Chapter 7: Treasure Hunt

Ed was the only living person Sara could communicate with. How could he turn her down? He had a gift, dammit! She planned to make use of his gift to catch murderers.

Sara was a recently deceased ghost, and she kept her old habits and routines. She went to work the next day, but her office was no longer hers.

She couldn’t work on cases as she used to. When you stop working, who are you? Sara found it depressing.

Sara floated around police headquarters, wanting to say something to people she knew. Unfortunately, they couldn’t see or hear her. This frustrated Sara, and she turned her anger toward Ed. The only person who could hear her. And he’d rejected her!

Sara discovered new talents as a ghost. She could observe people without being seen. She could follow them.

Being a ghost infuriated her, having nothing to take notes with. She had to memorize everything!

Sara drifted around her old neighborhood.

She met other ghosts. Several just had unfinished business, or refused to accept they’d died. They were stuck in their own world. Sara left them alone.

Other ghosts were the victims of murder.

It saddened her that many people got murdered and only a fraction found justice. Sara believed the police did well, but the reality was a shock to her.

The revelation further inspired her to solve these murder cases. But she needed Ed. That annoyed her. How could he be so stupid?

A couple of days later, while at his work, Ed got a call on his cell.

“Ed, this is Doctor Noah.”

“Go ahead, Doctor,” said Ed.

“I have the results of your tests. You don’t need to worry about that issue any further.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“If you experience any further issues, please make an appointment with my office.”

“Will do.”

Ed hung up the call. It sounded like a harmless follow-up call from his doctor. He was glad they took care of the murderer without killing him.

Ed resumed working on a bug fix.

That evening, Conner and Lucy appeared in his living room. Lucy appeared improved from the last time he saw her. She looked at him rather than her feet.

“Good evening,” said Ed.

“Hello, I expect you heard the news?” asked Conner.

“Yes, Noah called me earlier.”

“Lucy and I watched what happened. Her uncle is on a plane to Guantanamo Bay for an indefinite stay.”

“So, it’s over. Lucy has justice.”

“Yes. The outcome is satisfactory. There’s only one drawback. Lucy’s family will never see her body. The CIA disposed of it. You can’t tell them what happened.”

Ed looked at Lucy.

“Is that ok with you, Lucy?”

She looked at him briefly, then shrugged. She still wasn’t talkative, but he understood.

“So, you can pass on?”

She nodded, and for a moment, she smiled. A moment later, she faded from view.

“She’s gone,” said Conner.

“Good.” said Ed.

“Huh?”

“Since I had my injury, I’ve helped four ghosts. It’s like I’m running a business,” Ed said with a frown.

“You don’t sound too happy about it.”

“I’m not. This isn’t how I’d planned my life.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“I don’t mind an occasional message to Noah Johnson, but I don’t want the danger.”

“Understood. Well, Noah was grateful for the intel. We can limit your involvement to that, where possible.”

“Thank you. What bothers me more is that Sara. She wants to rope me into a crime fighting duo.”

“You still have that bag of money. If you need more, the CIA has deep pockets. You could ask Noah for some.”

“I’ve spent none of that money.”

“Well, I’m going. If I have some intel for Noah, you’re ok with it?”

“Yes. That’s far less dangerous.”

Soon, Conner left.

Later that evening, Ed’s cell phone rang.

“Hello,” said Ed.

“Hey, Ed. It’s Kate.”

“Oh, hi sis. What’s up?”

“I hadn’t heard from you in ages. When are you coming for a visit?”

“Yes. I’ve been busy and lost track of things.”

“Well, you get over here this weekend. Ellie misses her uncle.”

“Sure, I’ll be there Saturday.”

Ed hung up the call. He should have called her sooner, before she had time to worry about him.

As it was late, Ed went to sleep.

The next morning, Ed awoke. He proceeded with his morning routine and arrived at work at his usual time.

The day went well, fixing bugs.

In the evening, he drove home. As soon as he arrived, Conner appeared, together with another ghost. This one was an elderly man.

“Good evening, Ed. I have a good one for you. This is Bret Ascione. He needs help, and he isn’t a murder victim,” said Conner.

“That’s different. Pleased to meet you Bret.”

The ghost of Bret stared at him briefly.

“So you can see and hear me?” he asked.

“Yes. I got hit on my head, and now I can see ghosts.”

“Hmm, well, I need your help. I need you to dig something up and give it to my grandson. For that, I offer you 5%.”

“So, no killers, no police? I just dig something up and give it to your grandson?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Ed, I told him your aversion to danger. This is safe, simple work for you,” said Conner.

“Is it far from here?”

“Not more than a half hour drive. You’ll need to bring a flashlight and a shovel.”

“Ok, I accept. As long as I don’t have to trespass somewhere and risk getting caught.”

“It’s in a forest in public land, near my home.”

“We can go there tonight. I trust you can direct me.”

“Of course.”

Ed left the apartment and took the elevator to the parking garage.

Ed got in his car. The two ghosts appeared inside his car, so he drove out. Bret gave directions as they drove to their destination.

“Pull over here,” said Bret.

Ed exited the car. The ghosts floated out through the car. It still amazed Ed that they could ride in the car without falling out whenever he turned a corner.

Ed followed the ghosts into the forest. It was late in the year and he needed the flashlight he brought.

Bret stopped near a fir tree and pointed at the ground.

“Dig here, about three feet deep.”

Ed propped his flashlight on a nearby branch and started digging with his shovel. It was one of those folding types he’d bought for camping.

Fortunately, the soil wasn’t hard with frost yet. Perhaps in a couple of months it would be. About an hour later, he hit something. The ghosts stood nearby.

Soon, Ed retrieved a box.

“Bring the box back to the car. We’ll open it back at your place,” said Bret.

Ed carried the box, shovel, and flashlight back to the car. The ghosts floated through the car door and sat in the passenger seats.

Within half an hour, Ed was back home. He took the box up to his apartment. The ghosts followed.

“You can open it.”

Ed opened the latch and pulled back the lid. Inside, the contents were wrapped in a large plastic bag. They were documents of some sort. Ed opened the bag and pulled some out.

“These are share certificates!” said Ed.

“Count them out. Take five percent for yourself, as agreed.”

Most of the company names on the certificates were all blue chip companies. Ed recognized several. He sorted them out by company and placed them in piles on the dining table.

Ed pulled out his laptop and checked out the stocks. He soon made a spreadsheet of the stocks and their current market values and quantities.

“There’s over five million here!”

“Take five percent for yourself.”

Ed looked at Conner. Conner just smiled at Ed.

Ed took as close to five percent as possible, actually just under. It was still a lot.

“Place the rest inside a bag.”

Ed pulled out a briefcase from a closet, emptied it, and placed the certificates inside. He could afford a new briefcase.

“It’s late. I’ll need to wait until tomorrow to deliver this.”

Ed returned the briefcase to the closet. He put his certificates into a drawer.

“You can stay around and stand guard. The bedroom and washroom are off limits. I’m going to sleep.”

Without checking the ghosts, Ed went to his bedroom and closed the door.

The next morning, Ed got up early. He had a delivery before his work.

Conner and Bret were in the living room, so he put on his coffee maker and opened his laptop.

“Bret, can I get the name and address for your grandson?”

Bret gave him the information. Ed looked up the address on google maps.

“I’d better call before I drive out there. Do you have a number?”

“No, I don’t have his number. Can’t you look it up somewhere?”

Ed looked up the number and called.

“Hello?”

“Is that Kevin Ascione, grandson of the late Bret Ascione?” asked Ed.