Page 44 of Marked By Shadows

“What?”

“It was changing again. Like morphing into something big, dark, not defined. I think the negative energy did that.” Alex stepped inside and set the folded blanket down on the small table beside my machine. “Let’s not work on this right now. Let’s go out.”

I stared at him, trying to read his expression. It was worried, but not panicked. “You okay?”

“Mostly,” he said. “I guess I sort of get what it feels like to be around someone missing now. I mean, I know she’s dead. I saw her ghost. But I wonder if we should be doing something?”

“Have you seen her ghost again since last night?”

“No. Just the cat.” He shivered. “Whatever it was changing into, it was something I hope to never see again.”

“I wonder if that happens to all ghosts.” Maybe that’s what really transformed those lingering memories into something that terrified people.

“Perhaps those that linger,” Alex said without really committing. Neither of us knew. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. “You don’t believe in ghosts,” he reminded me.

“But I felt something, saw something. If not a ghost, then what? Ghosts are associated with bad and scary here in America. That’s not how I was raised.”

“Does that mean the ghosts are different here? Or the perception of them is different here?” Alex asked.

I stared at him as I stepped inside and closed the door, reaching out to wrap my arms around him. “Why are you so smart?”

“Not sure most people would agree with you.”

“Most people are stupid.”

“And you accept right away that what I saw was her ghost.”

“I already told you, I believe you. You are not crazy. Or at least not any crazier than I am.”

He sighed. “Rousing endorsement.”

“Good thing we have each other. Do you want to go home?” I wondered.

“No. Your convention thing starts tomorrow. It’s why we came.”

“True. But weird seems to happen around us.”

He laughed, more self-deprecating than humor. “Weird happens. We need a T-shirt that says that. Or magnets for weird. Or something.” He stepped away from me for a moment to hold out his arms. “Is this appropriate enough dress for BBQ?”

“I love BBQ,” I told him. “Probably my favorite thing about this country is BBQ.”

He nodded. “Who knew? Well Freya knew, but I figured that’s where we would go for dinner. But I have a stop I want us to make first.”

“Okay?” I asked. “And yes, what you’re wearing is fine. If Texans can wear assault rifles anywhere, you can wear a kilt and a Simply Crafty T-shirt to BBQ.”

“Trust me? I have the address, you just need to get us there.”

“All right,” I said after a moment, watching Alex find his wallet and phone. “Hopefully less adventure and more BBQ?”

Alex’s boyish grin eased some of the anxiety I hadn’t realized I’d been soaked in most of the day. “Oh, yes.”

Chapter 15

Before we could leave, we ran into one of the police detectives. He saw us headed to the car as he was coming out of the front of the house and made a beeline for us. My stomach flipped over. He was the sort of man you expected to be a detective, an older white male, with graying hair and a stern expression on his face. His hair was cut only a shade longer than a military buzz cut, so maybe it was growing out and was former Army like Alex? He also had a bump on his nose that meant it had been broken and not set right at some point in his life, though the imperfection fit his face well.

I couldn’t recall if I’d seen him before. Though in the light of the afternoon he looked familiar. Had he been the detective who questioned me?

Alex held out his hand, the detective took it and shook it. “Detective Manning. Did you have more questions for us?” Apparently Alex’s memory was working better than mine.