Chapter Four

The moment Detective Thomas Jefferson Kincaid walked into the precinct with his prisoner, his nerves went on edge. There was a distinct air of danger, something that suggested there was spirit activity inside the station house, perhaps something that involved an evil presence. TJ had dealt with the dark forces before and he didn't relish the thought of another encounter. Yet, he couldn't escape the nagging feeling that people within the building were in trouble.

As soon as he could, he went in search of Captain Simms and Chief Strenlich. "I was only gone for a day and a half. What the hell is going on here?" he muttered under his breath as he went through the bullpen.

The captain and the chief were just leaving Simms' office when TJ caught up with them. "Captain Simms, I need to – "

He stopped when Jody stood suddenly from her desk and began to twirl about in a dance. The scent of roses was strong in the air and the air was frigid. Jody seemed largely ignorant of her surroundings as she focused on her feet and the dance steps, quietly humming a song her body was moving to.

TJ gaped at her in confusion, but a glance around the room told him this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. "Uh-oh, it's twilight zone time again, folks," Skalany said in a singsong voice.

"What does that mean?" he asked Simms and Strenlich.

Before he could get an answer, Peter suddenly slammed a heavy book of mug shots on top of his desk. With its thunderous impact, small items on his desktop scattered across the floor below, but Peter seemed oblivious to the mess he'd just made.

He strode over to Jody, grabbing her roughly by both arms and pulled her close to him as he spoke through clenched teeth, "Woman, do you not see you have the eye of every man in this place?"

Jody was caught by surprise. She stammered for a moment, then said, "What do you mean, Joseph? I was doing nothing unseemly! I was merely practicing the new dance for Saturday night. I want to be able to do it properly when we do the dance in front of everyone."

TJ was more confused than ever, because Peter and Jody sounded nothing like themselves, especially when Jody called Peter Joseph, and he began to connect the encounter unfolding in front of him as being part of what he'd sensed when he'd first entered the building. Displaced spirits. Damn it.

"I will not have a woman of mine carrying on like some cheap harlot!" Peter's voice grew lower as its menacing tone increased.

"I am not yours, Joseph Ashbury! And I may never be yours if you continue to conduct yourself in such a deplorable manner!" Jody spat her words out with vehement disgust.

TJ started to step forward when Peter grabbed Jody's chin with his fingers and squeezed tightly. Her face contorted with obvious discomfort. Others in the room followed TJ's lead, moving closer to intercede.

With their faces almost touching, Peter as Joseph whispered to Jody as Abigail, spacing each word for maximum effect, "You are mine now and forevermore, Abigail Brigham! Don't you 'ever' forget that!"

Then, strangely, Joseph reacted to the tears streaming down Abigail's reddened face. "Abby, I'm sorry," he said as he released his hold on her as he looked at her in horror, but kept his hand at her cheek. "I am so very sorry. I don't – I don't understand what... or why... I have no explanation for what I just did."

Kermit walked into the bullpen area, still dripping wet from the storm raging outside, and he distracted TJ. When TJ looked back, the spirits had departed, leaving Peter and Jody stunned as they gazed wide-eyed at their close proximity.

Despite his confusion, Peter wiped away Jody's tears with one hand as the other rubbed gently at her chin, then he brought Jody's head to rest under his in a comforting embrace. Both Jody and Peter trembled, probably from the sudden drop in temperature or from being host to uninvited spirits. Whatever the cause, TJ knew it didn't bode well for the two.

Peter staggered away from Jody to lean against a nearby wall. When Jody faltered as well, Mary Margaret stepped forward to wrap an arm around Jody's back. Peter shook his head and closed his eyes, putting a hand to his temple.

TJ licked his lips as he decided this wasn't the first time the two of them had been possessed by the displaced spirits, but that knowledge didn't seem to help Peter or Jody as they reeled in the aftermath of their encounter.

Jody's tearful confusion was tainted with the pain as she held a hand gingerly to her chin, the darkening red spots corresponding to where Joseph's fingers had squeezed hard.

"What just happened here?" Skalany asked incredulously as she rubbed Jody's arm.

The red spots on Jody's chin were rapidly turning into bruises. Mary Margaret shook her head and said, "I thought Abigail and Joseph were head over heels in love. What the hell caused him to go off on her like that?"

"Maybe it was a love gone bad," Kermit said as he remained on the periphery of the group.

Simms stepped forward. "Possibly," she said. "Kermit, I'm glad you're back. We've got some last names for you to run. See what you can find on Abigail Brigham and Joseph William Ashbury."

Kermit nodded and he moved toward his office. "Your wish is my command, Captain. I'll run them through my magic machine right away."

TJ moved closer to Simms, about to ask for more details when Jody spied something on top of her desk. It was a small leather-bound book with a tiny clasp on one side that looked very old. As Jody picked it up and ran her fingers over the binding, she bent to inhale its scent.

"What's that, Jody?" Skalany asked as she leaned closer to her. Jody's clouded expression caused TJ's alarm to grow.

"I – I don't know for sure... I think it might be Abigail's diary. Just don't ask me how I know," she whispered quietly. She handed the book to Skalany, no longer interested in it as she rubbed at her jaw again.

Skalany scanned the first few yellowed pages of the diary and glanced up at Simms in concern. "Captain, I think you better take a look at this."

Simms approached her. "How did it get on Jody's desk?"

"That's the $64,000 question," Skalany said sarcastically.

Jody suddenly reacted. "It was just here, Captain! I don't know how and what's more, I don't care how it got here." She stood and started to leave, only to run right into Peter's outstretched arms where he'd stopped beside her desk.

"It's okay, Jody, we're all feeling pretty frazzled after everything that's happened," he said softly as Jody broke down in tears.

Simms looked at the two, then said, "Jody, I want you and Peter to go home. Now. This is becoming something more than weird. Whatever is happening is beginning to turn ugly and I don't want either of you here to participate in the next installment."

Both Jody and Peter nodded without argument. "How many times has this happened before?" TJ asked, still trying to catch up.

Skalany nodded. "A few times, but never like this."

TJ stared at Jody and Peter again. It seemed the whole affair was wearing thin on their nerves. Peter moved to get his jacket, then stopped, and turned towards Simms. "What about tomorrow, Captain? Or the next day? We can't stay gone forever."

"We'll deal with that tomorrow. Besides, I plan on getting some outside expert advice on the matter."

TJ wondered what type of outside expert advice she'd be seeking, but he didn't linger on the thought. Nodding his head reluctantly, Peter quickly hugged Jody again. As he pulled away, he stared at the dark spots on Jody's chin, which were rapidly turning purple with bruising. Stammering slightly, he said, "God, I'm so sorry, Jody."

"It wasn't you, Peter," Jody said softly.

Simms looked at TJ. "TJ, please take Peter home. Mary Margaret, if you could help get Jody settled, then I want both of you come back here. Hopefully, I'll have a plan in place by then."

TJ nodded, looking at Simms. "Yeah, we need to talk."

Simms rubbed her tongue along the front of her teeth as she faced Strenlich and said, "I'll be out of the office for a while. Call me on my cell phone if you need me. Otherwise, please wait until I get back."

"Understood, Captain."

Peter and Jody had their coats on by then. With a nod, TJ followed Peter out into the rain with Jody and Skalany close behind them. It seemed like the storm was getting worse. TJ didn't say a word, lost in his own thoughts as he tried to figure out the best way to help his coworkers.

oOoOoOoOo

Karen Simms approached the kwoon of Kwai Chang Caine, praying that the Shaolin priest was home. Since the man saw no need for locks, entry was relatively simple. She climbed the stairs and knocked nervously at the open doorway.

"Captain Simms, it is good to see you again," Caine said as he went to greet her after setting down his teapot.

"Yes, Caine, as with you. I only wish that it was under more pleasant circumstances."

"Please join me for some tea and we will talk."

Karen followed him over to a table with two cups of tea already poured. "Are you expecting company? I'm sorry, I just barged in here."

Caine smiled and bowed. "My only guest is yourself. Please be seated."

Simms shook off her disconcertion of Caine's mystical ways and did as he requested.

"You are worried about my son and his partner."

Karen's gaze latched onto Caine's and she bypassed the usual 'how did you know' type questions. "Yes, can you help them?"

"I do not know for certain. It is more than simply helping Peter and Jody. There are souls trapped in limbo there at the station house... souls chained to that place, unable to move forward."

Karen nodded and asked, "I repeat, can you help them? Can you help all of them?"

"I believe so, " Caine said as he straightened his shoulders and met her gaze. "I have been in deep meditation since I first sensed their presence, trying to find the best way to deal with the situation. I now know how I must prepare myself for their next encounter. It is most disturbing that I was not aware of Peter's danger from these entities until after the fact. Whenever this spirit occupied Peter's body, I simply lost contact with him – almost as if Peter's essence had blinked out of existence for a length of time."

"Is there anything you can do to change that?" Simms asked, intrigued by Caine's openness.

"I believe so. If I had been fully concentrating on him at the moment of transference, I might have been able to detect the problem earlier. By altering my meditative process, I will be able to 'fine-tune' my abilities in order to sense the next occurrence as it happens. Captain, there may be other items I will need in order to bring everyone back into harmony."

"Whatever you need, if it's legal and within my power, I will get it for you. Just let me know."

"I will not know what items I will require with any certainty until I observe these spirits in action. I will arrive at your precinct tomorrow morning and we will begin."

Karen sat back in her seat and toyed with her tea cup for a moment. "I've sent both Jody and Peter home for the day. Their presence was disruptive to work in general – and their encounters have become physical."

Caine nodded, but then he shook his head. "Having them away from the station will not solve the current problem, but only delay the inevitable. From the level of contact between them, the spirits have become so intimate with Peter and Jody that they will undoubtedly be visited by the displaced souls again tonight in their dreams."

Karen bit her lip. "So these spirits have chosen Jody and Peter to possess for a reason?"

Caine nodded again.

Karen pressed on. "In an attempt to resolve some unfinished matter from their past?"

"That would be an accurate assessment. Your sensitivity to matters of a spiritual nature have grown, Captain Simms," Kwai Chang said as he poured them both some more tea.

Karen resisted the urge to sigh. Being around the Caines had taught her to keep a more open mind when it came to spiritual issues. Caine's expression grew grimmer as he said, "I believe I have sensed a third spirit, but its presence has been more elusive and is difficult to identify."

Karen gaped at him for a moment. "A third spirit?"

He nodded, but said no more. She sighed and said, "Okay, I will make arrangements so Peter and Jody will not be alone tonight."

Caine smiled and met the police captain's gaze. "Very good. When you speak with my son, will you please inform him that I will need to be in mediation this evening in preparation for tomorrow and I will unable to be with him? I trust in his friends' ability to see him safely through the night."

Simms nodded. "Yes, I would be happy to pass along that message. Anything else?"

"I will need both Peter and Jody to be there tomorrow. For without their presence, I fear the haunting of your precinct will only continue to worsen. And it will definitelyturn... more ugly, as you would say."

Simms nodded, then sipped her tea in silent reflection. "Very well, I will have everyone there, but this must end tomorrow."

"I agree, Captain Simms. One way or another, it will end tomorrow."

Caine's grim words shook her confidence in him for some odd reason, but she didn't question him about it. The solemn tone of that moment stayed with her as she returned to the precinct. She was halfway there when she slapped the steering wheel of her car.

"Oh, good heavens! Tomorrow is Halloween! What a day to schedule an exorcism! What in the hell were you thinking, Karen Simms?"

She sighed deeply and returned to the precinct, but lingered in silent dread for the coming day.

oOoOoOoOo

Chapter 4