He looked away guiltily. “Yes. Tigers, demons, various otherworldly things aren’t too dissimilar, and it isn’t as if I have any specimens of those to compare it with since they turn into goop or ash. I ask about things I cannot prove.”
“And that’s why you bolted after I asked how you knew. But you haven’t asked me anything yet. Why?”
“Because I can tell it was the same as Sister Mary Agnes. Your eyes and cheeks were bloodshot. You said it yourself, it was the same person. There’s nothing to ask.”
Then, why am I still alive?There was that faint tug again as if Barlow was trying but couldn’t muster the conviction to do it. Felipe locked gazes with Oliver even as the other man averted his.
“You don’t have to do this.”
A hysterical laugh escaped Barlow’s lips as he finally stood on trembling legs. “Of course, I do. You’re dead! I can’t let you wander all over the place decomposing. And— and there are rules against long-term reanimation.”
“What rules? Besides, I don’t look very dead, and I certainly don’t feel dead. Maybe you just accidentally revived me, and my powers have fixed me up good as knew.”
“Then, it shouldn’t matter when I break the tether.”
Another tug, this time harder. Teresa, Louisa, and Agatha’s faces flashed across his vision. He would never get to apologize or eat another Sunday dinner or see his daughter again. Would Teresa even be able to stay in school without his extra income?
“Wait! Wait. I have things I need to wrap up.”
“Everyone dies with unresolved things. I can’t keep everyone alive until they get their shit together, Galvan.”
“What if you keep me alive just long enough to figure out who killed me? Right now, the element of surprise is our greatest asset. The murderer thinks they killed me. They may show their hand if we confront them and I’m seemingly alive. Plus, I don’t trust Newman to figure this out, and as much as I trust your judgment and attention to detail, you aren’t an investigator.”
Barlow gave him a wary glance. “Bodies start to go sour after about a day. I’ve never reanimated anyone for more than half an hour, at most. I don’t know if there will be any effect on preservation. If I agree to this, we need to have some parameters in place for when this ends.”
Felipe released a silent sigh of relief as the pressure abated. “That’s reasonable, so what are your non-negotiables for this?”
“Decomposition. If your skin starts to turn or your bowels let go or—”
“That’s quite enough.” The sherry climbed its way up Felipe’s throat, but he bit back the bile with a raised hand. “You’ll cut me loose if I start to stink, got it. Anything else?”
The medical examiner opened his mouth but closed it again.
“Just say it. It can’t be worse than that.”
“You say that, but— If you start to mentally turn, I’m going to end it whether you agree or not.”
“Mentally turn?”
“There are rumors that sometimes the dead can become violent or lose reason. There’s no scientific proof since it’s hard to distinguish whether it’s because their brains are decomposing or if it’s influenced by certain types of necromancy. Mostgoodnecromancers don’t revive people long enough to have them become like that.”
And you don’t want to become like that, Felipe thought with a frown. There was some nuanced morality to this he didn’t fully understand, but that didn’t matter right now.
“And this can’t go on for more than a week.”
Felipe’s heart seized. “A week?” he echoed.
“A week,maximum.” Barlow sniffed and bit his lip. “Even if you don’t turn and your body manages to hold together, I can’t keep you alive indefinitely. I mean, I don’t even know if I can maintain this for that long. I would like to keep my promise to keep you alive until we find your murderer, but I don’t know if I can.”
“That’s fine.” A pained smile crossed Felipe’s lips as he tried to give Barlow his best cavalier look. “If we only have a week to figure this out, then we had better get moving. There’s no time to lose.”
“Wait. Where are you going?”
“To clean up. I can’t go out covered in blood. Can you take a look in the lavatory and tell me if it’s clear? I don’t want to scare anyone.”
