Karma (Karma Series) (11 page)

I was settled into my usual place near the window, newspaper spread out before me. The others in the office rarely approached so when someone said hi from right behind me, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

It was Murphy.

“Hi,” I replied.

“
Would you mind?” He pointed to the empty chair across from me.

“
Not at all.”

He fidgeted for a few minutes, shifting this way and that in his seat.

“Would you like a section?” I didn't particularly feel like sharing but I'd hand it over gladly if he'd stop staring at me the way he was. I was pretty sure he would decline, though. I'd already spotted his sweat marks on the business section.

“
No, I'm fine,” he said but didn't look it.

I picked up my pen to continue my crossword, for want of something else to do. I'd just pretend he wasn't looking at me funny, if that were possible. This office really was the land of misfits. Were they like this when they started
, or was it something contagious in the bad food and dated decor that seeped into their systems after prolonged exposure?

“
The thing is,” Murphy started to say after a few very long and awkward moments, “transfers tend not to stay long. We've been burned before, you know, getting attached and all. I think that's why we all listened to Fate.”

I looked up ag
ain. Ever since Kitty's party, it had been pretty obvious Fate had discouraged the others from too much interaction with me.

I nodded, not sure what he was looking to get from me now. I was still a transfer, that hadn't changed and there was nothing I could do about it.

“He doesn't take to transfers well, but you especially. It's sort of odd how set he is on getting you out of here. In the past, he's just ignored them.”

“
Any idea why I'm so special? He hasn't talked to you about it?”

“
No. But he never reacted this badly before. I know he seems horrible to you, but this is out of character. You know, he's been here longer than any of us. Maybe even longer than Harold.”

“
He was here before Harold?”

“
I'm not certain, since they've both been here before me, but he's been around a long time.” He looked around the room before he continued. “I probably shouldn't say anything but...I think Fate might've gotten worse after we lost the last Karma.”

My pen point dug through the thin newspaper where I'd been writing a
“T.” I wasn't the first Karma? Why had that never occurred to me before, that there would've been someone before me?

“
What happened? Where is she, or he?”

“
I don't know. She was here one day and then gone the next. Harold said she retired.”

“
But you don't believe that?”

“
Not sure.”

“
Was she a transfer too?”

“
No. She'd been here since her creation. It was just strange how she never told anyone she was leaving.” He was fiddling with his hat on the table in front of him and I could see how her disappearance still bothered him.

“
Hey, Murphy, do you know all the people in this building?”

He seemed to perk back up a bit with the change in subject.

“Yep. Everyone. Too well, in fact. Same people year after year.”

“
Do you know a guy with long black hair and tattoos? Pretty tall, probably about Fate's build?”

His face scrunched up and he shook
his head. “Nobody here fits that description. Why?”

“
Nothing important. I got a weird vibe off someone on the street the other day and thought perhaps they worked here. My senses are far from fine-tuned. I'm sure it was a mistake.” I started chewing at the tip of my pen, a bad habit that only reared its head when I was truly stumped.

“
We haven't had anyone who fit that description in forever.”

“
But you used to?”

“
Yes. Except for the tattoos. The old reaper. Him and Fate used to be real tight. He retired about twenty years back.”

“
Retired?”

“
Yeah. Went back into the system, got reborn. He didn't say bye, either. Seems to be becoming a trend around here.”

“
You're sure he retired?”

The old reaper. It had to be him. It just fit too neatly. What was he doing at my condo complex
, then? Did Harold know he was still around? Wasn't Harold in charge of people going back? He had to know.

“
Harold said so.”

So Fate wasn't the only one with secrets. I looked around the office. I hadn't seen him at all today, which wasn't that unusual, except I had a funny feeling in my gut. I never ignored those.

“Have you seen Fate today?”

“
Only briefly on my way in, he was headed out. He looked a little rushed.”

“
Did he mention where he was going?”

“
No.”

That bastard better not have sucked up my energy, gotten a lead on my target and then dumped me. Anyone else I would've given the benefit of the doubt. Him? He got the benefit of the suspicion.

It just didn't make any sense. Why would he want my guy? There was a link here; I just had to figure it out.

I looked over at Harold's door, the light seeping underneath.

“Excuse me, Murphy. I've got to speak with Harold.”

He smiled in my direction.
“Just glad there are no hard feelings between us.”

“
Not at all.” But there's going to be even more ill will with Fate if he's out there chasing down my murderer without me.

I rapped my knuckles on Harold's door and received a b
rusque response to enter.

“
Where is he?”

Harold looked up from his papers then rolled his eyes when he saw who it was.
Right back at you, buddy.

“
Who?” he asked, like he didn't already know.

“
Fate.”

“
I don't know.” He didn't bother looking up from his papers this time.

“
The agreement was for us to hunt down my killer together. I'm either in this or not. Don't think you people are going to use me and then give me the cut.” I stepped closer to his desk. I'd riffle through the stacks of papers myself, if that's what I had to do.

“
I don't particularly care about your murderer. Is it really that important for you to be involved on every level of the situation if it's being resolved?”

“
You might not care, but Fate seems to.”

“
No, he doesn't. It's probably just easier for him to handle it on his own.”

Saying Fate didn't care was blatantly wrong. I didn't know why, but Fate wanted my guy. Was Harold covering up for him
, or did he truly believe that Fate didn't care?

“
Let me make myself clear now. The killer is mine. I'm either privy to every detail or Fate can figure out another way to get information.”

“
He doesn't care that much, Karma. I really don't think—”

Harold's words
faltered as a yellow slip of paper materialized on his desk. Wow, they did just show up. I'd been somewhat skeptical of that.

Harold looked down and read it quickly.
“Fine,” he said through clenched teeth.

“
What did that say?”

“
It agreed you should know.”

“
Then where is he?”

“
I still don't know—”

Another slip appeared on top of the last one. Harold looked down and then held it out to me.
“This one appears to be for you.”

58 Winding Road, Ogunquit

It was a small coastal town in Maine. I recognized the name. I should. I went there with Charlie last year. But I wasn't going to think about Charlie or what I did in my past life. That was still off limits.

“
Do you need assistance getting there?” Harold asked.

I pocketed the slip.

“No. I can do speed dial as well as the next gal.”

***

I parked in my development, not wanting to leave my Honda at the office when I didn't know when I'd get back. I wasn't sure what the space requirements were for the door guys, but I figured the beach was a safe bet.

It was a beautiful day with people soaking up the rays on the sand. I looked around and wondered if they would interfere with my gate. If it were an issue, they'd probably just not show.

I flipped open the ancient phone and scrolled down the huge contact list of three. Harold, Fate and Door Guys.

I pressed number three and waited. It rang once and then stopped.

“Hello?”

No answer.

“Uh, I need a door? I'm on the beach and need to go to,” I dug in my pocket real quick and read off the address.

Still nothing?

I held the phone out to make sure I had a signal. The screen showed a live call so I continued.

“
Okay, I'll just hang up and wait here then.”

When Fate had called, it had appeared pretty quickly. I pocketed the phone and looked around. It suddenly appeared in the middle of a gully, the armored guards standing next to the doors knee deep in water. The door guys probably didn't realize they were in the middle of water.

I looked around to see if anyone noticed the huge doors or the medieval-looking guards standing next to them. Nothing. Not even the girl who was lying in the door's shadow seemed to be aware of what was going on.

Okay then, looks like I was good, except for one tiny detail.

“Is there any way to shift this thing to the left? Just about ten feet or so?” I pointed to the spot I thought would work on a nice mound of dry sand.

Both of the guards
shook their heads.

“
Is it a technical problem or something?”

Another shake.

I got it. Apparently, some people were a little put out about getting hailed on last time.

“
You have to know, the hail was an accident. I didn't realize I'd cause a storm.”

One armored hand raised and pointed to a dent in his helmet.
They had been pretty big hailstones.

“
I swear, it won't happen again.” That might be a lie. It could possibly reoccur. “Intentionally, anyway.”

His partner raised a gloved hand to point at a dent in his shoulder.

“Come on guys! They're barely more than dings.”

Nothing. No response and it was tough to read an expression through a masked helmet.

I kicked off my sandals and rolled up my pants. Looked like I was going to be wading.

Fate was sitting in a corner booth at the luncheonette located at the address I was given.

He watched as I entered. If he was surprised, he didn't look it. He was relaxed back in his chair, a half eaten sandwich of some type in front of him.

“
Why are you soaking wet?” He popped a fry in his mouth as he perused me.

Not,
why are you here
? or
how did you know
? Maybe even a,
sorry, I'm a complete ass on so many different levels
.

“
The door guards are still a bit miffed over the hail. Why didn't you tell me?” I yanked back the chair and made a horrible little squishing noise as I sat across from him.

“
He'll be here any minute.” He pointed to his plate. “Want a fry?”

I leaned across the table, ignoring the fry he picked up and tried to hand me, trying to lull me into a side order distraction.
“Don't try and disarm me with fries.”

“
It's just a potato.” He dropped the offending fry onto his plate.

“
What do you know and why didn't you tell me?” My stomach growled. They certainly smelled good, but I couldn't eat one now.

“
I don't know anything, yet. I just got a glimpse.” He shrugged and tapped a finger on the table. “I don't even know if it's your guy.”

I nailed him with an accusing stare but said nothing.

“What do you want me to do? Drag you around on every vision I get
just
in case
it ties in?” His eyes darted to the side as the waitress approached.

“
Just coffee,” I said as a she came to the table.

Fate watched her retreat before he spoke.
“I don't even know what this is yet.”

“
Bullshit. You left me out on purpose. Me and you? We're partners. All or nothing. You want to suck my psyche dry, whatever exactly it is you do, for information and past life stuff, then you’d better be prepared to share.” I might have ruined my hard ass approach when I took a fry off his plate after my speech. I should've grabbed lunch before I left.

“
Fine.”

“
You go? I go. You know? I know.” I just needed one more fry.

“
I. Get. It. Jesus, you're like rain man. I'll tell you if you promise to shut the hell up with the
I go, you go
shit?”

Feeling smugly confident I'd gotten my point across, I gracefully ceded the floor so I could eat the rest of his fries.

“I got a lead on this guy and I thought he might be tied into this somehow.”

“
How so?” I had trouble getting those two words out as one of the fries decided to put up a fight on the road to my stomach.

“
I don't know yet or I would've said.
I know, you know
,” he mocked in a false falsetto as he pushed his soda toward me.

The coke wrestled the rest of that stubborn fry down.

“Why do you think he's connected to me?” I asked, now that I could speak easier.

“
Because you were there as well.”

“
What was I doing?”

“
I don't know. Nothing really.” He looked away, agitated at the question for some reason.

“
I don't get it. Was it a vision? Where was I?”

“
It was more...dreamlike.” He cleared his throat looking everywhere but me.

“
Was I talking to him or something?” Why was Fate acting so oddly about a vision, or dream he had?

“
It wasn't that clear!”

“
You don't need to get all testy. I just wanted some details.” Sleeping on the couch was making his mood worse than ever.

“
I don't have any. Just follow my lead. No crazy moves or breaking necks. Agreed?” Now that he was calling me a murdering freak, he had no problem making eye contact.

“
No. Not agreed. This is a mass murderer we're talking about. Isn't my job evening the score? Why wouldn't I? If he's the guy, he deserves it.”

He leaned forward, halfway across the table now.
“No. Killing.”

Something about this scene jarred my brain and I had one of those perfect moments of clarity. The kind where, just for a few crystal clear moments, your biases and delusions drop away and you see your reality for what it truly is.

And mine scared the hell out of me.

His eyes jerked quickly to the side and then back to me, a thankful distraction from the truths I'd almost been forced to contemplate.

“What?”

“
He's coming. Don't look.”

That was fairly easy
, since my back was to the door. The waitress placed a coffee in front of me and I tried to busy myself, so I wouldn't stare or scream “bloody murderer” across the room.

Fate's hand gripped my arm briefly.
“Look now,” he said.

I glanced toward the man sitting a few tables away. Mid-fifties, balding and wearing a gray suit. If I were a normal human, I wouldn't have looked twice at him. But I wasn't anymore and there was something slightly off about this man. He was like that odd piece of broccoli that showed up in my pepper steak order every now and then.

I looked back at Fate and squinted my eyes in silent acknowledgment. His face reflected my own expression.

“
You ever seen him before?” he asked.

“
No, never.”

“
You're sure?” There was a heaviness to his words.

“
I'm positive. Why?”

He looked back at the guy and then me again.
“When he walked in, it looked like he recognized you.”

“
Don't squint at me like I'm lying.”

He leaned forward.
“You’d better not be.”

“
Great, here we go again with the threats,” I said mockingly, to hide the slight worry he'd instilled. I didn't know the guy, but what if he got it into his head I did? The clarity I'd felt moments before leaked over on to him a bit. I treated our situation like I knew Fate, as if there was a level of safety there, because we worked together. In truth, I knew very little and the more I found out, the less comfortable I felt.

We looked at each other, coming to some unspoken agreement. I didn't trust him and he certainly didn't trust me. Our cards were finally on the table. As weird as it was, it was the first solid foundation we'd had.

Our guy was sitting, minding his own business, at his table when Fate stood and pulled a couple of bills out. He laid them on the table and nodded toward the door.

I looked at the guy, then shook my head and didn't get up.

His eyes widened, a silent
come on already, I have a plan.

Fine
. I got up and followed him out.

I stopped right outside the door.
“Why are you trying to leave?”

He stopped as well.
“Because I want to search his car.”

“
Ahhh, okay. That's a good idea.”

“
It's that dark gray Camry.” He pointed toward the luncheonette. I followed him, eager for some clues who this guy was and maybe why he'd decided to kill hundreds of humans in one fell swoop.

“
Watch for him.” Fate opened the passenger door and then turned and looked back at me again. “You're supposed to be watching the guy, not me.”

“
Why? He can't see us and I want to look too.” I tried to step around him to get to the glove box but he blocked me.

“
Searching his car right now has nothing to do with a job. His fate isn't out of whack, or his karma. There is no camouflage.”

His logic would make sense except for on
e problem. “No one saw the door guys and that had nothing to do with me fixing someone's karma. You just want to have all the fun.”

“
The door guys are the exclusion. They never get seen, ever. Will you watch the guy, now?”

I saw a woman carrying a child walking passed us, about twenty feet away. I smiled at the toddler in her arms. The child smiled back.

“You believe me now?” Fate said from behind me.

“
Fine. Hurry up.”

He turned back to the car as I stared through the windows. I could see the corner of the man's sleeve as he sat at the table.

“Got something,” Fate said behind me. “Come on.” He grabbed my arm and tugged me after him toward a Chevy Impala.

“
Is there a particular reason you feel the need to pull me around after you?”

“
I don't do that,” he said and then looked down and realized that was exactly what he'd been doing. He dropped his hand. “You walk slow.”

“
No, you're just bossy.”

“
Get in.”

“
What? No Porsche?”

“
Going for low key.”

I slid into the front passenger seat.
“What did you get?”

“
He's at a hotel a few blocks from here,” he said as he started the car. “We need to come to an agreement.”

“
What kind of agreement?”

“
I don't want him killed. Not right away.”

“
Tell me why.”

“
I'm going to help you, but that's my condition.”

“
What does any of this matter to you?”

“
He's not a normal human. I want to know who he is.”

“
Okay.” I didn't think that was the end of the story. I knew if I were planning to stay on, I'd want to know about people like him. As far as explanations went, I could live with it. “But he goes before my time is over.”

W
e pulled into the hotel parking lot a few minutes later. Fate killed the engine.

“
You stay here and call me when you see him,” he said.

“
Why don't you stay here and call me?” I suggested as I got out of the car. “Why do you get all the fun stuff while I'm supposed to be the watch?”

“
Because I know what I'm doing.”

“
He's a curiosity case to you. He's my murderer. I want to know 100% you don't miss anything.”

“
I'm not staying down here.”

“
Neither am I.”

We stood in the middle of the lot staring at each other.

“Fine,” he finally said. “Take turns at the window?”

“
Agreed.”

We entered through a back door of the building as a guest was exiting.

“You know the room number?”

“
Yes.”

“
Just checking.”

I followed him up to the third floor.

“This is it,” he said as he stopped in front of room three-fourteen.

“
How do we get in?”

“
If we were on a job, it would've just opened. But we aren't. Luckily, it's an old fashioned lock or this might've been a problem.” He pulled out a small metal pick from his pocket and held it up to show me.

“
Do you normally carry those types of things around?”

“
Only when I think the occasion might arise.” I watched as he inserted it into the handle. He made surprisingly quick work of the lock.

The room was classic moderate hotel, from the prints on the wall to the patterned coverlet. The guy was neat
; not a thing was left out.

“
I'll take the closet, you take the drawers.” I didn't give him much of a choice as I was already standing in front of it. Gray, gray, gray – the guy sure liked his gray suits. Or perhaps he just liked to blend.

It was hard to tell exactly how long he was staying here, since there were four suits. With four, he could've brought a suit for every
day or been having them laundered regularly, because he liked to pack light.

I felt in the pockets for any stray receipts but came up with nothing. A small safe was tucked into the corner of the closet
– shut. I turned to where Fate was searching through the drawers.

“
Got any tricks for safes?”

He turned to answer me just as we both heard a sound in the hallway. His eyes stared at mine. As if of one mind, we were packed into the closet together less than a second later.

Now, if we had just played nice, and one of us had actually taken window duty, this all could have been avoided. But neither of us wanted the shit job, and as penance, were forced up against each other in a goddamn closet.