The House on West 10th Street

by Helen Phifer

  ‘There’s a servants’ staircase at the far end of this hall. I’ll distract it.’

  She nodded and watched as he climbed onto the first step. ‘Come on, you bastard, you’re big and tough when it comes to hurting women. What about men?’

  Maria wondered if the man had a death wish, but she didn’t stop to find out. She began to limp towards the second staircase. She heard a loud shout of, ‘Holy Christ.’ This was followed by an even louder thump. Putting her head down, she carried on despite the fact that her heart was racing faster than ever. She reached the end of the corridor and the false wall with the staircase behind it. Wondering if she’d make it to the top she began to run up them; these were bare, wooden, steps that would hurt like hell if she got thrown down them. She could hear the priest shouting and Mikey let out a yell, then the sound of pounding footsteps filled the house. She reached the next level and ran towards the attic staircase. There was no light up here, she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. Gagging, she tried not to breathe. Running up the narrow steps she pushed her way back into the room she hadn’t long tried to break free from. You must be crazy girl, you’ve escaped a killer to run back and fight a demon. It didn’t matter… she knew it was the right thing to do and she breathed out a sigh of relief to see Missy and Emilia standing in the room staring at her their eyes wide open in fear.

  ‘Sorry, sorry, it’s me. I have no idea where it is or what it’s doing, but it’s pissed off. Whatever you need to do, please do it.’

  Missy spoke. ‘We can’t until the house has been blessed and it has nowhere to run. We need it to come back to the safety of this room and then we can seal it in the pentagram and send it back.’

  A low, growl came from behind Maria and she turned to face the huge, black shadow that had come in behind her. The two horns on its head so large they seemed to be alive. It was then that she realized they were moving of their own accord. Every single belief Maria had her entire life was wiped clean from her mind. She heard a small gasp come from behind her and turned to see Missy clutching her heart. Her eyes wide, she was trying to suck in huge gulps of air but couldn’t. Maria knew what was happening, it had happened to her at the library. That thing was squeezing the life out of her and she was going to die because she was too old and frail to fight it. Maria screamed in anger at the top of her voice and all hell broke loose. She heard the thundering of footsteps coming up towards them, and Mikey ran into the room followed by Anthony. Both men stared at the black figure in the corner, then at Missy who was struggling to breathe. Anthony threw holy water over Missy and made the sign of the cross on her forehead. Then he did the same at the door, sealing them into the room with it. Maria nodded at Mikey and they both ran towards it. She had no idea how to fight something made from smoke and shadows, but she sure as hell was going to try. She ran towards it, grabbing at it. The smell of rotting flesh filled her nostrils; repulsed she wanted to run the opposite way, but her stubborn heart wouldn’t let her. Mikey hit it from the other side and they both began to push it towards the bedroom and the pentagram on the wall, with Emilia and Anthony walking behind them, blocking its exit. Whatever they were doing was enough for it to release its grip on Missy and she fell to the ground with a thud. They kept on pushing. She could hardly hear the priest’s voice as he shouted above the howling wind and roaring noise the monster in front of them was making. With one final roar they pushed as hard as they could, forcing it back into the wall. It paused. Its black body becoming one with the bricks and plaster. Emilia threw the rest of the holy water at it.

  ‘Get out of my house. I forbid you from ever coming back. You are not welcome here. Take your twisted values and go back to where you came from. In the name of God get out of here now.’

  She ran at the wall and made the sign of the cross, the pentagram on the wall burst into orange flames. The heat was so powerful Maria dragged Emilia away from it before she got burned, Anthony ran to the sink, filling up a jug he said a prayer over the water then launched it at the wall. Extinguishing the flames, smoke and steam began to rise from the bricks making all of them cough and splutter. Maria ran to Missy, whose face was pale, her eyes were closed. She pressed two fingers against her friend’s pulse which was faint, but at least it was there.

  ‘You did it, you all did it. You sent it back. Missy, hang on – EMS will be here soon.’ No sooner had she said that than a flux of footsteps began to hammer up the steps towards them. Maria yelled. ‘Get me a medic now.’

  Frankie ran into the room followed by several armed police. He looked at the smouldering wall then looked at Maria. She shrugged. ‘I’ll tell you about it after.’ The cops looked around, confused by the unlikely trio of suspects who were standing with their hands raised above their heads. Maria shouted. ‘They’re good, they’re witnesses, not suspects.’ Two medics ran in and she stood up, leaving Missy in their capable hands.

  ‘Take care of her, she’s very special.’

  A loud bellow filled the air and both Frankie and Maria grimaced.

  ‘What in the name of holy fuck has happened here?’

  Addison stepped into the now cramped apartment and his eyes fell onto Anthony.

  ‘Jeez, I’m sorry, Father. I didn’t know you were here.’

  Anthony smiled. ‘I think your initial observation was right, Sergeant. What in the name of holy fuck has happened here.’

  Maria giggled, it sounded so wrong coming from a priest, yet it also sounded very right.

  ‘Sir, it’s a long story.’

  ‘What happened to you Miller? You look like shit.’

  ‘I’d rather speak to you back at the station.’

  Frankie nodded. ‘Yep, you don’t want her to talk about this in the public domain.’

  Addison looked at her wrists. ‘ER now, you can tell me after you’ve been checked over.’

  Maria remembered her bloodied, burnt wrists and immediately the pain hit her. She nodded, she’d go and let them clean her up. She didn’t want them getting infected, Frankie gently took hold of Emilia’s arm to lead her out. The older lady looked shocked. Mikey followed, and he didn’t look much better. Anthony whispered in Maria’s ear. ‘The attic still needs cleansing.’

  She looked at him. ‘Will it wait until investigators have finished?’

  He turned and looked at the burnt shape of the pentagram on the wall. ‘At least let me cleanse this room.’

  The medics had a line in Missy’s arm, an oxygen mask on her face, and were just transferring her into a chair to get her downstairs. She waved Addison over.

  ‘Father Anthony needs to cleanse this room, it’s vital that he does.’

  ‘Are you shitting me, Miller?’

  ‘No, sir. I’m not. If we don’t then we’ll be back at square one before we know it.’

  He looked at her serious face and then the priests. Waiting for the medics to leave, he turned to the officers still lingering.

  ‘Right, you lot downstairs. This is a crime scene, I need CSI here now and I need to speak to detective Miller and the good Father here.’

  The cops did as they were told, they followed the medics down the stairs leaving the three of them there.

  Anthony smiled. ‘Thank you, Lieutenant. If we don’t cleanse the room it might be able to come back through the portal.’

  Addison stared at Maria who nodded. ‘You don’t want that big-ass demon coming back through that wall, sir. It’s mean as hell and it’s really pissed.’

  She passed the bottle of holy water and bag of salt to Anthony who then sprinkled it around the floor in front of the pentagram. He began to pray, making the sign of the cross with the water inside the pentagram. All the time Maria held her breath wondering if that thing was going to break out of the wall again and grab him, dragging him inside. When he finished praying and stepped away she exhaled. He turned towards her.

  ‘It’s done.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Even as she asked the question she knew that it was because the atmos
phere in the room was no longer heavy. It felt much lighter and the terrible smell had gone. Addison shook his head.

  ‘Right, now you’ve messed up my crime scene get out. Father, thank you. I’m not sure what it is that you’ve done, but I’m sure it was very important. Miller get down to the medics now.’

  He ushered them both out of the room, but she couldn’t help turn her head for one last look. The pentagram had faded significantly to what it was. She knew that she was going to have nightmares for the rest of her life about this house. As she stepped out into the beautiful, bright sunshine Harrison ran towards her. He pulled her close, not normally one for public shows of affection for once she let him because she needed to be held. She looked over his shoulder at Frankie who smiled at her and she felt her whole body relax. Anthony, Mikey and Emilia were all standing next to each other like the three, wise monkeys. She pulled away from Harrison to go and talk to them.

  ‘Now what?’

  It was Anthony who spoke. ‘Now Emilia can live her life, Mikey can live there without fear and hopefully Missy will make a full recovery. We’ll all live to tell the tale.’

  ‘What about you?’

  ‘I can go back and tell Father Morgan that his theory worked. That with a bit of team work we did an excellent job.’

  Maria laughed. ‘You can say that again, thank you.’

  Frankie caught her arm. ‘I hate to break up this party, but Addison said we have to get you to the emergency room and get you checked out.’

  ‘I’m coming.’

  Harrison waved them over, he was standing in front of a stretch limousine.

  Maria shook her head. ‘I’m not going to the ER in that, but you can be a hero and take my friends home please. I’ll catch a lift with Frankie, I’ll call you when I’m done.’

  He bent and kissed her cheek. ‘Whatever you say, Maria.’

  She laughed and walked towards a squad car where Frankie was leaning on the hood. He stood up and opened the door for her. She gave him the finger.

  ‘What, what’s that for? You don’t mind Mr Look-at-me-I’m-a-millionaire opening a car door for you. Did you give him the finger?’

  ‘That’s different.’

  ‘How is it different? Your loyalty should be to me, I’m your partner. If anyone gets to open a car door for you it should be me.’

  Her heart sank. Frankie did give a shit about her and Harrison’s relationship. She turned to speak to him and he began to laugh.

  ‘I’m kidding, open your own door. What are you an invalid? You get a couple of friction burns and think you deserve to be treated like royalty. Not on my shift, Miller.’

  She started to laugh.

  ‘Frankie, you’re an asshole.’

  ‘I know, but you love me despite my failings?’

  ‘I do, I love you very much.’

  One Week Later

  Maria took one last look around Miss Green’s apartment, it would have to do. The air felt much lighter in here than the last time she’d been in. The light from the lamps lit every corner banishing the shadows which made her much happier. She hadn’t been inside her own apartment either, Frankie had insisted she either stayed with him or Harrison whilst it was redecorated. For once she hadn’t felt guilty choosing The Plaza over Frankie’s, she didn’t want Christy thinking her and Frankie had been carrying on behind her back. Frankie had filed for divorce and it could mean the difference between him getting his fair share or losing everything. She picked up the envelope addressed to her and let herself out. Walking across the hall and standing outside her own front door she took a deep breath. Frankie had wanted to accompany her, so had Harrison. She’d declined both of their invitations, she needed to do this on her own. Opening the door, the smell of fresh paint filled her nostrils, she’d take that any day over the smell that had filled the house, that was what her and Frankie now referred to it as; the house. Expecting to feel a rush of emotions as she stepped inside she didn’t, it was her apartment which had been scrubbed free of all the blood, the glass was long gone. She stared at the hall closet, her palms a little sticky. Her childhood fear of monsters in the closet had turned into a reality for her, who knew that stuff was real. She’d faced the monster head on and lived to tell the tale. Grabbing the handle, she twisted it and tugged open the door, pulling the string to bring the light to life. It was empty and the crawl space she hadn’t even known existed until Frankie told her about it was now filled with bricks and mortar. Nothing could hide in there, ever. Satisfied she turned off the light and shut the door. Walking through the rest of her apartment she felt better, it wasn’t much but it was hers. She liked living here and despite Harrison’s best offers of penthouses in apartment buildings she could only dream about, she’d declined. She couldn’t even detect the motion sensor cameras they were so discreet, or the intruder alarms. Tight security was the only compromise she’d agreed to, she’d lived here ten years and never had a bit of trouble. She expected to carry on living here with no more, she didn’t know Harrison well enough to accept his offer of a luxury upgrade. Maybe if they stayed together and they had more than a no strings attached relationship she would. Who knows, but for now she was happy. She could come home and that was what she wanted most.

  Opening Miss Green’s letter, she read it through eyes which were so blurred it was hard to read the delicate, handwriting. She’d informed Maria that upon her death which attorney handled all her affairs and that she was to help herself to the entire contents of her wardrobe of designer clothes, bags and jewellery. This made her cry even more. After a few minutes she dried her eyes, tucked the letter in her kitchen drawer and went back down to where Frankie was waiting outside in his car for her. She nodded at him and he grinned.

  He parked at the back of the station and looked at Maria. ‘I’ll carry the boxes, but you can deal with her. I can’t face that this early in the day.’

  ‘You’re such a girl at times Frankie.’

  He shrugged. ‘Call me what you want, I’m still not doing it.’

  She ran down the steps and hammered on the basement door, Frankie cringed behind her. The door flew open and Layla stood there glaring at the pair of them for three seconds before leaning forward and grabbing Maria in a bear hug. ‘Girl am I glad to see you, how are you doing?’

  Maria hugged her back. ‘I’m good thanks.’

  Frankie coughed behind them and Layla gave him the death stare. ‘You Conroy I’m not so glad to see, get those boxes signed in. I thought you were keeping them.’

  Maria whispered. ‘He was too scared to come on his own.’

  Layla nodded. ‘Good, that’s how I like it.’ She released her hold on Maria and followed Frankie to make sure he did as he was told. They left the basement and went up to the department, everyone stopped what they were doing to look at them both and then they began to clap. Maria grinned, her cheeks burning. She’d never been so glad to get the clap, it was reserved for near misses and heroes. Even Frankie began to clap, and she burst out laughing. ‘Enough, thank you. It’s great to be back.’

  Addison’s voice boomed across the department.

  ‘Miller, Conroy, my office now.’ Just like every other time Frankie let her go first. They went into his office and he pointed to the chairs.

  ‘Now what are we going to do about this sorry mess, how do I file a report on it?’

  They both shrugged.

  ‘Jeez, you two are most helpful. What would I do without you both?’ He walked to his door which he shut, not slammed. Maria took this to be a good thing. Then he sat down opposite her.

  ‘I’m glad to have you back Miller, this department would go to shit without you solving most of the homicides.’

  Frankie coughed. ‘What about me?’

  ‘Conroy, you know she does most of the work, but I’ll admit it. You two make a great team. That’s why I have something for you.’

  ‘Sir, what have you got for us?’

  ‘Well this is top secret, there’s only a handfu
l of people know about it.

  ‘Know about what?’

  ‘The strange case review team.’

  Frankie looked at him. ‘What the hell is the strange case review team? I’ve never heard of it, have you just made it up?’

  ‘Keep your voice down Conroy, it’s strictly a need to know thing. It’s been decided by the Commander that you two need to know. He wants you two to run it, you’ll get your own office. You can come and go as you please, no one breathing down your neck. What do you say?’

  Maria shook her head. ‘I don’t know if I want to, what sort of cases?’

  Addison squirmed. ‘Well, it’s stuff that we don’t know how to deal with.’

  ‘Like the thing at the house?’

  He nodded.

  ‘There are more cases linked to it?’

  ‘No, not to that at least I don’t think they are. I think those two old broads and the priest managed to get rid of that one and did a pretty good job as well. But yes, there are other cases not of dissimilar nature. They’re out there, a bit on the woo, woo side. It’s not something the NYPD likes to talk about or admit. Apparently, your handling of the case and the fact that you managed to not die has made them want you to take over and review them.’

  Frankie stared at Addison as if he’d gone mad, then he turned to Maria. ‘A bit woo, woo. What the fuck, did he just say that for real?’

  Maria turned to look over her shoulder, no more working in this shit hole, their own office, their own hours. She looked at Addison.

  ‘We’re are own bosses, keep our own hours, keep our pay rate?’

  ‘Maria, come on. You’re not seriously considering it? That house scared us both shitless, I’m not too much of a big man to admit it.’

  She smiled at him. ‘Yes, it did. I never knew anything like that existed. I’d rather fight it head on than bury my head in the sand and pretend it never happened. Think about it Frankie, our own office.’