All Things Lost (50 page)

     “Actually he said something like that.”

     She nodded.

     “He also said you have a lot of gifts and that I should talk to you about being sensitive, except he didn't use that word.”

     That seemed to surprise her. “He said to talk to me?”

     
“Yup.”

     “About being a sensitive?”

     “He said you'd explain it.”

     “What's to explain? It seems pretty self explanatory to me.”

     “Well, you've already explained it some earlier, but I guess I do still have a few questions.”

     “Well ask.”

     “Why am I sensitive? Where does it come from? Are you born that way?”

     She laughed. “That's like asking are you born gay. I'm not really sure, although often that gift does seem to run in families. You should ask your mom some time if anyone else in the family ever had a reputation for being psychic or anything.”

     I made a face. “That's not the sort of thing that you bring up casually, at least in my family. Can we go back to that whole somebody lied to me thing?”

     “I told you all I know. Someone you've talked to lied to you. Why don't you tell me who the major players are and what they said that could have been a lie?”

     “Well, let's see. Where to start? There's Nadine, she was the dead guy's girlfriend. She had a fight with him that night but that was nothing new, they fought all the time. The neighbor saw her leave. She could have conceivably come back later, but we don't have any reason to really think that. All she really said to us was that they fought and she left and he was in one piece when she left. We know that's all true so it couldn't have been her that lied.

     “Then there's Phillip
Zaranski
. Ira, the dead guy, worked for him at this sleazy motel. Turned out Ira was blackmailing
Zaranski
. He was secretly taping people's, er, escapades at the motel. So he had a strong motive for wanting Ira dead, but several witnesses placed him at the motel around the time of the murder. I don't think he did it. He seemed a little too
weaselly
to actually chop somebody up with an ax.”

     Judy lifted one eyebrow. “Don't ever underestimate the depths a person will go to protect their skin, especially someone who is already morally corrupt.”

     “He was never really a serious suspect, even Novak agreed.”

     “So who was?”

     
“The neighbors.”

     “The ones who saw Ira's girlfriend leave after the fight?”

     “No, that's Mrs. Fields. She's a sweet old lady.
The neighbors on the other side, Terry and Becky Haynes.
They aren't from here. They had a baby that was killed by an abusive babysitter. They moved here to try and get away from the memories and moved in next door to an abusive father. They
kinda
took Caleb, that's Ira's son, the kid Asher is
sorta
with, under their wing. They tried to help him as much as possible but there wasn't much they could do. They took Caleb in after he was released from police custody. They are definitely strange and I guess they have a motive of sorts, but I can't think of anything they might have been lying about.”

     “Ok. Who's next?”

     “Um, I guess next would be Caleb.”

     “Is he still a suspect? I thought you provided him with a get out of jail free card.”

     “Well, I did, but it was on the testimony of this kid named Finn. And if somebody was lying to me and it was essential to the case, it makes sense that it was one of them. Of course, Caleb never told me anything.
Nothing helpful anyway.
He was almost hostile.”

     “Hostile? And yet he asked you to help clear him?”

     “He didn't ask me; Asher did, remember?”

     “That's right,” she said thoughtfully. “I was there the day he called. I had forgotten that he was involved on a deeper level than just being involved with this Caleb boy. We'll get to that in a minute, but first what did the other boy tell you that got Caleb freed. What was his name? Flynn?”

     “Finn, short for Finnegan. He's definitely an odd duck. Even his fellow schoolmates call him eccentric. The day I met him he was wearing a kilt. Not that that means anything. Anyway, he told me that he and Caleb were having an affair of sorts and that the night of the murder Caleb was at his house the whole night. He was willing to go to the police with that statement even though it meant his parents would find out he was gay.”

     
“Oh, really?
And have you talked to him since that startling revelation took place?”

     “No, I haven't.”

     “A visit with Mr. Finn might be in order.”

“But if he was lying what did he have to gain from that lie? Caleb is with Asher now, not him.”

     “I don't know
,
a visit might ferret that out. Who else is there to have lied to you?”

     
“No one.”

     “What about my dear nephew?”

     “Asher? Are you serious?”

     
“Why not?
If he had feelings for this boy, and he obviously did or he wouldn't have insisted on you taking the case, then he had a lot at stake. Is there anything important that he's told you that could be a lie?”

     “I…I don't know.
Maybe.”

     “Tell me.”

     “Well, he said that he didn't hook up with Caleb until after Caleb was released from jail, but if it was before then Caleb was either messing around with two guys at once or Finn was lying. But then two people would have been lying and you just said one was.”

     “I didn't necessarily say that, or if I did I didn't mean to. There are lies surrounding this case, how many or who told them I don't know. Obviously the most destructive lies may have come from Finn. If what he told you was lies then the rest crumbles like a house of cards. If Caleb wasn't really with him that night, where was he? Killing his father? And if he didn't, then who did?
And why?
These are the questions that still need to be answered.”

     “But why do I have to be the one to answer them? Why can't the police do it?”

     “Because you started the job and now you have to finish it. Follow through on what you start, love. It's an important lesson.”

     I couldn't help but feel she was talking about more than detection. Was she trying to tell me something else in that mysterious way of hers? Before I could think further on that, Steve and Micah came back in, each loaded down with blankets, pillows and sleeping bags.

     “That was fast,” Judy said with a broad smile.

     “At your service,” Micah said with an answering grin. “Where do you want these?”

     “What room was
Amalie's
? Do we know?”

     “Well, we know which one the master bedroom was,” Steve answered, “Whether or not
Amalie
actually slept in there we have no way of knowing.”

     “It'll do, let's set up house in there.”

     We all followed Steve up the stairs to the bedroom and made up our beds. That done we went back down and had a snack of chips and salsa that Micah had brought along. We chatted for awhile about everyday stuff and then Judy announced that it was time for bed. As we started up the stairs once more Micah grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind. We stopped on the landing and he slipped his arms around my waist.

     “Mmm, I've been dying to do this all night,” he said as he gave me a gentle kiss.

     “Interesting choice of words,” I said softly and he gave an ungentlemanly snort. “So is it all you hoped it would be?”

     “Well, it's been interesting, I'll give you that. I had
kinda
hoped to see her for myself.”

     “Trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be,” I said pointedly.

     “Still, I'd like to experience it for myself, at least once.”

     
“How about if I give you my next experience for free?
You think they're transferable?”

     “You seem pretty confident you'll have a next experience.”

     “Well, apparently it's inevitable. I'm a sensitive, remember?”

     “Ah, yes.
Killian the Great, Seer of Wonders, Friend of the Dead.”

     I stuck my tongue out at him.

     “Hey, at least we get to spend the night together for the first time,” he said and waggled him eyebrows.

     “With two chaperones,” I added.

     “It's a start.”

     I smiled. “Yeah, it is that.”

     I leaned in for one last kiss before we followed Steve and Judy upstairs when a thin low sound made a shiver run up my spine. I jerked away like I'd been shocked.

     “Did you hear that?” I whispered.

     “Hear what?”

     Before I could answer, it came again, louder this time and unmistakably the sound a baby crying.

Chapter 29

     As the chilling sound of the baby's wail washed over me I felt as I was rooted to the spot. Micah seemed similarly affected since he didn't move so much as a muscle. Our frozen state was broken by the sound of footsteps clattering down the stairs from above us. My first thought was that it was
Amalie
. With a yelp I broke away from Micah and threw myself down the staircase. In my haste I missed a step and slid down the last few on my posterior.

     I was sitting on the floor in no small amount of pain as Judy
came
flying into view. Her eyes were wide and she looked for
all the
world like a dog straining to hear where a noise was coming from.

     She stopped when she reached Micah and grabbed his arm. “Do you hear that?” she asked urgently. He nodded and she released his arm and continued her descent at a breakneck speed, nimbly hopping over me at the bottom.

     “Come on, Killian,” she called. I stared at her retreating back and wondered for the hundredth time what I was doing here. I pulled myself painfully to my feet and limped off after her. I found her standing in front of the basement door staring at the knob as if willing it to open on its own accord. I wasn't about to open it so we both stood there listening to the crying that was definitely coming from behind the door. I don't know how I was so sure, it didn't seem any louder from here; in fact, it was just as loud from almost anywhere in the house. But as I stood there in front of the door I knew without a doubt that we had found the source of that unnerving sound.

     With a sudden flash of movement, Judy reached out and threw open the door. Immediately the crying stopped. I looked at Judy who was still staring intently down the dark stairs.

     “I don't want to go down there.” I said shakily.

     She glanced over at me and shrugged. “So don't,” she said as she snapped on her flashlight and started down the steps.

     I let out a ragged sigh that somehow came out as more of a whimper and started after her. She pulled the chain at the foot of the stairs and the dim bulb came on, swinging eerily and not doing anything to really dispel the gloomy darkness. It was enough to show that nothing had changed since we'd been down here earlier. There weren't even any scuff marks in the dirt except for those we'd left before. Despite the normalcy of the appearance, there was
a tightness
in my chest that threatened to choke me.

     “Can we go?” I managed to squeak.

     “You feel it too?” Judy asked.

     “Feel what?”

     
“That oppressive heaviness.”

     I nodded and eased myself onto the first step.

     “Something here is connected to the cupola stairs,” she said slowly, “The pain feels familiar but I can't feel anything definite, just a sense of…fear and…helplessness. It's hard to put into words.”

     “You don't have to, I feel it too. Please, can we go?” By now I had worked my way about halfway up. Judy gave a curt nod and started up the stairs. I gratefully spun around and took the last stairs two at a time. Micah was waiting in the hall.

     “Anything?” he asked.