Page 18 of Shadow Running
I was getting antsy.We were in danger—I could sense it all around us, rolling in like a rip tide.“We don’t.Konstantine, you need to come with us.I don’t want any of us staying here any longer than necessary.”
My uncle gave me a long look, then silently nodded.“I can do that.”
“Do you have any pets?”Penn asked.
He shook his head.“I’m between dogs.Micron passed away last year from old age and I haven’t had the heart to adopt again…not yet.”
“Then let’s go,” I said as Carson finished anchoring the camera as best as he could.
We clattered down the stairs, and all the while I felt like the wolf was at my back, ready to bite me in the ass if it caught me.
* * *
We stopped long enoughfor Konstantine to throw a couple shirts and pairs of pants into a backpack.He grabbed his laptop, a folding file full of papers, his wallet, and keys, and we got the hell out of the house.As we made our way to our cars, I glanced back and my heart stood still.In the attic, from one of the narrow windows, I could see lights flashing.
“Is that fire?”Konstantine asked, looking worried.
“No, it’s not fire,” I said.“That’s whatever it was that was headed our way.Given the house’s history, I’m not surprised it attracted a pile of ghosts.”
“I suppose I should get a hotel,” he said.“I hadn’t planned on this interruption to my work, but at least I can write from almost anywhere.”
I thought about offering him my sofa to crash on, but first I’d have to consult Penn, and second—even though he was my uncle, I really didn’t know him very well.Just because someone was connected by blood, that didn’t make them a good person.Even Ted Bundy had parents.
“There’s one with a kitchenette near my place,” Dante said.“I stayed there when they had to replace the carpeting and fix the plumbing in my apartment a few years ago.It’s reasonably priced.”
Konstantine shrugged.“Sounds good.Text me the address.”He turned to me.“Would you like to get together for dinner, so we can talk?”
I nodded.“I’d like that.I’ll call you in a bit, once I look at my schedule.”Truthfully, I wanted Penn to do a reading for me on the issue.I wanted to know how involved to get.
“I texted you the name and address of the hotel,” Dante said.“Also the Map-It link, with directions on how to get there.”
“I’ll call you later today,” I said.“By then, Carson can look at the footage from the camera and we might have some sort of answer for you, or at least a lead on what we’re dealing with.”
He awkwardly held out his hand and I took it, squeezing it warmly.I wasn’t ready to hug him yet, but I desperately hoped it would become that sort of connection.Every time Carson talked about his sister, or Penn talked about her mother, or I saw the connection Orik had with his wife and daughters—and even his mother-in-law, I felt like something was missing.
I watched him walk to his car, then turned back to Dante, Penn, and Carson.“All right, back to the office we go.And thanks…for not asking me questions until I have a chance to think this whole thing through.”
I tossed Dante the keys to the van and rode shotgun.Carson and Penn were in the back, chatting about the ghost, while I stared out of the window.As we silently passed over the 520 Floating Bridge, the waves were choppy.It might be late spring, but there was an incoming rain storm, and I could feel every inch of the turbulence in my soul.
* * *
By the timewe returned to the office, I felt more on an even keel.There was so much still up in the air, but at least I felt ready to tackle what we were facing.
“Hey,” I said to Sophia.“So many notes…”
She cocked her head to the right.“What happened?”
I should know better than to think I could pull off a nonchalant attitude around her.She saw into everybody in the office.“Let’s say, this case is one for the books.Meanwhile?—”
Carson froze.“Lazenti just texted me.He wants me to look up a couple unsolved disappearances among the homeless camps over the past few months.”
I froze.“Disappearances?Homeless camps?Does that include the Soldiers of Misfortune?”
“I’m not sure yet.There are five—three men and two women.They weren’t prone to wandering.And…they all have some connection to Give A Hands Up.”He glanced at me from heavily lidded eyes.“The cops haven’t lifted a hand.”
“Of course not.The homeless are vulnerable and adrain on city resources,” I said, imitating one of the local house representatives who had somehow managed to convince people that the best way to deal with the homeless problem was to drive the homeless over to a different county so we didn’t have to help them.
“How the hell Cooper got elected, I don’t know,” Dante said, frowning.“Seattle’s a liberal city?—”
