ANGELS AND GHOSTS

The Assassin and The Disabled Jogger

An interruption occurred in Rachael’s latest assignment. She watched the target for eleven days straight, then on the sixteenth of December, she drove more than a hundred miles to Bassington Cemetery. The sixteenth of December was the most important day on her calendar, and nothing would ever interfere with her visit.

Rachael lay a blanket by the plot, then sat down and mumbled, “Hi.”

She lit a joint, opened a can of Jim Beam, then whispered, “What’s been happening … ummm, I’ve done three so far this year, and actually I’m tracking number four at the moment.”

She drew back, puffed out, had a sip, then continued. “This ass-hole’s the same, raped and murdered a twenty-three-year-old student which we’ve confirmed, and we’re pretty sure that he was also involved in the disappearance of an eighteen year old girl; so yeah, I’m sure you can understand that I’m keen to interview him.”

After taking another swig, she gazed to the Heavens and sighed, “I know I told you last year that I was hoping for an assignment-free year, but no, three down so far and one in motion. Don’t get me wrong, I love the money, and I feel noble and important when I execute cold-blooded evil creeps, it’s just the fact that these appalling crimes still happen to girls and young women.”

She drew back on the joint and puffed out. “One year it will happen, and there’ll be no brutal murders and slayings, and I’ll look forward to that, but at the moment, there’s sick fucks running around everywhere.”

Rachael butted the joint and lowered her gaze. “Yeah, so three this year which means that I’ve passed your total, and while that in itself doesn’t give me any sense of satisfaction, like you always said, with every evil monster we dispose of, the world becomes just that little bit safer.”

She coughed out a humourless laugh and said, “Ohhh Jesus, one of the targets this year was a chick, can you believe that? She organised to have her step-son murdered, so yeah, my first female. Funny though, I got talking to her and I ended up liking her, or you know, respecting her, because she was really brave.”

With the conversational part of the session finished with, Rachael lay on the blanket, and after placing her hands behind her head, she closed her eyes and let the memories slowly filter in, memories of the bravest person she had ever met.

Jenna Cameron, the first and only real love of her life.

Rachael remembered how Jenna had helped her repair after the shocking incident in 2006. She remembered the support and the guidance, remembered the affection and the feeling of being loved, and she would never forget the passion and the intimacy that the relationship gave her. To Rachael, the twelve-month relationship was the only real part of her last eight-and-a-half years, and she knew that the relationship would always be the glittering memory that outshone everything else.

The relationship had seen a few casualties though, for Rachael’s parents wanted nothing to do with her now, and her mother had never been to the cemetery to grieve for Jenna, or to pay her respects, or importantly, to forgive.

With Jenna gone, life was just about stumbling and fumbling through, although the memories would never fade, Rachael knew that, because they were her only important memories, memories that could help her battle through the tough times, memories of loving and being loved.

Rachael pushed up and knelt, then kissed the headstone. “Bye Jen, I still love you, I mean I think I love more than I ever have.”

Rachael gathered the blanket, and with tears welling in her eyes, she turned to face the headstone. “I better get back and continue tracking this ass-hole, so I’ll see you on your birthday,” then she whispered, “Bye Jen … goodbye Auntie Jenna.”

*

On the twenty-second of December, Mia received a letter from the State Roads Authority.

Dear Ms Coombes,

In order to finalize your insurance claim, please complete and return the enclosed form.

For three months now, she had been completing and returning forms.

Staff at the hospital had helped her in the early months, although Mia still found it strange that she gets hit by a car, and now the State Roads Authority wanted to give her money. The letter did jog her memory though, and she rang the police station.

“Hello, Brocksley Police Station, how can I help you?”

“Ohh hello, my name is Mia, Mia, ummm …” a moment of confusion, a blank space. Mia shook her head, then continued, “My name is Mia, and I was hit by a car in July, and I was just wanting information about the person who helped me.”

“Arhhh, the person who helped you?”

“Yes, I only got out of hospital recently, and staff at the hospital told me that a young woman drove me to the hospital.”

“Ohhh okay; what is your full name?”

“Mia, Mia …” Mia froze as her memory deserted her, clouds of blankness rolling in, and she shuffled over to the State Roads Authority letter, although things started washing in … “C-o-o-m-b-e-s, Coombes, Mia Coombes.”

“Do you know the exact date?”

Thankfully the date was on the letter, so Mia said confidently, “The nineteenth, the nineteenth of July.”

Mia could hear the tapping in the background, then the friendly voice again, “Okay, both of the officers involved in that investigation are unavailable at the moment, but if you leave me your number, I will have one of them call you back.”

“Certainly.”

Mia picked up the piece of paper she had written her cell number on, then relayed the information.

*

Mia made a notation in her diary that afternoon;

A police officer, Mark Jamieson called in to see me this afternoon, and he gave me the name and number of the woman who helped me. He was very nice and he was pleased that I’m recovering. He said the investigation was still ongoing, although no positive leads had been obtained. I didn’t really care about that, I mean I don’t really want to know who hit me and then left me for dead; I’m more interested in meeting the person who is responsible for me being able to record this notation. I had a silly thought when I met Officer Jamieson, because I thought, Gosh, you’re handsome! It was a silly thought, although it was a thought that I was happy to have.

I will ring the lady tomorrow, I will ring Rachael Terina tomorrow.

After lunch on the twenty-third of December, Mia did ring the number.

Marco watched as Rachael’s cell rang out, then he nodded his head, “Teriny, you’ll be happy; you just got another call.”

One hundred and forty miles away, Rachael Terina stood in front of him, then she said calmly, “You’re probably wondering why you’re naked and tied to a chair …”

*

As they had been doing for the last five years, Rachael and Marco celebrated Christmas Day together.

“Merry Christmas Fat Pudding!”

“Errr Rach, you can’t say Merry Christmas these days, because you might offend the sensibilities of people who don’t believe in the whole Christian thing.”

“Are you offended because I said Merry Christmas?”

“No, of course not; but the world is changing, and some people are offended by the term.”

“Fuck that shit! Dickheads everywhere are just scrounging around, searching for things to be offended by, and I mean if the phrase Merry Christmas can cause a person to keel over in a blubbering heap, well maybe they should just go and jump off a cliff.”

“Yes Teriny, your compassion for those of differing beliefs and values is noted, but anyway, open your present.”

Rachael picked it up and ripped the paper off.

“Go easy Rachael, I wanted to use that paper for your birthday present next year!” he declared.

Rachael ignored him as she studied the present, nodding, “Good choice.”

“You like it?”

“Yeah, Deluxe model; it’s a beauty.”

“I thought your old one might be worn out, so updating would be a good idea.”

“No, it’s still going, although I don’t think the old one will get much of a run now.” she said as she pulled it out of the box. “Dual speed, great, multiple functions, yeah Fat pudding, this is a ripper!”

“You wanta try it out now?” he asked hopefully.

“Pervert!”

“No, no, I just want to make sure it works and you’re satisfied with it.”

“I’ll let you know, and you’ll probably hear it buzzing tonight.” Rachael replied, although after a thorough inspection, she asked, “Where’s the batteries?”

“Ohhh whoops!” he exclaimed, then said, “I’ve got that size in my torch, so I’ll get them for you.”

“Wait up!” she hollered. “You don’t give a woman a Deluxe model, dual speed, multi-function vibrator, then give her second-hand batteries!”

“Sorry.”

“Fuckwit!” she exclaimed, “But thanks.”

Marco rubbed his hands together, “Okay, now for my present.”

Rachael reached into her pocket and dropped the little package in front of him.

Disappointed, he asked, “Again?”

“What, you don’t want it?”

“You give me cocaine every year.”

“Well I don’t know what to buy slob perverts like you.”

“Hmmm, at the very least, you could have wrapped it to make it look more presentable.”

Rachael huffed, “Ungrateful slob.”

“No, I’m grateful, but I always put a lot of thought into what I get you, then you just drop this unwrapped package in front of me every year.”

“Keep whining, and I’ll be taking it with me.”

“No, it stays here, but I’m just saying that you need to put a bit more thought into what you buy me, I mean every birthday and every Christmas, the same thing.”

“So what, you want me to go down to the porno store and ask, Hey, give me the latest DVD in the Ass-Licking, Pussy-Munching series please.”

“Very funny, but there’s nothing wrong with asking me what I want.”

“Okay, what do you want for your next birthday?” she asked, then quickly added, “And if it’s got anything to do with your penis and my vagina, I’ll let your tyres down.”

“Ummm, ummm, well okay, leaving my penis out of this, you could let me insert your new present into you, and then everyone wins!”

“Fuck!” she laughed. “I’ve been pleasuring myself for six or seven years now, and I’ve become very good at it.”

It was a tradition now, and every Christmas Day, they watched, It’s A Wonderful Life together.

Marco loved the movie, and he cried every time, and surprisingly, for the first time ever, tears welled in Rachael’s eyes.

“God, I don’t believe this!” Marco blurted. “The cold-blooded female assassin sheds a tear.”

“Fuckwit.” she mumbled.

She did love the movie, and it always had the ability to stir her emotions, although if she pinched her nose during the emotional bits, that action could usually halt any potential tears. This year though, the title of the movie seemed more significant, the title eerily close to a song she had sung with one of her targets. Rachael remembered the woman’s bravery, her composure, and indeed she remembered shedding a tear as she sliced the woman’s throat open; And I think to myself - - - - - - - -

Time to think of something else, so Rachael wiped her eyes then said, “I’m seeing that chick tomorrow.”

“Which chick?”

“The woman who got hit by the car.”

“Ohhh, so she’s alright?”

Rachael took a moment to think about her best friend; he was a computer whiz, but sometimes he was as dumb as all fuck. “Well unless she turned into a zombie who can use a phone, I’m guessing that she is alright.”

“So she rang you?”

“She left a message and I rang her.”

Marco pondered, then asked, “Why?”

“What?”

“Why did she want to speak to you?”

“Well she wanted to thank me personally, and I said yeah, sure.”

“The taker of lives is now the saver of lives!”

“Yeah, whatever, it feels a bit weird though.”

“In what way?”

“Well she was smashed up, and you’re not supposed to move people in her situation until all the correct procedures have been dealt with, but I mean I picked her up and then shoved her into my car, so I’m just fretting that when I see her, she’ll be in a wheel-chair or something.”

“Understood, but being in a wheel-chair is a better option than not being here at all.”

“Yeah, guess so.”

“Maybe she wants to give you a reward.”

“Whatever, I’m not looking forward to it, but once it’s over and done with, I can move on.”

*

Mia recorded a note in her unofficial diary.

The diary had been purchased to include all the items that she didn’t want Dr Black to know about, not that there was much in there. Dr Black still knew about what she ate and what she did with her days, and every headache had been faithfully recorded; the unofficial diary seemed to be centred on one topic only; Hello, hello, can you help me …

Surprisingly, the voice in her dreams didn’t frighten her, it simply made her curious … and cautious.

She could imagine telling Dr Black about the voice, and then maybe Dr Black would say solemnly, Okay Mia thank-you for telling me; now I want you to pack a bag, and we’ll settle you into this nice little room with padded walls and we’ll do a few more tests …

Mia also recorded a note in her official diary.

December 26, 2014

Meeting her today, meeting Rachael Terina today.

I am nervous, because meeting someone new is a bit intimidating for me at the moment, but I need to thank her personally. The doctors at Brocksley said that I was near death when I was brought in, so maybe the person who brought me in, saved my life.

Funny old life that it is.

Rachael waltzed in to Corgie’s Diner and spotted her straight away. In their brief phone conversation, Rachael had asked, ‘How will I recognise you?’ Mia Coombes had replied, ‘I’ll be wearing a white and yellow striped beanie.’

Rachael saw the beanie, saw expectant eyes looking in her direction, but as the lady was sitting down, she didn’t know whether it was on a chair or in a wheelchair. Rachael walked over and held out her hand, “Mia?”

Mia stood clumsily, and shook, “Rachael?”

‘Phew, thank goodness!’ Rachael thought to herself, then said, “Yeah.”

Mia admonished herself. Of course it’s her you silly girl! Somebody you’ve never met before extends her hand and says your name; who else is it going to be? Mia looked behind to centre herself in the chair, then lowered herself, smiling as she said, “You’re younger than I thought you’d be.”

“I’m twenty-seven.” Rachael stated.

“Ummm okay, would you like something to eat, I mean I’ll pay.”

“No, a coffee will be fine.”

Coffees were ordered, and Mia gazed up shyly, “Yes, so thank-you for coming, I appreciate it.”

“No problem,” Rachael replied. “How are you?”

“Ummm, repairing, repairing slowly.”

“That’s good news.”

“The doctor’s, the doctors at the hospital told me that I was in a really bad way when I was brought in, and if it had of been any later, I may not have survived.”

Rachael wondered whether she should advise, Actually, I think you’d passed away and I revived you! but no, keep it simple. “Yeah, I do remember that you were pretty banged up.”

“So yes, thank-you, thank-you for saving my life.”

Rachael didn’t want this conversation centred on her, so she said, “Maybe the doctor’s saved your life; but there’s no permanent damage, everything will eventually get back to normal?”

Rachael watched as the young woman bowed her face, and she said apologetically, “Ummm, I can understand if you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Ohhh no, it’s okay, I was just wondering where to start, because there’s so many things wrong with me.”

Rachael bit her bottom lip, cursing herself. When she returned the woman’s call, she should have said, ‘No, sorry, I won’t be able to meet you because I’m travelling overseas tomorrow!’ But no, here she was, just about to be told a tale of probable hardship and misery.

“My left hip was badly damaged, and they put a plastic hip in, and they did a full reconstruction on my left knee.”

“You can walk okay?”

“Mostly yeah, I mean I still have weekly visits to the physio, but there’s a lot of things I won’t be able to do again.”

“You never know, with the advances of modern medicine, you might be running a marathon in a few years time.” Rachael said brightly, although she watched as the face bowed again, and when it came back up, tears were welling in the brown eyes.

“Hmmm, funny about that.” Mia said quietly.

Rachael didn’t want to ask, although to get this over and done with, maybe she had to. “What’s funny?”

“That’s what I was doing, I mean that’s what I was doing on that road, training.”

“Training?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Mia apologised as she wiped her eyes with a white handkerchief, “I didn’t want to get emotional.”

“It’s okay.” Rachael said as she patted her hand.

“Whooo …” Mia blew out, then composed herself, and speaking in a whisper, she said, “Yeah, my ambition was to run in the New York marathon, and I also wanted to do the Empire State building climb, so I got in the habit of running up and down Cribb Highway.”

Rachael lowered her gaze, unable to think of anything to say.

“The physical injuries, well yeah, I’m just going to have to learn to live with them, but the other ones are my main concern.”

So tense now, so uncomfortable, Rachael asked, “What other ones?”

“Ummm, my brain was damaged, and my neurologist suspects that parts of my brain have shut down and other parts are, are … well, not really working like they should.”

Mia could sense how uncomfortable the lady was, so she said apologetically, “No, sorry, I shouldn’t be burdening you with all this, I mean I wanted to meet you to thank-you, instead I’m just depressing you with my problems.”

Rachael wanted to get the fuck out of there, but no, she was there, and there she would stay until she finished her coffee. She shrugged her shoulders and said, “If you want to talk about it, I’m a good listener.”

“No I don’t really, but I’m enjoying this, having a conversation I mean, because it’s been a while since I’ve spoken to somebody who isn’t wearing a white jacket.”

Desperately trying to think of something to say, Rachael asked, “You live in Brocksley?”

“Yeah, I moved here in 2013.”

“Ohhh, where from?”

“San Antonio.”

Thinking, thinking … “Are you staying with your parents here?”

The young woman bowed her face and mumbled, “Ummm, ummm, my parents died in 2013.”

Fuck … Rachael was just about to ask what she did for a job, then common sense kicked in. With a brain injury, whatever she used to do was probably now just a distant memory, instead she asked, “You married or hooked up?”

“No, I’m single.”

Rachael sighed, all avenues of conversation having dried up already. She drained the contents of the cup and then said, “Maybe I should get going, but feel free to call me at any time.”

Mia looked at her shyly, “Really?”

Rachael bit her bottom lip as she admonished herself, Fuck, why did yoy say that? Taking a moment to compose herself, she muttered, “Yeah, sure.”

“Okay, I’d like that.”

Rachael stood and said, “Well, nice meeting you.”

In a confusing moment, Mia stared at her wide-eyed. She wanted to ask her, although she didn’t want the woman thinking that she was a nutcase. For her own sanity though, she needed to ask. “Ummm Miss Terina…”

“What?”

“On the night, the night you found me, did you, I dunno, did you notice anybody else there, maybe out in the forest or something?”

Rachael froze as the memory drifted back in; a bright light hovering above the road, and a figure standing behind the light, or IN the light. It hadn’t made sense to Rachael at the time, and thinking about it now still didn’t make sense, so this was something that she was going to keep to herself. She muttered, “No, you were by yourself.”

Mia rubbed her hands lightly over her thighs and looked up sheepishly as she said in a whisper, “Ever since I got out of the coma, I’ve been hearing this voice in my dreams, you know, calling out to me, and the background in the dreams always seems to be that part of the forest.”

Rachael shook her head and said quietly, “No, there was definitely nobody else there.”

Mia sighed. She was hoping Rachael Terina would state brightly, Ohh that voice, yes, that young woman is fine, so everybody should just forget about that. But no, Rachael Terina had provided an answer, the answer meaning that maybe the voice that kept invading her dreams wasn’t ready to let her go. “Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned it.” Mia apologised.

Rachael thought carefully about her response, then said, “Maybe it’s a flashback, maybe it’s your sub-conscious placing you at the scene, and maybe it’s your voice calling out for help or something.”

Mia looked at her then lowered her gaze, “No, I’m sure it’s a voice calling out to me, but sorry, it’s stupid I know.”

Rachael began walking away backwards, “Okay, well see ya.”

*

Super pissed off, Rachael popped in to see Marco.

“Teriny, how’s the Super Deluxe vibrator going?”

Ignoring the question, Rachael squatted down next to him, “Did you ever find out anything about that car in the hit and run?”

Marco pondered, then muttered, “Shit, I forgot all about that.”

Rachael whacked him in the chest. “So what, I ask you to do something, and you just forget all about it, fuckwit?”

“From memory, that was about the same time you abducted me and took me to Chicago.”

Rachael lowered her gaze and nodded, “Yeah actually, it probably was, but you should have got straight on to it when we came back.”

“Jesus Rach, that was the first time I ever saw your puss, so my mind was somewhere else!” he said defensively, “Maybe you should have reminded me.”

“From memory, my mind was somewhere else as well, but get back on to it now please.”

“Okay, I’m sure I did a few preliminaries, so I’ll do a search; give me a rough date.”

“The nineteenth of July.”

“Gee, you’re good with dates.”

Rachael huffed, “If you wanted, I could give you the exact date of every one.”

“Every execution?”

“Every eradication.”

“Okay, I’m on it, I’m mean I’m getting a stiffy straight away!”

“Results lead to blowies, fuckwit.”

Marco watched her walk away, then he called out, “Teriny …”

“What?”

“I love you!”

*

Rachael climbed into bed, severely unsettled, because meeting Mia Coombes had been a mind-fuck. Mia Coombes was alive, and that was good yeah, that probably meant a tick for Rachael, but brain injury, is that a cross?

In these situations, you should never move a body … Had she fucked up Mia’s Coombes brain by lifting her, not once, but twice, and then shoving her into a car? That was unsettling, yeah, sure; but the most unsettling aspect of the whole thing was the timid woman’s whispered statement, ‘I’ve been hearing this voice in my dreams …’

The statement had rattled around in Rachael’s mind all evening, the statement refusing to be banished, and finally, the statement introduced the memory … panicky, anguished, Rachael had shoved Mia Coombes into the car and driven off, then a voice, not an audible voice, a something-else voice had whispered … Hello …

Rachael pondered that she might not have heard the voice, she more identified it; but she had been in a confronting situation, and her mind was allowed to wander off to Fuck-a-Ninny-Land in that situation. On that night, a hovering light had forced her to slam on the brakes, and she remembered getting out of the car and looking around in confusion.

“Fuck.” Rachael sighed as a thought circled around her mind. If she hadn’t of stopped and got out of the car, maybe she wouldn’t have seen the body lying in the ditch, and instead of hearing voices in her dreams, Mia Coombes would be pushing up daisies in Brocksley Cemetery.

Maybe a hovering light had been responsible for saving her life.

Rachael rubbed her brow, piecing it all together; a hovering light, finding the body, being conscious of a single word, then meeting the victim. Mia Coombes statement started ringing in her ears, ‘I’ve been hearing this voice in my dreams …’

Rachael closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would come quickly.

*

Mia Coombes shivered and trembled, asleep, or in the place between sleep and awareness; the voice floating into her mind, the voice wracked with more anxiety than ever before, Hello, hello, can you help me …

Awake now, tears-falling-from-the-eyes awake, body-trembling awake, tiny ants foot-stepping in her mind, a volcanic migraine threatening … although, maybe not volcanic, maybe just a call-to-arms headache. Her temple didn’t throb, and her nervous system didn’t scroll up in anticipated agony, her mind was almost like, Hey girl, don’t you understand?

No, no understand.

She did however, understand that it was happening every night; the desperate plea floating into her damaged brain every single night.

Rachael Terina slept restlessly, tossing and turning.

Mia Coombes slept restlessly, tossing and turning.

The next morning, Rachael Terina climbed out of bed, had a coffee, then punched the shit out of the punching bag in her spare room; and Mia Coombes climbed out of bed, squatted in the shower, then bawled her eyes out.

The next night, Rachael couldn’t get to sleep, thinking about the hovering light, thinking about the hovering light and the single word, Hello …

And Mia didn’t want to go to sleep, but sleep came, and so did he nervous voice, Hello, hello, can you help me …

The next morning, Rachael didn’t want to ring her, didn’t want anything to do with her, because people who have brain injuries should just hang around with other people who have brain injuries, or maybe hang around with doctors in white jackets. If she saw Mia Coombes again, she would feel guilty, because it kept throbbing in her mind, In these situations …

Mia Coombes was alive, and Rachael accepted that she was part of the reason why, but Jesus, I’ve been hearing this voice in my dreams …

Rachael held her cell, staring at the woman’s number. Ring her, or don’t ring her … Don’t-ring-her was winning by a mile. They had met, and the brain-injury woman had thanked her, so move on, yeah?

I’ve been hearing this voice in my dreams …

The only voice Rachael remembered from her dreams was Fuck-Shit-Head’s voice, Rachael, I love you …

No ring, no.

Time for action, time to get Mia Coombes and that bizarre, creepy incident out of her mind. She rang Brocksley Police Station, “Hi, is Officer Jamieson working today?”

“Yes, he is; would you like to speak to him?”

“No, I’ll come down and see him.”