Chapter 16
After dropping Cherry off at her place and forgoing the invitation for some rough and ready playtime, though that would have released more than a bit of tension, River stopped at her front door and looked at the shadow dancing between the trees at the edge of her property.
Snow dusted the grass like fine sugar and continued to fall in light swirls tinted yellow by the streetlamps. The vague figure moved forward.
“You can come closer. Can I help?” River asked softly. Why was this spirit hanging around her house?
The ghost moved closer, and the frizzing, frantic energy it had exhibited before had dimmed somewhat.
Now it just seemed…irked. It came closer, and River got a sense of long hair.
The person had been short, and maybe young.
Normally spirits who’d crossed over recently kept their form, but this one was indistinct.
Weird. River held out her hand. “I may be able to get a better sense of what you want if you touch me.”
The figure’s hand came up slowly. A car drove past, backfired, and the ghost shimmered into mist and darted back into the shadows.
River sighed and headed into the house. Another time then.
She was too tired to go chasing anything non-physical tonight.
Hell, she’d even turned down Cherry, and their sexy time was a great way to work off tension.
There was never anything gentle or slow between them.
Cherry liked a bit of kink, and River was happy to comply.
But tonight…the whole situation with Marina had turned her mood sour.
The head of Black Pinnacle was a ball of sludgy black energy, a narcissistic void of decency and kindness.
And that wasn’t just because River knew what she did for a living.
Her aura had been swallowed by the darkness, and it slid over the people around her like an invasive vine looking for a foothold in other people’s souls.
She shuddered. When she’d seen Marina standing outside, looking utterly stunning in that blue dress, she’d put her hand to her chest to keep her heart from making a break for it and leaping for Marina.
But then she’d seen the strange energy around her and could tell she felt out of place and…
what was it? Not fear. Discomfort maybe?
Yeah. That was it. And when Black had come out and put her arm around her like that, Marina’s whole being had shrunk away from her to the point that River had wanted to gently pull Marina away, out of range.
But it wasn’t her place, and Marina had followed the woman back into the theatre without so much as a backward glance. Because that was her life. That was who she was working for.
River climbed upstairs and hung up the suit she hardly ever wore. She’d liked the way Marina had looked at her in it. Not that it mattered, of course. She’d never wear it to go anywhere with Marina. Still, it was nice to be appreciated by a beautiful woman.
The phone rang, and she frowned. It was nearly eleven at night. “Audrey? What’s wrong?”
“Can you come to my place? Tony has been taken to the hospital. They think it’s a heart attack. I couldn’t go with him, and I need to get all his medications—”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” River hung up and threw on jeans. Audrey’s husband was a marathon runner. He ate far better than anyone she knew, took care of himself, drank protein shakes. They worked out together at the gym once in a while. How did someone so healthy have a heart attack?
She was at Audrey’s in nine minutes, and the house was a tornado of clothing and papers as Audrey rushed from room to room, but it didn’t look like she was doing anything but creating more mess. “Hey. Stop.” River grabbed Audrey’s shoulders. “Breathe.”
Audrey’s face was blotchy from crying and her eyes were red. “I can’t lose him.”
“I know. Let’s focus and get to the hospital, okay? First, where’s the bag we’re bringing with us?”
The simple question helped Audrey focus and together they gathered some clothes, his few medications, and some toiletries. As they headed to the hospital, she asked Audrey what had happened.
“We were eating dinner, and suddenly he went really pale. Like buttercream frosting. And then he said he felt strange, and his left arm hurt, and his chest…” She wiped at her nose. “I called 911, and they were there in minutes. They put electrodes on his chest and took him so fast.”
River shuddered. Losing people close to her was a shitshow.
Not only did she need to deal with her own grief and whatever she needed to say to them, but she had to see the desperation and loss in their eyes as they watched the people they’d left behind grieving.
And the people left behind turned to her to tell them everything they hadn’t been able to say.
Please let him pull through this. “He’s tough and healthy.
And there’s no way he’d leave you to do the cooking at home. ”
Audrey gave a choked laugh and brushed at the tears cascading down her cheeks.
Once they were parked, she rushed in, gave his name, and was taken back behind the doors.
River ran her hands through her hair and then sank into one of the worn blue chairs in a room running over with fear of the unknown.
She blankly stared at the TV for a while and then turned to her phone after watching an ad for used cars three times in a row.
There was a missed text from Adriana.
Holy shit, this is going to be so much fun. Have researched the fuck out of BP and already have a plan in motion. B-roll?
Well, that would be a good way to pass the time.
River opened her gallery and started picking out videos and photos that showcased her community.
Fortunately, she had a lot of them, given how invested she was in local events.
It also made her think of seeing Marina and Sheila Black at the ballet.
Sheila’s energy was dark and…gross. That was the only way she could put it.
Like a blob ghost had sex with a puddle of oil and then a fox had peed in it. Foul, noxious, clinging.
Why had Marina felt the need to introduce her? Did she want to show River whose side she was on? River thought back to what she’d felt in the moment. No. Marina had been embarrassed by the association. River began to grin. Maybe Marina wasn’t quite so on the side of villainy as she thought she was.
“Hey.” Audrey plopped into the seat next to her.
“Hey. What’s the news?” River took her hand and held it, knowing full well how important touch was to let someone know they weren’t alone.
“He’s stable, thank the goddess. They’re going to keep him for observation for a few days to see if they can figure out the real cause, but he’s going to be okay.” She rested her head on River’s shoulder. “I don’t know what I would have done without him.”
“Good thing you don’t have to figure it out.” River kissed the top of her head and noticed how much more gray there was in her hair. How had she missed that? “Are you staying or going home?”
“Going home. They pretty much kicked me out. I’ll come back during visiting hours tomorrow.”
River stood and pulled her up. “Good. My butt was about to become the same shape as the chair.”
Audrey shook her head as they walked out into the cold night air. “I’m sure you could find someone to massage it back into form.”
The ride back to Audrey’s was quiet, and River was glad to walk the few blocks home. It was silent, and she could even see a couple of stars through the city’s light pollution. There was a sound, a feeling of darkness and desperation… She closed her eyes and sighed before turning around.
The eyes behind the mask widened as she faced him before he said anything. The rusty knife he held at neck height glinted under the flickering streetlight. “Wallet and watch. Now.”
She reached into her pants pockets and turned them inside out. “Sorry, man. I don’t have anything on me. I was in a rush and didn’t pick anything up.” She shoved up her shirt sleeves to show the lack of a watch too.
“Fuck you. You must have something on you.” He waved the knife, his eyes darting over and around her.
“Nope. Just left a hospital.” She tilted her head and opened her senses.
“I’m sorry you’re hurting. It’s tough when kids get sick, and there’s nothing we can do.
I hope you can find another way to help her.
Because if you get caught, she’s going to lose her dad, and there won’t be a damn thing you can help with from behind bars. ”
The knife lowered and the whites of his eyes shone in the darkness. “How the fuck you know about my life? Who the fuck are you?”
She waved in the direction of the shop. “I’m a psychic.
I just know shit, and I know you’re not going to be able to pay her medical expenses by grabbing a few wallets.
Especially in this neighborhood.” Hopefully, she hadn’t just given him the idea to go rob people in richer communities, even if that did make more sense than trying to rob people who already didn’t have a whole lot.
He let the knife dangle at his side and his head dropped. “I don’t know what to do. Her mom died, and I’m all she’s got, and I can’t let her down.”
“Check with the Starlight Kids Foundation. They might be able to get you some help.” River shoved her hands in her pockets, certain she was out of danger now.
He backed away, waving the knife in a vague farewell, and then jogged off into the night.
With a sigh, she made it the rest of the way home without incident.
Desperation was an evil disease, one without mercy.
She knew the crime rates for her area, and she knew why they were so high.
Gentrification would force people into other communities they couldn’t afford, and their lives would get worse, not better.
But then, things weren’t getting any easier around here either.
No ghosts waited in her yard, for which she was thankful.
The lamp tottered a little to suggest Marjorie was still up and about, but she didn’t shout anything rude.
River crawled into bed and could only wonder how saving the community had become the focus of her life.
And how did Marina fit into whatever game the Universe was playing?