Ghosts See Me, But I See You: Brothers Book One

Chapter One: A Year Later, A Mystery

Chapter 1

One Year Later:

October 24, 2019, Albuquerque, NM

    IF THERE WAS one thing Tansy hated most, it was Halloween. She was fine from November 3 to about September 26. However, when October started looming on the horizon, she found herself wanting to hide. Not just from the living, but from the dead as well. Especially from the dead. Oh, she saw the dead any time of the year, but the month of October was a like the ultimate convention of ghosts every year. Sometimes, it was all she could do to keep her sanity until after Dia de los Muertos. And, if seeing them wasn't bad enough, hearing them didn't help matters.

    All those voices. 

    Screaming.

    Crying.

    Yelling.

    Being defensive or demanding.

    Or just down right pissed off.

    It was enough to drive one over the edge.

     Sometimes, she wondered if she would go crazy from it.

    If you have to wonder that, then you won't, her mother used to say. To which she'd have to wonder if her mother only said that just for giggles. 

    Because, really It was unsettling to hear all those voices in her head.

    So, she wasn't too surprised when she saw, out her living room window, a wraith-like teenaged boy in blue jeans, t-shirt and a plaid overshirt. He looked ragged with eyes sunken, skin grayish blue. He kept pointing toward the west.  

    Okay...that is unnerving. Just what I need. 

    And he wouldn't say anything.  Just kept on pointing.

    The reason it wasn't too surprising was because, for the fourth day in a row, the boy appeared in her front yard, pointing west. Yet while she had been trying to figure out what he was pointing to, he didn't really say anything to give her clues.

    And the sensations that came from him were garbled, somehow not coherent.

    She hated when she couldn't understand what they were trying to convey.

    She kept her eyes on him as she reached over to the nearby table and picked up her sketchpad and pencil. She began to sketch the boy. As she did so, she wondered who she would take the drawing to as most didn't ‘like’ to deal with her abilities.  

    He jabbed a finger west, eyes imploring her.  

    "I get it," she said. "But you gotta help me out here."

    He came closer to the window, and she could see the ligature marks around his neck, around his wrists.  His eyes were sunken and dull. He still jabbed his finger west.

    He'd been strangled.  Murdered.

    Now she had a clear idea of his state of mind; fear, distress, confusion.

    Tansy gulped. "Tell me something?"

    At that remark, he turned his whole body to face her. Then, he opened his mouth in a wide, black, gaping hole. It was a silent scream.

    Tansy yelped and dropped the tablet and the pencil. "Oh, my God!"

    The boy's tongue had been cut out.

    THE MINUTE she walked into the building, she wondered if she'd made a mistake.  After all, she hadn't seen him for almost a year. In her hand was the sketch.  She made her way to a desk where a desk sergeant sat, rifling through papers.

    "Excuse me?" Tansy said. "Is Detective Apodaca in?"

    The woman looked up at her, a tired expression on her face. "Do you have an appointment?"

    "Uhm, no"  She shook herself.  "But it is important."

    "I'm sure it is" the woman said with disinterest, "Sit down, and I'll see if he's available."  She stood, then looked at Tansy. "What is your name?"

    She let go of a breath. "Tansy Luna."  And she sat in a nearby chair.  

    Oh, I shouldn't have come here. It's not like he'll remember me or believe me anyway.

    She should have just left the sketch and left, mailed it, Or something that didn't require her to face him. Too many times she'd been shunned for her ability, and too many times she had been treated like the freak. Detective Apodaca had said he believed her a year ago, but she wondered.

    She waited for what seemed like forever, when the woman came back, followed by the detective.

    He eyed her curiously when he approached her. "Tansy? That you?"

    She jumped up a little too quickly. He remembered me?  "I'm, ah, sure I'm the last person you'd want to see, but I need to talk to you."

    He raised his eyebrows, and looked almost amused. "Okay, shall we go to my office?"

    Tansy nodded and followed him down a small hallway to an office with a large window. She was uncomfortable as she sat in the chair he offered, and she found herself fidgeting with nervousness. "I hope I am not bothering you," she said in a rush. She didn't want to bother him, but this needed his attention. 

    I can't believe he remembered me.

"Not at all," Matthew said. "You kind of disappeared on me." He smiled at her, his blue eyes softly glittering. Those same feelings she got from him a year ago were still there. Strength, protection, safety. Warmth...

    Tansy found herself blushing.  "Well," she said a bit sheepishly. "I didn't think you'd want to see me after the last time."  That was true. She didn't think he did want to see her again. So she'd gone about her life, staying far away from the dashing, blue-eyed detective.

    Matthew raised his eyebrows. "Why?" he asked. "Because of your tip for finding the body of Monica Ortiz?" He let out a chuckle. "I told you I believed you. Besides, it did help us close the case."

    Tansy eyed him, trying to determine the truth of his words.  "Uh, glad I could help," she replied, not really sure what to say. "What would you do if I brought you a picture of a boy I think is missing?"

    Matthew looked at her as he sat behind his desk. "How do you know he's missing?"

    "He told me"

     Matthew eyed her, then grinned. A very cute lopsided grin that made his blue eyes twinkle. The two-day beard enhanced his jaw line and the cleft in his chin. Enhanced the dimples in his cheeks. His smile is pretty.

    Oh, for... Get a grip..

    "I take it he's a ghost?" he asked seriously.

    Tansy let out a frustrated sigh. Yet, she was mystified by his reaction. She scrutinized him for a moment, didn't understand why he was so...accepting of everything.  "Look, I know how this sounds, but I am telling you, this boy is in danger."  Then, as if adding to the truth of it all, she whipped out the sketch, slapped it down on the desk. "Or was in danger."

    Matthew looked down at the drawing. A young teenage boy looked back at him. The sketch was done very well, with hints of color in the hair and eyes, the clothing. He looked up at Tansy. "You drew this?" When she nodded, he said, "It's very impressive."

    She frowned at him. 

    He smiled at her. "He tell you his name?"

    "No." She sighed. "He can't...talk. His tongue has been removed."

    Matthew's eyes widened. "Excuse me?" 

    Tansy leaned back in the chair, arms crossed over her chest.  "Well I didn't remove his tongue!" she snapped. 

    And Matthew Apodaca laughed. A full rich and hearty sound. A sound that was almost soothing to her. A sound that made her feel... warm. Happy?

    Oh. Okay. Focus...  The things coming out of her mouth!  He was making her extremely nervous...

    "I didn't say you did. The announcement shocked me, is all."  He still let out a chuckle at the sour look on her face, "Okay, I'm sorry."  He sobered "I can run the sketch and see if he is in the missing persons database."

    She looked at him for empathy. "That's all I ask."  She stood and walked to the door. When she opened it, she turned back to Matthew.  "Oh, he was pointing toward the west."  A shrug. "I don't know what that means."  Then she left.

    MATTHEW sat there, perplexed.  

    He hadn't expected to see her again. After all, it had been one year since he'd seen her last. A year and he hadn't forgotten about her. Remembered her vividly.

    Okay, so he wanted to see her again and he had let her disappear.  He could have found her, but had chosen to let her be.

    Tansy Luna was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. Her strange abilities aside, he found her compelling in a way he had not found with any other woman, with those spring-green eyes and that dark, auburn hair. In the brief time he'd known her, including this visit, he found himself curious about her, wanting to know her. But, after Monica Ortiz was found, all the questioning had, he knew, scared her away. His superior officer, Captain Joshua Minor was one of the ones who was skeptical about Tansy's gift, or her involvement in the case. 

    And yet...Matthew wanted to know more about her.

    Then, there she was, giving him a sketch of a teen who was, she believed, missing. 

    And she'd left again, leaving him stunned.  

    She'd been defensive, and he couldn't blame her. He got the distinct impression that she spent her time being defensive about her abilities. On the other hand, she had sought him out to ask him to look into the boy, whom she had drawn.

    And he believed her. Believed she saw the things she did. It was hard not to believe.

    Considering.

    Considering he'd seen a few things in his life that had made him question his sanity. And not just the things he'd seen in Afghanistan.

    He looked down at the sketch again. Once more, he was impressed by the rendering, the beautiful hints of color, the careful way the boy's face was drawn. With love. With a passion for detail that created a sketch that was almost photographic. 

    In this rendering, Matthew saw Tansy's passion for people. Her passion for humanity.

    He stared at the drawing. Who are you, young man? What happened to you?

    He stood, picked up the drawing, and headed down the hallway to the bullpen "Callum" he said as he approached the other man's desk "I need you to look up a missing person" He stepped around the desk to the scanner/copy machine.

    Callum McGrath looked up at him. "A missing? Who?"  His thick Scottish accent added a flare to every word.

    "Don't know, that's why we need the facial recognition," Matthew replied. He pushed a button on the machine, which then made a copy of the sketch. Once the copy was made, he took it. "It's a teenager, a boy." 

    Callum whistled. "Oh, that's nae good. Being a kid"  He moved the cursor over the screen to have the scanner input the picture onto the computer.  "And we don' know th' wee boy's name?"

    Matthew shook his head. "Just this picture" He put a hand on Callum's shoulder. "See what you can find. I'm going to talk to Joshua and Philip."

    "Aye, I'll let ye know what I find out" 

    Matthew smiled at his friend. "Thanks, buddy." He then walked toward Joshua's office.