~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They didn't believe her.

"Look," Zelda said at the police station. "I know this sounds crazy, and normally I don't believe in this kind of stuff myself, but she knew things she couldn't have known otherwise! I swear!"

"Just exactly who is telling you all this stuff anyway?" the policeman asked.

"Her name is Peach Oda Mae," Zelda replied. "She can hear Link's voice, but she can't see him. But she says he says he's there."

The two cops glanced at each other, then back at Zelda. "So are you saying that there are. . .ghosts floating everywhere, all around us?" the female one asked.

"There must be," Zelda answered.

The policewoman glanced at her partener again. "Heck, I'm never getting undressed again!" She laughed then turned back to Zelda. "Now if you'll excuse me ma'am, I've got more important things to do." She stood up and walked behind her desk.

Zelda turned to the other cop. "Sir, you TOLD me to come to you if I found out anything else. And this woman knew things. . .she just knew things she couldn't have known if Link hadn't been there! Please, officer. . .will you please just look up this man? You may have a file on him."

Sighing, the man stood up. "All right, Miss. What's his name?"

"Roy Altan."

"All right, I'll be back in a minute."

Zelda waited nervously in her chair. She hadn't expected the cops to believe her, but it was crazy. How could Peach have known all that stuff if Link hadn't been there? It just wasn't possible!

A few minutes later, the policeman came back. Zelda looked at him hopefully as he sat down in his chair carrying several folders. "Sorry ma'am, but I didn't find any files on this Roy Altan guy. However, we have several records on this Peach Oda Mae."

"What d'you mean?" Zelda asked quietly.

"I hate to break it to you," said the cop. "But she's quite a crook. In '79, she was convicted of petty burglaries. . .false identifaction in '82, '87, '93, and most recently '94. . . she's had to pay several fines in order to elude being thrown in jail. . .sorry, ma'am. Mae is probably just trying to get back at some old boyfriend or something."

"N-no!" Zelda cried, starting to cry again. "She has to know it! She must be telling the truth! How could she know all that stuff?!"

The cop shrugged. "She could've snooped around outside windows, gotten stuff out of your garbage bins. . .as I understand it, she's set up a phony psychic booth down town. Listen, lady--you need to relax. It's only been a couple days since your husband's murder. When she says there's a chance he's still around, you want like hell to believe it. But it's not true. Go home and get some rest. Maybe you could take it over with someone. You know, one of your friends that you can trust."

Zelda pursed her lips together tightly and stood up. "I'm sorry. You must be right. I don't know what I was thinking. . ." She slowly made her way out of the police station.

"It's all right," the cop called after her. "Stuff like this happens all the time!"

"No it doesn't," said his partner from behind her desk.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Marth knocked on Zelda's door. She opened it, and he stepped inside. "Sooo, you said you wanted to see me. . .?"

"Yes," Zelda said. "I was going to tell you about this earlier, but I went to the cops instead. . ."

Marth got a little worried. "What happened?"

"It's this woman that came here," Zelda answered, leaning on her counter for support. "She says that Link is talking to her, directly. She can hear what he's saying. He told her that--"

"Woah, hold on a second," Marth interrupted, stepping closer. "This lady just comes to you and starts saying that Link is talking to her?"

"I had to believe her!" Zelda argued. "She knew. . .she just knew all this things she couldn't have known if Link hadn't been talking to her!"

Calming down a bit, Marth decided to play along. "All right, Zel. Just calm down. What'd she say he said?"

At that moment, Link came into the kitchen, whistling. He saw Marth and wished vainly that he could beat him up on the spot. Then he realized something: He'd managed to warn Zelda about Roy, but not about Marth!

"Sh-she said that Link was murdered," Zelda whispered. "And she warned me about this man named Roy Altan."

Link grinned as he saw Marth's face looking extremely agonized for a fraction of a second. "R-really? What about this man?"

"She said he wanted to murder me," Zelda answered, walking into the living room and sitting down on a couch. "And she told me to go to the police station about him, and I did, but they didn't have any files on him!"

As he sat down across from her, Marth's heart beat slowed down. "Okay. . ."

"But this woman who told me about him is a crook!" Zelda cried. "That's what I found out at the station! And now I don't know who I should believe!"

By now, Link had ventured upstairs, looking for Terri. In case things got rough, he might be able to get her to fight for him.

"This is ridiculous," Marth laughed. "Some lady just comes up here and says Link is talking to her, and you believe her--just like that?"

"It wasn't 'just like that'!" Zelda disputed. "It took a while for her to convince me! But I don't understand how she could've known--"

"Zelda," Marth interjected, leaning forward. "You and I both know that there's no such thing as a life after death. This conwoman is probably just. . .trying to get back at some old abusive boyfriend or something."

"Yeah, that's what the cop said," Zelda sighed, sitting up. "You must be right. I guess I just want to believe her so badly that Link is here, and around me." She stood up. "Do you want some coffee?"

"Sure."

"All right, I'll make some."

As Zelda went back into the kitchen to make coffee, Marth leaned back on the couch and sighed from relief. But he was still anxious. Who ever this woman was, she'd have to go. She knew too much. Marth didn't know how, but she knew about the whole thing.

"So, what's the name of this woman who's telling you all this?" Marth asked, as Zelda came back into the room.

"Peach Oda Mae," she answered, sitting back down and handing Marth his drink. "She's a psychic from down the street."

"Phony," Marth grunted. He took a sip of his coffee, staring over at Zelda intently. "Uh. . .could I have some more sugar?" he asked, pointing towards the cup behind Zelda.

"Yeah, sure."

The second Zelda's back was turned, Marth deliberately poured his black coffee all over his white shirt. "Oh crap!"

"What is it?" Zelda asked, turning around.

"I accidentally spilled coffee all over my new shirt," Marth muttered, trying to wipe the stuff off him. Looking quite peeved, he took off his shirt, revealing a bare muscular chest.

"Um, here," Zelda said, reaching over for the shirt and blushing. "I'll throw it in the wash and lend you a shirt."

"No, no, it's okay," Marth insisted, throwing his shirt to the side. He slowly stood up and then sat down next to Zelda. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, she backed up until she hit the arm of the couch. "It's all right."

At was probably not the best time, Link came down the stairs, still looking for Terri. He stopped dead in his tracks at what lay before him.

Marth was sitting directly next to (and almost on top of) Zelda, not wearing a shirt! Suddenly, Marth leaned forward and kissed Zelda's lips with passion. She didn't really kiss him back, but on the other hand, she didn't try to make him stop either.

Shouting with rage, Link jumped towards them. He sailed through them, the couch, and the coffee table, BUT. . .when he came through the other side, his hands bumped against a carnation of flowers, which promptly fell on the floor.

Immediately, Marth and Zelda broke away from each other and stared at the flowers. Marth shrugged it off, and leaned back towards Zelda. But this time, she pushed him away.

"I-I'm sorry, Marth. . .I can't. Not this soon."

"All right. I understand." Marth got to his feet, picked up his shirt, and headed towards the door. "Just remember, Zelda: you can always come to me for help."

"NOT FOR SEX!" Link roared, as he watched his former best friend walk out the door. He turned his attention to his wife, who curled into a ball in the corner of the bed. She was crying softly. Immediately, Link's expression softened. There was Zelda: innocent, heartbroken, confused, and. . .beautiful. He was falling in love with her all over again, but he knew there was no point.

Then it struck him. He'd hit the basket of flowers. . .he'd touched them. The first thing the next day, he decided, he was going to hop back on that train and get that man to help him out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Roy's phone rang. He turned down his radio and picked it up. "Yeah?"

"It's me, Altan," came Marth's voice on the other side.

"Not another murder," Roy sighed. "I'm almost tired of them."

"You've got to do this one," Marth growled into the phone. "It's this psychic freak. She knows all about the set-up, Roy!"

"Oh," he said dumbly. "Okay."

"I'll come over there tomorrow with the details," Marth said. "It shouldn't be too hard to at least get her arrested and out of our way. . .she's already a criminal. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?''

"Kay. Bye." He hung up.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~

ain't the police dudes poopheads?

Random Quote:

"By the way, there's a name for ladies like you--but it isn't used in high society. . .outside of a kennel."

--Crystal Allen