3 Ghosts of Our Fathers by Michael Richan Page A

think you should ever be
comfortable killing anyone or anything,” Daniel said. “It should be
uncomfortable.”
    Steven decided to let the subject
drop for now. He let the discussion bounce back and forth in his mind instead.
Roy should be home by the time they reached Seattle, and he wanted to talk
about David with him. He remembered Roy convincing him to not pursue Michael
even though he’d been involved in some horrific child murders. He remembered him
and Roy leaving Jurgen twisting in pain in his office after removing his
powers; why didn’t they just kill him? He deserved it. So did Michael. Leaving
these horrible people alive just gave them a chance to recover and pursue more
evil. Even the Manitou had left Jurgen alive. People with the gift seemed to
have a real reticence to kill, even when it seemed appropriate or necessary.
Maybe it was some code. Like the ten commandments, Steven thought. Thou
shalt not kill. But that was in a normal world where you couldn’t live
forever or trap souls. What exactly are the rules in the world of ghosts?
    “Pardon me for just a moment,” he
said to Daniel. He pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through the names,
looking for Jason. He found it and hit dial. He hated others who used cell
phones while driving but this couldn’t wait.
    He reached Jason’s voicemail.
“Jason, this is Dad. Would you give me a call when you get this message? It’s
important. Thanks.”
    He returned his phone to his
pocket.
    “Does Jason know?” Daniel asked.
    “About Frank? That’s what I hope
to find out,” answered Steven.
    “No, I meant about the gift,”
Daniel said.
    “Oh,” Steven said. “No. He
doesn’t. At least as far as I know.”
    “Do you think he has it?”
    “What, the gift?”
    “Yes.”
    “To be honest with you I hadn’t
really thought about it.”
    “I see. Best to just keep him out
of this?”
    “Well yes, to the extent he can
be.”
    “That’s how I feel about Troy,”
Daniel said, “though it’s Eliza’s decision, of course. I suppose it’s the
natural desire to protect your children. But if it turns out he has the gift, I
struggle with how appropriate it is to deny him the knowledge to develop it. I
mean, if you found out your kid had some special skill, like he was a really good
baseball player, you would encourage him to play little league, right? You
wouldn’t pretend little league doesn’t exist, or worse, bar him from playing
it? That would seem cruel.”
    “I suppose so,” Steven said.
“Hadn’t thought of it that way.”
    “The gift is like being a prodigy
in some ways,” Daniel said. “They take prodigies out of grade school and put
them in college courses so they can advance. Leaving them in elementary schools
just stunts them, frustrates them.”
    “I’m confused,” Steven said. “So
you would or you wouldn’t teach Troy how to develop his gift?”
    “I’m saying I struggle with that,”
Daniel said. “If he even has it. Eliza doesn’t tell me much about him. But I do
wonder.”
    “Last time I saw him, his interest
seemed to rest squarely in video games.”
    Daniel smiled. “I sent him that
Xbox. Eliza was pissed but she let him keep it. She told him she won it in a
contest.”
    “I hope I’m not betraying a
confidence, but she told me she doesn’t know when she’ll tell Troy.”
    “That doesn’t surprise me. Sounds
like she’s right where I am. Thanks for telling me. I’ll keep that bit of
information to myself.”
    “We’re getting close to my
father’s place,” Steven said. “Do you mind if we swing by and see if he’s
returned from his trip?”
    “Not at all,” Daniel said.
    “No job to get back to?” Steven
asked.
    “I’m a writer,” Daniel said. “I
can make anything work.”
     
    -
     
    Roy looked a little sunburnt.
    “How was the trip?” Steven asked.
    “Relaxing as hell,” Roy said.
“Dixon knows how to kick back, let me tell you. He’s perfected the act of
relaxation to an