Smith's Monthly #13

by Smith, Dean Wesley

  “Damn,” Jewel said, shaking her head. “I don’t either.”

  “Damn, damn, damn,” Tommy said. Then he turned and shouted to the ceiling. “K.J., need help at once! Emergency!”

  Belle watched as K.J. appeared wearing only a light pink bathrobe. He instantly covered his nose.

  “Take Jewel and get back to the pervert who lives here. We need a combination from him. Two women’s lives are at stake. Hurry.”

  Then Tommy went back inside the cop who was ordering cutting equipment.

  Jewel looked at Belle and Nancy. “Go in there. Comfort the two girls inside. Just touch them, give them calming thoughts. They need to conserve their oxygen. Tell them help is on the way.”

  Then Jewel and K.J. vanished.

  Belle managed to avoid bumping into the four cops crowded down into the basement in front of the door.

  She took Nancy’s hand and without thinking the two of them went through the steel door, their eyes closed.

  Inside, a faint light bulb was glowing, hanging from a cord in one corner. The inside of the safe wasn’t much bigger than a small closet. Two young girls were tied up and on a filthy mattress covering the floor.

  Both girls clearly had been crying, both were dirty, but both were still alive.

  The girls had on jeans, stained dark blouses, and were barefoot. To Belle they looked young, far, far too young to be in this kind of situation.

  “Now what do we do?” Nancy asked, moving quickly to the young girl on her right while Belle went to the one on her left.

  “Help’s coming,” Belle said to the girl, but she didn’t open her eyes.

  Belle lightly touched her and instantly saw what the poor thing had been through since being taken in Seattle. It made Belle’s stomach turn, but at least the pervert hadn’t gotten around to sexually attacking them yet.

  Belle knew the girl’s name was Samantha and her only hope was to be home for Christmas. If Belle had anything to do with it, that would happen.

  “This one is Samantha,” Belle said. “Fourteen, from Seattle.”

  “This one’s name is Connie,” Nancy said. “Also from Seattle.”

  Belle focused on telling Samantha to just be calm, help was on the way, breathe lightly.

  Belle could tell that Samantha was having trouble breathing, but by sending calming thoughts her breathing became less panicked, less forced.

  Belle stood and went back out through the metal wall of the safe. “Tommy,” she said to the cop Tommy was inside, “the two girls in here don’t have long. Oxygen is running out.”

  Then Belle went back inside and sat beside Samantha, touching her, keeping her calm, learning about her love of horses and that she wanted to be a vet when she went to college.

  “There has got to be something we can do,” Nancy said. “I’m about to lose Connie.”

  “We get inside them,” Belle said. “Like Tommy did with that pervert. Jewel said he was making the pervert feel things differently.”

  Nancy nodded. “Let’s see if we can slow their breath and their hearts and buy them some more time.”

  “Even a minute might be the difference between living and dying here,” Belle said.

  “These two sweet girls can’t die in this stink hole,” Nancy said. “I’m not going to allow it.”

  Nancy then lay down with Connie, vanishing inside her.

  Belle did the same, finding herself completely inside Samantha. It felt really weird, but she also felt in control of Samantha.

  Belle immediately willed Samantha to stay calm, to breath as shallow as she could, then she focused on slowing Samantha’s heart and breathing.

  Belle had Samantha think of good things, fun things, like last Christmas with her mother and father and brother. It had been a wonderful Christmas, especially when Grandma and Grandpa showed up Christmas morning.

  Belle just kept Samantha’s breathing very slow and shallow and her heart rate as low as she dared push it.

  But still, she could feel Samantha starting to slip away.

  There wasn’t much time.

  “Stay with me, Samantha,” Belle said. “Help is coming. Stay with me.”

  Suddenly the big vault door swung open and medical personnel slipped an oxygen mask over Samantha’s face.

  Belle stayed with her, keeping her calm, taking deep breaths. She wanted to be sure the young girl would be all right.

  “Belle, Nancy, it’s all right now,” Jewel said.

  With one more calming thought to Samantha, Belle moved sideways and up and out of the young girl.

  A moment later, Nancy did the same thing.

  “They are both going to make it,” a paramedic said. “Let’s get them to the hospital and fast.”

  Nancy quickly moved over to Belle. Jewel had left the safe.

  In all her life, Belle had never felt so relieved and so fulfilled in doing something.

  “We saved their lives,” Nancy said, softly.

  “Maybe that’s what this is all about,” Belle said.

  “I sure hope so,” Nancy said.

  So did Belle. She really, really hoped so.

  Nancy took Belle’s hand and the two of them stepped back out into the basement through the steel wall. Belle didn’t even close her eyes.

  Jewel and Tommy and K.J. were standing off to one side out of the way. All three were smiling.

  “Great job,” Jewel said.

  “Fantastic,” Tommy said.

  “Can we get out of this smelly place now?” K.J. asked. “I’m going to have to throw this bathrobe away and scrub with my best French soaps to clear this off me.”

  “Take us back to the restaurant parking lot,” Jewel said, laughing.

  An instant later Belle found herself standing beside Nancy and facing Jewel and Tommy in the mall parking lot beside the Sizzler. The fresh air and cooling afternoon breeze felt wonderful.

  “Be in Vegas and settled in by two weeks from tomorrow,” K.J. said to Belle and Nancy.

  Then he vanished.

  Belle looked over at Tommy and Jewel, who were both smiling. “Is this what we do? We save people and put bad people away?”

  “We do,” Jewel said. “And more.”

  Belle looked at Nancy who was nodding as well.

  “I think I want to learn more,” Belle said.

  “Great,” Tommy said. “But how about showers, a change of clothes, and some dinner first.”

  Belle had no idea how she would do any of those things as a ghost, but they sure sounded good.

  Section Two

  A VERY STRANGE TRIP

  NINE

  Belle and Nancy sat in the back seat of a Mercedes SUV as Jewel had the driver, an elderly woman who owned the car, take them to Belle’s apartment. The poor woman had just been coming out of the mall with packages and Jewel had merged with her and had her drive them.

  Tommy assured Belle and Nancy that the woman would never remember a thing, but Belle wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.

  Tommy sat in the front seat mostly just taking deep breaths after what he had gone through inside that pervert’s head. Belle didn’t blame him at all. When she asked him why the deep breath, he had said it made the memories recede faster.

  The woman stopped in front of Belle’s apartment and all four got out.

  Behind the wheel the poor woman suddenly looked puzzled, looked around, then shook her head and drove off.

  “She doesn’t live that far from here, so it will be fine,” Jewel said. “She’ll just think she got distracted.”

  The North End neighborhood of Boise around Belle’s apartment was stunning this time of the year. The huge oak trees that formed canopies over the streets were all turning bright fall oranges and reds. And the air always smelled of cut grass and fall flowers.

  It was the most beautiful place in all of Boise to live, and Nancy’s apartment was only a few blocks down and one block over from Belle’s. Belle had no idea what she was going to do next. But whatever i
t was, she was fairly certain she could no longer live here.

  In fact, she wasn’t certain how a ghost could live anywhere, for that matter. So many questions to be answered.

  “I would suggest you pack some clothes and minor stuff and not stay here tonight,” Jewel said.

  “Agreed,” Tommy said. “The police will be locking this up and posting guards at some point. Easier to get a good night’s sleep if people aren’t showing up at all hours of the day or night. Is there a great hotel with suites in town somewhere?”

  “Homewood Suites by Hilton,” Nancy said. “Out pretty close to where we were by the mall.”

  Belle nodded. “I hear it has great suites and water jet tubs in each room.”

  “I’d suggest we all go there then for the night,” Jewel said.

  Belle didn’t much like the idea of not staying in her own apartment, but she understood. She didn’t know how four ghosts could get rooms in a suite hotel, but she would learn that when the time was right.

  “Belle,” Nancy said as they started toward the front apartment door. “Look.”

  Belle looked where Nancy had pointed. Down the street a half block was a battered old blue van. Her ex-husband’s van.

  “What is the slug doing here?” Belle asked, shocked.

  “Heard about what happened this morning to us,” Nancy said. “I’ll bet he’s trying to rip you off before the police lock this up.”

  “Who’s the slug?” Tommy asked, suddenly looking worried.

  “My ex-husband,” Belle said, turning and storming toward the front door. She might be dead, but she could still teach the idiot a thing or two.

  She went through her own front door without closing her eyes and stopped in the middle of her living room. She had really, really enjoyed furnishing this place and had it exactly as she liked it, with brown cloth furniture, an oak dining room set, and a large screen television that she and Nancy had watched many a movie on.

  “This is nice,” Jewel said as they entered behind her.

  “Thanks,” Belle said. “I’m going to miss it.”

  “I can see why,” Jewel said.

  Nancy went past Belle and looked into the kitchen. “He’s not in there.”

  Then Belle heard a scratching noise coming from her bedroom and she went that way, past the bathroom and into her bedroom.

  Dressed in his normal baggy and stained jeans and an old work shirt, the slug was standing on one of her chairs trying to get something from a ceiling light over her bed.

  As Belle got into the room, the slug said softly, “Got it.”

  Belle instantly knew what the bastard had. It was a miniature camera. He had been filming her.

  As he stepped down off the chair, she went at him, thinking she was going to hit him and hit him hard, but instead she went inside him. And what she saw there in his mind made her sick to her stomach.

  The creep had been filming her dressing and in the bathroom for years and selling it online to different porn sites.

  And he had done the same thing to Nancy.

  Belle wanted more than anything else to just stop the bastard’s heart, but instead she backed out and sat down on the bed.

  “You all right?” Nancy said, instantly at her side, holding her.

  “You need to climb in there for a minute, see what that bastard has done.”

  “Are you sure?” Nancy asked.

  Jewel nodded, so as the bastard worked to get a camera embedded in a headboard, Nancy merged with him.

  Belle watched, expecting Nancy to kill the man, but she did as Belle had done and came out looking disgusted and angry.

  “What’s going on?” Jewel asked.

  “The bastard recorded me in here and in the bathroom,” Belle said, “and Nancy in her apartment as well. He did it for years and sold the recordings on the Internet.”

  Belle didn’t know what to think. She couldn’t let this bastard get away with this. But her ex-husband was just a pervert. Tame compared to the monster they had brought to justice earlier in the day. And Belle had a hunch that since she and Nancy were both dead now, not much would come of making anything official against him.

  Nancy reached over and squeezed her hand.

  Behind them, the bastard just kept working to get one camera out of the headboard. He had clearly spent some time hiding it there and now didn’t want it discovered.

  Belle looked up at Jewel who was looking worried, and Tommy who was looking angry.

  “Can you do something to his mind for me?” Belle asked.

  Jewel looked puzzled for a moment, then smiled. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I’m thinking he needs to grieve for us some,” Belle said, starting to smile at the idea that was forming in her mind. “How about at any mention of my name, of any picture of me, of any thought of me or Nancy, he just breaks down into sobbing tears and can’t stop. Can you do that?”

  “I can sure try,” Jewel said, laughing.

  Tommy was shaking his head and smiling.

  Nancy just reached over and hugged her. “Perfect, just perfect.”

  “Let’s wait until he gets done and outside,” Belle said. “I don’t want him here sobbing while I’m trying to pack.”

  At that, Jewel and Tommy both just applauded.

  TEN

  Jewel was amazed at how strong Belle and Nancy were turning out to be. And they clearly cared for each other and knew each other from a lot of years of friendship.

  Jewel had no doubt that the two of them would make a great Ghost Agent team.

  Belle’s ex-husband only took a few more minutes to get his cameras, then with one look around to make sure he hadn’t disturbed anything too much, he went out the front door and locked it behind him.

  Jewel followed him and merged with him as he went down the sidewalk toward the street.

  The guy really was a low-level creep. And he loved his porn. Jewel could see that he hadn’t actually loved Belle for a lot of years, but had been using her to support him and make some money selling candid pictures and film of her and Nancy.

  He really, really deserved to be taught a lesson and Jewel was going to be glad to do it.

  She quickly planted the thoughts in his mind about how much he was going to miss Belle and Nancy.

  And then she used feelings and memories from the death of his dog at a young age to make the grief real and uncontrollable when he thought of the two women.

  Then Jewel took off all restraints on holding back the grief. He would not be able to, ever. No matter the situation.

  She then made sure at the slightest thought of Belle or Nancy, he would break down and cry uncontrollably. And she added that women on porn videos would all remind him of Belle and Nancy, no matter what they looked like.

  Jewel made sure all of it was in place in the creep’s mind. Not even intensive counseling would be able to fix this problem for him.

  Then, as she left his mind, she gave him a suggestion about looking at the most recent images of Belle he had gotten off the camera feed.

  She walked away as he collapsed on the sidewalk, sobbing and wailing and crying.

  It was not a pretty sight.

  Belle and Nancy were both beaming and applauding the show.

  Tommy was laughing. As Jewel came up to him he said, “Remind me to never get you mad at me.”

  She kissed him and said, “I can’t ever imagine being mad at you.”

  “Good,” he said.

  At that, all four of them turned their backs on the sobbing man on the sidewalk and went back inside.

  ELEVEN

  Belle pulled her favorite summer dress out of her closet to pack. But even though the dress was in her hand, and she could feel the light silk texture, it still remained on the hanger in the closet.

  She turned to show Nancy who was standing by the door. Nancy just shook her head.

  Jewel was sitting on the bed trying to explain the ghost element of everything to both of them. Tommy was in the l
iving room taking a nap.

  “So you are saying that we can get as many free clothes as we want?” Belle asked. “And it won’t be stealing?”

  “That’s right,” Jewel said. “You take the ghost element and it replaces itself after three or four hours in the original. So you can go back and take it again and again.”

  “How long will the ghost clothes remain in our closet or drawers?” Nancy asked.

  “So far I haven’t lost a one,” Jewel said. “But until this trip, I ran my hand over all of them every day. They might all be gone when I get back from this trip and I might need to go shopping again. I never asked K.J. that question, to be honest.”

  “Unlimited shopping,” Nancy said, shaking her head. “This is sounding better and better.”

  “Wait until you taste the food,” Jewel said. “It’s why Tommy and I are dressed like this in our running attire. We had just finished running when K.J. came to get us. We have to exercise every day so we can eat what we want. Everything tastes so fantastic.”

  “So food is the same way as clothes?” Belle asked, putting the dress on the bed and turning back to pull out more.

  “It is,” Jewel said. “Say you take an apple from a buffet. The original apple remains, but you have an apple in your hands as well. K.J. thinks food tastes better because we are eating the essence of it. I would tend to agree with him.”

  “Looks like we’re back to running,” Nancy said, laughing. “As Belle will tell you, I love to eat.”

  “Doesn’t show,” Jewel said.

  “Thank you,” Nancy said, indicating her thin body. “This is from time in the corporate gym every day.”

  “Well, on this job we have lots of time,” Jewel said.

  Belle suddenly realized she was going to miss her job. It had been challenging. Not as rewarding by a long ways as saving those two girls’ lives, but still a good job.

  “You don’t need to take too much tonight,” Jewel said. “We can come back tomorrow and get what you want to take to Vegas.”