Chapter 4
Greenlee rode the elevator to the flat, leaning against the wall. It had been quite a day of shopping. Very few things gave her as much of a thrill as shopping in Paris. She had spent the last two days buying things for herself. Today's excursion was all about other people. She had gotten a sharp tie for Jackson. A fab purse for Erica. Ten of the most adorable little outfits to give to Miranda – she was having dinner with Bianca, Maggie and Miranda tonight. Some demon had also sent her marching into a maternity shop to get a couple of outfits for Kendall. Greenlee told herself that if she was forced to see Kendall round with child, she should at least wear something flattering. Her throat constricted a little. Fortunately the elevator opened, so she was able to distract herself with getting all her packages to her door.
Greenlee stopped short when she saw a big lump sitting on her doorstep. The lump lifted its head. It was Ryan. She dropped her packages. Ryan stood up. "Greenlee…" After a brief moment, Greenlee started digging in her purse for her keys. Swiftly locating them in the teeny tiny purse, she marched towards the door. Moving out of her way, Ryan watched as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. Then she turned and began transferring her packages from the hallway floor to the foyer inside the apartment. The whole time she completely ignored Ryan. Once all the packages were inside, she went into the living room and picked up the princess phone that was next to her sofa, dialing a number. "Hello, is this the landlord? I have a complaint. You have ghosts in your building. No, you didn't mistranslate. Ghosts. Poltergeists. The undead. Walking around in your building. There's a big one standing right in front of me. Get up here now and get rid of it. You might want to come armed." She slammed down the phone.
Ryan sighed. "Greenlee, you know I'm not a ghost." She pointed a finger at him. "Like hell, you're not. No, that's not right. You're not 'like hell,' you are hell. As in 'straight from.' I want you to make like Amityville and GET OUT!" Greenlee didn't usually shout, but she was furious. Ryan raised his hands. "Greenlee, please, we need to sit down and talk about this. You need to understand why I did what I did." Greenlee laughed humorlessly. "Oh isn't this rich? A reversal of our last moments together. Back then you were going off the deep end, and I was pleading with you for understanding. Except there's one difference. Remember when you drew back your fist like you were going to punch me? Well, I'm not going to show as much restraint." Before he had time to react, she sucker punched him in the eye with her tiny balled fist.
Ryan fell back on the sofa, his eye shooting with pain. "Damn, that hurt, Greenlee." Greenlee leaned over him. "If you had followed through with your punch, Ryan, it wouldn't have hurt half as much as what you did to me. You don't have to explain why you did it, Ryan. I know exactly why – I know you better than anyone else. Hell, I know you better than you know yourself. That's why I went behind your back to give you a baby. I knew you weren't a monster, even if you did throw a big trantrum to try and prove you were one. All you proved is that you're a big baby. So, I know exactly why you went over that cliff and then slunk off like the lowlife dog that you are. You wanted to save me and our child from big, bad, mean and nasty you!"
There was a noise from the doorway. They both looked over and saw the landlord hovering tentatively. "Is everything fine here? No ghosts?" He held up a pistol. Greenlee smiled grimly. "Hand me that pistol and I can produce a ghost in about five seconds." The landlord lowered the pistol and gave her a stern look. "I do not settle domestic disputes." He turned and walked out the door. Greenlee turned back to Ryan. "You need to leave. Now. This is Leo's place. I came here because I needed to bond with the husband that really is dead. The one who really did go over the edge, land in water, and was carried away to his death."
Greenlee marched to the foyer, intending to show him out. She was startled when the front door opened and Mary walked inside. Mary gasped. "Oh my! Greenlee! I…uh…I had no idea you would be here." Greenlee stared at her. "I didn't give you a key to this place." Mary tried to laugh. "Oh, I borrowed it, dear. Don't you remember?" Greenlee folded her arms. She really didn't need this aggravation. Mary looked over Greenlee's shoulder, and let out a blood-curdling scream. Greenlee covered her face with her hands. "Greenlee! It….it's Ryan's ghost! Right there, darling!" Mary flapped her arm in Ryan's direction. Greenlee gripped her mother's other arm in mock terror. "Oh mother, you can see him too? He's been haunting me, and he won't leave me alone. Quick! Call the landlord. I'll go out and get some Ghost-Be-Gone!" She grabbed her purse and walked out the door.
Kendall folded her arms as Tad made his umpteenth negotiation with the umpteenth surly-looking Thai dude. Some money changed hands for the umpteenth time, and the Thai dude opened the door and showed them in. Was this going to be the umpteenth dead end in three days? Kendall looked around. It appeared to be a cell block. Dirty, smelly, and all around lacking in cleanliness. All of the cells were empty. They arrived at the last one. The lighting was dingy, and it looked as if there was a pile of dirty laundry on the floor. The guard unlocked the door and pulled it open, indicating that they should go inside. Tad raised one eyebrow, as if to say, "Are you kidding?" Kendall also hesitated, until the pile of laundry shifted and spoke in a slurred voice. "I told you for the last time, Bobby. I don't want to be disturbed." Kendall raised her hand to her mouth. It was Zach.
Before Tad could stop her, she ran into the cell. "Zach! Oh my…what have they done to you?" She tried to turn him over, but he flinched. He was cradling one arm. She caught a look at his face. One of his eyes was black and blue, and there were cuts on his lips and dried blood around his nose. Kendall opened her mouth to say something, anything, but all that came out was a squeak. Her hands hovered over him, hesitantly. She wanted to touch him, but she was afraid of hurting him more. She started crying – big gasping sobs. Tad came over and put his hands on her shoulders. "You need to pull yourself together if we're going to get him out of here." Kendall put her face in her hands and took a shuddering breath to try and calm herself. To help accomplish this, she fantasized about what she would do to Julia when she got home. The bitch was going to need much more than Witness Protection to save her ass.
Finally calm, she whispered in Zach's ear. "We've come to take you home, Zach." Zach frowned in his apparent slumber. "Kendall," he murmured. Before Kendall could stand, she heard a thumping noise. She turned around and saw Tad slide to the floor in a heap. The guard was wielding a club and had apparently hit him with it. Before she could react, another guard came charging into the cell, and the two of them lifted her from the ground. She bucked violently. "Zach! Tad! Let go of me! Zach!" They carried her out of the cell, and a third guard appeared to close and lock the door.
Tad regained consciousness in time to see Kendall being carried down the hallway, screaming bloody murder. He rubbed the back of his head. This was unbelievable. Apparently he didn't give the guy a big enough tip. He stood up and staggered over to the bars to peer at the door that Kendall was being carried through. He saw her get a foot loose and kick one of the guards in the chin. Startled, they both let go and she scrambled to her feet and lunged towards the cell. No, no Kendall, you're supposed to go the other way, towards freedom. Damn it! "Zach!" She didn't make it far. They caught her again and held her more tightly.
Tad was startled when Zach suddenly bolted upright. "Kendall? Kendall!" She was still screaming threats and curses at the guards. Tad stared as Zach tried to get to his feet, and failed miserably. "Get off her! You sons of bitches!" He was successful in his second attempt, and lurched forward. To Tad's bewilderment, he wasn't looking down the hallway where Kendall was still heard to be screaming. He was looking at the floor on the other side of the bars in front of the cell. "No! Oh God, no! Leave her alone." He stuck his good arm through the bars, reaching for something invisible. "I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill every one of you!" He had a look of desperation and anguish on his face. At that moment, Kendall's screams were cut off. "No! What have you done to her!"
Completely unnerved, Tad grabbed Zach and pulled him away from the bars. Zach turned and clocked Tad in the jaw. Tad staggered back, wondering where his strength had come from. "Son of a bitch!" Rubbing his jaw, he started towards Zach, who was now looking at him with a murderous gleam in his eyes. Tad was ready for him this time, and when Zach swung at him again, he blocked the shot. Tad pushed Zach against the bars of the cell in order to restrain him. Now that he was in Zach's face, he could see from his eyes that he was in some sort of altered state. "You violated my wife, and then you murdered her. You will pay." Zach's voice sounded gutteral, almost animalistic. Chills ran down Tad's spine. There had to be a way of neutralizing Zach without hurting him further. There was a buzzing noise, and Zach suddenly jolted, then slumped over. Tad looked up and saw a guard on the other side of the bars. He held up a cattle prod and smiled, then walked away.