Corpse Whisperer (11 page)

“So what were you doing lurking outside my apartment?” Grace asked.

“I think I should handle this,” Zach said.

Her glare bounced off of his stone façade. He promised himself he wouldn’t let her bother him tonight. She wouldn’t get past his defenses again. No kissing. “I’m taking responsibility for him. I get to interrogate him.”

“Interrogate?” Mark licked his lips and sat straighter, the belligerence out of his posture.

Zach concealed his delight that he had the young man off balance. “Then talk.” He smiled, knowing he looked like a shark when he did. “Why were you outside Grace’s apartment the last three nights?”

“Three nights? I just got in town,” Mark said. He shifted in his chair, then sipped his coffee. His eyes darted around the room.

“Can you prove that?”

“No, I drove.”

“From California?” Grace’s face registered disbelief. “That takes a few days. I just talked to you.”

“I was on my way here,” he explained.

Something about his story didn’t ring true to Zach, but he resisted the urge to call this guy a liar. Maybe if he could get him alone.

Grace set down her coffee and leaned towards her friend. “Why? And why didn’t you tell me?”

At least she was dressed tonight and Zach couldn’t be distracted by imagining her without her robe. The bulky sweatpants didn’t do anything for her petite figure. The opposite could be said for the midriff-baring white t-shirt. And she hadn’t bothered with a bra.

This was worse than Grace in a robe.

He took a sip of his coffee to cool himself down, or at least distract himself.

“I wanted to surprise you.” Mark’s gaze flicked to Zach then back to Grace. “I wanted to talk about our last conversation. Say it was all okay.”

“But you were on your way before we had the conversation. This doesn’t make sense Mark. You know I’m in the middle of something.”

What was she in the middle of? This thing with Lors? Murder? Zach didn’t want to believe that.

“Why didn’t you knock on the door?” Zach asked.

“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to wake her.”

Reasonable on the surface. The hairs on Zach’s neck still stood in response to this guy. Something was not kosher with him.

After two full days of work and two nights of interrupted sleep, Zach’s fatigue took over. “You going to be okay with this guy, here? I can drive him to a hotel.”

Say, “No.”

Grace nodded. “We’ll be fine.”

Zach rose, put the cup in her sink and left them to whatever they planned to get up to tonight.

***

Zach’s distrust for Mark propelled him to do some research on him. He sat in his office, his computer screen the only light.

Footsteps clomped down from the apartment above. He braced himself.

Celia wore a bright red sweat suit. Her hair told him she’d been asleep.

“Did I wake you?”

“Not really. I had a dream. Were you in some trouble?”

Zach shook his head and went back to his search. He found out who Mark’s parents were and where they lived. He hoped Celia would just go away.

“I don’t mean any harm,” she said.

He didn’t look at her. “But you always cause it.”

“You’ve always been embarrassed by me.”

He couldn’t deny her accusation. “You wear your ‘gift’ on your sleeve.”

She sat in his chair reserved for clients. “You’d think I wore a turban and told fortunes.”

“That’s about how much people respect what you do.” The pained expression on her face had him wishing he could take back his last statement. “I’m sorry.”

She rose. “You’re not, but I’ll forgive you anyway. That’s what I do.” She walked towards the stairs. “Beware of someone named Mark.”

She disappeared. He only half heard her as he realized where Mark had gone to high school. Even worse, where he’d been a year ago and who had been there, too.

Chapter Eleven

“I came to surprise you for your birthday, Gracie. Is that so odd?”

He sat hunched over a beer at her kitchen table.

“Yes, because you aren’t that sentimental.”

She sat on her couch, grasping a pillow to her chest. Bad vibes robbed her of her strength. Mark being here wasn’t a good sign, but she didn’t know why it was a problem. Did it fit into the Dolores’ situation? Too many question rolled around in her brain.

The past few days had her more off-balance than usual. If she didn’t get back on track she wouldn’t save Dolores. The idea sent a shudder through her.

“This is a pivotal birthday. You could lose this power.”

“And you know I won’t miss it,” she said with honesty. The “gift” was more like a too small sweater some distant aunt knitted for you. You didn’t want it, but you still had to write a “Thank You” note.

“You will if you don’t solve this murder.”

She couldn’t argue with that. She shrugged and yawned. “I’m in no mood to argue. You got a place to stay?”

Mark finished his beer then stood. “I’ll find one.”

***

Zach perused the paper at this desk the next morning while consuming a fast food egg sandwich. Not a usual reader of the sports page, he almost put it in the recycling bin when he remembered Grace’s prediction.

He dropped his breakfast on his napkin when he saw the score of the Phillies’ game.

“Damn.”

Zach wasn’t sure what to think so he went back to his sandwich. But he wasn’t hungry anymore so he wrapped it up and dumped it into his trash.

Within a minute he was out the door and into his car. He pulled into Dolores’s driveway ten minutes later.

Grace answered the door to his ex-wife’s house with a satisfied smile on her face. Did actor boy inspire that?

“You read the paper,” she said.

His scowl hurt his face. “Yes. Lucky guess. We need to talk.”

“Dolores is asleep so let’s talk outside.”

The day had dawned warm with a light breeze. Wisps of Grace’s hair had escaped from her pony tail and were blowing around her face. He longed to brush them away.

“Speak. Do you believe me or not?”

“You know something. I’m not sure how or what. Spill it. How does she die?”

The absurdity of his words were not lost on him, but if he could prevent a death then this foolishness would be worth it.

“She’s shot, then her house is set on fire. I don’t know by whom. She couldn’t tell me.”

“When?”

“Tonight. Someone she knows. I heard the cops saying there was no forced entry.”

“That’s why you think it could be me. I have a key. But it could be anyone she knows. You, for example.”

Grace waved a hand to her apartment. “Search my place. I don’t have a gun. I’m not sure where I’d get one illegally.”

“You could have it on you. And I know you love when I touch you.”

Her face went white and she took a step away from him. “I’m not carrying.”

He could have fun with this. “But how do I know?”

Her gaze went over her outfit. “Where?”

With a short t-shirt and skin tight denim shorts on she wouldn’t hide a gun anywhere. “True.”

He let his gaze linger on her, taking in the pleasure of her miles of revealed skin. “You responded as a medic to the scene?”

“Yes. She had lost too much blood by the time we got here. That along with the miscarriage did her in. We didn’t know about that when we worked on her.”

Grace looked away as if she considered Dolores’ death to be a tragic mistake.

He reached out to her and for once she didn’t flinch. His fingers grazed her arm, but he pulled away before her eyes glazed over. “Would you have done anything differently?”

He was talking as if the incident really happened, which, in his mind, didn’t. This woman was getting under his skin.

“No. We did the best we could.”

“Then don’t worry about it. How much time do we have?”

“Do you believe me?”

He raked a hand over his hair. “I believe you believe this happened.”

She snorted out her disgust. “Don’t patronize me.”

“Look, I don’t think anything will happen, but on the off chance it does, I want to be here. What time?”

“The call came in at 4:30. Near the end of my shift.”

“But you aren’t working today.”

She shook her head. “I took the day off. Since I couldn’t figure out the murderer then I have to head them off when.”

His head spun, but he couldn’t see her logic. Here they were, on a normal Spring day, talking about an incident that never happened. “Where’s your friend?”

“He left.”

Zach bit his tongue. He wouldn’t ask what he wanted to know. Were they lovers? When this all came down and was done, would he have a chance with Grace?

“What?”

He’d been staring at her. Shaking off his thoughts he smiled.

“You don’t do that very often. And sometimes you look like a shark when you do.”

“There isn’t too much to smile about in my line of work.”

She nodded and as if she understood. “I at least get to save people.”

“I get to see them afterwards.”

“Mm. What do you do to blow off steam?”

“Yoga. And you?”

“Run.”

“Do you run from everything?”

“I haven’t run from this town or Dolores. No matter how much I want to put this ‘gift’ I have behind me. I want to forget about it most days.”

“How’d you meet Mark?”

There, he’d asked it. It was out on the table.

She laughed. “Mark seems like he’s always been here.”

“You been together long?”

She smiled. “Are you asking if we’re lovers?”

“Yep.”

“We aren’t. But you don’t like me very much.”

“I never said that. I just don’t trust you.”

“That isn’t conducive to starting a relationship.”

He shrugged, moving closer to her. “But you’ve grown on me.”

Her head tilted back to look up at him. “Like a fungus?”

With trepidation, he reached out and brushed a hair from her face. She didn’t flinch. In fact, for a moment, she turned towards his hand. “That didn’t hurt? Or make you faint.”

“I see colors when you touch me.”

“What kind of colors?”

He tried again, letting his fingertips brush her cheek.

“Like I’m inside a kaleidoscope.”

“Is it bad?”

“Not completely.”

Her eyes fell closed as his fingers went to her lush lips. “How about now?”

“Purples and reds with an underlying warm feeling.”

“Do you like it?”

Her “Yes” came out as a whisper.

Then she pulled back. “We can’t do this.”

Chapter Twelve

All of Grace’s effort finally moved her away from his touch. Her self-control was about to snap. She might even have thrown herself into his arms.

Then Dolores would be doomed. Grace would lose focus and then the murderer would succeed.

Instead, Grace walked away, catching her breath. “Because of Dolores?” He shook his head. “She knows we’re over. Jeez she was gonna have someone else’s baby.”

His voice held a note of desperation. “I have a job to do. Whatever I may think about my talent, I’ve been given it. And I have to follow it.” She whirled and bit her lip. “I have no choice.”

He looked down then back at her, his shoulders slumped with fatigue. “Grace. This murder isn’t going to happen. I just can’t believe that you time traveled back here. Besides. Why should you put your life on hold?”

Her heart hurt in her chest. Just when she thought she was getting through to him. Her eyes fell closed and she drank in the warmth from the sun. A shiver passed through her despite the heat.

He took a step towards her. She opened her eyes and moved away from him. If he put his arms around her she’d surrender. Her head would rest on his chest and she’d be content to let someone else prevent murders.

“Then you should go, Zach.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy.”

“Some part of you does.” She turned away from him. “Go.”

“No.”

His strong statement had her looking over his shoulder. “I’m seeing this through with you. I have a few cases to type up reports on and then I’ll be back after lunch. I’ll take a half day. We’ll see this through.”

She shook her head. “How do I know it isn’t you that’s going to kill her?”

“You don’t. You have to trust me. And deep in your heart, I think you know I shouldn’t be on your suspect list.”

“They way you trust me?”

The irony had her chuckling.

A frown creased his face. “Touché’.”

“Go, Zach and don’t worry about us.”

“Oh, cut the melodrama.”

“Look, I’ll be out of here when this is all done, anyway.”

She knew that for sure. She couldn’t stay in a town that thought her a freak. Would she ever settle somewhere? Unfortunately dead people were everywhere.

“Look, I’ll be back.” He turned towards his car. “You can count on that.”

She didn’t watch him drive off, but went in to check on Dolores.

***

Zach raced through his morning and was heading out the door when a call came in he had to take. A spouse he’d been hired to tail was going on a business trip, or so they said. He hoped she went to the airport then he could get to Dolores and Grace. His blood rushed with the urgency of the situation.

So, he went, but kept an eye on the clock. The woman met her lover at a hotel on the edge of town. Zach snapped the shots the husband wanted, but before he knew it Dolores was on her way to the hospital with a gunshot wound, her house on fire.

And when he arrived at the hospital, Grace was in the next room. She’d been in the fire, too. He dashed through the curtain separating her hospital bed from the hall.