Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (141 page)

CHAPTER 10

From the bed I stared out the window at the snowy tree branches blowing in the wind. An owl was hooting in the distance as the moonbeams drenched the bedroom floor. The small portable heater shot out hot air from the corner.

It was just after five in the morning and I was still thinking of the bad dream, even though it hadn’t even really been a nightmare because nothing had happened in it. Basically, it had just been a feeling, like one of those abstract paintings that had to be interpreted to give it meaning.

It reminded me a little of one of Kate’s ex-boyfriends, a starving artist type named Matt. No matter how hard I tried, I could never understand his art. In any case, it wouldn’t be the first time that a dream had left me with a strange feeling that I couldn’t put my finger on. But I was hoping that it didn’t have any significance.

“I love you, Abby,” Ty said, bringing me back to the present.

“I love you, too.”

He pulled me close.

“They never give you much of a break, do they?” he said after a while.

“Huh? You mean my cooking instructors?”

“No, I mean the ghosts.” He blew out some air like he was trying to put out a birthday cake. “You never get much of a break from them.”

“Maybe this one won’t need too much.”

“Like that’s going to happen.”

“I need to make sure that it does happen,” I said. “If I don’t stay focused, I’m a goner.”

He sat up.

“You know, when Native American hunters were going after buffalo on the plains, they would focus on just one animal. Even though they might be surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of them, they focused on just one, shutting out everything else. Maybe that’s what you need to do.”

“I’ll try to remember that next time I’m on the hunt, Dances With Pizza.”

I thought that would have been good for at least a smile, but Ty wasn’t having it.

“I’m just saying that sometimes it takes you a while to come back from these things, that’s all. The Emily Ross thing hit you pretty hard. But now you’re finally over it. I don’t want to see all your plans get derailed because of some ghost. This is your time, Abby. The ghosts have to take a back seat.”

I was ready to make another joke, but stopped when I saw that he was serious. And he was right. If the Emily Ross case had come along when I was in school I don’t think I would have been able to hack it. I would have had to drop out.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll keep the ghosts under control.”

I stretched out and thought about what he was saying, to not get lost in the darkness. There seemed to be so much of it and I couldn’t deny that it took a toll on me.

But I also couldn’t deny that, although I didn’t have super powers when it came to ghosts, I did manage to do some good. I helped people.

Maybe focusing wasn’t the answer. Maybe it had more to do with finding a balance.

I looked at Ty.

“Hey, do you think I’m getting fat?” I said.

“What?”

“David says I am. And my cheeks seem to agree.”

“All I know is that they agree with me, too,” he said, pulling back the sheets and staring at my derriere. “They agree with me a lot. Besides, I’m your Billy Joel.”

“My what?”

“Your Billy Joel. You know, because I love you just the way you are and all that.”

“Glad to hear it,” I said. “But I have to admit I’m a little creeped out right now. I didn’t bargain for sharing a bed with Billy Joel.”

“I think you’re being a little rash. You really need to give that some thought,” Ty said. “Take a poll. I bet if you ask David he would say, ‘Old bald, bug-eyed singers are super sexy, Abby Craig.’”

“You’re so full of it.”

“If you say so,” he said and kissed me hard.

At first I could hear the wind blowing outside, but then it disappeared in the pounding of our hearts.

“Just remember. Whatever you need, I’m good for it.”

“I know you are,” I said, rolling over on top of him. “I know you are.”

CHAPTER 11

Snowboarding was the farthest thing from my mind when I woke up that morning. But when I heard the excitement in Ty’s voice and saw the smile spread across his face, I couldn’t say no.

I hadn’t been up there once this season, and honestly didn’t even really miss it. After Jesse, I never thought of Mt. Bachelor the same way. Between my injuries and the memories, snow sports just weren’t for me anymore. I had gone back up the mountain a few times, proving I could still race down the slopes, but something inside me was different. I wasn’t the same person. That snowboard-loving 17-year-old girl was still at the bottom of that lake.

But it turned out to be more fun than I would have imagined. For a few hours I even managed to forget all about the week ahead. It was just what I needed.

Then the bottom dropped out.

As I neared the end of the fourth run of the day, something went wrong. I lost my edge and the next thing I knew I was flying and tumbling and tumbling and flying down the remaining 100 feet of mountain, finally coming to a stop in front of a throng of assorted onlookers.

I opened my eyes to find Ty standing above me.

“That was kind of cool,” he said, offering his hand. “You okay?”

I grabbed it, trying to ignore the sounds of clapping and cheering all around.

“I think so,” I said, moving my arms and legs to make sure they were still attached and in working order. “It’s my ego I’m worried about. That was a 9.5 on the embarrassment scale.”

“At least,” he said.

“You don’t have to rub it in, you know.”

My butt had taken the brunt of it and I could already feel it throbbing.

“No, I think I do. But it’s all good if you can live to feel it the next day.” The moment he said it his expression changed. “Sorry.”

It took me a second to understand. I hadn’t even thought of Jesse.

“No, it’s fine,” I said.

“Okay, I vote that we quit while we’re behind. And while some us still have a behind.”

“You might have a point, but let’s get some hot chocolate before we head back.”

“Deal.”

We walked over toward the lodge. I pulled out a chunk of snow from my ear and thought about what had just happened.

People fell. It was just part of snowboarding. But I couldn’t help feeling that there was more to it in my case. My balance was off. I could feel it all day. It was like I was carrying around an extra dumbbell or two. I needed to get serious again about my conditioning.

“I need to get myself in shape again,” I said. “This is ridiculous.”

“Don’t think about that right now. We’re both out of practice. I feel it too.”

“I don’t think
we’re
out of practice,” I said, rubbing my tail bone. “I’m pretty sure I saw you riding
fakie
up there. Showoff.”

“No, that wasn’t me,” Ty said, trying to hide a smile. “It must have been someone who looked like me.”

“You mean like Billy Joel?”

We found a table by the window. It hurt to sit, but the hot chocolate felt good going down even though I knew it was generic and mostly tap water.

“It’s getting crowded,” Ty said, looking outside. “I’m glad we got here when we di— Oh, wow. I think I see Carmichael out there. Man, it’s been a long time. We started teaching up here together. I’m gonna go say hello.”

“I’ll be right here,” I said. “Just shoot me a text when you’re ready to go.”

I watched as Ty headed out into the snow, and then looked back out the window at all the people, my eyes starting to glaze over and lose focus.

But the next moment I sat straight up, suddenly and completely alert.

There, to one side of the long lift line and looking very much out of place, was Charles Modine.

CHAPTER 12

Through the cloud of smoke surrounding him, I could see that he was wearing that same dark wool coat, the scarf tied in a European fashion around his neck, black leather gloves, and shiny dress shoes.

I finished my drink and hobbled outside.

“Your entrances are getting better. I didn’t spill one drop of hot chocolate when I saw you.”

“Glad to hear it,” he said. “I’m still trying to figure this dead thing out, but I’m a quick study. At least I was.”

He struck a match against a nearby metal support and lit another cigarette.

“How do you do that?” I asked, lowering my voice as someone walked by.

“What?”

“Smoke. I’ve never seen a ghost do that before.”

“Certain things make the trip with you, I guess. At least I don’t have to worry about the price of tobacco now or running out.”

He smiled and then came a little closer.

“Is this a good time?”

“Yeah, all right,” I said. “I have a few minutes. But it’s too busy here. Let’s go over by the cross country trails.”

He nodded.

As we walked I saw Ty in the distance. He seemed to be in the middle of a story, grinning and gesturing wildly as he spoke. I hoped he wasn’t telling his friend about my recent face plant.

I took Modine up a small slope behind the Nordic Center and stopped by some trees. It was a lot quieter here, but I still took out my phone and pretended to talk into it so people wouldn’t wonder if I had hit my head.

There was a wicked wind gusting from the north. I put my back to it and buried my free hand deep inside my pocket.

The cigarette smoke was unaffected by the icy wind, floating up in a straight line.

“You ski?” I asked.

He shook his head and took a long puff before answering.

“City boy.”

We were both quiet for a while after that.

“That right there was my attempt at small talk,” I said.

“Gotcha,” he said, flicking ashes. “I’ll get to the point. Like I told you the first time, I need your help in catching the piece of shit that killed my wife. Pardon my French.”

I thought of Chef Dubois and my stomach did a little pirouette.

“I’m not sure what you expect me to do,” I said. “Like I told you, I’m not a private investigator.”

“I know, I know all that.”

He let out a lung full.

“Man, being dead can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. I mean, if I was still alive I’d be able to take care of this myself. I wouldn’t need to ask anyone for help. For a moment there I forgot that. When I finally found him I was so excited, but it didn’t take me long to realize that it means nothing. It’s almost worse this way because here he is and I can’t do a damn thing about it. I’m so… helpless. It’s torture.”

“How long have you been looking for him?” I said.

“What month are we in?”

“End of January.”

“Sarah was killed almost three years ago then. That’s how long I’ve been after him.” He shot the butt into the trees. “I knew early on the cops weren’t going to be any help. The investigation, if you can call it that, didn’t even reach a dead end because that would have required some movement on their part. I realized it was up to me. But I died before I could do anything about it. A heart attack took me out.”

“You seem kind of young for that.”

“Yeah, they said the same thing about my old man. And his old man before him. Runs in the family. But, you know. The buck stops here. At least I did that right. No kids for me to pass on my bad genes.”

The wind was howling now, making the tree tops look like they were under assault by an army of invisible monkeys.

“Anyway, death didn’t change anything. I mean, it’s not going to change anything. I’m seeing this thing through. Alive or dead. But…”

His voice cracked and he looked away before continuing.

“Hell, I can’t even haunt the bastard. I’ve tried. Believe me. But he doesn’t see me.”

He crouched down and swiped at the snow.

“See, can’t even make a damn snowball. I’m completely useless. It’s hell. Every time I see him, standing there in front of me, this animal that killed my wife, I die all over again.”

He looked up at me.

“Help me. Help me.
Please
.”

I knew I was the only one who heard him, but at that moment it was as if that last word echoed through the trees and up and down the mountain. His pain was so real, it was almost a living thing. I sensed he didn’t have a lot of experience asking for help, that he did things for himself, and that it must have been humiliating to have to come to me like this.

But I still didn’t know exactly what he wanted me to do.

“You’re sure it’s the right guy?” I asked.

He nodded slowly.

“No question about it,” he said. “It’s him and he’s here.”

“How did it happen?” I said, trying to get a better understanding of the facts before going any farther.

He let out a long sigh and his eyes darkened, a mixture of suffering and anger bubbling to the surface like lava.

“She had gone for a run, like she did every morning. It helped her clear her head and get her ready for work. The funny thing was that she was always real careful. She wore bright clothing and a reflective vest when it was dark. She didn’t listen to music. She ran against traffic, like you’re supposed to. But it didn’t make any difference. He still ran her down and left her there, like she was road kill.”

Modine took a deep breath before continuing.

“It wasn’t just a random hit and run. There were three witnesses and it was caught on one of those traffic cams. The car swerved at the last second and went onto the sidewalk. Sarah never had a chance.

“The video caught most of the license plate but not the guy’s face. The cops found the car in an alley not too far away. They found her blood all over it. It had been reported stolen the day before the accident. But they didn’t find any prints. Nothing.”

I thought about the alley in my dream. I almost told him about it, but then decided to wait until I had more information.

The ghost paused.

“I should have been there for her. With her. She even asked me to come along that morning. But I passed because it was my strength day. I was doing crunches when the cops knocked on the door, to tell me. God, the damn things we think are important.”