“Wait. I know medicine has changed a lot in the last two-hundred years but do you think you could help our medical team with a problem?” asked Cam.
“I’d be most happy to try,” he nodded. “I would like to feel useful. And, I should very much like to get to know my ancestor who set me free. Hello, little Smith.”
Trevon just laughed as his son giggled aloud, reaching for the ghost. Matthew touched Hezekiah’s shoulder and suddenly, he was able to feel the soft skin of the baby, lifting him from his father’s arms.
“Come along, Hezekiah,” said Irene. “We’ll introduce you to the others and get you up to the clinic. They’ll be needin’ your help.”
The men watched as Matthew and Irene walked away with Hezekiah. Trevon just laughed, a big, deep, bass laugh, his infant son laughing with him.
“Come on, Smith. We got a book to find,” he said walking into the library.
“Well,” grinned Grant, “are we ready to move on?”
“Grant, please tell me there are no other ghosts inside mirrors. I can’t take it today. I just can’t take it,” said Luke. Grant laughed, shaking his head.
“You know, Luke, I don’t think you’ve ever sounded more like your father than just now.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“You leave for vacation today, right Harmon?” asked his supervisor.
“Yes, sir. More of a staycation but for me it’ll be relaxation, fishin’, huntin’, read some good books, watch some good movies and hopefully get rid of these damn allergies or whatever this is.”
“Well, you deserve it. We appreciate you covering for everyone these last few weeks. It’s been hard with so many folks out sick.”
“Yes, sir. It happens every year. Some flu or cold thing spreads and everyone goes down. Can’t have that, now can we.”
He waved at his supervisor, making his way to the local grocery where he picked up a weeks’ worth of food to take with him out to the camp. It wasn’t much but it had lights, running water, a toilet and shower. A few years ago, he built a small kitchen and his retirement life was on track.
“Headed out to the camp, Harm?” asked the grocer.
“Yep. Can’t wait. It’s been hell at work but we finally got a bit of a break. I’m lookin’ forward to just relaxin’.”
“Well, you deserve it. Have a great week off,” he smiled, waving at the man.
Harmon got everything packed up and placed it in his truck, then went back inside to secure the food in coolers. As he reached for the plastic plates and cups, he felt himself sway. Gripping the counter, he stilled, touching his head.
“That was strange,” he said to himself. He walked toward the living area and sat down on his sofa.
“Maybe I just need to rest a moment.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Mr. Rabalais, it’s important that you answer all my questions. We’re only trying to figure out how you got whatever this is.”
“You mean you can’t tell me what I got?” he scoffed. “Typical. Doctors and nurses that just wanna pump me with medicine and don’t know what for.”
“Mr. Rabalais,” sighed Jeremy, “I can understand how you feel but we have hundreds of people we’ve seen with a virus that looks similar to what you’re experiencing. We’re only trying to find out if there are any common threads between the patients. Now, please, answer my questions. Have you traveled at all?”
“No. I ain’t traveled nowhere.”
“Thank you. Have you recently eaten at a particular restaurant or frequented a bar?”
“Nope. I can’t afford to be eatin’ out every night like fancy folks. I cook my own food. I don’t drink, so I ain’t been to no bars,” he said shaking his head.
“Okay, that’s good. Can you tell me what you were doing when you first started feeling bad?”
“Well,” he said scratching his jaw. “I got up to get me some soup from the microwave. I’d been feelin’ poorly on and off all day. Kinda dizzy but also kinda hot. Soup seems to fix most things so I was heatin’ me up some soup.”
