by Rita Moreau
I sat on the side railing which seemed sturdy enough, and Josie decided to sit on the steps. That was as far as she was going. I felt my eyes go heavy and it was while we sat on the old front porch, I heard the house speak to me.
“MC, I am old now, and I need your help. I have protected something for my family for as long as I can, but now my days are numbered. You know what it is. When the time comes, I will show it to Annie. That time is not now, but it is near. You will know when, and you will serve as her guide. I will protect it until then. At that time, I will tell Annie what to do with it. I also have a message for her—before I die.”
“We can go now Josie,” I said.
“We can? Did the house talk to you?”
“Yes, it did. Like an old friend. Did it talk to you?”
“No, it never does. Remember I almost accidentally burnt it down when I was a kid. I guess it has a long memory,” Josie said. “So, what did it say?”
“It said it when the time comes it will give it up but not now and only to Annie. It has something to tell her. A message before it dies.”
“I already know what the message is,” Josie said. “Follow your dreams. The same message it has told all of us over the years.”
“No, I feel like it’s something else. Let’s go,” I said as I started to step down from the porch, but Josie stopped me cold in my tracks.
“But we know the chip has to be in that old house. I think we should at least try to go in while you are here. Maybe it will change its mind and talk to you instead of Annie. I’m worried for her,” Josie said, and as she did, I watched her shoot past me up the steps and on the porch and reach for the front door.
She tried to open it and it would not open. She stood there and tried to shove it open and banged on the old door and finally, she gave up. “You are as stubborn as a YaYa,” she said in exasperation to the old house.
I walked up to her and took her hand. “Let’s go, Josie. The house is not ready to give it up, or it would invite us in for a visit. Don’t worry. It will not let anything happen to Annie. It has protected your family as long as it has lived.”
“I know, but I don’t want to bring Annie,” Josie said. “There are powerful men out there that want that chip and want whatever it is on that chip to stay buried. MC, do you see anything? Can you see the chip so at least we know where it is when we come back?” Josie said giving the house a look and then she threw in some spitting, for good measure.
“I saw something. I couldn’t make it out. The house has kept it hidden. The house has what my friend Ernie, a spook, would call stealth mode. I do know it’s not going to give it up until it’s ready, and for some reason only the house knows, that time is not now.”
“But I need that chip,” Josie said.
“It won’t give it to either you or me.”
“Only Annie?”
I nodded my head, and Josie let out a long sigh as we went down the steps to the car where three women were waiting for us.
“Well?” Aunt Sophia said as Josie got in the driver’s seat and started the car. Annie was still busy on social media.
“It won’t give up the chip. It wants MC to come back and bring Annie,” Josie said as she pulled away from the curb. I was back sandwiched between my two aunts who looked at me at the same time. I didn’t have to look in their eyes, but I could feel the fear coming from Aunt Anna who had seen something last night when she read the cards with Toolou. “Sounds like you’ll be coming back,” Aunt Sophia said. “I’m afraid so,” Aunt Anna now said and reached over and squeezed my hand. “Yep,” I said, and I knew instinctively it wasn’t going to be long before the next visit.
“I’m looking forward to chatting with the old house. I think it will be an interesting conversation,” Annie said and waved good-bye.
“Let’s go. We have a plane to catch,” I said, and as we drove away, I heard the house one more time. “Until we meet again, MC. One last time before I die. Tell my family how much I love them and will protect them to my last breath. I have been entrusted with a secret all these years, and it is time to give it to the next generation of your family. Annie will be the guardian of this secret, but the secret may not remain a secret much longer. It might be time to tell the world.”
Chapter 21
Dayton, Ohio
A few days after the funeral Josie and Annie were going through Alexi’s belongings. She did not have much, so it was not a big job. After they were done, they sat down at the family table and talked again about her decision not to go to Ohio State in the fall. She wanted to move to LA and move into Alexi’s house. She wanted her grandmother to join her.
“I am sorry Gram, I know you had your heart set on me attending college and I know how important education is in our family but so is following your dreams. I have to do this, or I will forever look back on this time in my life. I want you to come with me. You have always taken care of the family. It’s time for you to follow your dream and write that book.”
Josie had shared with her granddaughter she and John Long were becoming friends, and he was encouraging her to write something beyond eulogies.
“Friends?” Annie said with a smile. Josie had shared some of her writing with him. Until now Annie was the only one who saw a few short stories, she had written. He told her she had a genuine voice and she should pursue writing. He offered to help.
“First, we need to close your aunt’s estate. We need to meet with her lawyer and make sure everything is in order, and you are on all the required paperwork for the house and bank accounts. You also need to look in her safe,” Josie said.
Annie nodded her head. She had not spoken about the safe to her grandmother, but she was right. She needed to open it and look for the envelope. She felt relieved that her grandmother would be there when she looked in that envelope. She was no longer a child. She knew adult responsibilities would come, and they would start with whatever was in that envelope.
“After that I want you to return with me and re-think giving up that scholarship. You can attend Ohio State and major in theater or film. It’s just 4 years Annie and then head to La La Land. That way you will have a college degree. Something you can fall back on anytime in your life. Something your Aunt Alexi did not have when times were hard. She was smart like you and good with computers. She had an opportunity to go to school for computers right after she graduated from high school. She would have been in on the ground floor. Alexi had asked our mother for her blessing. She understood more than anyone the power of a dream but also the practicality of a good education. She struggled to get where she was at Wright-Patt and worked hard and retired as the base commander’s secretary. In the end, she gave Alexi her blessing. Something YaYa did not give her daughter, and you know the story. I give you my blessing Annie, but please think it all the way through. You have time for both.”
“I will think about it,” Annie said, but her mind was made up. She was not going to college. Four years was too long to wait. Even so, she had a point. She knew until this mystery with the body and that chip are put to rest her grandmother would not leave Dayton. She also knew something else. The house spoke to her. Like a YaYa. While they were sitting in front of the house, it told her to follow her dream and don’t look back. That sealed it for her. That day she knew she was going to Hollywood. It was just a matter of time.
“Like I said, we have to go to LA and attend to the house your aunt left you, and there are some bank accounts and a meeting with her lawyer. We’ll fly out this week,” Josie said to her granddaughter. “Make arrangements at your job. By the way that dining room table is yours. Alexi left it to you. Maybe I’ll make plans to ship it out to Hollywood,” Josie said with a chuckle. “Well, at least it’s not a talking table like Xenia.”
They made plans to fly to LA. She called Aunt Toolou and told her they were going out to LA to take care of her sister’s home and some other financial matters. Although she left her estate to Annie, she appointed Josie as her executor.
Josie had a power of attorney for her sister while she was alive, so she was familiar with her estate. Still, MC had told her to call if she had questions and to keep her in the loop. They took an Uber to the airport. Josie saw Colonel Storms at the airport once they passed through security. He followed them to their gate. He did not hide his presence. Josie turned and stared at him as they boarded. A chill went up her back as she followed her granddaughter onto the plane.
Chapter 22
La La Land
Josie and Annie landed at LAX. Josie was overwhelmed by the size of the airport, but Annie had flown in before visiting Alexi, so she was comfortable in her shoes, her ruby red tennis shoes as she liked to call them. The real estate company that took care of Alexi’s house sent a driver, so it was easy for them getting from the airport to the house. He stayed a few minutes, and they did a walk through to make sure everything was in order. Once he was gone, Josie and Annie stepped out on the redwood deck and took a minute to regroup.
Alexi’s house was in Hollywood Hills. They stood on the deck and looked out at the view. Far off in the distance, they could see the famous Hollywood sign.
“Annie your aunt told me that this house is a stilt house or what they call out here a cantilevered house. Alexi bought it years ago because it sits on Woodrow Wilson Drive and she was a big fan of a series of novels that features two different detectives with homes on this street.” Josie was familiar with the authors. She also was a fan of their work. The view was amazing, canyons, mountains and the Hollywood sign.
“It's beautiful Gram, and I want you to move here and live with me. The house has everything, a view, high ceilings, skylights, and a fireplace,” Annie said pleading with Josie with a look she had as a child that Josie could never resist.
“I love this house,” Annie said. “Gram, you have to come live with me in this house. I feel like I belong here. You can write your book. I almost feel like this house talks too,” Annie said to Josie who looked at her now with a look of consternation.
“OMG,” Josie said.
“Got you,” Annie said as they both laughed.
Josie gave Annie a hug and a big kiss. Maybe it was Hollywood or La La Land as she liked to call it in jest, but she almost felt like she could write a book here in this house that sits on this famous street and in books she loved. Maybe right here on this deck. She had a dream to someday write a book. She dismissed it after a few daydreams. Her practical nature ruled her life. It might be time to change, she thought, but not now, later.
“I’m a writer of eulogies Annie. Writing a book is like climbing a mountain. For now, I’ll stick with the hills.”
“You can write, and if we lived here, I know you would write that book. Who knows it might be a big hit and get made into a movie?”
“If it is, then you will have the leading role,” Josie said with a chuckle and a lightness she had not felt for a long time. Maybe there was something to being here in this La La Land.
Josie listened to her young granddaughter, and for a minute, her mind toyed with starting a new life out here with her. Whether or not she liked it, her granddaughter had decided to not go to college but to pursue her dreams. She would have to move in with her. At least until she was older. She would not lose her granddaughter like she lost her daughter.
“Let’s talk about that later Annie. When we get back to Dayton. For now, I think it's time to check the safe. Josie opened her bag and took out the papers Alexi had left for Annie. They contained trust documents, bank account information and her will. Alexi had gone over the papers with Annie the last time she visited before she had the stroke. Josie had done the same right before they left. Josie handed Annie the papers. She thumbed through the papers and found the combination to the safe.
“You will need to change the combination before we leave,” Josie said. Josie had an attorney in Dayton go over the papers, and that was one thing he said.
They made their way to the master bedroom which also had a spectacular view overlooking Hollywood. Annie remembered it was a keypad and the safe was on the wall behind a framed movie poster.
“Your Aunt was very proud of her role in that movie, the largest role she ever got.”
Annie removed the movie poster and as carefully punched in the numbers that opened the safe. Annie stood there for a moment.
“What is it, Annie?” Josie said.
“I don’t know, a feeling of sadness. As I open this safe and walk through her house, it hit me again that Aunt Alexi is gone.”
“Annie, she is not gone. They are never gone, we just can’t see them anymore. Don’t forget what family you are a part of—she’ll pop in from time to time, trust me on that, and it will be Alexi, our Alexi. She’ll let you know.”
Annie smiled and gave her grandmother a hug. She turned and opened the door of the safe, looked in, and took out the contents. She held out a passport so her grandmother could see it and a small jewelry box. That was it. Nothing else was in the safe. No envelope.
“There is nothing else in here, no envelope,” Annie said to Josie who now stuck her head close to the safe and looked inside.
“Do you remember the last time you and Alexi looked in the safe?”
“No, I never looked in the safe. Aunt Alexi showed me where the safe was and told me how to open it. I don’t think she would have moved the envelope and not told me? Maybe someone took it?”
“She might have moved it right before her stroke, and afterward she would have forgotten that she moved it. She may never have gotten the chance to tell you,” Josie said.
“That’s possible,” Annie said.
“Plus, don’t forget who we are dealing with from Wright-Patt,” Josie said thinking of Colonel Storms at the airport. “This would be a piece of cake for Wright-Patt to break into this house and safe.”
“I saw him at the airport,” Annie said.
“You did? The colonel?”
“Sure, there were several of them. I saw Colonel Storms. I know who he is—remember I checked him out online,” Annie said.
“I saw him at the airport. They're watching us,” Josie said. “We need to be careful.” She wondered now if the house was bugged. She decided if they needed to talk, she would turn up the music and step outside on the deck. Just like the fictional detective character that lived in a house on this street.
“From now on we will talk out on the deck with the music on,” Josie said.
“Well it won’t hurt,” Annie said in a whisper. “Better safe than sorry.”
Chapter 23
Dayton, Ohio
Annie and Josie spent a week at the house, met with lawyers and got everything formalized so they could close her sister’s estate, and then flew back to Dayton. Annie knew in her heart she would be back, but she also knew before she could come back, they needed to sort a mystery at another family house.
On their return, they were thankful to see no news reporters, who had all moved on to another story. Annie had left for her job at Dorothy Lane, and Josie was alone in the house. She was sitting on the sofa in her living room. She decided it was a good time to call MC. Since the funeral, they had become closer. MC was now a trusted friend and advisor. She kept MC up to date on the chip. Josie even opened up to MC about her blossoming friendship with John Long who had called when she returned and invited her to dinner. A real date and, with Annie’s coaxing, she accepted.
“This is MC, can I help you.”
“MC this is Josie. How are you doing? How are your aunts?”
“I am doing well, and both aunts are fine. And you?”
“Well, we got back from LA to find that everything around here seems to have quieted down. The reporters are no longer camped out on my front lawn. All the financial business has been taken care of for Annie. She’s now the owner of the house and everything that Alexi had left.”
As MC was listening to Josie, she felt her head spin, and she got a little dizzy. The psychic channels were opening, and so was MC’s ability t
o see things remotely.
“Annie opened the safe as Alexi had told her to do. There was supposed to be an envelope waiting for her in it. We only found her passport and a jewelry box. No envelope. MC, I was wondering if you could think about it. Maybe something will come to you,” Josie said.
“While I was sitting here talking to you. I felt a little dizzy which means I’m tuning into that part of my brain. Wait a minute,” MC said while the fog dissipated. “The safe is on a wall?”
“Yes, it’s behind a framed movie poster.”
“It has a keypad.”
“That’s correct. You can see it.”
“I get flashes. This happens sometimes. I’m surprised it is coming over the phone. Usually, I have to be nearby and holding onto something that will trigger it. Maybe it’s because you are near something that is triggering it, Josie.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you Josie. Don’t fight it like I did all those years. We need to work together. Take a minute and give it a try.”
“Okay, hang on a sec,” Josie said and then closed her eyes and took a deep, audible breath.
MC asked, “Okay what do you see?”
“I’m not sure. I see something, but it’s fuzzy. I think it’s in a box of some sort,” Josie said.
“So there wasn’t anything like that in the safe? No box,” MC asked.
“No. No box, just her passport, and her jewelry box.”
“That’s the box,” MC, said. “I think there is something in the jewelry box, Josie. Can you go get it and look now?”
“I can, but I really should ask Annie. I’ll text her and get her permission. I don’t know how to text and keep you on the line at the same time, so I’ll call you back.” Josie quickly disconnected and texted Annie. Annie responded back quickly with the green light to follow MC’s lead.
Josie went to Alexi’s old bedroom where they had laid the jewelry box on top of the nightstand next to her bed. She took the jewelry box to the living room and placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa. She called MC back and put her on speaker phone. Then she opened the jewelry box.