CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Lance heard the buzzing of Angus's phone and for a second, he was tempted to silence it and let him sleep. The thought fled as he thought about who was probably calling and how important a call at five in the morning could be. "Babe, wake up. Your phone." Lance ran his hand over Angus's arm, hating to wake him.

"Hmm?" Angus stirred.

"Your phone is ringing. It's probably work." Lance reached over Angus and picked up the phone. Seeing Franks' name on the screen, Lance answered. "Hey, Franks. Give Angus a minute."

"Sure thing." Franks sounded just as groggy and uncaffeinated as Lance felt.

"Angus, Franks is on the phone." Lance nudged Angus a bit harder.

"What time is it?" Angus opened his eyes.

"Just after five." Lance held the phone toward Angus.

Angus took the phone. "What's going on?" He cleared his throat as he sat up.

"I'll go start the coffee." Lance slid out of bed, sure that like most calls in the middle of the night, this would mean Angus was needed for something. As he slipped on his robe, he noticed Haunt sleeping at the foot of the bed and smiled as she got up to follow him out. Once in the kitchen, he flipped on the lights and went to pull out the coffee filter and grounds. They'd tried the pods for a week, but found they went through too much coffee to make them cost effective. They were better off using the twelve-cup pot and brewing it.

As he woke up a bit more, Lance realized that the house was quiet, and the backyard appeared empty. When he'd gone to bed, Bethany, Ray, Gail, and Terrance were there, talking as they played with Haunt. The visit to Tom had been upsetting for Terrance and the ghosts had grouped around him, trying to help him get through facing the fact he was dead, and Tom would go on living without him.

"Sorry." Angus walked out, running his fingers through his hair. He wore a pair of shorts and nothing else. "Franks is on his way over. The car was found abandoned in front of Gavin's home. We've got officers inside with Gavin and his family right now. No signs of Johnny anywhere. More officers are asking neighbors who have surveillance cameras, but being it's so early in the morning, they are only waking those closest to where the car is parked. They'll wait until later to contact others. They have eyes on the car, but are not approaching yet, hoping Johnny will come back to it."

"So what are you and Franks going to do so early?" Lance asked as the coffee started to drip.

Angus shrugged. "We don't have to go in, but since we're up and things are breaking, we decided to go in. Maybe drive around the area, looking for Johnny. I told Franks to call me last night if he heard anything and I'd do the same, so he called. I'm just sorry it woke you up."

"I can go back to bed. It's Sunday. I don't have plans." Lance pulled three mugs out of the cupboard. "I'm a bit surprised all the ghosts are gone. They were all here when we went to bed."

"Would they have gone back to the hospital?" Franks asked as he took a seat at the table.

"Maybe, but I can't see why in the middle of the night. It's just odd. Maybe they're visiting other ghosts or helping Terrance learn how to jump into cars to get places." Lance tightened the tie on his robe.

"Well, they aren't kids we have to look after. They'll show up." Angus reached out and pulled Lance down on his lap. "Thank you for being so understanding. I know my hours are shit and I get too many calls at odd hours." He nuzzled his nose along Lance's neck. "I'll make it up to you."

"You have nothing to make up. It's what you do. We find time when we can. If you weren't out there saving lives, I might be a little more upset, but I see the good you do. I'd never stand in your way or complain." Lance rested his head on Angus's shoulder.

"It doesn't feel like I'm saving lives this week. I should have protected Terrance better," Angus nearly whispered the words.

"This wasn't your fault. You did everything you could within the law. Sure, we could have sent the ghosts over to watch over him, but even then, they wouldn't have been able to stop what happened. Sometime events are out of our control and that sucks, but we can't question every decision we make because things go wrong from time to time." Lance understood what Angus was feeling, but he wasn't sure how to help him. There was nothing he could say that Angus didn't already know. He just had to work through it slowly. Every case Angus worked took a toll, but some were worse than others. This one would stick with him for a while. "I'm sorry, it's so hard."

"Thanks. I just wish I'd done something different. Something more." He hugged Lance, then released him. "I'm seriously going to find a way for us to get some alone time soon."

"Maybe another weekend trip." Lance kissed him and stood to pour the coffee. "We'll talk about it once this is over."

"Deal." Angus took the cup that Lance offered him.

Lance poured two more cups and brought them to the table. When Angus raised a brow, Lance laughed. "Franks is worse than either of us when he doesn't get his coffee, but he's too lazy to make his own this early. Coffee shops aren't open this early on Sunday, so I figured he's going to need it."

"Smart." Angus grinned. "Not only taking care of me, but my partner too."

"You're sort of a package deal. At least until Franks finds someone to spoil him." Lance blew over his coffee, then took a sip.

"That may be a while. He doesn't seem interested in settling down yet. He dates, but he never even brings them to his house." Angus shrugged. "The right one will come around one day." He took a sip of his coffee. "I'm so tired. I'm not sure even coffee can save me today."

"Want me to make a thermos so you can take some with you?" Lance hated seeing the lines of fatigue on Angus's face.

"Nah, we'll stop for some later." Angus took another drink.

"I'm going to go unlock the front door so Franks can come in when he gets here." Lance stood.

"Stay. I'll do it. I have to go change anyway." Angus took another gulp of coffee, then stood. He bent and kissed Lance before heading out of the kitchen.

While he waited, Lance looked through some of the ads that had come in the mail yesterday. Cel had mentioned wanting to make steak salads this Friday, and he wondered what he would need. He assumed it would just be a salad with steak in it, but with Cel, anything was possible.

The front door opened and shut and a minute later Franks walked in. He looked as tired as Lance felt. "Morning." He sank down in the chair and sighed. "Sorry to wake you."

"It's okay. Coffee is for you." He pushed the third cup he'd poured toward Franks. "Any news?"

Franks shook his head. "Nothing since I called. I figure we'll drive around and see if we notice him anywhere. After-all, the others are all looking for the kid in his yearbook photo. Angus and I have seen him recently. There's a big difference. He had longer hair in his photo. I thought for sure he'd leave town. I have to admit I was a bit stunned to find that car here locally. I thought someone would pick him up crossing state lines."

"Maybe he thought he could kidnap Gavin and starve him to death since that's how Gavin feared dying, then found out Gavin was being guarded and had to figure out a new plan." Lance didn't have a clue what the fifteen-year-old was thinking. None of it made sense.

"Possibly, but at this point, he has to know we're on to him. I'd think he'd be running scared. He had to have a plan for after this was all done, wouldn't he?"

"One would think, but we don't think like a teen would. He very well could be doing it one thing at a time then coming up with another plan." Lance stared out the back window, again wondering where the ghosts were.

"Do I need to remind you that I'm not worth shit at five in the morning?" Angus walked out, tucking his shirt into his pants.

"That's the great thing about working together. We get the best of each other, no matter the time of day." Franks lifted his coffee cup in salute.

"What's the plan?" Angus sat down and reached for his coffee.

"Don't really have one. Figured we'd drive around a bit and brainstorm. Try and get into Johnny's mind. Figure out his plan. Officers are talking to his parents again, trying to find out if he has any friends from school or online that he might go to for help. I personally think that's a dead end, but Captain Marshall figured it was worth pursuing. My guess is he was going to attempt to get into Gavin's house, then found the cops there and had to forget about Gavin. Not sure why he left his only means of transportation. Not a lot of places he can go at five in the morning, and on a Sunday, even the buses don't run as often. Getting out of the area won't be easy unless he's hitchhiking." Franks rolled his shoulders.

"Are we watching his grandmother's house?" Angus asked.

"We are, but she's actually at the Jefferies' home now. They took her there to be with the family." Franks got up to refill his coffee cup, then offered to fill theirs as well.

"Thanks." Lance took the full cup.

"Last one, then we go." Angus took his. "I think he's running scared. No place to go, no one to help him. He's got four murder charges and one attempted facing him. He's realizing his life is over if he doesn't leave town. But with limited money and limited options, where does he go?"

"Then why dump the car? It's his way out." Lance asked.

"Maybe he thought they saw him and was scared to go back to the car. It's just a few houses down from Gavin's," Franks said.

Lance was about to ask a question when Bethany floated into the room. "We found him." She looked excited. "He's at the Fairway Bridge where Gail died. He's just sitting there, staring across the valley."

Lance stood. "Bethany just came in. Johnny is at the Fairway Bridge. She said he's just sitting there staring into space."

Franks stood and Angus followed.

"I don't know how you guys found him but thank you," Angus smiled.

"I'm calling it in." Franks already had his phone to his ear.

"We were at Gavin's when he approached the house. He saw the police cars, turned around, and ran down the street. We followed. It was pure luck that Gail saw him out there. I'll tell you more later."

"Need me?" Lance asked.

"No, but call if you get any more information." Angus glanced over his shoulder.

"I'm going with them," Bethany told Lance.

"Bethany's riding with you," Lance called.

The sound of the door closing was the only answer Lance got. He sighed as he sat back down at the table and prayed that everything would go smoothly. He didn't like the fact that Johnny was at the bridge. Suicide had to be on his mind with him facing a life in prison for the murders he committed.

Lance dropped a hand to Haunt's back, brushing his fingertips over her. As tired as he was, there would be no going back to bed. He needed to keep busy so he didn't worry about Angus. With a long sigh, he finished off his cup of coffee, then cleaned up the others and put them in the dishwasher. He'd start with laundry, then vacuum. He'd keep finding simple tasks to keep him busy until he got a call that everything was okay. With the way his luck ran, he'd have the whole house clean and yard manicured before Angus even got home.