I cleared my throat and arched a brow—waiting.
Clarity returned to him a second later. “Right, there’s one a bunch of blocks down from here.” He gestured in the direction for me to head. “Just stay on the outside sidewalk of the strip mall and you’ll hit it if you keep walking for a bit. See it all the time on our route.” His eyes widened. “I gotta get back to that.” He thrust his chin up in a curt nod and clambered back up to his spot on the garbage truck.
I put two fingers to my forehead, tipping them in a salute as I made my way out of the alley.
Jake’s instructions would be simple enough to follow. I made my way onto the corner of a sidewalk in the small mall, looking over my surroundings to situate myself. As I did, I caught sight of a pair of rainbows arcing from the roof of one of the buildings to about a block or two away.
The strip looked to be the usual fare for local businesses: a barber, a nail salon, a doughnut shop, and the closest building to me being a veterinarian’s office. I made my way toward it, hoping to bum their bathroom to clean up.
The windows were tinted a dull black that kept me from catching sight of my reflection, meaning no luck on figuring out anything about my new body. I placed a hand against the glass, trying to peer into the place, but couldn’t make out a single thing. A tug on the door elicited a low rattle as it jerked, refusing to open. A piece of paper sat taped to a boarded-over pane on the other side of the door. It featured an image of a young boy. The kid was seven years old. Dark haired and dark featured with bright eyes. Andy, and he’d been missing for a few days now. Another sign next to it told me the building had been shut down for a month.
I sighed, resuming my walk. I’d have to try my luck somewhere else. The quicker I could get any bit of info on whose meatsuit I wore, the faster I’d get to the bottom of what monster had killed him and hit my next case.
A lance of pain shot through my temple like someone had spiked me with an ice pick. My vision cut again and a percussive beat went off that silenced me to anything other than drumming agony. I placed a hand against the masonry for balance as my legs threatened to give out.
Images flooded my mind. I sat at a round wooden table, its stain washed and worn down to reveal pale streaks. It could comfortably host three people around it at most. Someone sat oppositeme, but the edges of my vision blurred, obscuring them in a haziness. Pressure built in my right leg just above the knee as my fingers dug into the meat there, squeezing harder than necessary. My other hand rested inches from the side of my head and trembled. A weight filled it and I couldn’t peg what it could be from.
The world rocked and blackness followed.
I blinked clear of the dream, smacking the heel of a palm against my skull to reorient myself. A courtesy of the few gifts I’ve got on account of being a body-hopping soul. I end up collecting the memories and skills belonging to the bodies I bounce through. The problem comes when those memories flood you without control and vivid realism. They were some of the only clues I ever had, though.
I found my balance and staggered forward toward the doughnut shop, figuring I could grab enough of a quick meal to bounce back from the trying memory and give myself a proper look-over. I pushed the door open and went inside.
The counter and display took up most of the space, running from one wall of the shop to eight feet short of the other side. All manner of delectable doughiness caught my eye, promising me the perfect sugar bomb to keep me going. My stomach tightened in anticipation. I placed a hand over it and strolled over to the glass housing, taking a better look at the shop’s offerings. I spotted a row of cake doughnuts drizzled in white frosting with countless sprinkles on top.
“Want me to grab you one?”
I looked up to see who’d spoken.
The young man couldn’t have been out of high school. He had dark skin and short-cropped hair. Past that, you’d be hard-pressed to pick him out of a crowd of teens at the mall. He wore a collared shirt the color of the frosting with blue pinstripes running down it.
His question drove me to consider something I hadn’t earlier. I gave myself a quick pat-down, hoping my new body had been disposed of with a wallet. Something pressed against one of my hands as I slid it along a pocket on my hip. I plunged my fingers in, fishing out a few crumpled bills, a single quarter, and a lone key that had been oddly filed down in places along the teeth.
It had been too much to hope for the wallet. Most monsters don’t leave anything behind on a victim that could be used to identify them later.
I looked back to the doughnuts. White frosting with sprinkles. No self-respecting paranormal investigator would choose those. I glanced back to the kid and held up a pair of fingers. “I’ll take two.”
He nodded and plucked up the treats with a pair of tongs, slipping the desserts into a paper bag. “Coffee, something else to drink?”
I eyed the cash in hand. Three bucks and twenty-five cents. “What’ll this get me?” I waved the money, giving the kid a second to tally it up.
“Small dark roast or decaf.”
I nodded as I made my way down to the register, plopping the cash down on the counter sans the quarter. That ended back up in my pocket.
Maybe it was a little superstitious, but a lone coin’s a lucky thing to some. And in my business, a little luck can go a long way. Especially when dealing with the supernatural.
“Holy shit, I won!” A man leaped to his feet, clutching a sliver of paper between his fingers.
The employee sighed from behind the counter. “That’s like the twentieth one.”
I eyed him, asking a question in silence with my look.
“People have been winning big cash from scratchers all weekin the mall. I don’t get it, man. My luck’s not that great.” The kid scooped up my cash, running the total and passing me my change.
I waved him off. “Keep it.”I won’t be around long enough for it to do any good anyhow.
He shrugged and passed me the bag with my doughnuts, leaving my coffee for me to pick up.
