Disclaimer: All of the original and familiar characters are property of Meg Cabot and her series The Mediator, but the plot and new faces are property of me.

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Chapter 13

I jump into my car, well, the kid's car, and start my journey home. I think about a lot of things; and I am deep in thought when Father Dom besides to pop in for a visit. I almost crash.

"Jesus!"

"Susannah!" Father Dom says loudly while I veer to avoid a big truck.

"Well what do you expect?" I ask viciously, while trying to settle the beat of my heart.

"I need to ask you if you have looked at my body yet at the morgue."

An "oh" of surprise comes out of me and I shift in my seat nervously. I am silent for a moment, trying to figure out how I became so heartless all of a sudden, but then I decided to go to the morgue right now.

"Actually, I think I'm going to go to the morgue right now. How about that Father D?" I ask while making a U-turn and heading towards downtown.

Father Dominic is silent and I catch a glance over at him, and he is as white as a ghost.

"You don't have to come in with me if you don't want to," I say gently, "but I would like it if you were to be with me afterward."

Father Dom just nods his head and then leans back into the seat and closes his eyes. It is a quick trip to the morgue and when I pull in, I think about leaving the engine on, but then I ask myself why, and I can't come up with an answer. I guess I am just so used to ghost's presence that sometimes I forget that other people can't see them and then they aren't actually here.

I walk into the morgue and up to the front desk, where a young woman of about twenty-five or so is sitting filing her long fingernails. I clear my throat as I walk up to the desk. The woman looks up at me from under her long, thick eyelashes, and asks, "Can I help you?"

Personally, I think she has 'bitch' written across her forehead, but I let it slide. "Yes, I would like to see Father Dominic's body, please."

"This isn't a museum. Take it some place else." She smirks at me and then goes back to filing her nails.

"I am a relative, and I would like to see my grandfather, because I haven't seen him in ten years."

Her eyes flash up at me, and then she says, "Sorry about that," all sweetly and makes me sign in and then pushes a button on the wall behind her. A sliding door opens and she instructs me to walk on back, someone is waiting for me.

I walk through the door and get an instant chill, and it's not just from the drop in temperature. I walk all the way to the back before I see someone who isn't dead.

He's cute, in a nerdy type of way. The guy has on a white lab coat that is splattered with certain substances that I really don't want to know the details of. But his hair is ruffled and he has a smile on his face. His nametag reads Dr. Jacobs.

"Hi, Suze. I'm Dr. Jacobs." He sticks out his hand and I shake it.

"Hi," I say meekly.

"I was told that you were a relative of Father Dominic. Now, how is that possible, when Father is a Catholic priest?"

Damn, caught.

"Well," I stutter for a moment. "Actually," I begin while slumping my shoulders, "I'm was a student of his down at the Mission, and I just kind of wanted to say good-bye to him. He means a lot to me." I try to moisten my eyes, but it just isn't working. Thank God Dr. Jacobs is a nice guy.

"Okay," he says, "this way." I follow his through the rows of dead people. It feels so empty…and I have to deal with ghosts all the time. I shouldn't be affected like this, but I suppose ghosts are different from dead bodies. I mean, ghosts can actually talk, while dead bodies are just masses without their soul anymore.

I keep close to Dr. Jacobs, not only because he smells good, but because I am genuinely scared to be caught alone in this dank place. Finally we reach one of the tables, and I can see the outlines of the body, which is draped in a white shroud. I hold my breath, while Dr. Jacobs checks the toe-tag before whipping off the cloth.

It's Father Dominic all right, and in a moment I can see all of him still dressed in his pajamas. Dr. Jacobs steps back for a moment and when my eyes travel from his toe-tag to his head, I nearly faint at what I find on his neck.

Before I know it, I am freefalling and everything turns black.

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I awake groggily in a wood paneled room, lying on a sofa with a blanket covering me. I sit up and find that Dr. Jacobs is filing some papers in his filing cabinet.

"I'm sorry," I say, and Dr. Jacobs looks around and smiles at me.

"Happens all the time, Miss Suze." He says with a playful smile. "So, what did you faint at? The sight of the body? Or more?"

I gasp. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I had an interesting visit with Father Dominic while you were out."

This guy must be nuts! I think while trying to hide my surprise.

"Really?" I ask while raising my eyebrows for dramatic flare.

"Oh yes, I am a shifter. And I thought I was the only one, until you came along. It seems you have two friends who can see ghosts, and a teacher as well. Father Dominic has gotten me up to date. But I was wondering if you could explain that horrible looking gash across Father Dominic's throat."

Uh, I get a flashback, and I feel myself feel swoon-y again. "I don't know, but I intend to find out as soon as possible. Dr. Jacobs, is Father Dom still around?"

Dr. Jacobs' jerks his head, motioning that he is out in the body room. "I think he is looking at his…past self." I smile at his careful choice in words, and thank him while I re-fold his blanket. I walk out of the office and make my way through the maze of carts topped with dead people. It kinda creeps me out, but then I find Father Dominic, and suddenly everything is okay.

I come up behind him silently, and plan on scaring him, but he knows I'm there, so he says, "Hello Susannah."

"Hey, Father Dom," I say while standing beside him.

"I heard about what you thought about my body. Dr, Jacobs' says that there is a gash on my throat, but I don't see anything." Father Dom sounds puzzled and worried. I look back down at his corpse and steady myself for the grotesque image. There's the gash, which is deep and infected.

"You seriously don't see it?" I ask astonished.

"No."

I bend down closer to Father Dom's body. Around the edges of the gash are tattoo-like markings. It just looks like random letters, but then I realize that it is tiny Latin words. I stand up and all the blood rushes to my head.

"Dr. Jacobs!" I call, and a moment later, he is bounding toward me.

"Yes? Did you find something?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you had seen the Latin words on the edge of the gash."

"Really?" Dr. Jacobs asks while taking out a magnifying glass. We bend over the corpse and look through the glass and I can see the word much more clearly.

"What does it say?" I ask anxiously.

Dr. Jacobs says some stuff really fast in what I can only see to be in Latin. Father Dom turns whiter than white.

"What?" I ask again. "What does all that mean?"

"Susannah, it says, 'O miserable you, cut by this knife, shall send you to the deep depths of hell.'" He puts his hands in his head, and I know that he is praying for God to give his mercy. However, I know better, and I have a hunch.

"Oh my God!" I say while clasping my hands over my mouth.

Dr. Jacobs puts a hand on my shoulder to balance myself if I should faint again.

"Father, I must go. We will talk later. Dr. Jacobs, thank you for all your kindness, you might be hearing from me soon." He quickly hands me his card, and I dash for the exit, leaving Father still praying into his palms and Dr. Jacobs bent over his body still examining the gash.