Corpse Whisperer

Chapter 3: Not a Great Conversation

“Sit," Dolores commanded before she crossed to the refrigerator.

“I'm sure I can find stuff."

She shook her head. “It'll give me something to do while I think of how I tell you my news."

Her being nice meant she wanted something. His defenses slammed closed, his teeth clenched. She wasn't getting anything from him.

He sat at the scarred Formica table on a chair with ripped upholstery. She hadn't replaced it yet and he had some hot memories from this piece of furniture. “What news?" Would she get to it already?

Shrugging out of his suit jacket, he slid it onto the isHback of what had been his chair. The same cat clock's tail twitched the seconds. The place even smelled the same, a mixture of grease and cologne.

She stopped in the middle of making a sandwich. Her tired gaze came to him. “I'm pregnant."

***

Grace drove straight to her bank to transfer the funds needed to cover the check she had written to Dolores. Her heart skittered at the thought of the task ahead of her.

She'd noticed a car pull into the driveway as she left her new home and wondered if that could be the killer. She'd scrutinize every person that came in contact with Dolores. Her job would be tiring, but she had a calling.

With her work shift coming up quickly, Grace drove home to change then set off for the hospital. And her day began with a bang, but being around live people filled her heart.

She forgot about Dolores for a few hours. Pretend the she didn't have to find a murderer.

“Clear," she said to her partner.

He and the two Emergency Medical Technicians raised their hands so she could see they were not touching the patient. They'd obviously worked with her before though she didn't recognize them.

She put 300 joules into the fifty-year-old man. This shock would work. Had last time she'd been through this day.

His body jerked. His pulse returned and she let out a whoop. Snatching one from the grim reaper had its own high and she rode it for a moment. “Another one grabbed from the clutches of death."

The EMTs eyed her and laughed. “You take way too much delight in bringing them back," one of them said.

As they rolled to the hospital, she kept an eye on the man's pulse. She wouldn't lose one today. Not a premonition, not clairvoyance, but a desire.

She didn't know a phrase for talking to dead people. Other than crazy.

***

Zach blinked. Holy s**t. One night. A baby?

A rush of emotion overtook him and left him speechless. Dolores eyed him as if he would tell her the answer to a philosophical question.

His voice appeared finally. “Oh?" he said though his tongue couldn't move properly.

She had always wanted children. He hadn't and Dolores didn't tell him her desire until after they married. Another example of how she manipulated him. He hoped she wasn't doing it again.

Bile rose in his throat for the second time that day. Bitterness was his best friend.

“Thanks." She whirled back to her lunch-making. “It's yours."

Terror and anger raced around his brain as if competing to get to the finish line first. “Okay."

A small child could have decked him at that moment.

“I know you didn't want children, but I'm keeping this baby."

Zach stood and bridged the distance between them. She didn't shy away. He didn't touch her, but she put her arms around him.

As always, he needed to state the obvious. Dolores was too busy in her dream land. “Do you think it's a good idea? Bringing this baby into an already broken home? Not even a home anymore."

She shoved him away from her. “This is regardless of what contribution you planned to make."

He swallowed hard. “Are you really prepared to take care of a baby? Financially and emotionally?"

Her gaze went through him. “Yes."

Thoughts swirled about his head. He couldn't say what she wanted to hear, but he would do what he could for this baby. He knew how to take responsibility. “I need to time to wrap my brain around this."

He walked away from her, back to the chair. He paused, then sat down.

“Fine. I don't want to talk about it anymore," she said.

She dropped a plate with a sandwich in front of him.

He shook his head, but the idea of a baby lingered on in the outskirts of his consciousness. He'd have to think about this later. He could go with a subject change if she could. “So tell me about the car that pulled away," Zach said.

Her butt landed in the chair across from him. “I'm renting out the apartment above the garage."

He paused with the sandwich halfway to his mouth. The apartment was livable, but not luxurious. They'd planned on using it as a guest suite, but the marriage had fallen apart. “Why?"

“I need the money."

“I'll give you more if that's what you need."

She smiled. “That's generous, but I know how much you made. And now you have a new business."

“I could find something else to do." No. This baby talk had his brain fried. The next best thing to being a cop was being a private investigator in his mind. That's what he told himself each morning when he didn't want to get out of bed.

She laughed. “Oh, Zach, you wouldn't want to do anything else. It's as if dead people call to you."

Knowing she was correct, he blew out a breath. “Well, then at least let me have her checked out."

Dolores ran a hand through her auburn hair. Passive aggressive alert. “Maybe. If you really want to, but I think she's okay."

“Let me find out for sure."

She picked at her sandwich. “Her name's Grace Harmony. She's new in town."

He reached across and took her hand. As always he said, “I'll take care of everything."