Chapter 167

Will let the water wash over him as he tried to steady his frenzied heartbeat. The truth was that they were terrified. For Ghost to be so brazen as to just waltz into the police station and open fire did not bode well for any one of them. It was clear that Ghost was just as ready to end this as they were. He leaned his forehead against the cold tile, letting the rhythmic beating of the water of against his back soothe him.
Soon enough, a shower wouldn’t be such an event. At least not the ones he took alone, anyway. Steam rolled off of skin as he emerged from the shower. Emma had laid out some clothes for him. Just a white t-shirt a pair of gray sweatpants. He laughed. Now that he was free and clean, he wanted to hold his baby.
He went downstairs, back to the dining room where everyone was gathered.
“Where is Lizzie?” he asked.
“Right here,” Emma said. She stood behind him, holding a squirmy baby. She squealed and giggled loudly when she saw him, reaching her hands out towards him.
“Come here, baby girl,” he cooed, and scooped her into his arms. She melted into his chest, snuggling against him. “Oh, I missed you.”
“Dada,” she said. Will gasped and looked down at her.
“Did she just…”
“Yeah,” Emma giggled. “She’s been asking for you like that for days.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“Dada!” Lizzie repeated, putting her little hands on either side of Will’s face.
“That’s right, baby. I’m ‘dada’,” he said, unable to stop his happy tears.
“Look at that,” Captain Whitlock laughed. “Big, bad, William Stewart reduced to a blubbering mess by a baby girl.”
“Not just any baby girl. My baby girl,” he hugged her, and she cooed before falling asleep against his chest.
“She’s lovely, William,” Sam said.
Will brought Lizzie to her crib and laid her down to sleep. He smiled at her. Every doubt, every pain in his heart melted away and was replaced with strength. There was no reason to mourn that family he thought he had lost. The only person worthy of that was his grandfather. None of them mattered. He had a family. The one he created. Nothing and no one would harm them.
“So, what’s the plan?” He asked when he came back down.
“I’m working on the plans for the building, but I need to know what you want.”
“Right.”
“Have Spencer’s funds come through?” she looked towards Alex.
“Yes. But, because of the amount, it’s taking long. I don’t know how much longer I can hold them off. I don’t know what else to do.”
“We need a distraction,” Sabrina said. The wheels in her mind turning. “I’ve got it! Ghost! He’s the biggest distraction there is! We should be broadcasting about him everywhere! That way, we can kill two birds with one stone.”
“It’ll either fence him or draw him,” Captain Whitlock. “Either way, it’ll force his hand while simultaneously drawing attention away from the pending bid. It’s perfect. You’re a genius, and you are being wasted.”
“Quite true,” Sam agreed. “Young lady, I would hire you as part of my PR team in a hurry.”
“Remember you said that,” she said. “So, I’m going to pick a few outlets to leak what we know to. If it’s exclusive to start, it’ll draw some attention and create more buzz. In the meantime, Alex, I need public appearances of you and Will.”
“Public?” Emma asked. “Is it safe for them to be out right now?”
“I can have people protecting us,” Alex said.
“People Ghost can’t get past? We’ve seen that he doesn’t care about any scenario,” Captain Whitlock said.
“I want to do it,” Will said.
“Will!” Emma grabbed onto his arm. “You can’t.”
“I have to. I can’t keep running and hiding from him. It’s me he wants and the harder he has to try and find me, the more people will get hurt.”
“Will, please don’t.”
“I’ll take care of him,” Alex said.
“You better take care of you too,” Sabrina added.
“I’ll take care of both of them,” the captain said.
“All right. Let’s make a plan.”
Sam went home later than evening after the plan had been set. He was on standby should he be necessary. Everyone had their roles. Emma continued to collaborate with Will on the building. Spencer called asking for updates. He said he was on his way back and wanted something finished by his return. They needed to have a solid presentation for the landowners. The funds from Spencer had finally transferred to Alex’s account. He had been working with Margie to get them transferred over as company funds. Will stayed away from it but did at least Margie know that he was in on the plan and approved her moving forward.
“You’re going to have to give her the biggest raise anyone has ever had,” Alex said after getting off the phone with Margie. “She has gone above and beyond.”
“You’re not lying,” Will agreed. “I’ll be sure to let her know how much I appreciate her. She’s been invaluable.”
“She has.”
“Do you think Sabrina’s plan is going to work?”
“Yes. And I think there’s a way we can kill two birds with one stone,” Alex smirked.
“What do you mean?”
***
“Billionaire playboys, William Stewart and Alex Rossi were seen out and about yesterday. They’ve been the talk of the city for years and were named ‘Queensbury’s Most Eligible Bachelors’, and ‘Queensbury’s Hottest’ more than once. They were spotted grabbing lunch at an exclusive bistro in the fashion district. Sources also report that they were seen exiting Trinity’s Jewelry Boutique, the city’s premiere shopping location for engagement rings. No word on which one of our favorite men is booed up. Word on the street is that one of them has been sighted walking out of a fashionable baby boutique earlier this year. Is one of our fantasy men hiding a secret family? We’ll do our best to find out. I’m Tiffany and this is Celebrity Spotting.”
The TV segment was interspersed with clips of Will and Alex out in the city, dressed to nines and looking carefree. Immediately following that, was the other part of what Sabrina had been working on.
“Thank you, Tiffany,” the news anchor said. “It seems that we’ll have to move on from our fantasy husbands onto more serious news. We have an exclusive interview from Queensbury City Central Station’s own Captain Damon Whitlock.”
***
“I’ve never been on to TV before,” the captain muttered as Sabrina prepped him.
“You’ll be fine. The cameras will be on you. Look slightly above them.”
“How did you manage this?”
“Don’t worry about that. The anchor is going to be on this screen here, and you just talk to her. If at any point she asks where you are…”
“I tell her I can’t say due to safety concerns.”
“Perfect. Now remember, be charming. But not flirty. Keep it as light as possible, while making sure you press the seriousness of the situation. Ghost has never been exposed before. Save that for the end. Keep them on the hook as long as possible.”
“I’m a little nervous,” he admitted.
“It’s okay. I’ll be right here,” she said, doing a finally adjustment of his hair and shirt collar. “All right, you’re on in three… two…”
***
“Hello, Captain Whitlock,” the anchor greeted. “Thank you for agreeing to speak with us.”
“Hello, Sally. It’s my pleasure. I have to admit, I’ve never done this before. I’m a little nervous.”
Sabrina gave him a thumbs up.
“We’ll do our best to make this as painless as possible,” Sally the anchor said. “Now, most of us have heard of the mysterious criminal known only as, ‘Ghost’. True crime junkies, internet chat rooms, YouTube channels, podcasts… some much time has been dedicated in trying to find out anything about him. Why do you suppose that is?”
“That is a great question. People love a mystery. However, because they haven’t seen or understood the true nature of heinous crimes he’s committed behind that veil. People have romanticized him, and it only feeds the inflated sense of self he has. The truth is, he is an evil man with real horrible ambitions from behind that sexy mystery people love about him.”
“Wow, that is a very good point. I’d never thought about it that way before.”
“Of course. I’ll admit, that when I first started to investigate him, I fell into that trap. Who doesn’t love a mystery? After a while, to reconcile the atrocities he committed, I’d begun to think of him as fictional. It made everything easier to deal with. I believe that it what the world at large has done as well.”
“Again, another great point. Please enlighten us. Why have you chosen to publicly speak about him now?”
“Ghost is in our city. Right now, as we speak.”
The anchor was visibly shaken. Sabrina made a motion with her hands, indicating that he needed to calm her down.
“Oh my God!” she lost a touch of composure. “Are-are we in danger?”
“The public at large is not in imminent danger. My confidential informant has informed me that Ghost is here on a personal vendetta. We do believe he is responsible for several crimes, however. Including the attack on the police station. We do urge that everyone travel with caution and be as vigilant as possible. Ghost will only attack when provoked, or when the object of his revenge is in sight.”
“Are you able to tell us who that is?”
“I am not at liberty to discuss that at this time. For that individual’s safety.”
“I understand.”
Sabrina made the mic drop signal.
“Ghost is a man that has operated in shadow… in hiding, for many years. He is a faceless specter that has terrorized the world.”
“Yes—,” she began, but the captain interrupted her.
“Until now. I am here to tell the people of Queensbury City… that there are people who know this man. For a while… he was one of our own. Ghost is none other than Denis Ratcliffe.”