A Long Way Down Read online

  “We knew the chances were slim,” Brody said. “Even the dumbest ghost would eventually test the limits of how far he could travel. It’s late. Let’s call it a day and hope something breaks tomorrow. Maybe Mike will have some new information for us.”

  The others agreed, and soon had drifted or walked up to their bedrooms, leaving Russ alone on the sofa. He got as comfortable as possible and was almost asleep when he became aware he wasn’t alone.

  “Hey, kid, you still awake?” Daw asked.

  “I am now.”

  “Good. I wanted to thank you for…well…helping me see things could be worse.” He chuckled low. “They could be better, but that’s a moot point now, I guess.”

  “Meaning you could still be alive,” Russ said.

  Daw nodded, said, “Do you mind?” and gestured to the end of the sofa. Russ sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees, so that Daw could have the other end. Then he answered Russ’s question. “Alive would be good. It was no bed of roses, but deep inside I always hoped that someday I’d pull myself together enough to get off the streets. It’s not happening now, but like you said, at least I’ve got friends. Well, I guess they are.”

  ‘They seem to think so,” Russ replied.

  “And I have you.”

  “Of course. I’ll always be your friend.” Russ smiled ruefully. “That takes on a whole new meaning, now.”

  “Saying always? Yeah, I guess it does, if we don’t find the bastard who killed us. That’s not quite what I meant, though. I know we’re friends but you’re special.” He held up a finger. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m not sure I can get through this without you.”

  “You won’t have to,” Russ replied adamantly. “I’m not going anywhere unless you do, and I don’t see that happening. Where would you go? Well, other than…you know…if we find…” He sighed.

  “Nowhere.” Daw rested his hand on Russ’s knees. “Maybe it’s stupid, but for the first time in my life I feel as if I have a home and people who care about me—especially you. I don’t think it will go beyond friendship because I’m not big on the whole ‘until death do us part’ thing. Gods, I didn’t just say that.”

  Russ laughed. “You did.” Then he sobered. “I understand. Relationships are tricky and can end badly. I know that first hand. So, for now, we’ll stick with what we have which is being damned good friends.” He lifted Daw’s hand from his knees, holding it. “It’s more than we had when we were alive, so I’m good.”

  “Me, too.” Daw squeezed Russ’s hand and then stood. “I’m heading to bed, finally. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, so you will.”

  Russ watched until Daw was out of sight. I wish we could be more. I wish we had what the others do. A true connection that gave them the strength to stay instead of moving on. We don’t, and I’ll have to accept it. He curled up on the sofa, again, his head on his arm, and soon fell asleep.

  Chapter 7

  It was Thursday morning; almost a week after Daw’s murder, and Mike was waiting for the other shoe to drop. As he told Sage over breakfast, “I don’t think our guy has suddenly given up and moved on. He’s been too successful in covering his tracks.”

  “One, you’re presuming all the other deaths the ME found are his work,” Sage pointed out. “Secondly, unless she missed one, it was two weeks between Daw’s and Russ’s murders.”

  Instead of replying, Mike texted Brody to ask if they had come up with a time frame for the killings. When he got Brody’s reply, he told Sage, “The two week interval wasn’t an anomaly. They were all spaced from a week-and-a-half to two weeks apart, so I guess we, they, still have time to come up with a way to stop the killer.”

  He was still thinking about the murders forty-five minutes later as he parked his car in the precinct lot and headed around to the building’s front entrance. As he approached it, he saw a girl, obviously homeless from the way she was dressed, cross the street. She stopped when she reached the sidewalk, twisting the straps of her backpack nervously as she looked at the doors. Then, with a shake of her head, she started to turn away.

  Mike approached her, asking gently, “Can I help you?”

  “You’re a cop?”

  “Yes, a detective.”

  She chewed her lip, apparently debating if she should reply. Then, in a burst of words, she said, “I think I saw someone murdered. I’m sure I did. A friend of mine. Daw. He was thrown off a roof, and…” She stuttered to a stop.

  Mike’s pulse quickened at Daw’s name. “I’d like to know more about what you saw,” he told her. “Why don’t you come inside with me and we’ll talk.” He smiled. “I promise, I don’t bite.”

  She swallowed hard. “I…okay. He didn’t deserve that. He was good people.”

  Mike almost agreed, before realizing there was no way he could admit he knew Daw. Somehow I don’t think she’ll believe I’ve communicated with his ghost.

  He opened the door and waited for her to enter. She did, looking around fearfully. “I’ve never…”

  “Been in a police station? I’d say that’s a good thing.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  He took her up to his desk in the squad room, asking her to have a seat. She perched nervously on the edge, plucking at the hem of her worn hoodie.

  “All right,” Mike said once he was seated. “Why don’t you tell me who you are for starters?”

  “Jamie.”

  “Is that your street name or your real one?”

  “Does it matter,” she asked with a brief burst of defiance.

  “Nope. Okay, Jamie, what happened to your friend?”

  “His name’s Daw, I told you that.”

  “You did. You said you saw someone throw him off the roof.”

  “Yeah, like last Friday, I think.”

  “Why did you wait so long to come in?”

  She looked down, muttering, “Why do you think? You’re cops. You never believe anything we tell you.”

  “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” He resisted giving her shoulder a pat, knowing it would probably send her running.

  Still looking down, she said, “Okay, so, I was going up to the roof I sometimes crash on. Me, and sometimes Daw, too. It’s like, there’s the fire escape to a lower one, right? I got to that one and then there’s a higher roof. It’s hard to get up on, but it feels safe ‘cause I can hear someone trying to climb up, or jumping, like me. It was dark, but the moon was coming up so I could see, right? I went a few feet back so I could take a running jump and…” She drew in a shaky breath. “I saw a man on the other roof, just his, um, torso?” Mike nodded. “That and his head. He was holding something big. At first I thought he was going to throw a trash bag into the Dumpster ‘til I realized he was on the street side. He took a couple of steps and threw it over then laughed. I heard him say, ‘See you in hell,’ and I…I knew it…it was a person.” By the time she finished, tears were rolling down her face. She used the sleeve of her hoodie to wipe them away.

  Mike gave her a couple of moments to regain control before asking softly, “Did you get a look at the man?”

  “Uh-huh. Sorta. I think he was tall, and he had shoulders, and longish blond hair. I mean, of course he had shoulders…” She spread her hands.

  “Broad shoulders.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Could you tell what he was wearing?”

  “Not really. Okay, I take that back. It was a dark hoodie. I saw the hood flip on his back when he moved. There was something light when it moved. I mean, under it.”

  “Like a logo?”

  “Maybe? I didn’t stick around to find out, after I heard the…the body hit the ground. I was down the fire escape as fast as possible and out of the alley, but…but I had to see who it was, you know. That time of night the only people on roofs are us, trying to find a safe place to sleep. The…he was all bashed up and bloody, but I could see his face in the streetlight, even though I didn’t get clo
se and I knew it was Daw.” Jamie looked at Mike, her eyes filling with tears again. “Why would someone do that to him? He was a good guy. Not too friendly, mostly, but he never hurt anyone.”

  “I intend to find out,” Mike promised. He looked at the notes he’d taken. “I’d like you to wait a few minutes while I type these up into a statement and have you sign it.”

  “I won’t sign my last name,” Jamie replied rebelliously.

  “I understand. You’re okay with it if you sign and I witness it?”

  “Yeah, sure. If it helps catch Daw’s killer I’m good.”

  “It might,” Mike told her. “You’re the first person who’s admitted to seeing the killer.”

  “He killed Wink, I bet,” she said. “And a couple others, too, from the rumors on the street.”

  “We think so, and so far we have no description at all. This—” he tapped his notes, “—isn’t much, but it’s something. Who was Wink, by the way, and when did he die?”

  “Eh, about a month ago, maybe?” Jamie nodded. “Yeah, about that. I told Daw about it and that was at least a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know Wink’s real name. He just went by that. He was a real ass, but he didn’t deserve to die like that.”

  “I agree. Do you want a soda while I type your statement?”

  “Uh-huh, please?”

  He got her one from the vending machine in the break room before setting to work. When he finished, he printed it out and had her sign it, and he signed as the witnessing officer. “How can I find you, if I need to?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “I sometimes hang around the restaurants on Banyon.” She managed a grin. “Or you can check the roofs. Or not,” she added. “I haven’t been up on them since…since…” She bit her lip. “Do you need me for anything more?”

  “No. Thank you for trusting me enough to talk to me.”

  Nodding, she got up. “You have a nice face.”

  He chuckled as he stood, too, to escort her downstairs. “So I’ve been told. You take care and be careful.”

  “Plan on it,” she replied.

  The last he saw of Jamie was her hurrying down the street once she left the building. At the corner of the block, she stopped, turned back, and gave him a small wave.

  He waved back, and then returned to his desk to call Sage.

  * * * *

  “Here’s what I have so far,” Mike said when he, Sage, and the ghostie boys plus two were assembled in the carriage house living room that evening. “First, though, Daw, did you know a girl named Jamie?”

  Daw nodded, saying, “Nice kid. She’s had a rough life and is scared of men. Why?”

  Sage relayed his answer, and his question.

  “She came by the precinct this morning,” Mike replied. “I have the feeling if I hadn’t been right there when she did, she’d have walked away. But I was, and I got her to talk to me. She saw the man who threw you off the roof, Daw, and gave me a partial description.”

  “Shit! Poor kid,” Daw said under his breath, at the same time Brody asked, “What did he look like?”

  Sage repeated the question.

  “Tall, she thinks, which may be the result of perspective. She was down on a lower roof. He also had broad shoulders, and blond hair, ‘longish’ to quote her. Does that ring any bells with either of you, Daw and Russ?”

  Russ shrugged. “It could fit a lot of guys, homeless or not. I can’t think of anyone specific.”

  “He’s right, and I can’t, either,” Daw replied—and Sage repeated what both of them had said.

  “I figured as much,” Mike replied. “She said he was wearing a hoodie, with the hood down, and she saw something light on the back of it. I’m presuming either a logo for a band or something like that.”

  “At least we have a bit of a description, which will help when we go looking for him,” Van commented, getting nods from the others.

  When Sage relayed Van’s words, Mike said, “If he holds true to form, you’ve got a week until he hits again.”

  “No pressure there,” Jon muttered.

  Sage didn’t bother to repeat what Jon had said, instead asking, “Do you have a plan for finding him, Brody?”

  “Not in detail,” Brody admitted. “Spread out and watch the roofs in the area he’s made his killing ground. If we do see him…” He looked at the others in question.

  Sage told Mike what Brody had said, to which Mike replied, “If I may make a suggestion, all of you carry your cell phones and text me the second you spot him. Hopefully that’ll happen before he kills his target.”

  “Mike, there’s no way you, or any officers you alerted, could get there in time to stop him,” Van said, and Sage repeated.

  “Agreed, but if you put your heads together, I’m sure you can come up with something to keep him busy until help arrives.”

  “Shove him off the roof,” Daw spat out. “It would be justifiable homicide.”

  “And the cops couldn’t arrest us, because we don’t exist,” Russ added with a brief smile.

  “Maybe not,” Jon said. “But we do have consciences. I’m not sure I could live with mine if I killed someone unless it was self-defense.”

  “Even to save another life?” Tonio asked.

  “I don’t know,” Jon replied, his expression troubled.

  “Yeah, you do,” Brody said, gripping Jon’s shoulder. “When it comes down to it, all of us could. We know what it’s like to be dead. I, for one, wouldn’t wish that on anyone else. We can’t get back our lives, but for damned sure we can save someone else’s if at all possible.”

  Sage had been repeating their conversation to Mike, who seemed to understand what they were feeling because he said, “You don’t have to kill him. You only have to distract him. Sort of like you did when we caught Kurt’s killer.”

  Brody looked thoughtful. “Not the same way as then, but, with the exception of Daw and Russ, we’re all capable of holding things, like bats or pipes or what have you.”

  Gene jumped in to say, “The killer hits his victim to daze him, first. We’d have to wait until that happened. After all, we don’t want to attack someone who’s just trying to wake up a friend.”

  “I can use my phone take a video of the guy in action,” Kurt said. “It’s what I’m good at.”

  “That should work,” Mike agreed once he knew what the ghosts had said. “Brody, it’s on you to let me know the second you spot him so I can alert the nearest officers. Once you put your plan into motion, the guy is going to try to get away.”

  “Not if they beat the shit out of him,” Daw said with an evil grin.

  “No!” Mike retorted sharply when Sage relayed Daw’s words. “Scare him, keep him from leaving, but do not hit him. It would be hard for us to explain later and he might try to claim the officers did it to him.” He smiled as he added, “If he happened to trip over his own feet while attempting to flee…”

  Brody chuckled. “That could work. Tripped, fell, and hit his head on something.”

  “As long as he survives to face trial,” Sage said. “I want to know why he’s doing this.”

  “I’ll admit I do, too,” Daw replied. “I’d feel guilty if he’s done all these murders to cover up a reason for killing me. Doubtful, I suppose, because it’s been ten years since I left home. Even as crazy as she was, I don’t see my step-mother holding a grudge that long.”

  “If she did set the guy on you, Daw,” Gene said, “then his mission is complete so he might not kill again, in which case we’ll never catch him.”

  Van said, “He has to be a serial killer. He’s too methodical. There’s the timeframe, the types of victims, the way he kills. I’m not sure a hired killer, even a clever one, would go to all that trouble. Two, maybe three, if he was trying to cover up who the intended victim was, but we’ve got at least six, maybe more if the ones we eliminated because they were across town were trial balloons. At least that’s my take on it.” He looked at Gene and Brody for confirmation.

 
Gene nodded. Brody shrugged, saying, “Serial killers weren’t my focus when I was alive.”

  Sage had been quietly repeating everything they were saying for Mike’s edification. When he finished, Mike said, “On the whole, I agree with Van about it being a serial killer at work. Now all you guys have to do is find him.”

  “And stop him,” Sage pointed out.

  Mike nodded. “I think that’s a given. Right now, though, it’s been a long day and I’m starved, so if you all don’t mind, I’m going home.” He stood, heading to the door than paused. “If you refine your plan I want to be kept in the loop, so let Sage know.”

  “Always the middleman,” Sage grumbled, but he was smiling because he knew none of the ghosts, or Mike, would take offense.

  * * * *

  After Mike and Sage left, Brody suggested it was time to take a break from being ‘Intrepid detectives.’ “We’re going to be spending the next few nights looking for the bastard. Tonight, let’s do something fun.”

  “Like what?” Kurt asked. “And do not say sneak into a movie. Been there, done that, way too many times.”

  “Go to a club,” Tonio replied. “Like you and I did, back when.”

  “And people-watch?” Kurt didn’t seem too enthused at that idea.

  “No. We can dance. All of us can. Right?” Tonio appealed to the others. “It’ll be fun and different.”

  Jon chortled. “And since no one can see us if we make fools of ourselves, it won’t matter.”

  Van glanced at Gene, got a shrug in reply, and then said, “Hell, why not?”

  “Yes!” Tonio pumped a fist and grabbed Kurt’s hand. “Let’s go.”

  “Guys,” Brody said. “Which club?”

  That stopped Tonio. “Umm…”

  “Far Horizon,” Jon suggested.

  “Are you sure?” Brody looked at him in concern.

  “Why not? It’s a nice place and what happened is long in the past. I’ll be fine, honest.” Jon hugged Brody.

  “What was that all about?” Russ whispered to Daw.

  Before Daw could reply, Brody said, “The club is where Jon and I met Sage, while Mike was investigating Jon’s murder.”