"Yuh huh. He talks funny and he plays cowboys and Indians with me. I getta be the cowboy."
My eyes moistened from the visual. "I bet that's fun."
"Yuh huh. One time I shot him in the leg like this." He made a gun with his thumb and finger. "But he doesn't die again so it's okay."
"I'm glad you get to play up there." A leaf fell to my lap and I picked at it. "Does Alo say anything else when he plays with you? Maybe something about me?"
"Yuh huh. He said I'm 'posed to tell you to listen for signs but that's silly 'cause you can't hear signs. You're 'posed to read them."
"I think Alo's probably talking about a different kind of sign."
"That's what he said, too and he said you don't listen so good. When I didn't listen my mommy put me in time out. Maybe you need a time out, too."
The boy had impeccable intuition. "I think you might be right, Matthew." I giggled. "You wanna put me in time out?"
He laughed. "I can't, silly. Your mommy's gotta do that. I can tell her, okay?"
"Okay, you do that. She'll be thrilled to see you."
"Okay. I like your mommy. She's funny." He floated into a standing position. "I gotta go now. Please don't be sad. Alo says you will be okay."
"Thank you, Matthew. Seeing you makes me happy. I feel better already."
"Bye bye." He waved as he shimmered away.
I leaned my head back and peeked through the trees above. "Alo, seriously? You send a five-year-old to give me a message? Can't you just talk to me yourself? You make this a lot harder than it has to be." I picked up another leaf and tore it apart. "What kind of sign am I listening for? Is it about Tevin? The girl in the white gown? Pam? Help me out here." I sat completely still for a few seconds, hoping for some magical sign to drop into my lap, but nothing happened. "Fine, whatever. I'm doin' the best I can. You got a sign for me and I'm missin' it? Then maybe you oughta work a little harder on your delivery skills there, Spirit Guide." I stood and did a few quick stretches, blew a kiss to the plaque and bench, and then jogged back to my car.
Before going home, I stopped at the Clough house. I hadn't talked to Matthew's parents since the truth about their son's death was made public, and wanted to congratulate them on the bun in the oven.
Amanda answered the door. "Angela, oh my gosh!" She pulled me into a hug and surprisingly, I didn't flinch. "It's so great to see you. Please come in. Matt's out back."
We walked into their family room, and I scanned the space for my father. I didn't expect him to be there, but since it was the place he'd decided to appear to me, a part of me hoped he'd show up again.
We walked through the room out to the back deck. "Matt, look who stopped by?"
He had his back to me, head bent down into their grill. When he saw me, a grin took over his entire face. "Angela." He came over and wrapped his arms around me.
I was two for two in the get a hug and don't freak out department and gave myself an internal high five. "Hey Matt. How are you?"
"We're good. Real good. How about you?" His face went from excited to concerned in a flash. "Is everything okay? Do you have a message from Matthew?"
A glance toward Amanda told me she was suddenly concerned, too. "Oh, no. Everything's fine. I was just at the park and decided to come by and tell you I saw the bench and plaque. Oh, and congratulate you of course." I tilted my head toward Amanda. "You look great. How far along are you?"
She turned her head slightly. "Me? I'm not pregnant."
Oh boy.
"Wait. Why do you think she's pregnant?" Matthew asked. "Did you—"
I pivoted in his direction and cut him off. "I uh…I…I thought—"
"Oh my God," Amanda said, her hand on her belly. "I'm pregnant, aren't I? I mean, I'm late, but I didn't really think anything of it. It happens often, and it's only two weeks. Oh my God, did my Matthew tell you?"
I twisted my ponytail, pulling it down under my chin. "I thought you knew. I'm so sorry, I didn't realize—"
Matt interrupted me that time. "You saw him, didn't you? Is he okay?" His eyes searched the area around me. "Is he here now?"
"Yes, no. I mean, yes, I saw him and he told me, but no, he's not here now. He had to go."
Amanda's hand moved from her belly to her chest. "Is he okay? What did he say?"
"He's fine."
I told them the story their son told me.
"A hook?" Amanda said. "A baby is on a hook in Heaven?"
I nodded. "That's kinda what I was thinking, too, but apparently so."
"Did he tell you if it's a boy or a girl?"
I nodded.
"Tell us," they said in unison.
"Are you sure?"
Both of their heads bobbed up and down.
"It's a boy."
Amanda gasped and Matthew fist pumped the air. "We're having another boy, Matty. You're gonna be a big brother." He picked up his wife and spun her around. When he set her down, they were both laughing, tears streaming down their cheeks. "A boy, Amanda. We're having a boy."
She hugged him. "Another baby. Oh my God, I can't believe it." She turned to me. "Angela, you are so incredible. Thank you. Thank you so much for telling us. I…I can't believe it. And my angel baby got to meet his little brother. How sweet and amazing is that?"
It was actually incredibly sweet and amazing. "He's a special soul. He said he's glad you're both happier now, and that he comes and checks on you often."
"I can feel him, sometimes," Matt said.
Amanda nodded. "Me, too."
We all stood there for a second in silent awe of the miracle we'd just experienced.
"Well, I should get going. I just wanted to stop by and say congratulations. I'm really, really happy for you two."
Amanda pulled me into another embrace. "You do great things, Angela. The world is a better place because of people like you. Thank you."
I wasn't sure I agreed, but I thanked her anyway. I said goodbye to her husband and they both walked me out. In the car, I dropped my head onto the steering wheel. "Great. I can spoil a surprise with my gift, but I can't help a lost soul get his memory back or a girl who's probably alive and God only knows where." I pounded my head onto the steering wheel twice. "Can I get some help here?"
During my drive home, clouds hung low in the sky, and I had to switch on the wipers to swipe away the tiny drops of rain splattering onto my window. My satellite radio receiver never worked well in inclement weather, so I shut it off and I turned on the regular radio—which I hated—instead. Regular radio was mostly commercials and a repeat of the same ten songs, most of which I despised. I hit the scan button and stopped when I'd finally found a station with a song that didn't make me want to scream. Once it ended, that station played a two-minute round of straight commercials, too.
"Peachtree Manor Long-Term Care, located in Atlanta, offers rehabilitation services and housing for your loved ones who can no longer care for themselves. From children to seniors, Peachtree Manor will make your loved one feel at home, when home can no longer provide what they need."
Long-term care? Was this the sign Matthew said to listen for? The commercial ended and I asked Siri to make a note of the facility name, and then talked a text to Mel about the place. "Maybe the girl in the white gown is there?" I asked.
Ma popped in beside me. "You know you ain't supposed to be on that thing when you drive."
Surprised at her sudden appearance, I jerked the steering wheel to the right, and a car in that lane honked at me.
"See? You coulda hit that car."
"I coulda hit that car because you scared the bejesus outta me, not because I was on my phone. And besides, they're not illegal."
"Don't you read them street signs? They're all over. Don't text and drive. It can wait. I think I saw something that said twenty people got killed from usin' their phone when they were driving."
I feigned ignorance. "That's just for texting."
I picked up my phone and called Mel. "I'm calling because my mother won't let me
text you while I'm driving."
"She's right."
"I was talk-texting. It's not the same."
"You say tomato," Ma said, not finishing the sentence.
"It's the same thing," Mel said. "Distracts you from paying attention."
"I know. You're both right and that's why I called. So whadda you think about the long-term care thing? Think the girl in the white gown could be in one?"
"It's possible. There's a lotta them in Atlanta though. Want me to make some calls?"
"What would you say, that you'd like to know if there is a young woman with long blond hair in a white gown in a coma or something there because you think she might be teleporting and appearing to your friend who talks to the dead and if so, can you get her name so your friend can help her and then tell the other dead kid she's done what he asked?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"How about you come over and we'll figure out what to do? I could use some Mel time anyway."
"'Sure. I wanna show you a guy I found online and get your opinion, too. See you in a bit," she said.
After we hung up, I said, "You satisfied, Ma?"
When she didn't answer, I glanced at the passenger seat of my car but she wasn't there. I stopped at the next stoplight and when it switched to green, I went to make a right and slammed on my brakes when a black pickup truck barreled through the intersection like a NASCAR driver. My heart raced faster than during my run earlier. "Holy crap." I checked traffic again and made the turn. "Got it, Ma." No more texting and driving for me.
***
I showered, dressed, ate a quick meal, and sat down with my laptop, waiting for Mel. She pushed the door open with her foot a few minutes later, a box from our favorite cupcake place and two Diet Cokes in her hands.
"Oh, whatcha got in that there box, missy?"
"Something yummy just for you." She slid the box onto the counter and opened it. "Pick two. Any two."
"Ooh, you're so good to me." I grabbed the two I knew were for me. "Snickers and Red Velvet. You know me so well." I focused on the Snickers cupcake. "You, cupcake full of delicious Snickers delight, are the reason I run." I bit into it and moaned as the gooey chocolate and caramel melted in my mouth. "Of-my-gof. Sof-goof."
Mel pulled a paper towel from the roll on my counter and wiped my face. "Put a cupcake in your hand and suddenly you're Pig Pen from the Peanuts comics." She walked over to the sink and shook the crumbs from the paper towel. A nice-sized piece of cupcake fell.
"Hey," I screeched. "Don't waste that. I'll eat it."
She flipped the faucet up and watched as the scrap of deliciousness fell down the drain. "Buh bye delicious cupcake. You'll be missed."
"So rude."
"I'm saving your ass. Literally."
I stuck my covered-in-cupcake tongue out at her.
"Gross."
"You're the one who brought the cupcakes anyway so how's that saving my ass?"
"That little piece was probably fifty calories. That's what, ten minutes of running? Ten minutes you won't have to do next time." She bit into her double chocolate with white icing cupcake. "Holf-craf-I'mf-gonnaf-haf-af-orfgasfm."
I covered my eyes. "Please don't."
She moaned a guttural sound, something I never needed to hear again. "Gawd, that's some good chocolate."
"You know, experts say chocolate releases the same hormone as sex."
She shoved half of the cupcake into her mouth. "Comf-onf-bafbfy," she said, spitting cupcake at me.
"Nice. You look like Cookie Monster from Sesame Street."
She smiled, her bright white teeth covered in partially chewed chocolate. "What's with the children's references today? Playing Trivial Pursuit alone again?"
"No and I only did that once so shut it. It's not my fault you bring out the children's references in me. It's your behavior."
"It's because I'm younger than you." Another bit of cupcake dropped from her mouth.
"Seriously." I covered my eyes. "Hurry up and finish so I can see the light of day again."
"I'm done."
I peeked through my fingers to see her mouth wide open and chocolate still covering her teeth. "You're disgusting."
"And you love me. Besides, you just did something almost exactly the same to me. Karma's a beyotch." She washed down the rest of the chocolate mess with a swig of Diet Coke. "Okay, I'm done. So can I show you the guy?"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot about him." I angled the computer toward her.
She typed away. When Mel concentrated on something, she stuck the tip of her tongue out just a bit. It was a little quirk I noticed years ago and found endearing. I pictured her doing that while working, and hoped the recruiter was right, that she'd get the editing job. She deserved to be happy and the self-esteem boost she'd get from not needing to rely on Nick would work miracles for her.
"Okay, here he is." She angled her laptop my direction. "Ta da!"
My jaw dropped. "Oh my God."
"I know."
I grabbed the laptop. "How did you find him?"
"After hours of clicking through photos of men who wanted Asian women to give them happy endings and others who wanted me to make them fried rice, I happened across this little gem. I might have peed a little when I saw it, too."
"Did he want fried rice or a happy ending? Please say no. Please say no."
She shook her head. "Nope. Well, at least he doesn't mention that in his profile."
"What's his profile say?"
She came across to my side of the table clicked the mouse on a tab. "Here, read it yourself."
So I did, out loud. "I've never married but not because I don't want to. Being a detective in suburban Atlanta and a special investigator for a high crime task force doesn't lend itself to a happily ever after but I'd like to have a chance at beating the odds. In the past few months I've come to realize our lives here on earth may end but they continue on in another place and because of that, I'd like to find someone to share eternity with, from this life to the next." I tilted my head toward Mel. "Oh my God!"
"I know!"
"I can't believe Aaron's on a dating site."
"It's like God dropped him right into my lap and said, here, he's yours Mel, Have at him."
I wouldn't have gone that far but Mel was more of an optimist than me. "Did you message him or do whatever it is you're supposed to do?"
She shook her head. "Not yet. I wanted to run this by you first since you had a panic attack when I mentioned his hotness."
"I didn't have a panic attack. I just have some concerns, that's all."
"Your eyes bulged and sweat leaked from your pores."
"That's an exaggeration."
"Not really, no."
I ogled his photo. "That's a really good picture of him."
"I know. I told you, he's really attractive. And if you read the rest of his profile, he's really a nice guy, too. I don't know why you never mentioned that."
"Uh, yeah you do."
She spread her hands out to her side. "I'm just sayin'."
"You really want to go out with him, don't you?"
She pulled her body away from mine and waved me off. "It would be nice to have an option other than Vinnie the Vibrator once in a while."
I wasn't prepared to dive into that unknown water, so I did what any best friend in an uncomfortable situation would do, changed the subject. "So, I figured we'd pull up a list of long-term care facilities and make a few calls. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll have the girl."
"I see what you did there."
"We have important work to do."
"In other words my wanting to go out with Aaron and your inability to deal with that possibility is pushed onto the backburner for now."
"I like to think of it as temporarily placed on hold until more pressing issues can be resolved."
"My sex life happens to be a pressing issue for me."
"You can have sex any day of the week but this girl in the white gown is living o
n borrowed time and that trumps your sex life for me. Sorry."
"Fine. I hate it when you're right."
"I know you do and I kind of like that."
"Okay, so like I said before, what are we gonna say? Hi I'm Mel. My friend Angela sees dead people and she sees this young girl in a white gown, but she's not sure if she's dead or in a coma. So like, you got anyone there that fits that description?"
I frowned. "Ugh. You're right." I sipped my Diet Coke. "Probably that won't work."
"Ya think? Last time I went to the doctor they made me sign some form about sharing my information. Some new privacy law or something, so I doubt you'll get anything about the girl from anyone."
"I hadn't thought of that. I guess we need to figure out something else then." I broke off a piece of cupcake and shoved it into my mouth. "Gawd, these are good."
"I know, right? I bet if Aaron fed me one I'd have more than a food-gasm."
I banged my head on the counter. "Please, for the love of all that's holy, don't put that vision in my head."
"Too late."
"I hate you."
"No you don't."
I raised my head and sipped my Diet Coke again. The ambrosial liquid fizzed in my mouth, and I let it simmer there, feeling each bubble of carbonation pop. "How can something so good be so bad for me?"
"The cupcake or the Diet Coke?"
"Yes," I said. "You know all that stuff about the aspartame and brain rot. I don't wanna believe it."
"I don't. I think Diet Coke is like an egg."
"An egg?" I asked.
"You know how people used to say eggs were so bad for you but then one day they came out and said, oh, sorry, we were wrong, eggs are awesome. Eat up. They're gonna do that with Diet Coke one day, too."
"The stuff in it removes rust from cars."
"Yeah, and that boy from the LIFE cereal commercials ate Pop Rocks and drank soda and exploded, remember? Of course years later we found out that was an urban legend. Do you believe everything you read?"
"No but…"
"You just gotta think positive. Law of attraction and all that."
I examined my Diet Coke, and kissed the can in appreciation. "I'll just live in denial like you."
"You'll have a conversation with a can but don't believe in zombies. Unreal."
Uncharted Territory (An Angela Panther Mystery Book 3) Page 12
