“Good job, Davidson,” one of the officers said as I walked out. The skeleton crew that was manning the station stood and offered smiles and nods of approval. Their way of saying congratulations. After years of living on the receiving end of hostile looks and snide remarks, it was a little disturbing.
“We’ll get your Jeep to you tomorrow,” Garrett said, following us out. He helped me into Ubie’s SUV and made sure I buckled my seat belt before closing the door. “Good job,” he mouthed as we drove out of the lot. It was all getting a little creepy.
Once back in my apartment, I felt a thousand times better. I hadn’t realized how tired I was. Uncle Bob helped me in and waited while I changed into my pj’s so he could check my ankle one more time.
The lawyers met me in my bedroom after I’d changed.
“We did it,” Elizabeth said, an excited glow lighting her face.
“Yes, we did.” I stepped into her arms for a frosty hug.
“So, what now?” Barber asked.
I looked at him almost sadly. “Now you cross.”
Elizabeth turned, stepped toward him. “Well, if you ever get by that way, I’m in the first grave on the right of that new addition.”
He chuckled. “I’m way on the other side. My funeral was … nice.”
“Mine, too.”
“I might be wrong,” I said, trying not to laugh, “so don’t come back and haunt me or anything, but I’m pretty sure you guys will see each other where you’re going. I have a strong suspicion friends and loved ones are very close over there.”
“It’s so strange,” Elizabeth said. “I feel like I want to go now. Almost like I don’t have a choice.”
“I feel the same way,” Barber said. He took her hand as if to anchor himself to the spot.
“The pull is strong,” I explained. “Why do you think there aren’t more of you on Earth? It’s warm and it’s alluring, and it’s where you need to be.”
They looked at each other and smiled. Without another word, they were gone.
Crossings from my perspective were a little like watching people disappear before my eyes. I felt them as they drifted through me. Their emotions. Their fears. Their hopes and dreams. But I had yet to feel hatred, animosity, or jealousy. Mostly, I felt an overwhelming sense of love. Every time someone crossed, my faith in humanity grew.
Elizabeth had left everything she had to her nieces and nephew, and a few years ago, Barber had taken out an enormous life insurance policy. His mother was going to be a very rich woman. Though I was certain she would rather have had her son, I hoped it would offer her a little comfort. He’d ended up writing his mother a letter after all, like Elizabeth and Sussman, and while his was a little less … poignant, I felt certain his mother would appreciate it.
I turned to Sussman. “What about you?”
He’d been staring out my window. He lowered his head. “I can’t leave.”
“Patrick, they’ll be fine.”
“I know. I’ll go, just not yet.”
He disappeared before I could say anything else.
“Hey, pumpkin head.”
Turning to Aunt Lillian, I almost screamed aloud when I saw who she was with. Instead, I forced a smile and said, “Hey, Aunt Lil, Mr. Habersham.” Mr. Habersham was the dead guy from 2B for whom I’d invented the transcendental pest repellent.
They were all googly and giggly, and I threw up a little in my mouth.
But Aunt Lillian had the sweetest look on her soft, wrinkly face. “We’re going down to the Margarita Grill to smell the lobster, then we’re going to watch the sunrise, and in between we’ll probably have hot, unsafe animal sex.”
Wh-what? Even my internal dialogue stuttered. I couldn’t believe what she’d just said. Does the Margarita Grill even serve lobster? “ ’Kay, Aunt Lil, have fun!”
All right, I’ll admit it, the thought of those two having hot, unsafe animal sex was a bit creepy, especially since my aunt didn’t have any teeth, but honestly, their body temperatures were just below freezing. How hot could it get?
I hobbled back into the living room, wondering if I should tell Ubie what his great-aunt was up to, then decided against it.
“I still can’t believe you did this,” he said, shaking his head as he unwrapped my ankle. “You make it through a drunken bully hell-bent on rearranging your face, a ten-foot fall through a skylight, and not one, but two attempted murders, only to be brought down by a stiletto. I knew those things were dangerous.”
“A genetic tendency toward mental illness is dangerous, too, but you don’t see me complaining.”
He chuckled and tossed the bandage onto my thrift-store sofa. “The swelling has gone down. A lot. That’s amazing.”
The swelling had gone down. I guess Reyes was right. I did tend to heal PDQ compared to those around me. And it took a lot to bring me down. Obviously. “You can just leave off the wrap. It feels tons better now.”
“Okay, guess I’ll go, then. But I had something to tell you,” he said as he rose and headed for the door. “Oh, I got ahold of my judge friend. She’s checking into your injunction.”
Relief flooded every cell in my body. Now to figure it out from there, how to stop the state permanently, in case Reyes didn’t come out of it.
“And dispatch called. Father Federico is resting well at the hospital and sends over a huge thanks. Teddy’s with him now. The father would like to see you when you can stop by.” He turned and headed for the door again, then stopped and scratched his head. “And the DA will start the paperwork for Mark Weir’s release first thing in the morning.” He started for the door again and stopped … again. I tried not to laugh. He was never going to make it home at this rate.