Ghostly target, p.1
Ghostly Target, page 1
GHOSTLY
TARGET
GHOSTLY TARGET
COPYRIGHT
© 2023 by E.M. Leya
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or author. Requests for permission to copy part of this work for use in an educational environment may be directed to the author.
This book is a work of fiction. References to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or persons or locales, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Art by: Annabella Stone
Editor: Crowder Editing
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ALSO AVAILABLE FROM E.M. LEYA
CHAPTER ONE
Lance leaned back, bracing himself on his arms as he straightened his legs and tipped his face toward the sun. "I needed this." He let the warmth of the sun heat his skin. It was only March, but after a colder-than-usual winter, he was more than ready for spring. Beside him, his boyfriend, Detective Angus Young looked relaxed and happy.
"Me too. Too bad we both have to be back at work in an hour." Angus looked out over the park where a woman was playing Frisbee with her dog.
"I should bring Haunt to the park more often." Lance sighed. "She'd love to chase a Frisbee."
"Have you taken her to that dog park yet? It's closer to your house."
"Yeah, but she gets playing with the other dogs. Don't get me wrong, that's a good thing, but for something like fetch or Frisbee, we need to be away from other dogs. I'm just so tired by the time I get home at night that I don't take her out. I wish there was a way for Bethany and Ray to take her for walks, but Haunt would appear to be a stray roaming the streets if the ghosts took her out." He loved the two ghosts who lived with him, but the general public would never understand.
Angus laughed. "Yeah, there would be no explaining to Animal Control about that one. Maybe we can plan something over the weekend. Now that the weather's warmer, I wouldn't mind getting out more. We could even plan a hike or two." He glanced at Lance with a teasing gleam in his eyes.
"Have you forgotten what happened the last time we went hiking?" Lance fell back on the grass.
"No, but we knew what we were getting into that time. It wasn't like we just happened upon it. What are the chances we'd come across another body or two if we went hiking again?"
"Nope, with my luck, we'd run into snakes instead." Lance gave a dramatic shiver as if the thought scared the hell out of him, which it did. Snakes were his worst nightmare.
Angus rolled to his side, bracing his head in his hand as he stared down at Lance. "I'd protect you."
"I love you and all, but when it comes to snakes, I'm not taking any chances. Get Franks to go hiking with you if you must, but I'll stay home where it's safe." It wasn't really just the fear of snakes making him hesitant to go hiking, the truth was, he just didn't enjoy it. His idea of getting out in nature was doing what they were doing right now; lying in the park, enjoying the sun against their skin, and listening to the birds sing. He didn't need more than this.
Angus bent down and gave him a soft kiss. "One of these days I'm going to talk you into going camping with me."
Lance laughed. "I saw an article about glam camping. I could maybe do that."
"That's not camping." Angus laughed. "Glamping is not getting out in nature." He rolled his eyes. "Come on, we better start heading back or we'll both be late." He stood and offered his hand to Lance to pull him up.
Lance took it and as soon as he was standing, he let Angus pull him into a hug. "I love lunch with you."
"So do I." Angus released him. "I wish we could do it every day."
"Me too, but I've got that intern coming in next week. It will slow me down a bit." He loved teaching, but it did take more time when he had to pause to explain everything he was doing. At least he wouldn't be the only one training him, and having another set of hands was always nice. It was like having two assistants on the job.
"I'm looking forward to that cruise next month more and more." Angus turned, linked their hands, and headed toward the parking lot.
"Me too. I won't know how to act having time for just us." He loved his job and his life, but at home, the ghosts were often around, and more than once when they tried to sneak away to Angus's for time alone, he'd get called in to work. Once they were on the ship, there would be no calling anyone into work for a week. "I have a feeling going on cruises with you might become addicting just for the fact that no one can bother us."
"I had the same thought." Angus unlocked his car. "We still doing dinner Friday?"
Lance got in the car and waited for Angus to climb in. "Yeah, Cel is teaching me to make pineapple sticky ribs. They sound amazing." Cel was a ghost who had been a famous chef while alive. Lance was now her student, learning how to make all the fantastic recipes she had. Sometimes seeing ghosts had fantastic benefits. "Remind Franks that he's more than welcome."
"Dad's going to be upset he missed this one. Ribs are his favorite." Angus started the car.
"When are they back?"
"Sunday, I think. They're in Memphis for some music festival." Angus pulled the car onto the road. "As far as I know, this is their last trip until we get back from the cruise."
"I feel bad making her drive over to feed and water Haunt while we're gone. I could just leave a bunch of food down and a large thing of water. She'd be fine with that. The ghosts are there, so I'll leave the sliding glass door open a bit for her to get in and out. If someone tries to break in, the ghosts will get to your mom right away." Angus's mother, Lizzy, was one of the few people Lance knew who could also see and talk to ghosts.
"She doesn't mind. She'll enjoy visiting with Bethany and Ray. Don't even worry about it." He paused as his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at it, then answered, putting it on speakerphone. "What's up?"
Franks' voice came through loud and stressed. "We have an officer shot. Happened outside the Fairway Mall. North-east side, in the sporting goods store parking lot near the ice cream shop. Shooter appears to be long gone. I'm on my way there now."
"I'm just dropping Lance off—"
Lance gripped Angus's thigh. "No, go. I can find a way back to work from there. You need to be on the scene." Truth was, Lance wanted to be there as well. Having one of their officers shot was a huge deal. "Go." He nodded to Angus.
"I'm about three minutes out." Angus ended the call, the tension in his body obvious by the wrinkles in his brows and the stiffness in his shoulders. "You sure?"
"Yeah, go. This is more important." Lance jumped as Angus turned on his siren and lights. He often forgot Angus's car had them. Flashing blue and red lights lit the light bar across the back window and he knew lights in the front would do the same.
Lance didn't speak. There were no words needed. They both knew the seriousness of an officer being shot. He said a small prayer that the officer was okay, but from the tone of Franks' voice when he'd called, Lance worried it wasn't good. He watched as Angus joined a line of other police vehicles headed to the scene. It appeared all hands were on deck for this one.
They barely got to the mall parking lot before they could go no farther. Angus parked and unclipped his seat belt. "I'll be back."
"Don't even think about me. Take care of things there. I'll get an Uber or something to get back. Don't worry. Just go." He nodded to an area about half a block away where a crowd of officers were standing.
"Thanks." Angus took off at a run, not looking back.
Lance slowly got out of the car and looked around. He was inside the cordoned-off area, so he didn't have to worry about anyone stopping him from being there. He didn't want to be in the way, but he was curious about what happened. He made his way toward the crowd as he pulled out his phone and called work.
"Fairway Medical Examiner's Office." Kathy's voice was upbeat and friendly.
"Kathy, it's Lance. Angus got a call while we were out. I'm currently on the scene with him, but I'll call an Uber in a few. I just wanted to let you guys know I'll be late getting back."
"Oh, hun, don't call an Uber. We just got the call. Sam's on his way to the scene. You can catch a ride back with him. Horrible. I hear it was one of our local police officers who was killed." She sighed. "Do you know what happened?"
Lance closed his eyes for a moment at the confirmation that the officer was dead. "No, I haven't heard anything yet. Just that he was shot. I'll see what I can find out. Thanks for letting me know that Sam's on the way. I'll catch up with him and be back as soon as we can."
"You stay safe." She ended the call.
Lance shoved his phone into his pants pocket and started forward again, weaving between hurriedly parked vehicles. As he got closer, it was the silence that he noticed. Very few were talking, and those that were kept their voices low. The mood had already set over the crowd. One of them had been killed. Lance wasn't a police officer, but he knew most of them either through Angus or from work. He paused as he looked around, taking in some in tears, and others with outright angry expressions. Everyone would process this death differently.
Angus stood with Franks as they looked at the scene. Both had notebooks out, taking down everything they saw, while another person took pictures of the scene around them. He continued to watch until he saw the medical examiner's van work its way through the cars to get closer to the scene. He slowly made his way toward it. As he got closer, a faint movement caught his eye. He paused, looking again at where the body lay. Standing beside it and looking confused was a ghost, and from the uniform the ghost wore, Lance assumed it was the officer who had just been killed. He was a thin, black man. He appeared about fifty, but it was hard to tell age with ghosts sometimes.
Lance looked around, trying to figure out how to handle this. He had to talk to the ghost. He might have information that could help them find his killer. But with so many people standing around, he had to be careful. He quickly made his way to the van to join Sam. "Hey, I caught a ride with Angus when he got the call. Need another pair of hands?" Lance asked.
"Sure, though I'm told the cause of death is obvious. You can help me get him in a bag and loaded." Sam looked over the crowd. "I hate doing this with so many watching. They want answers."
"I know, but they understand we don't have them. Let's just do our job. The sooner we get him back to the morgue, the sooner they can get to grieving and investigating. Right now, the body's just distracting them."
Sam gripped Lance's arm. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's Angus I worry about. This will hit the whole department hard." Lance kept an eye on the ghost, hoping he didn't cross over until he could talk to him. He'd been told there was a beautiful light that called to a spirit once they died. Most chose to go into the light, but a few resisted. Those were the ghosts Lance could communicate with. Once they crossed over, no one knew what happened. Others who stuck around said the light never went away and was always there, tempting them to enter.
"If you need time off, just let me know." Sam started gearing up.
Lance did the same. "I'll be okay. It's best I keep busy. He's not going to settle down until they catch this killer. Hopefully, they already know what happened and who's to blame."
"Let's hope." Sam started toward the body.
Lance followed, keeping his attention on the ghost instead of the man on the ground. He wanted to get his attention and at least let the ghost know he could see him. As they got beside the body, Lance gave the ghost a smile and mouthed, "You'll be okay."
The ghost's eyes widened. "You see me?"
Lance nodded slightly but was careful not to do anything to make anyone around them suspicious.
"Am I dead? Is that me?" The ghost pointed to his body on the ground.
Lance again gave a very slight nod. "We'll find who did this to you." He acted as if he was speaking to the body, not the ghost.
"Damn right. I was walking out of the ice cream shop and suddenly my head exploded." The ghost used his hands to make an explosion gesture around his head.
Lance looked at the body and nodded. There wasn't a lot left of half the man's head. The sooner they got him in the van, the better it would be for everyone. No one needed to look at their co-worker, or even worse, their friend, like this. It was something you would never forget. He was glad most had their backs turned away.
"Do you know what I'm supposed to do now? There's this light. Do I walk into it?"
Lance shook his head. "Not yet."
"What?" Sam asked as he ran through the steps they had to take before loading the body.
"Nothing. Just mumbling to myself." Lance wished Angus would come over. He could offer a slight distraction so he could say something to the ghost. He needed the ghost to follow them back to the morgue. Once there, he could get him inside his office where they could talk. He looked around, seeing pieces of skull lying on the ground. It would all have to be collected.
Sam shook his head. "Some days, I wish I hadn't come to work. Today is one of them."
Lance agreed. Witnessing this was hard, even if he didn't know the victim. It was a senseless death. Whoever had shot this cop needed to be caught. He heard Angus's voice behind him and glanced over his shoulder to find him talking to Detective Franks and Burns about ten feet away. He had to get a moment alone with the ghost if he could but had no idea how to go about it. He couldn't just ask Sam and the others around the area to give him a minute alone with the body.
The ghost paced back and forth beside the body, floating through Sam at times as he moved. Sam didn't seem to notice.
Lance waited until Sam had turned away to grab something, then looked up at the ghost. "Stay with the body." He kept his eyes on the ghost and whispered the words, hoping the ghost would hear him and know he was speaking to him.
"My family…" The ghost's voice broke.
Lance would give the ghost a ride home as soon as they talked if that's what it took. "I'll get you there." He again kept his voice low.
"I don't understand." The ghost shook his head. "How did this happen?"
Lance wished he had answers. He'd hoped the ghost could help him figure out what happened and why. He stood and looked around, finally able to catch Angus's attention. He waved him over.
"I wish you didn't have to see this." Angus sighed.
Truth was, Lance saw this all the time. More than he wanted to admit. Suicide was often just as messy, and they had several cases like this every week. It was the fact that this cop hadn't done this to himself. He'd been attacked. He was a victim. That was what made this whole scene so much harder. "I'm okay." He leaned in and whispered in Angus's ear. "His ghost is here, but I'm not sure he'll follow his body."
"Has he said…" Angus's voice trailed off as if he realized they couldn't talk about this with so many people around. He sighed. "I have to stay here for a bit, but I'll meet you at your office as soon as I finish here. You can call me if you find out anything before I get there."
"I might be in the middle of an autopsy by the time you get there."
"I can wait. This is important. I'll go to the viewing area if I get there and you're not done." Angus looked down at the body. "He was a good man."
Lance gave a nod. "I'll help all I can to find who did this to him." He wanted to ask if they had any leads yet, but it wasn't the time or place. He glanced at the ghost and gave a slight gesture for him to come over to where they were.
The ghost's eyes widened, but he floated over his body to stand beside Lance. With Angus right in front of him, he glanced at the ghost but continued to face Angus so it would appear he was talking to him. "I can talk to you once we're alone. Stay with me. We want to know what happened."
"I don't know what happened. I'm just dead. It's not like I saw a gun in my face. I was eating ice cream, then I was dead. I didn't even hear the shot." The ghost stared down at his body. "You have to tell my wife."
"We will. Your family will be notified soon." Lance looked at Angus for verification.
Angus nodded. "Detective Burns is going to do that."
"I want to be there. How do I go? I don't know how this works." The ghost waved a hand in front of his body.
"I have friends who can teach you everything, but to go anywhere, you have to catch a ride or walk." He spoke low and continued to act as if he was talking to Angus. "See the woman by the wall over there?" Lance pointed to where Detective Burns was standing. "Stay with her. When she leaves, just get into the backseat of her car. She'll take you home. But please, don't go into the light until you talk to me. I'll be at the morgue with your body. I'm the only one who can see you and we need to know what happened."
"I already told you. I don't know." The ghost floated through Lance and headed to where Detective Amy Burns stood.
