Lost Echoes

60

A week after it all happened, Harry and Kayla met at the hospital, in Tad’s room.

“I to’ed when I should have fro’ed,” Tad said.

Harry reached down and took Tad’s hand, lying limp on the hospital bed, and squeezed it.

Kayla, sharp in uniform, with a cast on her arm, sat stiffly in a chair on the other side of the bed. Tad turned his head to look at her. “You make me feel better than he does. He’s got bruises.”

“I’ve got rib wrappings and some cement,” Kayla said.

“You still look better than he does.”

“We were worried,” Harry said. “Doctor said it was a concussion, and a pretty bad bullet wound, and you were in a delirium for some time, kept asking the same question over and over.”

“What was it?”

“‘Why is he hitting me with that stick?’”

“Oh. Well, yeah. I wondered about that at the time. The chief? What happened to him?”

“He bounced real hard,” Harry said. “Over the side of the cliff. I think when they found him they had to pick his teeth out of his ass. But here’s the thing. He lived. He does any kind of activity from here on out, it’ll be like, you know, the Special Olympics. Maybe they got something there like the Jell-O roll.”

“Figures he would live.”

“It’s best,” Kayla said. “We can prove what he did much more easily. Even if he lies, he can’t say he wasn’t there, and his fingerprints are on the gun that killed Sergeant Pale, and there’s my word on things. And the files I used to put it together. I doubt Harry’s sound stuff is something we want to mention too much, if at all. But it won’t be too hard to prove the chief’s a killer. We also got you, and your testimony, and Harry’s. Joey, he’s in the morgue.”

“Poor guy,” Harry said, “he just can’t get buried.”

“Weasels are not one with the universe,” Tad said. “Even the ground doesn’t want to accept him.” Tad turned his head to look at Harry. “You did it. You actually fought a real bad guy and won.”

Harry shook his head. “After you softened him up. Anyway, looks as if it might all be over with.”

“Yeah,” Tad said. “Just might work out. You two do me a favor?”

“Name it,” Harry said.

“Leave me alone so I can rest. Go somewhere and commune with the universe. Or the bed linens.”

“Tad,” Kayla said.

“Or whatever, and later, maybe you can see if you can sneak me in a bag of taco chips. The hot kind. Maybe some kind of cheese dip.”