I didn’t actually like walking, I just saw it as a necessary evil to stay mildly fit and exercise Tilly. That was one of the main reasons we’d got a dog – to get us out of the house and exercising more. Little did we realise at the time we’d bought a dog who preferred to act like a cross between a cat and a teddy bear, wanting to spend her days watching TV and snuggling instead of out of the house.
As much as Tilly hated when I dragged her off the sofa, I knew she wouldn’t get up off it all day if I didn’t. And neither would I, to be fair.
So, I donned my biggest, darkest sunglasses and some noise-cancelling headphones, then headed out with my four-legged protector.
We were walking along the main road, so Tilly was on her lead. Some days she was so adamant she wasn’t walking she’d try to step in front of oncoming traffic in an effort to go home. The last thing we needed was to lose Tilly on top of everything else, so I kept her lead short but slack.
I was about to cross the road when Tilly started pulling me in the opposite direction. Unusual. Something had piqued her interest. She sniffed the ground, dragging me along with her surprising strength for a small dog. We reached some bushes, where she nudged them out of the way to reveal a hand.
My curiosity wanted me to see how much of a person was there, but I knew I’d never shake the image from my mind if I did. The rubbery skin, with its grey sleeve sitting just below the wrist, was more than enough for me to tell the hand wasn’t fresh. Whomever it belonged to was definitely no longer alive.
And had clearly been there a while. Could his murder have coincided with the whistling I’d heard when Ben slept over? But why would a murderer whistle and draw attention to themselves? It didn’t make sense.
What was worse? I could sense darkness. Something very bad had happened here. Murder wasn’t common in the small town, despite the myths cosy mysteries perpetuated. They were even less likely because of the supernatural.
I called the police and waited in the freezing wind for them to show up. There weren’t really any buildings to offer shelter from the elements, which was probably part of why the body had gone undiscovered for so long. So Tilly and I stood there, my hands going numb as we waited. Tilly refused to sit down as she didn’t like cold floors, so she stared at me impatiently, her eyes burning into me with questions I couldn’t answer in a way she’d ever understand.
People drove and walked past, oblivious to what was just a few feet away from them. How many people had gone past without noticing what was hidden just out of sight? How much longer would it have been before someone else found the body if I hadn’t chosen that particular route that day?
While I waited, I tried to analyse the scene. There was something dark about it. The energy surrounding the scene called to me, trying to lure me closer. It was tempting, like alcohol after a long, rough day.
But I knew nothing good would come from giving in to that temptation. I took a few steps away from the scene until the evil energy lessened enough for it to be easier to ignore.
One thing the scene confirmed was that there was something paranormal about this murder. Someone – or something – using that much power left a mark. A presence. And this one had kick.
Did it feel stronger because I hadn’t felt it in forever? Or was it really that powerful? Nobody knew about my ability to sense evil, so it wasn’t like I could talk to anyone else to check. It felt like the wrong time to bring it up with everything else going on.
When the police arrived, they sectioned everywhere off, guiding me away from the crime scene to explain what’d happened.
Unfortunately, while I was there, an officer confirmed there was a body. In several pieces. It was really hard not to vomit.
Oblivious, Tilly asked every police officer who came near us for a head rub.
I told them what little I knew, took a card from them, gave them my details, and scurried off. The less I knew about that crime scene, the better.
On my walk home, I rang Ben in a panic. I didn’t care that he was at work. He answered right away. ‘I just found a dead body. In several pieces.’
‘Slow down. What happened? Where are you?’
‘Walking home with Tilly. Of course she sniffed it out,’ I said, rolling my eyes. It was always the dog walkers. ‘The police are dealing with it now. Unfortunately, I was around long enough to hear them describe some aspects that sounded a lot like what happened to Tessa.’
‘So you think they’re related?’
‘Yeah. But if they are, it means Tessa wasn’t your standard murder victim.’
Tilly and I needed to cross the road, but the light was on green. Restless, I bounced on the spot until we could cross. Tilly watched me, confused. I was acting out of character and restless to get home. Would anyone blame me?
‘What do you mean?’ said Ben.
The light turned red and the little cartoon man appeared on the pedestrian lights. We scurried across the road. ‘I could sense the power. There was so, so much of it. It’s not often I sense that much.’
‘Do you think it felt stronger because your powers haven’t been working for a while?’
‘I did wonder that,’ I said as we crossed another road, ‘but this was different.’ I almost said darker, but stopped myself just in time. ‘Thinking back to the other times I’ve ran into powerful ghosts, the only other one who felt even close to this level of power was a long time ago. And this felt even stronger than that.’
‘When was the last time you sensed a ghost this strong?’ asked Ben.
I tightened my grip on Tilly’s lead. ‘The day Javi was killed.’
*
Ben was at my front door when Tilly and I got home. Without saying anything, he wrapped his arms around me. I rested my head on his chest, feeling safer in his embrace. I hadn’t even known I’d needed a hug until that moment.
Tilly barked at us, then looked at the front door. She wasn’t having any of it. She wanted to get inside, which meant we had to, too. We had been out twice as long as planned, and it was cold, so I didn’t blame her.
I unlocked the front door, took off her lead, then began to remove my layers. Ben did the same.
‘Did you leave work early for me?’ I said as I removed my headphones. The sunglasses stayed on; even with the curtains shut the house was too bright for me in some rooms.
‘You just found a dead body! Of course I left work early for you!’ said Ben. ‘How much did you see?’
‘Just the hand,’ I said with a shudder. ‘It was pretty clear its owner wasn’t breathing.’
Ben frowned. ‘Did you see any ghosts?’
‘No.’
‘It’s unusual for a murdered ghost to cross over, but not impossible,’ said Ben.
‘They don’t always stay with their bodies, though. Look at Tessa,’ I said.
‘True,’ Ben agreed. ‘But maybe Tessa is a good place to start.’
‘What do you mean?’
We went into the kitchen and sat down. Ben picked Tilly up and put her on the chair beside him. She sat down, nudging his hand until he stroked her. Little attention seeker.
‘She knows you and Edie. She’s going to be more likely to cooperate.’
I snorted. ‘Wouldn’t be so sure about that.’
‘She’s stuck around and she keeps asking Edie for help.’
I gave Ben an incredulous look. I wouldn’t call what Tessa was doing asking for help. From what Edie had told me, most of it was ordering her to find her murderer or insulting her.
‘Well, in between insults she’s asking for Edie’s help in the only way she knows how. It goes against her best interests to not cooperate if we ask her about what happened.’
I lowered my head. He was right. Of course he was right. But it was really not an idea I wanted to entertain, let alone actually act on. Ugh.