40- A Beer with a Friend.

Having returned to the apartment, Tau spent the remainder of the day researching the life of Dylan Kirkwood, taking brief breaks every now and again to clean up, eat a snack, and shower. While he had been searching over the contents of his phone and social media profiles, he had been drawn to the plethora of photos saved across various albums, as well as those stored in the gallery of his phone, spending more time than he had intended examining them and their details.

Tau found it strange to be watching the life of his borrowed body in the still frames; moments captured across a span of time. To Tau, Dylan seemed happy in those previous years. He was often surrounded by family and friends, and when they weren't present, the scenes were of cities, exotic places painted with the broad strokes of nature's pigments, majestic sunsets over open waters, fog concealed valleys and sparkling mountain summits. And in nearly every photo, a common sight, a woman, slender built, with golden locks, porcelain skin, and clear sapphire eyes; Francesca, the love of his life.

As he lingered through the photos, he began to wonder if Quayleigh wanted to live a life like that. He wondered if she would want to see anything beyond Turnage, and if she would appear as happy as Francesca did if they were to take the same pictures together. He wondered and daydreamed about a lot of things while he was alone, but every thought seemed to lead back to her.

Tau was so caught up in his musings that when the apartment phone rang, it managed to catch him off guard. "Hello?" he answered hoping it may have been Quayleigh calling to check in on him.

"Hey Dylan. I managed to get off work a bit earlier than expected. Buzz me in before I drop the food."

Tau recognized Yechiel's voice, replying, "Okay," before punching in the code Quayleigh had taught to him before hanging up.

He took note of the time, it was nearly half past six, as he moved to the door. Unbolting it, he left it open for Yechiel. It was later than he had thought, having lost track of time that could have been better spent. Moreover, he was completely unprepared for how this evening was to go. He had no concept of how Dylan should be acting, and the pictures weren't much of anything to go on, since they were from yester years, and he lacked all account of the memories surrounding them. He knew it was best to try and keep the conversation focused on Yechiel, but he was also aware that Frank had most certainly delivered his message while Willy was showing him the way through the school and to the place in the fence where it could be pushed aside allowing him to slip away unseen.

"Hope you like rice and beef," Yechiel said in an overly pleasant tone as he kicked the door shut behind himself, his hands full of bags, while balancing a case of beer on his shoulder. "I know Quayleigh isn't here, but I brought enough so she'd have something for later."

"Thank you. She'll appreciate it," Tau replied helping him with the bags. Placing the food onto the counter, he noticed the shiny red emblem on the outside of the takeout box. "Bamboo Garden; I saw this place on the way back from the condo."

"Bit surprised you recognized it. Great place though. It's close to the precinct, and we eat there so often the hostess just asks if we want the usual and doesn't bother sending a waitress over to the table empty handed. Speaking of which, Quays asked me to keep the drinking to a minimum, so drink responsibly."

"What about you?" he asked as Yechiel opened the case, pulled out a can and cracked it open.

"Don't worry. I've no intention of crashing on your floor. I'll wait until I get home to finish the rest of these off," he replied as he patted the top of the carboard box.

Tau had noticed the strained look on Yechiel's face, but even after having put down everything he had been carrying, he still seemed distraught as he took a long, full, swig of the beer, while eyeing the rest of the case.

"Do we need plates?"

"Yeah, the rice comes in one big container," Yechiel replied as he set down his beer and took off his shoes and jacket, before removing his tie and stuffing into the inside jacket pocket.

Tau grabbed the plates from the cupboard, and utensils from the drawer placing them onto the counter while Yechiel took the containers from the bag.

"You seem upset," Tau stated as he looked over at Yechiel, having watched him struggle, his hands seeming to tremble uncontrollably.

"Yeah, well, I had a rough day."

"She didn't mean to upset you this morning. It wasn't her intention."

"I know, but, man, that wasn't even the most fucked up part of the day."

"You can tell me about it. If you want."

"I don't even know where to start," Yechiel admitted as he began to fill his plate. "After I left, my partner calls me and tells me there's another body for our case, but it turns out that it's in the middle of another crime scene making it a jurisdictional nightmare. But on the upside, I don't have to deal with that particular part of the paperwork, and I ran into someone I used to know from the academy, so that was an unexpected highlight."

"Were you friends?"

"Not even close. We had drills together. Not much time to talk and get to know your classmates when you're doing that stuff. He's a decent enough guy though. We're going to be working together for a while because of this case. Think the two of you might even get along if you're ever up for expanding your social circle. Either way, the rest of the day basically went to shit after that. I'll tell you more after dinner, and this beer."

Tau watched everything that Yechiel did, emulating his motions and portion sizes uncertain of what this food was or how it was be eaten, although there wasn't anything that didn't make his mouth water just from the smell alone.

Once their plates were filled, they moved to the couch, where Tau sat and stared at the blue can he was holding in his hand. He had seen others at the camp with similar cans, and the yeasty aroma wafting over from the one Yechiel was enjoying, was familiar.

The downside of being a reaper was nearly everything he witnessed was a result of something unpleasant. Tau had seen stacks of cans at more than one death, and smelt the stench of alcoholics, although it was often far more putrid than what he was currently smelling. The pickled dead, tended to be one of his least favorite, as more often than not, they would be full of regret over a wasted life, and would sob all the way to the cleansing pools. These thoughts left him wondering if he even wanted to bother trying it, but before he could make up his mind, Yechiel took the can from his hand, showed him how to pry up the tab, and then opened it for him.

"I know this is cheap stuff, but you used to enjoy it back in the day. Guess your tastes changed once you could afford the best this world had to offer," Yechiel remarked with a smirk.

Tau took this as a sign that he was jesting, but instead it brought up a question he now wanted to know the answer to.

"Why did we stop being friends?"

"We didn't, not really. We just got busy with our own lives. You went to university, started working for your father, made your own fortune, and once you started dating Francesca, there wasn't a lot of time for the two of us to hang out anymore. And don't think it was all you either, I had my own stuff going on. When I was in the academy, I was struggling. It was a lot of long days, and I grabbed every ounce of my spare time to catch up on sleep. I was exhausted by the time the weekends would come around, and partying and staying up late, I couldn't do it. You joined me a couple times for morning jogs early on, but you got swamped in your second year. You had to make up for the classes you failed because you were too busy screwing around. Francesca set you straight though. I know her death hit you real hard. I should have taken the time to look in on you when you stopped responding to my texts. Maybe then you'd still have your memories."

"I'm sorry. This must be strange for you. It's strange for me. You remember who Dylan was, and I'm someone different now. I don't even know if this is something I want to drink. I don't remember it's taste, but I know the smell from Caldwell. All the memories I have of this world are from there. I went back today to see the people I know, but a man, a detective like you, Harlowe, he's made it so I can't go back anymore."

Yechiel sighed and shook his head, "That bastard. Man, I'm really sorry. Harlowe's my partner. He wants to talk to you because he's convinced that you're connected to this case. Even after…" he paused, his eyes quivered and he quickly took a chug from his beer. Wiping the corners of his mouth the back of his hand he turned and looked directly at Tau. "Dylan, I saw something today, and it genuinely scared me. Quays' eye, that was… unusual and a bit hard to, uh, understand, but this thing…" he set down his can and stood up. Returning to the kitchen he picked up the bag he had placed on the floor next to the lower cabinet and brought it back to the couch. Sitting down, he placed the bag on his lap and stared silently down at the folder inside of it.

"Are you okay?" Tau asked curious as to why he had stopped speaking and moving.

"Do you believe in demons?"

Tau thought for a while about how to answer his question since saying too much could reveal his secrets and saying nothing could limit his reactions to whatever point Yechiel was trying to make. He carefully weighed his optioned as he finished a mouthful of beef, which he found to be both tender, salty, and enjoyable.

"I'm uncertain of what you mean," he replied, opting to play ignorant for the time being.

"What about aliens? Creatures from other worlds or dimensions?"

"I suppose I do," Tau answered vaguely given the number of options he had been given.

"If I show you something, can you tell me what you think it is?"

Tau nodded; his curiosity had been peeked. He found it odd that someone of this world would be having trouble identifying something in it, until Yechiel pulled a picture from the bag and handed it to him.

"Where did you get this?" Tau asked as he stared at the image of a creature he recognized and was entirely familiar with.

"There was a hidden camera at the crime scene. This thing, it's behind all the murders. I need to know what it is."

"It's a predator," Tau replied as he handed back the picture. "What do you think it is?"

"My first thought was a demon. Then I wondered if maybe it was a servant of Death. He is a living being, isn't he?"

Tau lowered his eyes and set his plate onto the table. "It's better if you asked Quayleigh about these things."

"It's easier to keep the lies straight that way, right?"

"The truth is complicated. She can explain it better than I can."

"Try."

Tau waivered as he turned and looked at Yechiel. There was a desperation in his eyes and Tau wanted to alleviate it, even though he didn't understand why, but he knew more than anything, that he had to protect himself. If he told Yechiel the entire truth, he didn't know what would happen to Quayleigh and he feared that he wouldn't be able to see her anymore, and that was something he could not, and would not tolerate. So, he told him a version of a truth.

"Death isn't living, I don't think; not like you and I anyways, but yes, he does exist. Her eye truly is a gift from Death. The world of the living, it overlaps with the world of the dead. They exist in the same space, but neither is visible to the other until one of the living becomes one of the dead. In those moments, a tear opens between the worlds, allowing the newly dead to move to where it belongs. When they don't want to go, Death comes to retrieve them. The living aren't supposed to be capable of seeing the dead, because the dead, should never rejoin the world of the living. At least this is how Quayleigh explained it to me."

"Then what do you think would happen if one of the dead DID rejoin the living?"

Tau smiled softly, the irony of the situation wasn't lost on him, but he couldn't give a truly honest answer without revealing himself. Yet, he didn't want to lie to Yechiel either. Stretching out his hand, he did the only thing that seemed to make sense at the time and pointed to the picture. "That would be my guess."

"Any chance you remember how to read the language of the mages?"

"Probably, but I don't know for certain."

Yechiel sighed once again as he picked up his beer, "Think you could do me a favor Dylan?"

"I can try," he answered as Yechiel finished what was left in his can.

"Can you help me convince Quayleigh to come down to the station tomorrow morning?"

Tau shook his head, "She won't need convincing if I ask her for you. Would you mind if I came too? I'm curious to meet this partner of yours."

"I'm glad to hear that. I thought I was going to have to beg for you to come talk to him."

Tau smiled and picked up his beer. He enjoyed the feeling of the cool metal in the palm of his hand as he lifted it to his mouth, taking his first drink. It wasn't the unusual flavor or lingering aftertaste that caused him to shudder, but the unexpected carbonation. He hadn't found it to be unpleasant or off-putting but thought the sensation peculiar.

Lowering the can, he stared down into the opening. "I want to believe that you wouldn't do anything to hurt Quayleigh. I hope your partner is the same as you."

Yechiel nodded and whispered, "Me too," before shoveling a bit of food into his mouth. "You should eat up before it gets cold. Any chance she has the sports network?"

Tau had no idea what he had asked but gathered by the way he had motioned towards the T.V. that it had something to do with the small black square sitting on the top of the old cabinet against the wall. Pointing to the remote on the nightstand closest to Yechiel, he said, "Quays told me that it turned on the T.V. but I haven't tired it yet. I don't think she would mind if you wanted to use it."

"Great! I'm off the clock and don't want to think or talk about this day anymore," Yechiel replied as he put down the bag and slide it under the table. "Quayleigh can look those over whenever she wants. But for now, would you mind if we just sat here, watched T.V. and just hung out for a while?"

"I think I would enjoy that," Tau replied as Yechiel reached over and grabbed the remote, turning on the T.V.

It didn't really matter to Tau what Yechiel put on. He had never watched anything before and each channel was a new and fascinating experience, just like the flavor of the food, the sensation of being full, and the strange light-headed feeling he was experiencing after he finished the last of his first beer.