by Alexie Aaron
“I think the boys are insisting,” Mia said as she moved towards the table. “I think it’s time to know what Klaus Hofmann did the night Anneliese, Erdmut and Garrit died.”
The doll nodded its head and arms reached out to Mia as she stood up before it. “Please, if I do this, do not harm my friends. They are not Klaus, he is long gone.”
Its eyes rolled back as if to think and snapped back and nodded. Mia picked up the doll.
Erdmut awoke to an unfamiliar sound in the nursery. He opened his eyes and looked around him. His twin was still asleep in the other bed. He got out of his bed and got into bed with him. Garrit opened his eyes and giggled. He wondered what fun his brother had in mind. Erdmut put a finger to his lips and pointed into the shadows, something or someone was moving there. It bobbed up and down between them and the door. One click after another as something was placed on the floor.
Erdmut babbled, “Kows,” his name for his other sibling.
“Shhhh,” Klaus warned from his side of the room. “Be quiet or you will pay.”
The twins watched as Klaus lit a long taper and proceeded to light several other candles on the floor. Between the candles the boy had placed roofing nails, balancing them on their heads with the sharp steel points up.
He opened the nursery door and said, “Erdmut be nimble, Garrit be quick, jump over these candle sticks.”
The boys looked at the sharp pointed nails and shook their heads no.
Klaus disappeared a moment and came back with an oil lamp and lit the wick. He repeated, “Erdmut be nimble, Garrit be quick, jump over these candle sticks.”
Again the twins refused to play this sick and dangerous game.
Klaus said again, “Erdmut be nimble, Garrit be quick, jump over these candle sticks.” He tossed the lamp over the beds, spilling oil as it flew behind them, impacting as it hit the wall. “Then die,” he said coldly as he closed the door.
Erdmut watched as the wall burst into flames. Soon the fire consumed his bed. He pushed Garrit out of the bed they were in before it too ignited in flames. Erdmut never made it out of the bed. Garrit fell on the nails and lit candles, his nightshirt catching fire. He died reaching for his brother. Mia moaned as she watching the boys die in agony. Anneliese fell asleep and died of smoke inhalation, but these innocent children were brutally, painfully murdered by their brother.
Mia dropped the doll and lay still for a moment. Tears flowed out of her eyes, pooling on the floor on either side of her head.
Burt put down the camera, knelt, and drew her into his arms. He knew better than to ask her before she was ready. She sobbed into his chest. He put his hand on the back of her head and held her.
Mia sniffed and took a deep breath. “Burt, it was horrible. I suspected Klaus had something to do with the fire, but I thought he may have knocked over a candle and it got out of hand, and he was running to get water to put it out. No, the little bastard…” Mia stopped and shuddered. She steeled herself and continued, “He burned his brothers to death. Then he left and let his beloved grandmother die in that rocker. She thinks she is to blame for falling asleep. It was the smoke. It was fratricide.”
“What do they want… the twins? What do the twins want?” Burt asked.
Mia sniffed. “I don’t know. Their disability in life is still with them in death. I think we need to find a different way to communicate with them. I am too tired tonight.”
Burt rubbed her back and thought a moment before announcing to the room, “My name is Burt Hicks - it rhymes with sticks. Do you know what justice is?”
The doll on the floor opened its eyes. Burt moved it towards him by hooking it with his foot. He reached over and picked up the thing and leaned it against the back of Little Susie.
He asked again, “Do you know what justice is?”
The dolls eyes went back into its head a moment, and it shook its head no.
He sighed.
“Dude,” Ted’s voice said in his ear, “Who Killed Cock Robin.”
Burt steeled himself and repeated Ted’s words, “Who Killed Cock Robin.”
The eyes snapped back down, interested.
“Ding Dong Bell,” Burt said, prompted by Ted. “Do you want justice?”
The doll nodded.
Chapter Twenty-five
Komal’s essence lay upon the cavern floor where the ley lines intersected. He reached out with his mind and sought Sabine. He focused his displaced self to become a conduit to draw as much energy as he could before performing this task. The rock beneath him became hot, almost molten. When he thought he could bear no more heat, he pushed his thoughts.
Sabine’s eyes snapped open and she screamed, “Gerald!” She sat up and reached for him as he stumbled from the kitchen where he was having morning tea with Bev.
Tauni was on her feet and trying to calm the girl. Sabine would have none of it. “Gerald, reach into my mind, hurry. Komal has connected and is sending us information.”
Gerald climbed into the bed with Sabine and put his forehead to hers. Sure he could have done this from yards away, but the thoughts of Tauni and Bev could cloud the ones being sent. He linked his hands with her and let the connection happen.
Bev watched horrified by the change in Sabine and Gerald. They pulsed. Orange light passed between them like a heart moving blood. Bev put out her hand to shield her eyes. She felt Tauni move beside her.
“What do we do, Beverly?” she asked, in awe of what was happening.
“Pray.”
~
The locks were punched, and the strike force moved into the Duda house. Each member of the team of four moved to their target, their information clear: total annihilation of Captain Duda and his family. No one would live to profit off of the betrayal. Each team member advanced on the heat sources indicating a Duda family member. To their surprise a heated bag of water lay in each of the beds. Before they could confer, a blast of light and several concussive charges spewed smoke through the house. The mercenaries launched themselves towards windows and doors, but the gas was too potent and they fell paralyzed to the floor.
Vans pulled up, sporting local termite control ads, outside of the house. A large, orange tent for termites was unrolled. The tent went up, the contract soldiers were removed, and the door jambs were fixed and the locks replaced. The operation took fifteen minutes. The man in charge shook his head as it should have only taken ten. He texted the information to his contact and drove off, leaving the house tented until the Dudas returned.
~
Burt watched as Mia awoke in his arms in the bed at the sanctuary which was her home. After the experience in the nursery, he insisted they leave. He wanted to take her away from everything. Since he and Ted had the house watch the night before, it was Beth’s and Mike’s turn. Ted would get some shut eye at the motel, and Burt would drive Mia’s truck back to her home, making sure to follow all her protocols upon arriving. Salt surrounded her vehicle, and the crossed line had to be replaced. He had watched as she worked mechanically, refusing to let him do everything himself. He wondered if she didn’t trust him to do it right.
“Hello you,” she said and snuggled closer.
“Good morning, bebe. You’re disturbing my resolve to let you rest with all that wiggling,” he pointed out.
“Burt, there’s resting, and then there’s resting,” Mia said as she let her hand trail downwards.
“Mmmm. Resting it is then,” he said, enjoying the ruckus she was causing with his male parts. He kissed her long and hard and she responded in kind. Soon they were lost in each other, giving and taking until they lay spent in a tangle of sheets.
Mia closed her eyes and fought against a strange pull she was receiving from Sabine. Her heart beat in tandem with the young woman’s. She pushed against Sabine. “Go away. I’m too depleted to talk with you,” she sent. Komal answered her through the Sabine connection. “Come to me soon, all is not well.” Mia groaned and sent back, “When I can, I will come to you.” She severed t
he connection and opened her eyes to a very confused Burt.
“You’re… well you were… glowing.”
“Of course I’m glowing, I’m in love,” Mia said smiling.
“Orange, you don’t glow orange,” he insisted.
“Oh, that. I think we have some catching up to do. But first I have to pee,” Mia said, getting out of bed.
“Me too. I’ll go to the guest bath and put on the coffee on the way back.”
Mia bent down and kissed the man who took such good care of her. “I love your coffee.”
“But do you love me as much as my coffee?”
“I’ll have to ponder that.”
“You do that,” Burt smiled as he watched her walk away. He grabbed his boxers and trotted out of the room. It wasn’t the urge to pee that made him hurry. It was the prospect of finally finding out what happened to Mia while she was in the city. Something big was going on. Big enough to take control of his girl and turn her orange.
~
Beth left the trailer quietly, considerate to her sleeping team member. Mike had pulled a long shift last night, allowing her to catch some sleep after doing some additional research. The stress of having so much to do was starting to get to her. Being the only researcher on the PEEPs team had the advantage of no one stepping into the area she was looking into, but also it meant that she had to pull longer hours than most of the others, traveling and doing interviews, when mining the Internet wasn’t profitable.
Today she would be going with Marjorie and Susan to their father-in-law’s house. He was the oldest surviving member of the Hofmann clan. She hoped to complete her to-do list, along with feeling the situation out as to whether or not the family would be interested in reconciliation with the spirits in the house. These were just the Hofmann ghosts. She still hadn’t found much in the way of explanation for the dueling pistols. Father Santos promised someone would get back to her soon. He was sympathetic to her time constraints but preached patience as he too had many projects going on as well.
Beth walked across the street and over to the home of the elderly women who were so generous with the dessert last evening. She was greeted from the screen door before she stepped foot on the porch.
“Miss Bouvier, come in! I have the pot on, and Mary has a coffee cake fresh from the oven,” the woman said as she opened the door.
“Missus…”
“Call me Alice,” the woman insisted.
“Alice, thank you for the dessert last evening. My friends and I were boosted by the sugary goodness.”
Beth entered Alice’s home and stopped to admire the photos of Alice and Mary on safari displayed proudly on the foyer’s walls.
Alice smiled at her and mentioned, “Just some misspent youthful adventures.”
She followed Alice through to the kitchen where Mary had already poured her a cup of coffee. She offered milk and sugar, but Beth insisted that black coffee was fine with her.
“We figured out that you’re not from the gas company,” Alice said, dropping the bomb on an unprepared Beth.
“Beg your pardon?” Beth asked surprised.
“After all that has been going on in this neighborhood in the last month, Mary and I figured out you must be FBI.”
Beth jolted, her eyes opening wide. “What gave you the idea we were FBI?”
“Why all the guns in this neighborhood have gone missing. The police don’t have a clue. No fingerprints, and the bastards took all the ammo too.”
“How many guns? What ammo?” Beth took out her cell phone and pressed the note app.
Alice looked at Mary, and they told her what they knew. Beth typed furiously, trying to keep up with the women. “When did this start happening?”
“Oh, about the same time the dog shit disappeared,” Mary said, looking for confirmation from Alice.
Alice nodded. “Yes, now we know that was probably a prank, but the guns make me nervous.”
“Me too,” Beth admitted. “I’m sorry I had to lie to you last evening.”
“Oh pooh, we know it’s your job, young woman,” Alice dismissed.
“Can I ask why you thought we were FBI?” Beth hedged, hoping not to admit to being anything. Impersonating a federal officer was a federal offence.
“We weren’t sure about the men and that tiny woman, but when you arrived with your plain clothing and sensible shoes, we knew you were FBI,” Alice said smiling.
Beth looked at her watch and pleaded an approaching appointment. The ladies saw her to the door. She turned to them and almost told them the truth when Mary said, “Don’t worry, we haven’t told a soul, and we’ll keep it that way.”
Beth smiled and left the porch. She plodded over to her car, noticing that it was a sensible color, style and make. She got into the auto and adjusted her seatbelt around her plain pants. She vowed as soon as she could, she had to go shopping.
~
Burt sat across from Mia with an untouched mug of coffee in his hand. It had gone cold an hour ago. The story that Mia told him was unbelievable. A fantasy editor would have cautioned the author that it was way over the top. But he knew Mia, and this shit was real. He had seen her himself OOB while fighting the hag, protecting him from the entity’s evil grasp. He laughed when she chose Ralph as her fierce persona and commented, “Good call there.” He wished he could have witnessed her transform into the dragon and join with this Komal in order to act as a diversion so Bev and the knight could get Sabine safely away.
“What happened to this Komal?”
“He’s still there,” Mia said frowning. “Wants me to come there. I declined. I told him I was too depleted.”
“What kind of hold does he have over you?”
“None. It was just a heads up type of request.” Mia reached over the table and took the mug out of Burt’s hand. “Honey, Gerald has this all in hand. I’m not going anywhere until we have Grandma Hofmann and her grandsons appeased and moved on.”
“There are all those slaves on that island,” Burt pointed out.
“What about Marjorie and her boys? Aren’t their lives just as important? We haven’t even scratched the surface of Blue Coat and the other man. No, I’m in with you. You’ll just have to get used to it, bucko,” Mia said getting up from the table.
Burt smiled and Mia’s heart skipped a beat. She loved this man, there was no denying that. He had her back at every turn. He believed in her and made sacrifices to make sure she felt secure. The thought of total disclosure came to mind. She hadn’t told him about Murphy yet. “Burt, remember when we talked about Murphy becoming mobile and you asked me to talk to him?”
Burt nodded.
“Well, funny thing happened.” Mia told him about the vortex, Murphy pulling her out, and the discussion she had with him.
Burt pushed his hand through his hair as he listened to her concerns about the ghost that had been one of Mia’s only friends until he and the PEEPs team came to town. “What’s your gut reaction to what he will do?”
“He’s thinking on it. I do want to remind you that Murphy isn’t a controllable entity. He is single-minded and has a wicked sense of humor,” Mia cautioned.
Burt frowned. “I’m getting the idea that you won’t be monitoring him.”
Mia put her hands up. “Whoever is brave enough to dig up his grave and travel around with his axe will have to accept the responsibility of an eighteenth-century, ornery ghost. I for a one am not ready for children.” She crossed her arms and tried to look tough.
Burt burst out laughing. He reached for her, and she moved into his arms. “Mia bebe, we are only speculating on whether or not Stephen Murphy can move along with his axe. There are his remains to consider. You are the only one that can see him most of the time. And with the exception of your last experience, he doesn’t talk much at all.”
“I see you’ve thought about this.”
“Oh, a bit,” he confessed. He didn’t tell her that he regretted having her talk to Murphy because a disappointed gh
ost with an axe worried him. “I just feel for the fella, having nothing to do but chop wood.”
“He watches PBS with April,” Mia said scornfully.
Burt burst out laughing. “Oh, bebe, the thought of nervous, snobby April and Murphy watching public television together…” He continued to laugh.
This caused Mia to laugh and squelch some of the other thoughts she had regarding Murphy.
Burt’s phone rang, and he picked it up to see that Beth was calling. “It’s Beth.”
“Well answer it, you don’t need my permission,” Mia said.
He looked at her and did as she told him. “Hello, Beth, what’s up?”
Mia watched his face change from curious to worried and back to curious. “Mia’s here. I’ll ask her.” He pulled the phone away from his ear. “Beth has a few questions for you?”
Mia took the phone from his hand and placed it on speaker before talking, “Mia’s help line, what is your problem?”
Beth laughed on the other end. “I have another stupid ghost question. Remember when I asked about the missing dueling pistols?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it seems like firearms and ammunition have disappeared all over the neighborhood.”
Mia was stunned. “How much?”
“Enough to have the police worried,” Beth answered.
“And your question is?”
“Can a ghost fire these guns?”
“Ghosts with enough power can manipulate things in our world, according to my understanding. I’m not liking this information.”
“Me either.”
“You know, of course, that I doubt that the twins or Grandma Hofmann are involved in this.”
“I assume it has something to do with the two men you’ve seen about the place.”
“They seem to be stalking each other. Adversaries of some kind. Them taking potshots at each other with unloaded dueling pistols is one thing. But if one or both of them has been stockpiling weapons with real ammo in them…” Mia paused, hearing a gasp come from Beth. She waited a moment to let Beth compose herself before continuing, “I would hate to be caught in the crossfire when they start shooting.” Mia rubbed her arms to keep away the chill she felt.