This Girl Who Was A Ghost, page 16
part #2 of Near Future Series
“The body’s right there.”
“They put it back so when the detective returns from his two-week vacation, he can examine the scene.”
“You can be a real bitch, Dell.”
“Does that mean I can hump your leg?”
He shook his head and marched over to the cop.
Maria gazed at Dell with a smirk. “Yeah, you’d give this up.”
Dell gazed fondly at the guy. “How’s he in bed?”
“How would I know?”
Dell studied her. “That’s right, you liked that cop, or was it just for a story?”
Maria gave Dell the finger.
Dell smiled. “We had some good times, didn’t we, M?”
“It was okay.”
“Is Jack treating you good?”
“Sure.”
“I like Jack. His operation is a little too small for my liking,” Dell said, gazing at Maria. “Are you feeling pinched, M?”
“Only while taking the bus during my protégé time.”
“You had to take the bus what, twice?”
“More than that.”
Sammy sat on the car’s hood. “What are we waiting for?”
Dell gazed over at Sammy. “How old are you?”
“Old enough.”
“Isn’t she your concert hall story?”
“Claws off.”
“M, you don’t get an exclusive by kidnapping them.”
Maria rolled her eyes.
Dell turned to Sammy. “If she’s holding you against your will, blink twice.”
“Feel free to ignore her. Most do.”
Sammy sighed. “I’m trying to ignore the both of you, but it’s not working.”
Maria leaned against the car next to Sammy. “You get anything worth talking about, Dell?”
Dell shook her head. “A guy walking his dog found her. They wouldn’t let me near him.”
“The guy or the dog?”
“I let him sniff my ass, but he wouldn’t let me sniff his.” They both laughed.
Sammy crinkled her nose. “Gross.”
“Inside joke,” Maria said.
Dell gazed down the block, watching a group walking toward them. “Here’s the hordes now.”
The car pulled up behind them, parting the group. It was Russo.
Maria turned and stumbled, grabbing the side of the car to keep from falling. “You tripped me!”
Dell rushed past her. “You can’t run in heels, Maria Sauce.”
Maria pushed off the car and raced after her. “Bitch!”
Sammy roamed to the spot between the two police cars and stared at the white sheet. Her breath became labored as if the sheet were suffocating her.
The crowd surrounded Russo and peppered him with questions. Sammy skirted around them and walked back toward the other end of the block. Gazing at the heavy flow of traffic along Sixth seemed to lighten her mood. The area looked familiar, but she couldn’t have ever walked this far. She checked the cross street. “The Pleasure Palace is near here. Could the creep have been in there?”
Sammy rushed back, fearing it was Cindy under the sheet. She stopped about halfway. “It can’t be Cindy. She’s working in the lab with Leo.”
She leaned on the four-foot wrought-iron fence. Its spear-like pickets snared a ripped piece of cloth. Could it be from the creep? Sammy got in close, shifting her head, hoping it’d reveal whether or not it was from the murderer. She stood back and spotted something behind the fence in the bushes. She stepped up on the concrete border and leaned over, the spears digging into her chest. It was the mask!
She ran back, but couldn’t get close because the crowd choked off the alley. Lights lit up the crime scene as Dell’s drone buzzed overhead. She jumped on top of one of the cops’ cars. Russo was bent over the body, holding the sheet up. Sammy was relieved the girl’s hair was too light to be Cindy’s. One of the cops holding back the reporters shouted for Sammy to get down.
“I got something important to tell Russo.”
“You want to get arrested, kid?”
Maria looked up. “Sam, get down.”
“Russo,” Sammy shouted, waving her hands.
Russo dropped the sheet and looked up at her. “Sam?”
“I got something to show you.”
The cop pushed his way through the crowd. “How about the inside of a jail cell, kid.”
Sammy danced around the lunging cop.
Russo tapped the cop’s shoulder. “I got this.”
“Squirrelly little shit.”
Sammy jumped down. “Jerk.”
Russo dragged her away. “What are you doing here?”
“I found the mask and a ripped piece of cloth. I bet it’s from the creep.”
“Where?”
“Down the block. I didn’t have a handkerchief so I left it there.”
“You didn’t touch anything, did you?”
Sammy shook her head.
He nodded and scanned the crowd. “I need someone from forensics.”
The reporters spilled out around them as a guy with a suitcase approached.
“Show me where it is.” Russo waved her on. “Point but don’t touch.”
Sammy strutted off. The crowd drifted off to follow them.
Russo turned back. “This is a crime scene, folks. Anyone leaving this area will be arrested.”
Maria waved. “Russo, I’m with her.”
“Not anymore.”
“Hard-ass.”
Russo grinned and ushered Sammy ahead.
“It’s okay, she called me that too.”
“She brought you here?”
Sammy nodded. “She was going to take me to dinner, but the call came in.” They walked the half a block and stopped. Sammy pointed to the cloth.
“What?”
“The cloth. It’s still there. I was afraid it’d fall off and blow away.”
“Don’t see anything.”
“It’s right there.”
Russo asked the guy with the suitcase for a light. He rolled the light over the tip. “Jesus, how did you see that?”
“I can see good in the dark.”
“And the mask?”
The mask seemed to glow off the hand light. Sammy pointed to it. It still took Russo a minute to find it, and then he told the suitcase guy that he wanted the fence cordoned off. The guy opened his suitcase and called for help.
“I feel like something to eat,” Russo said. “Are you hungry?”
“I guess,” Sammy said with a shrug. “Don’t think Maria has dinner on her mind.”
They strolled to the corner. Russo stepped to the curb, looking down from one end of the block to the other. “Not even a taco stand?”
“Got to go to midtown to find vendors.”
He sighed. “Sorry, thought we could grab something close.”
“It’s okay, I’m not that hungry anyway.”
He flicked his hand back. “That’ll squelch your appetite.”
Sammy didn’t know if that was it. Maybe it was the thought of Cindy under the sheet. “Do you ever get used to that?”
“You never get used to it.”
“Everyone else seems to. The cops stand by like they’re holding back the crowd from a parade. The reporters act like a statue fell, and they got to be there because everyone else is.”
“The sane ones put a wall around it. Otherwise, it takes something from you bit by bit, until you need a drink to get out of bed.”
Sammy studied him. “You’re not that way, are you?”
Russo shook his head.
“I’ve seen you with a flask.”
He puckered his lips, staring out over the traffic. “It helps sometimes going to sleep.”
“You better build a bigger wall, Russo. I’ve seen people give up.” She’d seen enough of Uncle Danny shooting up to know what she was talking about.
“Don’t worry about me.”
“Who says I am?”
He grinned, turning back. Two others joined the guy by the fence, setting up barriers and lights. “I can have someone take you home if you want.”
“The Pleasure Palace is a few blocks away.”
“Pleasure Palace?”
“I got a friend who works there.”
“Oh.”
Sammy sneered. “She’s not a dancer.”
“I didn’t say she was.”
“I could tell you were thinking it.”
“You’re a mind reader too?”
“You’re a guy, aren’t you?”
He nodded, looking smug. “That I am.”
“And smug too, like all cops.”
“That’s the first thing they teach us.”
“You must’ve gone to the head of the class.”
He chuckled, glancing back at the setup by the fence. It looked as if they were preparing for a puppet show. “The offer’s still available to get into a good foster home and go back to school.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
“Fine,” Sammy said, flicking her hand goodbye. She walked down Sixth Avenue and headed toward the Pleasure Palace.
Chapter Thirty-Five
________________________________________
Sammy popped a pretzel stick into her mouth at Leo’s lab while Cindy stirred a big pot of green sludge. “You have to keep stirring it like that?”
Cindy nodded. “Leo said stirring like this increases production.”
Sammy wondered if he just said that to get her out of his way. She popped in another stick.
“Go to the kitchen, Sam. Linda will fix you up a plate of chicken bits.”
“Not that hungry.”
Cindy glanced back at Sammy. “You didn’t see the girl, did you?”
Sammy shook her head. “Just the sheet.”
“Poor thing.”
“When I realized the murder scene was close, I thought it might have been you under that sheet.”
“Me?”
“I know. It’s crazy.”
“Let me get you something to eat.”
Leo meandered by, glancing at the sludge.
Sammy crunched down on another pretzel stick.
“Leo, is this stirred enough? Want to go upstairs and get something for Sam. She hasn’t eaten all night.”
“Said I’m not hungry.”
“You’ve been eating enough of those pretzels.”
Sammy peered into the small bag. Just a few sticks left.
Leo studied Sammy. “Yes, you should go.”
Cindy pulled out the wooden spoon. “I won’t be long.”
“Take your time.”
Cindy laid the spoon next to the pot and scampered out.
Sammy crushed the bag of pretzels into crumbs. “You had to say that.”
“I told you this was a mistake.” Leo glanced at the door. “You’re not eating now?”
“A girl died today. Haven’t you been listening?”
“You should avoid the obituary listing.”
“She was murdered.”
“In that case, avoid the news streams.”
“You’re a real humanitarian, Leo.”
“How have you been eating prior to your realization that people die?”
“I know people die. Think I’m an idiot?”
“Have you noticed any weight loss?”
Sammy shrugged. “I don’t think so.”
“Just to be sure, let me take a blood sample.”
“You and your blood samples.”
“It’s the best means to determine the quality of your health.”
“I said I’m fine.”
“Okay,” Leo said almost like a question.
“Oh, I see what you did there. Sow a little doubt, making me want to bend to your bloodletting.”
“Well, if you have any doubts, a small sample will cure that.”
“You haven’t cured anything since I’ve known you. If anything, you’ve made it worse. How come I haven’t heard anything about those fingers you got stashed in here somewhere?”
“They’re gone.”
“Where’d they go?” Sammy asked, not sure she wanted to hear about a calamari dining experience.
“Destroyed. Everything I get from you is destroyed. If the government ever got hold of a tissue sample from you, you’d be locked up in a far-flung research facility.”
“Thought you took it for study?”
“They’ve been examined.”
“Find anything?”
“The extended fingers were structurally similar to an octopus appendage.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“The rest of your hand is unique.”
Sammy sighed. “I want to know why they fell off and are they going to grow back again?”
“The tests didn’t show anything in regards to that.”
“Good job, Leo.”
“I’d imagine if you don’t use the fingers for an extended period of time, they should remain retracted without growth. However, that is mere speculation.”
The door swung open. Cindy backed in, holding a plate and a couple of dipping bowls. “I got a barbecue or a honey mustard dip.” She put the plate and bowls down in front of Sammy. “Eat it while it’s hot.”
Sammy handed the crushed pretzel bag to Leo, who took it as if she’d given him a bag of shit and he didn’t know what to do with it.
“I kind of miss it up there,” Cindy whispered. “Not that Leo’s been bad or anything.”
Sammy dipped a chicken bit into the barbecue sauce. “Leo’s got an unmistakable charm.”
Cindy gazed past Sammy, watching Leo toss the bag into the hazardous-waste pail. “Linda’s sister is expecting, second one.”
Sammy swallowed. “Isn’t she the one who’s nuts?”
“You’re thinking of Yolanda. She might have to put her sister in a home.”
Sammy dipped a piece into the honey mustard.
“You’ll never guess who I saw tonight.”
Sammy shook her head.
“Bernardo.”
Golden Boy? “Was he with anyone?”
“I didn’t see anyone. I was talking to Janine when he called me over.”
“What did he want?”
“Just to say hello. He asked how you were doing.”
Sammy dipped another piece into the honey mustard. What did he know about Tatiana’s past?
Cindy grabbed a nugget and dipped it into the barbecue sauce. “I’ll steal a piece.”
Leo drifted by, peering over Sammy’s shoulder.
Sammy stepped back. “Want some?”
He shook his head. “Cindy, will you let Rhino know that the mix is ready?”
Cindy dashed out the door.
“See? I’m eating, Leo,” Sammy said, taking another piece. “You don’t need to take any more blood.”
“Sam, we need to create a schedule for the stimulation tests.”
“You talking about that probe thing?”
Leo nodded. “I’ll adjust Cindy’s schedule accordingly.”
“Forget it. That’s one nightmare I don’t want to repeat.”
“I’ve identified both the extension and retraction nerves. There is no danger of anything going wrong.”
“Until there is,” Sammy said. “I have nightmares of walking around with one big hand.”
“It’s just a matter of stimulating a nerve to extend the fingers. The only thing now is to determine the amount of stimulation to bring out full extension.”
“Yeah, you’ll give me a big zap, and I’ll start growing horns or something.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
The door swung open. A huge guy filled the doorway. “Hey, prof,” the guy said, bouncing in. “They can’t get enough of this stuff upstairs.” He lifted a large pot easily. It looked normal size to his large frame.
“I got the door, Rhino,” Cindy said, holding it open for him.
He slipped out sideways. “Thanks, doll.”
Cindy stepped away from the door. “Start a new batch?”
“It has to ferment overnight.”
“So we’re ready to go home?” Sammy asked.
Leo walked to the back. “There’re just a few things we have to do to be ready for tomorrow.”
Sammy popped another piece of chicken into her mouth.
“You can take them home and heat them up for tomorrow,” Cindy said.
Sammy nodded. “They’re good.”
Cindy grabbed the plate. “Need me for anything, Leo?”
Leo shook his head, rummaging through some boxes.
Cindy left with the plate.
Sammy strolled to the back by the cages. “What are you going to do with the rats?”
“Duplicate your changes in them. They’ll be much better test subjects.”
“Should I put them out of their misery now?”
“You should reconsider the stimulation exercises. You’ll be able to master it on your own in no time.”
It would be nice to be able to swing through the trees or climb walls again. “How long would the fingers be?”
“There’s one way to find out for sure.”
“There’s one way to grow horns too.”
“We’re simply stimulating a nerve. Every thought, muscle movement, or word spoken is through one type of nerve impulse or another.”
“Yeah, but my nerves are different. I got octopus nerves.” Geez, that sounded real freaky.
“The neuron of both animals is structurally the same. Stimulating either one will not grow horns.”
The door swung open and Johnny strolled in. “How’s my lovebirds doing?”
Leo stewed.
Sammy hissed “creep” under her breath.
Johnny’s smile flattened. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m guarding the rats from a hair-weave raid.”
“Once a gnome, always a gnome.”
“Once a creep, always a creep.”
“This is my place.”
“Part of this place is mine until you pay me off.”
Rhino swung open the door, carrying the empty pot. “Johnny, you hear about that dancer you interviewed earlier?”
“The Russian from Xanadu?”
Rhino nodded. “They found her dead a few blocks from here.”
“The Russians did it?”
Rhino shrugged. “Grinder might know. He’s got a buddy who’s a cop.”
“They’ve been biting at our ankles the last few weeks.” Johnny rubbed his chin. “Let’s keep our eyes open in case they go for our balls.”
