CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Lance opened the back door of the car and slid in. Once he shut the door, he sighed. "Next time, remind me to stay home."

"I thought you were staying home." Angus glared at him.

"Sorry, it was my fault. I wanted to be here," Gail said. "And it was a good thing I did since Terrance was here."

Lance repeated what she said for Franks and Angus. "But I didn't have to stay. I could have just dropped them off. I'm glad I could help Mack, but that was a tough one." He waved a hand to the empty space of the back seat. "Both Gail and Terrance are here with me. Terrance, you know the detectives already, but what you don't know is they both know I can see ghosts. While they can't see or hear you, they will have me talk for you. Is that okay?"

Terrance nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'm still not sure how this happened."

"Did you see who did it?" Lance asked.

"No. I went out to the garage to get a frozen pizza. The garage was dark. I turned on the light, went to the freezer, opened it, and that's when I felt something hit me. I tried to turn to look back, but the pain was so bad. I either passed out or died then because the next thing I knew I was standing to the side of the freezer, looking at myself. The car was crushing me against the freezer, but the car was empty. I didn't see anyone. Then I noticed the bright light. I almost went to it, but I was too freaked out looking at my body. I wanted to know how it happened. Who did it to me."

Lance repeated everything for Angus and Franks, trying hard not to think in medical terms as he thought about what would happen to a person as they were crushed the way Terrance had been.

"Had you talked to Johnny at all before it happened?" Franks asked.

"No. I got up around eight and he was still in his room. I talked to Mom for a bit while I ate breakfast, then I went to my room. Mom stuck her head in around ten to tell me she was running to the store and would be back in a few hours, then we'd go see Tom. Around eleven, I was hungry again, so I went out to get a pizza. After I died, I just stood there until Mom came home. She freaked and I couldn't do anything to calm her down. I tried everything, but she couldn't see me. She just stared at my body. I thought she was going to move the car, but then she didn't. She later told one of the cops she worried she'd do more damage if she moved it. She was hoping I wasn't dead, even though she couldn't find a pulse." Terrance's eyes shimmered as if he was holding back tears.

"Had you been alive, she could have done more damage moving the car," Lance told him after repeating everything.

"Has Johnny acted oddly lately?" Angus asked.

"No more than usual. He keeps to himself. Hides in his room. He was pissed off he had to hang out at the hospital the other day when we took Tom in, but he didn't say anything to Mom or Dad. He just told me that he was tired of always having everything be about me and my friends." Terrance looked at Gail. "Do you think he's the one who killed you?"

Gail nodded. "It makes sense. He was there to overhear our conversation about dying. Maybe he was in the stairwell or something, listening in on us. He was about the right size for the guy who pushed me from the bridge. I can't be sure, but who else would know everything we said to do this? Gavin hasn't left his house since Fiona's death, and Tom's in the hospital, so that means it wasn't one of us."

"Would you two mind doing us a favor? I know you can't touch anything or pick things up, but would you mind going into Johnny's room and looking around? I'm looking for anything that might relate to the deaths. I'm also curious if he took his laptop with him when he left today. We know he's borrowed your grandmother's car in the last few hours, but we have no idea where he might have been. We're working to get warrants, but that will take some time. We don't have a lot of evidence to give a judge to back our theory." Franks spoke to the area where the ghosts were even though he couldn't see them.

Lance smiled. Franks had come a long way since finding out about ghosts. Here he was just accepting that they were really there even though he had no solid proof. It couldn't be easy. Lance wasn't sure he would have ever believed it if he hadn't been able to see the truth with his own eyes. Hell, even after seeing the truth, he doubted it. He'd thought he was going insane after meeting his first ghost.

"Sure, we can look." Terrance shrugged, then looked at Gail. "Is that okay? Are there rules we have to follow?"

She laughed. "No, we can help them. Tonight, we'll sit down and talk about being a ghost. Ray's been dead for a long time. He knows everything."

"I don't know. I think I should go be with Tom." Terrance's shoulders slumped. "He's going to be so upset when he finds out I'm dead."

"We'll make sure he's got people with him. You can go to him tonight if you want, but he won't know you're there." Lance felt sorry for the young couple who were now torn apart by death.

"You can tell him I'm there." Terrance looked hopeful.

"And you think he'll believe me? Or that it will even help him? It will probably just make it worse wondering where you are or trying to talk to you, but you can't talk back to him. I can't be there all night to communicate for you. I'm not even sure I'm willing to let him know you're a ghost. It's a touchy situation." Lance really didn't want to get into the issue that might come up from telling someone he could see ghosts. Only those he trusted most knew.

"Um, remember, we can only hear one side of this conversation," Angus said from the front seat.

"Sorry." Lance laughed. "Wasn't important right now. What is, is finding out where Johnny is and proving that he was the one committing these murders."

"We'll go in and look now," Gail told him.

"You okay if they go in now, or do you have more questions?" Lance asked.

"They can go now. We've got to get back to work, but have them tell you, then you can let us know if they find anything. I'd like to try and make sure the Jefferies don't go into Johnny's room until we can get a warrant to get in there ourselves." Angus opened the car door. "Thanks for helping us."

"Of course. I want to know who killed me," Terrance said as he and Gail floated out of the car. "I'll do whatever I can to help." The two ghosts floated across the lawn and into the house.

Lance got out of the car and stood beside Angus. "They're inside now. Terrance said he'd do whatever he could to help. I'm going to try and get him to stay at our place tonight, but he really wants to be with Tom. Speaking of which, can we make sure Tom has someone there to help him through this? His parents don't know how close he and Terrance were. I worry he's going to need someone he can trust to lean on."

"I'll call and make sure the hospital has someone there for him." Franks pulled out his phone.

Angus turned to Lance. "I'm not happy you're here and had to see this scene, but I'm glad you're here for me. I feel like I've fucked this case all up."

"How? You've done everything you could with the information you have." Lance rested his hand on Angus's arm.

"I should have kept Terrance away from Johnny. We all figured Johnny was the killer. I knew there was a risk. I just thought I had time. I thought his parents would stay home. I should have protected him." Angus's eyes were full of grief and torment.

"You had no way of knowing. Again, you did all you could with what you knew. Don't carry this on your shoulders." Even as he said the words, Lance was sure they were pointless. Angus would blame himself and nothing Lance said would stop it. All he could do was be there to listen as Angus worked through this on his own. "I love you. I know you have done everything you can to keep people safe. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, it's not enough. We just have to move on. We can't question the what ifs. You've done all you could up to now."

"I still don't have a bit of proof Johnny is the killer, even though in my gut I know he is." Angus stared up at the sky for a long moment, then sighed. "I've got to work. Call me or grab me if they find anything in Johnny's room."

Lance watched him walk off, wishing there was something more he could do for him. He'd seen him this way before and knew that in time, they'd talk more about it, but until the case was solved, Angus wouldn't focus on himself, no matter how much inner turmoil there was. Lance sighed and headed back to the driveway where Ray and Bethany were standing. He pulled his phone back out and went to stand beside them. "Angus sent the other two into the house to look at things."

"Anything we can do to help?" Bethany asked.

Lance shrugged. "Not unless you know where Terrance's stepbrother took off to or can find evidence that he's behind all these murders."

"Any idea where he'd go?" Ray asked.

"No, he took his grandmother's car and now no one knows where he is. My guess is he's trying to leave town, but how far can a fifteen-year-old get? Police are watching for the car. He'll have to dump it and find another way after a while. He has to know he can't come back home. The fact he left home at all tells me he has to be the murderer." Lance wished they had more to work with.

"We'll go in with Gail and Terrance. Maybe fresh eyes will help. Terrance is still struggling to accept everything that's happened. I'm glad we found him, so he doesn't have to wander around alone." Ray seemed to take Bethany's hand, but it was really just a connection of their energy mingling. "You okay out here?"

"Yeah. Let me know if you find anything so I can let Angus know. Thanks, you two." Lance smiled as he pulled the phone from his ear.

"Anytime." Ray winked, then the two were floating through the wall and into the house.

Lance sighed as he looked around, taking in the area. Curious neighbors watched from their front porches, and numerous police wandered the area as paramedics cleaned up and got ready to leave. Thankfully, he didn't see any media vans, but it wouldn't be long before this case was connected to the others. Angus had said the only reason they hadn't called in the feds so far was because it wasn't confirmed Gail's death was murder yet, but now, there was no telling if the feds would take over the case. Lance was torn. While it would be nice to let Angus and Franks take a step back, they deserved to keep working on a case they'd become so invested in.

As he waited, he thought about the murders. No matter how he tried, he couldn't imagine a reason why a fifteen-year-old would have enough hate to kill so many people. What had happened to make him do something like this? These types of killings were personal. He would have watched the life fade out of Elizabeth and Fiona. He would have watched Terrance's body crushed between the freezer and car, knowing exactly what he was doing. Lance had seen a lot of death in his life, but he seldom understood the reasoning behind most murders. He couldn't imagine having something in his mind snap that would make him commit a murder. Self-defense he understood, hell, he even understood the case he'd worked where a man had killed his daughter's rapist. That made sense to him, but this, he just couldn't see how it could ever make sense.

He straightened as he saw the ghosts float out of the garage. They stayed close together as they came to stand beside him. Lance pulled out his phone and put it to his ear. "How'd things go?"

"There's an empty box in his garbage for eye drops, and there is a receipt just under his bed that's from the hardware store down the road." Gail spoke quickly in her excitement.

"And his laptop is gone, so he probably took it with him. His handheld gaming system is gone too," Terrance told Lance. "I bet if he gets on to play any of his usual games, he'll use his regular player's name. Can you track him using that?"

Lance had no idea, but hopefully, Angus would know. "Let me send a quick message to Angus. Give me a second." He pulled his phone from his ear, quickly letting Angus know what the ghosts had found. He left the message simple, saying there was more when Angus could get a moment to talk. He put the phone back to his ear. "We'll see what he says."

"He's interviewing my parents again." Terrance glanced back at the house. "My mom is really upset. My stepdad is trying to stop them from searching the house. Mom wants to let them do whatever they need to. I get it, Johnny's his son, but anyone can see Johnny is guilty. Why else would he have taken off? I wish I could let Mom know I'm okay, but she would freak out if anyone mentioned I was a ghost. She hates things like ghosts or talk of any life after death stuff. She won't even watch a movie with stuff like that in it. She has nightmares."

Lance wished he could hug the boy. "It's going to be hard for a while. I'm sure they're both struggling. One son is dead, probably killed by the other. It's going to take them both some time to work through their emotions. My advice, and it's simply advice, you don't have to take it, but I think it would be easier for you to come stay at my place for a few days and let your parents work through their grief and anger. You can't do anything to help them so it will only hurt you to watch them go through it all."

"I'd like to see Tom." Terrance glanced at Gail. "Will you go with me?"

"How about we all go?" Ray moved forward. "Bethany and I have friends there we can visit while you go up and see Tom."

Lance smiled, remembering the hospital ghosts who had helped them in a case a while back. "I can drop you guys off there once I talk to Angus. There's no point in me hanging around here if you guys aren't here. Angus will be busy. I have plenty to do at home."

"Thanks." Terrance blew out a breath. "Out of everyone, he's the one who I'm most worried about."

"Gavin's still alive. He'll help him," Gail said. "They can grieve together."

Lance sighed. So much pain, but at least whether alive or a ghost, they had someone to help them. Hopefully, Elizabeth and Fiona had gone into the light and found each other there.

"Lance?" Angus called as he walked across the lawn toward him.

"Hey." He smiled. "You didn't have to come right out."

"I needed to get out of there for a bit. Franks can handle it. I'm leaving an officer to guard Johnny's bedroom until I can get a warrant to get in there. You said they found eye drops and a receipt?" Angus pulled out his notepad. "Anything else?"

"They found the box the eye drops came in, not the actual drops." Lance glanced at Ray for confirmation. At his nod, Lance continued, "Gail said there was also a receipt under the bed for a hardware store."

"Did you see what he bought?" Angus asked.

Gail shook her head. "It was too dark to make out the light print. I just noticed the bolder print of the hardware store's name."

Lance told Angus what she said. "Terrance says he took his laptop and his gaming device. As addicted as Johnny is at gaming, can you track him with those? Maybe through his gaming I.D. info or something?"

Angus shrugged. "Probably. I'll have to leave that up to our computer guys, but I'd think it would be possible. Do you know his gaming name?"

Terrance shook his head.

"Nope, sorry," Lance told him.

"That's okay. We'll find it. Did he use any other computers or systems in the house?"

"He'd use the Xbox in the basement sometimes, but I never saw him on the family computer, just his laptop. He probably has his phone on him too. My stepdad should have info on that, I don't even know his number. I had it in my phone, but I never called him." Terrance shook his head. "I don't even know where my phone is now."

"Get used to not having it," Bethany teased. "We can't hold them."

Lance laughed as he told Angus about everything they'd said.

"I'll get a warrant for the Xbox then, and we'll see if we can track his phone. You were all on the same plan?"

Terrance nodded. "Yeah, my stepdad put us on his after they got married."

Lance relayed the information.

"Thanks, this will help. I'm trying to push those warrants through, but I don't know how long that will take." Angus looked at Lance. "I'll be late."

"I figured. Go do your job. I'm dropping them off at the hospital before I head home. I'll see you when you get there." He brushed a quick kiss over Angus's mouth, aware of where they were and that Angus was working. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Angus headed back into the house.

Lance nodded and started for the car, not wanting to draw attention to him appearing to talk to himself. He could have pulled his phone out again, but why bother when they could talk openly once in the car?

The heat in the car took Lance's breath away and he cranked up the A.C., leaving the car door open until the rush of air cooled the car. As he finally shut the door and secured his seat belt, he glanced over at Gail in the passenger seat. "I'm a bit jealous right now. Not only does the heat not bother you guys anymore, but you can't get sunburns either."

"I hadn't even thought about that," Terrance said from the back seat.

"You have a lot to learn. We'll go through it all later tonight when we get back home. You lose a lot of abilities, but there are some you gain as well," Ray informed Terrance.

"I can't believe I'm dead. I thought I was safe at home." Terrance sighed. "I can't understand why Johnny would do all this?"

"Did you two have a huge fight at some point?" Lance asked.

"No, nothing. We didn't hide the fact we didn't really like each other, but we just kept our distance for the most part. Honestly, I didn't think it was that bad. We were just different. He didn't understand me, and I didn't understand him. We had different interests. I tried to game with him and stuff when our parents were dating. Tried to be his friend. He just wouldn't talk. We'd game and the whole time I got the feeling he was being forced to play with me. Like his dad was making him do it. The first chance Johnny would get, he'd take off to his room again. Finally, I just gave up asking if he wanted to do things."

"He never talked to any of us but Fiona. Sometimes he'd talk to her when she'd be in the kitchen. He even asked her out once, but she turned him down," Gail said.

"I didn't know about that." Terrance looked shocked.

"Yeah, he invited her to the Halloween dance. She was nice about it and told him no thanks. She told me and Liz about it the next day. She was kind of amused by it. I think she kept from telling you because she was afraid that you'd tell Johnny to back off. She didn't want to embarrass him." Gail smiled. "We thought it was cute, him wanting to date an older girl."

Lance smiled at the thought that a two-year difference in age was a big deal, but then when he'd been that age, he'd probably thought so too. Now, he knew adults in relationships with nearly twenty years separating them.

"Could he have been so upset with her saying no that he killed her?" Terrance asked.

"Her, maybe, but the rest of you? That doesn't make sense," Bethany commented.

"Sadly, like many other cases, we may never know the reason behind Johnny's actions." Lance slowed as traffic got heavier.

"I hate that. I want to know what I did to deserve this." Gail frowned. "Do you think we know if we go into the light?"

"No one knows what happens in the light," Ray told her. "We can only assume from the feeling it gives off that it's not a bad place. We've seen where evil souls go, and it's not peaceful like the light."

Lance listened as Bethany and Ray explained to Gail and Terrance about the black mist they'd seen surrounding evil ghosts. Lance still got the chills each time he heard them talk about it. He really didn't want to know where they went.

When he pulled up in front of the hospital, Lance was glad to see the ghosts off. He hated to think about how hard this would be for Terrance, but even more so for Tom who would have to go on without Terrance by his side. Lance couldn't think about it for long or he'd start worrying about Angus and fearing he'd end up in that same position someday.

He said his goodbyes and headed home, determined not to think about the case or the danger that Angus faced every day. Life was to be lived, not stressed over, worrying about when death might come.