Acheron Highway: A Jonathan Shade Novel (16 page)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

They released me the next morning with a clean bill of health.
 
Fortunately no dead bodies attacked during the night, and there were no skeletons waiting for us when we left the hospital.
 
Assuming I hadn’t been dreaming, Persephone was true to her word.
 
Kelly pushed the wheelchair to the door, and I hopped up and walked out under my own power.

My neck throbbed, but it wasn’t too bad.
 
It was snowing when we stepped outside.
 
“Where are you parked?” I asked.

“I’m not.
 
Brand will be swinging by in a moment to pick us up.”

“Maybe we should wait inside.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m freezing my nuts off.”

“Man up.”

A valet shot me a look.
 
I guess it was uncool of me to complain to a woman.
 
Of course, Kelly’s nerves were magically engineered, so while she can
detect
heat and cold, she doesn’t really
feel
them.
 
The valet had on a North Face jacket and gloves and probably thermal underwear.
 
I wore jeans, a button-down shirt, and a light jacket—the only jacket Brand owned since nobody had taken the time to go to my place for a coat and my other coat was gone.

So yeah, I was cold.

I hate snow.
 
Why live in Colorado?
 
I ask myself that question every damn winter.
 
That said, normally the snow is gone in a few days and the weather warms up.
 
We do get a lot of sunny days.
 
I appreciate that, but when it’s cold, I think about hopping on a plane to Key West.
 
Sun and beaches were on my mind then, but the wind whipped blowing snow into my face and shattered the image.

Brand pulled up a few minutes later.
 
He drove Kelly’s SUV.
 
Brand drives a beat-up pickup truck, and from what Kelly told me, smashing up the skeletons didn’t improve its looks much.

“That’s my jacket,” Brand said as I climbed into the backseat.
 
He wore a short-sleeved T-shirt.

“You can have it back when I get a new coat.”

“Maybe we should stop at a store on the way home.
 
I don’t want you wearing my jacket.
 
It’s too big for you anyway.”

“Leave it alone, Brand,” Kelly said as she closed the door.

Esther popped into the backseat beside me.
 
She didn’t speak but she kept an eye on me.

“How did he get my jacket?”

“I brought it to him,” Kelly said.

In the rearview mirror, I saw him make a face, but he bit his tongue.
 
“Whatever.”

She turned toward him.
 
I couldn’t see her face, but from her tone of voice, I knew she was glaring at him.
 
“You have a problem with that, Brand?”

He kept his eyes on the road.
 
“Not really.”

“You’d better not.”

“He can keep the damn jacket if he likes it so much.”

“It smells funky,” I said.

Brand and Kelly ignored me but Esther smiled.

I watched Brand in the rearview.
 
Every now and then, he’d catch my eye in the mirror, but he instantly looked back to the road.
 
I knew he was thinking he should be more careful because he wasn’t on solid ground with Kelly.

My cell phone rang, and the caller ID told me it was Miranda.

“Shade Investigations, no case too small, no fee too large.”

“Jonathan, this is Miranda.
 
I didn’t hear from you last night.
 
Did you learn anything?”

“I learned that hospital food doesn’t agree with my stomach.”

“Hospital?
 
Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m OK.
 
I have a lead on your heart.
 
Is everything cool at your place?”

“No dead people if that’s what you mean.”

“Good.
 
Want to meet me at Zach’s house tomorrow morning at five?”

“That early?
 
It’s easier for me to stay up late than get up early.
 
What about tonight?”

“Let’s go with tomorrow.
 
You don’t have to be there.
 
It’s all good.
 
I can check it out alone.”

“No, I want to go.
 
Are you sure you’re OK?
 
Your voice sounds a little…strained.”

“I’m fine.
 
Really.
 
See you tomorrow.”
 
I ended the call.

Kelly turned in her seat.
 
“I’m going with you tomorrow.”

“Me too,” Brand and Esther said at the same time.

“The gang’s all in.
 
Should be a party.”

Brand pulled into my apartment complex parking lot.
 
Kelly and I got out.

“I’m staying here tonight,” she said.

“I’ll park and crash here too,” Brand said.

“No,” Kelly said.
 
“You go to my place.
 
Be back here at four-thirty.”

“Is this about that stupid jacket?
 
I’m sorry I mentioned it.”

“It’s not about the jacket.
 
Go home.”

He started to say something but then shook his head and closed his mouth.

Esther watched them for a moment, glanced at me, shrugged, then popped away.

Kelly and I started toward the apartment.
 
Esther popped back to us.

“All clear,” she said.

I had a few pieces of her old typewriter in the apartment so she could go there anytime.
 
I took special care in their locations so none of the pieces were within fifteen feet of the restroom.
 
Privacy is a good thing.
 
When we entered the apartment, Kelly checked the restroom first then gave me a nod.

We sat on the couch.

“Are you hurting?” she asked.
 
“Need some Advil or anything?”

“I’m good.”

Kelly gave Esther a look.

“I think I’ll pop over to Kelly’s place to make sure Brand doesn’t get too ossified.”

Kelly gave her a nod, and Esther popped away.

I looked at Kelly.
 
“What?”

She stood there for a moment, just staring at me.
 
She shook her head and went right to the point as she loved to do.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Jonathan?”

“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t been yourself since Naomi died.”

“I don’t have a right to grieve?”

“Don’t play that card with me.”

“I know it’s hard for you to believe, but I loved her.”

“That part I understand, but this is more than that.”

“How do you figure?”

“None of us trusted her.
 
Including you.”

“So?”

“You weren’t this bad after she dumped you five years ago.”

“She’s dead now.
 
That’s different.
 
I should have been able to save her.”

“You need to save yourself right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you’ve been reckless.
 
From what Walter told me, you fought those skeletons when you could have broken through and raced for an exit.”

“It didn’t occur to me.”

“Bullshit.
 
O’Malley called me wanting to know if you were OK.
 
He said you walked right up to a dead guy who’d just killed his wife.
 
A guy who was armed with a knife.”

“So?”

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“I lead a dangerous life.”

“You’re being stupid.
 
I keep hearing about things you’re doing and saying.
 
People are worried about you, Jonathan.”

“They don’t need to worry.
 
I’m fine.”

“You didn’t call me when you got away from the skeletons.
 
Walter said you sat down by a Dumpster and if he hadn’t come by, you’d have bled out or frozen to death.”

“I’d lost a lot of blood.
 
I was disoriented.”

Kelly rose and grabbed me by Brand’s jacket.
 
She pulled me to my feet and stared into my eyes.
 
“Do you want to die?”

I didn’t answer.

She held my gaze, and when she spoke, her words were like whispered bullets.
 
She spoke them slowly, carefully enunciating each word as if every single one were its own sentence and carried the weight of the universe.
 
“Be.
 
Honest.
 
Do.
 
You.
 
Want.
 
To.
 
Die?”

I tried to pull away from her, but she’s far stronger than I am.

“Answer me.”

I closed my eyes and breathed out slowly.
 
“I don’t care anymore.”

“You don’t care if you live or die?”

“Not especially.”

Kelly shook her head.
 
“You need to explain that to me.”

“What’s the point?”

“So I can understand.
 
So I can help you.”

“No, Kelly.
 
What’s the fucking point?
 
What purpose do I serve?
 
Why should I bother living this life?
 
What good does it do?”

“You help people.
 
You showed me that I can help people too.
 
That alone should make life worth living.
 
You have people who love you.”

“Right.”

Kelly shoved me against the wall and released the jacket.
 
“I love you.
 
Esther adores you.
 
You have friends who care about you.”

“Come on.
 
You’re like a sister to me.
 
Esther has been dead for decades.
 
Most of my friends have gotten married and are raising kids.
 
I have no one.
 
I feel…empty.”

“Get over yourself, Jonathan.
 
Everybody feels empty.
 
We all find ways to fill our lives with as many good things as we can find.
 
You’re trying to throw yours away.”