You Had Me at Halo (5 page)

“It was hard enough convincing people that I didn’t do it intentionally then. This time the evidence is sort of compelling, and people start to think,
Where there’s smoke there’s fire
.”

“For a start hardly anyone knows about what you did back then anyway. When you were alive you couldn’t even see the scars unless you were looking, so enough of the self-pity, here. Of course it’s going to work out. It always does. Remember what we always do when things look bad?”

“Accessorize?”

“No.” Gemma glared. “We rise above it. We’re going to work out how the pills got in your body, figure out a way for you to make up with Todd and then you can prove all those people up on Level One wrong.”

“You’re right.” Holly perked up at the idea. Okay so perhaps revenge wasn’t the best of motives, but it had a certain amount of satisfaction attached to it. She was sure even Dr. Alan Hill would approve. In fact it might be a legitimate part of her therapy.

“Okay.” Gemma chewed on the end of her pencil for a minute. “The first thing we need to do is find out how long the pills were in your system for before you died, and then we need to retrace your steps to work out who you came in contact with.”

Holly stood up and padded across to where Gemma’s laptop was perched. “That’s a great idea, I’ll get on the Internet and see what I can find.” But before she even powered it up, the door opened and Gemma’s roommate, Irene, poked her head in.

“Hey, Gem, I know you’ve just come back from the funeral, but I was wondering...oh, I didn’t realize you had company...” Irene trailed off in a mournful voice.

“Hey, there!” Holly said in the same over-bright she always used when she met Irene. Not that it ever worked since Gemma’s roommate was in a permanent state of misery. Holly studied the girl’s dropping mouth and doleful-looking eyes, the only thing that was upbeat about her was her trust fund and great taste in soft furnishings.

“Hello.” Irene let out a heartfelt sigh before turning to Gemma. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll go into my bedroom so I don’t disturb you.”

“Irene, of course you don’t need to go into your bedroom. It’s not like we’re using the living room or kitchen.” Gemma jumped to her feet and hurried over to her roommate, gently directing her toward the door.

“No.” Cue another drawn out sigh. “I’d only be in the way and I’d hate to stop anyone else from having fun...”

“Don’t be stupid,” Holly started to say before Gemma gave a warning shake of her head and mouthed,
No
.

“It’s true.” Irene’s bottom lip stared to tremble as she escaped from Gemma’s clutches and dropped down into the cane chair by Gemma’s dresser. “I’m always in the way. That’s what my ex-boyfriend Dave used to say. And my other ex-boyfriend, Ethan, and—”

Oh yeah, Holly had forgotten that Irene wasn’t just miserable; she liked to talk about her misery. A lot.

She reluctantly got to her feet as Irene got comfortable. So much for her plans to stay here and do some research. At this rate the only thing she would be researching was just how hard Irene’s all-expenses-paid-by-her-parents life was. Well, she should try being dead for a while and then see what misery really was.

Holly coughed. “Actually, Gemma, I’d better go.”

“See?” Irene wailed as she threw herself prostate on the floor. “I told you I was in the way. Why does everyone hate me?”

However, Holly didn’t have an answer to that one and figured this was as good a time as any to leave.

xxx

“Sorry she freaked out like that,” Gemma whispered as she walked Holly to the front door. “She’s just a bit—”

“Insane? Miserable? Passively aggressive?”

Gemma’s shoulders slumped. “Yes to all three.”

“You know, Gem, you really can’t keep living here, no matter how cheap the rent or how great the free cable is.”

“Yes well, that’s easier said than done since the person I was going to move in with died recently.”

“Oh, crap, I’d forgotten about that.” Holly moaned as she thought about how they’d been going to move in together when their current leases expired. Especially since while Holly’s roommates might not be as bad as Irene, they had a few funny ideas when it came to how the phone bill should be split.

She and Gemma had even started flat hunting at some of the cute purpose built places down by the river. Then when she and Todd got married, she would move in with him and Gemma would no doubt be planning her own wedding. It had been absolutely fool proof. Well, so she thought. Once again this whole being dead business had ruined everything.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Gemma advised. “Besides, there will be plenty of time to worry about my housing situation after we’ve sorted out your issues. I’m just sorry you can’t stay here while we figure out a plan. Irene’s going to freak when I tell her I have to go out.”

Holly shuddered at the idea of a freaked Crazy Irene. “Look, it’s probably best if you stay in, because otherwise she might make your life hell.”

“Yes, but you don’t have much time to get everything sorted out. Do you really think you can do it on your own?”

“Yes.”

No.

She had to admit that after convincing Gemma of who she was, she’d thought things would start to get easier, but Irene had thrown a wrench in those particular works.

“So where are you going to go?”

There was a question. Obviously Todd’s house was out. Her roommates wouldn’t be back yet and there was no way she was going to her stepmother’s house. Which only left one place.

“I suppose I could go to Baker Colwell. Vince’s ID badge is in his pocket. At least I can use the computers and do some research on the Internet before working out what my last steps were. Then I could make a list of anyone who might have a grudge against me and check out their personal files. You never know, someone might be married to a pharmacist. Or a pilot who uses the pills himself when he’s traveling?”

            “I didn’t think you were allowed to do that?” Gemma protested with a frown.

            “Well you’re not allowed to slip pills to other people either, but that didn’t stop someone from doing it,” Holly retorted. “Besides, I only have computer clearance to look at the basic stuff. But you must admit, it’s a start.”

            “You’re right,” Gemma apologized. “And if we need it, tomorrow I’ll go and see Jeremy about clearance. He owes me a favor since I organized weekly neck massages for all of his department.”

            “Thank you.”

            “I knew I’d moved to Human Resources for a reason.” Gemma grinned. When her friend had first decided not to stay in the more competitive executive training program, Holly had thought she was crazy. Now she was just grateful that Gemma wasn’t as ambitious if it meant calling in a favor.

            “Thanks, Gem. You’re the best.” Holly reached over and squeezed her hand.

“It’s nothing,” Gemma said gruffly. “If I’d come back from the dead, in someone else’s body and I wanted to sort my life out, I know you’d do the same for me.”

“Of course I would,” Holly agreed as a loud wailing noise came from the upstairs apartment. Holly quickly let go of her friend’s hand as she realized Irene’s woe stricken face was pressed up against the windowpane.

“You’d better go, before her head starts spinning around.”

“I just feel so bad that you can’t stay.”

Holly crossed her legs and shook her head. No way did she want to be in the same house as Irene and her misery. She’d seen Cathy Bates in that Stephen King movie and it was a slippery slope. “I’ll be fine. After all, I’ve been kicked out of heaven, turned into a guy and my fiancé almost beat me up. I’d say the worst of the day is over.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Holly waited until Gemma had shut the door before turning and heading for Baker Colwell head office. The August evening was sultry and warm and she shrugged off the heavy black jacket that Vince Murphy seemed to have surgically connected to himself. Ah, that was better, though boy, the gray T-shirt seemed a bit tight. She glanced at her arm and was surprised to see a bulging bicep staring back at her.

Vince Murphy worked out.
Well, how about that?

Then she wondered if it was weird to be staring at her own arms? Actually this whole thing was still a bit too weird for her liking. Thank goodness she had convinced Gemma of the truth, but how on earth was she going to explain it to Todd when she saw him tomorrow? And what was she going to say to her roommates when she went back home to sleep? Probably would’ve been better all round if Irene had been away on business for the week.

She slung her jacket over her shoulder. Actually this man-strength was quite handy because it felt like she was only holding a flimsy bit of cotton rather than half an animal hide.

And was someone
following
her?

Holly glanced around just in time to see two people waving frantically at her. It was two guys and since she had never seen them before in her life, she increased her pace, but the next time she looked back, they were still there, and so she sped up some more.
What the—

The panic flooded through her as she remembered each and every one of her stepmother’s boring lectures on being careful when she was walking on her own. Not that Holly had ever bothered to listen to them, since stuff like that only happened to other people.

Normally in the movies.

Of course, that’s what she used to think about premature death as well. She quickened her pace as the reality started to hit home. Had she really come all the way from heaven just to be mugged?

Behind her she could hear them calling something out to her, but she had no desire to go back and see what they were saying as she dashed across the road. Fortunately, at the moment a truck drove past and while their vision was blocked she darted around the corner, down Grafton Street and into the corporate splendor that was Baker Colwell’s head office.

That was a close call, but at least she was out of danger and she fumbled around in Vince’s jacket until she found his ID card and ran it through the machine. She was further relieved when the night-watch guy did nothing more than shoot her a cursory glance before returning his attention back to the game on TV.

It wasn’t until she was in the elevator that she felt herself start to relax. Honestly this was just getting ridiculous and she was starting to wonder if she really had been sent back to earth at all. What if she was in some sort of alternative reality game and a spotty fourteen-year-old kid called Kevin was getting to platform ten by making her suffer through all these things? It sounded a bit extreme, but as she stared down at Vince’s long legs, it was no less realistic.

She stepped out of the elevator and was pleased to see that the third floor was virtually empty. She would like to think it was out of respect for her funeral that there were none of the regular “working eight till eight is great” crowd, but she had a feeling it was because the CEO was out of the office for the next week. Even the most dedicated Baker Colwell workers tended to take it easier when the head honcho wasn’t around to witness their dedication.

At least there was something soothing about being back here. For the last year her life had revolved around Baker Colwell and even when she wasn’t working, she was normally with either Gemma or Todd, so the conversation often drifted back to the place. She tried to fight back the nostalgia as she hurried across to her cubicle. Last time she had been here was when she was alive.

Her desk was just the way she had left it. Pens lined up, stapler to the left and her neatly written to-do list ready for when she came into work on Monday morning. Except there hadn’t been a Monday morning, or a to-do list. It was all Level One rules, dead people and manual purges. Life seemed a whole lot simpler when she’d been alive.

She sat down at her chair and adjusted it for Vince’s larger frame. She might not have a chance to do all the tasks that were written on her list, but she was definitely going to make sure she got her issues sorted out. Okay, so there wasn’t much time, but she had always prided herself on being organized. It’s what had helped her achieve so much.

Holly flicked on her computer and entered her password only to be greeted with a flashing icon telling her that her username wasn’t valid.

Well that couldn’t be right and she frowned for a moment before realizing she had been taken off the system. So soon? Of course the Baker Colwell motto was that efficiency was the way of the future. But still, shouldn’t there be a period of mourning before these things happened? And why change her password but not pack away her desk?

Thankfully she knew Gemma’s password and she tapped it in. Her first stop was the Internet to look up the motion sickness pills but all she could discover was that taking too many could result in illness and occasionally death. Like, tell her something she didn’t know.

She scanned down the page. It seemed that the effects of the pills could last from four to eight hours, so it looked like she was going to have to map her movements for most of the Friday. Hmm, well that shouldn’t be too hard and she opened up a word document.