“I’m sorry he isn’t here today,” Victor said, and I believed him. He had an honest, open sort of face. “His sister has been sick these last few days. He’s been hesitant to leave her.”
“Right,” I murmured, unable to help my disappointment.
Victor removed a notebook and a pen from his jeans’ pocket. “I’ve questioned Allan, Winston, Cole, Randi, and Karen. I’m fairly certain of their guilt, but I’d like to hear your side of the story before issuing an arrest.”
Under normal circumstances, I never would’ve spilled my guts to a trooper. I wasn’t a rat. But since this was Charlie’s uncle and he seemed concerned for me, I thought I’d try being honest with a man in uniform for once. I told him everything, starting with the fight between Allan, Cole, Winston, Charlie and me, and ending with the ambush after our first hour of mandatory community service. The detective nodded and scribbled until I stopped talking.
“Would you be willing to testify in court once you’ve healed?”
I nodded. Might as well go all the way and become a professional rat.
He smiled. “That’s very brave of you.” Then he flipped his notebook closed and wished me a speedy recovery.
I was tempted to ask him if he knew when Charlie would be coming to see me again, but thought better of it. I didn’t want to appear needy. Besides, Charlie said he’d come back and tell me everything. I knew he’d keep his word. And if he didn’t, I’d just find his address and go bug the hell out of him after I was released from the hospital.
◆◆◆
I woke up from a nightmare to find Charlie standing by my window. It was still raining outside so it was hard to tell how long I’d been asleep. Or how long I’d been in the hospital for that matter. After eating the same three meals a day and spending all my time sleeping, or listening to music while staring at the wall, or trying to get the stupid TV to play anything other than General Hospital reruns, it was hard to keep track of time.
The important thing was that he was here. I was finally going to get some answers.
“It’s about time.” I pressed the incline button on the bed control. The section of mattress under my torso slowly began to rise so I could sit up without actually sitting up. “Kiki Jerome went through two boyfriends while I was waiting on your ass to show up.”
“My sister doesn’t have a psychic gift,” Charlie said without looking at me.
I sighed. He was such a drama queen. “Yeah, I figured. She has some other mental illness, right?”
“No. She’s cursed. And so am I.”
Finally, he turned to face me. His eyes were such a dark purple they looked almost black.
“Whoa. That’s wicked awesome.” I waved a hand and shook my head. “Not the whole being cursed part but the changing eye color part.”
Charlie shoved his hands into his pockets, glancing at the door. “I usually wear colored contacts when I’m outside the precinct. My eyes draw too much unwanted attention otherwise.”
“Okay. So cursed, huh? What’s that about?” I never would’ve pegged him as a superstitious type. I didn’t believe in curses or spirits or voodoo, but everyone was entitled to their own worldview, right? Besides, he’d let me talk about my personal stuff without passing judgment, so I owed him that much.
He rocked on his feet and watched people passing by through the little window built into the door. I was about to ask again when he stepped up to the plastic chair by my bed. He dropped into it. Took a deep breath. Ran a hand through his hair. Stared down at his knees. When he finally did start talking, the words came slowly, as if he were having a hard time finding the right ones.
“Once upon a time…there was a couple who wanted to have children.” He wiped his palms against his jeans. “Let’s call them Dan and Joyce Campbell.”
I nodded. I would play along if this made things easier for him. “A’ight.”
“After six miscarriages, a bout of fertility tests, and two in vitro fertilization attempts, they were out of money and without hope of ever creating a family on their own.” Charlie licked his lips and glanced at me. “Then they found out they were pregnant with twins.”
“A boy and a girl,” I assumed.
He nodded. “Everything seemed to be going fine until the sixth month rolled around. Joyce went into early labor. It was painful and difficult. And completely unnecessary.” Bitterness chased away his anxiety. “The boy could’ve survived with some serious medical help, but something went wrong in the development of his brain. He was born blind. The girl was fatally behind in her physical development. Apart from her mother, she wouldn’t survive the hour.
“You can imagine Dan and Joyce’s despair. To come so close, only to lose their kids now.” Charlie leaned back in his chair, poker faced. “That’s what drew Death to them, I think: their desperation. She appeared in the hospital room as a woman with a ghostly glow. She asked them what they could offer her if she saved the babies. They promised her whatever she wanted. Whatever it took.”
I shuddered. Uh-oh.
Charlie leaned an elbow against one of the armrests and rubbed his eyes. “Of course, there wasn’t anything Death wanted from Dan and Joyce. She just wanted to play with them. So she gave the boy who couldn’t see the ability to witness the deaths of others nearby. The girl who came so close to death would die again and again and again, in every horrible, painful way the people within her radius did. When Death left, the babies were healthy and whole. But from the moment Dan and Joyce took them home from the hospital, the curse took effect.”
He peered at me from between his fingers. “The boy had terrible colic. He cried all the time and slept infrequently. The
