Limbo

RACHEL:

Everyone whips around to look toward the door, and there's a constable standing just inside the room. He's short, chunky, and dark haired, with a walrus-like mustache, a bald spot down the center of his head that's almost like a reverse Mohawk, and a surly, suspicious look on his face.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Bob blurts, looking confused, angry, and worried all at the same time.

"Oh, come on, everybody knows how things work with you Hollywood types," the deputy sneers, as the EMT's shove past him and rush over to Ashley. "I bet I can tell you exactly what happened here. One of you, or maybe more, got into it with this fella here, probably over some little chippy. Or maybe drugs, who knows? Anywho, things got a little out of hand, somebody got a little carried away, and all of a sudden, somebody hadda make an 'anonymous' call. So why doesn't whoever did it just own up right now, and mebbe it'll go a little bit easier on ya?"

As everyone just gapes at him, like they can't remember how to form words, another voice comes from the dining room doorway, saying, "And you need to stop puttin' your mouth in gear before your brain gets into the car, Klement. I had three calls on my way up here from people that saw a pickup comin' from this way like a bat outta hell right after they saw these folks hoofin' it up the road from Fred's place."

"Well, if they didn't do it, they most likely know who did," the first guy shot back. "Most likely somebody what didn't get paid for a little sumthin' sumthin', if you take my meaning. Whaddya bet if I go look through some of the rooms I find us some illegal substances?"

He moves toward the door where the other officer is standing, as if he intends to start going through the house, and Charlie says, "Don't even think about taking another step unless you have a warrant."

"This is a crime scene, I don't need a warrant. And if you start tryin' to interfere, maybe I'll just run you in."

"And maybe if you keep flapping your gums, you'll finally give me a justifiable reason to fire your sorry butt," the other guy retorts. "Everybody knew that Chief Hubbel didn't much give a rats ass about anything before he retired, but I don't think anybody will ever be able to figure out why the hell he hired you in the first place. Now if you're actually interested in continued employment, get outside and get some casts made of those tire tracks."

"But I was first on scene, I should be in charge!"

"But you're not, because you aren't worth a lawsuit. Now get outside and get those tracks, or go home and consider yourself on suspension. Am I clear?"

"Yeah, whatever," he mumbles, and his superior looks directly at him.

"Excuse me, what was that, Klement?" he inquires.

"I said yes sir, Chief. I'll get on it right away."

As he starts out the door, the chief turns to another officer and says, "Jurgens, you go with Herb, there, and make sure he doesn't screw anything up."

The guy nods and follows the jerk out the back door, as the medical guys pop the legs of the stretcher up and wheel Ashley through the archway toward the front door. The rest of the guys start to follow, and the police chief says, "Whoa there, not so fast! I still need you all to answer some questions before anybody goes anywhere."

"Then who the fuck is gonna give these hospital people the information they need about Ash?" Andy explodes. "It's not like he's in any fuckin' condition to talk to them himself."

The EMT's pause momentarily, and one of them says, "It'd definitely be helpful, Chief. We can get his name and vitals out of his wallet, but it might be useful to have somebody who can tell us about allergies and stuff like that."

He pauses momentarily, then relents."Okay, one of you can ride with him, I'll have an officer follow along, and you can give him your statement while you're waiting. Then as soon as I'm done, the rest of you can head out."

Everyone starts talking at once, until Susan reaches into her purse and pulls out some paper packets. "Okay, everyone pick one of these out of my hands. I've got three sugar packets and one stevia. Whoever picks the odd one goes, cause he doesn't have time for you to argue."

When she says this, they all go quiet, and the drawing results in Jake going along with Ashley in the ambulance. After they're gone, the cop looks around the room at everyone, and says, "Well, now that we have the time, allow me to introduce myself to those of you I haven't already met. I'm Deputy Chief Allan Whitworth, and the first thing I'd like to do is apologize for Herb Klement. He's a holdover from my predecessor that I haven't been able to get rid of yet, much as I'd like to. But I've definitely got something to add to his file now."

He looks around the room, shaking his head, and says, "Looks like your buddy interrupted a burglary, and they tried to make sure he couldn't identify them. Unless there is something else I maybe should know about, that is."

"If you're starting on the bullshit about drugs like that other clown, just don't even," Jinxx snarls in annoyance. "If that's what you're worried about, then you can go right the hell ahead and search the everlasting fuck out of my room, right now! I don't even care if you have a warrant."

Everyone else chimes in with their agreement, and he waits until they've settled down a bit, then replies, "Sorry, but I have to ask. But if that's not an issue, should I be looking for maybe an angry ex-wife or girlfriend? Or maybe a jealous husband who might think that your friend was moving in on his territory?"

Andy gives out a small chuckle, rakes his fingers through his hair, and says, "Y'know, if we were back in LA, that might be a fair question, 'cause Ash does like the ladies. But we've been working so much since we got here that he hasn't even had time to find himself a strip club to visit whenever we finally get an off day. So I'm gonna have to go with 'No' to that question."

"In that case, I'm going to split everyone up and get your statements," he informs everyone. He calls two other officers, and sends Andy and Jinxx to the living room with one, and leaves Bob and CC in the kitchen with the other, while he goes with Charlie and Susan to their private suite. I sort of wander from one place to the other and listen in while they answer the questions, and look out the window at the guys who are working on the tire tracks. I can tell even from here that the guy named Klement is not happy, and it looks like he's starting to irritate the other guy, especially when he turns to walk toward the cruiser and almost drops the hunk of plaster. The second officer catches it before it hits the ground, glares at Klement, and then carries it to a different car and locks it in the trunk, earning himself an offended look.

After a while, Charlie, Susan, and Whitworth come back out to the living room, and he calls for the other officers, asking for reports. "Well, we took blood samples from the floor, and took several kitchen utensils and a large rock into evidence, all of which were bloodstained," one of them announces. "There was also blood spatter on the back porch and in the grass, which indicates that at least one of the suspects is injured."

"All right, then, maybe this will get us somewhere. Have dispatch contact all of the hospitals in the area, and tell them to be on the lookout for any suspicious injuries that would match the items you've collected. If somebody is bleeding like that, they're going to need some sort of medical attention."

He gets info from some of the others, then asks the guys to look through their rooms to see if anything is missing. They all look around, and see that everything is there, and when they check Ashley's room, they're kind of startled to see that his phone is still there.

Finally, the cops leave, but put the kitchen off-limits until they're sure that they're done collecting evidence. As soon as they're gone, Bob and the guys head for the door to go meet up with Jake at the hospital, while Charlie and Susan stay here to get someone to come out to fix the window, and call to arrange for someone to install an alarm. CC has Ashley's phone, so they have the numbers to contact his family when they know what's going on. As they file out onto the porch, I hear CC remark, "But this is just weird, though. Bob said that they told him there were two separate calls, from different numbers, which means that he had to have called from his phone, as well as the one downstairs. So why the hell did he leave it upstairs, when that's what he came back for in the first place?"

"No idea, we'll ask him when he wakes up," Jinxx responds, and then they move out of my range, so I don't hear anything else.

But Susan, who is standing at the window, looks at Charlie after they're gone, and says, "And what happens if they find out that our phone was off the hook, when you and I are the only ones with keys to our rooms? I can't even explain it to myself!"

Charlie pauses for a second as he's checking listings for glass installers, and replies, "I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but maybe you're onto something with this ghost of yours. It doesn't make any sense, but at the same time, it's the only thing that fits."

And in spite of everything that's just happened, this statement sends a bolt of excitement running through me. Maybe, just maybe, if someone is finally ready to believe, they can figure out how to get me out of here, so I can go wherever I'm actually supposed to be.

Notes