“That sounds like the worst Freaky Friday moment ever,” Ivy muttered. “Has Marcus been in your body since he died?”
“I wasn’t sure he died at that point,” Laura admitted. “I knew something happened. I knew it was bad. I knew I hadn’t seen him around. Still, through all of that, I thought I was dreaming. That seems pretty stupid now, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t think it sounds stupid,” Ivy countered. “I probably would’ve jumped to the same conclusion. When did you know differently?”
“Days. Weeks maybe. I’m not sure. Things were really fuzzy. I could hear Marcus. I could think his thoughts … if that makes sense.”
Ivy nodded, prodding the woman to continue.
“I know now that Marcus somehow managed to take over my body. I’m still not sure how. I think it might be sheer force of will. He didn’t want to die, so he came up with the only solution that not only allowed him to live but also get away with what he did.”
“Do you know what he did?”
“I know he shot Jack Harker,” Laura replied. “Jack found out that Marcus was running drugs. My brother was skimming whenever they made a drug bust. He always volunteered to inventory everything because that allowed him to fudge the reports.”
“Did you know that before he took over your body?”
Laura shook her head. “He would never tell me anything like that,” she said. “He knew I would turn him in. I loved my brother. I was aware of his limitations, though. He was a sociopath. I recognized the signs when I was in college. I took a psychology class and I read about it in a book and I realized what he was. Sociopaths can be charming. They can convince you of things. Marcus was a master when it came to that.”
“Why didn’t you distance yourself from him then?”
“I naively thought I could make things better,” Laura said. “I thought maybe he could be saved. It’s stupid to think that now, but there it is.”
“Could you communicate with Marcus when you were sharing the same body?”
“He could hear me,” Laura said. “I would disappear for hours at a time – it was kind of like sleeping without dreams – and I was strongest when I came back. I tried to force him out of me a couple of times, but he threatened to kill my mother if I didn’t stop doing it so … I didn’t have a choice. I gave in.”
Sympathy washed over Ivy. Did Laura know what Marcus did to their mother? “When did you get completely displaced?”
“Several weeks ago,” Laura answered. “I’d been spending more and more time out of my body. It was easier that way. Marcus’ thoughts were hateful and he kept trying to figure out a way to get revenge on Jack. He blamed him for everything.
“The more time I spent away from my body the harder it was to return,” she continued. “The final straw was when Marcus went out to an empty field in Detroit. I think it used to be an apartment building, but it was torn down. He dug up the gun he used to shoot Jack, all the time mumbling about how he was going to make him pay. I didn’t want to deal with him one second longer than I had to.”
The next question was a hard one, but Ivy had to ask it. “Do you know what Marcus did to your mother?”
Laura nodded, her green eyes sad. “I didn’t know when he did it. I wasn’t there. I think he knew that. He told me after the fact that Mom figured out what was going on. I still don’t know how. If anyone could recognize Marcus’ putrid soul, though, it was her. She knew what he was long before I did.”
“And yet she protected him,” Ivy pointed out. “Why did she do that?”
“He was her son. She wasn’t the type of woman who could turn her back on her own flesh and blood.”
“So Marcus killed your mother because she figured things out,” Ivy said. “You were growing weaker and weaker ... which let Marcus get stronger. He spent six months thinking up revenge schemes before deciding to go after Jack. I wonder why he waited for so long.”
“I can’t answer that,” Laura said. “It used to be that I popped out of existence when I went to … sleep. I made a conscious decision to leave my body at some point. That’s when I started existing outside of it, too. I still disappear sometimes, but when I’m here I can control my actions. I can go places.”
“Did you follow Marcus up here for a reason?”
“I’m still hoping to get my body back,” Laura admitted. “It seems ridiculous to say it, but that’s all I have. I’m nothing here.”
“You know if you do get it back that you’re going to be arrested and charged with the murder of a police officer, right?” Ivy asked. “I don’t know any judge who is going to believe you were possessed by your murderous brother’s spirit.”
“I know,” Laura said. “I simply don’t know what else to do.”
“Marcus has been watching us for days, hasn’t he?”
“Try weeks.”
Ivy frowned. That was disconcerting. “Why didn’t he kill me that day in the park?”
“I don’t know,” Laura replied. “I’ve been watching him. I’ve tried to hijack my body back a few times, but he’s stronger than I am and he screams at me to get out. I can’t seem to break through. If I had to guess, though, I would say he’s playing with Jack. He wants Jack to be terrified about potentially losing you … he wants to toy with him … and then he’s going to kill you.”
“What does he hope to accomplish by doing that?”
“He only cares that he causes Jack pain,” Laura said. “If you want to know the truth, I think Marcus’ biggest problem is that
