by Rita Moreau
“She said the house will tell where it is, but it will only tell me. That the house wants to talk before it goes and then she said something sad,” Annie felt the tears come to her eyes.
“What Annie,” Josie said. She had not seen Annie cry for a long time.
“She said,” as Annie wiped the tears from her eyes, she looked at her grandmother, “Before I go.” Josie held her close as she wrapped her arms around her granddaughter.
“She knows she is dying,” Annie sat up now and whispered. They both sat there knowing what this meant. Since her stroke, Alexi could sense the future.
“What else Annie? Did she remember what happened that night?”
“Some men in uniform showed up. The house told her to go up into the attic and close her eyes, but she opened them when she heard a loud pop. She said the house covered her eyes. I guess the house did not want her to see what happened? She opened her eyes, and that’s when she saw the body,” Annie said. “I’m sorry Gram, but I had to ask her even though it was not a good thing to do.”
“No Annie you did the right thing. You had to ask her. The opportunity might not come again. I would have done the same.”
“She was looking out the attic window, and that’s how she could see men in uniforms take the body away.”
“The attic window looked out over the back yard,” Josie said. “As kids, we played all the time in that attic. It was like a secret room for us.”
“She said the house told her to go there so she would be safe.”
“Well, that old house was like a YaYa. I’ll give it that. It watched over us. We need to find that chip, Annie, before something else happens,” Josie said. “So, Alexi said Xenia, that stubborn old house, will only talk to you?”
“Yes,” Annie said.
“Are you thinking the same thing I am? The men in uniform killed him and buried the body?” Josie said looking at her granddaughter and realizing she was no longer a child. She was a grown woman. At that moment Josie felt like the child.
“I don’t know Gram. You and I know she spends hours watching old movies. But, yes, I am thinking that. I feel it in my bones. When the police detective talked to you, did he say anything about the body?”
“Like what?” Josie said.
“Well like was he shot? Aunt Alexi said she heard a pop.”
“No. Lieutenant Dan did not say anything about the cause of death.”
“Then they can blame it on YaYa or GiGi and not the military,” Annie said. “Try to charge you as an accessory if you don’t go along,” the wise soul was talking now.
Josie looked at her granddaughter. “I suppose the military could threaten us with pinning his death on GiGi and YaYa and use that as leverage to keep quiet about whatever mystery is contained in that chip.” A shiver ran down her back. “I will see Aunt Toolou tomorrow. I will sort this out before it gets any more out of hand.”
“You and Aunt Toolou and I need to go visit that house,” Annie said. “I need to go. It wants to talk. We need a proper introduction.”
“Maybe,” Josie said. “I’m thinking more like sending MC to visit the house. After all, she has the family gift, and she might be able to coerce that house to talk. Annie, you shouldn’t go anywhere near that house,” Josie said, protective of her only granddaughter. She lost her husband and her only daughter, and she was not about to lose Annie.
“I’m afraid I do. Aunt Alexi told me that the house has chosen me. The house will only tell me where the toy or chip or whatever is hidden. It has a message for me. I need to hear it. She wants to tell me something before she goes.”
“We need to get my cousin MC up here and the sooner, the better,” Josie said. “That darn house always had a mind of its own.” “Yep, just like YaYa,” Annie said.
Chapter 13
Dayton, Ohio
Colonel Storms rode the elevator to the bottom of what felt like a deep well. The elevator was old, but the facility he headed was new and equipped with the latest technology. Most of the technology would not be available for years, long after he was gone. Just like the technology common today, cell phones, microchips, laptops. All that was around and in use in this facility back in the 1950s. He was in charge of a secret buried deep in the bowels of Wright Patterson Air Force Base. As he got out of the elevator, he looked out on the area and could see for a long way. It was mammoth. It went for miles and was all underground.
“Hangar 18,” Colonel Storms mused.
Its existence wasn’t even known to the president. Knowledge of it was on a strict need to know basis. Only a select few in the military knew of its existence, and they left him alone to run the show and keep the secrets. They were not interested. The less they knew, the less they were culpable for and they wanted plausible deniability. He intended to keep it that way. As he walked down the long corridor to reach his office, he thought over the real and immediate threat. One that would bury him and this place so deep no one would ever know. Just when things were looking up for him, that body appeared like a ghost. He had an opportunity to get out of this cave and be a part of the president’s space program. He had to stop the threat to that whatever it cost.
He picked up the phone to make a call to one of those few men in the military that knew he existed. His code name was Deep Throat.
“Well, this better be important. Have you taken care of the matter? Have you found that chip? Does it exist and if so does it reveal our secret?”
“I have not, but then I’m working alone on this matter as you well know,” Colonel Storms said.
“Look, Harvey Long wanted out, but he knew all the secrets, and it wasn’t like he could quit his job and leave. He had threatened to go public if anything happened to him or his family. He had said he had proof. A computer chip that would come to the light of day if anything happened to him or his family,” the colonel said to Deep Throat.
“Now that he has returned from the dead, Colonel Storms, you need to find out whether Harvey was telling the truth or just bluffing,” Deep Throat said.
“He wasn’t supposed to be killed, but things escalated and got out of hand. Harvey was drunk that night, and it looked like he was reaching for a gun, so they shot him,” Storms said.
“Colonel Storms you need to put a stop to any escalation now before it gets out of hand,” Deep Throat said. “You need to find out if Harvey Long gave his secretary the chip and if the daughter now has the chip. Simple and clear soldier?”
“Yes sir,” Storms said as he heard the line go dead.
The colonel was worried about the daughter, Josie. He suspected she knew something. He could tell that from the day he had that talked to that woman. She asked too many questions. After they buried the body, they watched her and the family for a long time for any signs. After GiGi died, they assumed the threat died with her and would remain buried in the ground.
When he got to his office, he closed the door and opened a safe. He sat down and looked at a handwritten letter. It was over 50 years old, and at the bottom, it was signed and dated by Harvey Long with a cryptic message. It was a warning that all of our secrets were on a chip that would go public if anything happened to him or his family. The world would know that there was a crash of a UFO all those years ago at Roswell and it was covered up by the very department he headed. If he gave that computer chip to his secretary GiGi that night, she hid it well because it had never been found. That old house had been searched from top to bottom with the latest technology over the years, technology learned from the aliens, and still, nothing showed up. It was as if that house could place itself in stealth mode. Like the alien technology that came to light after the Roswell crash. Maybe he had not shared it with anyone. This piece of paper in front of him was all he left. He was a drunk and a womanizer.
It was imperative that the secrets be kept secret. Can you imagine if the American public found out that Roswell was a cover-up? What other conspiracy theories would they challenge? Something was strange about that house o
n Xenia. With their technology, he had been told that the house showed a presence. It was undeterminable as to its nature. It was not human, but it possessed human traits. That bothered him. Could that presence, whatever it was, have the chip? Would it give it up if that family was threatened, like a mother protecting its children? He was sure it would, it’s an instinct commonly found in all life, human or not.
Chapter 14
Dayton, Ohio
Annie was 18 years old and had just graduated from high school. She had a scholarship to Ohio State. Only she didn’t intend to use it. She had other plans than attending Ohio State in the fall. She sat on the couch with her Aunt Alexi. Alexi was the only one who knew of her plans. Josie had gone out to do shopping.
Before the stroke, Alexi and Annie had talked about her plans to move in with her after she graduated from high school and pursue her dream to make it big in Hollywood. It was during her last visit before the stroke they mapped it all out. No one knew about her plans except her aunt. She never had the chance to tell her grandmother. Alexi would visit, and together they would break the news. Then she had the stroke, and everything changed.
As Annie sat there with her aunt, she recalled an important conversation she had with her aunt on that last visit to see her in LA.
“These are very important papers, Annie. I had my lawyer draw them up, and they represent a trust fund I set up for you. This house and everything I own I am leaving to you. I want you to follow your dreams and not have to worry about where the next dime is coming from like I did. With the trust I have set up, you will be protected from the sharks you will meet out here. You will be well taken care of and Josie too.”
As Annie sat with her aunt, she recalled her aunt walking her into her bedroom and showing her a safe which was hidden behind a framed movie poster of a movie she had a part in many years earlier. She handed her a piece of paper. Annie remembered looking at it. It was the combination for the safe.
“You will need to enter my safe after my death. There is something important in there. You will find it in an envelope addressed to you. Your great-grandmother left a similar envelope for me, and I was to pass it on to my oldest daughter. I am passing it to you. It contains a secret. You will become the guardian of the secret and only you. Not even my sister. This is for your protection. You will pass it on to your oldest daughter when the time comes for you.”
“I wish we could talk Aunt Alexi,” Annie said thinking about that conversation.
After the stroke her grandmother had been appointed her sister’s guardian, so she fully knew of the trust that had been set up for her, but Annie had never told her about the envelope with the secret waiting for her in her aunt’s safe. As she sat there with her aunt, she was now wondering if it had something to do with the body found under the house and the computer chip.
“You are the only one who knows I am not going to Ohio State in the fall Aunt Alexi,” Annie said as her aunt smiled back at her. “I want to go to Hollywood. I’m ready to follow my dream just as you did all those years ago. Maybe we can all move back to your house. Wouldn’t that be a hoot,” Annie said to her aunt with a chuckle.
“You need to talk to your grandmother,” Alexi said in a serious tone.
“Aunt Alexi, can you hear me?” Annie asked as she turned to look at her aunt.
“I can, silly.” When her aunt was in the here and now, she did not remember she had a stroke. She thought it was the holidays or she was back in Dayton for a visit.
“I need to pack and get back to LA. Why don’t you come with me? But first, you need to have that talk with your grandmother. Once you have the talk, we’ll go back and get you started on your career. You are talented. I am very excited for you.”
Annie smiled at her aunt. Oh, if only she had not had that stroke, but she was right about one thing, she needed to have that talk with her grandmother. She had been putting it off with the entire ruckus about the old house on Xenia. It was time.
“Okay, Aunt Alexi, I will do that. You are right. I need to have that talk with Gram.”
“I think I’ll take a little nap before I pack to head back to LA.”
“I love you, Aunt Alexi,” Annie said as she gave her a kiss on her forehead and left her to take a nap on the couch.
“I miss you.”
Chapter 15
Fish Camp, FL
Limo Louie picked me up, and we were headed to get Mabel. We had a meeting with the district counsel attorney at the federal building in Miami.
“The audit has progressed to a case docketed before the US Tax Court and is now on a tax calendar coming up in a few weeks. As you know this means it would go to trial if not settled beforehand,” Limo Louie said.
“What’s happening with the innocent spouse claim?” I asked.
“Mabel told me her ex wants her to drop the innocent spouse claim. His tax attorney reached out to me with a proposition. If Mabel would drop the innocent spouse claim Jack will pay all taxes, interest, and penalties,” Limo Louie told MC.
“The district counsel attorney wants to settle. She doesn’t want to take the case to court. The holdup is the innocent spouse claim. I think the attorney wants to talk to Mabel into withdrawing the claim for innocent spouse relief.”
“But Mabel doesn’t want to give up the claim,” I said thinking about Mabel. She was one tough broad.
For the rest of the ride Limo Louie told MC about his latest conversation with Mabel and her unwillingness to settle, “What does he think I was born under a rock? I’m not dropping my claim. I am an innocent spouse, and I don’t trust Jack. I want to know where that money from the bar went, and I want my share before the gold-digger he married dumps him and cleans him out.”
They pulled up in front of a small mansion on the Intercostal waterway. It was new. A lot of the older homes had been bought and torn down, and newer mansions popped up.
“Stay here, I’ll go fetch Mabel,” Limo Louie said as he parked in the circular drive and got out of the limo. MC watched as he rang the doorbell.
While I waited, I took the time to check my texts. I had one from Aunt Anna which said she and Aunt Sophia were heading down to the public access TV studio to tape their show. Aunt Anna reminded me of my promise to visit the studio. Another text from Josie saying John Long the son and local news anchor was stalking her and she had no choice but to meet with him. They were meeting for coffee, and she would text or call MC with an update.
Limo Louie came out of the front door with Mabel. He opened the door, and Mabel got in the back of the limo with me. She was dressed down for the meeting with the government attorney. Limo Louie told her to dress conservatively. No jewelry or anything flashy. She was to play the part of an innocent spouse and not a wealthy dowager. She looked like she was going to church. Her hair was pulled back behind her ears, and she was wearing a dress and flats.
“Do I look the part of an innocent spouse?” Mabel asked me. “My housekeeper picked this up for me at Walmart.”
“No need for the Halloween costume. The government attorney knows all about you Mabel. You would have been fine wearing your normal finery and leaving the gold jewelry and diamonds at home.”
“Well, I like this dress. It’s comfortable, and I love these shoes. I told my housekeeper, Lili, I wanted to go shopping with her next time she goes to Walmart.”
“You’ve never been inside a Walmart?” I asked Mabel.
“No, not allowed on Long Island,” Mabel said. I did eye the expensive purse Mabel was carting. It was the same one she brought to the meeting at the tax office.
“You know that expensive bag does not match your Walmart attire?”
“Crap,” Mabel said and picked up the expensive bag and handed it over to me like it was a bomb but not before she reached in and took out gold and diamond studded Rolex. I noted it was different from the one she wore the other day at the office.
“Put this on. You need to wear this to the meeting and look more the part,” Mabel said
as she took the Rolex and slipped it on my wrist like I was a child. I looked down at the Rolex, “This thing is worth more than everything I own.”
“Yeah, it probably is,” Mabel said matter-of-factly while looking me up and down.
“Now give me your purse, and you carry mine,” Mabel said holding her hand out, rolling her fingers back and forth, with the come on, give it to me universal hand signal. I handed my purse over to Mabel, and she handed the fancy bag over like we were spies exchanging dark secrets.
“This looks better, more like Walmart,” Mabel said as she placed my purse next to her and gave it a couple of pats. I could see Limo Louie chuckling up front as he made his way south on I-95 to Miami.
“Mabel, you are to play a part of the innocent spouse,” I said to Mabel who was looking at me with a look only a woman used to giving orders can do.
“I know. Louie went over my part the other day at lunch. I know what to do. Keep quiet and play the church mouse. You two will do all the talking.”
“That’s correct. Their attorney will try to engage you in conversation, but don’t be quick to answer questions.”
“Right, I’ll bite my tongue and look confused like those politicians do when they are being grilled by congress. I’ll just say I don’t remember. Don’t worry MC. I’ve been playing parts all my life, plus one of my daughters is an actress on Broadway. Where do you think she got her talent? Not from Jack.”
When Limo Louie finally pulled up in front of the Federal Building, he dropped us off, and we waited while he parked the limousine and returned.
“Let’s go,” he said as we followed him into the building and got in line to go through the scanner. The person behind the scanner was all business.
“Aw oh,” Mabel said.
“What?” I asked Mabel.
“My purse, it might have something in it that it should not.”
“Like what?” I said as my hands got sweaty while holding the bag.
“A gun.”
“What!” I said as I pulled Mabel out of line and we went back outside. Limo Louie was going through the line and didn’t see us.