CHAPTER FOUR -- SOMETIMES YOU SEE CLEARLY AT THE MOMENT OF DEATH

  1

  Ross rode with Dodd in a nondescript late-model sedan. Ross scanned the street, as if hoping to spot Toth’s pistol. “Besides checking storm drains, what else is being done to find my soul?”

  Dodd replied, “Scythe pistols transmit a signal. But since we haven't heard anything from Toth's pistol, we assume it was damaged when he was run over.”

  “Would that have hurt my soul?” Ross asked.

  “No, the soul storage cell is durable. We're hoping the pistol is still transmitting its location.” Dodd pointed at a cheap-looking device with a tiny radar dish duct-taped to his dashboard. “The signal from his Scythe will probably be weak. But this should be able to detect its beacon.”

  “That looks like a toy you'd find in the bottom of a box of sugar cereal,” Ross said, unimpressed.

  “Admittedly, the range is limited, but every reaper’s car in the precinct now has one installed.”

  Ross stared forlornly at the sad-looking contraption. “Shouldn't the radar dish be moving?”

  Dodd tapped the unit until the radar dish haltingly rotated. “It sticks sometimes.” A moment later, a wisp of smoke wafted out and the device stopped turning. Dodd frowned.

  “Well, I am so clearly screwed.”

  2

  Ross and Dodd walked up the hill in the park towards the picnic area where Ross died.

  “Why would you bring me here?” Ross asked.

  “I want you to tell me everything you remember from the day you died,” Dodd replied.

  “I already told you everything.”

  “Memory is a funny thing. Take a minute, look around. Something new might come to you.”

  “This is about that other reaper,” Ross stated flatly.

  “Yes, Toth was here to reap a soul,” Dodd said as he pointed to the street to where Toth was run over. “He got hit by a bus right over there.”

  “Why is this so important to you?”

  Dodd thought about it. “He was a friend.” He studied Ross. “I don't have many.”

  “They said something about him drinking. Reapers can get drunk?” Ross asked.

  “Yes, alcohol reacts with the serum that keeps us functioning. It has the same effect on us as it does on the living. Sometimes stronger,” Dodd explained.

  “It seems like you don't agree that it was his drinking that caused this mess.”

  “Toth made mistakes. But there's no way he'd screw up like that. The chief won't even consider any other possibilities. It's not right. That's why I need you to remember,” Dodd stated.

  “I doubt I can help. I was still alive when it happened. I wouldn't have been able to see Toth.”

  “Sometimes people see clearly at the moment of death. You might have witnessed something.”

  They reached the area where Ross died. Other people ate nearby, oblivious to the men. Ross looked at the site, forlorn. “I was going to surprise her with a romantic picnic. Candles. Roses.”

  “It’s a good spot. Scenic,” Dodd said.

  “This is where Theda and I first met five years ago. I was a newbie paramedic, treating a homeless man who was acting erratically and collapsed on the bike path. While I was taking his vitals, he became nauseous and puked all over me. It was projectile vomit, in great abundance and of a thick, creamy consistency as I recall.” Ross shook his head at the memory.

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  A small smirk of amusement cracked Dodd’s stoic countenance.

  “The homeless man recovered, but I was the real winner of the day.” Ross pointed at a nearby water fountain. “I was over there, rinsing vomit out of my hair and uniform. Theda happened to be jogging on the path. My heart skipped a beat when I first saw her. Against all odds, she didn’t continue running past my disgusting display. Instead, she struck up a conversion with me.”

  “Not exactly your typical storybook ‘meet cute’ kind of situation,” Dodd said.

  “That’s what I was doing here the day I died.” Ross pulled the ring box out of his pocket and opened it to show Dodd the diamond ring inside. “I was going to ask Theda to be my wife.” After studying the ring for a moment, he frowned with regret and put it away.

  “What happened after you set up your proposal picnic?” Dodd asked.

  “Then the old guy jogged by. He's the one who was supposed to die, right?” Ross’s face twisted into an angry scowl as he pointed an accusatory finger at Dodd. “But your drunk friend gave the heart attack to me instead! Why did he kill me on what was about to be the best day of my life?”

  Dodd had no answer and could only look on with sympathy as Ross wiped his eyes, trying to compose himself. After a few moments, Dodd said, “I shouldn't have brought you here. I knew it would be painful, but I’m desperate to find out what happened to Toth. I apologize.”

  “Can’t you make yourself visible to talk any potential witnesses? Maybe some passersby saw what happened to Toth's pistol.”

  Dodd shook his head. “Reapers are strictly prohibited from contacting the living.”

  “Too bad, the guy on the park bench might have seen something.”

  “What guy on the park bench?” Dodd asked.

  Ross pointed to the bench where he saw Morton. “The guy sitting on the bench across the street. I saw him when I came to the park and he was still there while I was waiting for Theda. He was tall, pretty thin, I think. He had long, dark red hair. Kind of weird-looking. Not easy to forget.”

  Dodd pulled a sheet a paper from his pocket and scanned it. “He wasn't supposed to be there.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “When we're given an assignment, we get a file containing all the necessary details of that case. Information like who the person is, how, when and where they'll die.” Dodd showed Ross the page from the file. The sheet was filled with dense chunks of undecipherable fine print in an illegible font. Ross squinted, trying to peruse the unreadable text before finally giving up.

  Dodd’s wheels were turning. “The file also lists everyone who will be at the location.”

  “Is that so you don't reap the wrong person?” Ross asked. “Like what happened to me?”

  Dodd ignored Ross’s sarcasm. “Exactly. This is Toth's file for that day. According to it, nobody was supposed to be on that bench or even near the area at that time.”

  “Maybe the file is wrong.”

  “No, the files are never wrong. Never,” Dodd replied definitively.

  Dodd noticed an ugly tan sedan parked behind his car. “Don't move, I'll be right back.”

  Dodd headed down the hill and approached the dusty car parked on the street. Inside, Sappert sat with the window down while eating a candy bar.

  “I’m pretty damn sure Skulton told you the investigation was over,” Sappert said between bites.

  “Are you following me?” Dodd asked.

  “No, just happened to be passing by. Has he remembered anything helpful?” Sappert inquired.

  “Not much, he's still pretty upset,” Dodd admitted.

  “I’ll bet he is. You brought him to where he died, hoping to dredge up a clue for a nonexistent crime. I'd be upset too,” Sappert laughed. “Have you told him everything?”

  “Not yet. Are you going to tell Skulton about me being here?”

  Sappert picked peanut chunks out of his teeth. “I haven't decided yet. But I think you have a bigger problem now,” he guffawed as he pointed at the park. “Your little friend has run off.”

  Dodd looked up to the picnic area and saw no sign of Ross.

  3

  Ross rushed into the house he shared with Theda. It was quiet. He called out, “Theda?”

  He entered the kitchen. A sad older woman made coffee while a fatigued young woman talked on the phone. He asked, “Theda? Where's Theda?” Though Ross stood beside them, neither woman reacted to him. He spotted a stack of fliers that said "MISSING" in bold text with his picture and Theda's contact information listed below.

  Ross noticed the older woman looking out the window at a figure in the backyard with concern.

  Ross burst from the house and ran into the backyard. Overcome with both sadness and joy, he hurried to Theda as she worked on her hands and knees in their large garden.

  “Theda, it's me. I know you can't see or hear me, but I'm okay.” Ross crouched down in front of Theda and was pained by her tear-streaked face and bloodshot eyes. “I would never leave you.”

  Ross gently touched Theda's shoulder. When he made contact with her, he grimaced in pain and yanked his hand back, as if he touched a hot stove. She shivered as if she felt a sudden chill.

  The sensation of electrical current coursed through his body. He toppled over, convulsing as if caught in a violent seizure. He tried to speak through a clenched jaw. “Theda, help me!”

  Theda couldn’t see or hear him as he lay helpless, writhing on the ground before her. Overwhelmed by a sudden gush of tears, she headed towards their house.

  Gritting his teeth, Ross struggled to yell to her. “Theda, please don't go!”

  Theda hurried into their home, unwittingly veering around Dodd as he exited the house. Dodd walked over to where Ross lay, riding out a body-twisting seizure.

  “Dodd, help me! Am I dying again?” Ross gasped in a panic.

  “Don't worry, this is normal. The effects will subside quickly,” Dodd said reassuringly.

  “What's happening? When I touched Theda, it felt like I stuck a fork into an electrical outlet.”

  “Physical contact with the living causes a bad reaction for reapers. It’s almost as if their life force short-circuits us. But they only feel a cold shiver up their spine,” Dodd explained.

  “This happens whenever you touch someone who’s alive?”

  “Yes, but after you've been dead awhile, it's much less intense. I’ve been a reaper for decades, so to me, it would be no more than a static shock.”

  Still shuddering, Ross weakly sat up with help from Dodd.

  Dodd continued, “Brushing up against the living won't do much, but if you try to establish a physical connection like that again, you'll get zapped.”

  “I’ll make sure I keep that in mind.” Ross flexed his trembling hands, trying to get some feeling back into them. “I'm sorry about running away from you. I had to come here. Not seeing her is the worst part of being dead.”

  Dodd studied the young man. “It's okay, I knew you'd be here. I shouldn't have brought you back to the park, it wasn't fair to you.”

  “You got that right. It wasn't cool. But I know you're just trying to clear your friend's name.”

  “How are you feeling? Can you walk yet?” Dodd helped Ross to his feet.

  Ross winced as he clenched and unclenched his hands. “Everything's tingling but I'm okay.”

  “We have to go now. We have an appointment we can't be late for.”

  4

  Wearing the glasses, Morton seemed to be talking to his empty apartment as he pantomimed Toth's gruesome death for his unseen audience.

  “The bus squashed that foul creature like a bug,” Morton gloated, concluding his reenactment.

  A distorted watery laugh filled the room, followed by the ghostly whisper of the disembodied voice. “I'm sorry I missed it. You did well. The others are now convinced it was an accident.”

  “When I saw the bus, the idea just came to me. It seemed easier and a more fitting end.”

  “Did you take anything afterwards? A memento to remember the event by?”

  A flicker of guilty fear crossed Morton's face as he pulled back the blanket on his bed to reveal Toth's smashed Scythe pistol. “I took the creature's gun. But it's broken. It doesn't work.”

  “They will find you if you keep that. You must get rid of it.”

  “I will, right away. I'm sorry.” Morton adopted a contrite expression.

  “Next time you won't take trophies from your kill. Understand?” the voice commanded.

  “Yes. When will the next one be?” Morton inquired with an eager glint in his sunken eyes.

  “This afternoon,” the sinister voice purred. “And I want you to make it look like another accident. The longer these beings remain unaware of us, the easier it will be to achieve our goal.”