To Kill a Ghost

Linox didn’t feel comfortable waiting in the lobby for Kirkland to help Dedra regain control of her senses. His discomfort could be chalked up to Sarah staring at him through Kirkland’s open office door. He didn’t like the way her eyes lingered over his body, but there was another set of eyes that worried him at this very moment.

“Did you see that?” He asked aloud.

“See what? Your partner having a melt down? It was quite unattractive don’t you think?” Her voice was soft an innocent, but that didn’t stop Linox from wanting to slap the insults out of her mouth.

“No! There’s a man across the street.” He retorted, keeping his eyes on the sandy blonde looking back at him. “He’s tall, kind of blond hair, tanned skin, a little stubble around his chin. Why is he wearing the navy’s camo?”

Sarah pushed herself so far back into Kirkland’s office that he couldn’t see her anymore. The man across the street smirked and moved his fingers toward Linox. In that moment he realized the most important detail about the man.

“Kirkland!” He yelled. “Kirkland, I found the guy she’s looking for!”

“There is no man,” Kirkland called from behind Dedra’s door. Linox threw open the door. His brow furrowed as he scan the room, finding no one. “There is no man, Linox,” Kirkland repeated. His voice was muffled. Linox moved around the desk and spotted Kirkland’s expensive shoe sticking out from beneath the desk.

“The man Sarah is hunting! He was outside across the street. I swear he just waved at me, the bastard.” Linox scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Sam?” Kirkland questioned, moving his head to view Linox now.

“No! The real guy. The intelligence agent.” Linox explained.

A loud buzzing noise sent chills through Linox’s spine. He ran back into the open lobby. The blinds were no longer drawn in the glass door, and the man across the street wasn’t there. Something else was missing too. Linox checked Kirkland’s office and silently cursed himself for alerting Sarah to the man’s presence outside their office. She couldn’t expect to be safe with the reason for her to be here standing just outside the door. Could this day get any worse?

Linox’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He didn’t want to look at the screen for the caller’s name. It could be a number of people, but he worried over one caller. If it had anything to do with his mother, he couldn’t handle the shock right now. It could very well be information about his father’s prison sentence, but he didn’t want to think about the many possibilities surround his father’s situation any more than he wanted to think about what news they could give of his mother’s condition. No good news could come from a phone call in this moment. However, he couldn’t stop from digging in his back pocket and pulling out his ancient flip phone. It opened with a click and a groan. The screen read ‘one missed call.’ He checked the caller ID, and found another surprise. It wasn’t about his more or his father. The call was coming from Dedra.



Kirkland held his adoptive daughter in his arms as he did when she was a child. She often woke herself, screaming for her mother. Nothing soothed the heart of a child more than its mother, but what was Dedra to do without hers when so many monsters lurked in her world. He promised himself the day he brought her home that she would never be afraid, not if he could help it.

Kirkland spent time teaching the eight year old girl how to fire a gun properly. He signed her up for karate classes, and when she didn’t like the classes, he tutored her in the fighting are himself. Teaching her to fight was the least he could do to honor Jane’s memory, but he never expected Dedra to take to it as well as she did. Her eyes lit up each time she hit her target. Every time she perfected one of the karate moves, a smile crossed her saddened features and Kirkland could see the remnants of what used to be a perfect little girl.

“There is no man,” he whispered to her. Linox could say there was a man across the street all he wanted, but there was no one watching the office. “No one is stalking us.” Dedra’s sobs slowed, but the trembling never stopped. She obviously saw someone, but who could scare the girl who wasn’t afraid?

“I’m home, Girls,” Kirkland called as he walked through the apartment door. He maneuvered around to fit the large German Sheppard through the door with him. The dog growled as Tanya entered the room, gasping as she laid eyes on the animal standing in her sitting room.

“What the hell is that?” She asked, on hand covered her heart while the other covered her mouth. Dedra walked into the room. She had her exercise gear on, but her face was like stone until her eyes met the green eyes of the dog.

“You got me a dog?” She questioned, a slow smile growing on her features.

“No. He’s an attack dog. The guys at work are training them.” Kirkland explained with a shrug. Dedra knew he requested the dog for her benefit, but he’d never admit it. She moved around Tanya, dodging attempts to hold her back. Her eyes lingered on the dog’s snarling face. She leaned down, her hand out, and the beast never tried to bite her.

“What’s his name?” She asked, her eyes never leaving the animal. Her fingers slowly grazed the dog’s head and scratched its ears.

“Her name is Sadie.” He answered. The dog sat on its haunches, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as Dedra petted her.

Tanya stepped forward causing the dog to rise and growl again. Dedra laughed. Kirkland knew in that moment the little girl was more like him that he wanted to admit and he fell in love with the idea of having a daughter of his own.

“Remember that dog, Sadie? You loved that dog.” He smiled down at her.

“Tanya killed her.” Dedra sighed. The trembling in her hands slowed enough for her to loosen her grip on his jacket.

“She didn’t do it on purpose,” He defended. “Sadie needed to go outside, and she couldn’t walk her right that second, so she let her out.”

“I still think she paid that guy to run over her. Your wife was insane.” Dedra said, letting go of his jacket. He could see her rubbing the cramps out of her ridged fingers.

“Are you okay now?” Kirkland whispered, pushing her hair back again so he could see her eyes.

“No.” She shook her head against his chest, trying her best to hide her eyes from his gaze.

“You said you thought you saw the man, Dedra. Do you know who he is?” Her skin felt freezing cold against his hands and he caressed her cheek. She took deep breathes before she moved away from him, finally meeting his eyes.

“It was the same man, Kirk. I know it sounds insane, but I swear it was him. How could I ever forget that face?”

“Did he say anything this time?” Kirkland wondered aloud. He knew the story of how Jane Callahan died backwards and forwards. Both versions haunted him. The tale the police gave the media about it being a robbery, and Dedra’s truth about the man coming into her bedroom, promising her the world before he took it away.

“No. He just looked at me.” Her voice was soft and breathy. Kirkland could see the fear hiding there, but he could also see the strength building to overcome the fear. Dedra was nothing if not resilient. “He stared at me with those dark eyes. There was no emotion. I looked at him and I knew he was here for me this time.”

“There’s no way he’s coming after you, Sweetheart.” Kirkland promised her. “He’ll have to go through me first.”

“I don’t remember how you were as a merc, but I highly doubt you’re going to take on this guy and win.” The tremors in her body stopped, but she still felt cold to his touch.

He chuckled as he shook his head. “We got you and Tanya wanted me to stop, but I couldn’t. It was my entire life until…” Kirkland trailed off. “I missed my chance at him once, D. It won’t happen again.” He kissed her head one last time before he moved from beneath the desk.

“Come on. We have work to do.” He offered her his hand as he stood. She took it and pulled herself up.

“Apparently, Eli was standing across the street,” she said with a small smile.

“Who?” Kirkland questioned.

“Sam said a man named Eli Jones was the guy…”

Kirkland glared at her. “What do you mean Sam said, Dedra?”

“I sort of went to his hotel room and confronted him.” She shrugged and offered him an innocent pout. “He wasn’t the right guy! We both knew it, but I needed to prove it.”

“You needed to stay here.” Kirkland said through gritted teeth.

“Doesn’t matter. Apparently, I’m worth obsessing over.” She rolled her eyes. “Like Sam Jennings matters.”

“How do you think Eli Jones found you?” Kirkland asked. As he blamed Dedra and the false target for a possible sighting, Kirkland couldn’t help but think…

Did Eli come for Sarah Wilson, or was he working for the man coming after Dedra?