Extreme Ghostbusters: A Little Boy Lost
Part 5Monday, 07:40 pm:
"Eddie, shut the hell up and listen. I ran a search on Ryan Daniels, a lot of guys came up and I got in touch with all of them. That Ryan Daniels does not exist! I can't find him for you! How many more times?"
Eduardo sighed impatiently. "He was Jack's dad!"
"Probably," said Carl. "Possibly not."
"He was! That's why you can't find him! He's probably been using another name!"
"Such as?"
"How the fuck should I know?"
"Hey!" barked Carl. "Kevin's in the next room."
"Sorry," muttered Eduardo.
"I don't know what you expect me to do."
"You're the cop, Carlos. What did you expect us to do after we'd been to New Jersey?"
"I expected you to come back disappointed."
Eduardo raised his eyebrows. "You did?"
"I never pretended that I didn't. I said it was a long shot, didn't I?"
Eduardo nodded. "Yeah, you did."
"Dinner, you guys!" the voice of Beth, Carl's wife, trilled from the kitchen.
"What, that's it?" demanded Eduardo, as his brother turned and headed towards the smell of roast chicken. "You're just gonna give up?"
"If there was anything else I could do," said Carl, "I'd do it."
Eduardo wasn't convinced. He suspected that Carlos didn't want to get his fingers burnt. He was nothing to do with the Daniel Ryan case, and probably thought it best if his superiors didn't find out that he had secretly gone through the procedure all over again. If what Carl had done and the ensuing discovery were official, there would be cops all over alias Ryan Daniels' trail right now.
Dad would've done more, Eduardo couldn't help thinking, and he was probably right. Alberto Rivera was no better than every other man on the corrupt and over privileged NYPD, or so his younger son thought, but he would have done anything for his kids.
Nine days later:
"Oh, it's you again." The man at the desk did not look pleased to see his visitor. "I'm not letting you have another look at our books, Lawson, ok?"
"I don't want another look at your books," Lawson replied evenly. "I would like to see an inmate."
"Oh yeah? Who?"
"Charles Wright."
"Jesus H. Christ, not this again. What is it with people wanting to see that asshole?"
"It's bizarre, I know. May I?"
"Sure, sure. I suppose someone's paying you thousands for this, you lousy overpaid under worked - "
"Actually," Lawson interrupted, "this one's a favour. And afterward I'm gonna think about jacking it in – maybe get a nice easy job at Tower Records or something."
x x x
"Hey!" Garrett broke the dismal silence that had haunted the firehouse for almost two weeks. "You know what we should do? We should go to the police station, and me and Roland should create a diversion while Ky and Eddie hack into one of their computers."
Kylie wrinkled her nose. "What for?"
"For laughs," grinned Garrett. "And maybe try to find Jack's dad ourselves."
"It's not gonna work," said Eduardo, to a nod of agreement from Roland. "Because they would catch us; we wouldn't find anything anyway, and your plan is flawed. Roland knows more about computers than I do."
"But this is a police computer," explained Garrett. "It's in your genes, Eddie."
"Yeah? Well whatever's in my jeans is gonna stay there. It really, really wouldn't work. We need someone professional to do this."
"Like a private investigator?" suggested Roland. "It might be worth considering…"
"Don't you think I've thought of that?" Kylie snapped irritably. Then she let out a deep sigh and said, "Ok, look. I talked to Mike about what to do next after we got back from New Jersey. I suggested hiring a private investigator – none of us can afford it but my dad would definitely help us out. So I asked Mike what he thought, and he told me not to."
Eduardo scowled. "Do you always do what Mike tells you?"
"No," said Kylie, "but he seemed so… I don't know… sure. He told me he'd 'deal with it'."
"And what exactly did he mean by that?" asked Roland.
"I don't know. All he said was, 'I'll deal with it,' and he'd get in touch when he found something."
"And has he got in touch?" asked Garrett.
Kylie shook her head. "I haven't heard from him for over a week."
"So that's it?" asked Eduardo. "You're just gonna wait? You trust him that much?"
"Well," said Kylie, "I don't see why he'd say it if he didn't mean it. I mean, it's always possible that he's just crazy, but he… he seemed to know what he was doing when we took him to New Jersey."
Roland nodded. "I have to agree with you there, Ky."
"Anyway," added Kylie, "if he doesn't get in touch soon I'm going over to his apartment. The jerk still has my photo."
x x x
"I really hope you can help me. I've been working flat out almost two weeks for no pay and you're the only one I can find who has yet to die for what he did."
Charles Wright cocked an eyebrow. "The only what?"
"The only child killer around here who's had a mysterious visitor in the last ten years," said Lawson. "Believe me there were plenty, but they all got what they deserved already."
"Yeah? Y'know, I think I'm gonna appeal against my sentence. Who's the most expensive lawyer you know?"
"I don't care for lawyers. Now shut up and listen, and answer me when I ask you a question."
"Dude, who are you?"
"I," Lawson said nastily, "am someone with the power to make your stay here very unpleasant if you don't cooperate. You had a visitor here a few weeks ago, didn't you? A man in his forties, maybe early fifties?"
"He looked older."
Lawson nodded. "I daresay he did. Now I want you to imagine this man about ten or fifteen years ago – or maybe longer, if he looked as old as all that. I'm going to show you a photograph of the man I'm trying to find, and you're going to tell me if you think it's the same guy that visited you. Understand?"
"Sure," leered Wright.
Lawson reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph of a man with chiselled features and a toothy smile. He held it up to the glass. Wright wrinkled his nose.
"What a fag."
"Is it him?"
"No way."
"Would you study the picture a little more closely, please?"
"Dude, it's not him."
"All right." Lawson shoved the photo back into his pocket. "What happened when this guy came to visit you?"
"He asked me if I killed his kid, and he showed me a picture."
"Of the kid?"
"Yes."
"Boy or girl?"
"Boy," said Wright. "Nice looking kid too."
Lawson shook his head. "You're disgusting. It sounds like that was the first time you saw this kid. Can I take it you didn't kill him?"
"I really don't think I killed him."
"I'm going to show you another picture." He produced a second photograph from his pocket and held it up to the glass: a boy and a girl building a sandcastle on the beach with their fathers. "Ignore the girl – look at the boy. Is that the kid whose picture this man showed you?"
Wright squinted at the picture. "Could be. It's not that clear. He's cute, though. So is she. Lucky dads, huh?"
Lawson's first instinct was to snatch the photograph away, but he wasn't done with it yet. He took a deep, calming breath and then asked, "Do you recognise either of those men?"
"Like I say, buddy, it's not that clear. They could be anyone."
Lawson withdrew the photograph and produced yet another: a close-up of one of the men on the beach, not exactly what you might call crystal clear, but better.
"What?" demanded Wright. "Is that the guy who wanted to know if I killed his kid?"
"You tell me."
Wright studied the picture more carefully this time; then he said, "It really could be. He's aged about forty years and he don't shave or smile no more, but it could be."
"Right."
Lawson rose to his feet and left the prison, ignoring the looks he was getting from the police or the prison guards or whoever the hell they were. It wasn't as though he'd never been to a place like that before, but the atmosphere wasn't something he could get used to. He walked out onto the street and headed for the nearest bench. He sat down, inhaled a few deep breaths of dirty New York air and started to think.
What could he do now? Ask around, obviously. He had no other choice. There were people begging on the streets – surely some of them were likely to have been there a few weeks previously. They would certainly give him information for money or food, and maybe even reliable information if he stressed that they would still be paid even if they had seen nothing. The nearest apartment blocks might be useful as well. Somebody had to have seen him.
But before he went down that road, there was something he had to do. He definitely had a fair amount of information now, and he knew a certain somebody out there who was hungry for information.
x x x
"Kylie, fantastic! You're here."
It took Kylie a moment to recognise him, and not just because his clothes were dripping green slime – obviously he had met with quite a warm reception downstairs. Still, slime or no, those clothes were unfamiliar: faded jeans and a plain grey t-shirt. His face and his hair seemed somehow different as well, but she recognised his magnetic dark eyes quickly enough.
"Mike!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Wow – you really aren't Goth."
Janine, obviously curious, had followed the visitor upstairs, and the sound of his name brought Roland hurrying in from the next room. Garrett and Eduardo hadn't been paying particular attention, not having recognised the visitor either, but when Kylie said his name they both looked up expectantly.
"Sorry I haven't been in touch," Mike went on. "It took a while to find Ryan Daniels' name again, but after a few days of searching I found out that someone of that name visited Gregg Samuels in prison in nineteen eighty-nine. You remember Gregg Samuels – the child killer?"
Kylie simply nodded, her eyes fixed firmly on his face, transfixed.
"Ok, well, all this guy had was a name: he didn't claim to be a friend or family member to Samuels. I asked around, and called all the prisons within a hundred mile radius – I know it's a pretty large area, but hey – to enquire after similar occasions. I found a pattern. Over the last ten-odd years, somebody has been paying visits to convicted child killers for no apparent reason. He used different aliases, but I think it's the same guy. He always used variations of the same four names. As well as Ryan Daniels there was Ryan Sanders, Ryan Jackson, Jack Daniels, Sandy Daniels, Daniel Sanders, Ryan Sanderson, Daniel Sanderson…"
"Oh my God!" exclaimed Kylie. "That's him! It has to be! His wife's name was Sandra!"
"Oh, right," said Mike. "Now don't get too excited, Kylie – I haven't been able to find the guy yet. However I did talk to someone who's seen him recently. He was calling himself Sandy Jackson. I'm afraid the witness won't know where he is now – it was an inmate: Charles Wright."
"Charles Wright?" exclaimed Roland. "Oh my God! Do you know what that guy did? Why would anyone go through the trauma of approaching him to ask outright whether he killed their son? I, um, assume that's what he did," he added.
Mike nodded. "He did. That's what he's been doing all this time, so I guess he's been reading the papers, which is puzzling because I would have thought he'd have read about Jack's return. It was in the news, wasn't it? I think I remember reading something about it before, um… before I got involved with all of this."
Kylie sighed. "Maybe he just missed it," she said quietly. "God, what an idiot – why couldn't he have just picked up a paper on the right day? So how do we find him, Mike?"
"I can go back to the prison and try to follow his trail from there," Mike told her patiently. "But it's not going to be easy, and of course there's a chance I'll find out it's not him – Wright couldn't be sure from your picture, Kylie. Oh, here." He reached into his pocket and produced Kylie's photograph, now very dog-eared. "I don't think I'll be able to use this again – it sounds like he's changed a lot, and if a guy who talked to him in depth barely recognised him then I don't think your average passer by on the street will - "
"Are you going back there now?" Kylie asked urgently. "I'll go with you."
"Kylie…"
"I'm going." She stood up abruptly. "You can't stop me."
"How are you getting about?" asked Roland. "I could drive you if you'd like."
"Well," said Mike, with a sigh of resignation, "I need every penny I can get my hands on right now – or at least I will soon, almost definitely – so I should probably try to save on bus fare. All right, Kylie, you can come. But let me do the talking, ok?"
All the time he was talking, Mike had been aware of an extremely hostile pair of eyes boring into him. Finally Eduardo stopped merely staring and spoke: "You're a cop. Aren't you."
"No." Mike shook his head. "I'm not. Now look, I don't want you all tagging along this time. Kylie can come, and Roland's the one with the wheels, but that's it."
"Fine." Garrett was also watching Mike with some suspicion. He beckoned Roland over to him, as Kylie began to follow her would-be lover from the room, and said in a low tone, "Look after her."
Roland nodded. "Of course I will."
"And try to find out exactly who that guy is."
"Hey!" Kylie called impatiently. "We haven't got all day, Roland!"
"It was nice meeting you, Miss Melnitz," Mike smiled pleasantly at Janine, as he led the small procession from the room.
There was silence for several moments after Roland, Kylie and Mike had gone. It was Janine who eventually broke it with, "I don't understand."
"Well don't look at me," said Garrett. "Or him," and he nodded towards Eduardo. "We've been trying to figure out what's going on there for days."
"Months," corrected Eduardo. "Didn't I tell you there was something not right about him from the start?"
"Did you?" asked Janine.
"Yes," Eduardo returned irritably. "That was Mike Fisher – he called us out to a false alarm at the end of last year."
"The guy Kylie's been seeing?" Janine looked dubious. "He's nothing like you guys described him."
"Right," Eduardo intoned darkly. "That's because he's been acting ever since he met us in order to entice Kylie. That man," he added dramatically, "is nothing more than a honey trap."
Janine, understandably, looked puzzled. "Why?" she asked.
"Hmm…" Eduardo pulled a face. "I'm working on that."
x x x
"We're still in Manhattan," remarked Kylie, as they climbed out of Roland's car.
Mike nodded. "Well spotted."
"So he's been right here this whole time!"
"Well," said Mike, "no, not really. He was working in New Jersey for a while, wasn't he? And believe me, he's been around. You remember I told you I scoured a hundred-mile radius? Well, he might even have gone beyond it."
"So why come back here?" asked Kylie.
"If he hoped to find Jack," said Roland, "it makes sense that he'd keep coming back to where he lost him."
"I guess." Kylie let out a deep sigh. "Come on then, Mike – where do we start? You seem to know what you're doing."
"Yeah, I do," agreed Mike. "You've, um… realised that I'm not exactly who I said I was, haven't you?"
"Ah-ha. So who are you anyway?"
"You haven't figured it out?"
Kylie pulled a face. "Should I have?"
"I don't know – I guess not. I mean, maybe, if you thought about it… Well, I would rather not tell you."
"How come?"
"I think it would upset you quite considerably."
"Aw, jeez…"
"Guys," Roland cut in. "Let's do this thing, shall we?"
For quite some time Roland and Kylie hovered while Mike questioned everyone in the street and showed them the photo of the picture frame model. Interestingly a lot of people swore blind that they often saw the guy fishing the dregs of old sandwiches out of bins; but quite a lot of people also shook their heads apologetically at the photo frame guy, and were subsequently shown Mike's enhanced detail from the beach picture. Unfortunately none of them recognised the face, but there were a few nods in response to the description of Daniel Ryan ten years after the trauma of losing his son.
It had been dark for about an hour when Mike finally turned round and said, "You kids ought to go home. This is going to take hours – maybe days. Or weeks."
Roland could see by the light of an overhead lamppost that Kylie looked about to argue. He put an arm around her shoulders and said gently, "He's right, Ky. It's not like we're even helping."
"All right," Kylie agreed grudgingly. "All right, Roland, you can take me home. Are you gonna keep doing this, Mike?"
"Oh yes. I owe you that much at least."
"Please tell me who you are. I won't get mad – I promise."
Mike shook his head. "You might find out soon anyway."
"How?"
"Kylie, please – I have to get on with this. Go home, ok? Get some sleep. I promise that I will call you the minute I find him."
With that he walked away into the night. Kylie wriggled free of Roland's arm and turned back towards where they had left the Mustang, now quite some distance away.
"Should I have figured him out by now?" she asked irritably. "Am I missing something really obvious?"
"I don't know," said Roland. "Maybe."
Kylie looked at him sharply. "You haven't figured him out, have you?"
"If I had," Roland replied evenly, "I'd tell you."
"Yeah, I know you would," sighed Kylie. "Sorry. Hey – did you notice that coincidence when Mike was reciting his list of Jack's dad's aliases?"
"Huh? Oh, you mean Ryan Jackson." Roland nodded. He had a younger brother of that name. "Yeah. Weird. Kylie, will you… will you be ok by yourself tonight?"
"I'll be fine," Kylie shrugged dismissively. "Don't worry about me."
07:40 am:
Kylie, half-asleep, thrust out her arm and pushed the trilling phone onto the floor. She then leaned over the edge of the bed and managed to pick up the receiver.
"Mmm?"
"Kylie? It's Mike."
"Mike!" She was awake in an instant. "What happened?"
"I think I traced him to a homeless shelter."
"You're shitting me!"
"I think I have," said Mike, "but don't get excited because it really, really might not be him."
"Oh shut the hell up – of course it's him!" snapped Kylie.
"Kylie…"
"Have you been there yet?"
"No."
"So what the hell are you waiting for? Tell me where it is and I'll meet you there."
08:55 am:
"I wanted you here," explained Mike, "because he knows you. You'll recognise each other, if it is him, and you can explain, if - "
"If it's him – yes, I know. Come on – it's nearly nine. They might be up by now." Kylie pushed open the small wooden door. "What are we waiting for?"
There was an extremely difficult young woman at the front desk who refused to admit visitors. Mike flashed some kind of ID at her, which didn't surprise Kylie at all, but she was sorry that she hadn't been quick enough to get a look at it.
"No visitors," the difficult woman insisted.
"Please believe me," said Mike. "He will want to see us."
"Hmm." She cocked her head to one side. "What's his name?"
"Ah…" Mike's cool expression wavered slightly. "Well, his real name is Daniel Ryan."
The woman shook her head. "No one of that name here."
"Well," Mike went on, "what about Ryan Daniels? Jackson? Sanders? Sanderson? Any combination of those names or something similar…?"
"Jack's dad," Kylie broke in gently. Since she had entered the building her heart had been pounding with anticipation, and only now was she able to find her voice. "Just go and… and tell them that Kylie Griffin wants to see Jack's dad."
Though she did it grudgingly, the woman obeyed. She left the desk unattended, which could never be a very bad thing, because it was literally just a desk – this place apparently didn't go in for paperwork.
Mike watched as Kylie bounced impatiently on the balls of her feet.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"Shut up, Mike."
Mike shut up. He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a cell phone, on which Kylie's eyes narrowed with deep suspicion.
"I never knew you had a cell phone."
"Yeah, I, um… don't tell you everything."
"Shut up, Mike."
They didn't have long to wait. Only seconds ticked by before a bearded man in a filthy trench coat hurtled into the lobby. Mike looked at Kylie for her reaction, and it was everything he could have hoped for. Her eyes and mouth were wide with… what? Disbelief, maybe. She certainly looked amazed, as though all that certainty had meant nothing.
She found her voice again at last. "Oh my God!" He had changed almost beyond recognition. Almost. "It's you! It's really you!"
"Kylie!" exclaimed Daniel Ryan, as she hurtled across the room towards him. "I can't believe this. What… why…?"
"Oh my God, you… you… idiot!" exclaimed Kylie, throwing her out arms wide for emphasis. Her eyes filled with tears that she couldn't explain even to herself. "What the hell are you doing here? Do you know how much trouble we went to trying to find you? Why couldn't you just… just…"
"Kylie, what the hell is going on?"
"We found him, you moron! We found Jack!"
For a moment, Daniel didn't react. Kylie continued to stare at him with sheer exasperation. Then, very slowly, his jaw began to drop. His eyes became glazed, and he shook his head incredulously.
"No," he murmured. "It can't… you can't…"
Kylie sensed Mike at her shoulder, and she turned to face him. He was frowning down at the cell phone in his hand, pushing buttons.
"Mike," Kylie said gently, all ill feeling forgotten, at least for the moment. "Thank you so much for - "
"Don't," interrupted Mike. "Kylie, please, don't thank me. Excuse me – I have to make a call." He put the phone to his ear, and then waited a few seconds. "Hello, Mrs. Beaumont? This is Michael Lawson… No, I haven't – just shut up and listen. I thought you might be interested to know that I've found your husband."
x x x
Kylie had been so distracted with the possibility of finding Jack's dad that it hadn't occurred to her to call the firehouse and let them know she'd be late. Janine, on Egon's instruction, was calling her apartment for the third time that morning. Roland had already calmly suggested that the Jack/Mike business might be keeping Kylie for some reason, but Eduardo had some plan about going to her apartment "just in case".
"Kylie!" exclaimed Egon, when the unlikely trio of Kylie, Mike and some shabby looking guy walked in. Janine put down the phone halfway through dialling. "We were worried about you. Where have you been?"
"Oh, sorry, I should have called," Kylie said blankly. "Mike found Jack's dad. Um, this is Jack's dad." She gestured vaguely towards Daniel. "We were just fetching him. Look, I hope you don't mind, but when we called Jack and his mother we told them to come here. They're on their way now. Well, Sandra said they'd try to get a flight. They're probably at the airport – I don't know. Anyway they're coming here."
"Kylie, you're rambling," observed Janine. "Actually, you look a little strange. Are you feeling ok?"
"I found out who Mike really is."
"Oh!"
"I'm so stupid. I should have spotted it sooner."
"I'm sorry, Kylie," mumbled Mike.
"Um." Kylie turned towards Daniel. "Mr. Ryan…"
"Daniel."
"Ok. Look, why don't you go and, and get cleaned up. Jack won't recognise you like that. And maybe get something to eat. You're homeless these days, aren't you? Egon will show you where everything is."
"Oh. All right." Egon stepped forward. "Come with me please, sir."
Daniel Ryan, evidently in some kind of trance, allowed himself to be led away. Mike cut a glance at Kylie. She just stood there, not meeting his gaze.
"I really am sorry," he said eventually.
Kylie snorted derisively. "Are you?"
Janine moved away and busied herself on the opposite side of the room.
"I really am."
"It's your job. Don't you do this kind of thing all the time?"
"Well," said Mike, "I've only ever done two honey traps before. One was a woman who deliberately pushed her husband off a cliff. Don't ask me why. And the other was a single mom who kept shaking her baby and blaming it on her ex. Her mother hired me because she was scared for the baby and for her daughter's sanity, and I thought maybe I'd end up feeling sorry for this woman – like I was expecting her to be falling apart and totally unable to cope on her own – but it turned out she was just a heartless bitch. She'd leave the kid on his own for hours, and every time he made a noise she'd just go in there and, and, well, shake him. And the woman who murdered her husband wasn't very nice either, obviously. And, well, Sandra Beaumont made you sound almost as bad as both of them put together."
"I can imagine."
"This case didn't sound as bad as those two, nor some of the other stuff I've done. And business has been slow – I was practically broke when I took the job."
"You don't have to explain yourself to me."
"I want to," said Mike. "Please. I'm sorry because I've hurt you and you really didn't deserve any of this. Since I've gotten to know you I've realised that you're not the monster Sandra Beaumont made you out to be. I don't like her, you know."
"I suspected as much from your phone conversation," remarked Kylie, her lip curling slightly with amusement.
"When you told me Jack's father was missing, I was just…"
"You looked very surprised."
"I was more than surprised. There's no word for how I felt on hearing that. Sandra knew he was missing, didn't she?"
"Yes."
"Well, she told me that her husband was dead."
Kylie's eyebrows shot skyward. "Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Perhaps she thought he was."
"Perhaps she did, but if they split up and then he was never heard of again… that is what happened, isn't it?"
Kylie nodded.
"Well, if that was the last she saw of him and then she tells me he's dead, that could only ever be a guess. I mean, if she knew he was missing, why not get me searching for him straightaway?"
"I don't know," sighed Kylie. "God, I'm an idiot. I guess this explains why you didn't want to sleep with me."
"Oh, no, I did want to sleep with you," Mike hastened to assure her.
Kylie cocked an eyebrow. "It's just not ethical, huh?"
"It really isn't. And you're so young. Look, I really hope I… I hope I haven't disillusioned you or anything. I'm not exactly used to breaking teenagers' hearts."
"Don't flatter yourself, Michael. You didn't break my heart."
"Oh, good. Do, um… do you want me to leave?"
"Kinda," said Kylie. "Don't you want to stick around and talk to your client?"
"Well," said Mike, "I will have to talk to her at some point. That is, I'll have to write her a cheque."
"A cheque? Why?"
"My fee, plus expenses. The dinners and stuff. Sandra Beaumont paid for some of your meals over the last few months, I'm afraid. But now she wants it back, and I can't exactly refuse, because I didn't do what she hired me to do."
"Will you have any money after that?"
"Er, guess not," Mike laughed awkwardly. "Do you care?"
Kylie shook her head. "Not much."
"Well, look, I'd better go. She's the one who wants the cheque, after all – she'll come and find me."
"She should leave you something for finding her son's father."
"I did that for you. I hoped maybe it might help to make up for all of this."
"Well." Kylie's gaze dropped to her feet. "I am so, so glad that you found him. And I suppose what you did to me is her fault more than yours. I mean, if it wasn't you it would have been someone else, right?"
"Does that mean you forgive me?"
"I don't know." Kylie looked up again, into his eyes. "Just forget it."
"Ok," Mike nodded. "Kylie, out of interest… do you know what happened to Jack?"
"Yes I do, actually. But I'm sure as hell not telling you."
"I didn't think you would. Well, I'll go. And… sorry."
He turned and traipsed towards the front door. Kylie stood and watched him go, a lump forming in her throat. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about all this. She could feel cheated, having spent some time convinced that she was the object of a handsome older man's affections. She could feel disgusted with herself, if she thought about it, for allowing herself to be duped for so long. Her stomach seemed to turn over when she thought about all of the times she had let him touch her. But above it all, what she really felt was anger, and not towards Mike.
Janine was at her side in a second, with a strong yet gentle arm around the younger woman's shoulders.
"They're all the same, Kylie. When one of them does something like that to you, you just have to roll with the punches, get back on your feet and move on."
Kylie looked at her. "You're engaged," she pointed out.
"Ah, well." Her expression softened. "Egon is one of the exceptions. Unfortunately there aren't many of those."
"You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince, huh?"
"Exactly," Janine nodded emphatically. "Exactly. But don't let that discourage you – I'm sure you'll find one."
"Ha! I don't want one."
"No?"
"No. They're more trouble than they're worth."
"Maybe," Janine smiled slightly, as Roland and Eduardo suddenly charged downstairs and Garrett was practically spat out by the elevator.
"Kylie!" exclaimed the latter. "Are you ok? Egon said something happened with Mike."
"Nothing happened." Kylie shook Janine off her shoulders. "I found out exactly who he was, that's all."
"Was?" queried Eduardo. "You mean he's gone? Damn it!" He marched over to the front door. "How long ago did he leave? I was gonna punch him for you."
Kylie smiled slightly. "You don't have to do that."
"So who hired him and why?" asked Roland.
"I must be stupid – I didn't even figure out that much," said Kylie, with a humourless smile. "Jack's mother hired him to get me to tell him what really happened when Jack disappeared."
"O-oh!" Garrett, Eduardo and Roland all droned in unison. Then Garrett added, "It's so obvious when you know."
"I should have thought of that," muttered Eduardo. "I'm sorry, Kylie."
"Hey, don't apologise. You never trusted him in the first place, as I recall."
"Are you ok?" asked Roland. He took a step towards Kylie and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Garrett drew up beside her and, lightly touching her elbow, he added, "Because if you're not, I'll give him another punch once Eddie's finished with him."
"I'm all right," said Kylie. "I'm pissed at Jack's mother, but I'm all right."
"Good." Eduardo wandered over and joined the small gathering. Kylie still had a free shoulder, so he took that. "We'd hate for you to cry over a nobody like him."
"He's virtually broke," said Kylie. "And he's wracked with guilt."
"Well." Garrett gave a little nod of approval. "Good."
"How's Daniel?" asked Kylie, deciding it was time to change the subject.
"We fed him," said Roland. "Now he's taking a shower. He seems… confused."
"I imagine he would be," remarked Kylie. "Let's just hope he won't have to wait too much longer to see his son."
As it was, they had to wait about fifteen hours for Jack to arrive with his mother. It was the middle of the night when Jack phoned, on Sandra's insistence, to check that his father was still at the firehouse. Kylie answered the call. Egon had gone home with Janine so, with the exception of the sleeping Slimer, she was the only one there.
"Kylie…" Jack's voice was barely audible. "Is he really…?"
"Yes, Jack, it's really him," said Kylie. "Come to the firehouse – we're still here."
Daniel, as had been his occupation for most of the night, was pacing the length of Janine's desk and wringing his hands. He had washed and shaved, but he still looked prematurely old. Kylie sat on the corner of the desk, watching him.
"It'll be ok," she said at last.
Daniel stopped pacing. "He must have changed."
"He has."
"So have you."
"So have you," said Kylie. "I thought you'd look more like yourself after you got cleaned up, but… Mr. Ryan, why did you disappear like that?"
Daniel shook his head. "I don't know, Kylie. I guess I just didn't want to exist. I even thought about… you know… killing myself a few times, but I couldn't do it, just in case Jack was alive. I was so sure that he wasn't, but there was always a chance. I thought… I thought one day I'd find out for sure he'd been killed, and then I'd do it."
"Kill yourself?"
"Yes."
"Jesus. So how were you going to find out?" Kylie asked gently. "Go to every convicted child killer with that picture until one of them said, 'Yep – I did it'?"
"Well… yes. What other way was there?"
"That was a long shot. Anything could have happened to him."
"I know." Daniel looked down at his clasped hands for a moment, and then resumed pacing. "I know, but it seemed the most likely, after what you told the police."
Kylie frowned. "What did I tell the police?" she asked, puzzled.
"About the man outside your window."
"Oh."
"I guess Jack must have gotten away from him, or… or… what happened to him, Kylie? Where has he been all this time? Does he remember?"
Kylie shook her head. "I don't think so."
Once again, silence enveloped them. Kylie glanced anxiously at the door. She had left it unlocked, and she knew that her heart rate wouldn't slow until Jack walked through it. She wondered how Daniel must be feeling. Did he really believe that he was going to see his son again after all this time? Kylie knew that her sudden appearance at the homeless shelter that morning – or rather the previous morning, technically – must have been the last thing he had expected. The poor man probably thought he'd gone mad.
When the door finally swung open, Jack didn't so much walk through it as plunge. He came to an unsteady stop and then just stood there, staring. Daniel stared straight back. Kylie bit her lip, wondering why neither of them was reacting. They had both changed so much. Perhaps they simply didn't recognise each other. But that was impossible, surely. It wasn't like they'd just passed each other on the street – they both knew why they were there.
Then it happened. It sunk in. Daniel, his eyes shining with tears, seemed to sag. He looked about to topple over. Jack stepped forward and caught him in his arms.
"It's me, Dad," he said gently. "It's ok."
At last Kylie was able to breathe out. This, she couldn't help noticing, was far more disjointed than Jack's reunion with his mother at the airport had been. Kylie looked over to where Sandra stood in the open doorway. Her neat hair, designer suit and tight-lipped expression were illuminated by the artificial light from the street outside. That woman seemed so together. Ok, so she'd had a phone call from the police to prepare her for the reunion with her son, rather than a ghost from the past charging into her life and yelling at her. But that alone couldn't explain the difference. Sandra had been together for longer than that. She had a husband and a stepdaughter, and even another child, whereas Daniel… well, he had spent the last ten years planning his suicide. It was odd, Kylie thought, how people coped in such different ways.
Sandra watched with narrowed eyes as Kylie crossed the room towards her.
"That was a dirty trick," the younger woman said calmly.
"I know you're keeping something from me," snapped Sandra. "It's cruel – you deserved that. Not that you were ever supposed to know. That stupid ass…"
"If you want to know where Jack's been so badly, why don't you just ask him?"
"I have. He doesn't remember. So where is Lawson anyway?" Sandra suddenly demanded. "I need to get a refund."
"It's very late, Mrs. Ryan." Kylie could never get used to calling her anything else. "He's probably asleep."
"Right, of course." She looked extremely irritated. "So, Kylie… when Lawson was trying to find out what happened to Jack… what exactly did he do?"
"He asked a lot of questions."
"What, that's it? He didn't peek at your diary or anything?"
"I think he wanted to."
"There must be better private investigators in New York than him…"
"Hello, Sandra."
On hearing Daniel's voice, Sandra and Kylie both looked up. The poor man was still clinging desperately onto Jack as though afraid of losing him again.
"Hello, Daniel." Sandra managed a tight smile.
"Look, I'm, um… sorry about walking out on you like that."
"I thought you were dead."
"Oh." Daniel pulled a face. "Nice. So… how have you been?"
"Fine."
"She's been great," volunteered Jack.
"Don't exaggerate, honey. Look, Daniel, I need to talk to you about… about…"
Sensing her agitation, Kylie looked at Sandra. Her steely expression had given way to one of sheer unease. It was only too obvious that something wasn't right here.
"He's not exaggerating," Kylie said carefully. "You've been doing very well – haven't you, Mrs. Ryan? Why don't you show Daniel a picture of your baby?"
"Your baby?" Daniel's eyes widened. "You met someone else?"
"Well, God, Daniel – you just walked out on me, I mean - "
"I know, I know, it's ok. I'm sorry, Sandra – I shouldn't have just left like that. I didn't even think I'd ever come back – it's not like I expected you to wait for me. I wasn't thinking."
"It's ok," Sandra said hurriedly. "Look, can we not talk about this now?"
"Well, sure, ok, but I'm here now," Daniel rambled on. "We can sort out everything as soon as you're ready. I mean, obviously you'll want to get - "
"DANIEL!"
Kylie cut a glance at Jack. He looked completely puzzled, but it wasn't so hard to figure out – or so Kylie thought. She pulled her eyes away from Jack's face, not wanting to see his reaction, and said slowly, "You two never got divorced, did you?"
Daniel blinked at her. "No. I just… I just left."
"Of course!" exclaimed Jack. "I remember you telling me, Mom – Dad asked you to go with him and you didn't, so he just went. So you… I mean, isn't that like illegal or something?"
"What?" Daniel looked from Jack to Sandra to Kylie, utterly perplexed. "Isn't what illegal?"
"How was I to know he was alive?" Sandra demanded hotly. "I'm sorry, Jack, but I at least thought I'd never see him again. I made…"
Jack frowned. "Go on."
Sandra let out a deep sigh before continuing, "I made an attempt to find you, Daniel, when I agreed to marry Ted."
"So you knew he was missing for all that time?" exclaimed Jack.
"I remember how he was before he left," Sandra said defensively. "I thought he'd end up… well, he obviously didn't want to be found."
"I didn't." Daniel still looked completely out of his depth. "You remarried?"
"Yes," snapped Sandra. "I moved to Sacramento and married a single father and I live with him and his daughter and our son and now Jack, all right? Are you happy now?"
"Not really," Daniel had to admit.
"Well neither am I." Sandra glared venomously at Kylie, as though this was entirely her fault. "Ted won't forgive me for this – my marriage is over."
It never really started, thought Kylie, though she didn't dare say it out loud – Sandra seemed to want to kill her enough as it was. What was the penalty for bigamy in California? She couldn't help wondering.
"Ted's a jerk anyway," Jack ventured quietly, and all eyes turned to him. "He doesn't treat you right, Mom."
"What did you tell him happened to me?" demanded Daniel. "Did you tell him I was dead?"
"No – I told him the truth: you left. I didn't even say we got divorced – he just assumed."
"Oh God." Jack slipped gently out of his father's grasp and collapsed against Janine's desk. "What a mess."
At that moment, Kylie felt like an intruder. She also felt overwhelmed with guilt. It was pretty clear that Sandra thought Kylie was to blame for all of this. Her silence spoke volumes. And arguably, Kylie realised, she was to blame. She had lost Jack in the first place; she had reunited him with his mother and then, with quite some considerable help, she had brought his father back into the picture. Just how much of that, Kylie wondered, was bad? She would have loved to ask Sandra that – the woman seemed to wish that her husband had never been found, at the very least.
"I'd better go home," Kylie said timidly. "You guys have obviously got some, some… some stuff. Of course you're more than welcome to stay here. There's no one about except Slimer. You've, um, met Slimer, haven't you? Yeah…"
She turned to leave. She had just stepped out onto the street when someone touched her elbow and said, "Hey, wait."
It was Jack. Kylie turned and smiled at him. She had almost forgotten the most important part of all this: she had her friend back. Daniel and Sandra had their son back and Jack had his life back. How could that possibly be a bad thing? Ok, so things were a bit of a mess for them right now, but what did it really matter?
"Thank you so much," whispered Jack, taking Kylie into a warm embrace. "I was so scared of what might have happened to him. I… I can't believe you really found him. I just saw him and I still can't believe it."
"Well," said Kylie. Her ear was against his chest – it was amazing how tall he'd grown. Or perhaps, she reflected, it was amazing how tall she hadn't grown. "You have your mother's private detective to thank, really."
"Ah." Jack stepped back from her and looked down into her face. "Mom told me about that. I'm so sorry."
"Hey, it's not your fault."
"Well, if I'd told her what happened…"
"Yeah, ok, and if I'd told her what happened…"
"I think I might tell her," said Jack. "And Dad. It's probably best."
"Ok," said Kylie.
"I can't believe… God, I have to stop saying that. I don't think she should demand a refund from this guy after he found Dad."
"That wasn't what she hired him for."
"So what? It's more important."
Kylie nodded. "I know."
"Kylie… since I came back Mom's been… she's changed. She's crazy. I mean, doing that to you, and… and marrying Ted when she never divorced Dad…"
Kylie let out a deep sigh. She had to say this, for herself as much as for Jack, because it was true – however hard it was for her to see. She touched Jack's arm and said, "I hope you won't be too hard on your mom. Yeah, she's turned into a class A b- um, she's done some crazy things, but she's really been through it. It may not look like it now, but losing you nearly destroyed her."
Jack blinked in surprise. "That was generous. She's treated you worse than anyone… except maybe Ted."
It was difficult to know what to say. Kylie had really grown to detest Sandra, following recent events, but she knew that she shouldn't be too hard on her. Having no children herself, she couldn't begin to imagine what it must be like to lose one. Surely it was enough to make anyone say and do crazy things.
"You're beautiful."
Kylie's eyes widened. She hadn't expected that.
"Really," Jack went on. "You've grown into a… a… a really lovely young woman. Does that sound lame?"
"Um, no," Kylie said robotically.
"I'm sorry we lost so much time."
"Yeah, me too."
"If we hadn't…"
He stopped there, still gazing down at her. Kylie panicked. She had a feeling he was about to kiss her. If they hadn't lost all of those years, if they had grown up together, maybe that would be what she wanted. But not now. Too much had happened.
Jack sighed. "We really can't go back, can we." It wasn't a question.
"No."
"It's so unfair."
"I know."
"I suppose I'm too young for you anyway, really. It's… it's difficult. My body is more mature than my mind, if you see what I mean."
Kylie nodded.
"I hope someday my mind will catch up," Jack went on. "All I really want to do now is start leading a normal life."
"You're getting on so well," Kylie said encouragingly. "I mean, we only got you back a few months ago, and you've really matured since then."
"Do you think… maybe… after some more time…?"
"I don't know."
They were silent for several moments. Finally Jack said, "You shouldn't walk home alone so late."
"I'll be ok."
"New York's a dangerous place, Kylie. I'd never forgive myself if I let you go and… and…"
"I was never seen again?"
"Yeah."
You kinda owe me one of those, thought Kylie, but again she kept it to herself. Jack wanted to forget all of that, and she had to let him. Aloud she said, "I'll get a cab."
Jack shook his head. "Stay here."
"What about your mom?"
"Forget her. I'm going to have to go back to Sacramento with her, at least for now. I don't know what Dad will do – I guess he needs to get his life back on track as well. When he does I might decide to stay with him, wherever that is, but… well, when Mom goes I'll have to follow. I want to see as much of you as I can before that happens."
"All right," Kylie nodded. "I'll stay. If… if you really want me to."
"Kylie." A smile split his features, and he put his arm around her to lead her back into the firehouse. "Of course I want you to. You're my best friend. Nothing's ever going to change that, is it?"
"No," said Kylie, mimicking his broad smile. That was exactly what she needed to hear. "Nothing's ever going to change that."
Two months later:
The phone was ringing when Kylie walked through the door. She rushed to answer it, which she normally wouldn't bother to do, but Jack had said he might call. She was anxious for news, besides which he could probably do with a chat. It was a difficult time for him. The poor guy must have been wondering whether he was ever going to have an easy time again.
"Hi, Jack." Kylie leaned back on her bed, and Pagan jumped onto her lap. "How's things?"
"Ah, well, very stressful, actually. They've started fighting for custody of Toby."
"Really? Your mom'll get him though, won't she? I thought unmarried fathers didn't get a look-in. Although, he did think he married her…"
"That could well come into it," said Jack. "Mom just had a meeting with her lawyer, and she's got some problems. First off she has a criminal conviction – you know, the bigamy. And she doesn't have any money because she had to pay a fine that was like twice the refund she got from that private investigator."
Kylie hadn't thought about Mike for weeks. She vaguely wondered what he was doing now as she asked, "Didn't he give her a cheque for like four thousand dollars?"
"Yeah. Mom's fine was eight, which isn't so bad, because the maximum is ten."
"Jesus."
"I know. And… well, her lawyer also said that Ted's lawyer might be planning to use me in the case."
"Use you? How?" asked Kylie.
"Well." He seemed to hesitate. "Well, the last time Mom was in charge of a kid, she… you know… lost it."
"Oh, I see." For a moment she didn't know what else to say. "That's terrible for your mom. Whatever she's done, I think she's more than paying for it now. So what about Deborah? Are you keeping in touch?"
"Oh, yeah," said Jack. "Tobes is with us at the moment, and Deb comes over with Ted to see him. And me. She really seems to hate Mom, though. All of this is really upsetting her."
"I imagine it would be."
"I hope I don't lose touch with her. Next to you she's the person who's given me the most support through all of this."
"I'm sure she'll stay in touch – don't worry," advised Kylie. "And what about your dad? He and I have been in touch. I hear he's managed to get himself a job fitting tyres. He seems to think it's a bit of a comedown."
"It is, from being a mechanic," answered Jack. "But it's hard to get a job when you've got a past."
Kylie knew that Jack was worried about what would happen when he'd caught up with his education, and the time came for him to go out into the world and try to secure some kind of income. She smirked quietly when she had the idea of Mike, Jack and Daniel, all with their own employment problems, going into business together. Your mysteries solved while we fix your car.
"He calls me every day," Jack went on. "Yesterday he was complaining about his crappy apartment. It sounds pretty horrible, but I don't care – I'm going to stay with him as soon as I feel I can leave Mom."
"When will that be?"
"I don't know. Maybe never, if she loses Toby."
"Well," said Kylie. Pagan turned over onto his back and stretched invitingly across her lap. "You know I'd love to see you. I hope you can come and see us soon."
After they had wrapped up the conversation, Kylie dangled a shoelace for Pagan and thought smilingly about how quickly Jack was catching up with himself. In the space of about half a year he had gone from having the mind of a six year old to using phrases like "private investigator", "custody", "bigamy" and "criminal conviction". Already his mother was starting to lean on him rather than the reverse, and the way Daniel was turning his life around was sure to be an invaluable factor in helping Jack to do the same thing. That boy used to idolise his father. Now that they were reunited, surely things could only get better.
The phone rang again.
"Hello?"
"Kylie, it's Egon. I'm sorry but we just got a call."
Kylie pulled a face. "You've got to be kidding me. I just got home."
"I know," said Egon. "I'm sorry. It's a disturbance in one of those overlarge apartments on the Upper West Side. That's all we know at this stage. Ah – Roland just arrived. He'll bring the Ecto-1 to pick you all up."
When the Ecto-1 pulled up outside Kylie's apartment building some time later, Eduardo and Garrett were already in it. Eduardo scooted over to make room for Kylie on the front seat.
"So some spoilt rich kid has a ghost," he said irritably. "Like he can't just buy a new apartment."
"The wealthy are people too, Eduardo," Kylie replied curtly.
As Roland pulled the car into gear, Kylie realised that this was a life miles away from Jack's, and not just in terms of proximity. She couldn't help wondering how things would be different if he hadn't been lost. It seemed likely that Jack would still be living in New York with his parents, but then again a lot could happen in a year, or even a month, never mind a decade. Friends grow apart no matter what happens, unless you make the effort to stay in touch.
"Jack's mom might lose custody of her other kid. You know – Toby."
Roland snorted. "Serves her right."
"You think?" Kylie cocked an eyebrow. "Surely no one deserves to lose two sons in one lifetime."
"She can't take care of a kid," Eduardo decided. "And anyway, she's a bitch. She deserves everything she gets."
Kylie couldn't help smiling. "I'm touched by your loyalty."
"Yeah, well." Garrett caught her eye in the rear view mirror and flashed her a knowing smile. "You know how it is, Ky. Good friends stick by you."
THE END