Between the Spirit and the Dust

Chapter Four

Dad had left the house early in the morning when he heard that Evie was coming back again.  He didn’t say where he was going or what he was doing but I figured that I should give him some space. Yesterday had been a shock to all of us.

 And Mom? She was still stuck in her room. Yet another parent that I didn’t know how to handle.

Today Evie was running late and Max and I just hang out in the family room waiting for her. He’d come by yesterday to let me know that he was going back to school, which was a nice thing to do seeing as how he had been my ride back home. But because of Evie’s interruption he’d decided to stay another day.

 We’d talked about school stuff but then as our conversation topics dried up, Max asked, “So any idea what your grandma wants to talk to us about?”

 I shrugged. I had an idea what she wanted to talk to me about. It was probably Empath stuff. But Max? I didn’t have a clue what it was she wanted with him.

 And Evie had perfect timing, striding in right at that moment. She was wearing yet another pantsuit, her hair perfectly coiffed. Part of me wondered how much of it was for show, to let Dad know that she was completely in control of herself now. I wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to try so hard, that I knew Dad and that he would come around sooner or later. But I didn’t say any of this. Things between my long-lost grandmother and I were complicated enough. I didn’t want to play mediator between her and my father as well.

 “Good morning the two of you,” she said, having a twinkle in her eye that I didn’t like. There was something about the way that she was watching us, like she expected us to be something more that disconcerted me. Was it just grandmotherly affection or did she really see something else? “I’m sorry that I was running late. Certain things took a little longer to clear with my superiors that I thought they would.” 

“It’s okay, no worries,” replied Max.

 “Good, good.” Her expression turned solemn and she handed us a few sheets of paper. “I need the two of you to sign these forms before we begin.”

I scanned the papers. Non-disclosure agreements?

Max’s eyebrows rose and he looked pointedly at me, as though he expected me to have the answers. I said, “Evie, what’s all this for? What…what are we even doing here? Shouldn’t we get some kind of explanation first before we sign these things?”

She considered this for a moment. “I won’t be able to tell you very much before you sign them but I can tell you this. Emily, I might not have had the chance to get to know you before this but I know that this case is personal, to say the least. You want to solve this as much as I do. I managed to wrangle an opportunity to get you involved as an associate of mine.”

My eyes were burning but I managed to nod. Of course I wanted to help.

 Evie turned to Max. “With you, Max, things are a little different. I understand that you’ve got an interest in law enforcement?”

 Max raised an eyebrow, an expression that I was so familiar with that I found it incongruous that he was wearing it now. He usually wore the look when he thought that someone was being a complete weirdo. “Yeah, I do. How did you know that?”

 “Let’s just say, I have my sources.” Evie’s smile was kind and it dawned on me that I didn’t know what the boundaries of an Empath’s abilities were. Had Evie managed to sense that from Max just from one meeting with him?

 Her smile disappeared when she said, “The both of you would have to take the next semester off to concentrate on the investigation. I understand that it's a lot to ask of you, Max but it will be worth your while. Whichever police department or agency that you choose to work with in future, I will be sure to put in a good word for you.”