by Morgana Best
“Yes, please,” I replied, smiling. This was my go-to hairdressing salon, the unfortunately named Breath of Fresh Hair. Despite the name, all the staff were friendly and skilled, particularly David, who seemed always to be working when I came by. As rude as it might seem, I never liked it when hairdressers made small talk and gave me the third degree, so I appreciated that the staff here only kept a conversation running if I did, too. Despite that, David had always been welcoming and friendly, so I was happy to see him working here again today.
David went about putting foils in my hair as I closed my eyes and relaxed. It had been a confusing and chaotic few days, so I was more than happy to take the chance to do something normal, even if it wasn’t particularly exciting. After telling Constance half of what I thought about her, it was nice to be with somebody who didn’t want to tell me what I was doing wrong. Then again, David would probably have plenty of justification for telling me I should be looking after my hair better.
“Prudence?”
My eyes shot open and I glanced around wildly. I knew that voice.
“Alum?” I asked. Sure enough, he was here, standing just a few feet away from me.
“I’m sorry?” David asked, grabbing a foil from his tray. I ignored him, focusing on the shocked look on Alum’s face. It took me a while to realize that my head was filled with foils pointing skyward, and I was far from thrilled at the thought of Alum seeing me looking like Uncle Martin the Martian complete with antennae. He looked slightly put off for a moment before regaining his composure and talking.
“I’m sorry if this is a bad time, but I can’t control exactly when I’ll appear,” Alum said earnestly, looking less than pleased with himself.
“It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine, as such, but I believed him when he said he couldn’t control his appearances.
David looked up at me in shock. “But the foils are still in, and I’ve barely started. I think you should let me finish,” he said, bewildered.
“Prudence, listen,” Alum continued. “I think somebody was murdered outside of my room last night.”
I gasped. “That’s horrible!” I said without thinking.
David didn’t exactly look happy about my criticism. “But it isn’t done yet!” he protested loudly. “Of course it won’t look good with the foils in. You have to wait until it’s washed out, and then dried!”
“Oh, no, it’s great. Keep going,” I tried to say as calmly as possible.
“How is that great?” Alum asked me. “Prudence, I think it was one of the officers who were guarding me.”
I frowned and thought hard about what to say next. “So, has anything else been happening?”
“Not really,” David replied. “More of the same. And the weather’s been so weird lately!”
“Yes, of course,” Alum said, grimly. “Obviously, I couldn’t intervene, but I heard yelling just before the murder. One was a woman’s voice.”
“A woman?” I asked, deep in thought.
David chuckled. “No, I just got out of a long relationship, so I haven’t been spending any time pursuing dates lately.”
“That’s right,” Alum replied. “More than that, two names were brought up a few times, both constables. Constable Summers and Constable Decker.”
“Do you think whoever it was, was trying to kill you?” I couldn’t handle the thought of Alum dying for real, not when I had just found out that he was alive.
David gasped. “Oh, horrors, no! Of course not. It was a long relationship, but she ended it, not me.” He was obviously taken aback by my question.
I sighed and ignored him, focusing on Alum.
“Actually no, I don’t. I wasn’t exactly in much shape to put up a fight, so if they were trying to kill me, I can’t really see a reason why they didn’t.”
“That makes sense,” I replied. But why had somebody been murdered outside the door? Who were these constables? There was always a chance that the murder was unrelated to Alum’s case, but it seemed like a huge coincidence.
“I should hope so,” David said, raising his eyebrows. “Excuse me a minute.” David hurried into the back room presumably to answer a ringing phone. I could hear him speak, but was much more interested in finally being able to have a conversation with Alum without making my hairdresser think I was insane.
“The detectives are asking me questions every day, but my throat’s too sore for me to speak.” Alum looked exhausted as he spoke. “What’s worse, I don’t have the fine motor skills to write with the pen and paper they keep handing me. It’s beyond frustrating, but more than that, I don’t think I’ll be able to communicate for much longer. For better or worse, Prudence, I’m recovering.” For somebody who was recovering from a near-fatal shooting, Alum sure looked grim as he spoke.
“If you recover, we can finally meet in person, so what could be bad about you recovering?” I spun my chair around to face him as I asked.
“I think I’m in a deep sleep now, but I haven’t yet been fully conscious for too long, and I still can’t move or speak properly. I’m totally helpless.” Alum looked down at his open palm as he said this. “But, there’s more, and it isn’t good. Because of the murder outside my room, more police are being called in. This means that my partner might also be called in, and as you know, he thinks he’s killed me already. In my present state, there won’t be a whole lot I can do to stop him from killing me properly this time.”
I didn’t know what to say. Everything he’d said made sense, but it was just so horrible. “Do you have any clue as to where you are?” I asked.
“Possibly, yes. I don’t think I’m in a hospital. Now that I can hear more, it seems much too quiet to be a general hospital. Plus, I find it hard to believe that a murder could occur like that without any witnesses. I believe I’m in a safe house. I can only assume that I’m in witness protection, and they want to know who shot me. I’ve no doubt my partner fully believes that I’m dead.” Alum tapped his chin. “Other than that, I also hear trains twice a day. At least, I think it’s twice a day—it’s hard to tell when I’m fading in and out of consciousness, if I’m honest.” He looked about half as upset as I felt.
A safe house, and a train track? It narrowed it down, but not nearly enough. Constable Summers, Constable Decker, another murder. How much of this was related? Was any of it? I had to figure it out before Alum’s partner was called in. By then, it would be much too late to help at all.
Chapter 4
“Possum! Get off!” I gently lifted the hefty cat off my keyboard and dropped her on the floor, despite her protests. I sighed and tried to refocus as she purred and swatted at my leg. I was looking into train lines, one of the only significant clues I had as to Alum’s whereabouts.
He had said that trains ran twice a day, and that… “Lily! Move!” I screeched. Lily had decided that my keyboard was the only worthy resting place in the house, and thought she’d have a snooze. I didn’t know what it was about my keyboard that attracted the cats, but I figured it was because they enjoyed making me annoyed. I picked up Lily and put her down by Possum, who had decided to take a nap on the floor.
Turning back to my computer, I thought about what Alum had been saying. There had been a murder outside his room; he could hear trains twice a day; he thought he was in a safe house rather than a hospital, and finally there were two names: Constables Decker and Summers. I had no idea if this was enough information to track Alum down, but there was no way I’d just sit around and wait to see how it all played out. Alum’s life was in direct danger—if his partner was called in, he’d be dead in hours.
I decided that my best bet was to narrow down my search radius a bit. The best clue I had as to his location was the sound of a train twice a day, probably in the morning and again in the afternoon. Though he didn’t say as much, the fact that he wasn’t exactly sure about how often they were coming by, suggested that he wasn’t conscious long enough to hear the train twice before he fell back under.
It di
dn’t take long at all to find that there was only one track in the district that would fit. It was about an hour south of here, in a much larger town. I knew there was a good chance that Alum was somewhere nearby, but it was still much too large a radius to find him. Still, I was more than a little pleased with myself for narrowing it down so much in such a small amount of time.
So, I decided to move onto the second clue, the names Decker and Summers, both constables. If Alum hadn’t mentioned that they were constables, I wouldn’t have had a chance, but knowing that gave me the edge I needed. I decided to look through arrest reports and court appearances, all of which were alarmingly easy to find online. It took less than an hour to find the names I was after.
Adam Decker and Peter Summers, both constables in the district. It occurred to me that I hadn’t really thought this far ahead. If I went to their houses and spoke to them, I could be putting both myself and Alum in even more danger. That’s if either of them were still alive, of course. I rubbed my temples with my hands and thought about it for a few minutes, before deciding that the best course of action was a stake out. One of these two could very well be the victim, but I could hardly engage in breaking and entering to find out. I’d find their addresses, and then wait by their houses for a while. If I saw them come home, I would know they were alive. If I waited long enough and saw no sign of one of them, it could very well mean that that one was the victim.
“Actually,” I said aloud to myself, “maybe one is the victim and one is the killer, although Alum did say one of the ones he heard was a woman.” Despite Possum’s condescending glare, it made sense. They were the two names Alum heard after a murder. It could just mean that both of them were assigned to the case, though. I realized thinking about it like this wouldn’t get me anywhere, and I’d need to begin some real investigation.
With their names and district, it didn’t take long at all to find them in an online phone book. Luckily they were both listed, so I took note of their addresses, and started to get ready. I didn’t plan to spend a huge amount of time sitting in my car out in front of their houses, but I had to be prepared just in case.
I went to my bedroom and packed some spare clothes. While I didn’t plan to spend an entire night out there, I couldn’t discount the possibility. Then, I headed to the kitchen for the most valuable stake out tool: snacks. I shoved everything messily into a small bag and filled up Possum and Lily’s food and water dishes. “Hopefully I won’t be gone for too long, so be good, you two.” I stroked Lily on the head and pulled away as she tried to bite me. I figured she was just bitter because I wouldn’t be around to give her treats.
I grabbed my bag and headed to the door, but just as I put my hand on the handle, I heard a knock. I opened the door tentatively, feeling a little unsure about my personal safety. There was no way anybody knew that I was talking to Alum, but having connections to somebody in such a dangerous position still made me uneasy.
“Hi, Prudence!” Barbara beamed at me, with Iris standing just behind and giving a small wave.
“Oh, hi you two.” I smiled. “I’m afraid I was just heading out.”
“I thought you said you were busy today!” Barbara interjected. I’d told her that I was too busy for guests, and she’d somehow interpreted that to mean something else entirely.
I sighed loudly. “Yes, sorry, I am. I’m actually running a bit late,” I lied. I didn’t feel as though I could explain that the dead man who wasn’t dead had told me that he might die soon, so I’d had to do some amateur investigative work online and now I was headed off to stalk two officers of the law. As a matter of fact, thinking about it like that had made me lose some of my resolve.
“We know not to believe her, but Constance said that you were obsessing over a man and it was making you crazy,” Iris said with a straight face. “I’m sure that’s not true, but is there a man?”
I laughed a little. “I’m way too busy for a man, Iris.” I’m just on my way to stalk two constables to see if one of them was murdered, so I can save the handsome man who isn’t a ghost so I can stop him from being killed by the police, I thought. I realized then that, technically, a man was making me crazy, or at least act like I was.
“I’m not sure any of us could get a man at our age anyway; let’s face it,” Iris said. I took a moment to consider arguing with her, but knew that I’d not only get nowhere, I’d just waste time trying. Besides, I had a good idea what was about to happen.
“We are not!” Barbara yelled, right on cue. “Stop saying that, Iris. We’ll go out and I’ll show you how wrong you are.”
“There’s not anywhere to go out to in this town,” I teased.
“Well, we’ll go to a nearby town; they’re not far. We can stay in a hotel or something. It’ll be fun!” Barbara seemed to be serious about the idea, and I quickly tried to think of a way out of it.
“I’m not much for drinking, Barbara. You know how sick it can make me,” Iris chimed in, though I figured she was probably trying to get out of it as well.
“We can work this out later, but I really am in a hurry.” I stepped out into the front yard and closed the door behind me.
“Oh, fine, we’ll come back sometime soon. But don’t think I’m forgetting about this trip idea,” Barbara warned as we walked over to our cars.
“I won’t,” I said, flatly. I wouldn’t forget, but the idea scared and bored me in equal measure. A night out with Barbara sounded like a night I wouldn’t forget, as much as I’d want to. I waved goodbye to the pair and got in my car, setting my bag in the passenger seat.
The drive was long and uninteresting. The scenery was the same across the entire trip, but I was too busy thinking to notice it. I had the addresses written down and memorized, and my GPS would easily be able to guide me there. I’d have to park close enough to see activity at the front of the house, but far enough away not to arouse suspicion. These people were both constables, too, so they’d probably be more aware of suspicious things. A panicked thought crossed my mind that I could be arrested for this, but I realized I wasn’t doing anything wrong or illegal.
After a bit over an hour, I managed to find the first house. It was nestled in a long line of houses on a small, narrow street. Trees hung over the edges along both sides of the road, forming a kind of natural tunnel, though plenty of light managed to find its way through the leaves.
I parked about four houses away, facing the house of Constable Summers. I was parked in front of a huge metal fence, so I didn’t think I’d make the owners of this house suspicious, either. The house was simple, but it seemed quite large, with a well-kept garden. There was no car in the driveway, and from what I could see there didn’t appear to be any activity in the house.
Unfortunately, I soon learned that stake outs are never as funny or interesting as movies make them out to be. I considered that maybe I should have recruited a witty and light-hearted partner, but decided I had to settle for the radio.
It was a few hours before I saw any activity, when finally a car pulled into the driveway. A figure got calmly out of the car and walked up to the door, putting their keys in and entering normally. It was hard to make out any detail from where I was sitting, but the figure seemed to be a man, and the way he’d entered was totally nondescript and normal.
I sat and thought for a moment. I’d come all the way out here without really having a plan. There was a very good chance that Constable Decker would be at home as well. There also was a good chance the murder victim was someone else entirely, but still, this was all I had to go on. I figured I might as well check out Decker’s house before I headed home, either way.
It took me a little longer to find, but Decker’s house was a similar size to Summers’. The street his house was on was a lot more open, with fewer trees and a wider road. I managed to find another decent parking space, though I was worried that maybe it was a bit too conspicuous. I decided that spending a long time trying to find a better space would be much more suspicious now
that I’d already parked, so I waited. Then I waited some more.
After a couple of hours, a woman came out of Decker’s house and watered the garden nonchalantly before disappearing inside again. I waited a few more hours until after dark, but nobody came home. I decided that even though I’d brought spare clothes, it was still early enough to head home. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea, after all.
My thoughts were interrupted when I felt a presence. There seemed to be a recently deceased spirit around the house, though it wasn’t making any effort to come forward and contact me. I swallowed hard. It seemed pretty obvious who this spirit was, but I couldn’t risk assuming. I decided to come back and try to communicate with the spirit the following day.
Chapter 5
I was back outside Constable Decker’s house just before dawn the following morning. I parked the car under a large bottle brush tree and poured coffee from my thermos into my travel mug. I felt a whole lot better once the first mouthful had gone down. I was already feeling caffeine deficient, but I was usually asleep at this time of day so it wasn’t as if my body was expecting coffee.
I hoped Decker’s wife wouldn’t notice my car, given that it had been there the previous day. I hoped she wasn’t an observant type. If Decker had been the one who had been murdered, she would no doubt be on edge, and likely suspicious as well. I would have to tread carefully.
I had no idea the hours of shifts that police worked, and I wanted to make sure that Decker was indeed the one who had been murdered. If it was another officer, then I was wasting my time with my stake out of Decker’s house.
Stake out. I should have brought some donuts. I had the coffee, but on all the stake out movies I had seen on TV, they always had donuts and plenty of food. I had forgotten the donuts. In fact, I had forgotten to bring food at all. At least I had coffee, and that was the main thing.
