Zachary kicked a rock. “Second, Teresa’s pregnant.”
Bobby’s jaw fell open as Zachary kicked another pebble and looked away. After taking a moment to absorb that bombshell, Bobby pressed his lips together and patted his son’s shoulder. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. Mom is gonna freak.”
“True, but we’ll talk to her together.”
Seeing their close bond warmed my heart. Not like…a lot, though. Maybe a twelfth of a degree.
“Wait,” Bobby said, scratching his neck in thought. “I thought your girlfriend’s name was Lauren.”
Zachary stuffed his hands into his pockets and said, “It is.”
“Then who’s Teresa?”
Zachary cleared his throat, then said softly, “Lauren’s sister.”
Halle gasped then turned to me and patted my arm, pretending not to hear. “Maybe we should head back now.”
“I think that’s a good idea.” I hustled off the gurney despite the EMT’s protests.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Zachary said.
Finishing college would not be the last thing he did. I saw his new-and-improved last moment, and it would not happen for a very long time—though still too young in my book.
“You could lay off the carbs,” I suggested.
I waited a few seconds then looked again. Damn it. No one ever took dieting advice to heart. He would die in his late sixties of cardiac arrest. In his defense, most of the last moments I saw were practically cemented in stone, which was why I rarely tried to change history. Today’s outcome was unusual.
“I still think you should go to the hospital,” the EMT said, adopting a childlike posture complete with crossed arms and a protruding lower lip.
“It’s okay. I think we have a pickup to get out of impound.” I eased out of the ambulance and turned to help Halle down.
“Oh, your blanket,” she said to the EMT, handing it back to her. “Thank you.”
The woman accepted it with a deeper pout.
Fortunately, we found Halle’s pickup before the tow truck arrived. While she distracted the cop, I hopped into the cab and took off. The officer gave a half-hearted pursuit before giving up and going back for more one-on-one time with Halle. Sadly, in a stranger-than-fiction turn of events, she vanished when he got a call over his radio, never to be seen or heard from again. At least by the cop. He could run her tags and make the connection, but she hadn’t really broken any laws. She was simply reclaiming the pickup she’d parked badly. And she hadn’t actually done the take back. It had been practically stolen out from under her by a maniac in a shredded shirt and ripped jeans.
After years of practice, I could run defensive scenarios all day.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and looked over at Halle. She was still shivering, and I didn’t know if it was due to her dress and hair still being damp or the accident she’d witnessed. The Arkwright Building must have the fastest elevator in all of Washington. She and Bobby had made it down just in time to watch me play tag with a delivery truck.
I blasted the heater as we drove, the setting sun creating bright splashes of pink and orange in the rearview. “Can I ask you a question?”
She was chewing on her lower lip as she stared at my leg. Or, more precisely, the super cool wound there.
I slid a hand over it, suddenly self-conscious.
She snapped to attention with my question. “Sure.”
“What did you mean, some people deserve to be haunted?”
“Oh,” she said, surprised. She hugged herself and looked out the window. “Nothing. You may not believe this, but I haven’t always been a good person.”
“You’re right. I don’t believe it.”
She turned to me suddenly, huffing out an exasperated puff of air. “Can we just address the elephant in the room?”
“I didn’t realize there was one.”
She shifted in her seat to face me head-on. “How?”
“Well, first, we aren’t even in a room, so I don’t think my not noticing the elephant in it is the most pertinent element of this conversation.”
“No, I mean…you really knew.”
Ah. That.
“You knew the exact date, time, and place Zachary was going to die.”
I held up a finger to put her on pause. “Not the place, just the date and time.”
“But you saw it. You were able to figure out where he was from what you saw. How?” She dropped her gaze, racking her brain. “How is that even possible?”
“Well, I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you, dismember your lifeless body, and bury you in Jason’s backyard.”
“Can you…can you really talk to dead people?”
“Tell her!” Aunt Lil said. She was sitting between us in the cramped cab, making the situation fairly awkward as I tried to look at Halle from around her blue hair. “We need to help her. If she’s being terrorized, we’re all she’s got, Constantine.”
“Yes, I can. Aunt Lil is here now.”
Halle reared back, though just barely before catching herself. She squinted and looked around, trying to peer into the veil as I fought a grin. “Can she hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Tell her she has a lovely voice.”
I gave up and let the grin get a solid foothold. “Aunt Lil likes your voice,” I relayed.
“Oh.” Halle sat up straighter. “Thank you.”
“Okay,” Aunt Lil said, clapping soundlessly, “my job here is done. I’m going to go check out that hottie at the bar some more. He may like Betty, but she ain’t got a ring on her finger yet. Am I right?”
She disappeared before I could answer.
Halle folded her hands in her lap. “It’s very nice to meet you, Lillian.”
Should I tell her?
“I hope we can become friends.”
This was getting awkward. “She’s gone.”
“Really?” Her shoulders dropped. “I had so many questions.”
“She does that. Pops in and out like a loose lightbulb. It’s okay until she decides to ride sidesaddle in my lap on the bike. I almost died making this trip. Twice.”
She laughed softly, the sound like a summer breeze. “Where did she go?”
“To stalk Jason.”
She laughed again. I was on a roll. “He probably deserves it.”
“Agreed.”
She smoothed the skirt of her dress and asked, “Have you always been able to do what you do? Like, since you were a kid?”
I thought for a moment before answering, wondering how much to tell her. They say honesty is the best policy, but I’ve found people don’t really want to hear how bad they look in a swimsuit. “Since I was a kid? Yes, to a degree. But things became…amplified a handful of years ago.”
“Amplified how?”
I took the exit that would lead us back to Cruisers and my bike. “Do you remember the weird outbreak that shut Albuquerque down about five years ago?”
She shot up again with the memory. “I do. That was bizarre. A virus caused people to go crazy and become violent overnight.”
I clicked my tongue. “That’s the one.”