Elizabeth Basque - Medium Mysteries 02 - Silver Lake (3 page)

And we started laughing all over again. God, it felt good to laugh. I probably would have savored it a lot more if I’d known what was going to happen next.

Chapter Five

I waited for Mack to come back.

I hated waiting, so I went with Julie back down to the clubhouse room and helped to clean up. We put away the chairs and tossed empty soda cans and water bottles into the recycling bin. I knew I was walking a fine line by holding my ghost classes in the clubhouse, so I always made sure the apartment manager had nothing to complain about.

I did try to summon that pesky ghost, Dan, the one with the cat. I wanted a word with him. He couldn’t disrupt the class like that. I was also mildly curious as to how he’d died. It was rare for ghosts to have ghost pets, but not impossible.

But the room was obviously devoid of spirits. They’d both left—to where, I didn’t really know. That was Mack’s department. He was the one who brought me “study cases” for my classes. He could be a dear. My heart went out to him. He’d stayed with me many a lonely night, and even if he was a bit irritating at times, I appreciated his company. I wished I could do something for him in return.

And Julie kept asking me what had kept me from leading the class. When we finally went back to my apartment, I showed her the engagement announcement, and told her what had taken place between Mack and me.

She studied the photo with interest. “Wow,” she said. “You really can tell this is Mack’s son.”

“Yep,” I agreed. It was mid-afternoon, and I was trying to decide whether to have a drink before my nap.

Julie was persistent. “Why doesn’t Mack want to talk about it?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” I replied. “I’ll try to get more out of him when he comes back.”

“
Do you think he went to see his son, after all this time?”

“
Probably.”

“
Do you think he’ll try to actually contact him—Garrett?”

I sighed. Apparently, Julie didn’t have anything else to do today. “I really couldn’t say. We’ll just have to wait for Mack, and hope he tells us more. We can’t do much right now.” I yawned dramatically, hoping Julie would get the hint.

“I know you’re tired,” she said, “but Pauline, would you mind if I stayed a little while?”

The trouble with having martinis too early in the day is that sometimes you don’t realize your brain gets a little fuzzy. I now took a good look at Julie. She’d had an exhausting day, what with the crazy ghost chasing his ghost cat all over. And I knew she had come to care about Mack, too.

But she looked depressed. Julie was rarely depressed, something I admired and almost envied about her. “What’s wrong, Julie?”

“
Oh, I don’t know,” she said, leaning back on the couch. “I guess today just took a toll on me. And learning about Mack. He has a son. It’s making me think of Carla.”

“
Ah.” The girl ghost. Carla and Julie were soul mates.

“
I know we have this plan, and we’ll connect again. Oh, Pauline, I try to have patience. I do remember Carla’s cute spirit, and it cheers me up sometimes. And I feel her presence when I think of her. At least I think I do. I hope so.”

Selfish me. There I was, hoping Julie would be on her way, and that Mack wouldn’t return until I’d gotten some shut-eye. What kind of friend was I, anyway?

“I can understand how you would miss her,” I responded, thinking of the little girl ghost that Julie and I had helped send Home. “She was fun.”

“
She was, wasn’t she?”

I put a comforting hand on Julie’s arm. “She was, and she still is. And I’m sure her spirit is with you. I’m very proud of you.”

Julie brightened a bit. “Really?”

“
Really. You’ve come a long way since that first day when you knocked on my door. And I’m grateful for your friendship.”

Julie waved a hand before her eyes, trying not to tear up. She laughed a little. “This is silly. I’m fine, really.”

She started to gather her things to go.
Be a friend,
I told myself. “Well, why don’t you stay? We’ve done our work for the day. We could watch a movie.”

Then Julie did give me a genuine smile. “That would be nice, Pauline.”

“Why don’t you find us a good chick flick? I’m going to make a drink. Want one?”

Julie picked up the remote and started pressing buttons. “Sure, why not. Got any popcorn?”

I did have popcorn, the microwave kind, so I made some and a couple of mild martinis, and Julie settled into Mack’s favorite chair while I took my place on the couch. The weather, which had been warm, started to turn cooler. You never knew what the day was going to be like in Southern California. But I tucked my feet under my legs, and put a little throw blanket over me, handing one to Julie as well.

I tried to stay awake for the movie. Some romantic comedy about a divorce lawyer who falls for her latest client. But I dozed off within the first half hour.

Thud.
I opened my eyes to see Julie asleep in the chair, and the TV showing news, but no sound. It had been muted.

I rubbed my eyes. They felt dry and red. Tried to get my bearings.

Thud.
I turned my face to where the sound came from, the edge of the coffee table. There was Mack, dropping the remote onto the table in an effort to wake me.

I was about to make some snide comment about respecting others while they slept, but then I remembered about Mack. How he’d taken the news of his son, and that he’d left in an angry rage.

I stretched my arms. One of my hands, the one my head was resting on in my slumber, was asleep again. I shook it out, and opened and closed it to get the circulation back.

“
Hey, you,” I said.

Mack jerked his head towards Julie. “You turning huh into a lush as well, now?”

“We were just watching a movie,” I said, trying to keep my patience. “And, you have some explaining to do, mister. Who the hell was that ghost you brought? Today, of all days!”

“
Oh, Dan,” Mack answered. “He’s harmless enough.”

“
He scared half the class away, with his ghost cat and all,” I exaggerated. “That wasn’t fair to Julie.”

“
Well, I had meant to stay, and keep him in line. It’s not my fault you dragged me up here.”

My eyes were adjusting to the now dim room. Mack was making small talk, I could tell. Though he was no longer angry, he looked tired, spent.

There was no point in beating around the bush. “So? Did you go to see your son in Silver Lake?”

Our conversation woke Julie. She hadn’t drunk much alcohol, and now, she gazed at us sleepy-eyed.

“Did you tell Julie?” Mack asked, keeping his eyes on me.

“
Yes, I did.”

Mack floated over next to me and sat, or hovered, on the couch, as Julie was seated in his favorite spot. “Ah, well, I suppose it’s just as well.”

My mouth was dry and tasted like an ashtray. I wanted to get some water but Mack had that serious look in his eyes, so I stayed. And waited for him to talk.

Julie, however, was not quite as patient. “Well, are you going to tell us whatever it is that’s bothering you so much? Pauline’s been really worried, you know.”

“Has she, now?” Mack, for all the worry on his face, glanced at me with something like appreciation.

“
Of course I’ve been worried, you old bag of bones,” I quipped.

Mack ran his ghost hand through his ghost hair, thinking. “All right, then,” he finally said. “I suppose it’s time for you to heah my story.”

Chapter Six

“I was one of six children,” Mack began. “I had three bruthahs and two sistahs. We grew up near the Cape, in a home my grandfather built.”

“
Wow, that must have been amazing,” Julie commented.

Mack cocked his head. I pictured him re-living some childhood memory. “In some ways, it was. But we weren’t rich, like most of the folk. My fathah ran a boat rental. Not one on those big fancy ones like they have today. It was seasonal. We all worked there in the summers, even my sistahs. The rest of the yeah, us boys would find wahk on fishing boats. It was hahd wahk and it was cold. But that was back in the day.”

I was listening intently while making some coffee in the kitchen. “I bet it was cold,” I reflected. “Is that what brought you to California, eventually?”

“
I’ll get to that,” Mack answered. He waited for me to return, handing a cup of coffee to Julie as well as my own doctored cup.

“
Go on, we’re listening,” I said gently.

“
My parents divorced when I was about sixteen,” he continued. “A divorce was practically unheard of back then, in our little town, about fifteen miles away from Cape Cod. I was second to the eldest. My oldest brothah and my next brothah and I stayed with my dad, and the rest moved with my mothah down to Georgia.”

He paused, caught up in his own story. I wondered how long it had been since he’d told anyone this. The wall clock ticked.

I did my best to encourage him to continue. “So, your family split. That must have been tough.”

“
My brothahs and I worked with my dad. We didn’t really have time to think about much besides work, and school. School came second. I was the only one to graduate high school. And when I turned eighteen, I left.”

“
Where did you go?”

“
First, I went down to Atlanta, and spent a yeah or so there. I got a good job, fixing boats. I saved every penny I could. It was good to see my mothah and sistahs again, but I didn’t really belong. The South is much different.”

Mack got up now, and moved around the room. He stayed at floor level, moving back and forth, ghost-pacing.

“A buddy said he was moving to California, and talked me into going with him. This was during the mid-seventies. He talked about what a life we could have, the California girls, the wahm beaches, how you could do anything you wanted in California. But I wanted to wahk. I wanted to make enough money to buy my mothah the home she deserved, and put my sistahs through college.

“
When I came to California…boy, talk about a change of lifestyle! My buddy, Pete, and I got a little place down near Venice Beach.”

Mack smiled as he spoke now. I had a feeling he was remembering simpler times. “California in the seventies! You really could do almost anything you wanted to. Jobs were easy enough to find. Pete went through job aftah job. He was fired every month or so for not showing up, but he could always get another one easily.

“Me, I saved my money and spent time at the more formidable bahs, and made connections with more serious people. Mind you, I did love the girls, but I could not stand all the drugs. Pete was in the habit of smoking pot and partaking in other drugs. I just didn’t enjoy it. The pot made my mind hazy, and the other drugs scared me. So, I got to know a few wealthier people, and stayed away from all that hippie stuff as much as I could.

“
A man hired me on in construction. He owned a construction company, but he was also into real estate. I showed up eahly each day and, having been brought up with a hearty wahk ethic, I learned quickly. I stayed after wahk, and asked him all I could think of about how to invest in real estate. After a few months, he asked me if I’d saved any money. I had. I’d saved every penny I could, looking for opportunity.”

Julie and I listened to Mack’s story, spellbound. He’d never said one word about his life up until now, and here he was telling his life story to us. We couldn’t wait to hear how his life would turn out, although I suspected that it might have a sad ending.

“He offered to let me in on a property deal. I would put up twenty-five percent of the puhchase. He told me it was a steal, and that we could sell it within a few months and triple ah money. I trusted him, and I did it. And, I tripled my money.”

“
So, you were able to buy your mother a house, and send your sisters to school?” Julie asked.

Mack guffawed. “Hahdly, Julie. It would take much more than that to achieve my goals.”

I poked Julie to hush her up. “Let him talk,” I whispered. Now that we had him on a roll, I didn’t want to interrupt.

“
I was very, very lucky to have met this man. Once he saw that I was serious, even though I was young, and that I really wanted to make a fahtune, he took me under his wing, and taught me everything I needed to know. He taught me how much to save, what and when and where to invest, and why and how to walk away from a deal. You have to understand, this was long ago. Credit scores didn’t mean as much as cash. I learned from one of the best how to buy propahty. I rented out much of it, and I sold some. I made mistakes and lost money sometimes, but he taught me to pick myself up by my bootstraps and carry on. It was the price of doing business, he said.

“
I studied areas of Los Angeles that weren’t yet developed, and invested mainly there. He’d already bought a good deal of Hollywood, so I had to make my own stake. I decided on Silver Lake.”