After/Life_Bargaining Read online

  “I don’t want it,” O’Dell said.

  “Sometimes we’re given things we don’t want,” Molly said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t use them for the greater good.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” O’Dell said. “You’re not the one hearing voices.”

  “I think we can both agree I’m real,” Molly said. “That means you’re not crazy.”

  “Whoopee,” O’Dell said.

  “I need you to do one thing for me,” Molly said. “Then I’ll be out of your hair.”

  “I’m not doing it,” O’Dell said.

  “I haven’t even told you what it is yet,” Molly said.

  “I don’t care what it is,” O’Dell said.

  Molly sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy.

  “I need you to pass on a message,” she said.

  “No,” O’Dell said.

  “I need you to tell my boyfriend and best friend they’re in danger,” Molly said.

  “Danger?” O’Dell said. “What kind of danger?”

  “Danger from a bad guy,” Molly said. “Help me with this, and we can both get on with our lives.”

  O’Dell snorted.

  “Our lives?” he said. “I’m the one with a life.”

  “Yes,” Molly said. “I had one too before I was murdered.”

  “What did you do?” O’Dell said.

  “I didn’t do anything,” Molly said.

  “You must’ve done something,” O’Dell said. “Folks don’t get blown away for doing nothing.”

  “I was somewhere I shouldn’t have been,” Molly said. “Is that good enough for you?”

  “Why should I help you?” O’Dell said. “I ain’t no charity. What’s in it for me?”

  “You’ll be doing the right thing,” Molly said.

  “Great,” O’Dell said, rolling his eyes. “How about some green?”

  “How much do you think I’ve got on me?” Molly said.

  “No green, no go,” O’Dell said. “I guess you’ll have to find someone else.”

  “Maybe Sam could give you some money after you go to meet him,” Molly said.

  “I’m not going to go meet anybody,” O’Dell said.

  “Then how about a phone call?” Molly said.

  “A phone call?” O’Dell said.

  “One phone call and all your problems go away,” Molly said.

  O’Dell pursed his lips.

  “Okay,” he said. “Fine. One phone call, and that’s it. What’s his number?”

  Chapter Five

  “Hello?” Sam said.

  “Hi,” O’Dell said. “Is that Sam?”

  “Speaking,” Sam said. “Who’s this?”

  “Don’t worry who this is,” O’Dell said. “I've got a message for you.”

  “Okay…” Sam said.

  “I know this is going to sound a bit strange,” O’Dell said. “But when I tell you, know it’s the truth. I have literally nothing to gain from this.”

  “What is it?” Sam said.

  O’Dell took a moment to gather himself.

  “I have a message from Molly,” he said.

  There was a pause on the other end of the line.

  “I’m sorry to have to tell you, but Molly passed away,” Sam said.

  “Yes, I know,” O’Dell said. “She’s standing next to me right now.”

  There was another pause.

  “Hello?” O’Dell said. “Are you still there?”

  “Yeah,” Sam said. “I’m still here.”

  “Do you want to hear the message?” O’Dell said. “Molly’s been on my back about giving it to you.”

  “When did she give you this message?” Sam said.

  “Recently,” O’Dell said. “Do you want to hear it or not?”

  “Take it easy,” Molly said. “He’s in a fragile state.”

  “Molly told me there are some dangerous people after you,” O’Dell said as calmly as he could muster. “They’re going to come for you and… Who was it?”

  “Casey,” Molly said.

  “Right,” O’Dell said. “Casey. Her best friend.”

  “Who is this?” Sam said.

  “I told you, it doesn’t matter,” O’Dell said. “That’s it. That’s all I need to tell you.”

  “Why are you doing this?” Sam said. “Are you involved with Wayne? Is that what this is all about?”

  “What? No,” O’Dell said. “Molly told me you needed to know about this danger headed your way. Frankly, I couldn’t care less. But she won’t leave me alone until I called you.”

  “What do you want from me?” Sam said. “Money?”

  “No,” O’Dell said. “Look, man. I’m not doing this for fun. I’m doing it because I have to.”

  “Sure,” Sam said, voice growing heated. “And then the demands start coming. I see cons like you every day. All you’re ever looking for is your next mark. Well, it isn’t going to be me. I’m going to trace your call and set the dogs on you.”

  “Good luck,” O’Dell said. “This number’s untraceable.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Sam said.

  “To hell with you, man,” O’Dell said. “I’m trying to help you and your girl, and you treat me like this? Forget it. I don’t need this.”

  “No, wait!” Molly said.

  O’Dell hung up.

  “Real nice guy you got there,” O’Dell said.

  “He lost the woman he loves,” Molly said. “See how you feel when you go through something like that.”

  “Nobody talks to me like that,” O’Dell said. “Nobody. He should have been more respectful.”

  “You should have been more understanding,” Molly said. “Now you have to call him back.”

  “No way,” O’Dell said. “If you want to call him, you’ll have to do it yourself.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you?” Molly said. “I can’t contact him. He can’t hear me.”

  “Then I guess you’re shit out of options, aren’t you?” O’Dell said.

  He turned away, folded his arms, and tapped his foot in agitation. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

  “Look, I might have reacted badly, but there was no way he was going to listen to me,” he said. “Like you said, he lost you. He believes you’re dead. Well, you are dead. A lot of people don’t believe in ghosts and spirits. You have to give him a reason you’re really here, really alive. He’s never going to trust a voice on the end of the line. Why would he? I know I wouldn’t.”

  Molly nodded. He was right. When you’d gone through the experience she had, there was no way to deny the truth. Everyone here, on Earth, was blithely unaware of the spirit world. Sam was as level-headed as they came. Why would he believe it now? He wouldn’t. He needed evidence.

  “I’m sorry,” O’Dell said. “Really, I am. You’re in a tough spot. But I did my best. There’s nothing more I can do. I’ve got my own life to live, my own things I need to sort out. I’m going to go take a shower. Feel free to stay awhile. But don’t go haunting me for the rest of my life. Okay?”

  He crossed the hall and went into the bathroom. He turned on the hot water and shut the door.

  O’Dell wasn’t a bad kid. They often weren’t, from whatever walk of life they came from. It was their upbringing and surroundings that molded them into the people they became. He had tried to help her, but Sam was unresponsive.

  Molly needed to convince Sam she was real somehow. She needed to make him know she was here.

  But how?

  O’Dell began to sing. He had a pretty good voice, though a bathroom’s tiles could often do wonders to a voice.

  Molly would need O’Dell’s help. He was her only link to the outside world. Without him, she might as well not exist. She would be able to see what happened to Sam and Casey but do nothing to prevent it. That would be the worst torture of all. Molly mustn’t let it end this way. She couldn’t.

  She crossed the hall and walked through the bathroo
m door. The room was steamy and hot. Now there was no barrier between herself and O’Dell’s voice, she realized he wasn’t such a good singer after all.

  Molly put her face through the shower curtain.

  “Hey,” she said.

  O’Dell jumped back, covering himself with his hands.

  “What are you doing?” he said.

  “Don’t be a kid,” Molly said. “You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.”

  “Many ladies would say otherwise,” O’Dell said.

  “Afraid not,” Molly said. “I had an idea.”

  “And it couldn’t wait?” O’Dell said.

  “I need you to come with me,” Molly said. “Right now.”

  “I thought we were done?” O’Dell said.

  “Not yet,” Molly said. “Hurry up. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”

  Molly left a grumbling O’Dell behind as she returned to his bedroom. She paced up and down, running the idea through her mind. She needed for Sam to understand she was real, alive. O’Dell was her key.

  O’Dell grumbled under his breath as he entered his bedroom, towel around his waist, hair still wet, a glare in his eye.

  “What?” he said. “What is so important that it couldn’t wait?”

  “You’re going to go see Sam with me,” Molly said.

  “Nuh-uh,” O’Dell said. “No way. Out of the question.”

  “You said so yourself,” Molly said. “Sam isn’t going to believe anything you say without evidence. And that’s what I am. Walking evidence.”

  “Too bad he can’t see or hear you,” O’Dell said.

  “He can,” Molly said. “Through you.”

  O’Dell reached for the towel at his waist, then hesitated, looking at the room.

  “What?” Molly said.

  “Do you mind?” O’Dell said.

  “Do I mind what?” Molly said.

  “I want to get changed,” O’Dell said.

  Molly sighed.

  “I told you,” she said. “It’s not like you’ve got anything I haven’t seen before.”

  “I wouldn’t want you to feel regret at never having had a real man before your passing,” O’Dell said.

  Molly turned her back and rolled her eyes.

  “What makes you think I’ve turned around?” she said.

  “Enjoy,” O’Dell said.

  He opened his wardrobe and got dressed.

  “What makes you think he’s going to do anything but call the cops when he sees me?” O’Dell said.

  Because he is one, Molly thought. Sam could arrest O’Dell himself. But she didn’t want to spook O’Dell.

  “He won’t call the cops,” Molly said. “I know him. He’ll listen. Besides, he doesn’t know what you look like. He’s only heard your voice.”

  “He could have me up on Facebook by now,” O’Dell said.

  “What do you mean?” Molly said. “I thought you said your number was untraceable?”

  O’Dell held up his muscular arms and gestured to his room.

  “Does this look like the FBI to you?” he said. “I was bluffing. He could be on his way here right now as we speak.”

  “That would make traveling easier…” Molly said.

  “I’m glad you’re worried about this as much as I am,” O’Dell said.

  “Sam will believe you,” Molly said. “We need to give him evidence. That’s what he believes in.”

  O’Dell shook his head.

  “No,” he said. “I’m not doing this. I called him up like I said. He wouldn’t listen. That’s it. I’m done. Nobody can make me do something I don’t want.”

  “But a ghost has never wanted you to do something for them before,” Molly said.

  “What difference does that make?” O’Dell said.

  “Imagine a person with infinite time, infinite patience, and nothing better to do,” Molly said. “I don’t need to eat, drink, sleep or take restroom breaks. You can’t shout over me without looking like an insane person. You can’t hit me. All you can do is take the punishment.”

  O’Dell had an expression on his face like he’d entered the seventh circle of hell. And in this particular instance, he just might have.

  Chapter Six

  “Nine hundred thirty-eight bottles of beer on the wall, nine hundred thirty-eight bottles of beer,” Molly sang. “Take one down and pass it around, nine hundred thirty-seven bottles of beer on the wall…”

  Molly thought the song would have gotten repetitive and tiresome after the first nine thousand verses, but that hadn’t turned out to be the case. She made it more interesting for herself by singing in a variety of voices, increasing volume, or singing in a practiced accent.

  O’Dell began by clutching his pillow over his head and ears to block out the noise. He writhed in bed and kicked with his feet. When that didn’t work, he put his earphones in and turned up the volume.

  Molly was quick to stand at his ear and screech as loud as she could. O’Dell had no choice but to increase the volume further to drown her out. Finally, the music was so loud, he couldn’t sleep through that either.

  Molly moved about O’Dell’s room, bellowing at the top of her voice. The great thing about singing a repetitive tune was she could do and think about other things at the same time. True multitasking.

  She considered how she had escaped the terrifying Jennifer. She had punched her in the face. But how? It had been an accident. Would the same rules apply here? She had been in a blind panic, wanting nothing more than to escape the big woman’s clutches. Was that the key ingredient? To simply want it enough?

  Molly moved to O’Dell’s desk and focused on a pencil. Something small and easy to begin with. Molly focused all her energy on it, focused every ounce of her mind onto pushing it.

  Her finger passed through it. She tried again and failed. She kept at it for hours, all the while shouting as loud as her voice would allow. She never grew hoarse, never grew parched. She could do this literally forever.

  “Okay!” O’Dell shouted. “I’ll do it! Jees! Just let me go to sleep!”

  Molly stopped singing.

  “Thank you,” she said. “For your kindness.”

  O’Dell grunted and rolled over.

  “You’ve got two hours,” Molly said. “After that, I’ll start singing again to wake you up.”

  “Why?” O’Dell said.

  “Because we want to get there early,” Molly said.

  “Why two hours?” O’Dell said.

  “Because you took so long to make up your mind to help,” Molly said. “If you want, I could keep singing…”

  “No!” O’Dell said.

  He grumbled again, no doubt insults directed at Molly. Sticks and stones, Molly thought. O’Dell became very still. Heavy snores erupted from his lips.

  Molly smiled, glad O’Dell had finally discovered reason. He had lasted a lot longer than she expected. His was a will of iron. But even iron gave way under enough pressure.

  She turned back to the pencil and continued to try and focus.

  Chapter Seven

  There was nothing worse than sitting at home with nothing to do but feel sorry for yourself. The day after Molly’s funeral, Sam decided to go back to work. He got more than his fair share of glances and concerned expressions from the other officers. Once he got to the evidence room in the basement, hidden away from everyone and everything else, he felt much more at ease.

  He relieved Jacob from his night shift duty. Jacob gave Sam a quick rundown of the latest developments before smiling, nodding, and heading home. For Jacob, that was the equivalent of making a filibuster speech.

  Sam, now alone in the evidence room, took a seat at the front desk. He took in his surroundings and realized how quiet it was. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and turned to continue with his usual morning routine.

  He signed out of Jacob’s terminal. Jacob always forgot to do it himself. And then signed in using his own details. He went through the files, checking what needed
to be prepared that day.

  There was a sense of normalcy, routine, in returning to his everyday life. He picked up the previous day’s completed forms and put them to one side. He would fetch them after sorting through the latest evidence that needed tagging, adding and storing in the system.

  Sam liked his job. It was methodical, concise, and left no room for error. It suited his meticulous nature.

  Footsteps came down the stairs. Sam knew who it was before she even emerged.

  “I heard you were down here,” Casey said, carrying a tray of coffee.

  “Well, you know,” Sam said. “The devil and all that.”

  Casey nodded.

  “I understand,” she said. “I couldn’t sit at home either. Not that I’m getting a lot done here. Molly was always the driving force of the team. Without her, it’s difficult to find direction.”

  She offered him a small smile, distant and sad.

  “I brought you coffee,” she said and offered him the tray.

  “Thank you,” Sam said. “Just what I need.”

  He added one sugar to his latte, stirred and took a sip. Wonderful.

  “How’s the case going?” Sam said.

  Casey had been tasked with taking over Molly’s investigation into tracking Lopez down and bringing him in.

  “It’s going fine,” Casey said.

  She would never have said any different. Sam knew the officers working on the case would be applying themselves with new purpose after having lost one of their own to scumbag Lopez. They would leave no stone unturned.

  “If you need anything,” Casey said, “you only have to ask.”

  “I will,” Sam said.

  They both knew he would never ask. Sam knew his job, his duty, and there was little a field officer could do for him in the evidence room.

  “I’ll be seeing you around,” Casey said.

  “Yeah,” Sam said. “Thanks again for the coffee.”

  “You’re welcome,” Casey said, beaming her white teeth.

  Casey turned to head back up the stairs. Sam suspected it was the last he had seen of her. He would see her around the office, of course. And they would always share a few friendly words when they passed in the corridor. But their only real link was Molly. Now that she was gone, there was little holding them together. It was probably a good thing. Casey reminded Sam of Molly too much.