THE NEW CHAPTER BOOK

CHAPTER 1

When Emmett Bailey opened his eyes his whole body was racked with pain and he couldn’t move, then the pain disappeared. Closing his eyes for a bit, he opened them again and looked around.

He still sat in his squad car. Turning his head, he could see his partner 

Aaron sat next to him but something was very wrong. Aaron’s eyes were closed and his body showed signs of several bullet holes. 

Emmett reached out to touch him but his body had a soft white glow to it.

The next thing he knew he was outside the vehicle looking in. He swung his confused gaze from where Aaron sat to where he himself should be sitting and stared in shock. His body was sitting behind the wheel. His eyes were closed and he could see blood everywhere. His chest was covered in it, so were the seat and the windows of the car. Broken glass had been scattered all over everything.

Emmett raised his hands to his face. He could still feel his body but something seemed different about it. He glanced down at his hands. They didn’t seem as solid as in the past and he could move them, but something seemed to be really off. Then he realized he was no longer alone. He stiffened briefly then turned to face whoever or whatever had joined him.

A small woman with cinnamon colored skin and the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen, stared at him. Her long dark hair was brushed back over her shoulders and cascaded down her back, almost to her waist. “You have nothing to fear, I’m not here to harm you,” she told him.

“Ok, so what are you here to do?” he asked.

“Answer your questions.”

“What questions?”

Motioning to the car where he and his partner were shot and bleeding, she replied, “You don’t have questions?” She smiled at him while looking amused.

He didn’t see anything amusing about this situation. “Who and what are you?” he asked.

“My name is Synda and I am an Angel of Death. I was sent here to give you a message.”

“A message? From who?” Emmett asked as he felt confused and lost.

“From my boss. He wanted me to tell you, tonight wasn’t your time to die.”

Emmett turned to view his mortal body. It didn’t look any different than when he stepped out of the car. The bullet holes and blood were still present. “Then why am I dead?” he asked as he turned back to her.

“That is for you to find out,” Synda told him. “But I can tell you that you’re not really dead, this is an out of body experience. You still have time to reunite with your body but not much time. You are in a sort of limbo right now.”

Emmett snorted. “How am I supposed to do anything? If I'm in limbo?”

Crossing her arms over her chest she quipped, “You are being so difficult.”

He scoffed. “My bloody body is in that car, all shot to hell. My partner looks dead. As dead as I do… and I'm supposed to be easygoing and polite?”

She cocked her head at him. “Ok, you sorta have a point there. So, you are limbo but your life doesn’t have to end here. You have a rare opportunity right now. One that might give you closure if you accept it.”

“Please explain.”

“Because of your past acts, you are being given a second chance. Believe me, not many people get this offer,” she told him.

“A second chance? To do what?”

“To continue your work as a police officer…As a protector of the people.

“How can I be a protector when I’m stuck in limbo? I’m dead or almost dead, full of holes and my body hasn’t moved in five minutes,” Emmett ranted. “I can’t exactly fight crime anymore.”

“Maybe you can, with help,” Synda explained. “There’s someone out there that can help you figure out what happened here tonight and why.”

Emmett cocked his head to one side to ask, “And why am I being given this second chance?”

“You’re one of the good guys. You must realize that? You’ve shown that time and time again. You’ve stood up for the little people in this world where sometimes the only break they get are the bad ones. You may not realize this but that shows us you believe in justice for everyone, not just who can serve your interests.”

He sighed and said, “I was never a hero, but yeah, I hated how the odds are always stacked against decent people. So how do I find this person?”

Synda smiled. “You will know her when you see her. She will be your link to the living.”

Emmett turned to look at Aaron. “Will he live to see another day?”

“Perhaps…” She shrugged. “Let me ask you this… What brought the two of you here to this place tonight?”

Emmett stared off in the distance to try to remember, then he looked over at her. “Aaron and I were going to dinner when we got a call. Someone had called in a report of a gunshot, but when we got here it was quiet. I told him that it was almost too quiet. I was about to get out of the vehicle when I saw a man come out of the dark. He had a semi-automatic weapon. I reached for my gun but before I could even get my hand down, he opened fire….”  He paused, then said, “We didn’t stand a chance. The bullets ripped into us. I have never felt pain like that before.”

Synda turned and placed her hand on his arm. “I think you better look at the car again and tell me what you see.”

Emmett turned and stared at the car. He saw multiple bullet holes, then he noted something else. The pattern of shots, mostly located on the driver’s side of the car. The bullets had gone through the windshield but some had gone through the vehicle itself. Aaron’s side was barely hit. Three maybe four bullets on his side but there must have been twenty or so on Emmett’s side. He snapped his head back to Synda and asked, “I was the target?”

“You tell me.”

Emmett turned back and shook his head. “Why would anyone want me dead?”

“That, my friend, is what you have to figure out. But you were a cop, so there may be more than one criminal wanting you dead,” Synda said. “There’s something going on here and you have to figure out what it is. Someone wanted you dead and he almost made it happen. Now you have to find out why.”

Emmett raised his head as he heard police sirens coming their way. He turned to speak to Synda but she was nowhere to be seen. With no real choice, he stood there and waited for the ambulance to come. He hoped his partner would still be alive when this was over.

Emmett knew one thing, he had one more assignment… find out who wanted him dead and why.

 

Maybe an hour later…

 Emmett found himself in the hospital. 

Several other officers were standing around waiting for information about Aaron. Everyone had questions about what happened on that dark road. Someone here in the waiting room said they found over a hundred empty shells around the car.

He heard them talking then it all seemed to be nothing but a buzzing in his ears. Turning away, he walked into the room where Aaron was. 

His partner lay on the bed with tubes and wires all over his body. He’d been hit maybe four times but he was hanging in there. 

A young woman sat next to him, Aaron’s wife Denise, wearing a badge around her neck. She watched her husband even though he did nothing but lay still on the bed. She held Aaron’s hand carefully, tears in her eyes. 

Emmett stood at his side, staring at the machine keeping his partner alive and whispered, “Don’t let the bastards win. You hang in there buddy. I’m going to find out why I had to die and you are fighting for your life. I swear it.” 

Denise sat there, fresh tears ran down her cheeks. She scooted forward on the chair and brushed the hair from Aaron’s face. Then she leaned down and kissed the back of his hand. “I love you, babe. Please don’t leave me,” she whispered. “I can’t live without you.”

This scene almost got to him. He wanted to sit in a chair in this room and pray for Aaron. Not leave until the man woke up and smiled at his wife. After all, if there was an Angel Of Death, there had to be Angels Of Life, right? 

Emmett swallowed heavily then forced the sadness away. He couldn’t stay that long, he had things to do and people to find. He went to the room next door to see doctors and nurses standing over his own body. They had him hooked up to a number of medical devices and a slow heartbeat kept sounding with blips. He felt truly surprised by this as he stared at the machines. He thought he was toast already.

The doctors were shaking their heads.

One of them spoke, “Holy Christ, he took eleven bullets and he’s still alive? That’s a miracle in itself. He should be dead.”

“Well, let's hope he stays with us,” another doctor said as he slid Emmett’s chart into a slot at the end of the bed. “As long as there’s brain activity, he’s golden.”

Emmett  shook his head. Nothing golden here, doc. He needed to find this person who could help him and he had to find her fast. Only problem was he had no idea where to even start looking. He headed down the hall, got into the elevator and took it down to the main floor. Then he walked outside. 

The harsh Arizona heat blasted him as he made his way along the huge parking lot. The sun was just going down painting the sky with yellows and reds. Wasn’t it night already when they were shot? He wondered about time…Did it exist for him?

He turned and went east, he didn’t know why, but something in his brain told him to go toward the Sleeping Maiden Mountain. It was across the desert though. He didn’t know what he would find there, maybe nothing and he was just wasting time here. Time, he didn’t have to waste.  How would he get there though?

He stopped and listened to the wind for some reason. At first, it just sounded like wind, then it began to change into like… almost a whisper? It seemed to be calling his name. He shook his head. How could the wind call his name? He turned around to go back but he heard a crack of thunder just then and he stopped. Once he raised his head he looked around and he now stood at the base of the mountain.

 How in the hell? 

The moon was high in the sky when he reached it. When he stopped the whole mountain was right in front of him. He had no idea why he was here or how he was supposed to find the person who could help him.  Then the wind shifted again as he started to climb the mountain. The terrain was rough and hard, so Emmett felt like it was too much to climb to the top. So when he couldn’t go any further, he stopped to sit on the ground and wondered if he was being stupid. 

The evening air was cooling and he’d only gotten half way up. He laid back on the ground and stared up at the sky. The stars were sparkling and in the night canopy and he couldn’t help but wonder if the rumors about this mountain were true. He paused..where did he learn about this place anyway? He knew some things about it… Like this mountain held the old spirits of people that lived here long ago. Back before this country had been a country. The woman was supposedly waiting for her warrior to come back home.

And…Well, that’s all he remembered.

He closed his eyes. Behind his eyelids, he saw the man who had stepped out of the dark and fired at the squad car he and Aaron had been sitting in. It all happened in slow motion. He saw the face of the man come into focus and he was shouting something. Emmett couldn’t quite hear the words though as the shooter squeezed the trigger on that rifle in his hands.

Emmett’s eyes snapped open and he sat up while breathing hard. He didn’t know why his body filled with panic but it did. Again, his mind went back to the event as the man stepped out and Emmett could see his face. The whole scene was terrifying in its gray reflection like some dream, it all happened in black and white, except for the blood— it almost glowed a bright grisly red as the crimson liquid  seemed to be everywhere, dripping from his chest down along arms and legs. 

The shooter had dark hair and green eyes, and a scar on his face as well. The scar ran from his temple all the way down to his jawline. Something seemed familiar about that scar but for the life of him he couldn’t remember what it was. Caught in a nightmare that had been all too real, Emmett laid there on the sand in the desert at the base of a mountain range…trembling in the dark.

Chapter Two

THE MAIDEN

“The earth has felt the pain of the damage mankind has done to it. Mankind has neglected much of the very place they live in. And someday, the earth will no longer produce what man needs to survive. One day, the rivers will dry up and the sun will no longer be able to heat us. It is up to each one of us what we do to either make this a better place to live in, thus prolonging the life of Mother Earth or help in its destruction.”

Rissa, Keeper of the Maiden

Somewhere deep in the Maiden Mountain…

 Rissa sat very still when she heard the whispers of the wind. She’d had an unsettled sleep the night before and her mind had flashed pictures from another place. The sound of gunfire had jolted her awake and the sounds of other voices whispered in her mind.

 She slowly opened her eyes and the darkness of her bed chamber changed colors from red to green to finally blue. She’d gotten up, walked to her sitting room and then stared up at the skylight the Maiden had placed there as an opening to the sky above. That’s when she saw lightning streaking across the sky… a message from the Old Ones. Following this, she heard their muffled voices.

She moved and sat in the Circle of Light then closed her eyes again. 

After a moment, their muffled voices became clear as they warned her that someone was coming to her home and needed help to find his way back to the other side. They said he was the dead man, although he hadn't crossed over yet.They also warned her that she wouldn’t be the help he needed but one of her people could hear him from the other side. the Old Ones selected this person to be his go-between. 

They also explained that this man would be important to the future and that he should be helped but helping him would be dangerous. He left some things undone and he must go back and finish what he started. In the end, he would find out why this killer believed that he had to die. But when he finds this killer that’s when the danger would come.

Rissa heard their warnings and she knew there was more to the story but she also knew they wouldn’t tell her why this man was so important only that he was.

When the voices went silent, Rissa slowly opened her eyes and stared into the shadows. She knew the Old Ones wouldn’t ask her to help this man without pointing out who it would be. So all she had to do was wait but if this man was in limbo they would have to move quickly. He would be vulnerable to passing on for sure.

After the sun rose….

Rissa joined the bikers in the Lords Of Fire clubhouse. She went and got her usual tea and sat at a table.

 Everyone seemed to be here, eating breakfast and talking. 

Rissa watched the entire group. A Few of these men were The Guardians of the Mountain and she had been proud of their protection so far. They had sworn to protect the tribe and the mountain till death if need be.

The Shaman women… Leita, Apriella, Winsome, Rachel, Amira and Gabriella were also here.

Luther, Diesel, Steel and Swag were talking about the coyotes acting up, out in the desert and they were howling the night before.

Rissa knew why. This Dead Man, as the Old Ones had called him, had been out there in the night. With the Elder's message from this morning, she silently watched everyone in the room to determine just who in the group would be the one to rescue this lost soul.

Just then, she paused and looked over the small crowd again. Then she noticed a red aura around one of the women. Rissa sat there and watched as the aura swirled around her. 

The young girl stood there frozen as the red color became heavier and it slowly lifted her up until her feet left the floor.

All the noise in the room went quiet and everyone turned to see this.

 The aura turned from red to green, then from green to blue. The blue deepened in color. It got so thick that she almost disappeared from sight. A moment later, it all slowly and gradually dissipated and when the supernatural effect was gone completely, the young woman’s feet met with the floor again. She seemed to be bewildered as to what just happened. The color of her hair went from black to white. When she opened her eyes, her eye color had also changed. Her eyes went from brown to a golden amber. 

She was now so stunning to look at, many of the group gasped and kept staring at her. 

Amira, who sat next to Luther, also stared at the young woman then looked at her grandmother. Rising from her seat, she went over to Rissa and sat down next to her. “What just happened, Grandmother?”

Rissa sipped her tea and shrugged. “The Old Ones contacted me this morning, using the Circle of Light.” Her words echoed in the clubhouse and no one spoke. “They told me someone had been lost in the limbo between life and death as he approached the Maiden Mountain. That we had to find this man and help him come back into this world. But only one could truly help him and that wasn’t me. They told me this man would be important to the universe but not everyone could hear or see him in this plane.”

“What does this person have to do to help him?” Amira wanted to know.

Rissa shook her head. “That is unclear. First, we have to find him.”

Amira thought about this as she stared at her grandmother for a long moment then she turned to look at the woman who had just changed before their very eyes. “And Aria is supposed to be the one to help him?”

Rissa nodded. “Apparently, she is the one, as it appears that the Old Ones chose her to help him. They told me this morning they would choose the One.”

“Is this going to be dangerous for us?” Amira asked. “I felt something but I couldn’t identify it.”

Rissa shrugged. “Most of us would feel this shift. And yes, there is going to be some danger to it, but they will guide her and watch over the situation. They claim this man is important. There are some things he left undone and he has to finish what he started then he has to find his own killer.”

The whole room remained quiet as everyone heard what she said.

Having silently listened to Rissa too, Aria, the Chosen One, looked up at her and said, “I can see him lying under a tree at the foot of the Mountain. He looks pale and a bit disorientated.” Then she gasped and added, “He keeps fading in and out. But I can hear him calling out of help.”

Rissa nodded. “Then go to him, my child. Bring him back here so we can all learn who he is and what help he needs. The magic is stronger here than it is where he is. Go child, he’ll need our healing powers to get through what he needs to get through.”

Aria moved toward the doors but before she could get through them she turned back to Rissa and asked softly, “Why did the Old Ones choose me to help this man?”

Rissa shook her head and replied, “I’m not sure, Aria. But they choose you and that’s enough for me to trust you with this mission. This man is important to them for some reason, so he’s important to us as well.”

Aria nodded then headed for the front door.

 When the front door closed again Amira looked at her grandmother and whispered, “Grandmother, do you know what she’s going to find when she finds this man? Can you see the moment she meets him?”

Rissa shook her head and gave her a worried look, “No my child, nothing like this has ever happened before. This is all on Aria.”

“Then let's hope she can convince him to come here.” Amira shook her head as she stared at the door.

Rissa nodded. “Yes, he has to come here to heal, even in the spirit form he needs to do that.”

A half hour later…

Aria had seen in her mind where this man was resting, so she went there directly. As she approached the tree, she could see him laying underneath it but he was only a spirit, he wasn’t a real man. His anime was whispered on The longer she watched him the weaker she could see he was getting. Then she thought of Rissa’s own words. He has to come to the mountain to heal and she knew she had to get him there or he might just fade away into the ether. He would be lost in the tween and it was her job to prevent that from happening.

She approached him slowly and quietly sat down beside him. 

He jumped and seemed to be startled by her sudden appearance. 

She looked away from him and spoke quietly, “Please do not be afraid. I’m here to help you.”

Emmett frowned and asked, “How can you help me?”

She turned her head and looked him in the eyes. “There are many ways I can help.”

Emmett looked shocked. “You can hear me? See me? How?”

“Apparently, it was not your time to die and your spirit was ripped out of your body. You are lost right now and while the doctors keep your physical form alive you must do something here before your soul can be reunited with your mortal body.”

“How do you know all that?” Emmett whispered, thinking of the Angel’s words.

“Rissa was told this by the Old Ones,” Aria told him.

“Who the hell are the Old Ones?” Emmett growled.

“They are our Ancestors and they watch over us from the Heavens,” Aria explained softly. “They spoke to Rissa this morning and they told her you were taken before your time and that we needed to help you because you had work to do, important work. They asked us to watch over you.”

Thinking that this was all just in his imagination, Emmett ran his hands through his hair and sat up. Seeing a young woman who came out of nowhere with shimmering white hair and gold eyes? Then he was insane enough to talk to her? He rolled his eyes. Yeah, he was losing it for sure. After all, what was even real now? Briefly, he felt almost dizzy and he wondered how that could be. He was dead after all.

 Last night had been the hardest night in his memory. He’d laid on the ground and tried to calm his breathing. He couldn’t help but be unsettled by everything that happened. It wasn’t everyday he found himself caught in limbo, a space between life and death, but that was where he found himself. He thought about what had happened back in the city. Someone wanted him and his partner dead, why?

Emmett paused and asked himself, was there someone else there when the shooting happened? Standing in the shadows maybe? Then he thought about his pending cases. He’d been a cop for fifteen years in Sierra Vista. His arrest with conviction rate had been one of the best in his department, but who wanted him dead?

Aria stood and held her hand out. “You need to come with me. You need to heal before you begin your quest or you will never make it. Rissa says you need the mountain to heal.”

Emmett heard her speaking again and stared up at her. So she was real? He had seen too many odd sights in the time since he had been shot. He decided she was just a part of this bad dream, so he asked, “Heal? I’m a ghost, so what is there to heal?” 

“You are weak from being ripped out of your body.” Shaking her head she admitted, “I don’t know how Rissa can heal you but we have to get you to the Mountain.”

Emmett looked up at her and scoffed. “I’m amazed you can even see me when no one else can. Let alone, hear me but your Rissa is correct. I do have unfinished business to work through. I have to figure out who shot us and why.” He paused, then said, “But I can feel myself getting weaker. Can this Rissa you speak of help me with that?”

Aria shrugged. “I’m not sure how she does it but she told me to come here to you and to get you back to the Mountain. She got to her feet and held an arm out for him. 

Emmett stared at her hand then at her face. He slowly reached out to her and took her hand. 

She helped him up and together they turned toward the mountain behind him. 

They walked slowly and when they got close to the end of their journey, Emmett looked ahead and saw an older woman waiting for them.

 Dressed in a long dress with Indian markings. 

The one thing he paused at was the older woman had blue hair. 

Aria led him closer and they stopped in front of the woman.

 Emmet then saw two other women had joined her.

 All three had the same blue hair… How odd. 

The older woman stepped forward and touched his chest. 

He felt a pulse of something going through his entire body.

Then she stepped away and addressed him, “I know you. Now, I know what you are and do, you have a good heart but you don’t have much time left. Your soul is being drained and we have to help you.”

“You have to help me?” Emmet asked. “I'm dead and I am lost…How can you help me?”

 

Chapter Three

“Your soul was ripped away from your body by an act of violence,” Rissa explained to him. “But it wasn’t your time to die. You still have unfinished business to attend to.”

“Damn right I do.” Emmett growled. “I have to find out who pulled the trigger on me and almost killed my partner.”

Rissa nodded. “You also have more than just that to do. And your work will be important. Come…We have to go into the mountain to get what you need to stay in this world so you won't fade away into the ether.” She turned and headed toward the mountain just behind her. 

 Aria smiled and took his arm to follow her. 

Emmet expected to be stopped by a wall of rock and closed his eyes. But when he opened them he was inside a very large room with almost endless height to it. There didn’t seem to be a ceiling at all here. While the floor and the walls were stone the room itself looked decorated with old paintings and other artifacts. 

He paused and turned around. Behind him the walls were transparent and he could see the path they had walked to get here. 

Rissa chuckled. “Do not worry, the world can’t see inside the mountain but we can see outside.”

Emmett shook his head. “Lady, I don’t know why I’m here or who the hell you women are but this is impossible.”

Rissa stepped forward and said, “No Mr. Bailey, it is not impossible. There is magic in the world but it is mostly overlooked. I keep the secrets of magic alive and the Elders asked us to help you remain in this world. There is only one thing I know that can keep a soul bound to the earth.” She reached into her pocket and brought out an amulet. She held it up. 

Emmett stared at it for a long moment, then he looked at Rissa. “A necklace?”

“No, Mr. Bailey. This is an amulet. It will keep your soul safe for now. You must never take it off or your soul will disappear into the ether and you will be gone.”

Emmett shook his head in confusion. “How the hell am I supposed to wear something like that?” He held out his arms. “I’m invisible to most people.”

Rissa smiled. “Don’t worry about that. You can still wear this amulet.” She reached up and slipped the chain over his head. 

A surge of power went through him and he felt almost alive but when he peered down at his arms he saw nothing there. He’d expected to be real again somehow. He looked up at her. “I came here without even knowing why. Then I am now inside of a mountain? Please explain how all this is possible?”

Rissa sighed and sat down on her sofa. “This mountain is very old and it has been around not only here but in other places. It is the base of our power. We have been charged to protect the Maiden. Most people just see a mountain but the Maiden has her own secrets, I will tell you the old story of it… When the earth was new and the People were discovering all its glories they came upon three sacred mountains. These mountains were very special and the Gods had deemed them untouchable. Meaning the people could not take anything away from them. With everything available to them otherwise and nearby, the People respected the God’s commands to leave the mountains alone. More time passed and the People got more and more curious about the mountains. Then a small group of them dared to go where they were told not to. They went up on the mountains and they found a paradise. When they came back down and told others what they’d found, the People got upset with the Gods. They asked why did you lie to us about these mountains? Why did you deny us the riches it holds?” The Gods answered back, that they were denied nothing. They had all the food they could eat, jobs to keep themselves busy and they had a good life below the mountains. The People got upset and slowly turned on the Gods. It was only after they ruined the first two mountains and stripped everything they could that they turned their attention to the third mountain. The Maiden was the only spirit left as the People had destroyed her brother and her sister, the Gods banished the third mountain from them and moved the Maiden far away.” 

“They moved a whole mountain this size?” Emmett asked.

She nodded at him. “The People went to war with the Gods and told them they no longer believed in their laws and their sanctuary. They turned their backs on the Gods and only believed in themselves. It was chaos for many years as the People learned to live without the benefits of the deities they had believed in for so long.” She looked around the rock rooms they were in then she looked back at Emmett. “This magic is as old as the world around us. I do not deem who we help, I only follow what is asked of me. The amulet will protect your soul. The Elders tell me you are important to the world you live in and they want us to protect your soul. As long as you are righteous you are safe but you cannot use the amulet to gain revenge or for any gain of some kind. If you do then the amulet will not protect you anymore. It was made with some of the Mountain’s gold, just enough to have it hold the Mountain’s power. So if you abuse it, it will return to the Mountain and your soul will disappear into the ether.”

He sat and allowed all of this to sink in. “So this amulet is like a Genie in a bottle except it doesn’t allow for human-like um…Urges and wants?”

“Exactly, so be very careful.” Rissa placed her hand on his arm. “Now you have the power you need to investigate your murder and find what you missed before you died.”

“How am I supposed to do that if no one can hear me or see me?”

Rissa nodded at him then explained, “There is someone out there that will be able to hear you, she may not be able to see you but she can hear you. You just have to find her. The Spirit Elders will lead you to her. Go seek your justice and stop something that’s been happening and will continue happening until you figure out what it is. Then you can stop it.”

He allowed this to sink in too then he asked Aria, “Will you come with me?”

Rissa shook her head. “She can’t go with you. We were asked to help you but this is a journey you must do alone.” She shrugged.

“Story of my life.” Emmett sighed. “Going it alone.”

“But we will be able to watch your journey and we will be there if you are ever in serious trouble.” Then Rissa waved her hand and a transparent spot opened up in the room. It looked shimmery and ethereal. “You need to step through it to be where you need to be. Good Blessings, Mr. Bailey.”

Emmett gave her a nod then turned and went through the open window. Closing his eyes, he took that last step and opened his eyes to find himself in his world in front of the hospital. The same place he’d left before all the mountain and magical stuff happened. Shaking his head, he let out a sigh and walked inside.

Several other officers were standing around waiting for information about Aaron. Everyone had questions about what happened on that dark road. They discussed it, wondering if it was an angry ex-con or some cop hater. One of them said they'd found over fifty empty shells around the car.

He walked into the room Aaron was in. 

His partner lay on the bed with tubes and wires all over his body. He’d been hit four times but he seemed to be hanging in there.

 A young woman sat next to him and she wore a badge on a chain around her neck.

He didn’t know her but she didn’t seem like a threat to Aaron.

 Emmett stared at the machine keeping his partner alive. “Don’t let the bastards win buddy, hang in there,” he told his partner.

The woman's head shot up and she peeked around the room but didn’t see anyone. 

“I’m going to find out why someone thought I had to die and you are fighting for your life. I swear it,” Emmett continued to talk to his partner.

She now got up to look around the room. “Who’s there?” she whispered.

Emmett turned to stare at her. “You can hear me?”

She turned to where the voice seemed to be coming from. “Who are you?”

Emmett stared at her. “Emmett Bailey. Aaron is my partner.”

“You are in a coma next door,” Elise whispered.

“Yes, but I’m not dead yet. Even if someone did their best to murder me.”

“Why would someone do this to you and him?” she asked.

“That’s what I aim to find out. And I think you are the one who’s supposed to help me.”

“How can I help you?”

“For one thing, you can hear me,” Emmett insisted. “You may be the only one who can.” He paced in the room as he thought about what his next steps would be. “What is your name?” he finally asked her.

“Elise Cyrus.”

“And how do you know Aaron?”

“I’ve been friends with his wife since we were in college. I actually work in the records department of the Traverse City police department.”

“How long have you been working for the department? I don’t remember seeing you before.”

She shrugged her shoulders then stood and grabbed her bag as if to leave the room. “I just started there about three months ago after I  moved here, but I have been a cop for six years.”

“How is it that you can hear me?” Emmett asked.

Elise shrugged. “Does it make a difference?” She obviously knew the answer.

“Not to me. But I can understand if you don’t want to talk about it.”

Elise took a few steps away then told him, “It’s not that big a deal. I found out from my grandmother that our family is blessed, I guess? But that’s what she called it anyway. For many generations the females in our family have been able to hear the voices of the dead. She said we can even trace it back to when the Quakers first came to this country.”

“Do people know about your gift?”

Elise shook her head. “Hell no, and I don’t want them to either. People can be cruel if they find out you’re different. They love to say you’re crazy too. I made the mistake of telling someone when I was a kid and I got bullied because of it… so I’ll never do that again.”

“Well, I’m sorry that happened to you, but I'm glad you can hear me. You and I have to figure out why Aaron and I were shot.”

Elise reached up and pushed her hair behind her ear. “Me? I’m just a records clerk really. I’m not an investigator. But it seems like everyone out there in the hall thinks it was a driveby shooting.”

“No, it wasn’t a driveby. The shooter came out of the darkness in front of our vehicle and just started shooting. I don’t know what is going on but I intend to find out.” He glanced back at Aaron and vowed, “Bring the men responsible to justice. I’ve been given a second chance to do this and by God, I’ll see it through.”

“Just be careful out there,” Elise told him. 

“Careful? Why? They’ve already tried to kill me. And whoever they are, they don’t know I’m still around. They think they have nothing to fear. And that’s just how I want it to be. At least until I know what I’m dealing with. Don’t worry I won’t get anyone else killed.”

“You can’t promise that,” Elise argued. 

“You won’t be in any danger and if I feel like you are, I'll finish this alone,” Emmett assured her. 

“I’ll help you,” Elise finally told him. “It is meant to be, I suppose? I haven’t heard any voices in such a long time. But you and Aaron are cops too. We need to always back each other up.”

“I’m glad to hear this. No one but you knows I’m still here so you can’t say anything,” Emmett warned her.

“To who?” She scoffed. “And I don’t want to lose my job because they think I'm nuts. I’d rather skip that humiliation, thank you very much. Maybe I can get us some help with this though. I do have a partner, Carl Reilly. ”

“Can you trust him?”

“Yes and so can you,” Elise told him. “Carl’s one of the best.”

“Before you do that, let’s see what we can find out first.”

She shrugged again. “Okay, I guess that’s not unreasonable.”

“I’ll find you at the station in the morning.”

Elise waited for a couple of minutes then when she saw Aaron’s wife in the hall, she left the room. 

Emmett stood there as he realized he’d found the person that could hear him, just like Rissa had said. He hoped she could help him. He was invisible and had some kind of magical amulet that he did not know how to use, but he needed a living person to help him in his search.

 

Chapter Four

An hour later, Emmett stood in the empty room. Aaron had been taken to Lutheran Hospital. It had the best trauma unit in the area, so the nurses had said. He hoped it would be good care and that Aaron survived. He just had to.

Emmett walked out of the hospital room and into the waiting room. He was almost glad no one could see or hear him. He needed anonymity right now. He heard some of the men waiting there talking softly and he really didn’t want to overhear what they were saying but now he had to.

He saw a couple of his friends sitting in the corner and he went closer to them. Then he frowned as he heard Jase Carter saying, “What the hell was Beau doing tonight?”

“What do you mean?” Billy Joe asked.

“You know damn well what I mean,” Jase said. “He didn’t have to shoot Emmett and Aaron. The fact that he did might bring the law down on all of us.”

“But no one knows about us,” Billy Joe told him.

“They didn’t until now,” Jase argued. “But they are going to keep looking until they know why at least one cop died and another is fighting for his life.”

“He said he panicked when he saw the report of the stolen guns on Emmett’s desk. He had a feeling Emmett was looking into the file,” Billy Joe told his partner.

“Emmett Bailey never would have connected the report to a fellow officer,” Jase scoffed. “We could have steered him away from us very easily. Beau panicked when there was no need. Now we’ll have to cover our tracks and do it quickly before they find out what we’ve been up to.”

“And how exactly do we do that?” Billy Joe asked.

“We have to get a couple of the guns we stole into the hands of a local gang,” Jase told him. “Then we have to set up either a major robbery or a highjacking. That way the logical conclusion will be that the gang killed Emmett and put Aaron in the hospital.”

Billy Joe snorted. “That will make Emmett a hero.”

Jase nodded. “Not if we leave enough evidence behind to connect him with the highjacking ring. We can dirty his name enough to give him that false status rather than  give us life without parole. We’ll have to run this past Richard and get him to back off until the furor dies down. If we’re caught, he goes down as well.”

Billy Joe shook his head. “No one would believe for a moment that the city’s most loved patron is involved with gun running.”

“They will if I turn over my evidence file,” Jase told him. “It’s my insurance policy. The file details everything we’ve done and with who.”

Billy Joe stared at him for a moment then asked, “Does anyone know about this file?”

“Are you crazy? If Richard Ellis knew I had it I would be dead right now. It would be you and I that got hit tonight, not Emmett and Aaron.”

Emmett moved away from them in shock and rage. Two fellow brothers in blue had been responsible for his almost death. Except he wasn’t dead yet, he was still around. He couldn’t believe it. 

Suddenly, he had to get away from here. He turned and walked away. 

A few minutes later, he found himself walking the nearly empty streets of Traverse City. Located on the Rio Grande river the town was a little over 80,000 in population. It was home to a University of Arizona as well as Viterbo College and a technical school. 

At this time of day though the streets were fairly quiet, the city was still sleeping and only a few people were out. Emmett headed toward the center of the city, but he had grown up in the city and he knew the south side very well. He lived here all his life and had seen the city change. Some of the changes hadn’t been for the better but the city was stable and he knew he wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. His apartment wasn’t far from here but he knew he couldn’t go back there. There was nothing left for him here.

Emmett stopped at a park. It was quiet in the early morning hours and he sat down on one of the swings. He of course thought about the conversation between Billy Joe and Jase. They were dirty cops and they were free. He aimed to fix that. They had spoken of a gun running case and two other people, Richard Ellis and a man named Beau. Indicating that Beau had been the shooter.

Emmett vaguely remembered the memo that had been sitting on his desk a couple of days ago. He really hadn’t taken the time to read it through but he did remember that at least one of the guns the state was looking for had ended up in a shooting in a nearby city. He clenched his hands into fists. The rage inside him was growing and in a moment the world around him was covered in a foggy haze and he could hear Rissa’s voice reminding him, “You have to let go of the rage and seek justice not vengeance. You and the others need justice not revenge.”

He shook his head and the fog cleared away. He sat there a moment as the voice in his head quieted. He did feel stunned that Rissa was watching him. Taking a deep breath he let his anger go. Then he just sat for a moment and thought about what happened earlier. He suddenly knew what to do, so he got to his feet. He had to get the memo back before Jase or Billy Joe got to his desk. 

He thought about Elise but didn’t know how to contact her. He began pacing. As he paced, he concentrated on Elise. The next thing he knew he was standing in front of a house on the north side of the city. A white two story with black trim. The front porch was screened in and as he stared at the house he saw a car pull up in the front. 

Elise got out of her car and made her way to the front door. Inserting her key she opened the door and prepared to walk inside.

“I need your help,” Emmett told her.

Elise screamed and twirled around. When she saw no one she put her hand to her chest. “Damn it,” she whispered.

“It’s me, Emmett.”

Elise closed her eyes and let out a long breath. “You scared the bejesus out of me.”

“I’m sorry but I need you to do something for me and it has to be done tonight.”

“Look, I’m tired, it’s been a long day and I have to get up in a few hours to go to work. Can whatever it is wait until then?”

“No it can’t,” Emmett insisted. “If we wait, the papers I need might be gone.”

Elise moved inside the house and turned on the lights. “What papers? What are you talking about?”

Emmett moved with her. He told her about the conversation he overheard at the hospital. “The reason I was almost murdered tonight has something to do with a gun running memo that’s sitting on my desk. Two cops were at the hospital tonight talking about it.”

Elise moved over to a chair and sat down hard. “Are you sure about this?” She asked. 

“Do you know about the case?” Emmett asked.

Elise nodded. “About seven weeks ago a shipment of guns collected by the state was on its way to be destroyed when the shipment went missing. Authorities figure the shipment got hijacked. Anyway some of the guns showed up in New Mexico and across the border in Mexico. There was a memo on it sent to all the police stations that had turned over guns. Since ours was one of the precincts the memo came to us last week.”

Emmett nodded. “I got a copy. It’s on my desk right now. I skimmed it but didn’t read it very well. I need you to go and get it before it ends up missing. My death has something to do with the guns.”

Elise stared at the floor as she asked, “Are you sure about this?”

“I wish to God I wasn’t, but yes I am sure,” Emmett admitted. “I need you to get that memo then go to my house and pick up some files. The two dirty cops I told you about are going to plant evidence there that is going to make the police think I’m involved in this gun running ring.”

Elise hesitated for a moment then she had to ask, “You aren’t involved, are you?”

“As God is my witness, no I am not,” he told her. “But they are going to blame me because I’m dead and they have to draw attention away from themselves.”

“Who are they?” she asked.

“Jase Carter and Billy Joe Cameron. The third cop is a man named Beau and business man Richard Ellis is somehow involved as well.”

“I think Beau is Beau Ridgeway. I've seen the three of them together a lot.” 

“I know Beau Ridgeway,” Emmett informed her. “He came by my desk just yesterday to ask me about another case. That’s when he must have seen the report on my desk.”

Elise got to her feet and grabbed her keys. “I’ll go and get the report but I need to know how to get into your palace and how to get what you want from there.”

“Maybe we will deal with that later. Can you bring the gun running file here?” Emmett asked. “No one knows we know each other so they wouldn’t suspect you at all.”

Elise nodded. “You can stay here for a while but not long.”

“You are forgetting one important thing, no one can see me and you are the only person who can hear me.”

“You’re right, this would be so much easier if you were um… alive and real,” Elise said. “People are going to think I’m crazy talking to myself all the time.”

“Honey, if I were well bodied and not full of holes, none of this would be necessary,” Emmett reminded her. “I’d be doing this myself but that’s gone now.”

“I’m sorry,” Elise told him. 

“Me too but I have a second chance to make my life count for something and by God, I’m going to do everything in my power to make it count.”

“This isn’t going to be easy, is it?” Elise commented. 

“No, I don’t think it is. Heaven only knows what we’re going to uncover by the time this is over,” Emmett agreed. “I think once we get going, we will find more than anyone bargained for. This gun running charge might only be the tip of the iceberg.”

“Let’s hope not,” Elise said. “I thought we had a good force protecting the city, but now I’m not so sure.”

“I think most of the force here are clean cops. But until we expose these bad ones, we can’t reveal what we’re doing. Not until we find out who all are involved. I don’t want anyone else put in danger.”

“Like I said earlier, I’ll only tell Carl. I trust him.”

“Is there any way you can copy the files on my computer while you’re at the station?” Emmett asked. 

“I can try, I’d better get going while things are still quiet. The early morning shift is due in about an hour or so.”

“I’ll be here waiting for you. Please hurry, get in, get the stuff and get out of there without being seen. If Jase or Billy Joe know about you they might try and stop you.”

“Don’t worry I’ll be careful,” Elise assured him.

“Oh and we can go get my PC files later,” he told her. “One thing at a time.”

“Good, cause I need a few hours of sleep before my shift. I’ll be back."

Emmett watched as she got into her car and disappeared. 

He wandered through her house searching for something to occupy the time. He found pictures of Elise at different times of her life and smiled at the teeth missing picture of her at age eight, then he saw the pride in her eyes on graduation day. The next picture showed her in the blue uniform of the police academy. When he studied the next picture he paused. She was standing with an older couple, her parents he presumed. It was the face of the older man that concerned him. It was police Captain Clayton James Hutchison.

Emmett had to wonder if he could trust Elise. Damn, if Hutchison was her father she might decide the force was more important than the truth. If that were the case his murder might never be solved.

Turning, he halted.

Three men stood in the living room. 

Emmett backed up and stayed quiet. He knew they could not see him so he would be safe.

The men stared at the spot where he stood.

“Hey man,” one of them said.

Emmett stayed quiet.

“Look, we can see you bro,” the largest of the three spoke.

“Y-you can?” Emmett asked nervously.

“Sure, we are your guardians,” the smallest of the three replied.

“My what?” Emmett stared at them. They were dressed like possible thugs, leather vests and jeans. “Look, I’m dead already so you can’t kill me.”

The men stared at him then they all laughed.

Chapter Five

“Who are you guys?” Emmett asked. “Are you dead men too?”

The three men stopped laughing to look at him. Then the laughter started up again.

Finally, one of the men raised his hand up. “Ok men, that’s enough. The dude is upset.” He stepped over closer to Emmett and announced, “We are the Lords Of Fire.”

Emmet simply stared at him. “I have no idea what that means.”

“Of course you don't,” one of the other men said.

“We were sent by Rissa. I’m Luther and this…” He motioned to the largest of the three. “...Is Diesel. Then that is Swag.” He tossed his thumb at the smaller man.

Emmett looked back and forth at them. “Why are you here?”

“We are supposed to be sort of like spirit bodyguards?” Luther told him. “Not sure I understand it myself really. But she told us what happened to you.”

Swag nodded. “And that sucks too. Being a cop then someone sneaks up on you and fills you full of lead. It’s like a Humphrey Bogart movie or something.”

Emmett stared at him. “Maybe? But it felt real.”

“I bet it fucking hurt,” Diesel spoke up.

“It…” Emmett’s voice failed him. “My partner is fighting for his life and that’s what bothers me the most.”

“Man, we get it,” Diesel said. “We are all part of an MC and we are family. Someone hurts one of us and they hurt all of us.”

“Oh, ok. So you're bikers?” Emmett finally understood why they were dressed the way they were.

“We are,” Luther replied.

“How did bikers end up… as whatever you guys are?”

“We are the same men we were before except for our powers,” Luther  said.

“Powers?”  Emmett asked.

“Yeah,” Diesel replied. “One day, we were just plain ole bikers. Crack open a beer and play some poker, ya know? Ride our Harley’s to the next county maybe. Watch some TV and make a run to the store. And every once in a while out where we live, we might have seen a shooting star or two.”

“Then this woman showed up and she was too interested in the mountain range we lived next to,” Luther explained. “It’s a long story but our lives changed forever.”

“Like how?” Emmett asked.

“Well, now…I can do this.” Luther raised his hands and his palms immediately turned a deep burning red as flames flared up from both hands.

Emmet gaped at this and took a step or two back.

“Nah, I won’t burn you.”

“I don’t think you can Prez,” Swag said. “Emmett isn’t like… real, ya know?”

“Well, that’s a mean thing to say, Swag.” Diesel reached over to tap Emmett’s shoulder and his hand went straight through him. “Oh, wow…”

Swag smirked. “He’s like somewhere in the tween, Rissa said. So I knew he wasn’t normal.”

“So what are your powers?” Emmett asked Diesel.

He turned and went over to the large sofa. Raising it up from the floor with one hand. Then he lowered four fingers and held the couch above his head with just his pointer finger.

“Dayum!” Swag exclaimed as he laughed. “Circus Circus here you come.”

Diesel set the sofa back down and glared at him. “If we did join up, you would be the midget clown with the tiny car.”

Swag laughed at this then looked over at Emmett. “He's just jealous and this… is why.” He snapped his fingers and a midget clown appeared by the couch.

The clown looked puzzled as he looked around. “What the fuck?”

“Aren’t you a bit young to be swearing?” Swag joked.

“What?” the clown asked. “I’m thirty-two.”

“Well back into the cornflakes box ya go,” Swag said as he snapped his fingers again.

The clown disappeared.

Emmett stared at him then he looked over at Luther to ask, “And you three are supposed to…help me?”

“That is what Rissa said. How, I don't know, but if you find something happening that you cannot stop or affect, you need to call us.”

“Call?” Emmett was confused.

“Yeah boss,” Swag said. “It's not like we have Guardian cell phones.”

Diesel snorted. “That would be cool.”

“Let me test this out,” Luther said. “Ok, Mr. Deadman, in a minute, call out Lords of Fire.” He turned to tell his man, “Take us out of here Swag.”

The three bikers disappeared.

Emmett blinked then waited. After a minute or so he called out, “Lords Of Fire!”

Nothing happened. 

He waited and shook his head. Turning, he saw the three men. With a gasp, he jumped back and held his chest.

Swag laughed. “We scared a ghost? Damn that is the coolest thing yet!”

Luther ignored Swag and said, “So if you are in trouble or someone you know is… Call out for us.”

They again faded out.

Emmet sighed. “This is all too much. First I’m a ghost, then I meet the Mountain and now there’s three magical bikers?”

The sun was up by the time Elise got back. Emmett stood in her living room watching her as she came up the walkway. His thoughts were troubled about her being the Chief's daughter. Putting the stack of file folders and his own laptop on the table she called out to him, “Are you still here Emmett?”

“Where else would I be?” he asked her quietly.

She jumped where she heard his voice. He must have been standing right behind her. She twirled around but there was no one there. “God, you have to stop scaring me,” she told him.

“Sorry,” he told her.

Elise stiffened at the tone in his voice. “Is there something wrong?”

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Emmett suggested.

“Has something changed in the short time I was away?”

“What does Clayton Hutchinson mean to you?” Emmett had to ask.

“Captain Hutchinson means a great deal to me,” she finally told him. “He’s my father.”

“Are you married or something?” he asked. “Is your husband elsewhere?”

“No, I’m not married, not that it’s any of your business,” Elise told him.

“Then why don’t you use his last name?”

Elise moved away from Emmett and shrugged. “Do we have to have this conversation?”

“I think we do, yes.”

Elise sighed. “I became a cop like my father. But I thought I had to move away so I wouldn’t become the Captain’s daughter. I used my mother’s maiden name to cut the ties I felt would hold me back from becoming the best cop I could be. I worked for six years and no one knew anything about my father. Then I came back home. My mother was sick and I wanted to be closer to her. I kept her last name to protect my job. My father doesn’t like it much but he knows I can’t stay here any other way.” She moved back to the stack of papers then without looking up, asked, “Does that answer your questions?”

“Maybe, but I need to know one more thing.” 

“And what would that be?”

“I need to know if protecting your father means you would betray the law? Like help to cover up a bad cop scandal?”

Elise thought about what he asked and shook her head. “I don’t think so. My father always taught me that you need to trust the men you work with. Especially your partner. If you couldn’t then you were putting not only your life in danger but their lives as well. If there is a dirty cop on the force he would be the first one to put a stop to it. There may come a time when I have to tell him the truth about what you and I are doing and you can be assured he will do everything in his power to let the truth be known.” Elise opened one of the files she brought back with her for him to look at. Keeping her eyes on the papers she told him, “I’d rather no one knew about my relationship with my father. I’m not trying to advertise it for my own reasons.”

Emmett chuckled. “And just who am I going to tell?”

“Good point.” She smiled. Then she sobered. “I think you should know I almost ran into Jase and Billy Joe. They came in early and Jase was heading to your desk. He seemed to be looking for something rather important. He made a mess with all the paperwork. Then he fired up your computer and wasn’t happy when he found everything had been erased.”

“You erased my computer?” Emmett asked. 

“I didn’t want anyone adding anything to your files that would implicate you in this gun running ring. I figured if I erased everything they couldn’t put anything on it. Tomorrow, or rather later today, your computer will go to Internal Affairs. They won’t find anything either.”

“Very nice.”

“I know what I’m doing.” She nodded as she dug into her pocket and brought out a flash drive. “I copied all the files you had on there.” She motioned at the paperwork on the table. “I decided to head to your apartment after all. I brought back everything I could find there.”

“Did you have any trouble getting in?” he asked.

“Nope. Your lock was easy to pick.”

Emmett raised an eyebrow. “You picked my lock? What kind of cop are you?”

“Actually, I’m a very good one,” she told him. “But I was a troubled teenager and my father liked to keep me under his thumb so it was always a battle of wills growing up. Eventually I saw the light but it took many battles to get there.”

“I see,” Emmett said.

Elise finally looked up. “No, I don’t think you do but we have more important things to worry about at the moment.” She picked up a piece of paper and showed it to him. “This is the memo you had about the gun found in New Mexico.”

Emmett read the report. Only this time reading the whole report, not just the highlights. It mentioned the fact that a few of the guns had made their way across the border into Mexico and into the hands of the drug cartels. “Damn, we need to find out where the truck was jacked, and who jacked it.”

“I think I can find that out but I need to be on the police mainframe to do it,” Elise told him.

“We can’t leave a paper trail,” Emmett warned her.

Elise grinned. “Don’t worry I won’t.”

Emmett shook his head. “You’re a hacker too? Tell me something, why did you become a cop?”

“Don’t tell my father but I love the law and all it stands for,” she admitted. “I just don’t want it crammed down my throat every minute of every day. I like to be able to breathe once in a while.”

“And he wouldn’t let you breathe?” Emmett hazarded a guess.

Elise glanced at the clock while ignoring his last statement. “I’d better get to work.”

“Maybe if I hang around at the station house I can find out more about the missing gun shipment.”

“True enough, just let me change and we can get going.” 

Twenty minutes later…

 Elise walked into the precinct. She did not know if Emmet was with her or not as he stopped talking as soon as she got out of the car. 

She made her way to her office, grabbing a cup of coffee on the way. Carl wasn’t in yet, so she turned her computer on and searched for the original file on the gun shipment. A short while later she had what she needed. 

As she copied it to a flash drive she looked up and saw Jase Carter and Billy Joe Cameron walk into the room beyond the glass partition. While she deleted the search she saw Jase wander over to Emmett’s desk and start poking around.

Carl joined her.

Elise  didn’t look at him, instead she was scowling at the two bad cops. 

“Well, hello to you too, is it going to be one of those days?” Carl quipped.

She turned her head and stared at him. “Oh sorry, I was lost in thought.”

Carl turned his head to see what she had been scowling about. He caught sight of Jase at Emmett Bailey’s desk. “I can’t believe Emmett and Aaron are gone.”

Elise gasped. “Is Aaron dead too? I thought Emmett was still in a coma?”

“No, I am so sorry, I meant to say he’s still with us but he’s just not here right now. I stopped at the hospital on my way in this morning. Aaron’s stable but hasn’t regained consciousness yet.” 

Elise sighed in relief. “Thank goodness, I was there earlier in the evening but didn’t stop this morning.”

“There are still a few cops there waiting for news about the shooting. Each and every one of them are worried it could happen again.”

“I’ll bet they are. This place has been crazy with all the media outside,” she told him.

“Combine that with having no answers and you have one touchy police force,” Carl agreed.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, and I might even have an answer for you.”

“What do you know about Jase Carter and Billy Joe Cameron?”

Carl took his time before answering, “There’s something about the two of them that just doesn’t sit well with me. As cops, they seem ok but again I don’t know if I could count on them to have my back, if you know what I mean.” He paused, then asked, “Why would you ask me about them?”

“No reason, I was just curious,” Elise admitted. “What about Beau Ridgeway? What do you think about him?”

Carl snorted. “Beau is a whole other story. He puts on a good show but that’s all it is, a good show. If he wasn’t a cop, he’d have to be a circus clown.”

“Damn, that’s harsh.” Elise winced.

“Beau Ridgeway is not a man you can trust, believe me,” Carl told her. “He thinks because he has connections in the business world he can do whatever he wants to and if it goes wrong it will be smoothed over at a higher level. He makes me sick.”

“What do you mean, he has connections?”

“It isn’t a well known fact. So I’m not sure very many people know or care to know but he’s related to the city’s biggest businessman Richard Ellis. Richard is his uncle, and I think Richard has used the relationship to his advantage on more than one occasion.”

“How could he do that?”

“Richard has used Beau to get out of at least one DUI and I’ll bet his low bid on the remodeling contract with the city wasn’t just because he could save the city a lot of money. I think Beau gave him information on the lowest bid.”

Elise sat back in her chair and stared at her partner for a moment. “Wow, you really don’t like the guy, do you?”

Carl shook his head. “No I don’t, but then I don’t happen to think people should use their station in life to benefit other people. I hate working with assholes who lie for a living.”

“What do you mean, lie for a living?”

“When I work with someone I like to know who I’m putting my trust in. I sit back and watch what a person does rather than what he says he does. If I catch him or her in a lie then I know I can’t trust them.”

“Ok, I’ll bite, what do you think you know about me?” she asked.

“You are complicated but I trust you with my life,” Carl told her. “We all have secrets and you’ve got the mother of all secrets but you are a good person.”

“What exactly do you know about my secret?” Elise asked. She had to know which secret he was talking about.

“Your father is very proud of you, he just doesn’t know how to show it,” Carl told her. “But some men are like that.”

“So you know who my father is?”

Carl leaned forward and whispered, “Captain Hutchison. He’s a good man and a great cop.”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve never told anyone.” Carl smiled. “I can keep a secret.”

“So tell me something, what did you think of Emmett Bailey and Aaron Henery?”

Carl stared out of the window at the two empty desks in the main office. “They were two of the best, as men and cops. You could count on both to have your back.”

“Carl, would you believe me if I told you Emmett is still here?” she had to ask.

Carl smiled and nodded. “I would like to think he’s still here, at least in spirit.” 

“What if I told you he was?” Elise said. “His spirit is still here and I can hear him. He needs our help to find out who tried to murder him and Aaron.”

Carl stared at her. When he saw she was serious he had to let that sink in for a minute. “You can hear him?”

Chapter Six

“Does anyone else know about this?” Carl asked her.

“No, not even my father knows,” she finally admitted it out loud. “It’s a gift I got from my grandmother. When I was a small child I began talking to the dead. Well, they spoke to me first. I wasn’t afraid because I had no idea what they were. Especially since I did not understand anything about ghosts. My parents never talked about that subject to me. So I innocently felt like these voices were actual friends. They were never scary. My parents thought I was speaking to an imaginary friend or something.”

“Wow,” Carl replied. “Fascinating.”

Elise nodded. “Finally, when I was a little older and I was with my grandparents for the summer, my grandmother told me about it. She said sometimes special people are chosen to speak for the dead, like if someone is murdered or something they want closure on. It’s up to people like me to give them that so they can move on. Grams told me I had to keep my gift a secret so I never told anyone, not even my parents.”

“That must have been hard for you.”

“You have no idea. When I was fifteen, a classmate of mine was killed. His spirit came to me and told me the accident wasn’t really an accident. He’s been murdered by his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend. When I tried to tell people what I knew they all looked at me like I was crazy. That is until the boyfriend came after me and tried to hurt me. Randy’s spirit held the other guy off until my father came, but it frightened me. I wasn’t too keen on using my gift after that.”

Carl reached out and touched her shoulder. “I can see why you would deny it.”

“My father denied it altogether, I couldn’t. I did what I could to help out the spirits who made contact after that but I couldn’t put myself in danger anymore.”

“Then why are you doing this?” Carl asked. “This is super dangerous Elise. It could get you killed.”

“I know but this is bigger than any one person and Emmett needs my…our help. Look at what happened to him and Aaron. They are our fellow brothers, Carl. I can’t say no.”

“I just don’t want you to join them. You are my friend and partner.”

“If what I am doing saves another life then it is worth it. We have to find out when these assholes hijacked the weapons shipment and who’s behind it all. I know it’s only one small cog of a very big set of wheels. But we need to make sure these men pay for shooting cops. And for whatever else they are in on. A cop’s life is worth more than money that someone is getting for illegal shit, don’t you think?”

“Count me in,” Carl told her. 

“Are you sure about this?” she asked. “Think about it for a moment because every person out there…” She pointed to the room filling up with police officers. “...is probably going to hate us. They will all come under suspicion until we find out who is actually involved. We know Jase Carter, Billy Joe Cameron and Beau Ridgeway are involved for sure, Jase said Beau was the shooter tonight so we have that to find evidence on too. But if all three are connected to Richard Ellis we have to establish the connection there as well.”

Carl sat down and stared at her. “Exactly how do you think we’re going to do all of this?” He turned and watched Jase for a moment. “Jase is probably wiping Emmett’s computer clean even as we speak.”

“Probably, but I got there first. Shortly after Emmett heard about the memo, he asked me to come here and get it before they had a chance to remove it. He also had me stop at his house and get some files he had there. “

“So he’s already working the case?” 

“He wants to stop the gunring and catch his killer. We’re going to help him but we have to be careful. They can’t realize what we’re doing or that I can speak to him. We have to find out what we’re dealing with first.”

“For one, I hardly think they would believe you are speaking to him. For two, they have no reason to connect you and Emmett. I mean you didn’t even know him, right?” Carl asked.

“I saw him here, but no… I never spoke to him.”

“So where do we start?” Carl asked.

“We need to find out what we can about the gun shipment,” she told him. “I doubt this is the first shipment that has been hijacked so we need to know how many others have been taken.”

“I have contacts in other police precincts. That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“We also have to find a solid connection between the players,” Elise told him. “That might prove to be a little trickier. We can’t let them know we’re on to them. I have a hacker friend who can help us get whatever we’ll need.” 

“Just be careful with what you ask this hacker to get for us,” Carl warned. “It has to be able to be verified or we can’t use it in court.”

“Don’t worry, Lola can find anything and she knows what to look for,” Elise assured him. “In fact I think I should go by in person and talk to her about this. I don’t want anyone to be able to connect her with us or the case.”

“Just be careful out there. It isn’t too early to watch for a tail.”

“I’ll be careful. So far, no one even knows we’re on to them.” She stood from her desk and grabbed her purse. “I’ll be back in about an hour. If anyone asks, tell them I went to check on Aaron.”

An hour later…

When he saw her coming in, Carl breathed a sigh of relief. When she came into their shared office and closed the door behind her he stared at her then asked, “Where have you been? I was getting worried.”

“Sorry about that…I had to convince Lola we were only looking for personal stuff on three cops. She wasn’t too happy about that but she said she would do it.”

“I hope she’s careful with what she’s doing,” Carl said. “We don’t want them to know they’ve been searched.”

“Don’t worry, she won’t leave any prints behind. She’s the best.” Suddenly, Elise stiffened and looked around the room. “Is that you, Emmett?” 

Carl searched the room as well.

Elise relaxed and told her partner, “We have company. Emmett is here and wants to know what we’re doing.” She turned to where she heard his voice and said, “We got help in our quest. I have a hacker looking into the four subjects. If there is anything to find, she’ll be the one to do it.”

“Good, maybe she can find something we couldn’t,” Emmett said.

“Why are you here?” Elise asked.

“I was at your house staying out of sight. Then I realized that was stupid because no one can see me anyway. I came here to find out what’s going on. I only have this one chance to get it right and I’m not sure how much time I have.”

Elise sighed and said, “I got everything off your computer before Jase got to it this morning. And yes, he did get to it. He probably wiped it clean so no one would discover what might be on there.”

“There wasn’t much on the gun running on my computer. I wasn’t really working on the missing gun shipment. I may have glanced at the memo but hadn’t gotten into investigating it yet.”

“But there might be something else on there that could lead you back to them,” Elise suggested. “He might be curious about why there is nothing on your hard drive but so far he hasn’t seemed bothered yet. Then I went to talk to a friend of mine. She’s got some mad skills for getting into places most people don’t even know exist. She agreed to hack our players and see if any of them have the goods on the group. In fact…” She glanced at her watch. “...she should be contacting me anytime now.”

“Surely, she couldn’t have found anything yet,” Emmett exclaimed. “It hasn’t been that long.”

Elise chuckled. “You don’t know how quickly Lola can get in and out of a system.”

Before she could say anything else her phone rang. When she looked at the caller ID it was Lola. “Did you find anything interesting?” she asked when she answered the cell.

“Meet me at the coffee shop around the corner from the precinct,” Lola demanded. “I found something extremely interesting.”

Ten minutes later… 

Elise and Emmett entered the coffee shop. It looked really busy but Elise  didn’t intend to stand in line to get coffee. Instead, she searched for Lola. She found her sitting in a corner. When she joined her Lola peeked around the shop first then passed Elise a flash drive. “I think you will find everything you need on this USB.”

“What did you find?” Elise tucked the drive into her pocket.

“At first, I didn’t think I would find anything. Jase’s computer had nothing but porn on it and Billy Joe’s wasn’t much better. But when I got to Beau’s computer that was a different story. There didn’t seem to be anything interesting but then I found an icon that didn’t fit with the rest. I clicked on it and it opened another screen just full of information, encrypted information. “

“Did you figure out the encryption?”

Lola flashed her a smile. “Oh yeah, simple stuff really.” She paused then commented, “Your boy is mixed up with some pretty nasty stuff. I found records going back three years.”

Elise swallowed hard and asked, “Three years? Are you sure?”

Lola nodded. “Your Mr. Ellis is the ring leader and he’s guilty as hell. His hands are not clean in any of this. Drugs, weapons and murder to say the least, but he’s part of a much bigger picture. Beau has everything on record, why he does that is anybody’s guess. If Ellis knew he had these records I doubt he’d still be alive.”

Elise went silent for a moment then asked, “Jase bragged about having an insurance policy. I was sure you would find something on his computer.”

“Maybe what he has is at his house. I could do a little B&E and find out if you like,” Lola offered.

“Ask her if she found a money trail,” Emmett suggested.

“Did you find anything unusual in their financials?” Elise asked Lola.

Lola nodded. “Their bank accounts are rather rich. Better than what I thought a cop should earn, so I looked deeper. It seems all three have a second job that pays cash only, so there is no way to trace the source of the income. About six times a year they all have been getting several thousand dollars in cash. Jase and Beau have safe deposit boxes and Billy Joe has invested heavily in CDs.”

“Has she looked at Richard Ellis yet?” Emmett spoke again.

“What about the fourth name on the list I gave you this morning?” Elise asked.

“Now that man is a whole other story. Richard Ellis has his hands in many pies. I found several links to other questionable groups, including a link to a drug cartel and a gun running group. I have to dig a little deeper but there might be a link to the terror group…Hezbolla.”

“He was right under our noses while doing all this shit? And this woman didn’t have to dig that far to find it?” Emmett questioned. “Is there something wrong with this picture? How did she find out so quickly?”

“Are you sure about all of this?” Elise asked Lola. “How did you verify the links?”

Lola shrugged. “If you know where to look it isn’t hard. People think their passwords are tougher than they are to get through. I do a remote viewing to get in. I found a file hidden on Richard’s computer labeled ‘retirement.’ In this file it showed several offshore accounts with deposits from several different banks. When I checked them out I found one was a Middle Eastern account and another was a drug cartel. Your Mr. Ellis has some nastyass friends.”

“Did you get any hard evidence of his activities? Something we can use in court?” Elise asked.

“Like I said…It’s all on the flash drive. Account numbers, balance sheets, everything,” Lola told her. “I also found pictures in an email.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “They were horrible. The message was, ‘Next time tell your men not to be heroes.’ She searched Elise’s face. “There were three men shot to death next to a semi-truck. Next to their bodies were crates of weapons and one of the crates was marked with the name, Traverse City.”

“Well shit,” Emmett grumbled.

Chapter Seven

“Damn him anyway,” Emmett swore. “ Richard Ellis cost those cops their lives.”

 “It will be my pleasure to fry this cretin right along with the cops who have betrayed their badges,” Elise vowed

“Good luck with that,” Lola told her as she stood up and gathered her things. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”

Elise nodded at her friend. “Thank you for your help.”

Lola smiled. “You have already done more than I could have asked. I still have a brother, thanks to you. I’m still in your debt.”

Elise grinned. “How is Randy anyway?”

“He is busy discovering the joys of fatherhood at the moment, something else we both have to thank you for. His girlfriend gave him a daughter and all three are enjoying life.”

“I’m so glad things turned out the way they did.”

“If not for you, it would have turned out much worse,” Lola reminded her.

“I have to get back to the station,” Elise said. “Thanks again. I will put this information to good use.”

“You’d better hurry, according to his reports Ellis has another shipment set to leave here in two days.”

“Not this time, it isn’t,” Emmett retorted even though Lola could not hear him.

Elise nodded and watched her friend leave. Then she whispered a prayer for her and left the coffee house.

 Later that night…

 Elise got home and pulled out the flash drive Lola had given to her. She didn’t want anyone at work to know she had it. Emmett had wanted her to leave right away and check out what Lola found but Elise couldn’t do that. She had to stay and finish out the day.

 So a few hours later, Emmett had followed her home to find out what was on the drive. 

Carl wanted to be there as well, he even offered to bring the pizza.

 Elise loaded the flash drive and began opening the files.

“Print everything out so we can work on it when Carl gets here,” Emmett suggested.

“That’s what I’m doing. If we don’t find something here Jase said he has an insurance policy.”

“Yeah, but I’ll bet we’ll never find it,” Emmett told her.

A knock sounded on her door.

 Elise got up and peeked out the window before she opened it. 

Carl came in carrying a large pizza box and a six pack of beer. Setting them down on the dining room table he took his jacket off and saw the stack of paperwork she’d printed out. “Did you find anything?”

“I haven’t had the chance to look yet.” 

“Okay, just wondering…” Pausing he had to ask, “Is your ghost here too?”

Elise sighed and replied, “Yes, Emmett is here.”

“Of course he is,” Carl murmured under his breath. “Shall we begin?”

“After we eat, I’m starving,” Elise groaned a little. “I haven’t eaten all day.”

They sat down to eat. 

After grabbing a second piece of pizza, Elise searched through the stack of papers in front of her. Most were business papers and the like, but about halfway through, she found something interesting…information about the last gun shipment. Along with that she found a picture of the truck. Then three names, Conrad Becker, Jonah Granger and Wayne Lowen. A handwritten note said, ‘They tried to be heroes’ Elise passed the picture to Carl and had to swallow hard as tears sparkled in her eyes. “I really want these losers to pay.”

“How many have died because of these jackasses?” Carl asked no one in particular.

A few minutes later, they found several invoices, manifests of the gun shipments,  and three other shipments besides the last one that had been hijacked. 

Elise felt excited now as they went through the rest of the paperwork. They found notes about where the shipments were supposed to go and who collected them upon arrival. Most of the guns ended up in New Mexico, New York City and Mexico in the hands of the drug cartel and gangs.

They also found deposits of several hundred thousand dollars in offshore banks. 

Carl used his cellphone calculator and punched in the numbers. When he finished, he hit the equal sign and whistled as he showed her the final number. It was well over forty million dollars.

Elise sat back in her chair for a moment to think. “This is bigger than we realized.”

“We can’t stop now,” Carl told her. “We can’t let this continue.”

“What are you going to do?” Emmett asked. 

“I don’t know yet,” Elise whispered.

“Don’t know what?” Carl asked.

“I was talking to Emmett,” Elise admitted.

“Damn, I forgot he was here,” Carl remarked.

“Yeah well, he’s sort of the reason we’re here, isn’t he?” Elise reminded him. “If he hadn’t been damn near murdered we wouldn’t be here now.”

“So what are we going to do?” Carl asked.

“I’m going to make a phone call to an old friend,” Elise told him.

“What kind of old friend?” Carl asked.

“He’s in the FBI. He has the resources we don’t to bring these fuckers down.”

“And the FBI will get the credit for what we did,” Carl grumbled.

Elise stared at him then said, “And that’s fine with me. I’d rather they took the credit than to be labeled a snitch. Dirty cops are going down and I don’t want to be labeled as anything. I don’t want anyone to know.”

Carl glanced at her then looked away as he admitted, “I’m sorry but you know what? I want to be more than a records clerk one day.”

“And you will be,” Elise urged. “But not like this, we aren’t assigned to this case are we? So if this comes to the surface the wrong way, these assholes might get away with this, Carl. ”

Carl sighed heavily. “I know but I just can’t wait. Having the credit for this would be a stepping stone to bigger things like a gold shield someday.”

“Tell him to take the steps to get there, he might live longer,” Emmett remarked.

Carl sighed then said, “I know I’m being selfish so go make your call.”

Elise paused for a moment then swore, “Damn, I can’t.”

“Why not?” Emmett asked.

“Think about it, how do we tell them they can’t use the evidence we uncovered in court because we got it illegally?”

“Shit, that’s right, we didn’t have a warrant,” Carl admitted. “Now what do we do?”

“Follow the original gun report,” Emmett told her. “See if that leads you anywhere.” 

“Okay, let’s find out if we can reach the same conclusion with the gun report and what we found on Emmett’s computer,” Elise stated so Carl would know what Emmett suggested.

“What do we do with all the stuff from Richard’s computer?” Carl asked her.

“For now, we have to forget we ever saw it. We have to find a link to Richard and the others without the evidence from his computer.” She stacked the paperwork and set it aside for now. Plugging in the flash drive from Emmett’s computer she went through the files she found there.

Emmett stood behind her when his eye caught sight of a program. “Wait a minute, go back to the file named, theories. I remember noting something in there.”

Elise clicked on the theories file and it brought up several different names. She clicked on the name Richard Ellis. Up popped a file that had many speculations in it but no real facts. She did find Mitzy Krueger’s name. “So what interested you about this Mitzy Krueger?” she asked him.

“Go to the pictures file and you’ll see,” Emmett directed.

Elise clicked open the photo file. Picture after picture of Richard Ellis and Mitzy Krueger came up. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

“Looks to me like someone was bumping uglies,” Carl said.

Elise wrinkled her nose up and repeated, “Uglies…Yeah, it looks ugly for sure. Who does that? Has affairs. I mean don’t marry a person if you want other people. So how on earth did you know, Emmett?”

“I saw him sneaking around one night and followed him to her place. I waited for three hours until he left then I followed him home. I didn’t know at the time what he was doing but I followed him the next night and he went to the docks. He boarded a private boat and got off it two hours later. Look a little further down. When he left the boat he was with an interesting man, Manual Ortez… a bad guy from Mexico. He got part of the last gun shipment.”

“Damn, we have to somehow connect Ortez with the guns,” Elise said.

“Who?” Carl asked as he never heard anything Emmett just told her. 

She took a deep breath and repeated exactly what Emmett just said, “He was following Richard and found out about this affair, but the next night, he followed him again and he got on a boat to meet this guy, Manual Ortez. Who happened to get part of that last gun shipment. And we need to connect Ellis with the hijacking.” Pushing her chair away from the table she said, “Too bad there are no photos of the truck being jacked.”

“What makes you think there aren’t?” Emmett asked.

Elise turned around. “What do you mean?”

“There are crime scene photos, maybe they caught something,” Emmett said.

“Damn, of course, crime scene photos. But would whoever took out the drivers hang around that long?” Elise asked.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” Carl complained.

“Do what?” Elise asked him.

“Talk to the ghost. I can’t hear his part of the conversation and it’s a little hard to keep up.”

“The day I was shot, I asked for the photos to be sent to me,” Emmett remarked. I don’t know if Sherry had time to email them to me or not.”

Elise sat back down and with a few clicks got into Emmett’s email. “Okay, Sherry got the pictures to you. Let’s see what they got,” She clicked on the photos. 

“Damn, I forgot what a bloody mess they made,” Emmett whispered.

 Elise didn’t say anything, instead she quickly skimmed the photos. Then she caught something. “Look at this!” she exclaimed. 

The photo in question was one of the crowd there at the docks. Jase Carter was arguing with Richard Ellis. Beau Ridgeway stood there with them. “Well, we have three of our players in this one,” Elise noted. “And it doesn’t look like they are best buddies either. I have to wonder why.” 

“Wait a minute,” Emmett said. “Why is Manual Ortez standing in the corner looking so freaking smug? Look at the next picture in line.

Elise turned to study the photo Emmett indicated. There bold as brass was Manual Ortez. “Why indeed?” She glanced at Carl and tapped on the image. “See him?  That’s Manual Ortez standing in the corner smirking.

Carl leaned in closer and studied the photo as he whispered, “I’ll be damned.” He looked at Elise and said, “He shouldn’t even be there.” 

She nodded then looked back at the photo.

“We need to go back and find out how long Ortez and Ellis have been in business together,” Emmett said. “Find out why a drug cartel leader would feel safe enough to walk the streets of this country, and why he would show up at a crime scene,” Emmett told her. “Was he there to take possession of the guns or was he there to demand part of the shipment?”

“Good questions,” Elise agreed.

“What are you talking about?” Carl demanded.

“Emmett asked why Ortez was walking around and why he turned up at a crime scene. Was he there to get the guns or demand his share?” She paused then pointed out, “So this whole thing revolves around the hijacking. If we solve that case we might be able to bring the rest of this to light.”

“And just how do you suggest we do that?” Carl surmised. “Like you said before, we aren’t on this case. We’re record clerks’ not active investigators.”

“Tell him, you both can act like record clerks while doing this. Go back to the very beginning. This isn’t the first hijacking and if everything goes right in the next two days it won’t be the last one either.” 

Elise stood up and braced her hands onto her hips. “Emmett says we have to go back to the very beginning and find a common thread. Link all the hijackings to the group. It’s the only way to make a strong case without tipping our hands to illegally hacking Ellis’ computer.”

“Well that’s easy for him to say. He’s a damned ghost. No one will catch him and put a few well placed bullets into his ass,” Carl ranted.

“Well, you tell Carl that I already got those bullets in the ass and seven other places too!” Emmett yelled.

Elise halted and looked at Carl. “Do you know that Emmett took more than six bullets in that shooting?”

Carl blinked at her as he realized what he’d said and stammered, “ I…Damn.”

Nodding, she turned toward where Emmett’s voice came from. “Do you realize we could get killed here? Only we may not get a ghost’s chance like you have?”

Emmett sighed. “Tell Carl I’m sorry.”

Elise tossed her arms up. “This is fucking crazy! You two had better reel it in. What a couple of  pussies!” She stomped into the kitchen.

Carl shook his head. “If you can hear me, I apologize.”

Emmett shook his head and nervously fiddled with the amulet resting over his shirt. “An if you could hear me I would gladly accept it.”

Carl stared at the glowing light that the amulet let off. It seemed to be a small ball of white light floating in mid air. “The fuck?” He stumbled back as his eyes went wide. Then he fell over the desk chair and hit the floor.