Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

There was an older man sitting inside the tent. It was Kelvin Creston. He looked startled when he saw us, narrowing his gaze on Dante. He let out a low growl as we approached.

“Easy, old timer,” Dante said. “We just want to ask a few questions.”

Kelvin stumbled to his feet. I could smell the alcohol from where we were, but he still managed to stand. “Leave me alone,” he said, trying to avoid my gaze.

“Kelvin,” I said, taking a step forward. “We need to ask you some questions about the Supe Community Action?—”

Before I could finish, he shot out of his chair, pulled out a nasty switchblade, and popped open its eight-inch blade.

“Get away from me,” he shouted. His gaze darted wildly between Dante and me. “Get away from me! You want to kill me!”

Crap. I hadn’t expected this . I put up my hands and took a step back. “Easy now, Kelvin. We’re not here to hurt you. I promise—we aren’t out to harm you. We want to ask a couple questions?—”

“No!” The panic in his voice was reaching alarming levels. He was one step away from lashing out.

Orik and Dante both moved back as well. “What do we do?” Orik muttered under his breath.

“I’m not sure. We need the cops, though.”

“Let me talk to him,” the elderly woman we had been talking to said. She had followed us over. “He knows me. Call the cops while I give it a try.”

“I don’t want you to put your life in danger,” I said.

“I won’t.”

As Orik put in a call to the police, she stepped forward. “Kelvin, you know me, right?”

He looked at her, confused, then slowly nodded. “You’re Old Sarah.”

“Right, and you know that old Sarah loves you dearly, right?” Her voice was remarkably gentle. “Old Sarah won’t let you down.”

Kelvin slowly lowered the knife. “You’ve never lied to me,” he said.

“And I never will. Now set the knife down. Put it down, Kelvin. You know I don’t like blades and I won’t be able to talk to you as long as you’re holding it.”

As Kelvin lowered the blade to the ground, Sarah slowly reached out and picked it up. She took Kelvin’s hand and led him back to his chair, indicating for him to sit. I watched in silence. If she could make him comfortable enough to sit down, then maybe we could keep him under control until the cops got there.

Sarah turned to me. “What do you want to ask him?”

I lowered my voice, hoping he couldn’t hear me. “We think he may have had a hand in an explosion this morning that killed at least one person.”

Sarah winced. “Oh dear.”

“Does that sound like him? Is that something you think he’s capable of?”

The elderly woman thought for a moment. “I think…under the right circumstances, yes. He’s got a volatile nature. He’ll go through long periods of being fine, then something will set him off and he’s ranting and raving again. I have seen him tear up another veteran before.”

“What do you mean?”

“They got into an ideological argument and he…lost his way and attacked the other man. He almost killed him. But when the police came, Chester never told the police who attacked him. We have a code here, and everybody knows that Kelvin has issues. That Chester provoked him…”

She paused as sirens echoed in the distance. Kelvin didn’t even seem to notice.

“But…” Sarah continued in a soft voice, “if Kelvin took a life…if he hurt someone on the outside. Well now, that’s out of our hands. We rule ourselves, but break the rules outside of camp and we can’t do anything to cover it up.”

I was beginning to get a good look into the way the encampments worked. They were communities within the community. “Yes. And if he’s our man, he injured several other people.”

“They can’t take me,” Kelvin suddenly broke into our conversation, once again wild-eyed and panicked. “I can’t live in a cage!”

He jumped to his feet, but this time, instead of a knife, he withdrew a stick of dynamite. It was prepped and ready, and he held it up with one hand, a lighter in his other hand. “Back away!”

“Kelvin! Stop!” I jumped forward, trying to grab hold of him.

But he was too quick for me and he darted back, surprisingly nimble. He dropped the dynamite but, as I leaped after him, he turned around, holding something else that I couldn’t quite catch a glimpse of. My first thought was that it was a gun, but then I decided that, if he did have a gun, he would have already used it. Maybe it wasn’t logical, but that’s what was running through my mind.

“Kelvin, make it easier on yourself—” I said, but he rushed toward the freeway. “Stop! You’ll get hit?—”

“Better than a cage,” he shouted back. “Nobody wants to help me. Nobody gives a damn?—”

I slowed. Maybe if I stopped pursuing, he’d calm down and stop, too. “Kelvin—you heard Old Sarah. We’re not here to hurt you.”

He shook his head. “That’s what Tana said. Tana promised they’d help us but they made us leave the group home. They kicked us out of our home. They said I was violent. But I’m not—I… Roddy’s the violent one and when he acts up, I can’t keep him under control anymore.”

I held up my hands, trying to process how to approach him. “Roddy? That’s your brother, right?”

“Yes,” he said. “My brother’s the one they want. I told him he needs to quit hurting people. He hurt so many people when he was in the service. He killed children , for the sake of the gods. And then, when he was discharged, he didn’t know how to stop hurting people. I kept him under control. I made him promise me that he wouldn’t hurt Tana. But he did.” He was crying now, breaking down into loud sobs. It was like he was melting in front of me.

I was beginning to understand. “Kelvin, has Roddy been with you ever since you got out of the service?”

His shoulders slumped. “Roddy said he’d stay with me forever. I took care of him in the service, and he’s trying to repay the favor. We were inseparable as kids…and he promised he’d stay with me until the day we die. He’s a good brother, but he can get angry when people treat me mean. I try to tell him it’s okay, that I understand. But he doesn’t. I’ll never leave you behind, Kelvin , he tells me. I’ll never leave you behind. You didn’t leave me behind. ”

He fell to his knees on the side of the road. Then, he leaned forward, covering his eyes as he whimpered. “I can’t do this anymore, Roddy. I need your help.”

As I watched, his face shifted and he looked up at me.

“What do you want, bitch? Leave my brother alone. He’s mine.” The voice was so different that it startled me.

I knelt. “Are you Roddy?”

“What’s it to you?” he snarled.

“I’m trying to help your brother. Kelvin’s in trouble and he’s only going to make things worse for himself if he resists.”

I caught a glint in his eyes that made me think this really was Roddy, speaking through Kelvin. Was his brother haunting him? Or was this a split personality, with Kelvin’s guilt over Roddy fueling it? I had no idea which one it was.

He laughed roughly. “Why should that bother me?”

At that moment, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. This was a ghost—it was Roddy, all right. He blamed Kelvin for his death and was tormenting Kelvin’s already guilty soul.

I thought about trying to reason with the spirit, but that wouldn’t do any good if Roddy was out for revenge. I stood and turned to Orik and Dante, who were standing nearby, ready to jump in if need be.

“We have a problem. He’s possessed. His brother’s around, and he’s tormenting Kelvin.”

“I didn’t know you can feel ghosts,” Dante said.

“Not usually—or rather, not in any great detail. But Roddy’s malevolent. In fact, I’m not sure Roddy’s just a spirit.”

“Do you think that he’s even Roddy?” Orik asked.

“I’m not positive, no. But if the cops put Kelvin in a cell, he may try to find a way to kill himself,” I said, keeping my voice low. At that moment, two cop cars pulled in. “Dante, go talk to them.”

I glanced at Kelvin, who—looking alarmed—stood, looking ready to run.

“No, Kelvin. Don’t do it. The cops could hurt you if you run. Stay, please,” I said, turning to Sarah. “Talk to him, please.”

“Kelvin, boy, do you hear me?” Sarah said, putting a hand on his arm.

He shivered, then the mean stare vanished and the confused look took over again. “I hear you, Old Sarah. Tell me what to do. What should I do?”

“You go with the police politely. They’ll take care of you, but you have to cooperate. Don’t fight them. Don’t listen to Roddy.” Tears glistened in her eyes. She looked at me. “He needs help. Do you think I could go with them, to talk to them for him? I don’t know if he’ll be able to handle this alone.”

“I’ll ask them,” I said. I motioned for Dante and Orik to keep an eye on him while I went over to talk to the cops. Luckily, Destiny was there.

“Destiny, talk to me for a moment,” I said.

I filled her in on what we suspected about Kelvin being the one to bomb the SCAC, but also the potential possession.

“He’s not himself, and he’s already halfway over the edge. If I can suggest, you should take him to the psych ward and have them keep a constant supervision on him while you investigate. Take Sarah with you. She can help explain things. He listens to her.”

She frowned. “I might be able to swing it. You know that their secretary Candy died, and another member of the staff is in critical condition?”

I hung my head. “I knew Candy died, but not about the other one. Anyway, we’ll be glad to come in and give you statements of what we’ve found out.”

“Follow us, then, if you would. I’ll talk to my supervisor.” She motioned for the other cops to come over and had a hurried, whispered conference with them. They slowly approached Kelvin while she talked on the phone to someone.

Dante, Orik, and I stood back, beside Sarah.

“What will happen to him?” she asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know. But if he did bomb the Supe Community Action Council, he’s responsible for at least one death. They can’t let him go, Sarah.”

She leaned toward me, and I could tell she didn’t even realize she was doing so. I put my arm around her shoulder and squeezed. She flashed me a grateful smile.

The next few minutes were hard to watch. The cops moved in to arrest him, and he freaked out. He fought hard and they had to tase him. Sarah stood beside me, crying but not interfering. I suddenly caught another glimpse of her. She was in love with him.

Destiny came over to talk to us. “We’ll take him to the hospital to have him evaluated. Sarah, is it?”

Sarah nodded. “Yes, Sarah Oldpenny.”

“Ms. Oldpenny, if you would accompany us, we could use your insight to help Kelvin.”

Destiny had a way of soothing people in distress, which made her an asset on the force. She was a siren, and could manipulate others’ emotions, but she was one of the good ones and only used her powers to help.

“Do you want us to come with you?” I asked. “Or should we go to the station and make a statement there?”

“Come with me. I’m pretty sure the doctors could use your observations, as well.”

I turned to Sarah. “Would you like to ride with us?”

She nodded, but Destiny interrupted. “I’d rather Sarah goes with us.” To Sarah, she added, “You’re not being detained, not at all, but right now, I think it best if you ride with us.”

I cocked my head, giving Destiny a questioning look.

She shrugged. “Policy,” was all she said.

Still a little taken aback, all I could do was accede and promise that we’d meet them at the hospital.

Lanmyer Hospital had two distinct branches, though both were on the same campus. Lanmyer Medical was for both emergency services, as well as general medical conditions. Lanmyer Psychiatric was focused on mental health and they also maintained a separate building for the criminally insane. The facility had become one of the largest medical complexes around, barring the University of Washington Medical School and Center.

The facility was so large and spread out that it had moving sidewalks inside the building, as well as a shuttle from the farthest areas of the parking lot to the building itself. We parked at the back and waited at the stop for the shuttle. It swung around every fifteen minutes, but we only had to wait five.

As we approached the building, I turned to the others. “I’m not sure how I feel about this. If Kelvin’s possessed, then the doctors won’t be able to do much. We have to make certain he has a Supe doctor, one who’s familiar with issues like possession.”

“Regardless of whether he’s possessed, he’s going to jail for this. Even if they exorcise his brother’s spirit from him, the fact is that it was Kelvin’s body that threw the bomb. At least, that’s what it looks like now.” Orik looked grim. “We may not be able to come out on top with this one, but we may be able to put Tana’s mind at rest. And that was our original goal.”

“True,” I said. “I got so wrapped up in Kelvin’s issues that I almost forgot…If he did do it, and he isn’t stopped, it’s going to be worse next time because his passenger isn’t going to stop.”

We were headed into the main building to the reception desk. We were directed to the ER, where they would evaluate Kelvin. The doctor would decide whether he should be incarcerated in the regular jail, or the criminal psych ward.

As we rode along the moving sidewalk, the hush of the hospital echoed with an eerie silence. There was an energy to silence that could resonate as loudly as actual sound. And it was hitting me from all sides. The hospital had a tremendous amount of power stored in it—all the healing energy, the illnesses, spirits wandering the halls, forever trapped in limbo. And, over everything, death maintained a daily presence, draining those headed toward the Veil, and taking those ready to cross over.

By the time we reached the waiting room, the doctor was talking to Destiny. We hurried to her side.

“Your patient has powder residue all over him. He had to have been near some kind of explosion. But you need to know that he’s also possessed,” Dr. Jonteeth was a shifter.

“I thought so,” I burst out. “He thinks his brother Roddy is hanging around. Kelvin was indirectly responsible for his brother’s death, and he blames himself.”

“That’s what Ms. Oldpenny said. Do you think that the spirit that’s possessing him is his brother?” the doctor asked.

I thought about it for a moment. “I’m not a good authority on the matter. It could be his brother. I got the impression that, whoever it is, the creature’s out to make Kelvin’s life miserable. So, it could be Roddy, or some other astral creature posing as his brother.”

Destiny frowned. “What’s your take on this?” she asked the doctor.

“We’ll have to exorcise him before you can take him to jail. He’s a danger to both himself and others right now. We’ve got a lot to untangle. And then there’s the question of whether the hitchhiker is responsible for the attack, or was it really Kelvin himself,” Dr. Jonteeth said. “This isn’t going to resolve itself easily. We may also be facing a situation where the hitchhiker is so embedded into Kelvin’s own persona that we can’t separate them.” He paused, then added, “My techs are examining the powder residue now, to see if it matches the residue on the victims.”

“Are they here?” I asked. “I know Candy was killed, but who else was hurt? Is Tana all right?”

“She’s being treated for some minor injuries. There’s one counselor who was critically injured and he’s in surgery now. We’re not sure if he’s going to make it.” The doctor frowned, glancing at his chart. “There were a couple other minor injuries.” He glanced at Destiny and her partner. “You’ll want to question them. Both were there when the bomb came through the window. They saw the person who threw it, and I think they will verify it was Kelvin, but you’ll need to take their statements.”

I sighed. On one hand, I had hoped it would be the Society For Pure Blood Humanity & Decency, but we couldn’t just pin it on them to save Kelvin.

Destiny must have been thinking the same thing. “Damn it. Well, at least we aren’t left with an unsolved case, especially with a murder involved.” She turned to me. “Okay, Kyann. You can leave. We have what we need.”

“What about Sarah? Is there a way to help her out?”

“We’ll ask if she wants us to take her to a shelter, but honestly, sometimes it’s safer to be out on the road, even if it’s harder. A lot of the shelters around here are hotbeds of criminals and meth heads,” she said. “We’ll take her back home, if she wants to go.”

“I’d like to give her some more money, if she’d take it,” I said.

“Give it to me and I’ll pass it on,” Destiny said.

I handed her a hundred dollars. It wasn’t a solution for anything, but it might make life a little bit easier.

As we headed out the door, I thought about the world, and the vast discrepancy between the rich and the destitute. Unfortunately, nothing was going to change in the immediate future, but if we could make life a little easier for a few here and there, then at least we could bring a little light into a harsh, dark world.