Final Breath

gotten in touch with Sharon McKenna to see if Tim could fly out and spend a week with his pal; she'd done the same thing with Brad's parents. She'd offered to pay for the flight. But the McKennas and the Reeces each had misgivings about putting their twelve-year-old on a plane by himself. And in the case of the McKennas, they were friends with Joe once again, and she was the villain for taking her son and moving away.

Approaching the front stoop with the keys in her hand, Sydney couldn't help worrying that she'd find the door unlocked and open again. She'd experienced that same apprehension several times since coming home on July Fourth. The door was closed and locked, thank God.

Eli followed her inside, then headed upstairs to the bathroom. Kicking off her shoes, Sydney went into the kitchen, where she checked the back door to make sure it was closed and locked. No break-in. It only made sense. If Number 59 had followed them to Auburn and back, when would he have had time to break into their apartment?

She phoned Kyle and got his machine. 'Hey, it's me,' she said to the recording. 'This is kind of last minute, but I would love it if you could come over tonight. Color me needy. I'll buy the pizza if you bring the DVD. Call me when you get this. Bye.'

She was checking her voice mail when she heard Eli bounding back down the stairs, jumping from landing to landing.

On her voice mail, there were three hang-ups, and no messages. Ordinarily, she wouldn't have given the hang-ups a second thought. But she was already unnerved by this potential stalker situation. Moreover, the person calling each time stayed on the line long enough for Sydney to hear people talking in the background. She checked the last call return, and the automated voice told her: 'The number called cannot be reached.'

Sydney told herself that it was just a telemarketer.

It sounded like Eli was in the dining room. She heard a drawer squeak open.

Sydney headed toward the refrigerator, but remembered stashing Joe's letter in the breakfront's bottom drawer.

She swiveled around and hurried into the dining room. 'What are you doing in there?' she asked, surprised at her own, almost-shrill tone. 'Get out of there--'

Startled, Eli glanced up at her. He was crouched down in front of the built-in breakfront. He had the bottom drawer open. 'What's wrong? What'd I do?'

'What are looking for?'

'The charger for my iPod,' Eli answered, squinting at her as if she was crazy. 'Jeez, what's the big deal?'

Sydney took a deep breath, then stepped over to the drawer and closed it. 'Your charger's in the kitchen drawer, top right hand, where it always is.'

'Well, thanks,' he grumbled. He brushed past her and headed into the kitchen. 'God, you don't have to bite my head off.'

'I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to snap at you,' she called after him.

She listened to him open and shut one of the drawers in the kitchen. 'Did you find it?' she called.

No answer. She heard him stomping toward the stairs. Swell, now he's mad at me-- again. She should have just let him see the damn letter from Joe, and then he would have known just how much his dad cared about them. But she couldn't break his heart like that.

Sydney stooped down and opened the breakfront's bottom drawer. She found the letter in the back of the drawer, where she'd originally stashed it under a pile of loose papers and bills.

She heard the front door slam. 'Eli?' she called, shutting the breakfront drawer. 'Honey, are you there?' She didn't want him going outside, not when that stalker could be lurking around. 'Eli?' she repeated, running to the front door. She opened it and called out his name again. He wasn't in the courtyard.

'Eli? Honey, where are you?' In her bare feet, she hurried toward the garages and gazed down the driveway. The gate was still closed. She didn't see him anywhere.

'Oh, God,' she murmured, tears stinging her eyes. Her son had no idea this potential nutcase was out there--watching and following them. 'Eli, honey, answer me, please!' she screamed.

But there was no answer.

Sydney obviously had no idea he was studying her every move right now.

From an alleyway off the courtyard--within the gated premises--he'd seen Eli bolt out the front door. The boy had ducked into the shadows of a little alcove, where the caretaker's unit was. He'd stayed there while his mother called out his name again and again.

He couldn't help smiling. Her son was hiding from her. He hated his own mother.

Sydney looked so upset--unhinged. Even this far away, he could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. A hand over her mouth, she kept glancing around the courtyard. Each time she called out for her son, her voice became more warbled and strained. She looked so scared and pathetic, wandering out there barefoot, crying for her son. It amused him to see her suffer.

And he hadn't even really started in on her yet.

CHAPTER TEN

Eli listened to his mother calling out for him. She seemed awfully panicky, considering he'd just stepped out less than a minute ago. What was her problem? It was barely twilight, not even dark yet.

'Eli? Honey, can you hear me?' she called out, her voice shaky. 'Oh, God...'

He kept his back pressed against the brick wall in an arched alcove to the caretaker's unit. There was a light above him, but none of the outside lights had gone on yet, so Eli was shrouded in darkness. It sounded like his mom was crying. Part of him felt bad for her, but he was angry at her, too.

Okay, so she'd caught him searching for that letter from his dad. She didn't have to get all snippy about it. Could he help it if he missed his dad?

Eli waited until he heard her go back inside the apartment. Then he slowly emerged from the shadows to make sure she'd gone. On the opposite side of the courtyard, he thought he saw someone in the alley. A dark figure darted behind some Dumpsters.

Eli gazed at that alley for another moment. Nothing moved. He told himself it must have been his imagination.

He glanced over toward their apartment. He thought about sneaking out of the courtyard and walking for a while--maybe along the beach. He just wanted some time to calm down--and yeah, maybe keep her wondering about him a little bit longer. It was pretty dumb, really. Here he was, twelve years old, and running away from home. Some home. He didn't think he'd ever call this place home.

He really did need to be alone for a while right now. He kept thinking about what that psychic lady had told him--about the danger around him, the loss he would have to face, and his communication with someone dead.

Reaching into his pocket, Eli pulled out the twenty-dollar bill with the two corners ripped off. He felt a little pang in his gut. His mom had given him this money to go on rides and have fun, and now he'd made her cry. What a little shit he was.

Eli figured he'd better go back inside and let her know he was all right. But then he saw something move in the alley again. He hesitated, then ducked back into the alcove. Keeping perfectly still, he studied the alleyway, especially around the Dumpsters. But he didn't see anything. He wondered if it had been a crow or something.

Maybe there were ghosts outside their apartment, too. Maybe Carl wasn't the only undead spirit haunting Tudor Court.

Eli glanced at the caretaker's door. If anyone knew about their ghost--and the murder-suicide in their unit--it would be Larry, the caretaker.