Chapter Two
Matt had vanished into the shadows by the time Harrison managed to get to his feet and hurry as fast as he could the remaining distance home.
He opened the door to see the startled gaze of Cassie who was sitting where he had left her on the sofa.
"Got to call Tru," he mumbled as he made his way to the phone.
He dialled her cell phone and got the answering service. His muddled mind finally recalled her work number and he was relieved to hear her pick up the phone in the morgue. He quickly gave her the rundown on what had happened. On hearing what had already happened Tru insisted he stay home instead of coming to the morgue; he didn't like the idea but Tru assured him that Davis was with her, she promised to take care and eventually Harrison agreed.
Settling back on the sofa he joked weakly that he hadn't purchased enough medical supplies but neither he nor Cassie wanted to go outside again.
A few hours later Harrison and Cassie, both battered and bruised, had settled down to watch a movie although neither was really concentrating and Harrison kept looking towards the phone as though expecting it to ring.
Finally, as though his persistent glances had paid off, it rang aloud and he leapt up from the sofa clutching his side at the pain his movement had caused.
"Hello?" he answered the phone on the second ring.
"He's at the morgue," a male voice whispered before the line went dead.
Harrison looked at the phone a moment before keying in the digits that would tell him the caller's number; he was not surprised to find that the number had been withheld.
"I've got to go to the morgue," Harrison said, grabbing his jacket on the way to the door.
"Who was that?" Cassie asked.
"He didn't say. Just said 'he's at the morgue'"
"Matt?"
"Must be," Harrison replied while struggling to get his jacket back on.
"Harrison you can't!" Cassie exclaimed, getting up from her own seat and moving to bar the doorway. "It's a trap. That was probably Matt himself setting you up."
"He's already had a piece of me, why go to the trouble of getting me to the morgue?"
"You don't think it's odd that someone calls to tell you he's there?"
"I can't leave her to face him on her own," Harrison said.
"So you do think it's a trap?"
Harrison nodded. It was obvious it was a set up, the only thing he didn't know was who was going to spring the trap when he got there.
"I'm coming with you," Cassie said as she grabbed her own coat from the hook on the wall next to the door.
"No!" Harrison practically shouted.
"You can't go on your own. It's a trap," Cassie cried.
"If it's a trap at least I know in advance," Harrison pointed out. "And only one of us is going to be walking into it, and it's not you."
"But…"
"No."
Harrison gently moved Cassie aside and walked past her out the door. "Don't follow me," he said as he shut the door behind him.
The storm that had been threatening to break all afternoon was raging in full spectacular glory by the time that Harrison reached the morgue.
He had kept his eyes peeled all the way but there was no sign of Matt anywhere about. Pushing open the door to the morgue he breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Tru sitting at her desk talking with Davis. Both looked perfectly well and much the same as the last time he had seen them.
He walked across the room to them. Davis was the first to spot him.
"Harrison," he greeted him with an uneasy glance at Tru.
Tru turned and gasped in shock at the state of her brother with his hair matted by the rain and water running down his bruised and cut face. She sat still, mentally cataloguing his injuries for almost a full minute before she jumped up from her seat and threw her arms around him.
"Argh," Harrison groaned as he felt another stab of pain from her embrace.
"Sorry Harry," Tru apologised, stepping back from him. He could see that her eyes were teary and all at once he knew that it didn't matter what she had done last week to meddle in his life, she was still his favourite sister and he loved her more than anyone else in the world. He knew in that moment he had forgiven her for interfering and also suspected that it would be a long time before she would meddle in his life again.
"It's okay," Harrison replied, moving to one of the chairs. "It hurts worse than it looks," he joked.
"I told you I'd be careful," Tru said, sitting back down beside him. "You didn't have to come all the way over here. You should be with Cassie."
"It's not like you're in any condition for the whole knight in shining armour thing," Davis added. "Besides he's not going to be hurting Tru anyway."
"I got a call to say he was here," Harrison explained. "I had to come and see if you were okay."
"I'm fine," Tru replied. "Like Davis said, he's not going to be hurting me or anyone else now."
"What do you mean?" Harrison asked with a feeling that he was missing something but was unsure as to what.
"He's through there," Tru said with a nod towards the main room.
"You don't mean he's in one of…?" Harrison's gaze followed Tru's. "What happened?"
"He was brought in about twenty minutes ago," Davis explained. "Stabbed."
"Are you sure it's him?" Harrison asked. "Who killed him?"
"Yes it's him," Tru answered. "And no one knows who killed him. He was found dead in an alley not far from Cassie's apartment."
"He must have been killed just after I left," Harrison thought aloud. "He was coming after you but never made it out the alley."
"Oh God Harry," Tru shuddered. "It could so easily have been you in here."
"You know I'm not that easy to kill," Harrison joked.
"You have to tell the police what you know," Davis said.
Harrison nodded with another glance into the other room. "I have to see him," he said with determination. "I have to know he's really gone so I can tell Cassie."
"It's definitely him," Tru said. "You don't have to see him."
"I have to," Harrison insisted.
"Okay," Tru agreed and before taking him through to the other room.
Looking down at Matt's face Harrison felt a sense of relief.
A phone rang in the other room and Davis called for Tru to go speak with the caller.
Harrison turned away from the body, intending to follow after Tru, when a feeling he had had once before came over him.
The air stilled and every sound in the room seemed to come from a distance, every sound except that of Matt turning towards him and whispering "help me." Harrison felt the room fall away from him as his life span out of control and time rewound.
