“Yes, how did you know?” Lincoln asked in surprise.
“I see…spirits, ghost…you know, things that don’t exist anymore. I see them from time to time. However, I have never seen them as clear as I see you guys. Are those kids on the swings with you?” He asked. “And what exactly are you?”
I found myself absurdly laughing. “Gifted, like you,” I explained. “My youngest brother led us here, and we followed.”
“I shouldn’t have asked,” he muttered. “I liked it better when I thought I was the only…freak out there. You mean to tell me there are others out there like me?”
“Maybe not just like you,” Lincoln answered with a smirk. “But you are definitely not the only freak out there.”
Another cop car pulled up, followed by an ambulance. “Back here,” Perry called out to his back up.
“Get out of here,” Hale yelled. “You are trespassing. You need to leave now.”
“What’s going on Perry?” Two officers came up beside Perry.
“I’m sorry sir, we can not do that,” Perry insisted. “I saw a rock being launched out the window. If you are here and you claim to be alone, who threw the rock?” Then he turned to the other officers. “Neighbor called in a possible break-in. The homeowner seemed reluctant to allow me to search the premises. Then a rock was launched inside the window although he claims he’s the only one here.”
“It came from your direction,” Hale cursed.
Perry snorted. “But we were the only ones here, sir. I didn’t do it, and you didn’t do it. Maybe someone else is here.” He then turned to look at the other two officers. “We should search the premises.”
“I saw it,” the man from next door chimed in. “The rock shattered that window.”
“Shut the hell up,” Hale screamed at his neighbor. “Just keep your damn dog on your side of the fence.”
Note to self, always be kind to my neighbors when or if I lived in a neighborhood.
The dog walker really had it out for his neighbor. There was no way he saw the rock come from above since I launched it from the ground.
“He poisoned my dog,” the man yelled back.
I grimaced. If the man’s dog had wandered into his yard, poisoning it was a bit excessive.
“Hale, just let them have a look,” the wife said in irritation.
“No,” Hale said in a voice full of panic as she tried to lunge back into the garage once more, even if the door was now about five feet from the bottom of the sill. “This is my sanctuary, and no one’s defiling it.”
“Ma’am, is there another way into the apartment?” Perry enquired congenially.
“Yes,” she said in exasperation as she walked over to the door to the bottom half of the garage.
“Hannah, no!” Hale yelled.
One of the officers laughed. “I’m going to get the fire department out here with a ladder. What happened there by the way?”
“I don’t know,” Perry shrugged. “I was just talking to the homeowner, and the stairs gave way. Maybe the structural support gave in.”
“Bullshit,” Hale cried out. “You did something! Hannah, call our lawyers! You will not let them in here, you bitch!”
Hannah seemed slightly taken aback for a moment. “I’m sorry officers, I really don’t know what’s gotten into him. He’s normally not like this. These stairs lead up to his apartment. He doesn’t like anyone up there. He writes jingles for commercials and likes to keep everything in its place. No one’s allowed up there or his office. They're like his mancaves. You know how that is.”
“Brace yourself,” Lincoln told Perry grimly. “This is the stuff nightmares are made of. Think of something to warn your friends.”
Perry looked over his shoulder before nodding and going up the stairs.
“Bye-bye, bad man,” Harry said before he laid his head on my chest.
“Bye-bye, bad man,” I repeated as I gently rocked him.