by Casey Lane
“Don’t do that,” I said as I rubbed my palms across the white blanket that covered my legs.
“Do what?”
I stared up at him. “Pity me, don’t. I’m not a wounded animal. It is what it is.”
“I wasn’t trying…”
I interrupted him. “Yes, you were, and I get it, trust me, I do. I’d probably be the same way but there’s nothing you can do, so there’s no reason to get emotional.”
He pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed. “You’re so…”
“Young?” I bit my lip and released it. “I’m twenty-six.”
“It’s just so, you know.” He added.
“Tragic? Probably, but my whole life has been one tragedy to the next so I guess I should have seen this one coming.”
He pulled out his phone and stared at it. “I’m sorry about your mother and your brother.”
I shook my head. “You should stop snooping.”
He lowered his phone. “I investigate everyone; it’s what I do.”
“Then find out who killed Father Keith.”
“Halo, I told you what happened.”
I shook my head. “Listen, if you want to do a dying girl a favor then find out what really happened because I’m telling you, Father Keith would never do that. He just wouldn’t.”
He stood up and tucked his phone in his pocket. “Okay, I’ll do that.”
He started to walk away. “I’m serious, and you can start with Marvin, people call him Vinny, he’s a pimp that works on 183rd.”
He stopped and looked back at me. “I know who that scumbag is.”
“Everyone does, unfortunately,” I added.
He narrowed his eyes. “What happened between the two of them?”
I rubbed the side of my neck and hissed as the needle shifted on my hand. I lowered it and glanced back at him. “Well, it was more about what happened between Vinny and me.”
“Tell me.”
I sighed. “Well, I sort of stabbed him.”
The detective closed the door and turned back to face me. “You did what?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “He was beating up a girl in front of my apartment building, and I went down with a butcher’s knife. One thing led to another, and I stabbed him in the side.”
“Did you kill him?” he said through gritted teeth with a look of surprise on his face.
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “I wish, but no, it was just a flesh wound, but Father Keith interrupted us and called Vinny by his birth name, Marvin…he called him Marvin, and it embarrassed him. He ran off after the girl, and I came back inside, then you woke me up, and that’s all that I know.”
He held up his hand. “First of all, we don’t run around stabbing people.”
I nodded to him. “Got it.”
“Especially violent mobsters like Vinny.”
I laughed. “He’s pretty tame.”
Parker tilted his head. “He’s suspected of money laundering, kidnapping, prostitution, and murder.”
“See? I’m telling you, he did this or had someone do it for him.”
Parker shoved his hands into his pockets. “Then why not you?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Me, what?”
He pulled his hand out and waved it as he spoke. “You stabbed him, not the priest.”
“Vinny and I have a history.”
He rubbed his chin. “What kind of history.”
I fidgeted with my hands.
His eyebrows rose. “Oh.”
I stared out the window. “It was years ago, just another bad decision. Way before he became a pimp and a gangster, we were teenagers, but he liked me, a lot. Maybe that’s why he didn’t come after me.”
Parker scanned the room and eyed the clock on the wall. “Maybe.”
The silence sat between us until the door opened up and a nurse rushed in with a tray in hand. I grinned when I realized that it was Julia.
“Halo, oh my God, I just heard that you were here, honey.”
She brought the tray over and sat it down, quickly taking a seat on the side of the bed and pressing her fingers against my wrist, staring at her watch. I grinned, and Parker made his way to the door.
“Detective?” I asked.
He stopped and looked back at me. “Yes?”
“You know where I live.”
He nodded to me. “Yes, I do.”
* * *
The cab pulled up to the large black gate and came to a stop. A security guard stepped up to the window, and the cabby held up his ID, and then I held up mine.
It had been years since I had been here but I needed to come and bury this before they buried me. It was on my list of things, a list I hated to make, but knew I had to finish.
The guard returned after plugging our information into his database, and we were allowed through to the visitor's section of the prison. The cab driver parked, and I got out, momentarily staring up at the large facility that sat against the blackening sky. It reminded me of something medieval in nature. There were large gray stones stacked together which created a fortress of sorrow. I hated this place as much as I loved it. I always felt like my father deserved exactly what he received, but if it had been up to me, he wouldn’t be alive.
I spent years in therapy that at this point seemed wasted.
My dad sat on death row, but with the help of the slick lawyer that handled his case, he had managed to extend his life far past the due date for his execution. I hated that and him, along with the lawyer who claimed he had found Jesus and was now saved and serving humanity for the greater good.
Lies. All of it. My dad wouldn’t know Jesus from the devil himself.
My father was the furthest thing from saved but I hadn’t seen him since his miraculous transformation. This visit was to settle an old debt that he owed me, one in which I would be able to say everything I wanted and fear nothing in return.
I placed my belongings on a tray and watched them move along on a conveyor belt. Then I stepped forward and made my way through the arched metal detector. Finally, I was stopped by a woman with a hard facial expression and a large black wand. She waved it over my chest, down my legs and then behind me as I held my arms out to my sides. She gave me a nod, and I reached for my phone and wallet. She stepped forward.
“You can get your phone back when you come out.”
I didn’t argue. I may find myself fearless at times with my fate sealed, but she was a brute and twice my size. It made my stomach tighten and my jaw clench.
I offered a submissive nod. “No problem.”
“Check in,” she added as she cocked her head and eyed the large marble counter behind her. I tucked my wallet into my back pocket and left my phone behind. I started to walk toward the desk and then craned my neck to look upward at the massive glass dome looming over me. This building resembled an airport, and the design was hauntingly beautiful. I’m sure it was the last of the pleasantries this place had to offer.
I let out a small moan when I ran into the counter. My nervous laughter followed, but the woman on the opposite side didn’t find it amusing. I quickly cleared my throat and gave her a once over.
“I’m here to visit my father.”
“Name?” she asked with the arch of her perfectly shaped brows that rested above her soft brown eyes.
“Halo, Halo Bay.” My voice cracked, and she stared up at me.
“His name, not yours.”
I rubbed the side of my neck. “Oh, yeah, sorry. It’s um, Harrison, Harrison Bay.”
She hesitated and allowed her eyes to rush over my nose and mouth.
“You look like him.” Her words stung and I shifted my stance while swallowing the bile collecting in the back of my throat. I knew that I did and I hated it. Both my brother and I ended up looking like my dad, which was a horrible reminder of his existence and our connection to him.
I spoke defiantly. “Yeah, well, that’s not a good thing.”
The edge of her mouth curled then
faded. “You’ll need to wear this.”
She handed me a white lanyard with a stiff square card attached to the bottom of it. The word ‘VISITOR’ was typed out in bold black font. I took it and slid it over my head and watched the card swing below my breasts.
“We’ll need you to sign this release form.”
I narrowed my eyes as a white clipboard with a few pieces of paper sat before me. A clear pen was attached to it with a thick silver chain. I picked it up and stared at it.
“Release form?” I asked.
She grinned and waved a hand.
“This states that you came here of your own free will and understand the dangers associated with being on the premises.”
I started to read the first page. “Like what?”
She laughed. “Riots, kidnapping, murder, rape.”
I glared up at her with my lips ajar. She leaned forward. “This is a prison filled with the most violent offenders in the country. By entering this place you have to understand that the prison is not responsible for your safety if something were to happen.”
I nodded and grabbed the pen. I tried to act like it didn’t bother me, although it did. “I get that, but have you ever had things like that happen before?”
She turned and eyed the back wall that had quite a few pictures framed on it. She spun around to face me with a stern look on her face. “You see all the men behind me on the wall?”
I nodded, quickly inspecting each one. “Yes.”
“They all died here at the hands of the inmates. Terribly violent.” The guard leaned forward and whispered. “Closed casket funerals. Every. Single. One.”
I lowered the clipboard and began to rethink my decision. She tapped the marble with her nails, and I gawked at her hand until she laid it out flat and started to laugh. Her annoying chuckle echoed in the room. I blinked a few times, unable to understand the humor in anything that she had said.
“I’m just messin’ with you.” she thumbed behind her. “All those guys are retired, but still, you need to sign the paper.” She gave me a quick nod and a wink.
I swallowed hard and wanted to laugh but I couldn’t. She leaned forward. “But if something were to happen while you’re here this exonerates the prison of all responsibility.”
I flipped the first page and read the first sentence.
“In the case of rioting, it is understood that you could become a casualty and that we do not negotiate with inmates.”
I paused and bit my lip. She winked at me.
“Sign it, or you don’t go in.” The female guard at the metal detector laughed under her breath. My pride kicked in. I shuffled my feet and held my breath, slowly letting it out while I signed it. I set the clipboard between us, and she gave me a nod. “Take a seat.” She peered at the long line of chairs behind me.
I glanced back. “How long do I have to wait?” I asked.
“Until you get cleared.” She added as she jerked the clipboard down in front of her.
I pointed at the metal detector. “But I…”
She interrupted me. “Take a seat.”
I shut my mouth and did as I was told. Fighting with her would be fruitless, and I was at her mercy. Any outbursts would see me to the door, and I knew it. She already knew who my dad was so I’m sure I’m on some sort of shit list. He’s a horrible person, regardless of his new found religion. I’m sure he would allow me to see the real him, as he always had because he enjoyed tormenting me.
He always said that I reminded him of my mother and he hated her with a passion.
I just wish that I would have looked more like her.
I sat down and crossed my legs over, then readjusted…then finally, adjusted again. I stared at my hands, gently folded on the tops of my thighs until a shadow caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I glanced over, and my lips remained parted while a smoky shadow slowly transformed into a solid form. I could see a head, then shoulders, a long black trench coat, and laced up black boots that held the bottom of his skinny black pants in place at the base of each leg. His hair was jet black, thick and brushed back on the top of his head, but a chunk of it swung down and brushed across his forehead. I couldn’t see his face because he headed straight across the room and then paused. I sat straight up in my chair. Black shades covered his eyes and clung to his Roman-like nose. His lips were crimson red, and his skin was pale, almost a ghostly white. I tilted my head, unable to look away and he cracked a grin, exposing his teeth. I narrowed my eyes when I spotted the abnormality. It seemed as if he had fangs, but how could that be? Nothing has fangs but animals, then again, people don’t usually materialize out of a black fog, either.
I glared at the guard in disbelief while she flipped through a crime magazine. Then my attention returned to the unbelievable scene playing out before me. I expected hallucinations, but nothing quite so fantastic in nature.
He reached down and flipped his coat open, grabbing a glock that was strapped to the side of his thigh. He swung around, and his coat trailed behind him, fanning out like a sharpened blade. He lowered to one knee and took dead aim on something that I couldn’t see but a terrible feeling rushed over me, and the smell of sulfur filled the room. I placed the back of my hand over my nose and gasped.
The stench burned my eyes and forced my vision to blur. The man squeezed the trigger, and the sound of the gunshot echoed in my mind. I could see the bullet exit the end of his gun and whiz through the air. It was glowing gold with odd symbols etched into the side of it. I turned in my chair and spotted a giant beast standing across the room, which was this mysterious man’s intended target. It had blackened skin that was flaking off and floating into the air as long glowing red fissures ran the length of its bulging arms and oversized chest. I took another short breath, and my eyes widened in horror as I took in the sheer size of it and peered up at the multiple heads randomly placed around its thick neck nestled between its massive shoulders. The cracks in the monster's skin seemed to be smoldering like volcanic rock. Spewing shards of molten lava to the floor.
The first bullet ripped through the forehead of one of the many heads, and it exploded only to be replaced by another that quickly bloomed from the gaping hole. It clenched its fists in rage and let out a terrible howl that forced me to cover both of my ears. I shut my eyes, trying to ward off the nightmare but the stench remained. I could hear another gunshot, then another and I opened one eye to see the beast stumble back. The man rushed forward, fangs exposed and gun raised as he continued to fire. Then he dissipated into the black fog and the beast along with him.
“What?!” I cried out as I felt a hand on my shoulder and was torn from the vision. I fell from the chair and hit the cold hard floor with a thud.
A strong hand extended toward me. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
My vision corrected itself, and a kind face came into view. It was Parker Presley. I accepted his help and slid my hand into his. He pulled me up, and I swayed on my feet for just a moment longer. He held onto me until the dizzy spell ended.
“Are you okay?” His eyes lit over me with concern.
I pulled my hand back and broke the connection between us. “Yeah, I uh, I must have fallen asleep.”
He grinned as I took a step back from him. “You sleep with your eyes wide open?” He asked with skepticism.
I rubbed the side of my neck and lied. “Oh, yeah...it’s weird, I know.”
He leaned in. “So, would you like some company?”
I cleared my throat and scanned the room. The woman still sat behind the desk, and the other one was manning the metal detector. There was no fanged assassin or beast from hell. I let out a laugh. He narrowed his eyes.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him, and the small wrinkle between his eyebrows deepened. He shoved his hands into his pockets, and I noticed his suit and tie.
“Business.” He added without any further explanation.
I looked him over. If that’s all he wanted t
o offer up, then so be it.
“And you?” he asked.
“Business,” I said, and I guess it was true. I would hate to think of seeing my dad as anything but. It certainly wasn’t out of grief or longing.
He held his hand out to the seat behind me, and I sat down, settling in and hoping that the hallucinations would stop. I was never one to believe in much of anything, including supernatural beings like vampires and demons. But the visions had left me shaken.
First in the hospital.
Then the train.
Now, this.
I hate to think what would come next.
“So,” Parker said as his hand fell on the armrest. I jumped with a yelp, and he immediately reacted.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You seem unsettled. Can I get you a bottled water or something?”
I cleared my throat. “Water would be awesome, thank you.” I nodded to him, breaking off eye contact.
I studied the room with distrust, expecting some winged beast to bust through the skylight with a vampire hot on his trail showering us in shards of glass and metal.
But nothing happened, everything had returned to normal.
He stood up and made his way over to the vending machine. He deposited his money, and I adjusted in the hard plastic chair. Nothing was comfortable here, most of all me. Everything had sharp angles and seemed so sterile. I could handle it in the hospital because the people who filled it made the rest fade away, but this place was cold and callus. Haunting. The sweat rose on the surface of my skin, and I wiped my brow with the back of my hand. The chill followed.
“Here you go.”
I peered up at Parker, and he jiggled the bottled water in front of me. Then he produced a pack of peanuts. I took both without any resistance.
“Thanks,” I said as I settled back into the chair and lifted the pack to my mouth. Parker took it away from me with a grin.
“They have a small perforated edge, so you don’t have to do that.”
“Germs,” I said softly, and he nodded.
