Page 17 of The Grave Robber

“I still think you should go to the hospital,” the EMT said,adopting a childlike posture complete with crossed arms and a protruding lowerlip.

“It’s okay. I think we have a pickup to get out of impound.”I eased out of the ambulance and turned to help Halle down.

“Oh, your blanket,” she said to the EMT, handing it back toher. “Thank you.”

The woman accepted it with a deeper pout.

Fortunately, we found Halle’s pickup before the tow truckarrived. While she distracted the cop, I hopped into the cab and took off. Theofficer gave a half-hearted pursuit before giving up and going back for more one-on-onetime with Halle. Sadly, in a stranger-than-fiction turn of events, she vanishedwhen he got a call over his radio, never to be seen or heard from again. Atleast by the cop. He could run her tags and make the connection, but she hadn’treally broken any laws. She was simply reclaiming the pickup she’d parkedbadly. And she hadn’t actually done the take back. It had been practicallystolen out from under her by a maniac in a shredded shirt and ripped jeans.

After years of practice, I could run defensive scenarios allday.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and looked over atHalle. She was still shivering, and I didn’t know if it was due to her dress andhair still being damp or the accident she’d witnessed. The Arkwright Buildingmust have the fastest elevator in all of Washington. She and Bobby had made itdown just in time to watch me play tag with a delivery truck.

I blasted the heater as we drove, the setting sun creatingbright splashes of pink and orange in the rearview. “Can I ask you a question?”

She was chewing on her lower lip as she stared at my leg.Or, more precisely, the super cool wound there.

I slid a hand over it, suddenly self-conscious.

She snapped to attention with my question. “Sure.”

“What did you mean, some people deserve to be haunted?”

“Oh,” she said, surprised. She hugged herself and looked outthe window. “Nothing. You may not believe this, but I haven’t always been agood person.”

“You’re right. I don’t believe it.”

She turned to me suddenly, huffing out an exasperated puffof air. “Can we just address the elephant in the room?”

“I didn’t realize there was one.”

She shifted in her seat to face me head-on. “How?”

“Well, first, we aren’t even in a room, so I don’t think mynot noticing the elephant in it is the most pertinent element of thisconversation.”

“No, I mean…you really knew.”

Ah. That.

“You knew the exact date, time, and place Zachary was goingto die.”

I held up a finger to put her on pause. “Not the place, justthe date and time.”

“But you saw it. You were able to figure out where he wasfrom what you saw. How?” She dropped her gaze, racking her brain. “How is thateven possible?”

“Well, I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,dismember your lifeless body, and bury you in Jason’s backyard.”

“Can you…can you really talk to dead people?”

“Tell her!” Aunt Lil said. She was sitting between us in thecramped cab, making the situation fairly awkward as I tried to look at Hallefrom around her blue hair. “We need to help her. If she’s being terrorized,we’re all she’s got, Constantine.”

“Yes, I can. Aunt Lil is here now.”

Halle reared back, though just barely before catchingherself. She squinted and looked around, trying to peer into the veil as Ifought a grin. “Can she hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Tell her she has a lovely voice.”

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