Chapter 16.FINDING THE KILLER

Chase's pov

We stepped inside the police department. I was with Yusuf. He had convinced me to let him help me track down my killer. This was after I overheard my parents saying they were still looking for the bastard that knocked on my car and flew away. I felt the need to help them. That was the least I could do since I could not possibly come back into their lives.

We sprinted directly to where detective Mariana's desk was set. She was the one handling my death case. I had overheard that from my dad too.

Luckily, detective Mariana was not on her desk. As we walked in, we spotted her out of her office with a cup of coffee.

"There are a lot of files in here. How do we know which one is yours?" Yusuf asked. He was already sitting on the detective's desk and reviewing the files.

"Um... You go through all of them. I guess they could be dated. Look at the recent ones." I said.

We continued looking for my file, and after a few minutes, Yusuf found it.

He opened the file, and we glued our eyes to it. There were pictures of my damaged car and some blood all over it.

"Continue to the other pages," I spoke, and Yusuf flipped through the other papers.

After perusing a few pages, we finally got to a page with another car wrecked on the front side. The registration number was precise, but the owner's details were not indicated.

"I think the car's owner is the bastard who killed you," Yusuf said, raising his brows.

" But how are we going to find him? This car could be anywhere as we speak. Maybe he sold it or dumped it somewhere. We don't even know who owns or owns it." I spoke.

"We are going to find out who the car owner is. It's a German machine, and they are not common in the country. And also only one company deals with them. " Yusuf said.

"We will log into the seller's website and find out who they sold the car to." He added. He sounded smart. He was helpful, just as he promised.

"Okay....we don't have a computer. What are we going to use?" I asked

"Come on! Chase. There are computers here. We are going to use these." Yusuf responded.

"Okay... okay," I said

Yusuf turned on the computer on Mariana's desk and glued his eyes to the screen.

"Open google," Yusuf spoke.

"Me, huh?" I asked.

"No. I am talking to the computer." He responded and before I resonated with his answer google page appeared on the screen.

"Shit! What's that? How did you do that?"

"I can talk to machines. That's my gift as a ghost."

"Um...what...?"

"We don't have time for your questions, nephew. I want to finish with this investigation of yours and go nap my head." Yusuf complained.

"Don't nephew me. You are not my uncle." I protested.

"Okay," Yusuf said, nodding his head and continuing talking to the computer. He said the registration numbers of our suspect's car, and it popped on the screen.

"Who is registered with this car?" He asked, and a mid-aged lad popped on the screen. His profile outlined every detail of him, including the estate he was residing.

"Whoa!! You are the best. I guess we have the bastard." I said happily.

"Too early to start dancing for success. We gotta check if your bastard still resides here or if he's still alive." Yusuf spoke. Yeah, my happiness was short-lived.

"Let's go." He added.

****

We left the station and headed directly to Dave's. Dave Matthews was my possible killer. Yusuf seemed charmed, and I could tell he was possibly enjoying doing the investigation.

"You look excited. What's up? I asked.

" It just feels good to do something noteworthy finally. Back then, when I was alive, I wasted my life drinking, which cost me a lot. My job, friends, and a chance to start my own family." Yusuf said politely. I could read regrets in his tone...

"I never had a purpose. I wasted my life, and I eventually ended it." He added...

"How? Ended it how?.... Did you commit suicide?"

"Suicide! Huh?" Yusuf exclaimed.

"No....not suicide. You know there is this friend of mine, Joel. He works in the state. He was back in town and asked me out. He bought us lots of drinks, and when we were done, I bid him my goodbyes and left for home."

"Then what? Did you get home safely?"

"Yeah. I got home safely.....but I guess I had a lot to drink. So, I was staggering, and at my untidy house, I jumped on my small bed and um.....on it, I didn't know there was a misplaced slaughter knife. It stubbed directly to my heart, and I died. That's how I died and woke up as a trapped ghost. " He explained.

"Oooh! That's pretty bad." I said. I had thought of saying sorry, but there was no point. He was already dead.

"So doing something sensible right now makes me feel like I got a purpose.....even though it's in death. It's not like anyone will recognize it. I'll always be a loser to the people who knew me."

"Yusuf, you are not a loser, and I see what you are doing. I recognize it. ".

"It makes no difference. You are dead too. Who cares what you approve or recognize?" Yusuf spoke.

"We are here." He added before I could say anything else. We were already at Dave's. We walked inside without knocking. There was no point in doing it as he could not see us.

"He must be a rich dude," I said, glaring at the big house. It was well pampered, from the design to the furniture. I took a seat on the comfy sofa and continued glancing around.

"I think he's upstairs," Yusuf said and ran off the stairs. I stood up and followed him quickly.

We got upstairs and finally to Dave's bedroom. We walked through the door without necessarily opening it. We were spirits, and thus we could just pass through anything.

"It's him. The guy from the profile." I said when I came into contact with Dave's face.

"Huh! Lover Boy," Yusuf exclaimed. He was staring at Dave, sitting with a gorgeous lady on the bed. Dave was all touchy, and his hands were all over the young lady.

"Why have the police not arrested him if they know he's the car's owner?" I asked.

"Have they even investigated him?"

"I don't think so," Yusuf responded.

"They already have the evidence they need. " I said, recalling we spotted the car from the police files outside Dave's house. It was already repaired, but it had the same registration numbers.

"Why can't they just arrest the bastard?" I asked angrily.

"He's a business mogul.....what do you expect? People like him get away with anything.....even murder. People like him got the police at the tips of their fingers, and police work for them." Yusuf spoke, painting a picture of how corrupt the world of the living was.

"So, no justice for me?" I asked.

"No Justice for people like you. And the world has never been just. Rich people get whatever they want at the expense of people like us." Yusuf spoke.

"We are not the same.....me and you," I yelled at him.

"Yeah, I know... I am just a useless drunkard who had no life while you are the son of a company owner." Yusuf said sadly.

"Sorry," I said.

"What do you wish to do with your killer now that we have him?"

"I don't know. How do ghosts take their revenge? Should I start haunting him?" I asked

"Haunting him? Do you have all that time to waste? You should finish it now and forget it even happened."

"How?"

"Use your special abilities. God! Chase, stop acting so naive."

"I don't have special abilities," I said with a shocked face.

"What do you mean you don't have special abilities? You know ghosts acquire abilities when they ascend to the other world."

"I don't know. Well, some of my friends from side B had powers, but for me.....no. I don't have any."

"You just don't know them yet."

"How should I discover them? How did you discover yours?" I asked

"Long story," Yusuf responded.

"How will I discover my powers if you can't help me discover them?"

"They just come way too naturally. Like, I guess you have a hearing ability. You overhear things from a distance." Yusuf said, sounding senseless.

"What? How is that even an ability, Yusuf?" I scolded him

"It's special. You could hear me when I jumped into your body, and no one amongst your friends was."

"That doesn't make any sense, and even if it did, it can't help me avenge my death," I growled.

"You can have more than one ability; maybe you need to try them all and see whichever works and your ability."

"I don't care about abilities. All I want is for this bastard to die. I wish he chokes to death." I said confidently, and immediately Dave started choking.

"Ooh, God! I didn't mean it." I said with a shaking voice.

"I guess you just discovered your special abilities. You are a ghost wish maker." Yusuf spoke happily.

"Dave? Dave! What's happening to you?" That was the gorgeous lady asking Dave. She looked dead scared. Dave was choking to speak.

"What do we do? He's going to die." I asked, and before Yusuf responded, a thought came to me. If I could wish him to choke, I could wish him to stop.

"I wish that you stop choking," I said

"You can't reverse a wish. Once you say it, then it's done." Yusuf said.

"Oooh, God! He's going to die."

"He's already dead," Yusuf said. He was right, Dave had already stopped choking, and the gorgeous lady was sobbing so loudly, calling out his name.

"What do we do about her? Police might arrest her if they place her at the crime scene." I asked.

"Kill her," Yusuf said firmly.

"What? Why are you so evil?"

"Ghosts don't have souls. How do you expect me to act?" He asked

"Oooh, God! This is so messed up." I said, scratching my head and walking around aimlessly.

"Stop acting like you got a soul. You are a ghost, Chase. No heart, no soul. No mercies. You wanted justice, and here you got it." Yusuf squawked me.

"Go ahead and kill her, or she will end up in jail." He added.

"Shut up! Shut up! There has to be another way. I don't have to kill her. I can make a better wish." I spoke hastily.

"What wish? What do you have in mind?" Yusuf asked.

"I can tell her to run away. Leave the country and never come back. "

"What about her family? Her life here? Do you wanna rob her of that?" Yusuf asked

"That's a better option than wishing her dead," I yelled back at Yusuf.

"I am wishing her to leave the country," I said, and before he gave his opinion, I started telling him my wish.

"I wish that you leave Dave's house. Go far away. Leave the country and never come back." I said, and the lady started dressing up. Once she was done, she grabbed her purse and stormed out of Dave's bedroom.

"What do we do with his body?" Yusuf asked.

"Nothing. Everybody must know he's dead, especially my parents." I said and walked out. Yusuf followed me, and we left Dave's place.