Delia's Shadow (8 page)

Being haunted by a ghost who carried secrets she was desperate to share wasn’t an easy thing. What I’d learned already about her murder, the other spirits I saw and how close death was at all times frightened me. Gazing into Shadow’s eyes, I knew I’d only be drawn in deeper. I’d not served my purpose yet.

The waiter arrived to take our order and the conversation came to a halt. Sadie asked him to explain how some of the more exotic dishes were made, giving the rest of us time to pore over the menu. We settled on sharing a dinner of curried lamb, braised chicken, a platter of dolmas and yogurt, and rice with roasted red peppers. Gabe and Sadie wanted to try honeyed figs for dessert, Jack and I ordered spice cakes with sweet cream.

Once we’d given our order, the waiter set tall goblets of water on the table and hurried off. Gabe toyed with his cutlery for a few seconds and cleared his throat. “I promised to trade ghost stories with you, Delia. You’ve told me some of yours. It’s only fair I tell one of mine.” He glanced at Jack and Sadie before going on. “As long as no one objects.”

Sadie was unable to contain her excitement. She smiled broadly and leaned forward until Jack took her hand. “Oh, please tell, Gabe, we all want to hear. Don’t we, Dee?”

I sat back, hands out of sight under the table and twisting my napkin around my fingers. The fine-spun cotton was soft against my skin, smooth and cool. Enthusiasm for ghosts was hard to muster on my part. I smiled at Gabe in any case. Not a very bright smile, not brimming over with charm, but the best I could manage. “I don’t object. We did say we’d trade.”

He regarded me solemnly, perhaps sensing this wasn’t a game to me in the way it was for Sadie. Gabe nodded. “We did. One story and then we can find something other than ghosts to talk about.”

Shadow drifted round the table to stand between Gabe and the window. I couldn’t avoid looking at her there, not without being rude as Gabe spoke. She’d positioned herself in that spot for a reason, as she did everything for a purpose. I twisted the napkin tighter and numbness deadened the tips of my fingers.

Gabe took a sip of water and shifted in his chair to face me. “Back when Jack and I were still rookies we did a full year of night duty. The sergeant in charge of the station house usually gave rookies the worst assignments.”

Sadie frowned and rested her head on Jack’s shoulder. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

“It was a test,” Jack said. “Sergeant Marsh wanted to know if you’d follow orders and fit in. If you complained or he decided you were a troublemaker, you kept walking the toughest beats. The sergeant didn’t like Gabe and tried to persuade me to take a new partner. I said no. Marsh punished us for more than six months.”

“Really.” Sadie smirked at Gabe and I knew he’d never live it down. “I’d never have guessed you for a maverick, Lieutenant Ryan.”

Gabe put on a dignified expression and straightened his tie. “I assure you, Miss Larkin, it’s not true. Now if your fiancé is finished tarnishing my good name, I’ll go on with the story.”

Jack grinned and gestured for Gabe to continue.

“For six months, we walked the same beat near the docks. The area was pretty rough, full of taverns and burlesque houses that catered to merchant seamen, dockworkers and soldiers who wandered over from the Army base.” Gabe toyed with his spoon again, absently spinning it in circles on the tablecloth. “Before the quake and fire, a maze of alleys ran behind buildings from one block to another. Nothing good ever happened in those alleys once the sun set.”

Shadow drifted closer to Gabe, hovering at his shoulder. She’d lost the shawl and the neat plaits on top of her head were bedraggled, strands trailing down her neck and into her face. Muddy smudges soiled her blouse and a bruise darkened one side of her jaw. Her hand clamped around the cross at her throat, tugging until the chain pulled tight. She stared into my eyes and opened her mouth as if to speak. Shadow began to unravel, threads of mist drifting away until there was nothing left.

Gabe’s breath hitched in his throat and he shivered. I trembled, too, wondering if she’d touched him in passing and if he’d felt her die.

He squared his shoulders and went back to his story. “You never knew what you’d find in those alleys. All of them were bad, but there was one in particular that made my skin crawl. I hated going in that alley.”

Sadie pulled closer to Jack, the bright eagerness gone from her face. “Why was that?”

“It was haunted, sweetheart.” Jack toyed with the peacock feather on her hat. His matter-of-fact tone didn’t match the frown he gave Gabe. “We always heard and saw odd things on nights the fog was heavy. Sometimes I’d hear a scream or glimpse a woman running from the middle of the alley toward the docks. She’d always disappear before she got to the street and I was never sure I’d really seen her. Once or twice I thought I saw the shadow of someone behind her. For the longest time I thought the fog was to blame. Sound can carry a long way and it’s easy to mistake what you see. Then Gabe admitted he saw odd things, too.”

“I need some air.” I shoved back my chair and stood, dropping the crumpled napkin on the floor and rocking the table. Water sloshed out of my glass, dampness spreading in a dark circle. “Please excuse me. I … I need air.”

Waiters dodged out of my path, heavy trays laden with food tipping precariously. Sadie called my name and people turned from their dinners to stare, but I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t. I’d be sick if I stayed inside. Pushing through the door to outside was a relief.

My coat and handbag were still at the table. An icy wind off the bay sliced through my dress of summer cottons and tried to carry off my hat. Gooseflesh rose in concert with deep muscle tremors. I huddled over my knees on a bench near the door, hugging myself tight and gulping mouthfuls of chill air. Cold forced back the nausea, sparing me still more disgrace. I shut my eyes, rehearsing what I’d say when I went back inside.

Footsteps slowed and halted in front of me. I opened my eyes enough to see black calf-length boots, gray trousers neatly tucked into the tops, and the bottom of a wool coat. The man continued to stand there and I imagined him staring. Ignoring him was rude, I knew that, but I was in no mood to engage in conversation with strangers. I kept my head bowed and hoped he’d leave.

Hinges on the café door squealed and the black boots hurried away. I lifted my head, expecting to see Sadie come to take me back. Instead Gabe Ryan stood there, my coat clutched in one hand and a goblet of water in the other. I sighed and sat up straight. The odds of a pit opening up to swallow me were slim, but I wished on the brightest star overhead, just in case.

Gabe handed me the water and draped the coat around my shoulders. “Are you all right?”

“Aside from dying of embarrassment, I’m fine.” Sipping cold water settled my stomach, chasing away the last shaky, queasy feeling. “You’ve caught me on a very bad night. I don’t usually make dramatic exits from restaurants, either.”

He sat next to me, blocking the worst of the wind. “I can’t help but feel this is my fault. I upset you with that story. I’m very sorry, Delia, that wasn’t my intent.”

“There’s no reason to be sorry. You’re not to blame. Neither is your story, not entirely.” I sipped more water, dredging up courage from my toes and worked at meeting his eyes. “Tell me if this is right. The alley in your story was gravel lined, with brick buildings on both sides. Rooms to let on the top floors, but no windows looked into the alley. The only light came from a streetlight at one end. On foggy nights it was especially dark.”

He frowned. “That’s exactly right. How did you know?”

I sipped more water, all I’d seen of how Shadow disappeared so clear. “Shadow showed me that alley in a dream. A nightmare. She never took the shortcut after dark, only that one night. I’m sure she was the woman you and Jack saw running. He found her in the alley and took her away. She never made it home to her family.”

Shadow stood in front of us again, dressed as I usually saw her, and I couldn’t say how long she’d been there. Only the dead could display the patience in her face, or the stoic way she stood with hands primly folded and waited.

“Delia…” Gabe raked fingers through his chestnut hair, glancing at people passing by and lowering his voice. “Explain this so I understand. Who took her?”

“The man in the mask. He murdered her, Gabe.” Brushing the edges of a murder, even one that happened so long ago, made me nauseous again. All the fear and panic from my nightmare rushed back, made worse by knowing what I’d seen was real. Bright lights and happy people vanished. The sorrow in Shadow’s eyes engulfed me until sorrow was all I saw. “Dear God in heaven, he killed her and her family never knew. They never knew.”

CHAPTER 5

Gabe

Gabe sat quietly, watching the crowd and taking note of anyone who showed too much interest in them. Delia still wasn’t feeling well. Rushing back inside and assaulting her queasy stomach with the smell of food didn’t seem wise, and in any case, he wanted a peaceful moment to think. Once they rejoined Sadie and Jack any hope of quiet was gone.

A man had hurried away from the café front as Gabe first came out. The man was tall, swaddled in a greatcoat with the collar flipped up against the wind, a red plaid muffler, black leather gloves, and a bowler hat pulled down low on his forehead. In the time it took to reach Delia’s side, Gabe was left with a view of the man’s retreating back and nothing else. That made him pay even more attention. Every instinct screamed for him to chase after the stranger, but he couldn’t leave Delia alone.

Catching a man staring at Delia, a man that he couldn’t recognize, woke all of Gabe’s worst fears. He could probably pull ten men out of the crowd and other than the flipped-up collar, half of them would be dressed almost identically. Hiding in plain sight was the perfect way for the killer to move through the crowd at the Pan Pacific.

The stranger wasn’t the only thing unsettling him and making him edgy. As soon as Delia mentioned the man in the mask, he’d known he couldn’t dismiss her story. That piece of information was buried deep in his father’s case files, part of a witness report from thirty years ago. Gabe still wasn’t sure he believed in ghosts, not completely, or that he wanted to believe, but he was at a loss about how she’d known about the mask. That report was written before Delia was born and the details never made public.

More to the point, however reluctantly, Delia believed Shadow gave her the information. He didn’t have a better explanation. Until he found one, he wouldn’t try to change her mind.

A couple came out of the café, holding tight to each other and laughing. Gabe stood and offered Delia his hand. “Sadie was going to have them hold dinner. We can sit here as long as you need, but if you’re feeling well enough maybe we should go back inside.”

“We should.” She wobbled for an instant, but let him steady her before pulling her hand away. Delia’s smile was as uncertain as her footing. “You may have forgiven me, but Sadie won’t be as generous if she misses dinner. She’s quite fierce unless fed at regular intervals.”

Gabe pulled the door open and smiled, hoping to ease her nerves and lighten her mood. She had plenty of reason to be unsure and nervous. So did he. “I don’t think you need to worry too much. Jack asked the waiter to bring bread and crackers to hold her over. She’ll be somewhat pacified.”

“Jack’s a good man. I’ll be sure to thank him.” Delia paused in the doorway. She turned back to look over the fairgrounds, watching something in the distance.

He looked too and saw nothing. “What are you watching? Is it Shadow?”

“No, Shadow’s gone for now, but the city is full of ghosts. I see them as well.” Colored lights reflected in her soft brown eyes, caught glints of gold in her hair and shimmered on the rhinestone brooch pinned to her coat. Her cheeks, already pink from cold and wind, flushed darker. “I can’t help but watch them. It’s not curiosity on my part. It’s more that I don’t have a choice. That sometimes frightens me.”

“That’s a reasonable thing to fear. Being able to see the dead walking around would scare me.” He followed her in, hovering protectively and never letting her get more than a foot or two ahead. She was shaky, her steps unsteady. Gabe was afraid she’d faint and argued with himself over whether holding Delia’s arm would offend her. He settled for staying close. The few café patrons who dared to stare at her got his best policeman’s glare.

Sadie bounced out of her seat and rushed to meet them as they neared the table. She wrapped Delia in a hug. “Are you all right, Dee?”

“I’m cold, but the madness seems to have passed.” Her sardonic tone reassured him. Delia let Sadie put an arm around her shoulders, though Gabe had a hunch that was Delia’s way of letting Sadie feel useful.

Gabe held her chair, making sure she was seated and secure before he took his place. He saw the look Jack gave him as he fussed. After insisting he should be the one to go out and find her, Gabe was sure he’d hear plenty later.

Delia settled in and gave all of them an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry to have left so suddenly and made you all wait for dinner. I hope you can forgive me.”

“There’s nothing to forgive. And don’t fret over making us wait, the busboy kept us well supplied with bread. Sadie didn’t starve while you were gone.” Jack signaled the waiter. The older man raised a hand and hurried back toward the kitchen. “I’m just glad you’re all right.”

“That you feel better really is most important, Dee.” Sadie took the last slice of bread from a crumb-filled basket and tore it in two. She dropped the smaller piece on Jack’s plate. “If you’re not up to walking after dinner we’ll go home. We can see the fair another night.”

“All I need is some food and to warm up a bit. I’m fine now, promise. And I’m eager to meet with Madame Bobet tonight if possible. Hearing what she has to say feels more important than ever.” Delia glanced at him. Gabe nodded, hoping he looked encouraging, and she turned back to convincing Sadie. “Do you remember the nightmare I told you about?”

“Of course I remember.” Sadie frowned at the piece of bread she held and dropped what was left on her plate. “It sounded horrid. I still wish you’d woken me.”