Shaking Off the Dust Page 24

  I darted my eyes to Takeshi pleading with him to stay before I finally spoke it aloud. “I want him with me.”

  “I will be.” Takeshi came to me taking the hairs out of my hand. We headed to the veranda. It was much cooler today. As we stepped out, a wind came sweeping up nearly pushing me into the door. Takeshi bought me back inside. We followed him to the library. He and I took the couch and once I was comfortable he gave me all of the hairs.

  I held them in my hand and slowly opened my eyes. “Hello, what’s your name?” I asked the boy standing across the room. “You have the whitest hair I’ve ever seen. How old are you?”

  The boy looked at me, but wasn’t talking. I reached out my other hand and touched Takeshi’s tattoo. Tom appeared sitting next to me. “Tom, can you introduce me?”

  “Brodie here doesn’t have much to say. I riled him up enough to get a name, but that was it.”

  “Brodie who?” I raised an eyebrow in appraisal. “Brodie, do you know where you are? Can you believe you are in Spain? Hector, tell Brodie all about Spain in Spanish.”

  Hector greeted the child and gave his name.

  When he finished talking to him, Brodie crossed his arms. “We are not in Spain. This is Texas. All kinds of people speak Spanish in Texas.”

  I smiled. “Well you have me there, but this is Spain and Hector is a real Spaniard. He and Enrique and Mateo.” I pointed to them. “They are handsome Spaniards and they work for the government. This is Bill, Jack and Rachel, and they work for the FBI.”

  “The real FBI?” He walked over to them.

  “Yep, real FBI. The FBI went to the compound where you were taken and arrested all those adults who kidnapped you. They need to know who hurt you, what happened. That’s why they brought you to me.”

  “You mean the ones who killed me. I know I’m not alive anymore. I can walk through walls. I can even walk through people,” he declared proudly.

  “Wow, I can’t do that.”

  “You can see me and that old guy named Tom. He’s been kind of mean, yelling at me.”

  “Tom has poor manners, but he’ll behave better. Didn’t Bethann talk to you?”

  “The lady with all the other kids around her? She’s too busy with those crybabies. I don’t cry. I don’t need her to wipe my tears,” he proclaimed coldly.

  “Okay. I can’t wipe your tears, but I can listen and tell the FBI who killed you. I can also watch when you step into the light.”

  He jerked his head up. “You’ve seen the light?”

  “Tom has told me. He is going into the light when we finish the investigation he is helping the FBI and Spanish government with. I can see if he’d let you walk with him. Truthfully, he’s a friend of mine and I don’t want him to be alone. I plan to be there.”

  “Is he afraid of the light?” Brodie looked over at Tom.

  “Ask him. He’s all bark, but he’d never hurt a soul. He’s a doctor and did you know he did brain surgery on me?”

  “He did? What’s your name? Who beat you up?”

  “My name is Hannah Campbell, Tom did brain surgery and a bad man hit me. It looks better than it did.”

  “Looks like it hurt bad.”

  “Yes, it hurt bad. I’m a crybaby sometimes too.” I dared Takeshi and the others to say anything about that comment with a quick sweep of my eyes.

  “You cried, so what? You’re a girl. Girls cry.” He said that like it was a given.

  “You’re insulting me now. Not all girls cry. Rachel over there, I bet she wouldn’t cry.”

  “The other two girls with that Bethann”—he pointed—“have been crying since I got here, and Nicholas cries too,” Brodie announced, disgust in his voice.

  “People cry, Brodie. You can too. It’s not shameful.”

  “My dad said no real man cries.” He was quoting.

  “Tell me about your dad?”

  “No. He’s a drunk and a junkie.” His arms uncrossed and he held them straight down, opening and closing his fists in agitation. His limbs were long and awkward, like puberty was just beginning its effect on his body. The scruffy tee shirt he wore was from Robot Chicken and torn jeans completed his outfit.

  “I’m sorry, Brodie. He hurt you too?”

  “I wouldn’t cry for him.”

  “He’s not here, so if you want to, you can. We all have cried when we were sad. Tell me, Brodie, tell me what happened to you.”

  “I ran away. Pop hit me again. I told him if he hit me I was gone. I found a shelter downtown in Houston. Some lady who delivered food in a van bragged she was going to another shelter, a richer one where there was better food and more beds. She said she’d take some of us kids. There were six of us. She gave us a sandwich for the drive. We all went to sleep and woke up at the farm.”

  I repeated his words to the others. “What happened there? Who hurt you?”

  “I tried to run away every day so they locked me in a closet. They didn’t feed me for several days. They let me out and I tried to run away again. They put me back in the closet, only this time they never came back. When they found me dead in the closet the bald guy, Marcus, complained they were supposed to bring me water, not food. He didn’t explain that to them very well.”

  Brodie came up to me. “You are a crybaby. You don’t even know me. Why are you crying?” He put his palm under my chin to catch a tear that splashed down my face, and it passed through his open hand. He looked surprised, as if he felt something go through his body during that instant.

  I took a deep shuddering breath. “I know you now. They were bad people and you suffered. No one is allowed to make people suffer like that. Do you remember their names, the ones who locked you up?”

  “I know all of their names.”

  I repeated names and told his story, and I sobbed. Brodie came to sit next to me and attempted to hug me. “No one cried for me before.”

  I put my hand out and tried to wipe his tears, and he laughed at me.

  “You’re right. You suck at being anything but a crybaby.” Brodie walked over to Tom and crossed his arms. “As a favor to Hannah, I’ll walk into the light with you. I want to work with the FBI too.”

  “You already did.” I sniffed. “How old are you, Brodie?”

  “Twelve. Who’s the Chinese guy sitting so close to you? He your boyfriend?”

  “He’s Japanese and Taiwanese, and he is more than my boyfriend. He’s also Tom’s best friend. His name is Takeshi Shimodo. He’s a doctor. You can go to him anytime you need something and I’m not available.”

  “He can’t see or hear me. How’s he going to help?”

  “Tom, tell Shimodo what Brodie just said, please.”

  Tom stepped behind Takeshi and played a rhythm on his shoulder.

  “He said, ‘I can’t see him or hear him. How can I help?’” Takeshi added, “Brodie, all of us are here to help you and the others. We’re also here to protect Hannah. If you choose to stay until Tom leaves, you’ll also need to look after her. I won’t let you stay unless you can swear to me you’ll protect her.”

  “Why do you need protection?” Brodie’s curious blue eyes peered at me.

  “I can communicate with ghosts if I touch them. I’m holding a piece of your hair, that makes it possible for me to see you. There was a plane crash, the plane Tom was on. Terrorists put a bomb on board. Through Tom, Takeshi and I are helping the FBI and Spanish Government find them. Somebody doesn’t want us to help.”

  Brodie went up to Takeshi and tapped his shoulder. “Tell him I promise. Can you keep the hair so you can see and hear me all the time?”

  “I’ll see what I can do. I’m getting a new tattoo, maybe we can get you thrown in the batch.” I turned to Takeshi.

  He shook his head. “One more person intruding on our privacy, Hannah. I’ll only do it if he promises not to bother you once you go to your room for the evening. We need time alone and you need time to rest.”

  Tom sniggered, but I had my hand still on Takeshi tattoo a
nd I gave him a quelling look.

  “Brodie, once I go to my room at night you will not visit or bother us unless you are called. You must promise this before Takeshi will let you be put into the tattoo on me.”

  Brodie waggled his eyebrows. “I understand that your boyfriend wants to be alone with you. That’s okay. I’ll stay with Tom, that is if he doesn’t yell.” I laughed at Tom, who shook his head. “Hannah, you are getting me involved with way too many children. I don’t know how to be around children.”

  “I think Brodie is older than most his age. You should know, Tom, you went through the foster system. It’s why you’re not good with kids. You never got to be one.”

  “You talk too much, Hannah,” Tom muttered.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” God, I had such a big mouth. I’d made Tom mad at me. I looked around at all the faces in the room and stood.

  I handed each hair to Bill until the last one, which made Brodie disappear from me. I took it back, ready to hand it to Takeshi.

  Bill frowned. “Hannah, we still need you to talk to the other children.”

  “It’s breaking my heart, Bill.”

  “We need to know what happened to them and the names of who did it. It’s easier for us all to get it straight from you. No room for misinterpretation.”

  “She’s going to cry again, isn’t she?” Brodie whispered to Tom.

  “Brodie don’t bait me,” I snapped, but I stayed.

  Bill handed me the hairs, which I added to Sharon’s and Bethann’s. I put them in my hand, all of them, and closed my eyes, calling for Bethann. I didn’t want to open my eyes, because I didn’t want to do this. At work I could look at the most horrendous accident victim and be impassive as I took care of them. Lately, I cried at the drop of a pin. I couldn’t blame PMS for everything, but I was going to try.

  Bethann sat across from me in the chair next to Bill. In her arms was a young child, a little girl of about four. She had dark curls all over her head and she clung to Bethann like she never planned to let go. Standing next to her, but holding Sharon’s hand was a young boy, red haired and nearly toothless, looking to be about seven.

  I nodded at Bethann and she stroked the small child’s hair, twisting a curl in her fingertips. “This is Lissa. She doesn’t remember her last name. She doesn’t remember much. She was playing and hit her hand on a rock out in the garden. It hurt and began to swell and turn red. She was sick for many days. A man with no hair on his head came to see her and Miss Louise asked him if she could take her to a doctor, but he refused and hit Miss Louise. That’s all she knows.”

  I repeated everything to the others. “Sounds like she got septic from a simple scratch on her hand and they wouldn’t take her to a doctor for treatment.”

  “There’s a Melissa Malone listed as missing from Waco, Texas. Her mother was a volunteer at a shelter. Melissa disappeared during one of her shifts there,” Jack read from his PDA. He handed it to me with a picture on the screen, the same little girl sitting across from me.

  “Yes, that’s her.” I stared at the woman in the picture with her. “Melissa”—I held up the PDA—“is this your mommy?”

  She looked at the screen and her eyes got big. “Yes, that’s Mommy. Is she here?”

  “No, but she’s looking for you. She has missed you a lot.” The little girl burst into tears. I gave the PDA back to Jack and stood abruptly. I didn’t want to do this. The little ones, that’s what I forgot. The children who came to us hurt or dying, they always got to me. “I have to get some air.” I rushed blindly from the room.

  I felt Takeshi behind me as he took my elbow. “Let’s go for a little stroll.”

  We walked out on the veranda, and Tom and Brodie joined us. We sat on a swing. I huddled against Takeshi, my hand on his tattoo. The wind bit my face, but I wasn’t shivering from the temperature. My heart was filled with rage. It was making me cold. I needed his warmth. I needed my man’s kindness and comfort. His arms pulled me into him and my head was tucked under his chin.

  “I should be able to do this. I don’t understand why this is so hard. It’s not my nature to cry all the time. I’m jaded and bitchy, not weepy and whatever this is. What’s happening to me?”

  “Hannah, you see ghosts. You were struck by lightning, interrogated by the FBI, the Spanish government, beaten up by criminals, not to mention the whole other issue I’m not allowed to discuss without proof.” Takeshi rubbed his chin against my forehead. “I think any one of those things would make a person emotional. You are amazing.”

  “Shimodo, I warned you about the FOS factor. You’re sweet to give me an excuse for my wuss tendencies. I don’t like being this way, so help me stop it.”

  “Sorry, it’s therapeutic and as your doctor I feel you need to express your inner crybaby,” he teased.

  “You like to play doctor with me, but beyond that, I don’t know.” I felt better falling into our banter. Making jokes was one way of relieving the stress and he knew it was my strong suit.

  “You two always glued to each other like that?” Brodie interrupted. “What are you talking about? Tom said it was none of my business, but he’s not talking much, so I figure I’ll hang out with you.”

  “Brodie wants to know if we are always glued to each other and what we are talking about,” I said to Takeshi.

  “I try to stay glued to her as much as I can,” Takeshi replied. “She’s very strict about not making all the other men jealous. They all want their turn.”

  “He always talk that kind of boloney?” Brodie shook his head.

  I laughed. “Yes, he always talks that kind of boloney. He pretends I am an attractive woman, despite my likeness to the elephant woman. He thinks I need the moral support.”

  “What does that mean, moral support?”

  “It means I’m sad and he’s trying to make me feel better. Pretending I’m an attractive woman makes me feel better.”

  “When your face is back to normal, I’ll tell you if you’re pretty or not,” Brodie informed me.

  “I’ll remind you that you said that. Then I want an honest opinion.”

  “She is beautiful.” Tom came up and tried to thump Brodie on the back on his head, but the boy dodged him. “She is beautiful even now. A person’s soul is reflected in their eyes.”

  “They look all swollen to me.” Brodie stuck his tongue out at Tom. “You can’t touch me unless I allow it. I know the rules of being a ghost now.”

  “You are a brat, boy,” Tom groaned, which made Brodie grin even wider.

  “Tom, what a nice thing to say about me.” I teared up again.

  “Tom, don’t be nice to her now, give her hell,” Takeshi chided.

  “Sorry. Hannah, you’re a pain the ass, straighten up and fly right. Oh, and you should keep your balcony door shut at night. Everyone on the second floor could hear you having sex last night. It was like being back in the dorms.”

  I laughed. “Yes, that’s more the thing. Stick with what you’re good at.”

  “Don’t encourage him,” Takeshi warned. “He already has a thing for you. Now he’s going to convince himself he would have had a chance with you.”

  “I would have, because I would have never introduced the two of you until she was well and truly mine.”

  I shook my head.

  “What did he say now?” Takeshi frowned.

  “Nothing you need to hear. He mentioned what tactics he might have used. I don’t think you or I could say what might have happened. Although I’m afraid nothing would have happened for any of us. It took the hand of God to shake us out of our complacent lives. I think I recognize his fingerprints now.”

  “Very funny.” Tom wasn’t laughing. “I plan to meet up with him in a little while, so try not to piss him off as I step into the light.”

  I chuckled and told Takeshi. He grinned at me.

  “Let’s go back in. I’m ready to face everyone again. Thank you, all my boys helped me but I have to admit, I’m most partial
to Takeshi’s warmth.”

  “You’re prejudiced against the dead,” Tom complained.

  I put my hand out to Tom and touched his cheek. He tried to put his hand on mine. “My sweet Tom, I hope you find all things in the next world. You certainly got gypped here.”

  “I hate being left out of the conversation. He said something charming, and I can’t compete unless I know what he said.” Takeshi pulled me with him. “Tom, stop hitting on my woman.”

  “I can’t believe I make him jealous. I feel better now too.” Tom grinned.

  “I thought he is your best friend? Why would he be jealous?” Brodie asked.

  “Because he doesn’t like the idea that Hannah might care about someone else as much as she cares about him,” Tom declared proudly.

  “Okay, cut it out.” I walked with Takeshi into the house. “Just be his friend, not his would-be rival. It’s all a moot point now. I am with Takeshi.”

  Takeshi stopped us and leaned down. “Marry me?”

  “I was feeling so much better,” I said.

  I went up to our room to freshen up. The crying had caused my face to swell up more, with red streaks down to my cheek. “Lovely.”

  I threaded my way through a lot of rooms until a maid found me. She beckoned me to follow her and we ended up in the kitchen. Takeshi was mixing ink and ash, the rest of our group in a circle behind him. A chair was empty beside him.

  “We’re ready. Have a seat.” Takeshi unwrapped a small artist brush. I sat across from him and inclined my head. I lifted my leg and put it on his. I pulled away when I realized it was the leg with stitches.

  He raised his eyebrow at me. “I need that ankle.”

  “That’s your bad one. Switch legs so I’m not hurting you.”

  He did and I complied. He pulled off my socks and rolled up my jeans. With a small knife, he scraped the skin, dipped his brush in the ink and began to redraw the symbol. When he finished, I called for Tom and Brodie. They both appeared.

  I nodded. “They are here.”

  He put on another layer, then plastic wrap after it dried a bit.

  He redid his own tattoo and wrapped it before he looked at the others. Enrique came forward and pulled back his sweater to expose his left inner arm. In a matter of an hour, everyone was wrapped in plastic. I grinned at how absurd my life felt at the moment.