“I’m sorry.” Andi was still distracted.
“It’s not your fault, Andi.”
“But you’re worried. It’s like acid on my tongue, burning my insides. Your electricity is wavering.”
George made a conscious effort to calm himself down. Being with somebody who couldn’t be fooled by pretty lies and good acting was strenuous. “I know I’m stressed. You are too. We shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t be working on this case, shouldn’t have to navigate Sandra and Tobias and Geena, who I really like and hate deceiving. We’re just lucky our fellow detectives know you at least a bit, and she thinks you’re using some creative methods to solve your cases.”
“She doesn’t. But she wants us to think so.”
The words were like a bucket of ice-cold water. “Do we have to worry about her? Should I try and get rid of her?”
“No and no. She thinks fast, which is good for this case. And she’s mainly curious. It spills off her in waves. She doesn’t understand what’s going on, and she feels drawn to us. Pheromones.” Andi shrugged as if that explained everything.
“You mean we’re compatible with her?” George had learned a thing or two by now. Pheromones didn’t just tell Andi what a person was feeling, they also showed him matches, information that could be valuable for dealing with people.
“You are compatible with her. Very much so. She and I, we fit, but in a more… casual way?”
“I understand.” And George did. His vocabulary was growing every day, adding new meaning to words he had never given much thought. Like casual in comparison with compatible. The latter meant they clicked on a hormonal level where sex was definitely on the table, should either of them be so inclined, which George wasn’t. The former meant there was no sexual tension, no negativity either, just a seamless fit on neutral ground.
Andi’s cell started ringing. He fumbled it out of his jacket, furrowing his brows when he saw the caller ID.
“Hayes.”
George saw his partner’s eyes widening. “Hello, Tyler. It’s nice to hear from you, and it’s okay, I have time. Would it be okay if I put the phone on speaker? George is standing next to me.”
Andi must have gotten an affirmative because he pressed the speaker button, holding the cell between them.
“Hello, Tyler. How are you?”
“I’m fine, George. Can I…. Can we talk about them?” Tyler sounded so insecure it made George’s heart clench. No child should experience the feeling of not being taken seriously.
“Always, Tyler. Andi promised, didn’t he?”
“Thank you.”
“What do you want to tell us, Tyler?” Andi inquired.
“Uhm, the ghosts, they’re acting strange. Izzy says it’s because the bones were found.”
“Define strange, Tyler. Andi and I, we don’t know anything about ghosts or what kind of behavior is normal for them.”
“Okay. Sorry. It’s, you see, normally, they come and ask me to play. Hide and seek, or just strolling around. But now they come and just blabber. They’re flickering too. I think I can see their adult forms, like a badly pixelated computer game. Sometimes there’s bones.” Tyler’s voice had gotten quieter at the end.
George looked at Andi over his cell. They were standing on the sidewalk only a few yards from the bakery. Luckily, there weren’t many people around. The air was getting warmer, but not enough to invite people to mill around outside. George nodded in the direction of the apartment building next to the bakery, which had an entrance door with a stone arch. It provided them a semblance of privacy.
“Are you frightened by what you see, Tyler?” George dreaded the answer, because if Tyler was, he had no clue how to help him. He didn’t know how to help Andi, whose link to the unknown was at least of this world. Tyler was tethered to something else entirely.
“No. Not really. It’s not pretty, because I can see glimpses of them rotting, but I know they’re not doing it on purpose. They can’t help it, and they always apologize.”
“And Izzy thinks it’s because they were found?” Andi sounded calm, as if he knew where he was going with his questions.
“Yes. She says it’s—” There was a moment’s pause, during which Tyler probably conferred with his ghost friend. “She says it’s part of waking up. And because there are so many, it’s all jumbled. Too much energy.”
“Does Izzy know anything about the killer? Or any of the others?”
“No. None of them saw him. They all went to sleep and woke up in the bunker when they were already dead. The killer was always gone, and when he comes to bring somebody new, they can’t see him either. He wears armor.”
George looked at Andi, who was humming very lowly. A fly that must have woken recently landed on his right temple. When his partner didn’t shoo it away, didn’t even seem to realize it was there, George had to hold back from doing it for him.
