Death Displacement: A time travel romantic thriller Read online

  “Howard!” Kane weakly cried out a warning from where he lie on the floor in agony.

  Howard ran toward him while removing his gun from its holster. Kane looked back to Scarred Riley, wondering if it would hurt when she killed him. To his surprise, she was gone.

  Chapter Five

  It was two days later, and the following day was Selena’s funeral. Kane sat in his office slumped over his desk with his head in his hands. He stared blankly at the framed engagement photo of him and Selena now streaked with dried tears. Images of the woman with the blind eye were permanently burned into his mind. He saw her face every time he shut his eyes. The cut she’d left on his cheek when she kicked him was a cruel reminder of his failed attempt to catch Selena’s killer. He hated himself for having allowed the woman to take him down so easily. He couldn’t admit to himself that he had been outmatched. Kane ran over the entire scene a thousand times and tried to think of something he could have done differently to stop the woman. He let her get away, and, for that, he couldn’t forgive himself. His self-pity was interrupted by Casper’s familiar, yet less jovial voice from the office doorway.

  “Kane--” Casper said softly from within the open doorway, nearly choking on his own emotions.

  Kane didn’t even bother looking up. He just clung to his head and stared at the photo. “If it’s my parents, I don’t feel like talking,” he barely muttered.

  “It’s Detective Perkins.”

  Kane suddenly looked up with anticipation as his heart raced. Casper stood alongside a middle-aged man in an inexpensive suite. Detective Perkins was the stereotypical image of a police detective straight from any number of police shows. He was almost certainly more capable than he looked. At least, Kane hoped that was the case. Casper lowered his head and left him alone with the detective. Kane slowly stood as Perkins entered.

  “Did you find her?” he gasped almost too quickly while clutching the edge of the desk with anticipation.

  “No, I’m sorry,” Perkins announced gently.

  Kane felt his entire body sink. He felt as if his legs would give out. He collapsed into his chair.

  “I’d like you to have a look at a photo,” Perkins continued with some reluctance.

  Perkins placed a photo on the desk. Kane looked at the picture before him. It was a picture of Riley taken after the accident, which revealed her scar and blind eye. Kane grabbed the photo with the alarm evident on his face and bolted up from his chair.

  “That’s her! That’s the woman who killed Selena!” It was the first time his heart rate had risen since that night. He’d been deep in a fog since Selena’s murder. He could feel his body twitch with redemption for her death.

  “I was afraid of that,” Perkins said gently and lacked the enthusiasm Kane was hoping he’d show. “Her name was Riley Jericho.”

  “Was?” Kane felt his heart sink. He knew it was her, and she certainly wasn’t a ghost.

  “There was a boating accident five years ago,” he announced. “Her body was never found.”

  “That’s her! That scar and her white eye are burned into my mind forever,” Kane firmly announced while shaking the photo. He felt himself ready to explode. “She’s not dead!”

  “And I believe you,” he announced while frowning. “We didn’t find anything at the museum. The security cameras were tampered with, so we have little to go on. It was too neat.”

  “Why would she kill Selena?” he suddenly blurted out. “Was it a robbery gone bad?”

  “More like a friendship gone sour,” Perkins informed him. “Riley used to work with Selena before the accidental death of their boss, Hayes Dante. She was his assistant, which explains how she was able to get around the museum undetected. She knew every inch of that place.”

  Kane stared at the detective and felt oddly confused by what he was hearing. Something didn’t add up. “Selena never mentioned either of them.”

  “I suppose that’s not surprising. Riley went off the deep end after Dante’s death,” Perkins said. “It was only a month or so later that she had her accident; or should I say apparently staged her accident.”

  “So she’s insane?”

  The detective scratched his head and shrugged. “That’s the best we have to go on, I’m afraid.”

  “So you have no idea where she could be?”

  “We’re checking security cameras around the museum, but so far we haven’t come up with anything useful,” Perkins informed him. “She was very careful.”

  His words and tone offered little comfort to Kane. “Even if they had a falling out, why would she want to kill Selena?” Kane suddenly asked. “You just said it’s been five years since anyone’s seen her.”

  “We have so little information to go on, but the current curator, Collin, said that Riley’s anger with Selena began after Dante’s death,” the detective informed him. “It’s possible she, for some reason, blamed Selena for the accident.”

  “Selena never mentioned them or any of this,” Kane said. “How did Hayes Dante die?”

  “Rockslide during an expedition to an archaeological find in the backwoods about two hours from here,” Perkins informed him. “Obviously there’s no possible way your girlfriend was involved. It was an accident of nature, plain and simple.”

  Kane once again felt his heart ache. “You’re not convinced you’ll find her, are you?”

  Perkins sighed and appeared defeated. “This woman staged her own death five years ago and remained a ghost all these years. Our only evidence that she’s alive and killed your girlfriend is your testimony. Tracking her down isn’t going to be easy. We have nothing to go on and no place to start.”

  “What about the gun she used?”

  “Untraceable. The only fingerprints on the gun were Selena’s and yours. There must have been a struggle for control of the gun.” Detective Perkins stared at Kane a long moment before giving a sigh of defeat. “Riley Jericho knew what she was doing. We’re dealing with a highly intelligent, extremely unpredictable and unstable woman.”

  “You forgot to mention dangerous,” Kane informed him and gingerly touched the injury on his cheek. “She had me on the ground before I even knew what hit me.”

  “The fact that she didn’t kill you is both puzzling and reassuring,” Perkins replied. “I believe she took out what she considered to be her intended target. You were very lucky. If she wanted you dead, you would be.”

  “Who says I’m not dead?”

  Chapter Six

  It was later that same afternoon. Kane busily worked on the computer at his desk. He appeared completely engrossed in his research and didn’t even notice Casper had entered. Casper stood behind Kane and stared at the computer screen over his shoulder. There were articles about Hayes Dante’s accidental death scattered along the desk and an article on Riley’s boating accident on the computer. The same photo the detective had shown him appeared on the screen.

  “What are you doing?” Casper asked.

  Kane jumped with surprise and looked back at his friend. He didn’t know how a man of his size could move so quietly. He considered tying a bell around his neck.

  Casper stared at the image of Riley on the computer screen and appeared alarmed while gasping, “Isn’t that the woman who killed Selena?”

  Kane returned to the screen with a hardened look on his face. “Detective Perkins is holding out little hope of finding her, so I’m going to find her myself.”

  The look on Casper’s face expressed his horror to the idea. “The next time you run into her, you may not survive the experience,” Casper firmly announced then appeared more sympathetic and placed his hand on Kane’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go home? It’s getting late and, you know, the funeral’s tomorrow--”

  Kane groaned softly and sank in his chair while holding his head. “I keep going over it in my head,” he said softly. “If I had only gotten there sooner. One minute would have done it. Just one, lousy minute.”

  “You can’t change the p
ast, dude.”

  He suddenly sat up straight and looked at Casper with all seriousness. “What if I could?”

  It took Casper a minute to catch on. “You mean the old man’s time machine?” he asked with surprise then shook his head. “One-way trip, remember. Besides, she nearly killed you. What makes you think you can stop her?”

  “No one says I have to stop her,” he announced. “I’m not talking about going back two days. What if I went back five years and took Selena away before her boss dies? Remove her from the equation.” Kane felt invigorated for the first time since Selena’s murder. “She can’t blame Selena for Dante’s accident if she wasn’t even there.”

  “Time travel is tricky business. You can’t risk running into your past self.”

  “I only met Selena two years ago, so there’s not risk of running into my past self in her circle,” he reminded his friend. “Can it work?”

  “I don’t know. The museum is just a few blocks from here.” Casper then appeared to consider what Kane was contemplating and gave it serious thought. “If you really want to do this, you’re going to need my help, but first you’ll need to convince me you’re not crazy.”

  Kane gave him an odd look. “How’s that?”

  “Not me,” Casper announced and gestured with his hands. “The other me.”

  Kane nodded with understanding. “Oh, you mean you from the past.”

  “Yeah,” Casper informed him. “I’ve mellowed considerably over the last five years. I’ve changed a lot. I’m more open-minded these days. Me from the past may not believe that whole time travel stuff.”

  “You’ve changed?” Kane suddenly asked and attempted to hide his smile although a soft snicker escaped. “Please, you haven’t changed since the third grade.”

  “That’s offensive, dude.”

  A tiny smile crossed his face. “Remember the time I convinced you my bedroom closet was haunted?” Kane teased.

  “Yeah, I was twelve,” Casper scoffed.

  Kane cleverly raised his brow and felt particularly playful. “What about the time I told you about the aliens living in the toolshed? You hid under a tarp for three nights in a row attempting to get a picture of them.”

  “You were such a rotten, little boy,” Casper scoffed while shaking his head. He then appeared to reconsider. “But you did get me a date with Chelsea in Dr. Melbourne’s class. I guess that sort of made up for the rest.”

  “You still owe me for that,” Kane muttered.

  There was a moment of silence while Casper appeared deep in thought. “I’ll need some time to map out our plan of attack to keep you from running into your past self while looking for me.”

  “Anything I can do?”

  “Bring those articles with you,” he replied. “Me from the past may need them.”

  †

  It was nearly midnight the following night and Selena’s funeral had taken a lot out of Kane. Casper and Kane stood in the cluttered, dimly lit alley behind the museum. It was even creepier than the exhibits within the museum. There was very little activity that late at night in their small town, which actually worked to their advantage. Casper fiddled with the copper trinket box while Kane looked around with bewilderment.

  “Why did you choose here of all places?” Kane asked and immediately felt chilled. He didn’t want to be reminded of what happened there.

  “Logistics. No one will be here this time of night, my apartment is just down the street, and you’re far enough away from the store that you won’t run into your past self,” Casper informed him. He handed Kane a photo. “Here’s a picture to prove to me you’re from the future.”

  Kane placed the photo in his jacket pocket without looking at it. He was already tense and having second thoughts. If it didn’t work, he’d feel even worse.

  “Is this really going to work?”

  “I guess that depends on how convincing you are with Selena,” Casper replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “There’s really no telling with women. If I understood them, I’d probably have a steady girlfriend.”

  “No, I mean this, time travel,” Kane stated firmly. “I’m feeling a little stupid.”

  “You want to be with Selena, don’t you? You have to trust me,” Casper informed him then gave him a stern, serious look. “There’s a flash of light, so I recommend you close your eyes.” Casper handed him the trinket box set to five years ago. “This will place you exactly one week before the accident that kills Hayes Dante. That should give you enough time to work your magic with Selena from the past. When you’re ready, just push the two buttons simultaneously.”

  Casper took a step back and gave him two thumbs up. Kane studied the trinket box a moment, inhaled deeply, pressed both buttons, and shut his eyes. He felt a strange pulling on his body, and his joints suddenly ached. Kane slowly opened his eyes and saw Casper still standing in front of him wearing the same shirt. He had a strange look on his face. Kane groaned with disgust and shook his head.

  “It didn’t work--”

  He didn’t know why he trusted Casper. It was the Ouija board incident all over again.

  “What didn’t work?” Casper asked. “What are you doing in an alley?”

  Kane rolled his eyes. His friend had a warped sense of humor. Given the circumstances of the last few days, he’d think Casper would have a little more sympathy for the situation and not insist on tormenting him now. He was seriously considering finding a new best friend.

  “Very funny, Casper,” Kane scoffed. “I’m really not in the mood.”

  Casper stared at him as if not understanding his response. “Dude, are you drunk?” he asked with a look of concern on his face. “We’d better get you home.”

  Kane stared at Casper a moment and considered a rude outburst when he noticed the shirt his friend wore. It was the same shirt, but it appeared brand new. Kane uncertainly looked around for the trinket box. It was gone!

  “Oh, my God! It did work!” Kane cried out.

  Casper groaned softly, shook his head, and gently took Kane’s arm. “We can’t let your mother see you like this,” he announced sternly. “I’ll take you back to my place and let you sleep it off on my sofa.”

  Kane laughed as Casper led him from the alley. “I’ll be damned, it worked. You’re a genius, Casper!”

  Casper shook his head with defeat. “I tried to warn you. This is what happens when you eat the worm.”

  Chapter Seven

  Casper’s studio apartment was small and cluttered, lending to the typical bachelor stereotype. Clean and dirty clothes were thrown haphazard together around the room. Even the kitchen wasn’t immune to scattered clothing. Dirty dishes were piled high in the sink and it was quite possible there were more hiding in the oven. The apartment was furnished with antique irregulars. It was Casper’s own term for antique furniture that was sadly beyond repair and would never again qualify as antique because of extensive, modern repairs. Kane attempted to make himself comfortable on the three-legged chaise, which had a stack of books piled beneath the corner where the fourth leg should be. Oddly enough, his friend still had the same sofa in the present day. It was still missing its leg five years from now. Actually, the entire apartment seemed exactly the same almost down to the empty take-out cartons. Kane found that to be a little disturbing. Casper sat on the severely sagging, red velvet sofa and stared at Kane with disbelief.

  “Dude, what are you on?” Casper asked.

  “It’s true, Casper,” Kane attempted to convince him. He couldn’t believe how difficult a task it was convincing Casper of something he usually believed in. “If you went to my house, you’d find me there. Me--the other me.”

  “You mean your parents’ house, dude.”

  “In a few years, I buy the shop and their house so they can retire and travel.”

  “Now I know you’re on something,” he scoffed. “You hate working in the store, and there’s no way you’re becoming my boss. I’d be miserable working for a prick like you.”<
br />
  Kane rolled his eyes and groaned softly. This wasn’t going as well as he had anticipated. Casper lived for this sort of bullshit, and yet he wasn’t even willing to believe it.

  “Besides, with what your parents pay you, how could you possibly afford to buy the shop and their house?” Casper asked callously. “Did you win the lottery or something?”

  “After Nana died--”

  Casper suddenly appeared horrified and bolted upright. “Nana dies? Dude, I live for her pies!”

  “She left me a sizeable inheritance,” Kane continued. “I used that to buy the shop from my parents.”

  The look on Casper’s face was unpredictable. “You should be ashamed of yourself,” he suddenly grumbled while shaking his head. “Using your poor grandmother dying to make me believe another bullshit story meant to trick me. Remember the alien in your toolshed?”

  Kane groaned softly and allowed his face to fall into his hands. The chaise wobbled severely beneath him.

  “If one of you wasn’t bad enough--” Kane muttered.

  Something then occurred to Kane. He sat up straight, checked his jacket pocket, and removed the photo. He still had it! He handed the photo to Casper.

  “You told me to give you this.”

  Casper accepted the picture and looked at it. It was of Kane, Selena, and Casper at a baseball game taken just a few months ago--although technically five years from now.

  “Look at the date on the advertisement behind us,” Kane announced. “It’s five years from now.”

  Casper’s eyes suddenly widened. “Dude, it’s true!” he announced excitedly and his enthusiasm quickly escalated. “This is beyond awesome.” He studied the picture a moment longer and grinned. “Who’s the hot girl? Tell me she’s mine.”

  Kane frowned and took the picture from him. He stared at Selena in the photo and held back his tears. “No, she was mine,” he said softly. “She’s the reason I’m here.” He again looked at Casper with the hurt evident in his eyes. “I need to keep her from dying, and you’re the only one who can help me.”