Five Minutes After Midnight Read online

  The spirit shrugged.

  She pointed at the ghost. “You better go back there and dig up more information than that, or I’m gonna go over there and kick your ass.”

  “You can’t.”

  “I’ll be over there one day!”

  “I suppose.” He began to fade and soon all she could see what the hat in his hands and then nothing.

  “Poppycock!” She picked up her phone and called Olivia, but there was no answer.

  chapter three

  ANITA WAS STANDING AND STARING at the blue-green water making its way to the white sand on the beach. To the left were large limestone rocks protruding from the sea. A Keel-billed Toucan took to the air from the tallest stone. It was such a beautiful bird with a yellow breast on a black body, and a bill colored green, blue, orange and black, a little sad knowing that it was dead.

  Heaven was a place of calm and warmth, one could feel the love in the air, like a hug from God. Few left once they got here, and of course, it was always difficult for Anita when she departed to help Olivia. But she took great comfort in that she was always going back.

  Two palm trees held a hammock where Anita had been swinging, but now she was standing and gazing, watching a Ruea Hang Yao boat with red and blue ribbons tied to it as one might find in Thailand. Someone on board waved to her, and she returned the gesture.

  Not so long ago Anita had a life back on Earth and was looking forward to starting a career in teaching, but she had been murdered, and now her soul was basking in the light of heaven. She had been asked to help Olivia solve her own murder and save her sisters, and so she was connected to both worlds. She watched as the boat turned and headed further out, and after a time was only a speck on the horizon.

  Tim appeared behind her and was being surreptitious as he got closer and closer; she was entranced by the beauty of it all as he put his arms around her. “Guess who?”

  Anita turned and stared into his blue eyes. “Hi honey, what are you up to this morning? Actually, you can’t really feel time here can you?” She had gotten involved with Tim quite fast after her death, but time was deceiving, a hundred years could seem like ten minutes.

  Tim kissed her forehead, then her cheek and planted one passionately on her lips. He took her face in his hands as they kissed. One thing moved to another, and they made love right there on the beach, where a shield made them invisible to everyone except each other.

  Later they both stood to watch a different boat on the horizon, a catamaran this time. A small boat appeared, wished for by Tim. They got in and headed out as he rowed. Being deceased they had no worries about capsizing or drowning. Two bottlenose dolphins were following them.

  “Tim, I feel funny.” Anita was trying to judge exactly how she felt, but she wasn’t quite able to accomplish it.

  “How so?” asked Tim. He stopped rowing and just let the boat flow with the waves.

  Anita shrugged. “That’s just it I’m not really sure.”

  “Do you feel sick?”

  Anita laughed. “No one feels sick in heaven; we have no physical bodies to give us ailments. I don’t feel sad. I just feel a little off.”

  A dolphin jumped, and when it landed, it splashed water into the boat.

  Tim laughed. “Well, I don’t know how you feel, and apparently you don’t either.”

  Again, she attempted to judge how she felt. “Now I feel like a have an energy boost, feels good actually.” A dolphin came alongside the boat, and she caressed it and watched as it nodded several times appreciatively. If only Earth could be so peaceful. “You are so beautiful! Yes, you are.”

  The dolphin agreed.

  “You’re being called back to Earth,” said Tim.

  “Yes, I hear that.”

  Anita did like that she was helping people, but she desperately missed heaven every time she left, and now she felt herself being pulled away.

  Chapter four

  DETECTIVE OLIVIA BROWN HAD JUST RETURNED from solving a murder that morning, and that was always satisfying, certainly worth more than the money she was making. The adage that crime doesn’t pay didn’t always hold true as some people did get away with murder and profited quite nicely from it. The guy that had killed his wife for the insurance money wasn’t so lucky, believed that waiting two years after taking out the insurance wouldn’t put any suspicion on him, but the fool had talked about it in a bar after imbibing too much a week before the killing. Too much tequila and not enough brain cells.

  As soon as Olivia walked through the door, she had a strange feeling that she was going to see a ghost. Specifically, she had an inkling that Anita was hanging around, at least she hoped that it was her and not someone else. Aunt Stella had told her that the more contact the Detective made with the other side, the more Olivia would be able to see the dead. Not long ago she would have said that ghosts were the result of an active imagination or drugs or both. But now the detective had seen too damn much to dismiss it. Olivia wished that she could return to a state of ignorance but without a time machine, she was stuck with the knowledge. She would have never thought in a million years that crazy Aunt Stella wasn’t crazy.

  Would she eventually be known as crazy Olivia?

  Anita had been murdered in Central Park, but her killers had been brought to justice the hard way, making her wonder if they were in hell. Olivia finished disassembling and cleaning her Glock 17 when she saw a shadow by the window, and then Anita appeared.

  “Anita, I had a feeling that you might show up?”

  “Yes,” said the ghost. The twenty-one-year-old had beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes and had turned many heads when she was alive. “Heaven is so amazing that I didn’t want to leave, but at least I can come and go.”

  The Detective shook her head. “Here we go again?”

  Anita nodded. “Yes, reality can be a kick in the butt. I’m here to try and help you stop a murder. And I have no connection to this guy so we might have to get your Aunt Stella involved.”

  “Oh, good Lord. Why?”

  Anita thought about her mission as this existence was strange. “She has a lot of different connections to the other side.”

  “I doubt if she’s going to want to be a part of this. Why do you bring such cold air with you?”

  “I have no idea. I guess that it’s a ghost thing.”

  Olivia put the clip back into her gun. “Who’s about to be killed and where are they now?”

  “Her name is Emma, and she is in New York, but I don’t have her last name.”

  Olivia looked annoyed. That was just asking too much. “There must be more than a few Emma’s in New York. How are we supposed to find her?”

  “I don’t know, and I’m told that there is going to be more interference from the dark side this time. The chance of saving her is apparently only about ten percent.”

  Finding someone with just a first name is impossible. She almost felt like saying why bother, but most lives were valuable. Besides, they were likely to get some help from the other side. This ghost thing still felt like a bad dream.

  “Oh, Olivia, she’s African American. I was shown an image of her so if I see her picture I’ll know if I see her I should say.” Anita walked through the coffee table. “This is not the same apartment. Why did you move?”

  “It’s a glitch in my DNA I guess. I pretty much have to relocate at least once a year, or two at the most. I just love decorating a new place.”

  There was a beautiful painting above the sofa of a herd of elephants at a watering hole in Africa; the Detective loved elephants. The thought that they might soon be gone was more than she could handle emotionally. The Detective opened her Acer Laptop and turned it on; she had an idea that wasn’t likely to pan out but was worth a try.

  “Anita, I’m going to check Facebook and some other sites. I’ll check for Emma in New York, and we’ll see if anything comes up. I’ll also check for missing persons later to see if she might have been reported missing.”

  B
ut after some time of searching Anita didn’t recognize any of the faces they had gone through, again making Olivia think that this was an impossible task. “Without more info, this is likely to be a futile effort, and if her dead body shows up, then I’d have a case that may or may not be in my jurisdiction.”

  Another ghost was becoming visible though just barely until Anita took his hand. It was 25-year-old Timothy Anderson, he had brown hair with deep blue eyes and a nicely trimmed brown beard, wearing green shorts and was bare chested. Some drunk driver had killed him. “This is my boyfriend, Tim. He was too chicken to come to heaven with me, but I finally talked him into it.”

  That was one of the strangest things that she had ever heard because with no body why did one need a boyfriend. “No sex in heaven, right?”

  “Wrong Detective, sex is part of the human condition. Both parties have to consent, or it just won’t work. No one can physically hurt anyone, and there’s no crime or anything like that. I’m not supposed to be telling you any of this stuff.”

  Olivia shook her head. “Sex in heaven? I’ve heard it all now. I wouldn’t believe it if I was not talking to a freaking ghost. Hey, I have an idea. I’ll get a sketch artist, and you can tell me what to say to him. If we can get an excellent rendering of her I’ll get it on the air as a person we need to talk to, and we can go from there.”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me,” said Tim. He vanished as she let go of his hand.

  “Follow me down to the station, and I’ll see if David is available. I assume they won’t be able to see you?”

  Anita shrugged. “Hope not.”

  Outside Anita’s apartment, a black man wanted desperately to speak with the detective, but as the ghost tried to enter two tall skinny spirits who had been ugly in life and were now even uglier in death blocked him. Sunken eyes and crooked mouths, they could scare the bark off a tree. Just seeing one would be good for a nightmare or two.

  “Move aside and let me pass,” said Adika. The African had been bossed around in life and now this.

  “We will do no such thing,” said Melvin.

  Carl pushed Adika, and he was shocked that he felt it. And he was unable to approach the building, some spirit barrier. It wouldn’t work on any soul that had been to heaven, but having unfinished business Adika had not yet gone into the light.

  A fight ensued, more like energy battling energy, and unfortunately, Adika wasn’t able to overcome the two foes and was forced to be on his way.

  chapter five

  AUNT STELLA HAD LUNCH AT THE SPOTTED PIG restaurant once a month, and she always had the same thing, seared Spanish mackerel with Sweet Potato Mash & Pancetta, including Broccoli Rabe and Marjoram. Stella always had a glass of Pinot Noir. It cost her twenty-four dollars for the mackerel, but it was nice to get out and get rid of some of the cobwebs. It made her feel special and who didn’t want that.

  There was a ghost in here, a small boy wearing a sailor’s suit and long stockings. He was repeatedly running to the tables pretending to eat off of everyone’s plate. He looked to be about six and appeared to be having a lot of fun. He was from around 1910 or thereabouts. And then he vanished through the wall. No telling why he hadn’t gone to heaven, perhaps his father or mother was here as well. Or maybe he was just visiting?

  The food was delicious, but it aggravated her that ghosts always followed her in here, usually just to be chatty. Stella didn’t know why but it was a hot spot for them. However, she didn’t want to appear to be the fool that was seen talking to herself, but sometimes they just got to her. And some of the spirits just got a kick out of making her look crazy she supposed.

  Aunt Stella almost laughed out loud when the boy returned and was following the waiter around, mocking his steps and mannerisms. The little dickens was, of course, showing off for her.

  A desperate looking ghost halted outside the restaurant window, and he noticed that Aunt Stella was watching him. There were very few people that could see him; he had only encountered one about two years ago. He waved to her, and she instinctively waved back, immediately realizing that it might have been a mistake because now he knew she could see him. She supposed that she needed to learn to pretend not to notice, but that was easier said than accomplished.

  The black man went through the window and walked up to her at the table, pointed at the chair beside her. “Mind if I have a seat?” asked Adika. He was a ghost though only a little translucent. A waiter walked through him. “Don’t be rude.”

  Stella shook her head. “Please let me finish my wine in peace.” She took another drink.

  The ghost sat without permission. “A black woman is going to walk by shortly, and I need you to follow her. Please, it’s important.”

  Again, she shook her head. “I will do no such thing.” Stella noticed that she was getting a look from a young couple across from her, of course, they thought she was talking to herself and found it amusing. “See, you got those people thinking I’m nuts. I hope you are happy.”

  The ghost was now deadly serious. “You have to follow her. Olivia is involved in this. You need to follow her and tell Olivia where she lives.”

  That got Stella’s attention. “How do you know Olivia?”

  “That doesn't matter!” He tried to bang his fist on the table, but it didn’t work, lost his balance and went floating off but rushed back. “She’s coming! She’s going to be killed if he’s not stopped!”

  “If who’s not stopped? And why don’t you tell Anita yourself.” Stella took another drink and savored it.

  “I tried but two dark spirits are guarding her, and I couldn’t even let me get close.” The poor fellow really was beside himself.

  That got Stella’s attention. Evil spirits, if that’s what they were, could turn a person’s life upside down, or worse. “Dark spirits hanging around Olivia?”

  “Yes, yes! There she goes! God damn it!”

  “Don’t you dare use that language around me.” Aunt Stella looked out and saw Emma jogging past the restaurant. No way she would be able to keep up with someone that young, and she had to pay her bill first, though she was finished eating. The spirit shook his head and vanished, not at all happy with the result.

  Outside, Stella looked in the direction of the jogger, but there was no sign of her now as she had been moving at a good clip. If she tried to run that fast, she’d be dead in no time. And catching up with the woman when she didn’t even know where she went was impossible. In any manner what the hell was she supposed to have told her? A ghost said your life is in danger? That would have gone over well.

  Stella wondered what those dark souls were doing hanging around Olivia. The dead certainly had the advantage over the living. Aunt Stella dug Olivia’s new address out of her purse, hailed a taxi and was off.

  chapter six

  JACK PULLED OUT AND ROLLED off of Olivia. She shook her head and was not happy. Again, no orgasm for her, the Detective wasn’t even sure why she had given him another chance. He got dressed and sauntered into the kitchen and took off without saying another word. Olivia was getting ready to attach the tag weird to him. Her knight in shining armor was turning into an odd rich guy that always wore expensive underwear. Suddenly she had a peculiar look on her face; she reached in and pulled it out, the condom had come off inside her. Her eyebrows tightened as she shook her head.

  “You idiot!” Olivia went to the washroom and took a bath, thinking that in a week or two she would need to buy another one of these pregnancy test things and pee on it. She thought that there were enough people in this world and it really didn’t need another one. It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford a baby, but it would complicate things. Her life wouldn’t be favorable for a child, though it could be altered Olivia supposed. “The next time I see him I should just shoot him.” Of course, she wasn’t serious.

  She’d have to take maternity leave and would she even want to return to such a dangerous job if she had a child? Probably not. And then there were the ghosts. Oliv
ia envisioned a baby girl toddling around the apartment but then shook her head at the thought that Jack would be her father. Not that he was a bad guy, but Jack sucked at lovemaking, and he wasn’t the responsible type. In any case, the world needed fewer people not more. Seven billion and counting, or was it eight now?

  Outside the Detective’s apartment building Aunt Stella’s taxi had pulled up to the curb; she got out and stared up at the monster of a building. Two ghosts appeared and tried to scare her away, but she just laughed. She reached in her Michael Kors purse that Olivia had given her for Christmas last year and pulled out her prayers beads, both spirits held their hands up to their faces and quickly vanished.

  Ding Dong!

  Was he back already? Maybe he forgot his wallet or something? If she ignored it whoever it was would go away. But something told her it might be important, so she pulled on her overcoat and went to take a peek through the peephole. “Aunt Stella? Come in, come in, what are you doing here?”

  Aunt Stella let herself fall on the sofa. “I got accosted by a ghost at the Spotted Pig. Wanted me to follow a jogger by the name of Emma as she went running as if I could keep up with someone that was running. And what a runner that one was, you should have seen her move. If I ran that fast, I’d need to be near the hospital or the morgue.”

  “Do you know where Emma lives? It’s important.”

  “So you are involved with another case that involves a ghost. I just knew it. She ran past the restaurant; I have no idea where Emma lives. I suppose that she might run by there again tomorrow.”

  “If she’s still alive to do so. Anita is back and telling me that Emma is in imminent danger. Aunt Stella, why do you suppose they involved you?”

  Stella huffed. “Because they like to pester the life out of me that’s why. No, not everyone can see spirit, aren’t we the lucky ones? Here, take this and hang it.” She gave Olivia a pair of prayer beads.