by J. J. Franck
“Keep your cool,” Kirt quickly said trying to get Avery’s attention before she answered.
Avery turned to Kirt and just stared at him for the longest time. When she regained her composure, she finally turned back to the Captain.
“I just wanted to talk to Nathaniel. He’s been acting strange lately.”
Kirt raised his eyebrows and then laughed. “Lately!”
Avery gave Kirt a dirty look, a definite indication to keep his remarks to himself. She knew Nathaniel a lot longer than she knew Kirt. She felt a particular loyalty to her former classmate. Her heart went out to him for all he had been through, and it bothered her how people taunted him because he was different when in fact his problem had more to do with his sensitivity than anything else.
“Like what?” Captain Elliott asked.
“It’s hard to explain. I was just thinking about it, and it occurred to me maybe Nathaniel saw something in the park that night,” Avery stopped when she saw the look on the Captain’s face and then she quickly added. “The night Kirt, I mean Officer McFarley was killed.”
“Did it ever occur to you to call me?”
“It was just something I thought about, nothing more. You would have thought I was crazy if I came to you with my concern.”
“You could have at least tried.”
Avery just looked at him for the longest time before answering. “Next time I will.”
“So, you think this is all connected?”
“I don’t know,” Avery said while shaking her head.
Kirt stepped in front of the Captain. “You’ve said enough. We’ve got to get going.”
Avery stared at Kirt and then suddenly turned back to the Captain and looked him square in the eyes.
“If you don’t mind, I’ve had a long day, and I’ve got to get up early,” she said as she got up and then turned and started to walk away.
“But I’d like,” Captain Elliott started to say.
“I can stop by the station house tomorrow.”
Kirt gave her the thumbs up indicating she was handling the Captain. But Captain Elliott was not giving up so easy on Avery. He grabbed her by the arm to stop her from leaving.
“I could have someone posted outside your apartment.
Avery just stared at Captain Elliott with a grin and then shoved his hand free of her arm.
“That won’t be necessary.”
Avery quickly walked past the Captain and then she suddenly turned back to him. Avery could see he was not happy with the situation, but she didn’t know what else to do. Avery feared if she spent more time near him, she might open up to what she knew about Jake and his involvement in Kirt’s death.
“See you in the morning. Is nine okay?” Avery asked
Captain Elliott looked puzzled and a little put out by Avery’s lack of cooperation just then. He stared at her and then mumbled under his breath.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Avery didn’t say another word for fear the Captain would insist on talking to her that night. She didn’t have it in her to deal with all the havoc around her. He would have to get a statement from Nathaniel to find out the circumstances of his attack, so leaving the hospital just then was out of the question.
Once Avery was outside she stood for a few moments taking in all the fresh air. She was anxious to get back to her apartment to make sure the briefcase was still there. It bothered her that Nathaniel was drawn into all of what had happened lately and feared if she didn’t turn over the briefcase to Captain Elliot soon, more people around her would be pulled into this mess. The reality of what Jake did to Nathaniel proved he was getting desperate and no telling what he would do next. She didn’t need him going after her parents as leverage over her giving up the briefcase.
CHAPTER 19
Avery was glad to be away from the scrutiny of Captain Elliott and the smell of disinfectant that hung heavy in the waiting room. It was so reminiscent of her unfortunate stay at the hospital for tests four months earlier. She knew it would not be too much longer and she would have to start confessing to all she knew.
Avery slowly walked down the street with Kirt at her side. For the longest time Kirt said nothing, but then finally he could hold back no longer.
“I can’t believe how you handled him,” Kirt said as he stepped in front of Avery and started walking backward keeping up with Avery’s pace.
At first, Avery couldn’t look at Kirt she just stared down at the pavement before her. And then she finally glanced up and shook her head. It was then she stopped as she rubbed her temple to take away the pain and hopefully make Kirt disappear. But that was useless.
“Kirt, it’s getting worse. I don’t know how much longer I can put up with this,” she said hardly above a whisper.
“Flag a taxi, we’ll go home. You can rest.”
Avery found it difficult to raise her hand to get a taxi’s attention, much less yell for one. But Kirt kept up his insistence, so she just stood there and did her best to raise her hand. It took a few minutes before a taxi finally noticed her standing there. It quickly swerved over to the curb to pick her up.
Avery sat back on the seat and rested her head. It took a few moments before she could collect herself and give the driver her address. Avery was thankful the taxi driver wasn’t talkative as that was the last thing she needed right now. Once she relayed her address, she just shut her eyes knowing it would only be a little while before they reached their destination. All Avery wanted just then was to get home to the safety of her apartment. She desperately needed to rest and only hoped the pain would stop as it had always done in the past, but lately it was taking longer for the pain to subside and was always there waiting to resurface with more intensity. Avery feared the end must be near and it scared her that she was not ready to die.
By the time the taxi pulled into the alley, Avery had forced herself to sit up. She quickly handed the driver the fare and then got out. Avery glanced around searching for Kirt because she hadn’t seen him since getting into the taxi. A part of her feared maybe he was just her imagination because of the tumor that grew inside her brain. But she knew that couldn’t possibly be. Everything that happened in the past few days had a lot to do with him and nothing to do with her illness.
Avery thought back to when she got into the taxi. She wondered how Kirt would make it back to her apartment. But then in the spirit world how did people travel. At that point, Avery didn’t care how Kirt would make it back to her place, and if the truth were told, maybe she was finally rid of his apparition. After all, he was dead, and it was his problem for not passing over to the other side. There was nothing she could do any more to help him. And then she thought about the briefcase. She still had to deal with that and soon if the pain she was experiencing meant the end was near.
Avery slowly walked up the stairs to her apartment, resting a few times as she made her way. Once she put the key in the door, she breathed a sigh of relief to be home in the safety of her little domain. Avery reached in and turned on the light. When Avery saw the upheaval in her apartment, she stepped back and gasped.
The lamps were smashed on the floor, the legs of the coffee table broken off with everything on it lying about. The couch material shredded with a knife, the stuffing pulled out and spewed all over the floor. The food was emptied from the cupboards. The fern she had nursed for years was pulled out of the pot, and the dirt on the floor was mixed with the little food from the fridge. The curtains were pulled off their rods and laid ripped on the floor. Nothing appeared to be salvageable.
Kirt suddenly appeared behind Avery and looked around. He stepped in front of Avery and wanted to console her but then stopped when he saw the expression on her face.
Avery turned to him quickly. “Now what?” she asked as if expecting him to have an answer.
She really didn’t want Kirt to answer her. Avery just quickly walked over to the couch and went down on her hands and knees. She lifted up the couch skirt and looked under th
e sofa. The briefcase with the money was no longer there. She glanced around in frustration and then turned and glared at Kirt.
“It’s just my word now about the briefcase. Who is going to believe me?”
Kirt raised his hands quickly and then dropped them to his side. “Let me think a moment.”
“It ain’t going to change things,” Avery snapped while shaking her head.
The pain in her head that had eased up in the taxi was back in full force. Avery didn’t know if she would be able to continue this endeavor to help Kirt to the other side. It was just getting too difficult. She had to start worrying about her well being because dealing with his problem was only making her predicament worse.
“We just can’t let him get away with it.”
“It’s over,” Avery snapped as she struggled to get up from the floor.
The knock on the door startled Avery as she quickly turned to Kirt and raised her hands, not knowing what to do. Avery quickly looked around the room. There was no way she could clean up the mess and was unsure how best to explain the turmoil.
“Who could that be?” she asked.
“You aren’t going to know until you open the door.”
Avery just looked at him and rolled her eyes. “What if it’s them again.”
“They pretty well did a number on this place. I don’t think there’s any more damage to do. Besides, they got what they came for, what more could they want.”
“Thanks,” is all Avery said knowing Kirt was not going to be helpful once she opened the door.
Plus, it did make sense to Avery that it wasn’t the perpetrators of the mess. That alone gave her the courage to walk to the door. Looking through the peephole, she was surprised to see it was Captain Elliott on the other side of the door. She turned to Kirt and mouthed who it was and then turned back to the door and opened it, no long apprehensive.
Captain Elliott stood there for a moment looking beyond Avery into the room and then walked past her. Once he kicked away the debris on the floor, he stopped and glanced around the room and then laughed when he turned back to Avery.
“Are you remodeling?” he asked while staring at Avery for her reaction.
Avery stammered a moment. “I was going to call you,” she said, but it didn’t sound convincing.
Captain Elliott gave her a look that doubted what she had just said. He had suspected she knew more than what she was admitted to.
“Were you going to do that?” he asked with a look of doubt.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Don’t answer a question with a question,” Kirt said getting Avery’s attention. “He’s getting mad.”
“I’m sorry. It’s been a rough day. Nathaniel, and now this,” she said waving her hands at the mess around the room.
“Who do you think did this?” Captain Elliott asked.
Avery quickly glanced at Kirt who was standing behind Captain Elliott. All he did was shake his head no and then put a finger to his mouth.
“I haven’t a clue,” Avery said hoping that would appease the Captain.
Captain Elliott walked over to the phone that lay on the floor. He picked up the receiver and pulled the phone up. Then the Captain checked to see if there was a dial tone. He smiled when he heard the familiar sound.
“Anything missing?” he asked while staring at Avery for the longest time.
“I just got here myself.”
Captain Elliott punched in some numbers. “I’m calling this in.”
“Do I have a choice?”
Kirt threw Avery a warning glance. Captain Elliott made the call while Avery just cleared off an area on the couch and then angrily plucked herself down and sulked while looking around at the damage that was done.
* * *
Avery was furious over what had been done to her little domain. Captain Elliott was long gone, his calling in and reporting the break-in was a formality and Avery had no expectation that anything more would be done. She couldn’t tell the good Captain what was taken without having to explain how she came to having that briefcase full of money.
How could she possibly explain to Captain Elliott, Kirt guiding her to Penn Station? Even Avery didn’t understand it. But she knew for a fact, that this was not a hallucination. The key Kirt gave her as he was dying did indeed open the locker. The briefcase full of money was tied to drug money that Jake was involved in. Avery didn’t know how she would get it all straightened out, and knew Kirt would be stuck here until she could find a way to resolve his problem. She wasn’t sure if his being here was because of his brother's illegal enterprise or finding the person who killed him. Avery’s biggest fear was that if she didn’t solve it he would forever be stuck in this dimension once she finally succumbed to her own illness.
The crew that came to her apartment fingerprinted the living room, but she was confident the only prints that they would find would be her own. Avery was thankful when they left, and she was finally alone. She stood at the remains of the coffee table as Kirt suddenly appeared. Avery turned to him as she just sat down on the couch.
“You could be some help,” she whispered.
Kirt just looked over at her. “Remember I’m dead.”
Avery shook her head as she got up from the couch and walked over to the sink for a glass of water. But once she opened the cupboard door Avery realized all the glasses were broken on the floor. Finally, Avery reached for the small solo cup that had been tossed in the corner and filled it with water. She didn’t care if it was dirt, all she needed right then was some water.
“You make even less sense dead than alive,” Avery snapped.
“Did you call the hospital?”
Avery leaned back on the counter and glanced at Kirt, not sure if he was genuinely concerned about Nathaniel. She shut her eyes for a moment and then laughed mockingly before opening them and just stared at Kirt for the longest time. Finally, Avery made the call, pretended to be family so she could get information about Nathaniel’s condition. Avery breathed a sigh of relief after finding out that Nathaniel was resting comfortably and she felt better knowing his parents were at his side. She hung up the phone and turned to Kirt who stood by the window and just watched her the whole time.
“Yeah, he’s out of immediate danger. They have him resting for now.”
“Do you think he’ll tell anyone about me?” Kirt asked as he paced the room nervously.
Avery frowned and then just walked over to the couch with her water, she set it on the broken coffee table and then carefully sat down on the sofa.
“If he does, who would listen?” she said and then quickly added. “Or believe him for that matter.”
“I think we should bring this to a head.”
Avery did a double take just then. She was puzzled, wondering about what Kirt meant. But knowing him for the short time she did, Avery knew he wasn’t one to mix with words. It puzzled her how he could bring it all to a head given what had transpired last evening.
“How do you propose to do that?” Avery asked.
“We control our next meeting.”
“Aren’t you forgetting,” she said.
Kirt looked puzzled as he sat down next to Avery on the couch. He was curious what she was getting at given she hadn’t even heard his plan yet.
“You are dead for one thing. And if it was Jake who ransacked my place, he has the briefcase. Why would he even bother meeting me when he has all the cards right now.”
“You are a loose end. And Nathaniel is still alive and even though feasibly no one would believe him about you, or me for that matter, Nathaniel may still be a danger to Jake.”
All Kirt did was turn to Avery with a smile. In the short time, he knew Avery, Kirt knew she was very capable of doing most anything. The fact she would not rest until Jake was made accountable for what he had done recently made him feel good that they would be able to pull this off. Even though Jake was his brother, Kirt knew if he were not stopped now, more people would be caught up in hi
s web of evil deeds.
* * *
Avery took the day off work, using one of her many vacation days that had accumulated. She spent all day and the early evening hours cleaning up her apartment. The frustration of the senseless destruction of her property infuriated her to the point Avery no longer felt the discomfort from the tumor. For some reason, it was important for Avery to have order back in her life, and she wouldn’t allow the tumor that grew inside her to deter her determination to put this matter to rest before she gave in to it completely.
Once the apartment was back in order, Avery felt more like her old self. It surprised her that her fortitude to get this task done given how weak she was becoming lately. Avery knew it was time to make the phone call and put their little plan in motion.
Kirt was not in favor of what Avery had planned but Kirt couldn’t come up with a better way to trap Jake into admitting what he had done. All he knew was that time was running out, and he didn’t know how much longer he would be there or that possibly Avery’s time was running out. The spells were getting worse and the pills less effective. If his name were ever to be cleared, then they would have to get Jake to confess to what he was involved in.
Avery gave Jake fifteen minutes to meet her in the park. Otherwise, she would call Captain Elliott and confess everything that she knew. Which to her wasn’t much, but Jake didn’t know that. If it was Jake who rummaged through her apartment, he had to be aware that Kirt gave her the key the night he died. Whether Kirt told her about his involvement in the drug trade would be unknown to him. Would Jake be willing to gamble that she knew nothing, she wasn’t so sure he was that pig headed to believe he was infallible.
Avery felt it was appropriate to meet in the park because it was the place where it all started. As uncomfortable as Avery was at being there, she had to put that aside. It didn’t take Avery long to hurry down the path to the fountain where she stood waiting for Jake to show up. Avery’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the footsteps as they got closer to where she stood. She turned to face Jake and watched as he slowly walked up the path to where she stood.
