Ghosts of Your Past

By Al Place and Alan Place

The city can be lonely and never more so, than when you think you are being stalked by a ghost from your recent past, as Patti found out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alan Place
• Release date: Jan 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781497743403

Al Place

Al Place came to the fore a few years ago as a hard bitten writer with a great sense of the past and these stories are the ones he started his carreeer with.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

GHOSTS OF YOUR PAST............................................................................4

BILL CHART ARRIVES.............................................................................20

GHOSTS OF YOUR PAST

I entered the squad room and was greeted by a round of cheers from the guys; after the cheering died down, the sarge took me aside and said, What are you doing back so soon, Patti? You are still owed leave days.

I’ll go stir crazy if I stay in my room; when I think of all the work we need to do.

The sarge took his time before answering me, I recall the feelings you are going through and believe me; you need the rest.

I returned early from my enforced leave of absence and I found myself at a dead end, the Sarge had told me to take the time off to get over the incident which led to the death of former partner, Adrian Chart; much as I hated to go back to my dingy apartment, orders are orders, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, sarge, I called as I left the squad room.

No, you take those three days; those are the Lieutenant’s orders.

Shoot, you saw my apartment; you may as well send me to jail.

Orders are orders, Patti; I agree and sympathise with you, I’ll tell you why I sympathise with you when you come back.

Okay, I s’pose if I have to, but I am gonna be chewing the wallpaper by tonight, if I can find some, I moaned, as I thought of spending any time in the dungeon of an apartment. With a heavy heart I walked out of the room, Shoot, three days stuck in my rat hole! I said to myself.

I walked down the road and thought I caught sight in the shadows of a ghostly shape following me, but as I was tired I paid no attention. The darkness began crawling along the sidewalk and shops began boarding up for the night as I turned off Jackson Avenue, heading to my apartment block on sixth and Harrison. With each closed shop and dark alleyway I had the feeling of being watched from afar which got more than a little creepy, as I knew this part of town got so neglected even drunks avoided this area. So who is following me and why?

Since the shooting, this had become my worry, "Would I get edgy? Would the image of my dead ex-partner return to haunt my days? Everyone said I was not to blame; even Adrian’s ghost before I left for Ohandsworth last week. I never did go for church talk, maybe I reckoned once you died, you didn’t return. So why am I being shadowed?"

The light closed down and visibility got next to nothing. I began to sense the hackles rising, or was this an after effect of the shooting? I had left so soon after it happened; perhaps I needed time so that I had time to come to terms with how the killing affected me. I had no ideas how where my thoughts would lead. The only thing I began to get concerned about was the walk took longer than usual as I turned off Jackson, heading to my apartment; the thirty minute walk seemed like fifty; every corner I turned  I thought I sensed ghosts  lurking in the shadows and every clang of a shutter on a window jarred my nerves.

Hell, gal, the city is getting to you! I told myself, as I turned onto Harrison only minutes from the apartment and yet I noticed a chill, despite the muggy evening air; perhaps this the start of the after-effect the sarge had talked about. I shouldn’t feel this way or perhaps I should after all I killed a human being and a fellow policeman, perhaps this is my punishment even though nobody blamed me, I had to get passed