Depart the Darkness Read online

  “Thank your lucky stars,” I said. “No matter how many times we say it, I don’t think you understand just how much Miles and I look forward to being bored.”

  “No kidding,” he agreed. “It’s so seldom that we have a chance to be.”

  I gave that some thought.

  “Have we ever had the chance to be?”

  He gave that some thought.

  “No… actually we haven’t. I wonder what it feels like to be bored?”

  “It’s horrible,” Doreen said, falling over in her seat.

  “I hope you know how dangerous it would be to sit that way if you were in a car with any other driver,” I commented.

  “Yeah, yeah… I know. When I get back to my boring life, I’ll sit up straight like other boring people, just in case there’s a boring accident…”

  Miles parked in the driveway of my parents’ home. The melodramatic child got out of our SUV and approached the house much as she would the gallows.

  “You know, Doreen,” Miles said quietly. “You can tell your friends what we did to Xander. Just not how we did it.”

  Her blue eyes lit up.

  “Really?”

  “Sure,” he smiled. “Just not how we did it, remember that.”

  She hugged him hard.

  “Thanks!” she smiled. All was right with her world, once more.

  It was Sunday night, a school night for Doreen and Tryon, so we said a quick hello and goodbye to my family, and didn’t stay long. Not only was it a school night for them, but we had a kid in our suite all weekend! I wasn’t the only one who looked forward to being alone again. Being alone together, again.

  “Need anything at our apartment?” asked Miles, as he started our vehicle and I adjusted the heating vents.

  “Yes, actually. I’d like to pick up a few more of my sweaters, and there’s a pair of boots I want.”

  “Then we’ll stop by there before we head back to the Lodge.”

  “Oh,” I remembered. “Were you on the phone earlier with Mr. O’Neill?”

  “Yes, I forgot to tell you about that. Violet’s doing really well. She’ll be in physical therapy for quite a while to regain her strength, but she’s doing great.”

  “Did he say anything about her ‘dreams?’”

  “Only what a kick he, Mrs. O’Neill, and Spence got out of them. She is convinced she was dreaming, so… no need to do damage control, there.”

  “That’s a relief. If we had any idea she was still alive, we never would have told my sister all about your past and your abilities, with her in the room.”

  “Yeah… we can hardly blame ourselves for believing what we did, though. And it all worked out.”

  “It always does,” I smiled, as I held his hand with both of mine.

  We reached our apartment building, and parked in the covered lot. We noticed with satisfaction that work was coming along nicely on the garage and future roof garden we were having added on to our apartment.

  Miles held the door for me and we went inside. I looked around at our lobby as Miles opened the second set of doors. I really like the building, everything about it really. We spent—

  I stopped in my tracks and stared in disbelief.

  “Honey… what do you see?” Miles asked quietly.

  “Darkness,” I choked out. I stared a second longer as I put my arm around Miles, then marched forward.

  Miles put his arm around me, and marched me right back into the vestibule.

  “Tell me what’s going on,” he said, his eyes concerned. “You’re taking off half-cocked. This isn’t how we do things. You need to slow down.”

  “Okay, fine,” I said. I knew he was right, but I was so upset! “It’s Steve, Miles.”

  I felt like crying.

  “Steve?” Miles frowned in concern.

  “Yes, Steve! Our Steve! There’s darkness surrounding him.”

  “How…” Miles was as stunned as I was, before I became really, really upset. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then he was calm again. “Okay. Obviously we have to deal with this. Are you okay? Can you engage him in conversation without making him realize he’s being interrogated?”

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then… I was not calm again.

  Why does that not work for me! I had to pull myself together, though.

  “Yeah. Alright. But you help me, okay?”

  “Always,” he said. He held open the door for me again, and we stepped back into the lobby. At the other end, on the other side of the bullet proof glass that shielded our favorite security guard and the elevator, darkness swirled. Steve was lost in thought, his mind elsewhere. At the scene of a crime, if the darkness was any indication.

  I sighed. Miles put his arm around me, and we took the first step toward our next case.

  Here we go again.

  Chapter 2

  “Hi Steve, how are you this evening?” Miles greeted him.

  Steve looked up.

  “Good evening, Mr. Bannerman, Mrs. Bannerman,” Steve smiled. His eyes were strained, but as he spoke, the darkness faded slightly.

  That was new.

  “So how are you, Steve?” I asked, as he pressed the button to open the door for us.

  “I could be worse,” he answered honestly. “How are you?”

  “We’re doing great,” I said, chastising myself for wishing he’d lie, and perplexed at how the darkness was behaving. I considered that briefly and decided to test a theory. “Guess what we woke up to, a couple of weeks ago?”

  “What?” Steve wondered.

  “Trixie’s twelve newborn puppies,” I said.

  “You’re kidding!” Steve exclaimed, and looked at Miles. “Did you have any idea?”

  “Not until about a week before,” Miles said. He didn’t have any idea what I was doing, either, but he followed my lead and played along. “Two weeks ago, we woke up to find all twelve in my closet.”

  “She made a bed out of Miles’ suits and some of his sweaters,” I said.

  “You’re kidding!” Steve replied, and laughed. “That sounds like something she’d do.”

  The darkness faded… almost to nothing. Only a hint remained.

  “When do you get off work tonight, Steve?” I asked.

  “Nine o’ clock,” he answered.

  “And how much time do you overlap the next guy?” I wondered.

  “Thirty minutes usually,” said Steve.

  “Okay. That’ll work,” I said. “When he gets here, come see us. We’ll be in our apartment.

  “Yes ma’am,” he said, surprised.

  “We’ll see you soon then, Steve,” said Miles.

  “Yes sir,” Steve replied. Without further explanation, Miles and I took the elevator to our floor.

  We were silent until we reached our apartment, and closed and locked the door behind us.

  “Okay, honey. Fill me in,” Miles said, as we took off our coats, curled up on the couch, and prepared to stay a while.

  “I don’t think Steve’s killed anyone. Not yet. But I do think he’s really upset, and unless something changes, then he may.”

  “Okay. And what did you see that leads to this conclusion?”

  “The darkness faded as Steve became distracted. When we started talking about Trixie having puppies, it almost completely went away.”

  “That’s new,” he said, processing that bit of information. “Good call on mentioning the puppies. That’s enough to distract anyone from just about anything.”

  “No kidding!” I agreed. “So when Steve gets here, I want to get to the bottom of what’s going on in his life that’s got him so upset.”

  Miles was thinking, so instead of saying more, I waited.

  “You know, he… struck me as someone who feels completely out of control. Not necessarily of himself, not yet anyway. You’re absolutely right, we need to find out why he feels that way.”

  “Whatever it is, murder isn’t the way to go,” I said. “Maybe he’s power
less to do anything about it—whatever it is—but we’re not.”

  “You’ve got that right,” Miles agreed. “Maybe this case we’ve stumbled onto is about prevention.”

  “And when it’s preventing our friend from committing murder, I’m all-in on that,” I said.

  “I’m right there with you,” Miles agreed. “Steve’s a good guy. For something to push him this close to the edge… whatever it is, it’s got to be bad.”

  We didn’t have to wait long to find out what it was. Or to start finding out, anyway. If Steve persisted in telling the truth, it was going to be a lot harder, and take longer!

  There was a knock at the door, and Miles went to answer it. Seconds later, he returned with Steve. There wasn’t much darkness at this point. He looked a little stressed though, maybe because this was the first time we ever told him to come see us. He had to wonder why.

  “Go ahead and have a seat,” Miles said, motioning toward a chair as he sat on the couch again and put his arm around me.

  “Yes sir,” said Steve, and he did.

  “So how are you really doing, Steve?” I asked.

  He looked at me a little funny.

  “What… do you mean, exactly?” he asked. He was confused. Miles came up with a response before I did.

  “Anika has… an awareness, you might call it. She’s concerned that you’re troubled by something, and I trust her judgment. That’s why you’re here.”

  “Whatever’s going on with you, we can help,” I said. “So tell us what’s worrying you.”

  Steve’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Then he looked thoughtful, hopeful, doubtful, then guarded.

  “Okay, fine. Dear,” I turned to Miles. “We’re just going to have to guess.”

  Steve looked surprised again.

  “Alright, honey. You start,” said Miles.

  “Is it bigger than a breadbasket?” I asked Steve.

  He laughed in surprise, then thought a little.

  “Yeah… I guess you could say that.”

  “Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral?” Miles asked.

  Steve laughed more.

  “I guess… animal.”

  Why won’t the man lie! Why does he have to be such an honest guy?

  “Okay…” I said. “Does this animal have fur?”

  “No,” Steve said, holding in more laughter. Nice to know we were entertaining him, anyway. I noticed the darkness was all but gone now.

  “So what’s troubling you is a person,” said Miles.

  Steve didn’t laugh, he suddenly looked grim.

  “Yes.”

  “One person, or several?” I asked.

  “One,” he replied. The darkness began to return.

  “Is it a guy?” Miles asked.

  “Yes,” Steve said, and he rubbed his face with his hands. He was trying to calm down.

  “Why do you think killing this guy is the answer?” I came right out and asked.

  Steve was stunned, and the darkness vanished.

  “Anika’s really good at this game,” Miles said. “I can tell by the look on your face, that she’s right.”

  Steve deflated in his chair. That’s what it looked like, anyway. He slumped and held his head in his hands.

  “You feel powerless, Steve,” I said gently. “But you’re not, because… you have friends that are powerful in a lot of different ways. Miles and I want to help you.”

  “Give us a chance,” Miles said. “That’s why we’re here, and that’s why you’re here. Because we want to help you. We want to prevent you from doing something that’s irrevocable.”

  “You think that’ll solve the problem. This isn’t a matter of self-defense, though. Entertaining these thoughts is premeditation. You’re allowing darkness to fill you, and if you go through with this, that darkness will follow you the rest of your life.”

  “You’re a good guy Steve,” Miles said.

  “Honest to an extreme,” I had to throw in a little resentfully.

  “So tell us what’s going on, and let us help,” said Miles.

  “It’s either that, or stay here forever,” I added. “Miles, if he doesn’t say he’ll let us help him and mean it, don’t let him leave.”

  Miles looked at me for a second, then turned back to Steve.

  “You heard the woman.”

  Steve laughed. People tend to do that when they’re nervous.

  “Start talking, Steve,” I said.

  “Okay, okay,” he replied. He took a deep breath and let it out. “It’s my brother-in-law, Phillip Edmunds. He’s married to my sister, Lorna.”

  Steve opened and closed his fists over and over as he looked off into the distance and thought.

  “I’m afraid he’s going to hurt her. He’s extremely controlling. He gets mad if she spends a dime, he checks her cell phone every day to see who she’s been talking to, he’s always yelling at her and my niece and nephew, he pulled the kids out of school and insists she homeschool them, he sold her car, and won’t let any of them leave the house.”

  “How does he keep them from leaving?” I asked. “Aside from selling her car.”

  “He ordered her not to. He’s got her so beat down, she’s scared to death, and does whatever he says.”

  “Is he physically abusing her?” Miles asked.

  “Not yet, but he will!” Steve said, his voice rising a little. His eyes were filled with anxiety.

  “How about the kids?” I asked.

  Steve shook his head.

  “We’ll be thankful for what we can, then…” said Miles. “Go on, Steve. What else can you tell us?”

  “Lorna found out he’s cashing in retirement, and he emptied several of their savings accounts. She asked about it and he was furious. He never explained why he did it. Yesterday someone called. Lorna overheard part of the conversation, his side anyway. What he said has her scared he’s going to take the kids and disappear.”

  “What did he say?” I frowned.

  “Something about the kids’ new IDs, and he wanted to know when they’d be ready,” said Steve.

  Miles glanced at me, and we shared a look of concern.

  “Is there a reason why she won’t take the kids and go to a safe place?” asked Miles. “At least until he gets help for his control and anger issues?”

  “She won’t,” said Steve, clearly frustrated. “She won’t do it! I don’t understand what’s wrong with her, she’s determined to stay there and take whatever he dishes out. She’s going to wake up some morning and he’ll be gone and so will the kids, and she’ll be left with nothing… if he doesn’t kill her first!”

  Steve leaned over in his chair and held his head in his hands.

  “They’ve got school-age kids,” said Miles, thinking out loud. “How long have they been together?”

  “Eight years. Alana is seven, and Zane is five.”

  “Has he always been abusive?” Miles asked.

  Steve thought.

  “No… I don’t think so. I don’t think she could’ve hid it if he was… I used to think they had such a great life. I was a little envious, not in a bad way, but… they seemed so happy. I don’t know what happened!”

  “Okay,” I said, giving that some thought. “When did things begin to change?”

  “I don’t know, but I started noticing something wasn’t right after they moved here. Our mom did, too. She’s about to worry herself sick, I don’t understand why Lorna won’t leave and insist he get help!”

  “I don’t either,” I said. “I don’t understand it, but apparently that’s fairly typical.”

  “Do you suppose he has a medical condition that’s causing this?” Miles wondered. “Maybe a brain tumor, the guy certainly sounds anxious… if he hasn’t always been this way, he might have a chemical imbalance. What about his parents? What are they like?”

  “They seem like nice people. Lorna gets along great with her in-laws.”

  “Okay…” Miles thought. “So it doesn’t sound like he’s
following a familial pattern of abuse.”

  “If everything you’re saying is correct, he’s got to have something medically wrong with him. Or something else is triggering this,” I said. My truth ability told me Steve believed everything he said. He was on the outside looking in, though. There was a lot he didn’t know for sure, so what he said registered neither true nor false. All I got in response from my truth ability was a brief tone. At least it wasn’t a horrible beeping noise, like the sound of a microwave or alarm clock. How unkind would that be!

  Miles reached for a notepad and pen on the end table beside the couch, and handed it to Steve.

  “Write down your sister’s address and phone number and any other information we might find useful. His employer, for example. Where he worked and where they lived before moving here, and what his current hours are. We also need to know the best time to call or visit your sister.”

  “Okay,” Steve said, as he began to write. “I’ll put down everything I know. So do you think you can convince her to leave?”

  “We’ll do everything possible to ensure he doesn’t take the kids or harm them or your sister,” said Miles. “What our plan of action is after that, will depend on what we turn up in our research. We’ll get started on that right away, tonight.”

  “And in the meantime, you leave it in our hands and don’t even think of taking it into yours,” I said sternly.

  “Yes ma’am,” Steve said. “Thank you. I know you’ve helped people before. I can’t tell you what a relief this is.”

  We said goodnight to Steve, then collected my sweaters and boots, and headed back to the Lodge. Miles called our PI on the way there.

  “Hey, Jackson. We’re doing great, how about you? Good, I’m glad to hear it. Yes, as a matter of fact I do have a job for you, and the rest of our investigators. I’ve got a property I want you to do surveillance on. There’s a husband, wife, and two elementary age children living there. I want someone tailing the husband. I’d like to know if he’s doing anything more than going to and from work every day. I also want someone on duty surveilling the property at all times, and I want to hear about it immediately if the husband goes anywhere with the children. Be aware, and make sure your guys are also aware, that this fellow appears to be extremely anxious, and therefore may be paranoid as well. I don’t want him having any idea he’s being followed, or that the house is being watched.”