Roommates

“Yo I’m home everyone,” I call out into my apartment as I walk in and turn on the lights. I drop my keys into the tray by the door, readjusting the file box in my hands so I can lock it. I walk forward and nearly trip on something on the floor catching myself before face-planting. I sigh, “Abby we talked about this.”

“Sorry Kira,” answers Abby in a soft voice. “I just wanted to read.”

I pick up the books and put them back on the shelf, “It is okay Abbs, but you know you can’t put them back up when you knock them down. If you want to read when I am out during the day, ask me to put the books you want on the table for you before I leave for work. So I don’t eat it when I come home.”

“Okay. Thank you,” she smiles.

“Miss Kira, welcome home. I am in need of your assistance to move to the next episode, please,” pleads Bruce.

“You got it, Bruce. You really love those romcom and telenovela dramas hm”

“No, it my turn Bru with de TV, Kir it my turn, it's cartoon time now,” Minnie protests stamping her little foot.

“Your cartoons can wait until after I learn what Angela was about to tell Marcus and who was knocking on Joanne’s door before the episode ended,” argues Bruce, “Please, Miss Kira, the transition is killing me all over again.”

Freddy floats through the wall rubbing his eyes, “Would you all be quiet, I am trying to sleep.”

“All you do is sleep, you lazy bones,” scolded Dale.

Russell pokes his head in from the other room, “Hey quick question does anyone know where some more paste is Charlie and I used up the open tube.”

“And we need more e’s, c’s, and r’s as well,” Charlie adds in.

“I believe it is on the top of the refrigerator,” Douglas points to the kitchen, “But you will have to wait on the letters until after I finish reading it and do the crossword, then after that, you can have the newspaper.”

If you are confused here is some context: I am Detective Kira Booker and I have ghosts for roommates here is the cast:

Abby Cabrera: died at age thirteen; loves books (she can knock them down and turn the pages but can’t put them back up). She died in a car accident and is only still here because she wants her Dad to be okay without her.

Bruce Downs: died at twenty-three and is obsessed with romantic drama shows. He is still here because he wants to find his long-lost childhood love to say goodbye (No, I could not even make this up if I tried). He died after trying to stop a mugging hours before he was going to see her again after years.

Minnie Parks: died at the age of five; loves cartoons and drawing. After dying because of a terminal illness, all she wants is to find her old childhood home and play on the swing set in the backyard one last time.

Freddy Bowers: died at the age of twenty due to a stress-induced heart attack at work. All he wants to do is relax, no clue why he is still here, he never talks about why.

Dale Ross: died at the age of nineteen with a dream of doing everything the world has to offer before he died in a plane crash. He wants to complete everything on his bucket list before he will pass on (It is a long list).

Russell Hart and Charlie Mcgowan: both died at age thirty-four, the two were married after death to each other by their families and are now trying to get a divorce from beyond the grave. Are best friends but just don’t want to be married. They need the glue for notes to give to their families.

Douglas Fitzgerald: died at age eighty-six peacefully in his sleep. Kind older gentleman. He is still here waiting for his wife so they can pass on together. In his own words, “She can take her time, I'll be here when she is ready.” He takes care of ghost pets helping them pass on.

I moved into this apartment six months ago because the rent was cheap, it took a few days before I could see them but after a while, I could see the dead everywhere even outside my apartment, so I have learned a few things:

Ghosts stay in our world for reasons involving their life, kind of like a last request, they find a place to stay as a tether to this world, the ghosts can leave the place and change it but they need one. Most tethers have multiple ghosts at a time. When someone spends a lot of time in a place that is a tether for ghosts the person becomes an extension of the location letting the dead explore the world more.

“Okay I have some work to get done so here is what we are going to do, Minnie you get one hour of cartoons and then it is Bruce’s turn, all right.”

“Okty,” Minnie nods.

Bruce nods in agreement, “This compromise is acceptable.”

I pick up the remote for the coffee table, “Good. So what show do you want to watch Min?”

“Battle Toys!” Minnie cheers sitting crise cross on the floor in front of the TV.

“You got it.”

“Yay, I love that one,” Dale claps in excitement sitting down next to her.

“Dale that’s a little kid show,” Freddy looks at him confused.

Dale turns back to him offended and says, “No, it is an adult show that kids can also enjoy.”

Dale and Minnie proceed to sing along to the theme song. I grab the paste for Charlie and Russell then sit down to work on my current cases: Several disappearances and a serial killer on the loose with both with no common themes with the victims. The only reason why we know it is the same killer is because of the same calling card left at every crime scene.

There is a different problem as well: ghosts are disappearing. When a ghost is finally ready to pass on, the dead fade over a few days and it fairly ovesuse when this happens, but now ghosts are just gone. It is worrying. You would be surprised how many ghosts you pass while doing your daily routine, after all, tethers can be anywhere, so having more and more ghosts just disappear out of the blue is a cause for alarm.

“Are those the same cases that have been in the news as of late?” Douglas asks flouting up behind me.

I sigh, “Yep and we are nowhere close to cracking either of them. We don’t even have a suspect because the only person with a motive against one of the victims has an airtight al.”

“That new writer at the paper is very persistent with it, is it true he has been unable to get a comment for anyone at the station?” Abby asks looking up from her book on the floor.

“That’s right and if he tries to question me about the case again when I’m leaving work again I’m going to shove his notebook up where the sun doesn’t shine.”

Minnie turns towards me, “Where is that?”

I am saved by the doorbell ringing, I get up to answer it to avoid that awkward conversation, thinking it might be a package I ordered I don’t check the peephole. Behind the door stood Cole Beck the new reporter.

“Hey I can I get a few-” he starts to ask before I slam the door on his foot. I open the door again, he pulls his foot out in pain, “Ow. Hey why did you-” I slam the door again Cole puts his hand into the frame this time he pushes it open. “Would you stop doing that please?”

“Sure, if you leave don’t come back.”

“Oh come on just give me the scoop on the cases this could be my big break. Please help me out here. Give me something to work with.”

Bruce floats out into the hallway through the wall, “Miss Kira, it’s been an hour it is my turn with the TV please change to my show please.”

“Aghgh,” Cole screams and then passes out from fear.

“Fr- talking mushrooms. How could he see you?”

“How would I know?”

“Okay give me a second,” I grab Cole by the legs, pulling him into my apartment. The last thing I need is for him to wake up and start shouting about ghosts. I flop him onto my couch.

“What the is hap- Holy fri-cow there is a dead man in our home,” Russell comes in from the other because of the commotion.”

“He’s not dead, just passed out. Let me get a cup of cold water.” I leave and come back then I dump the cup on his head. His head jolts upright he looks around the room and is about to scream again before I clamp my hand over his mouth, “Don’t scream again I’ll explain just don’t scream please. Now node and I will remove my hand from your mouth.” Cole nods slowly, I proceed to explain the whole ghost thing with some unhelpful commentary from my roommates.

“Now that’s a story for the papers, mind repeating that by any chance,” he starts looking for his notepad.

“Go to the papers with this and you will end up in a straight jacket.”

His face falls, “Oh right I’ll just sound crazy.”

Abby flouts over, “My question is how you are just now seeing ghosts?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well noramly ghosts are all over the place but you would not see them useless. You have spent a long time in a tether but you would only see ghosts who are in that tether,” Douglas explains.

“So are you saying my house is haunted?”

I shake my head, “No, not necessarily, a tether can be a place or thing.”

“I have met a ghost who is tethered to a soup can,” Dale adds.

“Have I moved or changed workplaces in the last six months to a year?” Charlie asks.

“Nope, same place and same work. I have been spending more time at Sister’s new place, do you think that might have something to do with it?”

Douglas thinks for a second before poding, “How long has she lived there? And how often do you stay and for how long.”

“Two months, I have been helping her unpack and I babysit my niece most days. She works long hours, so I stay overnight five to six days a week.”

“Has word stuff been happenin there?” Minnie asks, looking up at him.

“Ummm… Cold spots, objects not being where we left them, and lights flickering.”

Russell scratches his head, “Well if you have seen them now you must have a lot of ghosts."

"Are you sure you haven’t seen any around there?” I ask trying to speed this along.

“No none, Bruce was the first ghost I saw.”

Dale thinks, “Hmmmmm… Has your niece or sister seen any at all.”

“No… wait.”

I roll my eyes, “What.”

“My niece has been talking to some imaginary friends recently.”

“How many,” Freddy asks.

“I have no clue.”

“Well then now that we know. Get out,” I finish flatly

“Hey, why?”

I start to push him out the door, “I have work to do and you should figure out your own ghost problem, so leave.”

“Fine, I need to babysit anyway. But this is not over.”

“Sure it.” I slam the door in his face and lock it. Time to get back to work.