Zach glanced over his shoulder. “Appears that someone’s feeling a bit of remorse for what he’s done.”
“Ya think?” I retorted. “Jesus, he’s drowning himself in booze.”
Zach reached into his pocket, pulling out a pen and a paper bag. He lifted one of the bottles and placed it inside the bag, as well as a tissue. “I’ll get this to the lab to see if they can lift any prints or obtain a DNA sample. Might be the break in the case we need.”
I’d seen this on television, so the revelation made me blissfully happy. “Oh good, DNA found means case closed.”
Zach sealed up the bag. “You shouldn’t believe what you see on TV.” He shook his head as if it annoyed him my thoughts went there. “It takes weeks—sometimes months to get a DNA sample confirmed. Then who’s to say we have the sample on file to match it to the suspect?”
“We will if it is a cop,” Kipp said.
“If we’re assuming right and the killer is a cop, we’ll find a match. It’s part of protocol when you join the force to give a DNA and fingerprint sample,” Zach continued, since he didn’t hear Kipp’s response.
“Oh, okay, well, that’s great.” I clapped my hands. “We can go then, right? I’m all done here?”
Both men shook their heads. My happiness plummeted. “But you said you’ll have the cop’s DNA, so what else do you need?”
“It’ll take months…”
Zach sighed. “You’ll—”
I waved my hand to indicate Kipp had already started to explain.
“To see if a match is found. It’s best for us to continue on here and see where it leads us, which means, of course, that you’ll get to spend more time with me, beautiful.”
I blushed and hated he caused such a reaction in me. I tore my gaze from him and looked at Zach. “Okay, well, tell me what I can help with so we can get out of here. It stinks and I feel my allergies acting up from all the dust.” I sniffed to prove my point.
Kipp chuckled.
Zach rubbed his own nose with the back of his hand. “Since the air is bothering you, why don’t you and Kipp go and search outside. See if anything stands out.”
Great, more alone time with Kipp!
The idea, though, of being out of the retched place was too appealing to pass up. “Good plan.” I spun on my heel and nearly walked straight through Kipp. He had come up right behind me and I hadn’t even noticed his presence, which surprised me. I always sensed a ghost’s nearness and that meant I forgot what he was or got used to him being around. Both possibilities weren’t good.
Kipp grinned with a playful edge. “Despite your attempts to deny it, you are all too happy to spend some private time together.”
My cheeks burned deeper and I did what I continually had done, ignored him as I walked by and exited the bedroom, striding toward the front door. I hated that Kipp might have been right.
He’s a ghost. He’s a ghost. He’s a ghost.
Maybe if I echoed those words in my mind a thousand times, I’d remember that fact. But even as I repeated it, I suspected it’d turn out to be a battle I would inevitably lose.
Once outside, Kipp stayed quiet as I searched for any place that looked like an entry point. By the time we approached the backyard, there hadn’t been any hint of trespassing.
The night had fallen upon us and a couple bright stars twinkled above me in the dark sky. I took a quick look at my watch. Nine o’clock. My body experienced the strain of the day and exhaustion settled in. A cold shudder ran through me. I gasped and took a step back. “Sorry,” I said to Kipp. “I didn’t realize you stopped.”
He stood in front of me with his head bowed. I walked around to face him and saw the despair in his expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Here.” He looked up at me, pointing to the ground. “The night I died…this is where…”
I followed the direction of his pointing finger and along the concrete patio was a large stained area, which I assumed had been his blood. “Oh, you were shot here.”
Kipp knelt down, placing his hand on the darkest area. “I feel…” His gaze returned to mine. “It feels strange to be back here.”
Yeah, I bet it does.
“An unhappy memory happened here. Of course returning here wouldn’t be pleasant.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s more than that. For the first time since I woke up, I feel as if I’m in the right place.”
“The right place?” I repeated.
He pondered, only a moment, and apparently, the answer came to him, since his eyes widened. “Home.”
Now he’d lost me. “What do you mean home?”
“It’s the same feeling you have when you walk through your parents’ front door. You know, the one that says you’re right where you belong.”
It’d been some time since I experienced such a feeling, but I understood what he meant. Maybe more so because I had longed to feel that again for years. “Yeah, I know the feeling.”
His gaze pleaded for answers. “Why am I experiencing this?”
How should I know?
“Maybe it’s because some of you remains here, at this place, because your life ended here.”
He stood in one swift movement and closed in on me. I gasped as the coldness of his presence washed across me. His movement had been so fast, supernatural for sure, and I had never witnessed such a move before. For the most part, ghosts appeared normal and his move simply wasn’t.
“Holy crow! How did you do that?”
His eyebrow arched. “Do what?”
“Move like…” I paused in an attempt to find the right word. “Something out of a scary movie.”
He looked at me reprovingly. “I’m a ghost, Tess.”
“Yes.” I returned the look. “I know this.”
“The rules you live by are no longer mine.”
The idea of ghosts didn’t scare me because they appeared somewhat normal. This whole spooky nonsense freaked me out. “So, you can move quickly?”
He nodded. “As quick as I want.”
How much did I not know? Creepiness ran up my spine. “What else can you do?”
Kipp stared intently. “There’s more, but I don’t want to frighten you.”
“I’m not frightened,” I retorted.
“No?” He trailed his icy fingers under my eye. “In here, I see fear.”
I moved away from his touch, since my initial reaction had been to lean into him. “I’m not saying it’s not a little strange, but I can handle it, so spill.”
Kipp shook his head, apparently dismissing my wants completely. “There must be a reason I feel this here.”
I suspected his reason for not telling me was for my own good. This time, I left the matter alone and followed his lead. “Like I said before, it’s probably because you died here. With every ghost I’ve met, they remember things more when they return to a certain place or see something that sparks a memory. Maybe coming back here is something you needed to do to…” I hated the way my voice trembled, as the idea of him moving on didn’t appeal to me in the least, “to cross over.”
The knowing look in Kipp’s gaze, plus his grin, told me he noticed my hesitation. “As much as what you say makes sense, it still doesn’t explain why I remember everything from my life.”
I took a step back in order to put a little distance between us. “Yes, you do.”
“Then your theory isn’t much of a theory at all.” He closed the distance between us and bowed his head closer to mine. “There’s more going on here.”
It didn’t take a genius to understand the meaning behind “there is more going on here” had nothing to do with the blood on the concrete, but had everything to do about us.
“Yeah, well, you’re asking the wrong person. I only know what I’ve seen so far and why you’ve had this reaction here is beyond me. All I know is this…” I pointed to the ground, “is where you died.”
Kipp frowned as he stepped away from me and looked down to the ground. “Yes, it is.”
Shit!
All the heat surrounding me had made me harsh. I’d never been so blasé with a ghost and unaware of what they were going through. I’d answered him without a single thought in my mind.
Get a hold of yourself, Tess.
“Um, I mean…”
His gaze jerked to mine and he held up his hand. “I don’t need you to beat around the bush. Neither you nor I have time for it.”
He alleviated some of my guilt for being a stone-cold bitch, but it still didn’t mean I understood any of this or could give him the answers he sought. That didn’t mean I couldn’t help him along. “Why do you think you’re feeling like this?”
Kipp seemed to consider it, glancing around a couple times before turning back to me. “It’s as if there’s an unknown strength here.” He arched his eyebrow. “Does that make any sense?”
No.
“Yes.”
He inhaled deeply as he apparently tried to sort it all out. I stayed silent while I watched him struggle, wishing I held the ability to ease the situation and help him answer his questions.
Finally, after many minutes, he sighed. “I’m not quite sure if I can put it into words, but I feel a great amount of energy right here. It’s in the air, along my skin, fills me when I breathe and it fuels me with adrenaline.”
Most ghosts were so distant to the world around them, exactly why they always drove me batty. Self-absorbed wasn’t a strong enough word to describe them. “I’ve never had a ghost experience what you are now.”
Kipp cocked his head. “Never?”
“Never, ever.”
“It feels powerful.” His eyes fluttered closed as he breathed deep. “I feel alive.”
Alive? The word seemed so wrong coming from his mouth. He was so far from being alive that the comparison left my mouth to gape open.
“Yes, it feels exactly like I’m alive.” He snapped open his eyes and his gaze lit up with excitement. “I couldn’t place it at first. But I feel more alive right now than I have since I died.”
Warning, you’re now entering the Twilight Zone.
Ghosts were ghosts. They did what they had to in order to move on. What Kipp explained now had nothing to do with crossing over, but seemed more like self-discovery. The heebie jeebies set in. “W-w-why do you think you’re experiencing all of this?”
Kipp shrugged. “How should I know? You’re the expert here.”
Expert! Not likely!
The world seemed turned around, upside down with nothing to support me. “So where does that leave us?”
He winked. “It leaves us—one stupid ghost with one pretty lady.”
I might have blushed yet again, that is, if Zach hadn’t chosen the exact moment to interrupt us. “I found nothing inside.”
As he settled in next to me, I studied him, and his angered expression and curt tone left me at a loss. “A good or a bad thing?”
“A bit of both.”
I looked to Kipp, who said nothing. My gaze came back to Zach, who also said nothing. I waved him on. “Would you care to elaborate?”
Zach ran a hand through his hair, leaned up against the house and put one foot up on the brick wall. “It’s good we’ve ruled out your theory—it’s bad that our assumption of the killer being a cop is right.” He glanced around the yard. “Have you found anything out here?”
I glanced sideways at Kipp. He shook his head. I heard his message loud and clear. He wanted to keep what he experienced private. “No, just like you, we found nothing out here.”
Zach yawned, stretched and pushed himself off the wall. “Figured so much.” He rubbed his hands across his face.
I sympathized, equally as ready to crawl into my bed. “So-o what are we going to do now?” It’d been an exhausting couple days. I’d always been a stickler for being in bed at ten, up at seven. My body was used to a routine and this Kipp business messed me all up.
Zach bent down to stretch his muscles, then he straightened up and looked straight at the ground. “Whatcha thinking, Kipp?”
I laughed under my breath. Zach had resorted to looking down now instead of making a fool of himself. I couldn’t blame him. Without knowing Kipp’s location, he did look rather silly talking to thin air. “Kipp is standing right in front of me.”
Zach raised his head and smiled a thank-you, which I returned.
“From Hannah’s description,” Kipp said, “I think we’re safe to say that neither Max nor Eddie is involved.”
“Why would you suspect either of them?” I retorted. “Shouldn’t you know and trust the people you work with?”
Kipp shook his head. “You can never take chances.”
“Suspected who?” Zach asked.
“I can see Eddie, but Max?” He had to be in his late forties and he was no Sean Connery either. “Robbing the cradle a little bit, don’t you think?”
“Women make strange choices sometimes,” Kipp responded.
“What are we talking about?” Zach asked in a huff.
“Kipp doesn’t think Max or Eddie had any involvement in Hannah’s murder.” I glanced back at Kipp and needed to state my point. “No woman in her right mind, who’s Hannah’s age, would chase after Max’s tail—that’s all I’m saying.”
Zach laughed. “I think I might make you repeat that when we get back to the station. I bet Max would get a real kick out of hearing he’s less than appealing to women.”
Insulting Max was the least of my worries, especially since something Zach had said hit a nerve. “What do you mean, when we get back to the station?”
They could not be thinking…