Prelude: Christa Howard

For the third time in four days, Chris woke up before her alarm to her pulse pounding in her ears and an unsettled feeling in her stomach.

She sat up and put her feet on the floor, raked her fingers through her hair, cradled her head in her hands. Slow, deep breaths still wouldn't calm her racing heart. Three months had passed since the disappearance. Chriis had so much more to keep her busy, so many more lives to save from their families -- or themselves -- but these were very persistent nightmares.

They'd only gotten more vivid.

Joshua Watson was one of the cases assigned to Chris in May of last year: a five-year-old boy new to the system. After his mother's third near-fatal overdose, Joshua had called the police, and it had cost him the small and broken family he'd had. Yvonne had never actively abused him, but she wasn't motivated by anything more than her next binge; by the time Joshua was placed in protective custody he had spent two days eating his own waste.

In custody, he'd spent most of his time by himself, silent as the grave. He was badly malnourished and didn't show much interest in eating even after food was available again. He didn't socialize. Chris began to suspect that he'd suffered sexual abuse, likely while his mother was stoned out of her mind. She paid him four visits before he finally said a word to her. After that, he warmed up to her quickly but never opened up about his experiences... the few times it came up, he shut down and became completely nonresponsive.

Yvonne went to rehab and cleaned up. In August, she moved into a halfway home and earned supervised visits. In October, she found her own place. In November, Joshua went to live with her. Chris couldn't shake a bad feeling about the whole situation.

A week before Thanksgiving, Joshua went missing.

Yvonne was a reckless addict, but not the kind of person who had it in her to hurt her own child. Chris had met enough of those people to know the difference. The police investigation hadn't yet turned up anything conclusive.

The nightmares started about two months ago. The first few times, Joshua would appear in unrelated dreams, quietly hugging his knees to his chest somewhere out of her mind's peripheral vision -- part of the scenery rather than a focal point. Then Chris began to dream of just him, sitting on a bed and staring out a window, as he was when she met him for the first time. As those dreams repeated and left stronger impressions in her mind, she put together details: featureless walls, a bare tree outside the window, no door. They were mercifully rare, but she always woke from them with a sense of panic.

"I've got a secret," Joshua told her two weeks ago. His voice was distant -- a tinny echo or a soft whisper -- but the words were always clear in her mind, the last thing she remembered before she woke. Four nights ago, he'd said it again. And again, two nights ago... but this time, he'd opened his mouth as if to finally tell her what it was. She'd awoken before she could imagine what he was trying to explain. Last night, she heard the rest of the message.

"I can tell you where my body is buried."

Chris felt her stomach lurch and the thick Italian hairs on her arm stand straight up. Another lurch sent her doubled over the side of the bed retching repeatedly and only producing bubbled saliva. She tried to breath deeper and calm herself, but fear and panic had quickly overridden her control over her body. After several more heaves and sobs that managed to sneak between each gag she realized, the boy was dead.

Her intuition rarely led her astray and the persistent dream dealt her a fate that she desperately wanted to ignore but she would never be able to. She clutched her bed sheet and wiped it across her tear and saliva stricken face after a few seconds she pushed herself to stand up. Without even acknowledging her appearance as she passed the bathroom mirror, she stripped off her night gown and stepped into a cold shower.

She let the water wash over her while she thought about the boy's life. About the unease she felt when he was placed back with his mother. She felt wholly responsible and the knot in her stomach never really eased. The shower began to warm and she washed quickly, the rest of her actions as she prepped herself for the day and entered her car were automated. Her mind was numb as she obsessed over her dream and headed to work.

Chris arrived early and took a seat at her desk, feeling numb. That numbness was a useful survival skill in this field, but it rarely lasted long off the clock. She kept telling herself she'd figure that part out one day.

The ringing of the office phone jarred her back to the moment.

Chris hadn't even realized she'd made it into work when the phone rang. Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head as reality caught up with her. She took a startled look around at the four cubicles surrounding her which were empty.

'How the hell did I manage to get here... and early.'

She thought as she squeezed her left temple, a headache pounded against her skull. Her stomach was still churning but whether it was from hunger or fear wasn't discernible.

The phone rang a second time but instead of answering immediately she opened a word file on her computer. Two more rings and her cold fingers wrapped around the receiver, picking it up, she lifted the ear piece to her ear. Her fingers started to tap out the details of her recurring nightmare while her voice creaked out, timidly at first, then more business like but still not quite normal as she spoke.

"This is Christa Howard, Family Service Social Worker. How may I help you?"

"Good morning, Christa!" said an unfamiliar man's voice on the other line. "This is John Carruthers -- I'm an investigative consultant with Orpheus Group. I understand you worked with Joshua Watson." There was a certainty in his voice; he wasn't waiting for her to confirm.

"I need some questions answered in a related investigation, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to meet with me this morning. Say, eleven o'clock."

A moment of silence pressed the air between the line. Her fingers had ceased their ministrations the moment his name was mentioned. She stared blankly at her screen noting the last lines she recalled before she finally woke that morning.

"Joshua... Yes sir,"

She stammered out finally. Her voice became clipped and professional.

"I am the worker on his case and I am sure I can meet at that time. May I ask what this investigation is pertaining?"

There was a brief pause on the other line before the man spoke up, his voice joyless and professional. "I'll have to save the details until we meet in person, Ms. Howard. I'll see you at eleven. Thank you."

***

The morning blurred by uneventfully -- a blessing, in this field -- and, promptly at eleven, a man entered the office and directed himself to Chris' desk. His head was clean shaven, his slacks and shirt were freshly pressed, and he moved with a kind of excited energy that made him loom larger than his just-below-average stature.

"Ms. Howard? John Carruthers." He smiled, shaking her hand. "Can we talk here, or should we find somewhere else? And do you mind if I call you Christa?"

Chris looked up bemused by the man's sudden appearance at her desk. 'Shouldn't the front desk have notified me of a visitor?' She shook his hand and smiled in an effort to keep her cool. She had an eerily haunting feeling that she knew what he was going to tell her.

"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Carruthers, you can call me Chris. And please take a seat, we can speak freely here."

Her hand gestured to a seat next to her desk.

"Can I get anything for you sir? Some water or coffee perhaps?"

Chris asked with a small polite smile, as she extracted a file that was lying under several documents on her desk.

(Would Christa know anything about Orpheus Group?)

(It depends on how much she keeps up on fringe media. A cursory Google search shows them to be an investigative firm.)

John smiled warmly as he sat down. "I'm fine, Chris, thank you. And, please, just John." His demeanor sobered up as he prepared to address the subject that had called them to meet in the first place.

"We'll get right to it, I guess." He leaned forward slightly. "Joshua's family wants closure. There's been suspicious activity... around the circumstances of... his death." He was fumbling, trying to very delicately choose his words.

"Chris, I'm gonna be frank with you: I'm an investigative consultant, but this isn't my usual M.O. -- I'm never the guy asking questions. My team already has out designated 'good cop' and 'bad cop' for that." He leaned in a little further. "This is a bizarre question, but I need you to humor me. And to be honest."

John lowered his voice. "Have you noticed any strange activity since Joshua's death?"



(Officially, Joshua is still a missing person, for what that's worth.)

"No I haven't noticed anything. I think about him a lot sometimes I dream about him. I was very unsettled about placing him back with his mother..."

Chris' brow furrowed and she looked up at him with wide eyes as she realized what he'd said.

"Death? Has he been confirmed dead? Where was his body found? What happened to him?"

The questions escaped her lips without pause. Concern, worry and grief began to write itself across her face.

John winced, choosing his words and speaking slowly and deliberately. "Joshua's death has not been confirmed by the police."

He shifted forward in his seat. "Orpheus Group is a private investigation firm that specializes in unusual... encounters. The paranormal." He searched her eyes for her reaction, and the disbelief he expected. "The Watson family -- Joshua's grandparents -- contacted us to look into some strange activity his mother reported. I was wondering if you could tell me more about him, to help me understand what could be happening."

There was no doubt in Chris' mind that the man was genuine in his concern and belief, however unusual the topic of conversation might have been.

Her deep brown eyes stared at him, unblinkingly for about 30 seconds. She bit her lower lip lightly and then sat back in her seat. She had been told shocking things in the past but this far superseded anything she was used to. Never the less, the woman came to and with a calm sensitive voice she began to speak. Her fingers opening and then thumbing through Joshua's files.

"Joshua Watson... I was assigned to his case last May. His mother was a drug addict and had several serious overdoses. The boy was smart enough to call the police when his mother overdosed at that time, essentially saving her life. He was placed in protective custody and I began to visit him.

"He presented with signs of neglect and possible sexual abuse. He was excessively withdrawn, malnourished with severe trust issues. It was obvious that he nourished himself with his own bodily fluids and fecal matter. It took several visits for him to even really acknowledge me. He began to play, eat and talk around me but all very slowly. If I mentioned anything about his mother he would escape again... completely shut down.

"So when you say paranormal, you mean like..."

She paused and lowered her voice, her head leaning forward a bit closer to him.

"You mean like ghosts? Like Joshua's ghost? What kind of 'activity 'are you talking about?"

John was obviously uncomfortable sitting through some of the grislier details of Joshua's case.

"I have a nondisclosure agreement that prevents me from going into too much detail," he replied to Chris' question. "But, yes. 'Post-life entities' is the sanitized corporate term. It's what Orpheus Group does: we help the deceased resolve unfinished business, and we help families find closure. Sometimes, a PLE gets attached to people, places or things, and tries to leave clues to what will help them move on.

"Based on the kind of activity in the Watson house, it seems very likely that Joshua is trying to communicate."

Chris nodded along as he spoke, that along with her soft smile read like she understood what he was talking about. She didn't. Regardless of her understanding or even belief in the paranormal, there was an underlying thread that she couldn't ignore. It was Joshua, a child whose life experience was not unlike her own, a child she couldn't - didn't save.

Without revealing her own motives or history she addressed John and offered,

"I think I can help you."

She turned to her computer, pulled up the file from earlier that morning and sent it to print. She grabbed the paper off the printer on her desk and handed it to him. It contained her entire dream last night in vividly detailed recollection. Details were not lost as is customary after waking. She watched him with concerned eyes as the document passed from her hands to his.

John read carefully and nodded now and again, sometimes doubling back over important details as if he intended to commit it to memory.

"This is very illuminating, Chris," he said at length, lifting his eyes from the paper, smiling. "It's a lot to go on -- this is more than he's said even to his family. He must really trust you." John paused. "Thank you so much."

He sat up straighter in his seat. "I'm also supposed to make a delivery, while I'm here. Orpheus Group looks into the backgrounds of everyone connected to an investigation," he started to explain, taking an envelope seemingly out of nowhere. "Our HR people have reason to believe that you'd be very qualified for this line of work. They'd like to schedule an evaluation in Chicago at your earliest convenience."

John handed her the envelope. "The pay is very good, the benefits are incredible, and it's very rewarding work."

Chris took the envelope turning it once in her hand. 'This guy is offering me a job... at my current job? What am I supposed to do about this? -- Perhaps I'll be able to help find Joshua. -- I'll have to tell Michelle. -- What about all of my clients here?'

"Thank you for the offer. I'll have to take some time to think more about it. Two questions if I might. Would I be helping on Joshua's case? Also I have a younger sister that I've been supporting my whole life, she has a son, he's 3. Would they be able to move with me if I happened to accept this position?"

"I'm not with HR," John said, shrugging slightly and splaying his hands, "so those questions are outside my expertise. The evaluation isn't a job offer, exactly... it's more like a working interview. Evaluations are always different. There's a contact number in case you want to learn more.

"Is there anything I can do for you, in the meantime?"

"No John, I think that is all for now. I'll call the number to find out more. Thank you for your time. You have helped me today more than you know."

Chris stands and extends her hand for him to shake.

"Likewise." John smiled broadly and gently shook Chris' hand, leaving her with a business card. "In case anything comes up, please contact me."

He turned to leave, reviewing the paper Chris had given him.

Chris sat back down after watching him depart and opened the envelope to review its contents.

(Link to Contact Letter)

Chris grabbed her purse shoveled the letter into it and extracted her keys. She'd decided to take her lunch break and figure out what was going on. She went to the closest fast food place ordered a burger meal and sat in her car in the parking lot. Trying to make any sense of what had just happened was a mute point so she ate and re-read the letter. Eventually she picked up the phone and called the number provided.

The call was picked up on the first ring. "Good afternoon, thank you for calling Orpheus," said the answering customer service rep. "My name is Gina, how can I help you?"

Chris swallowed hard, gulping her food to empty her mouth in a hurry.

"Hello, My name is Christa Howard and I have just been in correspondence with Mr. John Carruthers. He gave me a letter with this number to call if I had any questions and I do have a few. Firstly is the trip to Chicago for the evaluation, paid for by the Orpheus Group?''

"One moment, Ms. Howard; I'm pulling up your file." She spoke slowly as she tapped on a keyboard. "...And, yes it is, all evaluation expenses -- travel, meals, and lodging -- are paid by Orpheus Group... additionally, Orpheus recognizes that our people are our most uniquely talented and valuable resource, and we make your time worthwhile to the order of a ten thousand dollar bonus, whether or not you accept employment in your post-evaluation."