chapter forty-six
IT WAS A DULL MORNING as large drops of rain hit into Stella’s living room window, a pleasant sound to keep one asleep. She usually didn’t rise before noon, but as of late she was restless, and so her schedule was in a bit of a flux. It felt like the entire city might be in transition. She had awakened with several words stuck in her head keep a stiff upper lip.
Aunt Stella had read two people last night, both were happy with the outcome, one had been brought to tears. It was satisfying to show someone that this wasn’t the end and when one crossed over there was lots more to come. She wondered how Olivia was doing because the ghosts were after her now, and even the good ones could be pests at times.
Aunt Stella made it to her sofa and began dunking a donut into her green tea, thinking about the old fellow that had come to her door. She never considered herself lonely, but now found herself deliberating on this bozo a little too much. There was something that she liked about him though she couldn’t put her finger on it. And Stella had to admit that he wasn’t bad looking. Instead of watching The More the Merrier with Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, and Charles Coburn she was fixated on him.
Would it be good to have regular company or would it soon change to annoyance? Stella supposed she could always put the run on him, but then again, he might never come back. She felt a little like a teenager that didn’t know what the hell they wanted. And Stella was even aggravating herself now.
“I could go over and ask him to lend me some sugar, but no he’s seen the full bag.” It was a peculiar thing, she didn’t want to get involved with a stranger, but she supposed that he wouldn’t be a stranger for long. Still, might be borrowing trouble. No telling what bad habits he had picked up over a lifetime.
A slurp of the green tea had her mind wandering, now thinking about Olivia and her pregnancy. How wonderful was that going to be? Stella wouldn’t be lonely then, she’d pop in whenever she wanted to see that baby girl once she came into the world. A white lighter here on Earth was going to put the run to those dark bastards. She could shake the baby at them and watch them flee.
Stella picked up the CD of the old movie and stared at it, wasn’t sure if she was in the mood or not. The ghosts would likely chase the old codger away in any case. Why was he was even on her radar; she wasn’t a young woman and had no need of that. Or was she fooling herself? She imagined his hands all over her. “What the hell is wrong with my brain this morning?” She read the description of the movie and nodded. During the second world war housing scarcity in Washington, a woman and two men share an apartment. The older fellow plays cupid to the other two. “That does sound good.”
Stella noticed a shadow under the bottom of her door. Dead or alive was her first thought, and good or evil the second. Whoever it was wasn’t knocking and not ringing the bell either. Sons-a-bitches. Approaching the door she peeked through the keyhole. It was Earl. Did I brush my hair this morning? I can’t remember. What if my hair looks like a rat’s nest?
Stella ran to the washroom, quickly brushed her hair all the while listening for the knock or the bell, but heard nothing. Back at the door, she looked through once again only to discover that he had gone. “He chickened out? Unless he knocked and I didn’t hear him. No, I bet he changed his mind. But what do I do about it?” Stella sighed, crossed her arms and then went over and put the CD in the machine.
chapter forty-seven
SEVERAL CAMERA FLASHES LIT UP THE ALLEY in the subdued light. It was just after eight in the evening when Olivia arrived at the crime scene, another one with his heart ripped out of him. The guy was propped up against the alley wall with his own heart placed in his left hand, and it looked as if a bite had been taken out of it.
Anita popped in beside her and again the Detective almost went for her gun. “I wish you could give me a little warning before you do that. Or don’t pop up in such close proximity.”
“Sorry, Olivia. I just sort of zero in on you.” Anita shook her head at the sight of another victim. “These crime scenes must weigh on you.” Anita took in the landscape and the other souls in their human forms doing their jobs.
Olivia looked at both ends of the alley before staring back at the victim. “Unfortunately, I’m accustomed to them, and it’s part of the job when you’re a homicide detective. You can’t be squeamish and do this work.”
Anita thought that if she were still alive, wasn’t a career she would want, especially to be dealing with the criminal element on a daily basis. “It’s not just one person or should I say demon cutting the hearts out of people. We don’t know how many escaped from the portal before it was closed. It’s a concerted effort by the dark side. They’re going inside people and doing these awful murders. We think this is the same one that was in Dae-Jung, but we’re not sure.”
“Oh, that is just great.”
“Found something Detective?” asked one of the officers.
“Just thinking out loud,” Olivia nodded to the spirit and whispered. “Any possible way to track them?”
“Not yet but someone is coming to the area that can possibly help us with that.” Anita had to look away from the deceased. For Anita, coming from heaven to this was a shock to the system.
“So multiple killers?” Olivia whispered.
“Yes, more than one.”
“I talked to the restaurant owner Detective,” said Officer William. “No cameras in this alley. No witnesses yet either.”
“Of course not.” Olivia took nail scrapings from the victim’s fingernails, bagged them, and then she also took his fingerprints. He had no wallet on him. She would check to see if he had a record if he was had been in with the wrong crowd she might get a lead if she could discover who he was. But if it really were a demon it would make everything ten times harder. Olivia imagined that if she killed this beast, a butterfly would come out of him as well, or rather the evil one’s spirit traveling around inside the insect. The press had already grabbed this and was running with it. The Heart Killer.
The dead guy had put up a struggle, and the back of his head had been crushed against the wall, so at least he had been dead when his heart was cut out. His last moments must have been terrifying.
Calvin couldn’t resist joining the crowd behind the yellow tape, and being such a tall fellow he stuck out, and as Anita turned, she was able to see his aura. He noticed her and immediately began walking away though not so fast that he would be noticed.
“Olivia, there he is! The tall one!” Anita shouted for the Detective to apprehend him.
“Stop that man!”
The demon realized that he had made a grave error, and now Olivia and several other police officers were in pursuit. He didn’t get far as two men in the crowd tackled him and Olivia got her knee on his back and the cuffs on him in record time. Calvin still had the large hunting knife on him with the victim’s blood on it. But, of course, it wasn’t Calvin that had done the deed it was the thing inside him.
“You got me, Detective.” Calvin smiled and then as quick as fingers snapping he died.
Before he gave up the ghost they got him to his feet but the weight of the big guy falling pulled Olivia down, and she released the dead weight. Olivia felt for a pulse, but there wasn’t one. And as the black butterfly emerged from the corpse she pulled her blade and slashed at it several times, leaving the police and bystanders wondering what the hell she was doing. It flew up and out of her reach. Olivia was tempted to shoot at it but didn’t want to be taken away in a paddy wagon as Aunt Stella would say. She wished that it was more of a fair playing field.
That thing from the dark side would be back in a different form, or some other demon, and it would continue, but to the public, it would appear to be a single madman or a copycat killer. Only Olivia and a few others knew the horrible truth.
chapter forty-eight
THE FIFTEEN-INCH PIZZA WITH THE WORKS arrived at the doctor’s highrise apartment, and the smell was intoxicating, making Daiyu’s stomach growl. S
he ate three slices to Valerie’s one and then it was five to four along with some refreshing Pepsi.
Daiyu felt that Valerie was a kind soul unless she was somehow hiding her true aura; she didn’t know if that was possible, but not much would surprise her these days. She wasn’t sure how much she should show or tell her. It had taken quite some time for her to gather her knowledge. “So, what were you doing in the graveyard?
The doctor talked with her mouth full and laughed. “I couldn’t sleep so I decided to take a walk.”
They engaged in conversation for almost an hour, discussing family and other things until a shadow crossed the wall, a good spirit just listening in and being happy that they had discovered one another as it wasn’t easy to make two particular mortal souls connect. They both smiled and nodded knowingly, good to see one of the white spirits.
“Here, I want to show you something.” Out of her backpack, Daiyu took out a smooth stone and on it was carved the outline of New York City, including the Hudson River, it had been carved by a master carver. “Now if you’ll turn off the lights.”
Valerie was curious and did as she was asked. There was a slight white glow to the rock in the dark, and then several red and white specks began to appear, some disappeared, and some remained. “What is this?”
Daiyu tilted the rock so that the doctor was able to get a better view. “Kan dao. See, the red is the bad spirits, and the white are the good. It gives you the general area of where they are.”
“Where did you get this?”
“I was told in a dream where to dig it up. It was at the edge of a cemetery in California.” Daiyu let Valerie examine it.
“So these two little red dots are demons?” Valerie thought that this could really come in handy. If they knew where they were they could seek them out instead of the other way around. “How much do you want for it?”
Daiyu finished her Pepsi and opened another can. “I can’t sell it I need it. Besides, the other side gave it to me, and I don’t imagine they would be happy if I sold it.” She went for another slice of pizza. “The red dots are most likely demons or maybe just evil souls. But it hasn’t worked too well for me, usually when I get there the things are just gone. Though I did manage to kill two of them with it.”
“With your dagger?”
Daiyu was talking and eating at the same time. “Of course. That’s the only way that I know of to kill them or send them back to hell or whatever. Are you getting a lot of dreams too? Some are just totally weird.”
“I am, some with no heads nor tails of them.” Valerie couldn’t imagine Daiyu facing such things at her age. “So, what got you into this stuff?”
“My grandfather is a spiritual man, and he sees things and knows things that are beyond explanation. He told me that I was going to be getting some strange dreams and to pay careful attention to them. So now I always have a pen and paper with me at night. The dreams are a bit like taking a course; I guess the other side is showing me what to do and how to do it. I know not everyone is open to such things, so I suppose I’m a bit unusual.”
“It’s late. You can spend the night if you like?”
Daiyu thought it probably wouldn’t hurt anything to spend the night, seemed safe enough. “Yeah, I guess.”
chapter forty-nine
FIVE MINUTES AFTER MIDNIGHT in Olivia’s apartment and the sound of the shower was audible from the living room. Olivia was humming X’s and O’s in the shower; she had listened to the CD on the way over. She began going over girl’s names in her head, didn’t think that naming her would be so hard, and of course, it would be attached to her for the rest of her life. No pressure at all. Was there such a thing as a great but ordinary name? Carla? Or maybe Amber? Lynn? I don’t know.
The dagger on the coffee table near the empty can of Coke was being observed by a shadow with two red eyes. It couldn’t understand why it wasn’t able to approach the weapon. The damaged carpet hurt like the devil, such a cold barrier that it was giving it a headache and it didn’t even have a head in the usual sense.
Is this a holy relic?
It had been dispatched to abscond with the weapon and drop it somewhere where they would never find it, but this was definitely a wrench that had been tossed in the machinery. It approached from the other direction through the sofa but still couldn’t get close enough to touch it. It must be blessed. Perhaps even heaven sent? Now how is that playing fair? Motherfuckers!
The entity vanished but moments later reappeared with a small beaker of unholy water, sweat taken from a tortured man. One or two drops should remove the blessing. The first drop that hit the blade hissed, the second one did nothing. Now the blade is mine!
It placed its black hand over the dagger not sure if the water had really done the job or not. The blade was a destroyer of evil souls, and the demon didn’t want to be erased from existence. It thought it would able to tell if its power had been muted, but it wasn’t sure. A great reward awaited him if he managed to get rid of it, but now he was reconsidering the risk reward thing.
Its hand hovered over the dagger, if it could touch it then it should be able to take it, which wasn’t easy for a spirit, but this one had mastered the movement of physical objects, which was accomplished with fits of anger. But as soon as it touched it with its pinky finger it screamed as it was immediately destroyed.
chapter fifty
AUNT STELLA WAS HOLDING UP AND LOOKING AT THE ONE-PIECE PURPLE BABY ROMPER that cost her fifty-three dollars. It had daisies on it, and it was quite something. She had purchased it at the Torly Kid on Hudson Street for Olivia’s little girl that of course hadn’t been born yet. They had some beautiful clothes, and nothing was too good for this child. It might only fit her when she was just about a year old, but time passed fast, especially with little ones.
Stella went to the recliner chair and took her cup of green tea and finished it. She picked up her old movie magazine, a collector of sorts but she only wanted to read them and didn’t care if they went up in value. She was reading The Motion Picture magazine from January 1938. And on the cover was “I’ll do it if it kills me.” Joan Crawford. Why movie stars can’t stay in love.
Stella got up and peeked through the peephole, but there was no sign of Earl. It was a beautiful day out there, and she was thinking about getting some fresh air, a nice combination of sun and cloud, giving periods of shade. She wasn’t one to just bake in the hot sun.
Outside Stella was pleasantly surprised when she saw Earl sitting on the bench, but he was talking to Edna who she thought must be in her late seventies by the look of her. She considered her too old for Earl, but did he? Just before Stella got to the bench, Edna got up and headed back into the building.
Stella appreciated having him to herself though she wouldn’t admit it. “Hello Earl, are you waiting for some bug-eyed aliens to suck you up?”
“If they’ll make me young again they can suck away.” Earl laughed. “That came out funny didn’t it?”
“Beautiful day.”
“Just lovely. Stella, is it?”
At least he remembered my name, if only just barely. “Yes, Stella. What do you have planned for the day?”
“Well, I thought I’d twiddle my thumbs for a while. And then maybe look in that direction for a bit. And how are you feeling?” Earl watched as a young woman jogged by with a German Shepherd, and thought that no one was going to touch her unless he wanted his face chewed off.
Stella thought that he was dressed nice, nothing too fancy though the white shirt and black suit pants looked new. “Not too bad I guess. I got a crick in my lower back.”
He nodded. “I got a pain in my left knee shooting down into my foot.”
Stella was considering how to beat that one. “I have a migraine that keeps jumping from side to side.”
“Yeah, well, when I woke up this morning my liver was on the coffee table. True story.”
Stella laughed. “I can’t beat that one.”
“See, I did
n’t finish eating my calf liver last night, and I left it on the coffee table.” It was Earl’s turn to laugh. Earl turned and looked into her eyes. Was there some sort of connection?
“I didn’t think that your liver crawled out of you.”
Earl nodded. “You never know. Ever hear of all the side effects of the medications these days? Trouble swallowing, dizziness, heart palpitations, flatulence, nausea, your left leg just might fall off. May as well put a skull and crossbones on the label.”
“You got that right. Treats one ailment but it gives you five others that are ten times worse. I don’t know about you, but I like swallowing.” Did I just say that? “Best to avoid that stuff if at all possible.”
“Stella, you must have been beautiful as a young woman because you’re still a very good looking woman.”
She didn’t take compliments well, and those words did make her a little suspicious. Maybe he was going to ask to borrow money? “You are after my bank account aren’t you?” After Stella had said it, she realized that she may have made an error in judgment.
“Why? How much is in it?”
“Not much.”
Having forgotten her phone, the woman with the big dog was now coming back this way.
“If something is chasing her and that monster of a dog I’m getting the hell outta here.” Earl touched Stella on the hand.
What is this now? Stella was tempted to pull away but didn’t. “Would you like to come in and I’ll make you a cup of coffee?”
“I suppose I could go for a cup as long as you have enough sugar?” Earl stood up and waited to follow her.
Stella felt awkward asking and actually felt a bit self-conscious about the whole situation, but she believed she was doing a good job of hiding it. She knew she could handle herself and had a loaded gun if needed, not that she expected it to come to that. The reality was that she was inviting a stranger into her home, and this was the Big Apple.
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