I See You

Chapter Three

Cody rested against the side of his truck waiting for the others to leave. He'd try to see if the spirit would listen to reason when he was alone. The sergeant down at the station house had told him that Emma had been notified a week ago and was finally on her way. He hadn't heard from her yet. However something inside told him his time was growing short. He didn't know if she would be willing to allow him to 'investigate' on his own.

His cell phone rang, lifting it he noticed the number. Disappointed when it wasn't a certain auburn angel calling. "Detective Phillips."

"Cody, it's Tera from Gruntwork Cleaning. You left a message for me?"

"Yeah, Tera, thanks for getting back with me so quickly."

"Anything for the guy who sends us city contracts and business," she laughed softly. "So whatcha got for me?"

Cody glanced at the house and thought of the huge stain currently settling into a hundred year old floor. "I need a personal favor, for a friend."

"Shoot. I'm listening," she replied without hesitation.

"There's a scene that needs to be cleaned as soon as it is opened and you can get someone here to do it. It's nothing major, the vic laid about twelve hours before discovery, just the usual biological remnants on an old carpet runner and floorboards, but, yeah, can you take care of it?"

"Sure thing, you give me a call when it's time and I can have a guy there in under an hour, if that's not soon enough I'll do it myself," she said. "The guy I use is fantastic at flooring. And I'll pitch in a really nice new runner for the hall. Favor to you."

"That sounds great. You're a lifesaver," Cody felt relieved that he could at least save Emma from having to clean up the remainder of her Grandfather's passing. "Thank you Tera. You can send me the bill. Not the city this time, me personally. That's okay with you?"

"Hell yeah it's okay," Tera laughed softly. "Hey, money's money. All spends the same, no matter where it comes from."

Cody nodded and glanced up at the second story of the house and noticed the curtains shift slightly in a darkened window. Ah, so he was being watched. "That's very true, and a fact I am grateful for." He quickly repeated the address for her then hung up. So the spirit was sentient. This much was obvious when he'd managed to piss it off to the point it tried to kill him.

Cody glanced at his watch, six-thirty. He wondered where Emma was, if she was being forced to take a bus. Or if she'd managed to find a ride. They'd played phone tag for the last several days. He'd been dealing with Hank and his insanity. For some reason the old man thought William's job with the Post Office had something to do with the motive. Yeah, doubtful. For whatever reason Hank was way out of his usual level of seriousness with this case.

Where was she anyway? Maybe she'd had to wait for her ride to get off work? Perhaps she was coming with her boyfriend or husband. A woman like her was bound to be taken.

Hell, he wasn't even sure why exactly it mattered to him. But damn it, it did! Cody knew the last thing he should be thinking about right now was whether or not she was with someone. Where the hell was his mind? Was he thinking solely about the job? No, not him, he was just being an insensitive jerk. Here, she'd just lost her only relative, and he was thinking about if he should ask her out?

He knew he wanted nothing more than to see if she wanted to get a drink. A missed opportunity from high school burning in his mind. He'd always chickened out because she was just too beautiful, too untouchable; so damn far out of his league. But a guy can dream.