"He's a real winner, huh? I bet you're right. Those babies gotta be worth a buck or two."
"He probably boils baby rabbits for fun."
I scrolled through his information. "It doesn't appear so. It would appear that he prefers to sodomize young boys." I pointed the mouse to the section that listed the reason for his arrest.
Mel scowled. "Disgusting pig. Someone ought to cut off his wanker."
"Yup. And sell his teeth so the victims can have the cash for therapy."
"At least."
I clicked on the next photo and we both squirmed in our seats when the image popped up. The man had two tattoos shaped like the letter x over each of his eyes and scars on the rest of his face. "Assault with a deadly weapon and rape," Mel said. "Do these people not have hobbies?"
I tilted my head at her.
"Maybe if they had a hobby, they wouldn't be out committing crimes."
"I'm thinking crime is their hobby."
"That's disturbing."
"Pretty much," I said.
After scrolling through over two hundred mug shots of filthy scumbags who'd been arrested for rape, assault, murder, armed robbery, and a plethora of other criminal activities, I was disillusioned and ready to quit. "Five more and I'm done."
He was the fourth. "Holy crap." I kicked Mel's foot. "I found him."
She rubbed her foot. "Ouch. Tevin Hoover. Fourteen. Arrested for vandalism three months ago. He painted graffiti on a bridge. At least he didn't do something to a person."
I nodded.
"Some of that graffiti's pretty cool," she said.
"Some." I stared at the picture. "Fourteen. So young."
Mel stood. "I'll get Aaron."
I nodded, my eyes glued to his name. "Tevin Hoover. That's your name, kid."
Aaron scrolled through the boy's information. "I guess it's time to make a bereavement call."
"That can't be fun," Mel said.
He shook his head. "It's not. Especially in a case like this."
"No one wants to hear their child is dead, but I imagine it's worse when it's suicide," I said.
He nodded. "Most don't believe it, even if they leave a note."
"Do a lot do that?" Mel asked. "Leave a note?"
"Some, but I'm not sure what the statistics are. Usually kids don't, though nowadays we're seeing more of them do a podcast prior to taking their life. Some even post it on YouTube." He focused on the screen again. "From the looks of his information, I'm guessing he didn't do either."
"That's so sad," she said. "Maybe he'll remember what happened, and you'll be able to give the family closure."
"Maybe. Tevin seems to think it's more important to focus on the girl." I shifted toward Aaron. "Which reminds me. Is there something I can scan through to see if I recognize her? Might be worth a shot."
He grabbed the mouse and clicked through screens on the computer. "Sure. Here's missing persons. Though if she's not been reported, you won't find her on here."
"Why wouldn't she be reported?" Mel asked.
"Some kids run away, and because of their family situation, their parents don't report them. Unfortunately not every home environment has a loving, supportive family."
Mel's eyelids half closed, and she frowned. "That's horrible."
"There's a lot of horrible stuff that happens in the world," he said. "I've adjusted to it, but there are times when I'm still shocked by what people do. Suicide though, is especially tough because we all think someone should have known, should have been able to do something. Sadly that's not often the case."
"I can't imagine how that must be for you," she said.
"Okay, while you two bond, I'm gonna peruse through these next billion photos and see if I recognize the girl." I scooted my chair closer to the desk. "Have fun."
Aaron laughed. "I've gotta go anyway. When you're done, just let one of the guys around here know and they'll let you out."
"Thanks," I said.
Mel made a few moaning sounds. After Aaron left, I made my own sounds—the gagging kind.
"You're just jealous because he likes me better than you," she said.
"Yeah, that's it. It's got nothing to do with the sugary sweet crap dripping from your lips, or the way you batted your eyelashes at him. None of that is gag-worthy."
"I do not bat my eyelashes."
"Yeah, and I don't see ghosts."
"Feelin' the love from the BFF at the moment."
I batted my eyelashes at her and moaned, "Love you."
She whacked my shoulder. "Love you, too."
We searched through the missing persons photos but none matched the girl in the white gown. After an hour we'd finished and I was depressed. "This sucks. She's not in any of these."
"No, it doesn't," Mel said. "It means the girl isn't missing. That's good news."
She had a point. "Well, yeah, but it sucks that I don't know who she is."
"Have you actually asked her?"
"She doesn't stick around long enough."
"Then the next time you see her, that's what you do first thing, before she has a chance to disappear."
"It's not as easy as it sounds."
She gave me a look, the kind that said she thought I was full of crap. "Whatever. I have faith in you." She got up. "Let's go. Nick'll have the kids home soon and I wanna be there to gloat about him giving me half of his pension."
"You're not resentful at all, are you?" I winked.
"Nope, not in the least." She wrapped her arm around my shoulder. "The Cheater doesn't deserve that much emotion from me."
"True dat," I said.
CHAPTER FIVE
TWO DAYS HAD PASSED without any contact from Tevin or the girl in the white gown. I'd even tried to contact Tevin with the good news but he ignored me.
"You'd think Tevin would at least check to see if I'd done anything for the girl since she's so important to him," I complained to my mother. We were in my closet, me separating laundry, and her hovering and snickering because she didn't have to do laundry for the rest of eternity.
"You oughta put some of that stain remover and a dab of va-nigger on that black shirt of Jake's," she said. "Rub it in real good like this." She pretended to rub her hands together. "And put some muscle into it. Ain't that why you use those crazy weights you got?"
"I don't lift weights to help with laundry. I do it to keep healthy." I tossed the shirt onto the pile of darks. "And it's vin-a-ger, Ma. Not va-nigger."
"I'm just sayin'. You rub the stain with the va-nigger and that remover and poof! It's gone."
"Vin-a-ger."
"That's what I said. Va-nigger."
I tossed another shirt onto the pile and plopped down onto the floor to separate an already full basket. "You lived in America your whole life, and only twenty-five years of it with your Italian-accented parents. How could you not learn to say vinegar correctly? Vin-a-ger. There is no racial slur in the word, and I'm pretty sure you know that."
"Maybe it's you that says it wrong."
"Yes, me and the rest of America."
"Well, Italy was around first, so that means something, don't it?"
No sense in fighting that losing battle. "I guess it doesn't matter if Tevin ever remembers anything now, does it?"
"Why not?"
"Because we found out who he is…was. His parents know now, so they're going to be able to give him a proper burial."
"But the boy still doesn't know what happened to him, or who he is. He's gotta know that or he'll never cross over. You gotta help him with that. Tell him who he is. Tell him what happened."
"You told me to wait."
She flung her hand. "That was years ago."
"It was two days ago."
"Well, time's different in the afterlife. You can tell him now."
"Geesh, can you be any more indecisive?"
"I'm in spirit guide training. I just tell you what I learn. That don't mean I know it all or that you gotta do exactly what I say."
"Wait. Did I just hear you say you don't know everything?"
"I meant about this kid, is all. Mostly I know everything else."
"Ah, got it."
"I'm very smart."
"So you tell me. Anyway, I already mentioned that he jumped, so he knows that much."
She floated over to my shelf full of purses, examining the ones not in bags. "You got a lot of nice stuff here. You got good taste, like your Ma."
"Besides, how'm I supposed to tell him who he is when he won't come when I call?"
"He will. You just ain't doin' it right. You've called other spirits before anyway so what's the big deal?"
She was right. I had, but I wasn't interested in making that a regular thing.
She attempted to feel my red leather Coach purse but her hand swiped right through it. "Well crap. I just wanna feel the leather. Is that too much to ask?" She spun in a circle and then focused on the purse and it flew off of the shelf and smacked me on the top of the head. "Whoops."
I put it back on the shelf. "You did that on purpose."
"Did not."
I raised my eyebrows. "Uh huh. Sure."
"I didn't. I just wanted to touch it, so I focused on it. I didn't think it'd fly off the shelf. Hittin' you in the head was like icing on the cake though. Just sayin'."
"You need to learn how to control that."
"And you gotta learn to control talking to the dead. Come on. Call the boy. He'll come."
"How do you know?"
She shook her head. "Because I'm your mother. That's how."
"Geesh. So testy." I called Tevin, but he didn't show. "Told you."
"You can't call for the boy usin' his name if he doesn't remember who he is."
Good point. "Okay, so what should I do, just say something like, hey kid, come on down. We gotta chat?"
Tevin appeared in front of me.
"That'll work," Ma said.
Tevin balled his fists. "You git dat fizzle fixed? Make her aight?"
Fizzle?
"Hold on. Lemme talk before you get your undies all up in a bunch, okay?"
"I ain't wearin' no undies. I ain't no prissy fizzle."
Ah, fizzle meant girl. At least I thought it did.
I ran my hand through my hair. "I didn't mean it like that. Jesus, it's an expression. You know, sort of like the slang you're talking to me in." I rubbed my temples. "Listen, I know who you are and I thought you might want to know."
"I to' you I got dis and you 'posed to be helpin' da fizzle. Damn."
"Yeah, you have it all right. You don't even know your own name, Tevin Hoover."
"I knew dat."
"You did not."
Ma coughed. "He's a kid, remember?"
"Sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."
"How you know dat?"
"I spent a few hours at the police station going through mug shots and found yours. Vandalism."
"I must be good if da po po arrest me."
"Or just dumb enough to get caught."
Ma floated next to me and gave me a face I recognized from my teenage years, one that said she wasn't playing around. "You wanna see your parents?" she asked Tevin.
"Ain't like I knows 'em."
"But maybe seeing them will help you remember, and then you can move on," I said.
"Ain't got nothin' to move on to. Don't need to see no family. I got all I need ri' here." He pointed to his chest.
His attitude pushed my buttons. "Seriously? From what I can tell, you were a lost soul alive and now you're one dead, too. How's that workin' for ya?"
Ma hovered between us. "Ah Madone. You two are a pain in my butt. Angela, you're gonna take this boy to his parents so you can tell them he's okay, and they can get on with their lives. And you?" She pushed her forefinger through Tevin. "You're gonna go with her and act like a respectable young man, you hear me? Flyin' around actin' like you own the world. I don't know what's with you teenagers today, but you're a bunch of hooligans, you ask me." She muttered on. "Talkin' out your butts like you don't give a rat's patoochie who hears ya. And the respect? What happened to the respect? I'm an elder for cryin' out loud, you oughta—"
She was on a roll. "Ma?"
She did a one-eighty toward me. "What?"
"You're rambling."
Tevin snorted. "Old lady got balls."
I nodded. "You should have seen her when she was alive."
Ma harrumphed. "Old lady? See? No respect."
I held up a hand. "She's right though, Tevin. You really do need to go to your family. It's not only about you, and you may remember something…something may jog your memory if you go there. And probably you should apologize to my mother for calling her an old lady. It is pretty disrespectful."
He groaned but nodded. "Sorry."
It was a start.
Ma stuck out her chin. "I'm not old. I'm like a fine wine, aged to perfection. Just not that cheap stuff you drink."
"Huh?" Tevin asked.
I waved him off. "Never mind."
"What about da fizzle? You gon' help her?"
I chewed on my fingernail. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." I picked up the pile of clothes on the floor and tossed them into the empty bushel. "For now, let's focus on you."
He hung his head. "Aight."
"That's my boy," Ma said.
"We can go to your house in a few hours," I said. "I just need to get a few things done first."
"You know where he lives?" Ma asked.
"I'll text Aaron. He'll give me the address."
So I did, and I texted Mel to see if she could come too. The address wasn't in a great part of town, and I needed all of the support I could get. Aaron said he'd make sure an officer was in the neighborhood, at least parked down the street. When I asked him how he'd explain me, he said he had it covered, whatever that meant.
She responded to my text right away. "Yes, but come in when you get here. I wanna to show you my latest discovery."
***
I smirked at the site on her computer screen. "Plenty of Fish? As in, there's plenty of fish in the sea?"
"Yup." She clicked on the available men tab. "It's filled with all kinds of interesting men just waiting for me to click on them. And it's free."
"Free's good."
"Ah yes, free is good in most circumstances but in this one, you get what you don't pay for. You know what I mean?" She clicked on a tattoo-laden man wearing four gold chains and a stained wife-beater shirt. "This is Paid-To-Get-Stoned. He's not interested in a relationship and has three kids, all from different women, and all born in February of the same year."
"Oh my."
She clicked on his photo and up popped all sorts of priceless tidbits. "Oh, I forgot to mention that he's a beach bum, too."
I scanned his information. "But it says he lives in Atlanta."
"Uh huh."
"There's no beach in Atlanta."
"Exactly. Check out his education."
"It says some high school. Does that mean he went some of the time or that he went to some high school?"
She shrugged.
"Looks like a winner to me."
"Wait. It gets better." She clicked on another photo. "Guido—the name he picked by the way, not what I call him though it's definitely fitting. Guido here wants to date, but would prefer the casual hook up with hot sex."
Guido was a thirty-nine-year-old, bald, Christian man. Yes, his profile said he was a Christian. What Guido lacked in hair on his head, he made up for on his chest. "Why must he be shirtless?"
"Because you can't surprise a woman with that kind of body rug. It's just not right."
"Do some women find that attractive?"
"I guess but I'm not one of them." She shivered. "It's like he's covered in pubic hair. Can you imagine one of those getting stuck in your teeth?"
"You had to go there, didn't you?"
"I'm single. It's important to consider every possible scenario."
"I'm sure there'
s a decent man on one of these sites. You're just gonna have to do a lot of searching."
"There are currently seventy-two pages of men in my preferred age group from the metro Atlanta area on this site alone. Most either just want to get laid or are into some freaky bondage thing or think there's a beach in Atlanta. And let's be honest, what are the odds that a good portion of them are also married?"
I pressed my lips together and nodded. "Probably pretty high."
She pushed her chair away from the table. "I'm never going on a date. I'm gonna end up that creepy old lady who dies in her house and gets eaten by her ten cats before anyone realizes she's dead."
"I'll make sure to check on you every day. I promise."
"Thanks. I appreciate that."
"And if you die before me, I'm sure you'll tell me right away," I said.
"Truth."
We scanned a few more gems of men on the site and Mel's mood took a dive. Before it got any worse, I clicked off the Internet and suggested we leave.
In the car, I called Ma and Tevin, by his name too, and they appeared in the backseat. I introduced Tevin to Mel.
"She see me?" he asked.
"Nope. She's just your average human. No superpowers."
"If I had a superpower, I'd want to be able to transport myself anywhere," Mel said.
"I can already do that," Ma said.
"Me too," Tevin said.
"They can already do that," I told Mel.
"Ghosts get to do all the good stuff."
"Ain't that the truth?"
"It ain't," Ma said. "You can drink coffee. Ah Madone, how I miss coffee."
"We can drink coffee and they can't. Ma misses coffee. In case I haven't relayed that message one of the other billion times she's mentioned it."
"But she can make stuff fly across a room."
"And plummel me on the head with it, too."
"Seriously?" Mel asked.
"Uh huh."
"That's awesome. I love your mom."
"I think you've mentioned that before."
"Oh, and I'm gettin' lucky too," Ma said.
My mouth dropped. "No freaking way."
"What?" Mel asked. "What'd they say?"
Ma giggled and she and Tevin high-fived each other, their hands going right through one another.
I shook my head repeatedly. "I'm so not repeating that."
"Yah, don't tell Mel that. She's so horny she might jump off a bridge just so she can get lucky," Ma said, and then she shifted toward Tevin. "Oh, sorry. That wasn't nice."
Uncharted Territory (An Angela Panther Mystery Book 3) Page 7
