Causality - 5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

(Alex’s Excerpt from Book of Fate)

We failed; I failed. This isn’t some perfect crime drama, where you can save every potential victim. No, I probably led the killer to her, because she was an easy “target”. Airport security may look sophisticated, but our technology is far more advanced. Ironically, low-tech approaches are the best; the FBI safe houses are randomized with several contingent false positives within our own systems. Even if the killer broke into our “secure” database, he would need to randomly choose a target and hope it is legitimate. The agent in charge of the witness is the only one who knows the real safe house. Also, I checked the entire list through the Book of Fate to make sure the kids were safe with the “worst potential future” being an altercation with poison ivy and a skunk. Yet, I still failed to anticipate someone else was being targeted outside our existing list. I failed to stop Patrick from using his solid form in daylight, causing us to only glimpse at the killer with our Heaven’s eye. I failed to prepare for proper countermeasure before we were incapacitated by the grenade.

The “Distortion” grenade has been around for nearly a thousand years. It uses light and sound to overload both the visual and auditory nerves. It is a non-violent tool, but I can tell based on the duration of the blindness and the ringing in my ear, it is not one of the Tao-Ming’s standard. Beyond their hubris and inflexible neutrality, the Tao-Ming holds a purely defensive philosophy; even the fire elementals limit their weapons research to a certain level. That is not true for everyone else, who have taken parts of our technology and developed their own variants along similar lines.

As the TSA agent sounds the alarms, I begin jotting notes on my notepad. I could have typed out things using the iPad, but the Book of Fate might take offense to it being used like a common tablet, not to mention I hate typing or writing on tablets. Personally, I think the entire touch screen revolution is more a fad than a fact. Now, when they or “we” reveal synaptic relay technology and write with our thoughts, it will be a different story. I think it should be available by 2017.

September 19^th, 2013, 11:02 AM: LaGuardia NYC

1. No visible entry wound or disturbance on the skin, wait for coroner report to learn cause of death
2. Body and Environment features
   1. Skin discoloration
   2. Hands and feet in normal position,
   3. No signs of a struggle
   4. 5 Candles arranged in a pentagonal position
   5. Latin writing on the wall, translated as “I am the soul devourer”
      1. Note: Use of classic Latin Accusative case, why not use Latin Genitive case for possession instead of formal direct object?
      2. Indicates a formal education for potential suspects, perhaps Catholic school or private education with classic education curriculum
3. The female body has been stripped of her clothing and jewelry, but it is not a robbery as the objects are neatly placed to the side of the holding room.
   1. Supplemental note to ask Sid, compare how the killer organizes the victim’s belonging
4. Video from the TSA cameras has been hacked by an unidentified external source.
5. The TSA agent had no recollection of anyone entering before we arrived
6. Airport personnel reported no suspicious activity or movement of unauthorized individual back and forth through checkpoints
7. Potentially linked in ongoing investigation of serial killings in Greater New York City area

The crime scene is a classic case of the “locked room” murder; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would be pleased by the killer. The killer left no evidence behind and no “official” eyewitnesses. My brief shimmer was potentially the closest. The room was set up like an elaborate ritualistic set piece; 5 candles placed in a pentagram denoting pagan or satanic concepts, a wall with Latin writing, and a naked dead youth in the middle as the sacrifice. However, I know there are a few problems with this set up. The Latin is the wrong case for describing a demonic manifestation; though, grammatically, it is correct. Plus, the girl is not a virgin, which runs counter to concepts of “pure” sacrifices.

The forensics team came after an hour of bickering between Federal and local law enforcement. Originally, local law enforcement pushed for closing the airport down and flagging suspicious persons. The TSA quickly said no, because LaGuardia is a major international airport and the local FBI did not want to raise any alarms or panic over a psychopath on the loose, killing 13 year old kids by unknown means. Sid hated how short sighted the federal agencies were. In his vocal view, a warning to the public would be useful in this situation. Of course, I know the other side of the coin, being a member of a highly advanced secret society; people are not able to handle knowledge and would rather cling to fear.

In all of this, Patrick remained silent. Fuck, I know he blames himself, but it’s not his fault; I can feel his guilt over the trivial materialization or am I influencing him. Damn, I hate this part about our connection. When the local FBI began debriefing us, Patrick had left my body and went looking for clues from “locals”. I just related the incident in the plane without mentioning magic book or a ghost, of course. I described the flash of light, but I knew they would not be able to understand it.

While Sid was giving his testimony privately, I grabbed my “smartphone” and began to create several slides to present later. In all of this mess, Sid probably forgot we are debriefing a joint local law enforcement and FBI taskforce on our research and findings. I also added in several pictures from the current crime scene, so we can have as much updated information as possible.

When Sid and I finished our debriefing and were alone in a rental car, Sid let loose, “How the fuck did that asshole get the drop on us?”

I shook my head, “She was his or her target all along. The killer must have known the FBI would have found his pattern and started putting the kids into safe houses.”

Sid’s veins began to pulse, “We had her; we could have held her until local cops took her in. I should have known, she fit the profile of the victims. She was 13, academically underachieving, and had minor criminal offenses. I should have seen past my initial dislike of her and my sympathy for her experiences. I should have…..”

I double parked the car in front of a “Money for Gold” pawn shop and stared him down, “You aren’t responsible. I could have picked up on the cues as well; I could have read more into her background and even fucking read into her future. I could have prevented you from drinking last night. It was my fault!”

It was silent for a little bit, then Sid began to laugh and respond, “I think we’re screwed up, you know, in different ways. I kept saying “Should” and you kept saying “Could”, do you know what that means?”

Psychology was never my specialty, nor interest, as the Tao-Ming pushed for material understanding. “Not really, “should” denotes duty and “could” denotes capability.”

Sid laughter did not subside, “I know Patrick was thinking of “Would”, he would have wanted to be part of the fight, he would have wanted to help you out, and he would have wanted to stop the killer, too. All three of us had duty, capability, or desire to prevent this crime; we don’t have any “mens rea”, we have no guilty mind.”

It is a smart joke; even Patrick is laughing through our connection.

(Patrick’s Excerpt from Book of Fate)

Man, I don’t get Sid’s joke, but I am glad it makes Alex happy. Sure, I make him happy all the time, but I am not a “real” boy.

Anyway outside the existential, the local ghosts are scared of something, “Come on tell me if you guys have seen or heard about anything in the last day” I complained to my friend Jack.

Jack used to own a shop in the city during the 1970’s, plus he’s gay. Alex and I met him a few years back on a case involving a smuggling ring that had stolen some sort of statue with the secrets to cold fusion. We were running down leads on the ring leader, which brought us to Jack. He had been trying to track the same person as we were for years without success.

Eventually, we found the ring leader. He was one of the guys that looted and burned down Jack’s shop during the 1977 New York City Blackout. Jack had died of a heart attack a few days later due to the shock. Alex used his “PDA”, the old form of the Book of Fate, to track down where the guy would be heading during the next day and waited for the right moment.

While it might be against the rules to help a ghost seek his revenge, Alex and I let Jack have 5 minutes with the asshole. Last I heard, the guy is in some sort of asylum repeating, “It burns!” at the walls. After Jack took care of that piece of unfinished business, he went back to his anchoring point, an old picture frame in his boyfriend’s room at a retirement home. Alex decided to ignore protocol and let Jack stay with his boyfriend after we saw them together.

This touching event was before I made Alex watch The Notebook with me, Jack spoke to his boyfriend, reminding him to watch out for himself and keep an eye on the “crooked” nurse on the night shift. His elderly and possibly senile boyfriend just nodded and stared at him with a smile. Jack and his boyfriend were cute together even if they are separated by mortal bounds.

Back to the present, Jack nervously floated towards me, “Look Patrick, I want to help you and so do a lot of the others. You and Alex are good people, but we are scared shitless by what we have been hearing. Most of them are keeping quiet; even if they have seen something.”

Finally an honest answer, “So someone did see something at the cemetery before the attack?”

Jack nods, “We’re friends and I can tell you two things. First, someone has a lot of power and gadgets behind these murders. Second, before the spirits are swept away, they sense something else not human in the area.”

I shook my head, “Alex has already ruled out the demonic ritual angle…”

Jack counters rapidly, “He only said no to “western demons” based on what you told me. There are other things in this world older than devil worshippers. You know there are more things in this world than Hollywood can come up with.”

I know he’s holding back, but I don’t want to endanger the poor guy, “Thanks. By the way, how are you guys?”

His spirit brightens up a little, “Any day now, I think I am starting to hear him talk. He is sleeping a lot more and eating less every day.”

In some ways, I am happy to hear his boyfriend is dying; at least it gives them closure, “Are you planning on trying reincarnation immediately or do you guys want to try hanging out for a while?”

He twists his ghostly head, “Hell no, according to you it takes 18 years to get the reincarnation stuff processed. We would be bored out of our minds waiting. Plus, we’ve been separated for 36 years, why the fuck would I want to give up being with him?”

I laugh, “Well, I could ask Alex to burn a beach house and few billion ghost notes for you. Plus, there are different paths to the afterlife; you could try for the other place. You’ve been doing good deeds in your afterlife.”

Jack softly replies like a whisper, “We might take up the option, but I want to decide with him.”

I wish Alex and I could be like them; live a good life of happiness and tragedy together, then float off into the sunset. Ghost stories don’t usually have happy endings, especially when it comes to love. Alex told me most ghosts go insane and become malevolent after a few decades. They lose their humanity after a period of time wandering the earth, unable to choose reincarnation or any other paths in their afterlife. The ultimate flaw in the human spirits is indecision. The animals and creatures our souls are descended from have the same mortal flaw of indecision. Jack is the uncommon case; a non-malevolent ghost waiting for his human lover to join him patiently.

After our case with Jack, Alex told me a story from 聊齋誌異 about a ghost lady who holds out hope for her lover’s return after he abandon her due to an accident of fate. She would wait for lifetimes until a chance meeting with his future reincarnation. They rekindle their love. It makes me cry every time, imagining myself waiting for Alex by a creek for untold eons, until he would come back. I don’t know why Alex told me the story, but it felt right for some reason to be reminded that true love can triumph even after death. As I said, ghost stories don’t usually have happy endings and the rare ones with happy endings are tainted with a lifetime of tragedy, bitterness, and resentment.

As I begin to flicker out to my next source, a strange energy began pulling on me. Instead of returning to the guys, I am in front of some psycho. He is wearing a gray suit with a blood red tie and white dress shirt. I know he’s Asian, but there’s something not quite natural about him, something not human. There was a second guy, who appeared to be in his late teens. The younger one is dressed in a black T-Shirt and Jeans with a white belt. He looks kind of cute, but I can also sense something off about him, too.

OMFG, are these the guys we are looking for? Alex, can you hear me?....Fuck, I can’t even call for help and I am stuck inside some kind of energy field. I am too young to be turned into ghost soup…Alex, I hope you find someone better than me and live a happy long life. Man, I love you…

The older one speaks to me directly, “Who are you? What do you want? And who do you serve?”

Fuck me, what can I say, “Umm…I am just a normal ghost from NYU. You know how the club scene can get out of hand and….” A surge of energy shoots through me like lightning bolts.

He repeats, “Who are you? What do you want? And who do you serve?”

No wonder the ghosts are scared, if any of them met this psycho, “Hey, what snaked up your ass? You better let me go or there will be trouble…” another shock, “…Fuck you, fine, you got me, My name is Anakin Skywalker and I am your Father…” and another shock.

The younger one stepped up, “Tell us what you know and we will perform a harae to cleanse you. You can go down to the underworld for reincarnation.”

Sounds like a familiar pitch, maybe I can test the waters if they’re not the enemy, “I don’t know anything. I came around looking for answers, because there have been some mysterious deaths in the city.”

The older one nods, “An honest answer on what you want, but I do not know who you are or who you serve spirit. Kuda-san is offering you one option, we can make your afterlife quite pleasurable if you cooperate or make it a true Hell.”

Damn, they’re Japanese Shinto exorcists, Alex told me to avoid them, “Look, I mean no disrespect to your beliefs or whatever, but I was just curious. I am a poor nosy ghost trying to find his way in the big city and heard about some bad things happening.”

Kuda shook his head, “I don’t think Anko or I will buy that line. We have been following your progress from yesterday. Also, we know you were in the vicinity of the last murder. Now drop the innocent girl act and give us the answers? Or, the shocks will be the least you can expect.”

Shit, these guys are overly serious, “Come on, I am an innocent gay ghost, not an innocent girl. If you drop the good cop and bad cop lines, we might be friends.”

Kuda turned back to Anko then turned back to me, “Look, um…we don’t care what your sexuality is? We need answers.”

Sweet, those two guys are probably in a relationship or something. I’ve heard about the Japanese Master-Student gay relationship thing. It’s weird, but whatever, if no one is getting hurt and both of the guys are old enough to appreciate it, so what? Alex and I’ve been following a few online stories written by some guy named Mark Arbour, same ideas different packaging.

Sensing Kuda’s hesitation Anko jumps in, “Spirits must choose or we will force a choice upon them. It is better than vengeful spirits roaming the land in search of human souls.”

What a prick, I am not going to be changing my diet anytime soon, “I don’t consume souls to stay alive or keep my energy level up.”

Kuda came up to me with some kind of scanner, “What is holding your energy together? It feels…odd. There is a near perfect Yin and Yang equality in him. It should not exist.”

The older one frowns and waves the teenager to stand aside, “Now I know who you serve. The Tao-Ming has sent someone here as well. Tell your master to meet me at Miyamoto Restaurant tonight at 7 PM.”

In seconds, I was in the back seat of the rental car.

(Sid’s Excerpt from Book of Fate)

Fucking New York Traffic is horrible; we can’t even teleconference the taskforce from the car. I feel Patrick is back…Wow, what happened to him. He’s stressed, scared, and a little shell shocked. I can’t read his memories even if he has strong emotions for some reason. Alex’s expression changed from mildly annoyed by the New York traffic to a weird facial expression I can best sum up as “WTF” as far as I can tell based on his emotional range.

Better ask Patrick the old fashion way, “What happened to you?”

Alex charged in, “I’ll make them pay for this insult.”

I hate being the “C” part of a conversation, like the joke “It’s an A and B conversation, C your way out”. I know they were probably discussing something in private, I can feel the gambit of emotions from Patrick. At first, there was worry directed towards Alex. Then, there was anger directed towards himself for weakness. Finally, there was defiance. Being a profiler and an empath, I can tell how a conversation or argument was going even without context. Overall, I think Patrick had a bad experience, he shared it with Alex, Alex being the “white knight” lover wants vengeance, and Patrick is feeling a bit vulnerable.

After that spat of emotions, Patrick disappeared from my sight. I could still feel him around, but I know he is probably hiding himself. Alex’s facial expression had only hardened as we drove towards the Local FBI Building. Compared to the half-ass job in Washington DC, New York’s building was very utilitarian rather than 70’s modern. Not my preference in architectural style to be honest, I prefer a smaller decentralized campus with tinted glass buildings over the brick and stone tower. Still, the building has served the agency extremely well over the decades.

We parked several blocks away in an underground lot, which reminds me I had to pick up my Prius from DC, if they didn’t tow it away already. Note to self, avoid mental breakdowns until you get into the car…err…without driving in it of course.

When we got into the conference room, a dozen glares came down on the two of us with a range of emotions from “Got stuck in the Midtown traffic, huh!” to “Don’t waste my time”. The agent in charge, Adam Carroll, gave everyone a brief introduction and began to discuss the case.

Agent Carroll is smooth with his presentation, “About 11 days ago, we had our first case of this serial killer, or killers, handiwork. The 1^st victim Alicia Mitchell was murdered in Brooklyn inside her own home in her bed,” a slide of a dead African American girl pops up, “Local law enforcement, forensics, and coroner reports cannot identify suspects or instrument used to murder the victim. Blood and EEG test were considered unusual. Then, we had a second victim the following day, Christopher Acheson of Queens.” Another slide flashed of a Caucasian male, “Local law enforcement had similar findings to the 1^st victim and attempted to link the two based on associations with criminal elements., A 3^rd victim appeared on the third day...”

He went over all the victims’ names, faces and geographic locations. I am quite surprised the local news had not turned this into a major news story linking these killings to a serial killer.

Agent Carroll showed a side by side picture of the Latin writing from all the scenes, “The words, I am the soul devourer, have appeared in all the crime scenes along with a few other things indicating a demonic sacrifice ritual. We have kept this piece of information away from the press. However, beyond a few pagan rituals within the city; we cannot find anyone with such a disposition. Yesterday, the FBI special division on the Occult and Cryptography gave us a major break, which I will let Agent Zhang and Agent Tai explain.”

It’s actually Po-Tai, but shit, I didn’t prepare any slide.

I whisper to Alex, “Hope you did both our homework.”

He didn’t respond to me, only motioning me to stand up with him. He takes out a USB flash drive, which he plugged into the projector. The projector flashed and shifted a bit, an introductory slide popped out: Analysis of victims by timing, biology, and background.

Alex speaks as a slide of 3 points comes up, “Yesterday, we were handed a report from Assistant Director Schultz. Upon analyzing the details of the case, we ascertained three primary points linking the victims.

1. They are being killed within the 2 hour period of their birth associated with the ancient time keeping system of the Far East.

2. The victims were all born on September 19^th, 2000 which this year falls on the classic Lunar Festival in the non-Gregorian calendar

3. Each victim had similar backgrounds, despite racial and geographical differences.

Based on these facts, I must assume the killer has a timetable set up for killing these kids. It is definitely ritualistic, but as I shall explain later, there are holes in what type of ritual it is or even what religion. With those facts in hand though, we asked the entire list of potential victims born during the time frame of 8-10AM be placed under protection. However, it did not prevent a victim outside our knowledge from appearing outside the New York City jurisdiction.”

Another slide pops up with images of today’s crime scene, “Today, we encountered the 11^th victim on our way to New York. She was Samantha Alvarez,” a picture of Samantha popped up, “This occurred within the last 6 hours, so we do know the killer is still active. The killer also was able to hack and disable TSA security at LaGuardia airport, meaning this person either has accomplices with or possess a deep understanding of data security.”

Another slide pops up showing the same Latin words, “The Latin words are grammatically correct, but the word for soul is in the wrong case in Latin. In classic Latin structure, the genitive noun case denotes possession, but “Animam” is actually the accusative noun case denoting direct object. Western Demonic mythology would consider the victim to be the “possession” of the demon they are sacrificing towards, not a direct object. The current case would be incorrect for a demonic ritual based on Judeo-Christian beliefs. Thus, I believe the killer is trying to shift our focus away from his true intent.”

Alex flips to another slide with two points, Geography and Psychology, for profiling; damn he’s good, “Profiling this suspect is very difficult as I can guess from colleagues in this room. There are no geographical links, except the suspect operates in and around the New York 5 boroughs. Psychologically, there is very little in terms of an existing profile we can use. Ritualistic killers are considered to be the most elusive of serial killers, but we can pinpoint a major psychological factor: Whatever his true motives are, it involves someone around 13 years of age. Maybe it is guilt for a 1^st victim or a misguided belief in aiding this unknown 13 year old. I base this theory on the crime scenes where the victims show no struggle, their possessions are placed aside in an organized manner, and the body has not been touched after death as far as coroner and forensics report show.”

After our presentation, the lights came on and a slew of question came at Alex, starting with a burly Lieutenant, “I get that this guy might not be an extra from the movie “Insidious”, but we’ve never seen a serial killer using this type of killing pattern. Is he potentially a 1^st generation Asian or new immigrant?”

Ugh, I hate racial generalization, but Alex took the question very well, “Most Asians do not study Latin in their home countries or even upon arrival in the US; it’s a language native to Europeans as a mother tongue. I am not saying the suspect cannot be Asian, but it would probably be a well-educated 2^nd or 3^rd generation individual with a classical education and potentially mixed religious heritage as a result. Again, it is supposition, not a fact. We cannot deny another scenario of an education scholar hiding an eastern ritual with a western demonic theme.”

A local FBI agent raised a potential break, “Okay, can’t we ask the IT guys to backtrack the data records on the airlines and trains for the last few days. If what you say is true, the guy was planning this well ahead of time. He must know we had his potential victims under protection, so he has an alternative list from hacking the Airline and potentially Amtrak.”

The FBI data services department is not one of our most illustrious groups, only one member was sitting here, “Umm…We need a court order to enter the airline and train databases…and…umm…”

Agent Carroll was quick to quip, “The killer violated US security today, I think this falls under “special surveillance” measures.”

My personal opinion on the “special surveillance” measure he mentions is. BULLSHIT! Seriously, we need to resort to bypassing the legal process in order to fight criminals and murderers. What about the concept of due process or English Common law custom that everyone is “innocent until proven guilty”? There’s a fine line between pushing boundaries and injustice.

Before I could jump in, Alex stepped on my toes and adds, “Agent Carroll, we may not have enough time to do that, our data services department was cut during the sequester , so there are only three data analysts available for reviewing several hundred thousand entries and requests within the various transportation databases.”

Agent Carroll irately ask “Can’t we requisition other branches for support? Perhaps, Virginia?”

Alex shook his head, “No, the three agents are all that’s available within all 50 states and US possessions, not assigned to other cases. They would be from New York, Minneapolis, and Sacramento. I have already reviewed the possibilities with several other agents and administrators. We should put out a travel restriction and ban in New York Metro area, keep the killer limited to the victims we can track in the city easily.”

Grumbles came from everyone in the room along with thoughts of “Stupid government cuts”. Agent Carroll was not only angry at Alex for delivering the bad news, but he hated being showed up by some guy from DC. I can tell he wasn’t expecting us to be so well prepared for this briefing; hell, he’s right. I don’t know how he managed to do it, we were together for most of this morning, except my private testimony with the detectives and TSA. For a magic Taoist guy, he sure knows his way around technology.

(Alex’s Excerpt From Book of Fate)

Well, I stopped Sid from starting an inter-agency feud, but Agent Carroll is stupid and one dimensional. He’s one of those FBI agents that look great on camera, but doesn’t plan an investigation very well. We need to put travel restrictions up in New York, not merely fish out hundreds of thousands of entries and hope for a mysterious recurrent search pattern. Shit, some customer representative might have made a few mistakes and kept going back to fix it. Technology is not the panacea for every problem in the universe; you got to have proper reasoning and goals behind its use.

Agent Carroll and I are at the same level as senior agents, he can’t order me around. Plus, we’re here consulting, not part of the investigation, so he can’t order me or Sid around even if he’s the Agent in Charge. You got to love our bureaucracy.

Stupid FBI agents, I can handle, but the thing bugging me now isn’t what is in front of me. I hate dealing with the Japanese Shinto clans, but it’s not just the old “Chinese guy” with a Japanese phobia. Of course, there’s a cultural issue between our peoples; even between Taoists and Shinto adherents. After Emperor Shi Huang Di pushed for the inclusion of animal souls into the human reincarnation cycle, he demanded an Elixir of Immortality, so he can rule for all time. An extremely crazy idea, but a group of Taoists left the Qin state to search for the Elixir of Immortality. They abandoned the Tao-Ming and reformed their own order in Japan with influences of Shinto beliefs and philosophies. While the Tao-Ming might be strict with how we deal with ghosts, certain Shinto clans with less influence from Buddhism have a much more Draconian view. Ghost torture, imprisonment, and even spontaneous destruction are not forbidden. Plus, there are some strange legends about certain Shinto clans, who continued merging human and animal spirits beyond the 12 uniformed zodiac animals, including a forbidden animal combination dating back to the Shang Dynasty, when the “Books” were discovered by early Taoists during the War of Immortals.

That does not give me a great impression about these guys, plus no one gets to shock my boyfriend, no matter how annoying he can be. I was distracted by Sid’s jokes and the conversation we were having over the long drive. I should have felt the disconnection and have been alarmed by it. When we’re done with everything else, I have got to create some way for Patrick and me to maintain a communication link. I won’t lose him again.

Now, how am I going to distract Sid and keep him out of my hair for this meeting? This thing is still Tao-Ming business, plus I’d rather one of us is investigating the case personally. I could have him and Patrick work together on this. Sid despite his bad reactions today is extremely smart and capable. Patrick is really good with picking up details from his conversations with other ghosts. Both of our paths will be dangerous, there is no safety in either my meeting or hunting for this killer. However, in my case, I stand a better chance of getting killed as a display of power from my “distant cousins”.

We left the briefing and head towards our rental car. When Sid and I were inside, I waited for Patrick to appear, so we can discuss our plans for tonight.

I make my proposal, “Sid, can you and Patrick go around town to his sources?”

Sid in futility asks, “What happened this afternoon to Patrick? Is it related to the case?”

I shook my head, “I can’t tell you, but I can tell you I need someone to stay on this case. Patrick can’t hop around town alone right now until I do something. Please, trust me.”

Patrick chimes in, “You can’t seriously think you can do this alone. Let me come with you, I can….”

I telepathically project to Patrick, “I love you, I don’t want to lose you again. Just stick with Sid tonight, I’ll join up with you later.”

Sid looks over at me, “Okay guys, I hate to be a third wheel, but can someone tell me something? I am getting the feeling this could be a suicide mission or something.”

I don’t think it will be suicidal, at least if these guys are only as bad as rumor, “I will be safe and I have made up my mind. I will go on foot. You two can take the car and find out more details about what these ghosts did see and feel. Sid can read them and link it back to a memory.”

Before either of them can raise a protest, I left the car for my portentous meeting.