Page 93 of Possessed By Shadows
“I saw the video,” he said.
Micah’s grip on my hand increased, and he buried his face in my neck, leaning over me, as though to ward off a blow. Would the Marshals take me away? Lock me up somewhere and force drugs on me?
“Clark said you were possessed by something,” Marshal Drake said. “The video shows them trying to wake you, stop you. But you walked and muttered,It’s my stuff, over and over.”
“I don’t remember any of that.” Anxiety made my gut swirl with nausea. “I have PTSD episodes sometimes…” And was apparently possessed by ghosts and demons from time to time. Fuck my life. “I can’t take medications,” I told him. “They make me sick.”Please don’t force me into a hospital somewhere.
“We have a remarkable amount of video of the last four hours of your life, Mr. Caine,” Marshal Drake said.
“Is that good or bad?”
He sighed heavily. “This is going to be a mess in court. I hope our attorneys are up to it. But we’ve been looking for a link in this for a while. Missing victims, a handful of broken leads.” His gaze fell on Micah. “Mr. Richards said you were looking for your brother. But breaking and entering is still a crime.”
“Are you going to arrest us?” I wondered.
“Not yet. Did you know this house belongs to a former Police Chief?”
I blinked at him. “The guy who pointed a gun at us, and tied my brother up in a crawlspace to drown, is a former Police Chief?” Had the cops I’d shown the video to known?
“From Baton Rouge, but yes. Moved up here a decade or so ago. I’m wondering how Mr. Richards knew the crawlspace was there?”
Micah sucked in a breath. How had he known?
“The ugly carpet was too big for the room,” Micah said, staring at me instead of Marshal Drake. “I thought it was weird. And Lukas’s backpack was on the top of the bookshelf in there.”
I hadn’t seen it.
“I pushed the rug up and saw the area carved out like a door. Didn’t really know if it was a door. But I pressed my ear to the floor and thought I heard something.” He shrugged. “Maybe it was the water. But I thought I heard someone. Maybe Lukas.”
He wasn’t saying something, but I wasn’t going to push in front of a stranger. Marshal Drake seemed to sit with that information for a bit.
An EMT appeared at the end of the ambulance. “I need to check on him,” he said. He was a thin man with a wash of bright red hair, but he smiled kindly at me. “Can I take a look at you, Mr. Caine.”
“It’s so weird to be called Mr. Caine,” I grumbled. That was my dad or my brother. “If the Marshal is okay with it, I am,” I told the EMT.
Marshal Drake nodded. “I’ll be in touch, Mr. Caine, Mr. Richards. I guess you’re lucky there are a lot of cameras surrounding you. I can’t guarantee there won’t be charges pressed, the ends don’t justify the means, unfortunately.”
That was yet to be seen. If I ended up back in the psych ward, I somehow doubted it would be a good thing. “Call whenever you need,” I told him. I would need to get to the hospital to check on Lukas.
The Marshal climbed out of the ambulance and the EMT got in. “I’m going to look you over, okay?”
“Sure,” I said, hoping being helpful would get me out of there faster. Micah didn’t let go of my hand, and I didn’t ask if what he said about finding Lukas was truth. Not yet. Not when staring out of the back of the ambulance I could see a flurry of police, US Marshals, and a black-eyed child lingering near the closest cop car.
It felt like forever before we were finally allowed to leave the area. I did not have to go in the ambulance, for which I was grateful. The VA only paid so much of the cost of that sort of thing, and I hated that I’d have to drain my savings for it. We’d been questioned by a half-dozen other cops, and two other Marshals. The entire ghost crew had appeared, offering up video, even while it put them at risk to being charged with breaking and entering too.
The fact that we’d found Lukas, half dead inside, and a stash of child pornography seemed to be the only thing keeping us from being hauled in. I asked a dozen times if I could go to see how my brother was doing, and finally got a ride from none other than our buddies, Officers Michaels and Kellerson. I didn’t bring up that the guy in the picture had been a police chief in another city and it was hard. But Micah squeezed my hand, keeping close to me and saying little. I was good at mimicking normal, and followed his lead.
They walked us through the hospital, leading us to where Lukas was, and a slew of cops and Marshals. I didn’t say I didn’t trust any of them, but left them all behind when I saw my dad. I headed his way hoping he had news on Lukas.
“How is he?” I asked.
“Stable,” my dad said. “They are treating him for hypothermia and giving him lots of fluids. He has some cuts and abrasions, and a concussion. He hasn’t woken up yet.”
I wondered if that was a bad thing? Maybe he was in a healing sleep? Though hearing that he was stable released some tension in me I hadn’t known I’d been holding, and I almost toppled over. Only Micah at my side kept me upright. Everything suddenly hurt. Hip, back, brain, even my hair follicles.
“Fuck,” I grumbled, blinking back exhaustion in Micah’s arms. “Can I see him?” I wasn’t sure I could walk much further, but even if I just collapsed on the floor of his room, it would be enough. He would know I was there, that I hadn’t left him, and had brought him home.
My dad pointed to the room where lots of Marshals and cops lingered around, though no one in the room. I hobbled my way forward, Micah trying to help. “Can you find us food?” Micah asked my dad.