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I’d met Ally Merchant eighteen months ago, on a road trip with my dad. He’d had a big game that he’d been completely stressing over, so he’d pretty much left me to wander off on my own. I think he’d had a girlfriend at the time who was supposed to be watching me, but she’d wanted to shop and I hadn’t. By mutual agreement, we’d ignored each other the second my dad left the hotel every day. We’d sworn each other to secrecy, and promised not to rat the other out.
I still told him afterward, though. Bye bye girlfriend.
I’d had a lucy following me the whole trip, which had been irritating. His name was Rico, and he’d died in a gang shootout. Stray bullet. The poor guy wanted me to avenge his death somehow, but what could I do? I was a fifteen-year old girl. I wasn’t about to immerse myself in gang politics in another state. I’d been in the midst of telling him just that when Ally had crept over, eavesdropping.
She’d given me a hell of a fright. It’d been a rainy day in a pretty drab park, so I’d thought that we were alone. It was getting to be a pretty big argument when I’d spotted her staring at me. I’d quickly pointed to my Bluetooth headset that I wore religiously for such matters.
‘I’m on a call, do you mind?’
‘You mentioned Rico Alvarez. You were talking to him, weren’t you? Is he here?’ she’d asked, gazing at the obviously-clear path.
I’d been pretty speechless. Never in my life had I had that reaction. Suspiciously, I’d given her the once-over, wondering if she was the crazy one here. Dressed in a sharp black suit jacket and skirt, with a white shirt – and tie – she didn’t seem that crazy. Her shoulder-length brunette hairstyle was conspicuously bland, as was her light makeup. Maybe she was a government agent.
‘Sorry, don’t know who you’re talking about,’ I’d shrugged, turning back to Rico. He’d walked over to her a little ways and I’d followed him with my eyes. She’d noticed me move my head and tried her hardest to look for him, bless her heart.
‘She’s a lawyer,’ he’d informed me. ‘She was working on our case I told you about.’
‘What case?’ I’d sighed, briefly forgetting myself. Instantly, she’d beamed at me.
‘He’s there, isn’t he? He knows me. Rico!’ she’d called out.
‘Did you listen to a word I’d said?’ he’d asked, frowning. ‘Our civil rights case. Those guys had taken over our apartment block and the cops weren’t doing anything. Ally here was the only one who wanted to help out.’
I’d looked back at her, disappointed for his neighbors. She didn’t seem like she had any fight in her. But she was only the second non-lucy who had ever believed me right off the bat, so I’d give it a whirl.
‘Alright. Yes, I am talking to Rico. He told me you’re his lawyer for his apartment-’
‘Yes, that’s right. Hi, I’m Ally,’ she’d said, coming over and offering her hand to shake.
‘Anna,’ I’d replied, taking it. I was still suspicious, but she’d seemed okay. I guess.
‘Is he alright? How’s the afterlife treating him?’
‘Uh...’
I’d shifted my eyes over to where Rico was still waiting. He’d shrugged.
‘Can’t complain,’ I’d surmised, before turning back to Ally. ‘Why can you- um, how do-?’
‘How do I know you can see ghosts?’ she’d finished, with a frankly creepy grin on her face. ‘I see things. I have seen things for as long as I can remember.’
‘But you can’t see Rico,’ I’d pointed out. ‘And you only know I’m talking to him because I mentioned his name.’
Undeterred by my rationalizations, she’d only smiled softly. I think they’d actually spurred her on.
‘Maybe “see” isn’t the correct word. But I know there’s another world out there. I’ve felt things. You know when you just know things?’
‘Of course, I’m a teenager.’
At least Rico’d sniggered. Ally’d seemed a little perturbed, but she’d brightened up as I’d allowed her to spill her guts on what she’d seen and heard over the years.
Boy, was that a long list. Alien aircraft, ghosts, auras, crop circles. That was only the relatively normal stuff. Don’t even get me started on the anti-vaxxing.
I’d somehow managed to keep a straight face throughout her whole, oft-contradictory saga of mystery. I could pick so many holes in her stories I could use them as a fishing net.
But at the end of the day, I was still intrigued by her. She did, in spite of it all, believe me.
She could stay.
After checking in, I gave her a call and put her on speaker. I hilariously decided not to clue George in. He narrowed his eyes at my smile.
‘Anna!’ she said breathlessly, almost questioningly. You know, come to think of it, she was always breathless. I guess it’s a weird hippie thing. Don’t want to upset the cosmos with a loud voice.
Or something.
‘Hey, Ally.’
‘Is everything alright? I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.’
Okay... Last time we spoke was about two weeks ago. I probably called every couple days before that. Time moves differently when you don’t believe in it.
‘I’m fine, Ally. Listen, I have a lucy here who-’
‘A lucy?’ she exclaimed.
I gritted my teeth, aware that George was giving me a funny look. I swear, she’s not usually this crazy. She’s usually a different type of crazy.
‘Yeah, a lucy. He-’
‘I don’t understand.’
I was starting to get a little irritated. There is a lot that Ally doesn’t understand; basic science, for one. But lucies? Heck, she’s been on that since she found out about them. Now she’s suddenly decided that she doesn’t understand? For context, she has been an avid listener to all my lucy issues since we met. Not once has she ever expressed anything resembling disbelief. That was the one thing I could rely on in my sorry life. My only friend was gone forever, my dad was becoming a stranger, and I had a sneaky suspicion that every lucy case I worked would be my last. But Ally? I could rely on her steady fruitiness to remind me that everything would be okay.
And she chooses now to suddenly turn on me?
‘What don’t you understand? Are you okay?’ I griped.
She sighed, leaving me waiting on tenterhooks for her to launch into a mopey monolog. Thankfully, she didn’t.
‘Yes, I apologize. I think my chi was out of focus,’ she explained.
Ah, there we go. The old loon back in business. George was staring at my cell like it was a bomb.
‘Great. So, the lucy’s a Brit. He was killed by his wife on vacation in Miami. Name’s Ronald Higgins. His wife is called Angela. They’re in their mid-fifties, or thereabouts. She hasn’t reported him missing, and he doesn’t seem to be missed at all,’ I listed, becoming aware that I wasn’t hearing pen scratches or typing. ‘Are you still there? Are you even listening?’
‘Yes. I’m just... I thought you would be- I read your horoscope a few weeks ago,’ she clarified. I managed to hold in my temper as George’s eyes bugged out of their sockets. ‘It said that you’d be making a great, significant change and that your life would go down a different path altogether. I thought you’d be leaving lucies behind. I know how much heartache they’ve caused you.’
Wow. Sometimes, she left me completely speechless with her outright stupidity. I mean, really? I’ve lost count of the times that my horoscope told me I’d be making a significant change in my life. So far, still the same cranky ass I’ve always been.
‘Ally,’ I told her gently, ‘sometimes, horoscopes are wrong. Okay? There has been no change in my life at all.’
Well, apart from me causing my only friend to die, but I was happier to pretend that didn’t happen.
‘No change,’ I reiterated sharply. ‘Lucies are still a part of it. Can you find out anything about the Higginses for me?’
‘Of course, Anna. I’ll get right on it.’
Thank God for that. I hung up before she could tell me about planetary alignments. George was still staring at the cell.
‘I never knew people actually believed in horoscopes,’ he commented. Probably the nicest thing he could’ve said about her.
‘Wait till you hear what else she believes in,’ I laughed, searching for my shorts and sun cream. I didn’t usually need it at home, but here I’d probably burn like the devil.
‘I can take a guess. Is Mickey like that, too?’
‘No, Mickey’s alright. I’m not sure he really believes in you guys, but he goes along with it because I don’t hum fast food theme tunes around him.’
‘So, what does he do in this relationship? You’re the medium. Ally searches through legal documents. Mickey?’
‘He searches other stuff.’
‘Computer geek?’ he translated, nodding.
‘He wishes. He isn’t good enough for that. But social media, Google, stuff that I could otherwise do myself but am too lazy to.’
‘Ah. But between the three of you and the lucy-’
‘We get it done. Used to, anyway. The way it used to work, I got the information I needed and passed it on to Ally. She has a few contacts in the legal system, so she was able to direct investigations the right way. Of course, the majority of lucies I find are around Dayton, and my local Chief now doesn’t want to hear from me ever again.’
‘Yeah, why is that? You never said.’
‘It’s a long story,’ I groaned. ‘I do not want to go into it now. Basically, I screwed up a big arrest for him and made him look like a fool. That’s his version of events, anyway. It was pretty horrible, but it wasn’t my fault. I was totally innocent. It was in a big house that I thought was abandoned. I thought I was saving a lucy’s baby and then suddenly there was a shootout with a couple gang members dead. If you ask me, that’s a good deal. But Rathers didn’t think so. So, now I’m banned from helping out. I’m all alone.’
I took a deep breath, sorry to get that story out in the open. Maybe now George would stop asking about it and we could move on.
‘There’s something you’re not telling me,’ he stated instead.
‘There are a lot of things that I’m not telling you,’ I said shortly. ‘Nor do I plan to.’
A lot of things I don’t want to think about ever again. Like Tommy. Great, now I was thinking about him. Time to do what I do best and completely forget he ever existed. Easier done than said. All I do is put into a little box in my mind and pretend it’s not a memory. He wasn’t real, I didn’t know him, and now I can live my life.
‘Alright, I won’t ask again. Are you putting those shorts on or wearing them as a bracelet?’
I looked down to the clothes in my hand, pretending to think about it.
‘I’ll be outside,’ he announced. I waited for him to go so I could dress myself in peace.