Dead Sure?: A Paranormal Mystery (27 page)

*    *    *

About five minutes later, he was walking into the antique shop. The door creaked shut and the smell of old assaulted Jack’s nose. The place was dark and dingy except for where the sunlight was pushing through the front windows.

Liam came scurrying from behind the back counter. “Good afternoon, Jack, how’s Rene doing?” he said rather excitedly.

Jack was surprised the man could remember his name. They had only met a few times, and rather briefly. Then again, maybe Rene was chatting about him to Liam. Liam’s question now sinking in, he replied, “I’m fine, and what do you mean, how is Rene doing?”

“Didn’t you know she is in the hospital?”

“She’s in the hospital? I just saw her last night and she was fine,” his voice sounding frantic.

Liam tried to hide a smirk, as he decided to slip additional information that might stir things up further. “Yes, I found out this morning, when Sam stopped by to pick up some things Rene had forgotten here on Sunday.”

Looking confused, Jack responded, “Wait a minute, Sam and you know she is in the hospital?” his face starting to show traces of anger.

Liam was delighted; this was exactly the reaction he was going for. Now, if he could just get Sam out of the picture as well. “Yeah, she called Sam last night, and he has been getting her things and taking care of her.”

Jack tried to hide his anger, but it was beginning to get the better of him. “Fine, whatever, I actually came here to see you. Can you take a look at something for me?”

“Sure, no problem, what have you got?”

Jack pulled out the journal, flipping to the encoded- looking page. “What do you make of this?”

Liam started to look at it. A part of him wanted to just hand it back without even a glance, but his curious nature won out. “It looks to me like some type of code. The way things are spaced out, I’m sure these are words and sentences.”

“Do you have any idea how this could be read?”

This time Liam could be unhelpful without having to try. “Not a clue. You’d have to have some type of key.” He tried to suppress a small grin.

“Great, thanks anyway,” Jack said, turning to walk out of the store.

“Tell Rene I said hi,” Liam added, hoping to rub salt into the wound.
I don’t think he knew about Sam. Oh shucks, my bad.

Moments later Liam heard squealing tires as the lime-green Charger streaked by.

*    *    *

Shelby closed the door to her office and strode over to her desk. Sitting down, she began to twirl her long jet black hair around her pointer finger. Her meeting earlier with Rene had been informative, but she felt certain the information gained would not satisfy Steve.
Damn him, he is always so hard to please.
Maybe I should embellish the information a little, make it seem more important.
Slowly she smiled, the dimple on her chin twitching slightly as she picked up the phone.

“Hello, Shelby,” answered a smooth voice on the other end. Steve’s caller id had indicated exactly who was calling.

“Steve, I have some interesting information for you.”

“I knew you would. Let’s have it.”

Shelby knew better than to talk about her patients, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. “It seems Rene’s episodes always involve some drinking and happen a lot on dates, particularly when she goes out with Jack. Isn’t he your project manager?” She knew the answer, but asked the question anyway to get a bigger reaction out of Steve.

“Yes, of course he is. Do you think he put this woman up to trying to run me down? Are these episodes real?”

“I think the episodes are real all right. Rene seems very confused. She got lost in thought several times during the session. As for Jack wanting to run you down; that just sounds paranoid. What possible motivation would he have for doing that? You gave him a good career opportunity with a big fat paycheck.”

“So why did the bitch try to kill me? Did you figure that out, shrink lady?” his tone had changed from smooth to very antagonistic.

Shelby’s angular face twisted into a sneer, as she tried to remain calm.
This kind of crap is so Steve. Nothing is ever good enough for him.
Wheels turning in her head, she shifted in her chair. “There’s a journal which I think might shed some light on the situation. I asked Rene to retrieve it and bring it along to the next appointment. If you like, I could get closer to Jack and dig for more info.”

“What’s so damn special about the journal? Closer to Jack, huh, what are you going to do, go out with him or something?”
That kind of talk makes me nervous, but information would be invaluable.

“The journal seems to trigger her episodes. As for Jack, a date or two ought to do the trick. Why, are you jealous?” she said teasingly. She knew he was, insanely so, she was guessing. Not that he’d admit to it.

“Fine, get the book, and have your couple of dates. Something constructive had better come out of it. Remember who you’re really going out with.” He hung up the phone decisively.
I had better talk to Ron about keeping an eye on that bitch. She had better just be getting information for my benefit.

Chapter 22
Tuesday September 17
th
, 1929

Tuesday September 17
th
, 1929

Charles sat in his home office, thinking. The morning sunlight was leaking through the blinds, illuminating small swirling dust particles. He stared at the specks without even really seeing them. His focus was on how to eliminate Tim in a way that wouldn’t have Angela blaming him. Better yet, in a way that would bring Angela running back to him. Perhaps some type of gang war. Charles needed something that would leave Tim dead, and Angela using her gang to retaliate. It sounded good; then again, it could easily spin in the wrong direction, getting him killed.

Wait, I can’t kill him until I know more about that stupid coin. Hell, I bet that thing can manipulate time. It sure would explain my getting the drop on Bill after I was gunned down. It might even explain how Tim seems to have appeared from nowhere. None of my damn sources can find a trace on the guy, who he is, where he came from, nothing. Maybe he didn’t come from somewhere else, but sometime else. That’s it, if I can get my hands on the coin; I can go back in time to just before Tim got here. Then if the bastard shows up again, I’ll pop him before Angela even knows the guy existed. Problem solved, she won’t be pissed and I’ll get what I want. Sometimes it’s just too easy, the solution is right in front of yah.

A knock on his front door brought him grudgingly back to reality. He tried to ignore it, diving back into thought.
The only question is; where is Tim keeping that coin, and how to get my hands on it?
This time the knock was more of a pounding. “Hold on, I’m coming,” he yelled.

“Bout damn time,” replied a deep voice with a thick Italian accent.

Charles recognized it right away as belonging to Tony.
That stupid lout, who does he think he is, hurrying me? 
Charles walked to the door slowly and deliberately, opening it as if in no hurry at all. “What’s so important that you’re trying to rush me? For Christ sake, it isn’t even ten a.m. yet.”

“The boss is getting everybody together, some type announce or something,” Tony said, shrugging his muscular shoulders, his thick neck looking like it might pop his shirt collar at any moment.

“Announcement about what?” Charles said rhetorically, knowing Tony wouldn’t have the faintest clue. Nobody would trust this big idiot with anything more than muscle.

“Dona know, jus be at the mansiono bout two p.m.,” finishing his sentence, he turned and started walking back to the car parked out front.

An idea clicking in his head, Charles blurted out, “Hey Tony, hold up a second.”

“I told yous everytin’ I been told bout it.”

“No, something else, do you know if Tim is at the house right now or downtown at the office?” he tried to sound nonchalant, but he was very eager to get the answer.

“Don’t know wheres he is. He never come back to the house last night.”

“How can you be so sure about that?” said Charles, sounding a little agitated.

“Cause me and the boys wanted to play some poker with the newbie, see if we could fleece him a bit. Only we kept playing and he never came round to tempt.”

Hiding his true feelings, Charles said, “Thanks,” and watched as Tony left.
Damn that Tim, he had better not be sleeping with my moll. Angela’s mine, all mine! I’m number one damn it, and nobody else.

*    *    *

Angela slipped back the covers, getting up from the bed. She strode across the room towards the closet, with nothing on but a smile that she flashed back at him. Tim blushed and looked away momentarily before returning his gaze as she slipped into a red silk robe, her shiny long-brown hair swaying slightly as she moved. For her part, she loved every minute of it. This man adored her. It was as plain as the look on his face and by the way he treated her. Tim was so kind, so straightforward. She loved being with him, at least part of her did. The other part hated herself for it. Things could change at anytime, and then where would she be, just another love-crazed idiot. However, at the moment the love-crazed idiot side was winning the battle. “I made a couple calls earlier this morning while you were still sleeping. I’m going to help you get back to your time, but on one condition.” She couldn’t believe she was going to say this; it was as if someone else was now speaking for her, “You have to take me with you. I can’t wait to see nineteen-eighty-six.”

Tim sat up further in bed looking shocked. “You’re going to help me and you want to come back with me?” He couldn’t believe that this beautiful woman had become so quickly enamored with him. He had fallen for her, but she was so; wow, what could he say? Himself, on the other hand, he considered to be very average, average looking, maybe above average intelligence. Yes, definitely above average intelligence. Perhaps it wasn’t so crazy that she was attracted to him, stranger things have happened.

“Yes, does that sound so crazy to you?” her beautiful lips formed a superficial pout.

“Absolutely not, I love the idea. Just how are we going to get back? I showed you how the coin only works once, and how dangerous it can get. The last couple times I tried using it, the pain was unbelievable.”

She smiled wryly, her perfect face looking right at him. “Anything can be accomplished through good planning and obtaining the correct information.”
Even if it can’t be, I’ll still come out a winner. Now that sounds more like me. This will be the perfect opportunity to deal with Charles once and for all.

“What do you know that I don’t? I just told you about the whole thing yesterday, and we’ve been inseparable since then.” Tim’s face was a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

“Get dressed and meet me downstairs in the office. I’ll let you in on the plan,”
at least part of it anyway.
On that note, she disappeared into a large walk-in closest.

Tim made his way across the enormous bedroom to the sitting area where his clothes lay scattered. Beaming, he remembered the passion of the previous evening that had left them in this disarray. Slowly, he began picking them up. His shirt was partially under the white chair. His pants were half inside-out and lying across the window seat. After looking for several minutes, he still hadn’t found his undershirt.

*    *    *

Charles limped into the boarding house where a large number of the crew lived. His leg injury still hurt a great deal, and he hoped he wouldn’t have this limp for the rest of his life. It wasn’t classy. Hobbling made him feel more like some common working man. Greeting a few of the guys, he engaged in small talk before moving on to the stairs and heading up to the private bedrooms. Charles found out which room Tim was staying in and headed towards it. Arriving at the door, he knocked a couple of times and waited. There was no response, as he suspected from his earlier conversation with Tony. Glancing about, Charles quickly ascertained that nobody was around, and entered the room.

It was just like all the other boarding rooms, exceptionally plain. There was a bed, a dresser, and a small desk. Closing the door gently behind him, he began to survey the room.
Where would Tim keep that coin?
He began to search the desk drawers. There wasn’t much, some paper and pens. Trying to quell his disappointment, he moved on to the dresser. He searched the drawers carefully at first, but upon not getting any results, Charles became sloppy, tossing this and that to the side. Anger was starting to build up inside of him. Was this dumb-ass actually smart enough to carry the coin on him? He doubted it very much and looked around again. A small smirk crossed his lips.
Of course the bed, you clever bastard, you tucked it under the mattress, didn’t you?

He flipped the mattress over and found nothing. The fury flared up inside him.
I must have that coin. How, how, how am I going to get it? If that little creep is always with Angela, there’ll be no getting my hands on it.
Charles was opening and closing his fists in rage, trying to stay focused and think. He couldn’t let his anger get the better of him without first having a plan. Sitting down on the bed to think, he quietly pounded his fist on his thighs.

*    *    *

After getting dressed, Angela headed into her home office. There was a steaming mug of coffee waiting on the desk, placed there by her butler. The aroma greeted her as she entered the room. Adjacent to the mug on the desk sat today’s paper. Picking it up, she glanced at the headlines with only the remotest of attention. Nothing in this rag could be half as interesting as what was transpiring in her real life. She was poised to put into motion a plan that could quite literally change her future.

Sitting down, Angela picked up the coffee, blowing at the steam that was rising from it.
Just how much should I share with Tim? Is this what I really want, to leave everything behind and go into the future to live with some guy I barely know? He sure does seem wonderful though. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. Tim is so caring and sweet. I’m confident he’d never shoot me in the back, unlike Charles, that two-timing rat-bastard.

If I’m actually going to do this, I need to make certain I’m still rich in the future. I can’t go back to being poor, never again. Ahh, maybe Tim can share with me which stocks to purchase currently that will be worth a fortune in the future. I’ll buy them now, and the money will be waiting for me ten-fold or more guaranteed. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel, the outcome is already known. I love it, no surprises, just good old-fashioned planning.

At that moment, Tim walked into the room. He glanced over at the desk, where Angela was staring intently into her coffee.
God she’s beautiful. She drives me crazy; half the time when I’m with her I can’t remember what I should be doing.
“Good morning, hot stuff.”

“Good morning Tim, back at you, but let’s just keep this thing between us. No nicknames or kissing crap in front of the gang.”

Tim looked slightly taken aback by the statement.

“It’s not that I am embarrassed about it, honey, but I have to present a tough front. It’s the only way for a lady to keep these brutes in line. Please sit down and let me share some additional details with you that nobody else will be hearing.”

Tim took a seat, feeling special again at the idea of a secret that only he was going to hear about.

“Its like this, I have a theory about your coin. I believe you told me it was a Chinese coin. Something like that has probably got a counterpart that it shares a yin / yang connection with. In other words, find that item and it could be used to make a one-time wish to do the opposite, a move forward in time. My gut tells me that this is going to pan out. You could call it woman’s intuition, but don’t.”

Looking confused, Tim responded, “So what does any of that have to do with this big plan you keep referring to?”

“The two most probable ways to find the coin’s opposite revolve around the museum and the honorable Mr. Wong. First, for the museum I want to see the records, documentation, and all of the pieces that accompanied the recent Wong donation. I know for a fact that not everything is on display yet, and that ancient records associated with the pieces are being stored at the museum. This stuff is not accessible to the general public, though. That being said, I should rephrase the statement I would like to see.” She paused and pursed her luscious red lips, putting her pointer finger up to the side of them as if pretending to think for a moment. 

Tim knew she was suckering him into something. He was just so darn distracted; he didn’t make the jump quick enough to see it coming.

“More like, you are going to look at these artifacts and records.” She stopped to carefully judge his reaction.

At first it didn’t register with him, then “click” like a switch he started to make the connection. “By me, are you inferring that I will be given access to the museum’s treasures or something more like I’ll be breaking into the museum?”

“Why, Tim, you surprise me, to suggest I would ask you to enter the museum unlawfully. Well, not alone anyway, or without a good distraction,” she laughed coyly. “If it was as easy to get access as just asking, the elaborate plan I’m about to lay out wouldn’t be necessary. So here it is. I will be throwing a big gala event in the new Foshay tower building. The event will be a fund raiser for the museum, honoring former contributors and bringing in new ones. This means no museum staff will be working late or hanging around the building, leaving only a small amount of security for you and Reggie to evade as you make your entry.”

“You know I’m not a gangster, what makes you think I’ll do this?” he protested halfheartedly.

“Simply put, because it involves no violence and you’re not going to steal much of anything. With any luck, a small trinket is all that will be required to help us both get our wish.”

He had to admit to himself, Angela was right. It wasn’t like she asked him to murder somebody or something. Then again, what if things went wrong and there was a confrontation. “What if we get found out or, worse yet, caught?”

“That’s why Reggie is coming, he’s a pro. There is nothing to worry about. The whole shindig will be a piece of cake. Think of yourself as simply shopping in an exclusive club.”