depending on his mood. The liquor store would have been reorganized at some point over the years, but Blake would figure out quickly where to find his preferred drink. By the time Sully arrived at the store, Blake would probably be long gone.
Sully stopped running, allowing himself both a breath and a think. Blake had always followed the same routine on his drinking nights. He’d pick up a bottle after work, come home, and tuck into it. First his “wind-down” drink. Then his “supper” drink. After that, he’d stop bothering to name them.
One thing the drinks had in common was each one was tipped back in the same location.
At home.
Sully placed his hands on his knees as he bent at the waist and focused on drawing deeper breaths. The freezing air made it impossible, with anything more than shallow inhales bringing on a round of coughing. But he’d have to catch his breath before returning to the house. He’d put six or seven blocks between himself and the property, and while he was in good shape, running in winter wasn’t an easy matter. And he’d need to be ready to do battle with Blake—and Dez—once he got there.
Another thought hit him. He’d locked the door before he left, and he didn’t have a key. Nor, for that matter, did Dez. Not that Dez couldn’t kick the door in if he wanted inside badly enough, but it could prove a barrier Blake might not cross. It wasn’t, after all, his house. Not anymore.
Which led to another problem. It might bode well for Lisa and Ciaran if Blake didn’t feel at home in the new house, possibly preventing his return now he had a set of wheels and a meat suit to ride in. What it didn’t do was help Sully. If Blake chose not to return to the house, he’d have to decide where else to go. And despite having once lived with the man, Sully knew next to nothing about him.
He called Eva.
“On my way,” she said in greeting. “Anything your end?”
“No. I was running for the Main Street, but I don’t think I’ll get to the liquor store in time. You mentioned the GPS. Can you see where he is now?”
“Hang on.” A moment of silence suggested Eva was checking. “He’s still at the liquor store.”
Answer enough for Sully to get back to running. “Stay on the line with me and tell me if the vehicle leaves.”
“How far away are you from the store?”
“Few blocks.” A few long blocks. A thought occurred to him, and he puffed out the observation. “Dez used his cash.”
“What?”
“Shopping. Used his cash for stocking stuff.”
Eva was quiet a moment. “And if this Blake guy’s in control, he’ll have to rely on Dez’s cards. And he won’t know the PINs. That’s what you’re thinking, right?”
“Yeah.” Which was only a happy thought if Blake wasn’t so desperate for a drink he resorted to something illegal, like shoplifting or robbery. Dez’s PI licence had been granted on the knowledge he had no criminal record. And good luck explaining to a judge you weren’t guilty because you’d been possessed by a ghost at the time.
Sully was less than a block away from Main Street when Eva supplied more bad news.
“Sully, he’s moving. Heading west on Main.”
Sully picked up the pace, ignoring his screaming lungs, pounding heart and aching legs as he closed the remaining distance. Someone ahead hadn’t shovelled their sidewalk, and he skirted it, dashing onto the street. He slipped on the compacted, icy snow but caught himself.
Just in time to see Dez’s SUV cross Christopher Avenue. And keep going.
“Just saw the SUV,” he said, panting. “Went past on Main. Don’t think he’s going back to the house.”
Sully made it to Main Street, head whipping to the right as he strained to see where Dez’s vehicle had gone. He thought he could make it out in the distance, continuing west.
“Eva?”
“He’s heading out of town, I think,” she said. “Any idea where Blake would be going?”
The answer did nothing to settle Sully’s heart rate.
“No,” he said.
6
With no chance of catching up to Dez on foot, Sully forced himself to think through how best to handle this.
“Think like an investigator, you idiot,” he muttered. Easier said than done as he stood there, panicked, watching the SUV—and Dez—disappear into the distance.
Having disconnected with Eva, he returned to his former posture, hands on knees as he struggled for a full breath. Lightheaded and nauseated, for a moment he thought he might need to sit down. Instead, he closed his eyes and focused on settling his nerves. His thumping heart was as much caused by dread as the run. Dealing with the emotional cause would help him handle the physical.
He took in what air he could, forcing his mind past the events of the past ten or fifteen minutes so he could decide what to do now. It occurred to him the first thing he could do was to head to the liquor store. There, he could suss out whether Blake had managed to get himself a bottle—and if he’d done anything illegal in the process.
Sully covered one block before spotting the liquor store on the next one, tucked in next to an antique shop. Situated as it was, the liquor store had managed the improbable task of appearing quaint, a wolf in sheep’s clothing given what Sully’s life had taught him about alcohol. One of the consequences of time spent with people like Blake was that Sully could count on one hand the number of times he’d allowed himself more than a couple of drinks. He’d been drunk twice in his life and had hated the feeling, the sensation of being out of control. Another consequence of his past was the fact he couldn’t trust easily. Putting himself in a position of being vulnerable to others was something to be avoided.
Beyond that, alcohol stifled his control over his psychic ability. With a weakened capacity for putting up his usual walls, the wrong ghosts could slip through. For some reason, darker spirits seemed to find him when he was at his weakest.
All good reasons to avoid booze. Consequently, Sully had visited a liquor store only a few times in his life, and always to buy gifts for other people.
He didn’t think they’d ask for ID unless he went to the till, but he made sure he had his driver’s licence at the ready, anyway. Then he headed inside.
As the parking situation on the street might have suggested, the place was a flurry of activity. It seemed a few people had taken the day off. Either that, or they had skipped out from work to try to stock up on the Christmas alcohol before the after-work rush began. Consequently, it had created a during-work rush. The one person working behind the till had a five-customer lineup. Needing info soon, Sully peered around the store f
or someone else who could help.
Nerves as fraught as they were, he jumped as someone touched his elbow and spoke loudly next to him.
“Can I help you find something?”
Sully turned to see a bespectacled older woman staring up at him, apologetic smile on her face.
“Sorry to startle you,” she said before he had time to answer.
“It’s okay. I wanted to ask about someone who came in here, actually. Really big guy, red hair. Did you see him?”
Her smile fell away. “Yes, and I was about to call the police about him.”
Damn. “What did he do?”
“He stole a bottle of rye. One of the expensive ones too.”
Sully grimaced. “A twenty-six?”
She nodded.
Double damn. Dez was a big guy, so he could pack away a little more alcohol than others before it hit him, but he wasn’t a big drinker either. The last thing Sully wanted was to go toe-to-toe with a violently drunk Blake while he was using Dez’s linebacker-like body.
Of course, it seemed he had a more immediate problem. “So he stole it?”
She shrugged. “Well, he tried to pay, I guess. He couldn’t get his cards to work. Couldn’t remember his PINs. He gave my clerk what he had in his wallet, but it wasn’t enough. He grumbled something about us getting the money later and took the bottle before she had a chance to stop him. I’ve been debating whether to call police or not. Given his attitude, I’m highly doubtful he intends to return.”
On his way there, Sully had considered how he would handle such a situation, should he arrive to find one. As a result, he had a reply ready. “Listen, that guy is my brother, and he’s having a really tough time right now. If I pay what he owes, will you keep the police out of this? I’m going to find him and talk to him. I have no doubt he’ll be back to apologize once he’s himself again.”
The woman’s frown lessened. “Well, of course, if the outstanding bill is paid, I won’t be so concerned.”
Sully pulled out his wallet and checked his bills. Definitely should be enough there. “And no one else will call?”
“I’m the manager. The job falls to me. No one will call.”
“Thank you. How much was left on the bill?”
“Twenty-seven and change.”
Sully plucked out a twenty and a ten and handed it over. “Keep the change as an inconvenience tax.”
The frown disappeared altogether, replaced by another grin. “You’re a much nicer young man than your brother.”
“Maybe today,” Sully said. “He’s usually not like this.”
The understatement of the year.
“Did he happen to say anything else before he left?” Sully asked. “Anything about where he might be going?”
“I asked my clerk, as it happens. It’s the sort of information police might be interested in knowing. But no. He didn’t say anything else besides the whole money-later thing. Wasn’t a very talkative fellow.”
Definitely not typical Dez.
With nothing else to ask, he thanked the manager more profusely for her understanding and headed back outside.
It occurred to him he should call their boss to report what had happened. Lachlan would be pissed if he only found out about it because Dez got arrested somewhere. Best to get on top of this now.
“So how’s the job?” Lachlan asked. “You doing okay there?”
“Uh, not exactly.” Sully explained the situation, leaving nothing out. When he finished, he was met with a wall of silence so long, he checked his phone screen to ensure the call hadn’t been dropped. “Lachlan?”
“I’m here. I was waiting in the hopes you were going to add a ‘just kidding’ to the end of your story.”
“I wish. Eva’s on the way to get me, and I just paid off Dez’s—or should I say, Blake’s—bill. Problem is, I wouldn’t put it past him to drink in the car. If he gets stopped with open liquor—or worse, causes an accident while drinking and driving—it’ll be a disaster.”
“And you said the SUV’s equipped with GPS?”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t believe I’m about to say this out loud. Any chance the dead guy will know how to disable the tracking system?”
“You can do that?”
“If you know where to look. Good thing, I guess, is the guy croaked nearly two decades ago. GPS in vehicles wasn’t a big thing yet. Chances are he won’t even clue in.”
A good point, one Sully was relieved to concede. “Thanks, Lachlan.”
“What can I do from my end?”
Sully reached the intersection of Christopher Avenue and checked both ways before crossing the road. “Nothing. Eva and I will work with the GPS for now, to track him down. If we run into trouble, I’ll let you know. Whatever happens, I have a feeling I’m the only one who’ll be able to deal with him once we find him.”
“Any idea how you’re going to manage that?”
“Not exactly. I’m thinking I should be able to draw Blake out of Dez easily enough, providing I’m able to focus. I didn’t get a chance back at the house.”
“Fine, but what then? I don’t think this guy’s going to turn out to be one of your ghosts who skips happily into the light once you sort out his problems.”
Sully gave the street ahead another long scan, hoping to see Dez’s SUV. Nothing. “I don’t think so either. I’ll have to find another way.”
“Such as?”
Another answer Sully didn’t want to voice. “No idea.”
7
Sully covered the length of Main Street by the time Eva arrived to pick him up.
She called as she entered town limits, allowing them to coordinate a location to meet. When at last Sully hopped into the passenger seat of Eva’s car, he was frozen, his toes beginning to lose feeling inside his boots and his teeth chattering.
Eva cranked the heat up full while Sully eyed himself in the visor mirror. His facial hair, ordinarily a couple of shades darker than his hair, was pure white around his nose and mouth, frosted over from breath.
“Have you been able to check on the SUV recently?” Sully asked, voice shivering with the rest of him as he held his hands near the vents.
“Periodically. We’d better check again. He wasn’t far from here the last time I looked, but it’s been a few minutes.”
Eva picked up her phone and leaned toward Sully so they both could see the screen. Sully noted a dot on the screen he assumed represented Dez.
“Where is this?” Sully asked.
Used her forefinger and thumb, Eva expanded the map and pointed to a spot toward the top. “This is roughly where we are, on the outskirts of McCoy Falls.” The blue dot was northwest of their location, not nearly as far as Sully would have expected.
“I thought he’d have been a lot farther away by now,” he said.
“I think he’s stopped. The vehicle hasn’t moved since the last time I checked.” She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at her phone. “That’s got to be a grid road near him. He’s probably a couple of miles off the highway. But I can’t see anything else around there.”
“Only one way we’re going to find out.”
Eva signalled her agreement by handing her phone to Sully, shifting into drive and cutting a U-turn. The engine revved hard as she raced down the highway, eating up the distance between them and Dez.
“What are you going to do once we get there?” Eva asked.
“Whatever I can do. I need to pull Blake out of Dez.”
“And then what? Won’t he just get back in?”
“He’ll try. I’ll have to hold him.”
Sully felt Eva’s eyes on him and he met her gaze before she had to turn back to the road.
“What?” he asked.
“The only way you can hold this Blake guy is by doing that reverse possession thing you do, right? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Sully wasn’t sure at all, if he were to be honest with himself and Eva. He’d done it before, an
d successfully, not long ago. But that entity had been more or less friendly with him. Blake would be different. He would fight, and hard. Enraged and drunk on the power he already held, he would be filled with anger and hate and darkness.
All the negative emotions would feed the dark part of Sully’s soul and risk his turning into the same thing Blake already was. Though he’d successfully controlled that part of himself in the past, he’d also fallen deeply under its power. His corralling it had so far been down to the better nature of the spirits he’d taken in or had come at the end of a hard-won battle. He’d always come back, but it wasn’t always easy.
And people he loved had gotten hurt because of it.
“Sully?”
He turned, again meeting her eye. She held his gaze a moment before returning her focus to the road—long enough he read the doubt there.
“I know, okay?” he said.
“I have complete faith in you,” she said. “You know I do. But this is different. This man controlling Dez, he’s not like other ghosts you’ve dealt with. You have a history with him. A bad one.”
Sully dropped his gaze to his lap. “Yeah.”
“He was abusive, right?”
Sully nodded.
“You were just a little kid. I’ve been around a lot of people on the job who were abused as kids. That kind of fear and pain, it doesn’t just go away. You’ve found a place to put it where you can live your life without it constantly hanging over you, but it’s a part of you. It’s a part of who you are, and I think it’s a big part of why you’re so dedicated to helping others who are hurting. You’ve made it a strength, Sully, but with Blake, it’s still a weakness. He knows your buttons because he’s pushed them all before.”
“I’m older now. I’m not that kid. Not anymore.”
Eva didn’t say anything, not right away. The silence lay heavy with things not yet said.
He waited.
Finally, she spoke. “I’ve never told you this. When I was a kid, my mom dated this guy for a while. It wasn’t long after my dad died, so she was kind of a wreck. She really struggled with not having a man around, so this guy moved in seemingly five minutes after they met. One night, he came into my room.”
