Living with Spirit Girl: Cp24

Living with Spirit Girl
Chapter Twenty-Four

The reports of the various enforcement groups again failing to capture Lorither read like a comedy series where the humor was in the incompetence of the people. The only thing that made it serious to me was knowing that those on my planet had not done any better. Those of the FBI were relieved when I acknowledged that, but were not willing to grant me special status. I understood almost all of their reasoning, but I felt they should have learned that stopping Lorither would require someone of my classification.

It shocked me to hear Felix say my name. Turning to him, I saw him sit up in bed. Not wanting to have to show off any ghostly powers, I simply voiced what I hoped would be a command Felix would obey.

“Go to back to sleep.”

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Taking notes. Lorither got away again.”

“Lorither?”

“The gorilla. Actually chatting with the FBI agents. Blake and I will be going back out with them tomorrow. Now, go back to sleep.”

He got out of bed I thought to look at the monitor, but instead he looked at the notebook I was writing in. “You write like that? It looks Chinese.”

“The Torks said that it was more like the Mayan script. I have to agree, as it was written in stone. Flowery script like you have would easily wash away in the water.”

“You write in stone?”

“More correctly a soft plastic.”

The door opening surprised both of us, although the voice of Mrs. Manwell also showed shock. “Felix, go to – who are you?”

Felix answered, “This is Arraelly, Mother. I believe you met her before.”

“Arraelly?”

“The ghost lady that is responsible for what Blake has been doing.”

“Oh.” She stepped in to look at me, then said, “I remember meeting you, but with all that was going on I thought I would recognize something wrong with you. Blake said that I would be weirded out.”

I replied, “I don’t want to weird you out, Mrs. Manwell. I however do have things I need to do, and was just trying to do them.”

“Why can’t you do them at your house?”

Hoping for a safe response, I answered, “Lorither escaped again. I am here protecting Blake. Say, ‘Hello,’ to the FBI Mrs. Manwell.”

While I had removed an earpiece so she could hear the words from the agents, she only waved at the monitor before asking, “How did Blake get involved in this?”

“Do you know anything about him and his friends going to the cemetery?”

“Yes. Some silly argument. I was actually proud of Blake for caring so much for his family history. Wait! Are you saying something bad happened?”

“From my perspective something good happened. It however did involve Blake, but he is a good kid. I would much rather be involved with him than someone like Felix.”

Of course the youth reacted, but I smiled when his mother called him down. “Hush, Felix. Officer Arraelly…”

I interjected, “Officer S4 Arraelly Fortauber. I am presently outside my jurisdiction, but I believe the local authorities are coming to appreciate my persistence in going after a certain threat.”

“And Blake is involved?”

“And Blake is involved, but we are doing all we can to keep him safe. Oh, if things go well tomorrow, I might keep him with me as I make good on an invite to the cage fight tomorrow night. I have spent time with Fernando Freight Train. I believe Blake deserves the treat. He really is a good kid.”

“Don’t keep him out too late.”

I had to think before replying, “I promise, no adult partying. If Fernando wins, I’ll be tempted, but I need to turn my focus into resolving this situation between Blake and me. Once that is resolved, I will see about contacting Freight Train on my own.”

Felix asked, “You like him?”

“I enjoyed my nights sparring with him. He seems to be a nice person, and I am willing to see what more I can learn about him.”

As Felix made sounds, his mother said, “Well, it is nice to meet you, Officer Arraelly. How late are you going to be staying?”

“I’ll be here in some fashion all night.”

Felix said, “She’s a ghost, Mother.”

“Felix, Blake is very worried about weirding your mother out. We can save those comments for later.”

It surprised me to hear the lady say, “Yes, Felix, we can discuss this further at a later time. Now, go to bed. Arraelly, there is a computer in an office. You may use that and not bother the boys.”

I thanked the lady. She stressed her command to Felix, then had me follow her out of the bedroom. As I followed, she turned to look me over before asking a question.

“How old are you? You don’t look old at all.”

I replied, “Let’s save a lot of questions for a time when we can have them make better sense. Right now it is only my personal determination that is keeping me from insanity. For your information, I had a short career in the military, then have years as a police officer. I have had the rank of S4 for four years, which is something I brag about.”

“So, you are older than you look.”

Again I had to think before making a reply. “I look the way I do because of Blake’s friends. Still, I am glad to be able to fit in with them. They are a good group of kids. I am actually finding myself thinking about having children of my own.”

“I assumed you were not married from what you said about Fernando Freight Train. Still, I was going to ask.”

“Really, Mrs. Manwell, Blake is very worried about your mentality over some facts. Please allow us to work out this situation, then we can afford to have you go through a mental breakdown. Right now, we need you to stay sane.”

I heard a man ask, “Who are you speaking to, Beatrice?”

We both turned to Mr. Manwell as his wife answered, “This is Officer S4 Arraelly Fortauber. She is the one involved with Blake. I was going to allow her to use our office and not bother the boys.”

He put me through almost the same questions as his wife. Mr. Manwell however did ask things about the Torks. While I was cautious about what I said, I became distressed when I thought of the real connection with Dorothy’s parents. I quickly spoke of my need to again contact the FBI, and was glad the adults left for bed after showing me to the office and activating their computer.

When I again contacted law enforcement, I said, “Lorither is going to hit a bank. I don’t know which one, but put out an alert.”

One of those coordinating various groups replied, “We have thought the same, but did not want to alarm the bad guys. We only sent the warning to certain officials.”

“No. Lorither is bold and deadly. Those in whatever bank he targets are very likely to be killed. We need them alert for their own safety.”

I heard the voice of Agent Norwood say, “I don’t think we need you tomorrow, Arraelly.”

“That’s where my S4 status doesn’t care. I’m going out. Honestly, spending a day with Blake might be good for both of us. There are things we can work on between us. Also, I’ll make certain he has his phone, so we can call if we find something.”

“Find something?”

“I believe one reason you are not finding Lorither is that you are thinking like a gorilla and not as someone from my world. I believe I can find him.”

The voice of a superior asked, “How confident are you of that?”

“Tell you what. I’ll have Blake go to school. I believe that you will have two clear reports of suspicious behavior. There will actually be four, but only two will be overt. None will pan out, and Lorither will still be in hiding. Have agents Wilson and Norwood pick Blake up after school and I should be able to tell you more.”

“Sounds like you are tossing down the gauntlet.”

I really did not know the reference, but spoke making an assumption of what could be meant. “Yes, but I know they are getting desperate. They have men and equipment with all needing funds. Lorither can be predictable when he lacks time to be subtle. What you need is the determination to go after him and stay after him without any concern except removing him from normal society.”

“All permits are signed, Arraelly. While killing this gorilla is not what we want, I am authorized to give permission. I promise you that if things go like before, I will be giving permission.”

“Then there may be hope we can put the matter to rest. I can then work on Honnider and work on resolving other problems, such as my own. Let me call it a night, as I need to assure that I am at my best tomorrow.”

The FBI agents said the same, then ended the connection. I thought about again calling up the map programs, but decided that I better end the night as well. I did not want to be unconscious during the school hours has I tended to be after spending the time sparring with Fernando. While I was unsure about my real physical needs, not needing to eat might mean that I did not need to sleep either, I felt it better to allow my mind to rest. I thus shut down the computer, and moved to return the brooch to Blake before ending my day.