Past Due (17 page)

“
Of course not,” he responded reasonably. “Which is why you’re going to climb onto my back.” He turned his back to her.

Frankie wasn’t quite sure how to respond. She hadn’t had a piggyback ride since she was a child and even then she didn’t like them. Clothing provided some shielding from her gift but it was far from perfect. Of course she didn’t have that problem with Alex but she still felt uncomfortable. It was just weird, a fully grown woman climbing on a man’s back.

Alex turned back to her. “Frankie, please. The longer we stand here the more chance we have of being seen.”

Frankie gingerly climbed onto Alex’s back. Although she wasn’t prone to such thoughts usually, she suddenly wished she’d tried that New Year Detox diet that her mother had been telling her about.

Once she was on, Alex pulled her arms tighter around his neck then pulled her feet closer together and crossed her ankles over each other.

“
Feel secure?” he asked.

The answer was no but she reasoned this was probably as secure as she was likely to feel so she nodded, yes.

“
Good.”

Chapter Ten

Alex took off so fast that Frankie didn’t have time to register that they’d even moved. The first movement she was aware of was landing the other side of the fence. She tightened her grip.

The fence at the end of the garden went the same way and the next thing she knew they were standing outside Kate’s house. The whole journey couldn’t have taken more than five seconds, probably less.

Frankie loosened her grip but Alex caught her hands. “Not yet.”

“
Why?” Her joints felt stiff and aching from gripping so hard.

“
We need to go in through the sky light,” he said, taking a few steps back from the house.

Frankie forced her already protesting muscles to grip tighter as she realised what he intended. As Alex leapt, Frankie swore her stomach stayed behind on the ground.

Alex landed softly on the roof and made his way to the sky light. The window was open a crack and Alex opened it fully. He detached Frankie from him and took her hands to lower her through the window. As soon as she was standing on the floor he followed her inside.

Frankie was massaging her hands.

“
Are you okay?” Alex asked.

Frankie realised her breathing was uneven and she felt like a fool. Even her hands were shaking slightly.

“
It’s the adrenalin,” he reassured her. “Just like if you’d ridden a rollercoaster.”

Frankie laughed. “Think of the money I’ll save on theme parks.”

Alex smiled. “You can’t be too bad if you’re making jokes. Sit for a moment, until you feel more relaxed.”

The loft conversion looked like an office-cum-spare-room. It had a desk, a computer, shelves and filing cabinets at one end but a double bed, drawers and a wardrobe at the other. Frankie sat on the bed and took deep, calming breaths.

“
Is Kate still here?” Alex asked.

Frankie nodded. “She’s in the room below.”

“
What does a ghost’s aura feel like?”

“
Just like a human aura but less defined.”

“
Defined?” he queried.

“
I guess it’s the soul I feel,” she explained. “With a live person that soul is confined to their body, it’s a fixed size and shape. With the ghost the energy is the same but the edges are… blurry. It doesn’t have a body so its shape… changes. Sorry, I’m not used to explaining these things.”

“
I think you’re doing a good job.” He could tell that her heartbeat had calmed so he suggested they carry on. Frankie agreed and they headed down to the next landing. Considering they couldn’t turn on a light, Frankie was surprised that she could see so well. She wondered if it was another side effect of ingesting Alex's blood.

They went into the back bedroom and stood just inside the door.

“
It’s me again,” Frankie told the empty room.

Alex could feel something was here but not what or where. Frankie on the other hand seemed to be staring directly at it.

“
You can see her?” he asked.

Frankie shook her head. “Not yet, I can only feel her energy.”

“
Can she hear us?”

Frankie nodded and Alex stepped deeper into the room. “Kate, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I will find who did this to you I promise.” Nothing happened and he looked questioningly at Frankie.

“
She’s probably scared. She might not even remember what happened.”

“
Kate, if you can hear me, please let me see you.” Nothing. “Now what?”

Frankie sat on the edge of the bed. “Now we wait and hope she’ll decide to show herself.”

“
And then?” he asked, sitting beside her.

“
We find out what she wants, why she’s still here and we try to help.” They sat silently for a few moments. “It might help if you told me about her,” Frankie suggested.

“
Why?”

“
It might make her feel safe, help her remember who you are. I’ve only tried it once before but it worked.”

“
She was a dear girl,” he smiled at a memory. “And she always thought it strange that I called her a girl since I’m officially two years younger than her, so every time I did she called me ‘old man.’ She was a rare creature, sweet and innocent; most people would think she was weak but she was the sort of person who comes with an unbreakable spirit. Not many people would give up their jobs and move back home to care for a parent these days.”

“
How long had she worked for you?”

“
A year while she was at University, then she left when she graduated. She came back three years ago, when her mother was finally diagnosed. “

Slowly the spot that Frankie had been watching earlier began to change and an impression of Kate began to form. She was translucent and her edges were fuzzy but it was unmistakably Kate. Alex stood up and smiled at her.

“
She wants to thank you for saying that stuff,” Frankie told him.

“
You can hear her?” Alex asked.

“
Not exactly. I can sort of feel what she wants to say.”

“
Can she speak?”

Frankie shook her head.

“
Okay, ask her what she remembers about last night?” he said to Frankie.

“
You ask her. She can hear you just fine.”

Alex repeated the question, addressing it to Kate this time.

“
She doesn’t remember much. She was sleeping on the sofa. Her mum was already in bed; she takes sleeping tablets so Kate hopes her mum didn’t wake up and hear anything. There was a noise just before, like tiny bells, no, she thinks it was probably breaking glass, then it was on her.”

“
It?”

“
She says it wasn’t human. It might have been, once, but now it’s just,” Frankie shuddered. “I think it’s our friend from last night. She thinks it’s arm was broken.”

Alex nodded. He pulled the sketch of Bradley from his jacket pocket. “Do you remember this man from the club?” he asked Kate.

“
She does. She says he was annoying but harmless.”

“
We think he’s behind this, Kate. Do you know why he’d want to hurt you?”

For the first time the ghostly image moved. First her expression turned to one of pain then she shook her head, no.

“
She doesn’t believe you,” Frankie told Alex.

“
Please Kate, just think, did you ever upset him, even unintentionally, rebuff him maybe?”

“
She says a lot of people didn’t like him. That he was weird but she thought he was basically okay. She felt bad for him so she was always nice to him. He began asking her out about six months ago. She said no because he was younger than her and she didn’t think he could handle her situation. She didn’t think he took it personally; she said it wasn't him, only her situation that made her say no.”

“
And after it attacked you… When the attack was over and…” Alex really wasn’t sure how to proceed tactfully.

The ghost of Kate formed a half smile.

“
She appreciates your tact but says it’s okay, she knows she’s dead.”

“
Did you see what it did afterwards? To the walls?”

Kate shook her head. And Frankie spoke for her. “She doesn’t know what happened right after she died, she’s not sure where she was until later. The first thing she remembers after the attack is her dad crying.”

Alex put the sketch away. Question time was over. He hadn't expected much information anyway.

“
Kate, I don’t mean to sound harsh but… why are you still here? Is it vengeance you want?”

Kate looked shocked by his words.

“
No. She says she can’t leave. Her dad’s a good man and he works hard but her mum’s mental state is getting worse and he can’t manage alone. She’s afraid of what will happen if she leaves.”

“
Oh, Kate.” He stepped closer and stretched his hand out to her, cupping her cheek, even though there was nothing there to touch. Kate turned her head into his hand. “You always did carry the weight of the world on your shoulders,” he told her kindly.

Kate shrugged, which summed up how she felt so Frankie didn’t speak for her.

“
Is there somewhere for you to go?” Alex asked. He hadn't really considered it before.

“
She can hear people calling to her but she’s afraid if she goes to them she won’t be able to come back.”

“
Maybe you won’t. Maybe that’s okay,” Alex smiled reassuringly. “It’s time you looked after you for a change. I know you’re worried about your family but I promise I’ll help them. A nurse, money, whatever they need, Kate, that’s my job now and you have my word I won’t let them down.”

“
She thinks it’s very kind of you but it’s her job, not yours.”

“
You can’t help them any more, Kate. I’m sorry.”

Kate closed her eyes against the pain.

“
You can keep watch if you want, I’m sure that’s allowed where you’re going and if I break my promise you have my permission to smite me down.”

“
She says she’ll hold you to that, old man.”

“
I’ll catch whoever did this, Kate. He won’t harm anyone else.”

Kate finally opened her eyes and reached a ghostly hand out to Alex, cupping his cheek as he did hers.

“
Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome.”

Kate’s image faded and Alex turned to Frankie. “Has she gone?”

Frankie shook her head. “No, but she’s preparing to. She’s having one last look around and then she’ll go.”

Alex sat beside Frankie on the bed. “That was surreal.”

Frankie leaned forward, cupping her head in her hands. “Yeah.”

“
Have you always been able to hear ghosts?”

“
I have to concentrate.” She sounded tired.

“
You realise that since a ghost’s essence is the same as a human's you could probably read human thoughts at a distance too.”

“
I want to hear less from other people, not more,” she snapped.

“
But I believe practice will make it easier to control your gift and block any unwanted thoughts.”

“
I’m not a mind reader!”

“
Images, impressions then, whatever you want to call them.”

“
Alex, just drop it, okay?”

Alex finally seemed to realise how weary she sounded. “Are you okay?”

“
Just weak. It’s draining. Usually I’d bring something sugary but in all the excitement recently, I forgot.”

Alex placed a hand on her back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise this was hard for you.”

“
Why would you?” surprisingly she wasn’t being sarcastic. “It’s not as bad as usual though. Maybe it’s your demon juice.”

Offended as he was at being called a demon he let the comment slide. She was trying to lighten the mood and probably had no idea it was offensive. How could she?

“
Come on, let’s get out of here and find you something sweet. Hopefully there’ll be a message from the professor waiting for us.”

Two chocolate bars later and Frankie was feeling much better. She went back to Alex’s place with him because right now, he seemed to be the one with the inside scoop.

Edinburgh wasn’t a big city, its population just over the half million mark but finding someone who was off the grid was nearly impossible in any city, no matter how small. Finding out about the ritual being performed and which demon was being summoned seemed like their best hope for a lead at the moment.

Before they could ascertain if there was a message from the professor though, it became clear there was something else waiting for them. Something in a rather large black Hummer.

Alex slowed the car as he approached the small car park at the back of the club. “Oh no.” he breathed.

“
What?”

“
It would seem we have help.” He pulled up next to the Hummer and was at Frankie’s door in a flash. She got out, wondering both at his unexpected chivalry and his cryptic comments.

Both front doors of the Hummer opened at the same time. One man went around the back of the car and came to stand by the back of the vehicle, the other opened the rear door.