If I Die
Page 99
What could you do for him?
As a signing bonus, if you agree to work for us, the reclamation department will arrange for Mr. Hudsons escape from police custody.
So he can be on the run for the rest of his life? No way. I shook my head firmly, desperately hoping I wasnt pushing my luck. Hoping they needed me as badly as it sounded like they needed me.
How long since I died? I asked. If Nash hadnt been charged yet, it couldnt have been that long.
Only a couple of hours, Madeline answered.
But That didnt make any sense. It took you guys more than a week to bring Tod back as a reaper after he died. Hed actually been buried and everything.
Madeline glanced at Levi with a small, arrogant smile, then met my gaze again. Reapers are a dime a dozen, Kaylee. The reclamation department has considerably more resources and, in this case, much stronger motivation. We need your help with something very important, and we need it soon. So we expedited the process.
I nodded slowly, still thinking. You have to make it go away, or my answers no.
You want us to clear Nashs name?
No, I want to clear his name. Id dragged him into this; I had to get him out of it. I want you to make the crime disappear. No murder. I was attacked by my math teacherto which Im willing to testifybut I survived, and Nash had nothing to do with it.
Kaylee, we cant reverse your death.
I know. I sucked in a deep breath, relieved that my lungs seemed to work, even if my heart didnt. But you can cover it up. If I work for you, I get to keep my body, right? Like Tod did?
You can become corporeal at will, yes, Madeline said slowly, obviously starting to follow my train of thought.
Then who says I died? I havent been buried. I havent been autopsied
Kaylee, you died in a public hospital, Levi pointed out. Your death has been documented. It was witnessed.
I shrugged, still watching Madeline. So make the paperwork go away. The news stories could just be false reports of my death. Thats happened before, right? And you can make the witnesses forget, cant you? People see things. Its inevitable. So someone must be cleaning up after them, right? You must have someone who can make them forget
Her frown deepened, but I could see the possibility in her eyes. Kaylee, what youre suggesting is quite complicated and would require considerable resources.
But you can do it, right? I held my breathor rather, I stopped breathingwaiting for her answer, hoping I was right.
Madeline glanced at Levi, and he shrugged. Then she turned to me again.Yes. Its possible. But only at great expense, and Im not convinced your services are worth what youre asking for.
Really? I lifted my eyebrows, resisting the urge to cross my fingers. So, you have other female bean sidhes? You already have someone who can call out to the soul you want reclaimed?
I knew Id won when her gaze narrowed and her jaw clenched.
Fine. Itll take a couple of hours to set up, butyou never died. You were transferred to a private hospital to recover, and youll be rejoining your classmates in a couple of weeks. After youve finished this first job for us. I nodded, trying not to visibly gloat. But Kaylee, that wont last, she warned. You can finish schoolyou might even make it through collegebut eventually people are going to notice that you dont age. Youre going to have to disappear.
I know. But that was no big dealif Id lived, Id have looked thirty on my one hundredth birthday. Id always expected to have to disappear eventually.
I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Theres one more thing.
Madeline blew on my signature to dry the ink, then handed me my copy of the contract. Id read the whole thing, and even understood most of it. And thanks to Addisons mistakes, I knew to demand my own copy.
Were so pleased to have you on board, Kaylee, she said, folding her copy of my contract into thirds while I folded the hospital gown and laid it on the empty bed, glad to be wearing real clothes again, even if theyd been borrowed from some other patient. Well be in touch very soon about your first assignment.
I didnt care that she was pleased. I didnt give a damn about the assignment. I just wanted to go home.
Are you ready? Levi asked, watching me closely through his dead child eyes, and it occurred to me for the first time how much he and I had in common. Id lived longer, but hed been dead longer. And someday I might catch up to him.
Yeah. I accepted the hand he held out, then took one final glance around the empty hospital room wed appropriated for my statement to the police. Get me out of here.
I closed my eyes and waited for the dizziness and disorientation that usually accompanied reaper-travel. But I felt nothing. The first indication I had that wed left the hospital was the change in temperature. Then the whisper of hushed voices.
I opened my eyes, still holding Levis hand. We stood in Nashs kitchen, alone, but I could hear movement and voices from the living room. And crying. Everyone was here, because my house was the scene of a double homicide, my mattress still soaked with two types of bloodone of them mine.
As a signing bonus, if you agree to work for us, the reclamation department will arrange for Mr. Hudsons escape from police custody.
So he can be on the run for the rest of his life? No way. I shook my head firmly, desperately hoping I wasnt pushing my luck. Hoping they needed me as badly as it sounded like they needed me.
How long since I died? I asked. If Nash hadnt been charged yet, it couldnt have been that long.
Only a couple of hours, Madeline answered.
But That didnt make any sense. It took you guys more than a week to bring Tod back as a reaper after he died. Hed actually been buried and everything.
Madeline glanced at Levi with a small, arrogant smile, then met my gaze again. Reapers are a dime a dozen, Kaylee. The reclamation department has considerably more resources and, in this case, much stronger motivation. We need your help with something very important, and we need it soon. So we expedited the process.
I nodded slowly, still thinking. You have to make it go away, or my answers no.
You want us to clear Nashs name?
No, I want to clear his name. Id dragged him into this; I had to get him out of it. I want you to make the crime disappear. No murder. I was attacked by my math teacherto which Im willing to testifybut I survived, and Nash had nothing to do with it.
Kaylee, we cant reverse your death.
I know. I sucked in a deep breath, relieved that my lungs seemed to work, even if my heart didnt. But you can cover it up. If I work for you, I get to keep my body, right? Like Tod did?
You can become corporeal at will, yes, Madeline said slowly, obviously starting to follow my train of thought.
Then who says I died? I havent been buried. I havent been autopsied
Kaylee, you died in a public hospital, Levi pointed out. Your death has been documented. It was witnessed.
I shrugged, still watching Madeline. So make the paperwork go away. The news stories could just be false reports of my death. Thats happened before, right? And you can make the witnesses forget, cant you? People see things. Its inevitable. So someone must be cleaning up after them, right? You must have someone who can make them forget
Her frown deepened, but I could see the possibility in her eyes. Kaylee, what youre suggesting is quite complicated and would require considerable resources.
But you can do it, right? I held my breathor rather, I stopped breathingwaiting for her answer, hoping I was right.
Madeline glanced at Levi, and he shrugged. Then she turned to me again.Yes. Its possible. But only at great expense, and Im not convinced your services are worth what youre asking for.
Really? I lifted my eyebrows, resisting the urge to cross my fingers. So, you have other female bean sidhes? You already have someone who can call out to the soul you want reclaimed?
I knew Id won when her gaze narrowed and her jaw clenched.
Fine. Itll take a couple of hours to set up, butyou never died. You were transferred to a private hospital to recover, and youll be rejoining your classmates in a couple of weeks. After youve finished this first job for us. I nodded, trying not to visibly gloat. But Kaylee, that wont last, she warned. You can finish schoolyou might even make it through collegebut eventually people are going to notice that you dont age. Youre going to have to disappear.
I know. But that was no big dealif Id lived, Id have looked thirty on my one hundredth birthday. Id always expected to have to disappear eventually.
I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Theres one more thing.
Madeline blew on my signature to dry the ink, then handed me my copy of the contract. Id read the whole thing, and even understood most of it. And thanks to Addisons mistakes, I knew to demand my own copy.
Were so pleased to have you on board, Kaylee, she said, folding her copy of my contract into thirds while I folded the hospital gown and laid it on the empty bed, glad to be wearing real clothes again, even if theyd been borrowed from some other patient. Well be in touch very soon about your first assignment.
I didnt care that she was pleased. I didnt give a damn about the assignment. I just wanted to go home.
Are you ready? Levi asked, watching me closely through his dead child eyes, and it occurred to me for the first time how much he and I had in common. Id lived longer, but hed been dead longer. And someday I might catch up to him.
Yeah. I accepted the hand he held out, then took one final glance around the empty hospital room wed appropriated for my statement to the police. Get me out of here.
I closed my eyes and waited for the dizziness and disorientation that usually accompanied reaper-travel. But I felt nothing. The first indication I had that wed left the hospital was the change in temperature. Then the whisper of hushed voices.
I opened my eyes, still holding Levis hand. We stood in Nashs kitchen, alone, but I could hear movement and voices from the living room. And crying. Everyone was here, because my house was the scene of a double homicide, my mattress still soaked with two types of bloodone of them mine.
