Ghost of a Chance

“Cute,” Callahan said, closing the folder he’d been looking through. “We’ll see how cute you are when Detweiler catches you skulking around. Word has it he’s offered a bounty for anything he can use to lock you up.”

“You know me, Lieutenant,” Alex said, dropping the folded-up list of names on his desk. “I love to make an impression.”

Callahan rolled his eyes as he reached for the paper.

“The only impression around here is going to Detweiler’s size nines on your butt. What’s this?”

“That’s a list of people the ghost has targeted for death.”

Callahan raised an eyebrow and perused the list.

“Okay,” he said, dropping it on his desk. “What makes you think the ghost is after these people?”

“Seth Kowalski,” Alex said.

“The first victim, so?”

“He was the County Assessor for Suffolk County from eighteen-ninety-seven through aught-nine.”

Callahan picked up the paper again and held it up.

“And that relates to these people how?”

“Everybody on that list worked for Kowalski when he ran the Assessor’s office.”

Callahan looked the list over again.

“Where did you get this?” he asked. “You sure it’s legit?”

“I got it from the current Assessor out in Suffolk County,” Alex said. “Name’s Randall Walker. He can confirm it.”

Callahan stared at the list for a long time before speaking.

“This could be a coincidence,” he said, clearly playing devil’s advocate.

Alex didn’t think for a minute that someone as sharp as Callahan believed in coincidence. He shrugged and decided to play along.

“Maybe it is,” he said. “But if I didn’t give this list to you and someone on there got bumped off, I could be up for a complicity charge. And if I gave the list to you, and you didn’t do anything and someone on that list got killed…”

“Yeah,” Callahan said after a long minute. “Remember that explanation. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

He picked up the phone on his desk.

“Tell Detweiler I want to see him,” he growled into it.

Alex sat back in the chair, crossing his legs and lighting a cigarette. He knew he’d just delivered information that might make Detweiler’s career, but he didn’t put it past the Lieutenant to have him arrested just for spite. He took a long drag on the cigarette to calm his nerves.

The door opened behind Alex and he turned. Detweiler in his rumpled jacket stood in the doorway, the stump of a cigar clutched in his teeth. He looked like an unmade bed, with hair flying wildly and bloodshot eyes. The ghost case was clearly running him ragged.

“What is it, Callahan?” he said. “Some of us have work to…” He stopped short when he caught sight of Alex and his tired face turned red. “I thought I told you I’d arrest you if I caught you up here,” Detweiler sneered, reaching for his cuffs.

“Sit down, James,” Callahan growled.

Detweiler looked like he was about to tell Callahan exactly where to put that remark, but as he looked up at his counterpart, something made him stop.

“All right, Callahan,” he said in an easy voice. “I’ll give you one minute to convince me why I shouldn’t run in your boy here and report you to the Captain.”

“Take a look at this,” Callahan said, handing the list of names over.

“Where’d you get this?” he asked after looking it over.

“From Randall Walker,” Alex explained. “He’s the Assessor for Suffolk County.”

“And he knew all four victims?” Detweiler said. “Is he connected to these other people?”

“No,” Callahan said. “All of these people worked for Seth Kowalski back when he was the Suffolk County Assessor.”

Detweiler looked at the list again, more critically this time.

“So, you think the ghost is after these people,” he said at last. “That the fact they all worked for the first victim, Kowalski, isn’t just a coincidence.”

“That’s how I figure it,” Callahan said.

Detweiler looked up from the list with a suspicious expression and turned to Alex.

“You get this list from your friend at The Midnight Sun?”

Alex almost burst out laughing, but managed to control himself. Laughing at the exhausted Lieutenant was a surefire way to get locked up.

“No,” Alex said, being careful to keep his voice friendly and snicker free. “I dug this up myself.”

“I thought I told you to drop this case,” the portly Lieutenant sneered.

“You did,” Alex said, puffing on his cigarette. “But then I remembered that I don’t work for you.”

Detweiler’s face turned red and he reached for his cuffs again.

“It’s a good thing Alex kept digging,” Callahan interjected in his take-charge voice. “If the ghost is going after people on that list, not only can we protect them, but we’ve got a good chance to catch this maniac.”

“Oh sure,” Detweiler said, turning his anger on Callahan. “I notice you didn’t go to the Captain with this yourself. You want me to take charge of this so if it blows up I’ll look like a monkey.”

“What are you talking about?” Callahan said. “I gave it to you because it’s your case.”

Detweiler slammed the paper down on Callahan’s desk.

“Are you telling me that you didn’t do this because the name Nancy Sinclair is on this list?”