Guile.. Part five conclusion. ( Revised.)

Chasing Ghosts

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He is sitting in his lieutenants office waiting for reaction to his latest update on a case that seems to be haunting him, seemingly endless hours chasing what appears to be a ghost has not endeared him to his superiors. He enters the office and casts an annoyed glance at Joshua Kirkland. He sits down behind his desk and draws a slow patient breath.
“So detective. What do you have to tell me?.”
Joshua Kirkland chooses his words carefully before answering his lieutenant.
“There isn’t much to say, I still haven’t caught him, but I am actively working on it sir.”
“This man detective, he is responsible for the death of one woman and also for another being institutionalized?”
“Yes sir, I believe that he is, Maxine Greer was once a sane reasonable woman, after becoming involved with this man I think-” the lieutenant stops him in mid sentence.

“The captain has closed this case detective, he believes as do I that you are no closer to solving it than you were ten months ago, it is time to move on. After all, all you really have to go on is conjecture and hearsay. You really have nothing to prove that he has any involvement in any wrong doing whatsoever do you?”
The young detective rises to his feet abruptly, startling the lieutenant.
“Sir? You can’t be serious! This guy is dangerous. We can’t just-”
“You have no choice in the matter Detective Kirkland! This case is no longer a priority, and it is closed. You are dismissed!”
He returns to his desk and flops down into his chair, more than slightly disenchanted with the whole justice procedure, he tries to clear his head and his thoughts soon return to Maxine Greer, and he wonders. How is she being treated at The Harker Institute where she was placed on suicide watch just nine short months ago.

What was she ranting about when he’d found her lying on the floor? both wrists had been sliced through, self inflicted wounds brought on by traumatic episode is what he was told by the doctors. She was placed in Harker’s for her own protection, and he never shared with anyone the words that he had heard come out of her mouth just before she’d lost consciousness.

“I have met the Devil”

She'd repeated it several times before the paramedics arrived on the scene, she was saved, from herself, in spite of herself, that’s what he was told. After her admittance she was placed on permanent suicide watch and was determined to be a danger to not only herself but others around her as well, the last news that he’d received on her was just after her admittance nine months ago, the same nine months that he’d spent chasing the ghost that killed Abigail Henry.

Silent Offerings.

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He finds his way home, it is just past 7:00 PM as he places the key in the door lock of his apartment and turns it in the tumbler to unlock it. He opens the door wide but stops as he suddenly feels a cold dark chill come over him, emanating from the dark room through the open door. He starts to pull out his service revolver but hesitates for a moment while reaching for the light switch just inside of the door. The light almost jumps out at him and he sees that the room is empty. He enters and close’s the door behind him before pouring himself a drink and turning on the television. The news is very depressing for him to watch and he slowly falls asleep in his chair , it isn’t until almost 6:30 am when the telephone rings to life and starts him from his deep sleep, when he answer’s, the voice on the other end seems almost hesitant.
“Detective Kirkland?”

He clears his throat before answering the unknown voice at the other end of the phone.

“Yes Ma’am.”
“This is Detective Joshua Kirkland?”
“Yes it is.”
“ Hello Detective, my name is Serena Mackey, I’m a nurse from the Harker institute, I was working the ward that your lady friend Maxine Greer was in.”
He pauses.
“And how is she doing?”
“Well Detective I didn’t want to do this over the phone, but I’m afraid that Ms Greer died yesterday morning. And we need to notify the next of kin, do you know perhaps who that might be?”
“No I’m afraid we never got that close, I can try to look it up for you if you would like, perhaps her former employer might know.”

“We would certainly appreciate that sir, we would prefer to release the child into the custody of her closest relative.”
He sits up abruptly..

“Child?”

“ Yes sir. that’s how Ms Greer died, during child birth, she was pregnant when you brought her to us. Didn’t you know?”

He sits in an uncomfortable silence, and the woman at the other end of the line almost hangs up.
“Detective?”
“Uhhh. Yes Ma’am I’m still here. Uhh No. I didn’t know that she was pregnant. I will try to find and notify her next of Kin. I’ll drive out on Friday and let you know what I find out.”
“That will be fine Detective. Until then the child will be a guest of the state. See you on Friday then?”
“Yes ma’am, I’ll be there on Friday.”

They both hang up the phone, and Serena Mackey returns to conducting the business of her morning rounds. And one hour later she finds herself in the Harker Nursery looking down at the son of Maxine Greer. She has seen more than a few babies born in her twenty six years of service here at the Harker institute, but she has never known a child such as this, the child never cries, never whimpers, and he seems at times as though he is watching the nurse’s of the ward through cold gray calculating eyes. Almost as if he’s figuring things out, she finds it more than a little odd and sad. If the Detective should find the child’s next of kin, it will grow up never knowing its mother. She thinks for a time while looking down at him.

“Who knows little guy? Maybe your father will show up to take you home with him.”

An odd chill passes almost through her body and a strange feeling grabs her as she sees the child slowly smile.

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