Author: Mel Knight (JRKMAB@aol.com)
Mel is also the author of "Andre's War" and the two stories are relevant to eachother.

Devlin Howard, an even handed and level headed Welshman, stepped into his usual mode of Police Sergeant. Kenneth Triplehorn, his partner for nearly ten years, greeted him at the entrance to the county mortuary.

"Chief Inspector Shaun told me to meet you here. What's going on?" Devlin asked.

"They found a man floating in the loch this morning. I think Shaun is overacting a bit. If he knew I said that, I know just what he would say. 'Every footstep must be counted.'" Kenneth mocked in a phony Celtic accent.

The mild mannered Sergeant Howard didn't even budge a smile.

He followed his partner inside.

The Chief Coroner was taking a holiday in the Scottish Highlands. A temporary coroner was needed, enter Dr. Myer Aleski. The gaunt faced and blond haired surgeon would be filling in until the Coroner returned to Cardiff.

In the brightly lit mortuary, Dr. Aleski waited beside a gurney. He glared at the two officers from across the room.

"Its about time! Do you know how long I have been waiting for you two?" He pursed his lips in anger.

This was only Devlin and Kenneth's second run-in with Dr. Aleski, and his disposition was no better the first time. Dr. Warner, the primary surgeon, was on holiday for at least two weeks now, and wasn't expected back until next month. For now they were forced to tolerate him.

"No wonder they keep this guy locked in a basement." Kenny said just loud enough for his partner to hear.

"Let's not waste anymore time shall we?" Dr. Aleski threw back the sheet draped over the deceased. Underneath laid an elderly man. Still wet from his excursion into the loch, the man's skin was water logged and wrinkled. His face was drained of all color and his body was cold.

"What happened to him?" Devlin asked.

"He drowned of course! Shaun has wasted his time by sending you to me. As you can see it was an accident! He is just some old codger who had too much drink and fell into the loch!" Devlin found Dr. Aleski's behavior to be just a little overwrought. He was taking the old man's death too personal.

"Are you absolutely sure it was just an accident? He had no external injuries then?" Devlin was less than convinced at Dr. Aleski's decree.

"Do not second guess me! I am the one who has all of the degrees!" Dr. Aleski roared. Soon an argument erupted between Kenny and Dr. Aleski. They bickered back and forth with Devlin standing by. He wanted no parts of it.

Waiting for the conflict to cease, Devlin found him self falling into a trance. He happened to rest his hand on the gurney beside him.

"Help me."

Devlin distinctly heard these words whispered in his ears. Still locked in his trance, Devlin turned his head. Slowly the old man sat up in his place, with the white sheet slipping off of him entirely. The old man's eyes shot wide open. They were glazed over with a white film.

"Help me."
He extended his hand out to Devlin as if for aid.

"Devlin!" Kenny snapped. Devlin awakened at the sound of his partner's voice.

"Yes," Devlin quickly composed himself.

"Does Dr. Aleski have any right to tell us how to run an investigation?" Devlin avoided the question as he looked back at the old man. Now he laid flat on his back, the sheet lay undisturbed.

"I guess not." Devlin replied, unsettled. He glanced back at the old man again. He still remained unmoved. Devlin was hoping the experience was just a figment of his stressed imagination. In case it wasn't, though, Devlin wanted out of the mortuary immediately.

"Kenny I think we have taken up enough of Dr. Aleski's time," Detective Triplehorn wasn't one to argue with his partner. He dropped the argument and left with Devlin unscathed.

Devlin sat at his desk across from Kenny. Detective Triplehorn glanced over at his entranced partner.

"Dev!" He called.

Devlin looked up. Kenny now had him alert.

"Is something wrong?" Devlin asked.

"I am the one who should be asking you." Kenny laughed.

"What makes you think there is something wrong?" Devlin pushed back his ash blond hair to reveal his bright blue eyes.

"You have been tuning me out all day, Dev. Ever since we left the mortuary you've been acting..." Kenny shrugged. "I don't know...strange." Kenny put it as politely as he could.

"I hardly noticed." Devlin brushed it off with a despondent wave of his hand. Kenny leaned in.

"Is it Molly?" He whispered. Devlin could barely look his partner in the eyes at the mentioning of her name.

"Of course not. I had no gripes about her while she was alive, and certainly not now."

It was obvious Devlin was having great difficulties holding back his tears. Kenny was sorry for even mentioning her. After ten years of marriage to his high school sweetheart, Devlin's wife and unborn son were killed in an automobile accident. Not even a month had passed since her death, and Devlin was back to working, not allowing himself any time to grieve their deaths. Devlin's sister-in-law confessed to Kenny recently that he shed no tears for his wife or his son at the funeral. This admission worried Kenny. Molly was his world and obviously he wasn't ready to let her go just yet.

Kenny didn't know why he kept on the subject. It was blatantly clear Devlin did not want to prolong the conversation.

"Did I tell you I was sorry for not coming to the funeral? I didn't mean to miss it. " Kenny groveled.

"Stop apologizing, Kenny." Devlin paused. He swallowed his emotions so they wouldn't come out as he spoke.
"Molly knows she's missed."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring her up." Kenny lowered his eyes to the floor.

"I may have lost Molly, but I do think of other things on occasion."

"Then what's wrong with you? Don't think for a moment that I can't sense it." Kenny pried.

"Its nothing you would be interested in." Devlin shrugged.

"How do you know I wouldn't be?" Kenny replied swiveling in his chair.

"Trust me, it's nothing." Devlin went back to writing his accident report.

He was assigned to give the full details of the old man's death in the loch then file it into the system.

Even without being in the same room as the old man, the voices returned.
"Help me, help me, help me!"
The voice grew angrier and more insistent.

"Shut up!" Devlin shouted at the top of his voice. The entire office fell silent. All eyes were on Sergeant Howard following his minor outburst.

"Dev, who are you talking to?" Kenny asked. Devlin straightened his posture.

"No one. Just my nerves." He trembled in fright.

"Of course it was." Kenny stared strangely at Devlin.

"What? I have a lot to get off my chest." He replied, catching his breath. Devlin felt his mental capabilities dwindling. Concentrating on the important things were becoming harder for the young sergeant.

After collecting his thoughts, Devlin made one more attempt at finishing his accident report. When he looked down at the page he found it already written on. Written in red in the center of the page, the letters combined, spelled out MURDER.

In a rage, Devlin tore up the accident report. Kenny was a firsthand witness to his display of anger.

"Dev, why did you do that?" Kenny asked.
Devlin made no reply. He threw on his coat and raced for the door without giving any explanation.

By nightfall, the voices worsened. They were abusive and threatening. During his sleep, Devlin was physically thrown out of his bed by the force. Devlin landed on the floor. He picked him self up.

"What do you want from me?" He screamed angrily into the air.

Suddenly, the room temperature dropped considerably. Devlin's breath was visible on the air. He stood frozen from his icy surroundings.

"I think I've mad him mad."

Devlin cringed in his boxer shorts. He stood by the dresser shivering. Without warning, a black blur came whizzing past his head. The object missed hitting him and thudded against the mirror then landed on the tabletop. Devlin took slow, apprehensive steps toward the mirror. He identified the mystery object as a patent leather wallet. Devlin took his hand and scooted it toward himself.

"I guess this would be for me."

With careful fingers, he opened the leather bound wallet. First he leafed through a half a dozen credit cards. At the back, tucked into a small pocket, was another card which most piqued his curiosity. It was a London driver's license. Devlin removed it immediately.

The picture was some years old, but Devlin was certain it was the same old man from the Mortuary. But this old man would need a name. Devlin glanced over the license. Written in the top hand corner was printed
Myer Aleski.

The young Sergeant's heart nearly stopped beating.

"How can this be? Myer Aleski is...?"
Devlin happened to look up at the mirror. Written entirely across the mirror was
"MURDERER".
Devlin dragged his finger across the words.

"Blood."
His voice echoed in a ghostly whisper.

---------------------------------------

While rushing through the living room, Kenny smacked his foot into the radiator. After crying out a few particular explitives, Kenny limped his way to the front door. A certain pounding had awakened him from his peaceful slumber. Kenny threw open the front door.

"This better be important!"

A frazzled Devlin stood in the dimly lit hallway of the apartment house. His bloodshot eyes were wide with anxiety.

"Dev, what are you doing here?" Kenny said whisking his fingers through his red mussed hair.

"Can I come in?" Devlin hung onto the doorjam desperately.

"Sure." Kenny moved aside.

Devlin moved right to the sofa and collapsed. He sat forward staring vacantly at the floorboards.

"I was right wasn't? Something is wrong."

Kenny made his way over to the sofa. Devlin turned to face Kenny.

"We have known each other for practically a decade." Devlin began.

"About that I guess." Kenny nodded.

"Do you consider me a sane man?"
Kenny found his questioning bizarre and did not honor it with a reply.

"Dev, what is going on? You come to my flat at three in the morning to ask me whether you are sane or not! Why are you acting this way?"

Kenny was now sitting beside him on the couch. Devlin looked him dead in the eyes.

"The old man spoke to me."

"Is that code for something?" Kenny shook his head in confusion.

"Listen to what I am saying, Kenny! The old man in the loch spoke to me!" Devlin cried out.
Kenny stared at his partner as if he were impaired.

"Oh that old man!" Kenny nodded. "What are you talking about?" He shouted.

"I know it may sound crazy, but its the truth! I didn't believe it myself when it first happened! Now he won't leave me alone! He needs me to help him rest in peace!"

"It may sound crazy? Dev, that is the most insane thing I have ever heard. There is no way the dead man could have spoken to you!"

"And why not? Anything is possible these days."

"Yes, but dead people cannot come back, that's why they call it dead!"

Kenny sprang up from the couch.
"I cannot believe I am even listening to this!"
He began pacing the floor. Kenny suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"I know what it is! You're grief stricken and it has absolutely taken over your mind!" Kenny rambled on.
"Its understandable though, you just lost your wife!" Kenny rationalized.

In frustration, Devlin cupped his hands over his face. He released an anguished wail.
"Molly has nothing to do with this!"

"You say that, but its not true! She has got everything to do with this! Just look at yourself! Have you even slept since she died? You wear your wedding band as if it were the crown jewels!"

"I admit I am not ready to let Molly go, but what is happening to me has got nothing to do with Molly! Come with me to the loch and I will prove it to you!" Devlin insisted.

"But we have no reason to! His death was an accident! There is no need for us to interfere!"

Devlin's hands slipped off his face.
"Kenny, he was murdered." Devlin declared.

"And the old man told you this?" Kenny was obviously still skeptical.

"If physical proof is what you want then we must go to the loch!"
Devlin's eyes were practically glowing in anger. Kenny still wasn't convinced and suspected Devlin might be on the verge of a breakdown, but accepted his absurd invitation.

Drudging through the pouring rain and mire, Devlin and Kenny made their way across the grassy banks of the loch.

"What exactly are we looking for? There is nothing out here if you haven't noticed!" Kenny shouted over the rain.

"Don't worry, I'll know it when I see it!" He replied.
Fortunately, Devlin did not catch Kenny's irritated sigh.

Flashes of the old man's murder came to Devlin. He saw the grassy patch where the old man stood. There was a rock lying at his head, but how high and how big was not explained. Nowhere did he see one.

"Let's go further up the bank! Maybe its up there!" Devlin pointed ahead.

He then rushed off through the rain. Kenny was left out of breath from chasing after Devlin. He was tired and cold and wanted this wild goose chase to be over with. Kenny stopped in the middle of the path.

"Dev, I am not going any further until I know what we're looking for!" Kenny protested.

"A rock!" Devlin answered from a distance. "One lousy rock is all we're looking for! I don't wish to speak ill of the dead, but this old man is playing you for a fool!" Kenny's anger began to show through.

"What is it going to take for you to trust me?" Devlin shouted.

"When you stop listening to ghosts! I don't see how one stupid rock is going to make a difference! Besides I don't see any lying around do you?" Kenny threw his arms out.

"Fine, you don't have to believe me! I can do this without you! He was murdered and I will prove it!" Devlin took long strides through the mud.

Kenny watched his partner disappear into the rain. He was prepared to run off after him and did so, but was deterred when he tripped and fell face down in the mud.

Devlin was concerned for Kenny when he didn't come after him. He stopped to look back, but there was no sign of Kenny. The duluge of rain was too heavy to see through.

"Kenny!" Devlin called out.

When he didn't answer, Devlin ran back to the spot where he deserted him. He found Kenny lying in the mud.

"Are you all right?" Devlin asked helping him up from the ground.

"I'm fine. Its only my pride that's hurt."
Devlin helped him keep his balance by grabbing onto his arm.

"What happened?" Devlin asked.

"I must have slipped on a patch of mud or something." Kenny replied looking around. Devlin searched the ground with his eyes until he found the answer.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Devlin said.

When looking back down to the ground, sitting at Kenny's feet was a rock, and beside it, in the spot where Kenny laid just moments ago, was a long bladed knife. Devlin took his handkerchief from his pocket and picked it up. Even through the violent downpour, the blood on the knife still remained.

-----------------------------------

Kenny set down a cup of coffee in front of Devlin.

will never understand how you figured this out. You couldn't have possibly known the old man was the real Dr. Aleski. Someone must have told you."

Devlin looked up in time time to see the old man standing behind Kenny. He waved goodbye to Devlin, then disappeared.

"In a sense maybe." Devlin shrugged with a smile.

Kenny was still denying there were any supernatural forces at work. Devlin sat smirking while stirring his coffee.

"I still don't get it." Kenny sighed.

"I already told you how I knew. You just chose not to beleive me." Devlin pointed out.

"Whether the dead man spoke to you or not, at least the imposter Dr. Aleski is now behind bars. We won't have to put up with his crotchety bedside manner anymore." Kenny laughed.

"Its not so much the who did it, but the why which disturbs me. The man who we knew as Dr. Aleski was actually his assistant, Oliver Scruggs, being his true identity. They worked together for six years before the murder."

"Why did he kill Dr. Aleski then?" Kenny asked.

"Dr. Aleski wouldn't sponsor an apprenticeship for him. In his anger he lured the doctor to the loch by claiming he was in an accident. Oliver knew Dr. Aleski never passed up an opportunity to help out his fellow man. Once his back was turned, Oliver plunged the knife into him, and pushed him into the loch. It was easy for him to conceal the injuries since he was only pretending to be Dr. Aleski." Devlin explained.

"If Dr. Aleski was such a humanitarian, then why wouldn't he sponsor an apprenticeship for him?"

"Think about it, Kenny, would you want a man like Oliver Scrugg's performing your post-mortem?"

"Then I guess you could say Oliver stabbed Dr. Aleski in the back figureatively and actually." Kenny joked.

Devlin leaned in.
"Admit it, Kenny, you may have had your doubts, but for a second I think you believed too."
It was as if Devlin's words fell on deaf ears. Kenny was too busy sorting frantically through the bag from the coffee shop.

"I can't believe this! Those morons forgot the cream!" Devlin slouched back in his chair with his arms across his chest.

"Sorry, Dev, didn't mean to interrupt you, but you know how I am about my coffee! I am going back to the coffee shop to yell at someone!" Kenny stomped off in a huff.

Devlin sank lower into his chair. His blue eyes somehow made it back over to his desk.

On the corner he still kept a picture of Molly. The experience with the old man made him hopeful. Was it possible for Molly to one day reach out to him from the other side? Maybe that was just wishful thinking.

Dr. Aleski was caught between Heaven and Earth. He only needed Devlin to set him free. In a case of cold-blooded homicide, the murderer's fate lies with its victim.

When the dead speak, one should always lend an open ear.