Dead Sure?: A Paranormal Mystery (4 page)

Chapter 4
Aftermath

Aftermath

Jack groaned as his car slid to a stop. He slowly regained his perception of reality and time. One minute he had been happily driving to his new job and then out of nowhere he was
here
. In his mind the crash seemed to happen in slow motion from the moment he first got hit. There was time to worry about car insurance, time to worry about his new employer’s anger when he didn’t show up, and time to see the terrified face of a woman in the other vehicle as the cars collided. He was hanging upside down half in his seatbelt and half out. Suddenly, he felt liquid dripping down his neck. In a panic, fearing it was blood, he reached his hand to it. Wiping, with dread welling up in him, he brought his hand in front of his face. The strawberry red color brought a quick and happy realization to him. The liquid was actually the Slurpee he had bought earlier which was now all over the inside of the car.  Normally having crap all over his car would have pissed him off.  Now it just made him chuckle.

Starting to get a little nauseous from hanging there, he fumbled for the seatbelt release. Hitting it, he dropped with an awkward thump onto the roof of the car. A couple of yanks on the door handle and a little help from his shoulder and the door popped open with a cracking sound. Jack just shook his head at its malformed lines. The woman’s face popped back into his mind. He began to hurriedly climb out of the ravine. His back was stiff and his whole body was aching from the impact, yet he was starting to feel pretty lucky. He hoped she was as lucky.

As he got back up to the road the smell of burnt rubber and coolant hung heavily in the air. Quickly he looked all around for the other car. It took a moment before he spotted the yellow Beetle. It shocked him how far her car had traveled after the impact. With his aching body protesting, he began to run towards her car with a great sense of urgency.

The road was quiet this evening and apparently nobody had witnessed the crash that had taken place only moments ago. A couple other cars were just stopping. As Jack came up to the smashed bright yellow Beetle he briefly noticed the custom plates “QT BUG”. He didn’t immediately see the woman sitting in it. She was slumped down over the center column of the car and was not visible until Jack was right beside the door. With several tugs by Jack and another man, who had just walked up, the door popped open, the handle snapping off and remaining in Jack’s left hand.

“Miss, are you all right?” said Jack in a shaky voice.  When there was no immediate response, he reached out his hand and touched her shoulder.

With a start she popped up like a Jack in the box. She had a wild look in her eyes and babbled several unintelligible things before falling silent again. Her eyes returned to normal and she quietly mumbled, “Where am I, what happened?”

A wave of relief hit Jack after her initial movement had confirmed she was alive. She seemed kooky, but she was alive. The other gentleman who had come to help said he would call 9-1-1. Jack had barely heard him initially, but now the words were starting to register. Jack turned to him and started thanking him for his help.

*    *    *

The next hour or so was kind of a blur. Help had arrived and the lady, Jack had learned her name was Rene, had adamantly refused any type of medical treatment.   The tow truck he was riding in was just pulling up to the body shop. He knew his car wasn’t going to be in good condition any time soon.
Hell, maybe I should let them repo it now. The laugh would really be on them. Nah, I’ll just make the payments with my bonus and get it fixed.

Getting out of the tow truck he asked the driver about rental cars and was directed to the front counter of the place. As he headed inside he noticed the other flatbed pulling up with Rene’s squished up Beetle on top of it.

“What kind of cars do you have available?” he asked walking up to the counter. “I need something big; I have lots of luggage and boxes to haul.
What a mess, I wonder how much of my stuff is ruined.

The counter clerk smiled, “We have several SUV’s available. Will that work for you?”

“That would work fine,” responded Jack, who much preferred a large sports car. 

The man took his credit card and began to process the rental agreement. Jack glanced towards the door as Rene came walking in. Now that things were calmer, he noticed how pretty she was. However, if it hadn’t been for her inattentive driving he wouldn’t be in this mess now, without a car and with all his material possessions piled up in a jumbled mess. The clerk’s loud voice brought his attention back to the counter.

“Sorry, sir, but this credit card has been declined. Do you have any others; otherwise you will need a cash deposit of five hundred dollars.”

“Yes, here are a couple of other cards.”
Man, I hope one of these will just go through. What am I going to do if they don’t?
Jack was feeling a little embarrassed as he waited. Rene had walked up to the counter now and heard the last part of the conversation.

“No sir, none of these cards is going to work either.”

“There must be something wrong with your machine,” he said loudly just to try and make himself feel better about the situation.
Now what am I going to do?

“I’ll give you a ride. I feel really bad about your car.” said Rene.

“You should feel bad, if you had been paying attention to what you were doing I wouldn’t be in this mess now,” Jack said a little more loudly than he had intended.

He’s right,
she thought,
only inattentive didn’t explain the half of it
. “I know you are upset with me and I understand that. I would just like to help make it right by giving you a ride.”

Jack felt his blood pressure coming back down. Her tone of voice was soothing and she seemed very genuine in her desire to help. Most of the girls he met were never genuine. They always had an agenda just like him. “All right, I’ll take you up on your offer,” he said and flashed her a big smile.

She liked his smile. It seemed warmer than his personality had suggested thus far.

*    *    *

After further conversation Jack and Rene went out for a fast food dinner. Over dinner Jack explained he was new to town and needed to find a place to rent. Rene had pulled out her cell phone and several minutes later had made Jack an appointment to see a place first thing tomorrow morning. She was very excited about it and convinced Jack that they should drive by it on the way to drop him off at his hotel.

The drive was not “on the way” anywhere. In fact, it was in the opposite direction of the hotel. Jack’s curiosity was piqued.
Why is Rene so interested in my new apartment?

As Rene’s rental car pulled up in front of the old house, she began to speak very excitedly with a strange quality to her voice. “I just love this old place, don’t you?” Although the question was spoken more like a statement. It was a large white house with black shutters a commanding porch and an enormous turret to one side.

Chapter 5
Déjà Vu

Déjà Vu

Charles entered the downstairs hall. He felt as if he had just “stepped” back into his own body.
My head hurts
…
There’s Bill standing there with that same old stupid look on his face…my back is so sore…how did that happen? 
“Okay, so what’s so all fired important?”

“I found a safe. The boss said you’re good at opening them,” Bill grimaced as he choked out the compliment.

“I’m not just good at it. I am great at it. Show me the safe; I’ll have it open in no time.”

“Find anything good up there?” Bill asked curiously, eyeing up the black leather bag Charles always carried with him on heists.

“A little bit of jewelry,” he replied, trying to sound nonchalant. “Take a look at it if you want while I get the safe open.”

They entered the last bedroom on the right.  That same strange, dream-like feeling came on again accompanied by a rage that was bubbling up inside Charles. 
Bill double-crossed me…He shot me in the back… How did I get here? It doesn’t matter. 
Something unexplainable has happened.
 
I just got a second chance and I ain’t gonna waste it…

“Charles, snap out of it, you got work to do,” said Bill in a domineering voice. He pointed across the room to the safe.   Bill didn’t feel good about the strange demeanor that had just overcome his soon-to-be “ex” partner.

Quelling the rage he felt inside, Charles responded, “Yes, lead the way, Bill.”

Bill knew something was wrong: Charles didn’t look right. “It’s right over there, where I’m pointing!  Dumb ass!”

“So it is,” said Charles, walking across the room and tossing his loot bag on the bed. He proceeded to eye the safe in an appraising manner. Bill started to feel a little better about things.  He picked up the bag from the bed and started to sift through it. With one fluid motion that was as smooth as glass Charles slipped his revolver from its shoulder harness and aimed it towards Bill. Even the pulling of the trigger flowed from the same movement. As he was firing he began to yell. “You son of a bitch, did you really think you would get away with it?” The first two bullets had already left the gun, the reports thundering as Charles continued to yell. “Well, let me tell you this, you aren’t,” he said finishing his sentence in a whisper as the third and fourth bullets left the gun.

The first bullet struck Bill in the side, causing him to gasp in horror. He started turning towards his attacker in disbelief.
It wasn’t supposed to go down this way. I was supposed to kill him.
The second bullet went through the bag Bill was holding and into his stomach. He could vaguely make out the words Charles was yelling at him. But nothing was making much sense. The third and fourth bullets struck him in the chest, knocking him off his feet and back onto the bed with its fresh white linen comforter.

Dam that felt good. He’ll never double-cross me again, that back-stabbing weasel.
The rage in Charles was starting to subside, replaced with his usual charming calm demeanor. The only side of himself he chose to see, in fact the only one he believed the world saw. Charles was never very good at introspection. If he had been, the realization that
he
was just as much of a conniving backstabber would have hit him like a freight train.

Just like flipping a light switch Charles was back in an all business mode and busy working on the safe. It wasn’t long before the door swung open, revealing large stacks of cash. The money was so beautiful he could almost taste it. Glancing calmly back towards the bed, he realized his usual bag was ruined. However, Bill’s was sitting neatly on the settee. He strolled over to it with a cocky swagger, “My guess is you won’t be needing this anymore, hey Billy boy.” He didn’t try to contain the smug laugh that found a path to his lips.
What a day, what an unbelievable day?  Damn, I’m good seeing this whole thing before it went down. I must be psychic or something.
             

The rain was pounding heavily down on the house as he finished stuffing the money into his newly acquired bag. The noise of it, however, was not enough to prevent him from hearing a terrified scream ascending from the foyer.
Oh hell, now what do I have to deal with.
Running out into the hall he could hear multiple people talking and someone yelling, “Call the police!” 
Just great
, he thought in a panic. Suddenly he remembered seeing another door on his end of the hall.  He was willing to bet it was the servant’s staircase. The thought sent him running towards it in a dead sprint. As he passed the foyer he heard a man yell in broken English. The gist of it was “up there--get him.”

As he neared the door the sound of multiple people running up the foyer staircase was echoing through the hallway. He whipped the door open without even considering that someone could be coming up this way. He began to head down the stairs, his heart pounding in rhythm with the stomping footsteps of his pursuers. A man dressed just like the one from the foyer was coming up the stairs and straight at him. Apparently this man knew nothing yet of the commotion going on behind Charles. If he had, the outcome might have been different. Without a second thought, Charles drew his gun, firing one shot. The man toppled down the stairs backwards, the body only momentarily staying ahead of Charles as he continued his flight. In fact, stomping over the pin-wheeling carcass caused him to almost trip. With no regard for his actions he cursed out, “You stupid asshole, get out of the way.” With a few more leaps and bounds and a lot of skipped stairs he made it to the back door. Behind him a cry of rage could be heard as the second body was discovered. Charles didn’t let this slow him down as he flew out the back door, only to realize his stolen Ford had been parked in by the house’s returning occupants.
Son of a bitch, what next?

With no time to plan much, he dashed across the backyard and used a wooden bench to help him leap the back fence. The leap may have been well timed and graceful but the landing certainly wasn’t. He hit the ground hard and went sprawling face first onto the ground. The gun flew one way, the money bag another, and several items fell out of his pockets. The loud commotion was stirring other neighbors, and lights in the nearby residences were coming to life. The wind knocked out of him, Charles staggered to his feet. Before he knew what hit him, he was on the ground again. A series of punches was raining down on his back and head. Not one to succumb to panic, Charles quickly realized that he had been knocked down next to his lost gun. With a painful stretching motion he reached it, fingers closing rapidly around the handle. Bending his elbow he swung his gun arm straight up past his head. He felt the barrel make contact with his attacker and he squeezed the trigger for the sixth time tonight. There was a yell of surprise and then a thud as he scrambled free. Hurriedly he grabbed the money bag. Everything was a blur as he forced himself into an all-out run, never looking back, only moving forward. The course he chose took him around trees, over flower gardens and through bushes that tore at his suit, claiming not only fabric but also extracting flesh or jewels. It was as if the bushes were demanding a payment for the damage he was causing them. He was only vaguely aware of the price being paid as fabric and jewels were left in a haphazard path behind him. There was no time to care about that now; he had to get as far away as possible. 

Finally, when it appeared he had lost everyone and his lungs screamed they could take no more, he stopped. In a very jerky motion he leaned up against a white gardener’s shed and slid heavily to the ground. Slumped over in a daze, his chest heaving in and out painfully, he tried to catch his breath and figure out his next move.

It wasn’t long before a boy of about twelve to thirteen years of age approached him. Unlike most kids, this one showed no fear of the disheveled stranger. Instead the boy seemed to be drawn to him with an intense curiosity. The kid had a mature face with a grin on it that made you wonder what he was up to.

“Listen, mister, it’s clear you’re up to no good. Not that I care about that, but if you want me not to yell for help make it worth my while.” The boy stuck his right hand out with a look of anticipation on his face.

With an exasperated sigh, Charles started to feel around in his suit pockets for something to shut the kid up with. He could have silenced him in a more sinister way, except he kind of liked him. In fact, the kid reminded him of himself as a boy. Momentarily he fished out of his pocket that ugly medallion he had found earlier.

“All right kid, there will be no negotiating. You’ll take what I give you and keep your mouth shut.” He shoved the hideous-looking thing into the kid’s hand. “Do you understand? Nod your head yes and get the hell out of here.”

A tingling sensation in his right hand had left the kid momentarily dumbstruck. He managed a small nod and then ran back towards a dark house in the distance.