Darker than Dark (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

  “So it morphed into dirt. Perhaps to hide itself?” he asked not expecting an answer.

  Ted’s face lit up. He scooped up three Lego bricks and unscrewed the lid and dropped them in with the DTDs. The three of them watched as the snakelike beings circled the blocks at first. One folded it into its body and became a larger version of the brick. The other two did the same.

  “Interesting. See how they learn. The large one may have not been attacking the grandmother and Mia but trying to become a version of them. A possession of sorts. It needed to fit in with people so it tried to become a person,” Angelo said grimly.

  “But weren’t they people to begin with?” Ted asked.

  “According to the writings, they were but attached themselves to something darker, something evil.”

  Cid spied something on Henry’s shelf. He grabbed the small, plastic egg container and opened it. “This is silly putty. I can make shapes with it. But watch what happens when I flatten it out. Hand me that comic book, Ted.”

  Ted did so knowing what Cid was going to do next.

  Cid flattened the putty into a disk and pressed it onto the colorful page of the book. He lifted it off and showed Angelo.

  Angelo looked at it gravely. “The putty becomes the picture. It takes away a reverse image of it. The ATzxe are trying to become people again. But what will they leave when they are finished?” he asked pointing to the comic book.

  The men looked down and saw only a faint outline remained.

  Cid handed Angelo the jar.

  “I think I’ll take this back to my place tonight for safety sake. The other DTDs must not know we have some of them. Maybe we can work together to find a solution to this problem, Theodore?”

  “I’ll do my best,” Ted promised.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Burt and Mike unwound cables and the cords needed to get the command center up and running. This task normally would fall to Ted, but he volunteered to go with Mia and Cid to check out 1634 Hillside Drive. Angelo, Ted had warned, didn’t have Mia’s best interests in mind. Burt agreed he should go sans camera.

  “Take in the feel of the house without seeing it through a lens,” he advised his technician. “Life is more than what we can record. Get used to using your other senses.”

  Ted smiled and shook his boss’s hand before leaving.

  The cold air was sobering Mike up. “Remember when all we had was a used camera and depended on the Kodak kiosk in the Kmart parking lot to get our film processed?”

  “Less cables,” Burt mumbled.

  “We were flying by the seat of our pants. Do you ever miss the simplicity of the old ghost hunts?”

  “Honestly?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hell no. We were only getting a small part of the puzzle then. Now we have a computer genius, expert researcher and a sensitive with connections all over the planet. I can hold my head up at family reunions. I no longer am snickered at. ‘Poor deluded Burt’ has been traded in for ‘Mr. Cable TV.’”

  “I hear ya. I do worry though that we are getting too big, too fast though.”

  “Interesting point,” Burt said. “Care to elaborate?”

  “As the business end grows and the money comes in, are we becoming too fixed on the accounts and less on the what if’s?”

  “If you are referring to my past behavior, then yes. I guess I became a bit extreme in the building of the business and less on the welfare of our employees,” Burt admitted. “I’ve done some soul searching, and with my shrink’s help, I am slowly merging the good parts of old Burt in with the best of new Burt.”

  “It looks like you’re on track. Me, I’ve got my own work to do. A week in a hotel suite with my mother has left me with a lot of things to think about. Oh, before I forget.” Mike set the roll of cable on the ground and dug into his pants pocket. “Here is a check to cover the two hospital bills that were charged to the company account.”

  Burt took the check. “Thanks, but I’ll cover Mia’s bill. She was hurt on PEEPs time.”

  “No, it was on my mother’s time. Remember, she hired Mia.”

  “I forgot about that. Thanks, Mike, that is a stand up thing to do.”

  “You weren’t going to mention the expenditure were you?” he accused his friend.

  “Nah, I figured we could stand the set back. Now we have money for other things.”

  “There’s more.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “Ma’s going to give PEEPs a percentage of the sale of the rare books after taxes and expenses. A finder’s fee. We may be able to rent a facility to use as an office or buy another vehicle.”

  Burt grinned. “It would go a long way to making us look professional wouldn’t it?”

  “Yes and a tax write off too. I would like you to consider moving the base of our operations or maybe setting up another location.”

  Burt picked up the roll of cable and started to work again. “Out of Summerville?”

  “Yes, we’re never there. In the last year we’ve been here. I’m tired of making the trip across Missouri.”

  “You’re not the first person to bring this up with me. Ted’s going to move into April’s house. He’s not quitting the team, just relocating. He tells me it’s so he can take courses at Northwestern, but I know it’s because of Mia.”

  “I didn’t know they were an item,” Mike said surprised.

  “Neither does Mia,” he informed his partner. “Let’s install the trap camera here facing the back door. I’ll warn Martha that she may get her picture taken if she goes out the backdoor.”

  “She’s a peach. She’s like the posh version of Ma. So it’s true she’s staying here.”

  “Says she wants to keep track of things, but I think she’s interested in what we’re doing. She’s offered Beth her office to set up her research station. She asks a lot of questions. Doesn’t seem put off by the amount of people in her home.”

  “Probably lonely.”

  “No, I don’t think it’s that, but I’m no expert on the subject. Hold the light closer, I can’t seem to get the angle right,” Burt instructed Mike.

  “Sure is dark out here.” Mike shivered. “Cold too. So what’s the plan?”

  “Tonight I think one or two of us should stay with the family. I volunteered myself as I had no traveling to do. I booked us into a Residence Inn about fifteen minutes east of here.”

  “Darn, I was hoping we were going back to the B&B in Big Bear Lake. I have fond memories of the hostess.”

  “You would. I thought maybe we wore out our welcome there.”

  “Where’d you stay last night, the airport?”

  Burt shushed Mike and pulled him away from the backdoor. They walked swiftly to the command vehicle. “I don’t want this getting around. But I stayed with Mia last night.”

  “You dog.”

  “I didn’t sleep with her. I was offered the guestroom, and I took it,” Burt explained.

  “So, is there a certain deputy out gunning for you?”

  “No, I don’t think Mia has had a chance to talk to him. He’s on the nightshift and sleeps all day.”

  “So, Ted doesn’t know or Beth?” Mike asked.

  “No. Unless Mia says something, I’m not going to say anything, and I would appreciate if you backed me up.”

  Mike nodded. “I’m you’re guy, when it comes to discretion. I didn’t have to drive, and I have my second wind. How about if I stay the night with you? It’ll be like old times, coffee, stale donuts and hours of watching and listening to the creaks of a house settling.”

  “Hey remember the time the heating system at the Baker place started up and scared the shit out of both of us?”

  Mike started laughing. The two of them started reminiscing while they worked quickly to set up the surveillance for the night.

  ~

  Jeff noted the activity across the street. Suitcases were brought out by who he assumed was the father of the family. There was a loud noise,
but he couldn’t quite figure out if it came from the house or not. No one seemed overly concerned. The driver of the Town Car got out and stood waiting. Soon the tall man dressed in black came out, and the two left immediately. He started his car and prepared to follow them, but instinct told him that he would have more luck following the short woman in the F150. Archie had described the Cooper woman who visited him, and this was either her or her twin. He pulled his car out of the space and moved it further down the street. He was ready when and if the Ford truck left Hillside Drive.

  ~

  “How long have you lived here?” Beth asked Martha.

  “Ten years. I moved in after my divorce. I saw this property as an investment. Plus, I liked the idea of living away from the hustle and bustle of the city,” she explained.

  “I know this may sound nosy, but I like to fill in all the blanks. Feel free to not answer. I will simply put in a N/A and we will move on.”

  Martha nodded and suspected the divorce was going to be asked about.

  “Your ex, is he living in the city?”

  “No. Florida. Julie’s father is a golfer and moved to where you can golf all year round. I can get you his address.”

  “That won’t be necessary. Is there anyone else, er, in the picture?”

  Martha shook her head. “Sadly no. I still have hope, but as the years go by and no aging knight appears, I get the picture that I will leave this world by myself.”

  Beth reached over and patted her hand. “I don’t see that happening. Besides, you have Julie which brings me to my next question. Do you have any other children?”

  “No.”

  “Has anything happened on this farm before the recent events? Cold spots, sounds of footsteps,” Beth led.

  “Come to think of it, the barn always seemed a bit creepy. That’s why I had it pulled down. I liked the stonework of the foundation. I plan to build a guesthouse over there. That is, if the economy ever picks up.”

  Beth continued to ask question after question. Soon the two women fell into a pattern until Martha’s history on the farm had been recorded.

  “Were there any records or books left in this house?”

  “Yes. I think you may be surprised. I even have a few pictures. Let me go up and check on Gwen, and then we’ll go through them.”

  Beth nodded. “I’ll just input my notes in the meantime. Thank you for the use of this lovely office. Did you decorate it yourself?”

  “Yes, that’s what I used to do for a living. Now, I just impose my ideas on Julie and Richard,” Martha said before she left the room.

  Beth sense a sad story behind that composed face. Divorcing a husband after years of marriage, giving up a decorating career in Chicago seemed to be an odd thing to do this late in life. Beth knew this had nothing to do with the investigation so she wouldn’t ask any more about it. Maybe after a few bottles of wine Martha would loosen up and Beth would get the whole story. Until then it was paranormal business as usual.

  ~

  Murphy watched as more campfires were lit to accommodate tribesmen who had arrived and joined the others. He had slid down the hill to get a better look. He wondered if this was an echo or, as Mia’s team liked to call it, a residual haunting. Like One Feather who rode every day at four, desperate to warn his village of an impending doom. If this was just history, Murphy would watch it and maybe learn a little more about his neck of the woods. He settled in and continued to watch.

  ~

  “Do you see the car behind us?” Cid asked looking in Mia’s side mirror.

  “Yes. He’s been following us since the Kowalski house. Angelo is having him checked out. I think I’ll take the long way back. See if he follows us.” Mia signaled and turned into the Taco Bell. She smiled as the boys decided they were hungry. She pulled through to the drive-thru and gave the sleepy-voiced employee their order. After they paid and picked up their meals. The sedan was gone. Mia turned out onto the road and backtracked to resume their trip to Martha’s.

  She didn’t notice the economy car that pulled out behind her.

  Harbaugh, sensing he had been made, called Macy. Macy took over the tail and followed them without his lights on until the truck pulled onto a drive that led up to a farmhouse. He drove a few hundred feet down the road and turned left into an electric substation lot. He got out of the car, and armed with his surveillance equipment, he ran back to the entrance of the drive.

  Macy moved in the dark, night goggles in place, up the drive until the yard lights interfered with his sight. He took off the goggles and crawled along the grass until he found shelter behind the parked vehicles in the side yard. He moved closer to the house and stopped dead in his tracks. There in the rear yard was a PEEPs truck. Confident he had found the base of operations, Macy ran back down the drive.

  The shape shifter approved of the way the man moved. If she hadn’t been morphed into the side of the shiny metal horseless wagon the man rested his hand on, she wouldn’t have known he was there at all. She took a lot away from the hand. She practiced making a hand, and although she wasn’t pleased with the large arthritic knuckle, she had made the hand work. It gripped the side of the wagon and squeezed. Pleased with the way the metal crumpled in her new hand but aware that the noise may attract attention, the shape shifter stopped and continued to make her rounds, keeping an eye on the people in the house.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mia ended her call and yawned. She needed to get some sleep. But first she would have to let the Kowalskis know about their flight in the morning. Angelo had tapped into Gerald’s network and found a corporate aircraft that would be loaned for the trip down to Florida. It would pick the family up at DuPage County airport and take them to Orlando. Angelo arranged for a limo to arrive at eight the next morning to take the family to the corporate airport.

  She found Richard in the kitchen. He was opening a beer. He smiled and asked, “Want one?”

  “No, I’m driving.” Mia proceeded to give him the travel information. He jotted down the particulars and shook Mia’s hand.

  “Thank you for this. I’m feeling guilty leaving you and Martha to deal with everything but overjoyed to be having this opportunity to be with Julie and the kids away from the stresses here.”

  Mia nodded. “Enjoy yourself. We’ll be in touch.”

  Cid rounded the corner and bumped into Mia. “Sorry, didn’t see you. Mr. Hicks would like to see all the PEEPs in the command vehicle before we leave.”

  “Lead the way, redshirt,” Mia said, rubbing her arm where the large man connected with her.

  “You know, I wish you wouldn’t use that name.”

  “Got a better one?” Mia asked as he held the door open for her.

  “Cid works just fine,” he said. “Whoa, it’s cold.”

  “Cid as in Sydney?” Mia asked ignoring the icy wind that had picked up.

  “Cid as in Cid. It means Lord in Spanish.”

  Mia looked up at the man and could see a nobleness in his profile. For just a second Mia saw something else. It wasn’t a Spanish nobleman. It was a warrior, perhaps a chief. She stumbled, unaware that the terrain had changed.

  He caught her arm and steadied her.

  “Thanks, I’m a bit tired,” she explained. “Cid, tell me something.”

  “Be more specific.”

  “Damn, sorry. Do you have any Native American blood in you?”

  “Not that I know of, why?”

  “I just get a feeling that you are more than Cid Garret from Kansas City.”

  “Mia,” Ted’s voice called from the vehicle. “Stop flirting with the kid and get your ass in here.”

  “Yes, dear,” Mia said sarcastically and let the subject drop. She climbed into the truck, and Ted waited for Cid to join them before lowering the door. Inside, the space was warm as the computers gave off a lot of heat.

  Burt stood up and offered his chair to Mia. She tried not to let her surprise show and sat down.

  “Okay, here’s
the deal. Mike and I are going to stand watch tonight. Ted, Cid and Beth will go to the motel and get some sleep. Give a call before you come back in the morning. I may have a list of stuff we need.”

  “He means donuts,” Ted joked.

  Burt gave him the evil eye. “Mia, you’re off the hook for the day, but I will need you here before nightfall tomorrow. I have a feeling the DTDs will be making their way back. I don’t know, but maybe see if you can convince Murphy to hang with us a while.”

  “I’ll do my best. No promises though. He’s been a bit odd lately.”

  Cid turned to Ted and whispered, “Who’s, Murphy?”

  “I’ll tell you later, dude,” Ted hissed back.

  Mike cleared his voice. “Mind if I say a few words?”

  Burt shrugged.

  “Right. As you know, my mother has sold the set of books we found and has decided to donate some funds to PEEPs. We, Burt and I, are thinking that we may want to put the money into buying or renting a facility. I would like to get your feedback, that includes you Mia, as to whether it would be better to move our operation out of Kansas or not. Think on it, and we’ll talk the next PEEPs meeting.”

  Mia looked at Beth’s and Ted’s faces. She could see two different answers there. Mia knew that Ted wanted to move away from home, but she sensed that Beth was happier close to her family. She personally didn’t care one way or the other, and as a consultant she wouldn’t have a vote at the meeting.

  “The village of Shorewood has a firehouse for sale if you want to do the Ghostbuster thing,” Mia teased.

  Burt’s face broke into a smile, and he started to laugh. His full laugh infected the others, and soon a lighter mood filled the command center.

  “Okay, you jokers, get out of here before I change my mind.”

  Mia got up and followed the others out. She thanked Ted who waited and helped her off the high rise of the truck’s back. “Are you going to be alright to drive back on your own?” he asked.