Chapter Three
Harrison sat up in bed with a jerk and felt momentary surprise that his injuries were no longer there. No cuts or bruises and when he ran his tongue over his teeth sure enough none of them were loose.
He looked at Cassie lying asleep beside him. Her face was turned away and he reached towards her to turn her over and check that her own injuries had also vanished, waking her up in the process. She mumbled something incoherent looking less than happy at being woken so suddenly.
Harrison was not bothered in the slightest; his joy at getting a second chance at the day was enough to make up for Cassie's early morning blues.
"What's going on?" she asked in confusion.
"The day's rewound," Harrison exclaimed.
"How do you know that?" Cassie questioned. "You're not even speaking to Tru at the moment."
"Not her day, mine," Harrison grinned. "And we've made up anyway."
"When?" Cassie asked.
"Yesterday," Harrison answered. "Or rather today but the first time around."
"Okaaaay," Cassie drawled while edging away from the ecstatic Harrison. "And since when do you share your sister's dubious gift for reliving days?"
"I don't normally," Harrison replied frowning as he remembered the last time it had happened. They had never come up with an explanation for the sudden switch and since it hadn't happened again they had all assumed it was a one off fluke. "It's only happened to me once before."
"You never mentioned it," Cassie said.
"The day was a bit of a disaster," Harrison muttered. "I didn't know anything about the victim and Tru had to help out doing most of the work. It was a relief when it didn't happen again."
"So why are you so happy today?"
"Because yesterday was a disaster already," Harrison answered with uncharacteristic anger. "Matt turned up for payback yesterday."
"Matt?" Cassie paled. "He's out of jail?"
"Just," Harrison nodded. "He came after both of us and was going for Tru next."
"What did he do?" Cassie asked though her tone gave away that she had a fair idea of what had happened already.
"Let's just say we needed to stock up on medical supplies here," Harrison said. "But this time we have advance warning and things are gonna be different."
"What do you have in mind?"
"I'm picking you up from work," Harrison said. "He was waiting for you at the end of your shift yesterday."
"What else?"
"I've got to warn Tru. He's after her too," Harrison replied reaching for the phone. He started to dial the number before stopping and replacing the receiver.
"What is it?" Cassie asked when he didn't pick up the phone again. "I thought you said you made it up with Tru?"
"She won't remember yesterday," Harrison said absently. "But that's not why I stopped. There's something else."
"Yes?"
"Matt's the one who asked for help yesterday."
"He was killed yesterday? By who?"
"I don't know. I got an anonymous call saying he was at the morgue. When I got there he was there all right. Dead. Then he asked me for help and the day rewound."
"Somehow I don't think he'll want your help," Cassie pointed out with a rueful smile.
"Tru 'll say to help him anyway," Harrison muttered. "Like he deserves it just because he asked."
"You still have to warn her," Cassie insisted reaching for the phone.
"If I tell her I'm reliving the day she'll want to know who asked for help."
"You have to tell her."
"I'll just tell her he's back," Harrison compromised. "We'll say the police warned us he's been released and we're to keep an eye out for him. That they suspect he might want revenge."
He took the phone from Cassie and dialled Tru's number. She picked up the phone, delighted surprise evident in her voice when she heard Harrison on the line.
"So does this mean I'm forgiven for interfering?" she asked when Harrison had finished warning her about Matt's return.
"You know I can't hold a grudge forever," Harrison said. At least not against you, he amended silently. The same couldn't be said for Matt.
"So are you going to be stopping by later to catch up?" Tru asked.
"Sure, we'll stop by this evening," Harrison replied, daring her to say that Cassie was not included in the invitation.
"I'll see you both later then," Tru answered, her voice sounding at once relieved and happy.
Harrison hung up the phone a minute later and turned to Cassie again.
"So you're not going to save Matt then?" she asked.
"No," Harrison replied. His eyes hardened with the anger he still felt from the memories of the previous version of the day. "He'll only come after us again if he lives past today. He got what he deserved."
"That sounds like your father talking," Cassie replied.
"Sometimes I think my dad has the right idea about some things."
"Does he know about the rewind days?" Cassie asked curiously. It was not a topic of conversation that had ever come up before.
"I don't think so," Harrison replied after a moment's thought. "Tru doesn't tell people much at all. I'm sure she'd have mentioned if she'd told him."
"She told you and Davis."
"Davis figured it out for himself," Harrison replied with a laugh. "I took some convincing though."
"I wonder what he'd say about it if he knew," Cassie wondered, her mind obviously still on Richard.
"He'd probably not believe it," Harrison answered with a shrug. "And I have no intention of telling him. We're just starting to get our relationship back on track. This'll just make him think I've lost my mind."
"You're really not going to help Matt?" Cassie asked as she chewed her lower lip, a nervous habit that betrayed her concern.
"He's on his own," Harrison replied.
"It worked," Jack informed Richard as soon as he arrived at his apartment.
"You're sure?"
"Tru just got a call from Harrison, warning her that Matt's back in town." He looked at the technical equipment that Richard had supplied him with that enabled him to listen in on Tru's phone calls. It had been invaluable from the start, far more so that Richard's somewhat critical advice.
"Damn," Richard muttered. "I was hoping their argument would stop him telling her about the rewind."
"He didn't tell her about it," Jack replied with a smirk. "Just fed her a line about the police tipping them off."
"She believed him?"
"Yeah," Jack replied. "She might not have done if she hadn't been so relieved to hear from him at all. But it made her careless."
"So Harrison is reliving the day without telling Tru." Richard grinned widely. "That means he isn't going to save Matt."
"Or he wants to keep Tru safe?" Jack suggested cautiously.
"I know my son. He's going to leave him to his fate," Richard argued. "And once he's let one victim slip away it'll be that much easier for him to let others go too."
"But the others won't be a thug who's just beaten up him and his girlfriend," Jack pointed out. "I think that might have made a bit of a difference in his attitude."
"It doesn't matter," Richard replied with a shake of his head. "Once one has been lost the rest will be easier. Besides, no one is entirely innocent. Something Harrison has been learning from me recently."
"Well for now we'd better see if he does anything to save him at all. What if he does try to save him?"
"Then we try again later and I don't lose my client," Richard replied with ease.
"A win, win situation."
"Exactly," Richard said as they both left the apartment and headed across town to find out what Harrison was going to do on this second version of the day.
Harrison ended up sitting in the diner for the whole of Cassie's shift. There was no sign of Matt but he wasn't taking any chances.
"Are you going to order anything?" Beth, one of the other waitresses and a friend of Cassie, asked.
"Just another coffee, thanks," Harrison said, pushing his empty cup across the counter.
"Another coffee," Beth repeated with a roll of her eyes. "You're lucky the boss isn't in today. He wouldn't put up with you hanging here all afternoon without actually eating."
Harrison shrugged and grinned. "Must be my lucky day then."
Cassie stood listening to the exchange with a grin on her own face. She waited a moment until Beth was out of earshot and leaned across the counter.
"You're sure this whole rewind day isn't just a scam to get out of looking for a job?" she asked.
"Would I do that?" Harrison laughed.
"Yeah," Cassie answered after giving the matter a few seconds thought.
"Okay, you're right, I probably would," Harrison laughed again. "But I swear I'm telling the truth."
"Well there's not been any sign of Matt so hopefully you've scared him off," Cassie said with a roll of her eyes at the idea of Harrison actually managing to scare off anyone.
"As long as he's not going after Tru instead," Harrison replied with another worried glance towards the door as though he half expected Matt to burst in at any moment.
"You said he came after me first as I was leaving here," Cassie said. "Chances are he's waiting outside now, just like yesterday. He's arrogant enough to think he can take on both of us at once."
"He probably could," Harrison groaned thinking of the poor showing he had given in his own fight with the larger man.
Half an hour later Cassie finished her shift and they left the diner together.
"Do you see him?" Cassie asked Harrison who was looking behind them for the third time since leaving the diner.
"No," he replied. "Just a feeling that someone's watching us."
"As long as that's all he does," Cassie answered.
Harrison looked intently back down the block but there was no sign of anyone behind them, but still he couldn't shake the feeling that they were being observed. It was a feeling he had had a lot since Jack had started spying on him and his sister but most of the times he had known it was Tru who was the object of the unwanted attention, and not himself.
Now he knew what it was that Tru had been feeling on an almost daily basis the last few months.
Shivering slightly he hurried Cassie down the street towards their apartment.
Jack stepped out of the doorway a few minutes later when he knew the coast was clear.
Harrison and Cassie had turned the corner at the end of the block and it was safe to leave his hiding place. He hadn't known that Harrison was getting as adept at sensing his presence as Tru was. He thought again just how much alike the brother and sister were and again he wondered if Richard was hoping for too much in trying to get Harrison to rewind and ignore the calling.
Though he conceded, it appeared that Richard was right about today because from what he had seen Harrison had made no effort to track down Matt and the time of death was approaching fast.
An expert at spying on others he had spotted Matt, watching the diner some time ago. He had sensed immediately the moment that Matt's gaze fell on him from across the road.
Looking across the road and nodding almost imperceptibly he turned away to walk down the block and into a nearby bar.
He ordered a beer and wasn't surprised when Matt followed him inside a couple of minutes later.
"You want to get to them, then you're going about it in the wrong way," Jack said as soon as Matt had sat down and ordered a beer for himself.
"What would you know?" Matt replied taking a long drink from the bottle the barmaid put in front of him.
"I know more than you do," Jack said in a quiet and knowing voice. "You'd do well to listen."
"I'm listening," Matt answered, his eyes gleaming in anticipation.
The door to the morgue opened slowly.
"Is that you Tru?" Davis called out from where he sat at his desk.
No reply came and he stood up to get a better view of the door.
"Who are you?" Davis asked the tall man standing in the doorway. "You're not supposed to be in here."
"I'm a friend of Tru's," Matt answered. "I thought she was working today."
"She's just stepped out," Davis replied cautiously. There was something about the man in front of him that he didn't trust, something dangerous that made him uneasy. Part of him hoped that Tru hurried back while another part wished her to stay away until the man looking casually around the morgue had gone.
"I'll wait for her outside," Matt said with a shrug and turned towards the door.
Davis waited until he'd left before turning to the phone and calling Tru's cell phone.
"Tru?" he asked as soon as she answered the call. "I think that Matt person you mentioned has just stopped by."
"What do you mean, think?" Tru asked.
"He matched the description you gave me. He didn't leave his name but he was acting suspiciously."
"Do you know where he is now?"
"He said he was waiting for you outside," Davis replied.
"I'm almost there and I don't see him," Tru replied after a pause.
"I'm coming out there to meet you," Davis said and put the phone down before waiting for a response.
A feeling of dread came over him as he hurried out the doors and down the corridor.
Breathing in the cold night air Davis looked out into the rain. He didn't see Tru at first; it was only a crack of lightening that gave away her position.
Tru's phone lay near a pool of rainwater and she was lying in a pool of what Davis knew instinctively was blood. He rushed to her side but she was no longer moving and her eyes were glazed and staring ahead.
Davis cursed himself for not keeping Matt in the morgue.
He cursed that he had been too late.
And as his silent tears began to fall, he cursed that there was no one for Tru to ask for help from.
