No Hope (No Justice Book 3) by Nolon King & David W. Wright

Author:Nolon King & David W. Wright [King, Nolon & Wright, David W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sterling & Stone
Published: 2017-12-19T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25 - Jasper Parish

Jasper had to get out of the house.

It felt weird being in Alicia’s place. She was at work, showing a house, while Ophelia was at school. Karen was driving Jasper nuts with her incessant chatter. She meant well enough, trying to make small talk since they were stuck together until the others got home. But she was the sort of person who felt compelled to fill every silence with too many words.

Karen loved to tell stories, lots of them. Stories about her life, stories about Alicia, stories about people Jasper didn’t know and never would — all matter of minutia that made Jasper feel as though the walls were closing in.

Jasper needed solitude and quiet to think, especially when he was trying to figure out how to solve Karen’s problem — Clay Barlow.

He humored her for a while, then said, “I need to run some errands.” And after that, he left without giving her a chance to invite herself along.

Only after he got in the car did Jasper finally realize that he’d been a bit antisocial, but he wasn’t about to go back in and apologize.

He drove, trying to figure out how to get Karen out of her sticky situation without having the whole thing end in violence that might splash back on Alicia and Ophelia.

The solution came after a light lunch at a sports bar where Jasper read the paper while watching the locals. It was a quiet, seaside town comprised of mostly wealthy retirees. Not many crimes. It seemed like a good place for golden years, and far more relaxing than Creek County. The kind of place he could see himself settling.

Carissa’s ghost appeared across from Jasper. “She’s nice,” said his dead wife, staring at him from across the booth. She wasn’t smiling but didn’t seem mad. Judging from the few times he’d seen that expression during their marriage, it was to be feared more than her wrath.

“She’s not you,” he said.

“Please.”

“What?”

“You don’t need to act like you don’t like her. I can tell that you do.”

Jasper wondered if Carissa had been in Alicia’s bedroom while they were making love.

“And her daughter is sweet. She reminds me of her.”

“You can say her name.”

“I didn’t know if you wanted me to since she’s not talking to you.”

“Have you seen her?”

“From time to time.”

“How does it work? Do you talk to each other?”

“Sometimes. It’s sort of like a dream, though. One minute I’m here, and the next I’m at our old house. Then I’m at some other place from my life. I don’t control any of it. Sometimes she’s there. Sometimes, I get to visit you.”

Great. My delusions are creating complicated rules for their existence.

Jasper looked into his satchel, found his pills, popped one into his mouth, and swallowed some ice water.

“So, you’re taking your meds now, eh? What? To get rid of me? Do I complicate things, Jasper?”

“I just want a normal life. I—”

“Are you okay?” a woman’s voice asked.

Jasper turned to see Natsuko, his server, standing there, looking at him, then the chair opposite him.

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