The Garden (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

  “We have to have two awake at all times. If you’re alright, I’d like to have Mia hit the hay; she’s run up and down a lot of stairs today and can become vicious when she is tired,” he explained.

  “I hardly think…”

  “No, he’s right. I am a class A cranky hobbit when I’m denied food or sleep,” Mia told her. “I’ll bunk in the living room. I thought the fainting couch looked comfy.”

  Mia excused herself and headed to the bathroom. Ted walked and sat down at the console after transferring the data from his iPad. Audrey tossed her empty shake cup and headed into the dining room to finish her timeline of the Bonner family.

  She watched Mia, who had changed into PEEPs sweats, arrange her bedding before pouring a thick salt ring around the couch. She looked over and explained, “I don’t want to go to sleep and wake up a Bonner ghost.”

  Audrey nodded and made a note to ask Burt or Ted about this. She flipped through her and Alan’s notes, looking for where they had left off. She smiled and tapped the paper thinking, “The change in handwriting.” The journal entry itself was a strange one.

  Father brought me home from the hospital. He said I had tripped and fallen down the servants’ staircase. I don’t remember this. I don’t remember my father nor do my brothers look familiar. The doctor said this is normal in head injuries. He, upon learning of my penchant for keeping diaries, suggested that I read them. “To reacquaint myself, with my past.” In the first book, a lock of hair fell out. I took it into the bathroom and put it alongside mine. It didn’t match. I know people’s hair sometimes changes color as they age. But so much?

  Audrey put the book down. Her sister’s daughter had dark brown hair as a young girl, and it did naturally lighten over the years. So it was possible. Audrey marked the page with a folded piece of paper and continued to read.

  Ted retrieved the data from the subbasement. The possible graves were all in a long row that bisected the space. Burt consulted with Father Santos, and he said he would ask if a forensic pathologist friend of his would be interested in their find. In total, if you included the likely grave of Too Tall Terry, there were thirty possible graves between the garden and the subbasement. “Quite a charnel house,” he said aloud as he made his notes. He noted Terry’s admission of his mother wanting bodies for her garden.

  “Mary Mary Quite Contrary, how does your garden grow?” he asked the house.

  Audrey was deeply focused when the chair across the table from her was pulled out. She expected to see Ted and finished the journal entry before looking up. There was no one there. She had a momentary twist of her stomach until she remembered Murphy. She touched her ear com and whispered as to not wake Mia, “Ted, is Murphy in the house?”

  “Not to my knowledge. Why?”

  “A chair pulled out across from me, and I heard someone sit down. There’s no one there.”

  “I’m looking at the dining room camera feed. I can see you and nothing else.”

  “Murphy is that you?” Audrey asked the space in front of her. There was only silence.

  “Did you hear a scratch or a crack of an axe?” Ted asked.

  “No. I’m smelling cigar smoke,” she told him.

  “Sit tight, I’ll wake Mia.”

  Audrey was sweating bullets by the time Ted reached the living room. He gently shook Mia and whispered something in her ear. Mia turned over and looked at Audrey and then across from her. She whispered something to Ted, and he took off running and brought back Mia’s sawed-off shotgun. She tucked it behind her and stepped over the salt line.

  Ted waved Audrey over indicating she should take Mia’s place within the ring of protection. Audrey was too frightened to move.

  “My name is Mia. Who am I talking to?” Mia said as she approached the table.

  The smell of smoke was stronger as if it were exhaled.

  “Audrey, leave the table, go to Ted,” Mia ordered, her voice curt.

  Audrey managed to get to her feet. She stumbled away from the table and backed her way to the circle. Ted’s firm grip stopped her from breaking the salt line. “What is it?” she asked Ted.

  “Mia says it’s a very powerful presence. Right now, it’s more smoke than form, but she has the idea it was once a man,” Ted said.

  Mia leaned against the table and watched as the smoke solidified. A man sat there and smiled as he sucked on the Cuban cigar.

  “I’ve told you my name; it’s rude not to tell me yours,” Mia played the good manners card.

  “Richard Bonner.”

  “Romeo Richard,” Mia said calmly.

  The apparition laughed. “You’ve been talking to my wife.”

  “No, I haven’t…”

  “Mary,” Audrey supplied.

  “Sorry, Mary has not made her acquaintance with me. I have talked to your brother Terrance though.”

  “He’s not to be believed,” Richard dismissed.

  “Rebecca…”

  “His sneaky little daughter. I soon taught her to stay in bed at night.”

  “Richard, why is it that you’re here, polluting this house with your cigar smoke?”

  “I should smack that smart mouth of yours.”

  “Try it, and I’ll fill you full of very painful holes,” Mia said as she brought the shotgun out. “Why haven’t you moved on?”

  “It’s my house. I’ll stay as long as I want to.”

  Mia nodded. “Fair enough. Do you know how you died?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know where you were buried?”

  “I assume the family mausoleum.”

  Mia stared at him. “If you are buried in consecrated ground, how are you here?”

  “I never thought about it before. I’ll have to ponder this a while.”

  “When you have an answer, come talk to me. The others can’t see or hear you.”

  “I’ve answered your questions. Courtesy dictates you answering some of mine.”

  Mia nodded.

  “Why are you here?”

  “To restore order. You have quite a full house,” Mia observed.

  “How are you blocking me? I got into you before.”

  “Family secret.”

  Richard vaulted out of his chair and before his hands could reach Mia, she shot him with both barrels.

  “Hurts don’t it?” she said and cracked the stock and loaded two more shots.

  Richard tried unsuccessfully to pull his form together but ended up dissipating first into smoke and then into nothingness.

  Mia looked around to make sure he was truly gone before lowering her weapon. She turned to an open-mouthed Audrey and said, “Told you I was cranky when I’m tired.”

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Audrey made a discrete getaway so Mia could tuck Ted in. She sat in the kitchen waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. Mia walked in and handed her a large bag of cookies. “Sugar helps. These are homemade with lots of natural ingredients. I won first place three years running at the county fair.”

  “Well then I better taste one or two,” Audrey said reaching into the bag. The coffee maker finished. Audrey rose but was waved off by Mia who was already standing.

  “Let me get this. How do you drink your coffee?”

  “Black.”

  “Me too, but if Ted’s mixing something special up, I’ll drink that too.”

  “How long have you known Ted?”

  “About a year.”

  “And how long have you been together?”

  “Not long. We were friends first. I think that’s important, don’t you?”

  “Yes, although, I’ve never been so lucky.”

  “You’re an attractive accomplished woman that surprises me.”

  “Thank you, Mia, but maybe that was my problem. You see when I was in college I got involved with an attractive accomplished man. He charmed me and my family. He kept talking about how beautiful I was. I have to admit I loved it. He didn’t like my friends much, so I pretty much let my friendsh
ips go in order to be with this man. We married and went on a honeymoon to Hawaii. There we lay on the beach and tanned. He bought me little bikinis, and I wore them for him.” Audrey sucked in her gut as if to prove she could still wear a bikini.

  “It was about a year into our marriage when the trouble started. I came home late from class, and he accused me of having an affair. No amount of reasoning would change his mind. He got quiet, and I went to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night to find his hands around my throat. He screamed, ‘You’ll never leave me!’ and let me go. The next morning he acted like nothing happened. A couple of months went by, and I can’t remember what happened to bring on his rage, but he smacked me hard enough to split my lip. This time I didn’t stick around. I waited until he was asleep, and I went to a shelter I heard about at the community college.”

  “That was a smart thing to do,” Mia told her.

  “The counselor there talked to me and gave me a safe place to stay, until I could divorce him. The next day he went to my family’s home looking for me. My father sent him packing. But if I had been there, I think either I would have gone back to him to protect my parents, or he would have killed us all. That’s why I volunteered to do this assessment. Payback.”

  “Is that why you don’t want a relationship?”

  “Partly. I admit I’m gun shy – what a term that is – and I’m a bit afraid of men. But I also learned to put myself first. Have the freedom to be able to stuff like this. Can you imagine having a boyfriend who didn’t understand that this was something you had to do, even if you didn’t get paid for it?”

  “Oh, I can imagine it,” Mia said evenly. She didn’t want to talk about Whit right now with Audrey. Maybe she would open up at a later time if their friendship developed. Mia was a bit gun shy herself when it came to trusting female friends.

  Mia picked up her coffee. I’m going to check the feeds and hang in the other room. If you get bored, come on over,” she invited.

  Audrey watched her leave the room. She thought she may have inadvertently caused Mia some stress, maybe a bad memory, or it could just be that she was tired.

  ~

  Murphy sat with his back to Mia’s windshield and watched the sun come up. He didn’t want to be in the house with that presence. Eventually, Ted and Mia would go home, and he would be able to once again roam his acres. He’d like to see more progress done on the barn, but he understood that the PEEPs team was up to their eyes in ghosts to placate and move on here. No sooner did they rest one and a couple more pop up. It was like trying to play Whack-a-Mole at the fair Mia took him to. You just keep whacking at it, and soon, all your problems would be solved. Of course he used his axe; he didn’t consider that cheating. Nope, not at all.

  ~

  Burt and Cid arrived to find a very bleary-eyed Audrey at the console.

  “Ted and Mia are changing batteries,” she explained.

  “Looks like you didn’t get much sleep,” Burt observed.

  “It’s not that I didn’t try. We had a visitor last night and well… sleep wasn’t going to happen after that.” She pointed to the dining room feed. “See that shredded wallpaper?”

  “Yes.”

  “Mia had to shoot the bastard.” She went on to explain what had happened and what Mia had told her and Ted. “It was Richard Bonner. Father of abuse. Deflowerer of all the pretty maids,” she listed.

  Burt laid a calming hand on her shoulder. “You’re a little punchy. Do you want me to drive you home?”

  “No, I already called my father. He’s on his way. This way I get to sleep in my childhood bed, and I get to pick his brains about the Moran family.”

  They heard the sound of a car horn. Audrey grabbed her coat and her briefcase. Burt insisted on walking her to her ride.

  He opened the passenger door and introduced himself as he handed Audrey in. Luke McCarthy shook his hand and smiled at the kind-eyed man from Kansas.

  Burt stood there waving as he watched them drive off.

  CRACK!

  Murphy’s axe dropping surprised him. He turned in the direction of the sound and blurted out, “She is not my girlfriend,” before he stomped into the house.

  Murphy shook his head. He thought otherwise.

  Mia and Ted were pulling on outer clothes when Burt came back in. Cid was sitting at the console with the headset of power on.

  “There’s some pretty interesting video for you to watch. We wrote it down in the log.”

  “Audrey gave me the lowdown, but I’d love to see it on film. Was it necessary to shoot the guy?”

  “I waste no salt. It’s too hard to pack,” Mia told him. “I think you should be alright, but I’d watch Mike. This guy was pushing to get into my brain the entire time I was talking to him. If Mike gets wonky, remind him to close his windows. He’ll know what it means. I think, as soon as we can, we need Santos and his circus of pathologists and morticians. Until then, we will just be patching the dyke.”

  “You patch one hole and another two burst out,” Ted explained.

  “I know what she was talking about, but thanks just the same. You forget I’ve heard Mia-speak before.”

  “Speaking of Mia, Mia’s tired,” she whined.

  “Go and don’t come back until after dark,” Burt ordered.

  “Yes, boss!” Ted said and dragged Mia out before Burt changed his mind.

  Murphy smiled as the couple ran towards the truck. He sat in the passenger seat and squeezed Mia over almost into Ted’s lap.

  “Can’t you wait until we get home?”

  “It was Murphy,” Mia explained.

  “Hey, Murphy, we’ll be home in fifty minutes tops. Try to keep Mia under control until then.”

  A soft snoring told both of them they needn’t have worried. Mia Cooper was sleeping. Ted reached around and engaged the seatbelt. Murphy turned the radio on to drown out her snores. Ted nodded to him. And Murphy nodded back.

  ~

  Mike arrived to find Burt and Cid busy listening to tapes and watching film. They had logged quite a few areas for him to listen and look at. He set down his offering of strudel and coffeecakes that he picked up at the bakery Audrey recommended.

  “How did the nightshift do?”

  “Brilliantly, with the exception of Mia shooting two rounds of salt into Richard Bonner,” Burt mentioned. “Cid’s going to have a look at the wall behind the shooting and see if there is any more damage besides shredded wallpaper.”

  “It could be worse, what if it were blood?” Mike said cheerily.

  “You’re optimistic this morning,” Burt observed.

  “It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do. Plus, I have some information that I picked up in the bar last night.”

  “That was a late date.”

  Mike shook his head. “Not a date, just a nightcap. I got to talking to this older guy about Chi-town history, particularly the north side, and he told me that he’d just finished a book about someone named Adelard Cunin also known as George Bugs Moran. He had two sons, one adopted and one his. So there may be an heir to his money if it is determined that it belongs to Bugs.”

  “If we find the money,” Cid interjected.

  “So since this old codger was in the mood and seemed to be in the know, at least in second hand information, I decided to pick his brains about Hagan Fowler. Turns out Hagan was adopted. I wonder if Alan has the balls to open up a closed adoption record.”

  “Why?” Burt asked curious.

  “This is my gut feeling, and Mia seems to take stock in it so don’t dismiss it right away. What if Hagan is related to the fraudulent Eleanor?”

  “Still wouldn’t help his claim, because Eleanor isn’t a Bonner,” Burt pointed out.

  “Ah, but this is going to rock your world. Her husband Gruber may have been.”

  “I don’t follow you.”

  “Richard Bonner at the time of Two Tall Terry’s murder was cash-strapped because he was paying off a woman named Gruber that he g
ot pregnant,” Mike said.

  “His mother was paying her with the family money,” Cid corrected. “Sorry, I just read Mia’s transcript of her conversation with Terrance.”

  Mike waved his hand. “Whatever. Anyway, what if the Gruber woman gave birth to a boy and faux Eleanor marries him. This would cement her claim on to the mansion. Actually, it is kind of genius. Robert had no legal heirs, no wife, no children. But John does. I take it there wasn’t much love between Robert and John, so Robert finds a way to screw his brother after he dies.”

  “It’s a great theory. Run it by Audrey and have her track down as much as she can. We want to get paid, and I doubt that David Bonner is going to do anything for our trouble, once he receives Gruber mansion, but sue us.”

  Mike picked up his phone.

  “Don’t call yet. Audrey was up all night. Give her a few hours then leave a message,” Burt instructed. “In the meanwhile, it’s tapes and video for us.” Burt patted the chair next to him.

  Mike, who hated the hours spent on listening and watching tapes, groaned but sat down just the same. “Next time I want the night shift.”

  Burt smiled. “You got it,” he said and added, “Ted says he processes a lot of tapes and recordings during the wee hours of the morning.”

  “There is no winning this battle is there, Ulysses?”

  “Sometimes surrender is a good idea, General Lee.” Burt handed Mike a headset.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Mia had finished with her chores well before before Ted arrived with Murphy in tow. She was in the garage and pleased to see the two of them sitting patiently in her truck. As she locked up and headed for the gate, she thanked her lucky stars how things had turned out.

  “So where have you decided we are going for breakfast?” she asked as she climbed in the truck and over Murphy.

  “Well, since it is dinner time for most folks, maybe we should rethink pancakes,” Ted said.

  “You have a good point there. Hey, we could go to Cracker Barrel; they serve breakfast all day long,” suggested Mia.