The Skinwalker Conspiracies - 02

by Jim Bernheimer

  “I suppose I should call and see if they finally fixed Pastor Duncan’s car. I might actually stay in some nice hotels on the way back, but it’s going to be lonely without you keeping me company.”

  “I’m sure you’ll manage just fine without me.” He said with a chuckle that changed into a coughing fit. I stood, unsteadily at first, and poured him a cup of water.

  “Do you think we made a difference?” I wasn’t sure why I asked. Virginia or Cassandra might have a different answer, but I was more interested in what Silas had to say.

  “Yes, I think you made a difference,” he answered, dropping the “we” part. “De Soto was finally brought to justice and the pieces of him may roam this land forever serving penance for his misdeeds.”

  “Looking forward to mentoring some troubled youths, Silas?”

  “The Von Eckels woman offered to pay for a top of the line rehabilitation clinic.”

  “She mentioned that to me. It was probably more geared toward buttering me up for her offer, but go ahead and take her up on it,” I said and explained the retainer arrangement before finishing, “Or do you think I should turn her down?”

  “No,” he answered taking his time and thinking about his choice of words, “Just keep your eyes open and be ready to resist temptation.”

  “I’ll just ask myself when I’m doing something if you would approve before I do it.”

  That got a toothy grin and we joked about a few more things before I noticed that he was getting tired. After refilling his glass of water and catching my reflection in the mirror, I excused myself to take a shower and clean up. Karla would be by at some point and being clean shaven and not stinking up the joint would probably improve my chances, or at least not hurt them.

  “Hey there! You’re up!” Karla sounded cheerful coming in. She looked good in a pair of white slacks and a thin blue blouse and with one of my duffel bags in her left hand. I spotted a brown wrist brace on the right one and frowned.

  “Oh this? It’s nothing,” she brushed it off casually and then set the bag on a chair. Karla walked to my bedside and gave me a hug, but no kiss. “I sprained it trying to stop Silas from falling. I dropped by his floor on the way up to check in on him, but he’s asleep.”

  “I saw him earlier,” I offered trying to read her body language. “He seems to be doing okay.”

  “I know, but I feel so bad him getting hurt and not being around when you woke up.”

  “Cassandra and Virginia said you were with your parents,” I said.

  “After fighting with my insurance company about the damage to my vehicle. Anyway, I’m not a big Cassandra fan these days. Virginia, I don’t even know, but I feel like I should,” Karla paused and then said, “No one else is here right now. Right?”

  “Just the two of us. Sorry about your kitchen floor.”

  “Good. Don’t tell her, but I gave Isabella some money because she wanted to get out of town.”

  “My lips are sealed,” I answered.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. I got home and saw the dog was awake, so I spent twenty minutes talking to it before I finally figured out you weren’t even there! Talk about being embarrassed.”

  I wondered what she had said to the pooch. He probably knows whether she was going to dump me just like Candy did.

  “So, how’d it go with your parents?”

  “Oh, let’s not talk about that,” she said. I translated that to mean not well.

  I figured that I might as well get this over with. So I manned up and asked, “So what do you want to talk about?”

  “I quit my job,” she said, deftly avoiding the question she must’ve known I was asking.

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s not like it was your fault,” she added. “When the story came out that I wasn’t in mortal danger, the manager started acting all angry and calling me irresponsible. When he told me I was being put on probation, I might have said where he could stick that probation.”

  It was hard not to smile at her presentation of the topic. “That’s sucks. You were really in danger.”

  “And if I ever tried to explain it, they’d really think I lost it. Oh well, what’s a girl to do? So when are they letting you out?”

  “Day after tomorrow. I need to check on our car sometime.”

  “Oh, I can take care of that. It was by the hotel you two were staying at right?”

  She sounded eager, but I couldn’t tell whether it was to help me or just help me leave town.

  “Did you eat yet, Mike? I could go grab something and bring it back?”

  I patted my stomach and made a face. “Hospital meatloaf and mashed potatoes – I probably shouldn’t put anything on top of that if I want to sleep tonight.”

  “Okay,” she said and pointed at the bag. “I grabbed a few of your things. I can bring your laptop tomorrow if you want?”

  “Nah, I don’t need it. I’m going to use the phone and call Mom in a bit. She should be getting home from work soon and even though she knows I’ll be fine, she won’t believe it until she hears my voice.”

  “Your mom sounds like a wonderful person.”

  “She is,” I said. “The best. So, what are your plans?”

  She hesitated and said, “I’m not sure. I don’t want to jump back into the workforce. A change of scenery is looking better all the time. My parents insist I come out and spend some time with them in California, but I don’t think so. They want me to go back to seeing a therapist. They’re acting like this whole thing with you is a relapse of what happened in Pennsylvania. I think I just need some time to clear my head and think.”

  In a twisted way, her parents were right. Though I doubted a therapist would be able to help her.

  “I understand,” the mystery meatloaf in my stomach executed a perfect back flip. This wasn’t going well.

  “You do? Good. So do you need anything else?”

  I shook my head.

  “Okay, I have to get back to the condo and feed the dog and put down some more newspaper. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  This time I got a hug and a kiss. Candy at least acted upset. There was only one person to turn to. Picking up the phone, I dialed Mom. If anyone wanted to call me a “momma’s boy,” I’d agree - after I kicked their ass.

  “All checked out?” Karla asked. Frankly, after she was a no show yesterday, I was surprised she hadn’t just left me cab fare and put my stuff out in the driveway. Sure, she’d called, but only to tell me that she’d spent the morning with errands and fighting her car insurance company, again, and the afternoon being interviewed by the homeowner’s insurance investigator about all the damage to the house we’d been staying at for an excuse. My only visitors yesterday had been Joe McKinney, who was now on his way to Tombstone and then Cassandra bringing by my first check and some traveling money. I’d made a supreme effort to be pleasant to Joe and his Skinwalker, because he’s a decent enough guy and a slightly less spectacular effort for my new employer, because she’s a bitch.

  “Yeah, I just finished saying goodbye to Silas. I thought I’d be flying back to ride with him on the plane when he’s ready to travel, but Cassandra is having one of her people take care of it and I’ll pick him up at Regan National.”

  “That’s good. Do you want to go get something to eat or go pick up the car?”

  “The car,” I answered, trying to push through the big old steaming pile of awkward this was fast becoming. “I can just eat on the road.”

  “Oh okay,” she said. “Are you alright? I thought you’d be happy to be leaving; considering you keep saying how much you hate being in hospitals.”

  “Do you really want me to answer?” I snapped back.

  She looked a bit clueless. “Yeah, tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Part of the reason I hate hospitals is that I keep getting dumped in them.”

  “What?” She said with a dumbfounded look on her face and covered her open mouth with her fingertips. “Oh my God! You thought �
�� You thought….”

  She started laughing! I shit you not, she started laughing at me and I struggled to contain both embarrassment and anger. Everything I’d been through and now I was just standing there like an idiot teenager who didn’t get the girl!

  Scooping up my duffel bag, I stepped around her muttering, “Yeah, I thought we had something. Sorry.”

  I made it as far as the doorframe when her hand caught mine and stopped me. Turning, I wondered how much worse this was going to get. Instead, I got an armful of Karla. She threw her arms around me and hugged me tight.

  “Why did you think I was dumping you?”

  “You’re not?”

  “No!” Karla said. “I thought you were beating yourself up over Silas getting hurt and in a funk. I was giving you space, dufus.”

  I felt embarrassed and now was angry with myself. “Oh, but you didn’t come yesterday. You said you didn’t want to get caught up in me.”

  She pulled back and put her face right in front of mine and said, “Lots of things happen that I don’t necessarily want. This one isn’t that bad. All those errands were getting a friend to watch my place and picking up my car when it’s done, buying a dog carrier, and making sure all my bills were paid up. The trip I was talking about is going with you, silly!”

  “You want to come along?” I was trying to process all this.

  Karla was smiling. “I thought that was kind of obvious. I wanted a change of scenery and a chance to clear my thoughts. Driving across the country has a lot of scenery and fresh air right?”

  “You’re serious?”

  “Mike, you’re the only one who knows what really happened. You’re the only one I can really talk to about it without insisting I talk to a professional. You saved my life … twice, and you’re a great guy!”

  She punctuated her proclamation with a kiss. Not just a little kiss, but an “oh why don’t you two get a room already” kiss. I was in no position to argue. Naturally, this wasn’t what I’d expected. Still, I couldn’t help wondering if wanting to be my girlfriend was a bigger reason to seek out a mental health professional.

  “You’re not worried about the ghosts?” This was the polar opposite of what I’d imagined.

  “A little,” she confessed. “But I used to go with Darren and the others looking for them just for fun and to help them. From what you’ve told me, most are just looking for some help. Sure, some of them might scare me a little, but you’re the Ferryman. The bad ones should be afraid of you.”

  Wishing I could bottle some of her enthusiasm for those days when this power seems more like a curse, I put my head on her shoulder and said, “I’m sorry. I’m such a pessimist. Forgive me.”

  She used her free hand and fussed with my hair. “Oh, I suppose you’re forgiven. So can we stop and get something to eat or are you still bound and determined to hit the open road?”

  I slid my free hand into her left one and said, “I’m not in such a hurry anymore.”

  We’d had so much fun talking at lunch that we then had to hurry and pick up Pastor Duncan’s car and drop off Karla’s loaner before things closed. By the time I pulled into Karla’s driveway, I’d completely forgotten about Virginia’s last words. She’d said that someone might be waiting for me. So, I was just as surprised as my new girlfriend, if it wasn’t too early to call her that, when I saw the hot and tired looking black dog on her front stoop.

  “Isn’t that,” she started and trailed off.

  “Probably,” I answered. “But it could be some other ghost De Soto stuck inside or even one of his own copies. Stay here while I check.”

  I got out and popped the plastic top on the bottle of iron filings in my pocket of my jeans. “Hey Lee. Is that you? Bark twice if it is.”

  The lab barked twice. He’s had a few days to practice.

  “Okay then,” I said debating on whether or not to actually free him. “I’m going to come up and touch you. We should be able to talk with my hand on your coat. Bark just once.”

  One bark answered.

  My thumb put the top back on the bottle and clicked it shut. Blackie sat on his haunches while I approached. Virginia’s vague prediction had made me more comfortable with the situation.

  Putting my left hand on the fur, I said, “What’ve you been up to, Lee?”

  “Funny Ross,” he answered. “De Soto put me in here. Just get me the hell out!”

  I filled him in on the scattering of Hernando De Soto and finished with, “What’s next for you, Lee?”

  “There’re more of them out there.”

  “You’re going back to Dallas.”

  “Yes, now quit stalling, Ross!”

  Using my tweezers, I reached in, but I couldn’t hold on to him. He kept slipping out of my grasp.

  “This is no good,” I said. “It’s too damn hot out here for this. Let’s go inside. I can get out of my body and pull you out if I have to.”

  Inside Karla’s condo, I saw Lucky wet the floor again at least twice and didn’t look that happy to see Blackie. I took the dog over and let him finish off the food in the bowl and practically tore into the water dish.

  Sitting on the couch, I slowly emerged from my body and went over to Oswald.

  “Alright, here we go,” I reached in just like I’d done at the arena and pulled. Lee started to come out but he and the dog both started screaming in agony. Something was clearly wrong.

  “Let me go! Let me go!” I was still trying to figure out what was happening, when Blackie growled and bit at my leg. I really felt it!

  Taking the hint, I let go. The two snapped back together like they were elastic. Karla and the beagle both expressed their concerns. I backed away until I could be certain Lee was back in control and then I touched him.

  “No! I can’t be stuck in here! The bitch has to be lying!”

  “What bitch?”

  “The fortune teller, Virginia Poe.” He yelled.

  “What did she say, Lee?”

  “She said I was the only one who could free myself and I wasn’t ready, yet. Do something!”

  I recalled Virginia having a hand injury and said, “You bit her didn’t you?”

  “Of course I did!”

  Turning, I walked back to my body and climbed in. There was a phantom pain in my leg where I’d just been bit and told Karla what happened.

  “Lee,” I said. “I don’t think I can free you without killing the dog and that might destroy you in the state you’re in.”

  Oswald growled.

  “I don’t really like it either, but I can’t do it. Either De Soto did something different this time, or Virginia is right and you’re the one holding yourself prisoner in there.” Other possibilities raced through my mind, maybe he was afraid that with De Soto gone, he’d pass on the moment he left the dog. It was too bad I couldn’t take him to that Dog Whisperer guy I’d seen on cable and let him figure it out.

  “We might be able to find another ghost who can get you out.” I thought about Eva in Pennsylvania. She also had the power to deal with him if he tried to destroy her and a ready-made prison to hold him if he somehow did.

  Lee jumped on the couch and I touched the side of the dog.

  “Fine, take me to someone who can get me out,” he said.

  It was too late to leave by the time we got everything sorted out, so we stayed the night. Karla snuggled up against me in her bed.

  She smiled and traced a finger along my chest while saying, “It’s not strange enough that you can possess one of your dogs, but your other one is Lee Harvey Oswald. Maybe I really did go insane and I’m locked up in a rubber room somewhere?”

  “If it’s any consolation, I’m probably in the next cell,” I chuckle while making my reply. As shared hallucinations go, this was pretty good.

  “Kiss me.”

  I did as she asked and said, “What was that for?”

  She laughed and stretched out next to me. “It’s more fun than a pinch and works just as well.”
<
br />   “Good,” I concluded. “Besides, this is too crazy for even insane people.”

  “They sleep in the bathroom or we get two rooms.”

  I looked at her until she explained, “Mike, I’m not going to do what we just did in front of your beagle much less in front of Lee Harvey Oswald. That is so not happening.”

  My life wasn’t too bad. I hadn’t salvaged my relationship with my father. He was still due for a World’s Greatest Asshole coffee mug, but I’d learned things that neither of the Poe brothers had and managed to avoid dying in the process. Against all odds, I buried the hatchet with Cassandra Von Eckels, who was prepared to pay me a large amount of money to do something I was fated to do anyway.