by Alexie Aaron
Audrey nodded indicating she heard Mia, but the look on her face was confused.
“One of the things I learned from my parents’ books and papers are that the things that happen nowadays, that we accept so readily, were kept hidden then because people were punished for them. Children born out of wedlock were rushed away to relatives or given to poor families to raise. In the Basso case, I assume that most of their income came from the Church. Now you and I know that all sorts of sordid things happened in and out of the Church, but the populous at the time didn’t know that. Propriety must be maintained. If this house was being built for the Church then the builders had to maintain high morality or wouldn’t be employed by them. Smoke and mirrors.”
“You’ve made your point. I can see you aren’t a religious person.”
“I’m a spiritual person,” Mia corrected. “Don’t get me wrong. I am not mocking your church or any church for that matter, just commenting on the facts I’ve learned. I grew up in a house where a girl was forced to bear the assaults of her father. He killed her instead of having his sins revealed when she became pregnant. He was a pillar of society. He was a man with immoral cravings, and she died because of it. He dismembered her and hid her body in the house. I fear something sinister is afoot here, but it happened long before the priests took up residence. The house would have been blessed before the priest would have moved in. This may have kept the evil at bay.”
“It hasn’t had a man of the cloth in it for some time now,” Audrey informed her. “What I am getting from you is, you suspect that something horrible happened here before the clergy took possession. Giuseppe or Pietro Basso may have been involved. I did get a feeling that Drago didn’t have much regard for Giuseppe outside of his work.”
“It is early days yet, but let’s put them down as suspicious. I’ll return to the doll at some point and see if the child is connected to the Bassos. If the house was completed on the exterior, it was common at the time for the people doing the fine finishing to live in the house to keep it safe from vandals,” Mia enlightened her.
“You are a wealth of information, Ms. Cooper.”
“That tidbit came from Bernard or one of his cronies. I can’t remember who exactly. I spent my life listening to others, not having too much to say myself. Now I run off at the mouth.”
“Welcome to the club,” Audrey said. She scooted herself next to Mia and pointed to the balustrade. “I don’t have the same aversion to the carved birds as you do. I felt them reach out for me when I was falling. I question whether it actually happened or perhaps it was a fantasy made up by the adrenalin flowing through me. But look at my arms,” Audrey paused and rolled up her sleeves, “Don’t they look like claw marks and beak pecks?”
Mia surveyed the damage to Audrey’s hands and forearms and moved her ungloved hand along the scratches. “Could be? In my experience, anything can happen. If I can turn myself into a dragon, or a mouse for that matter, then I can’t argue a staircase carving coming to life.”
“Don’t say anything to Burt; he’ll think I’m nuts.”
“Audrey, don’t discount him. He was the first to believe me in the beginning. He is more than the persona he puts on as a leading member of PEEPs. He is careful about what he says, but he believes. Believe me, he believes.” Mia got up and extended a hand up to Audrey.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but thanks are not necessary. Shower me with your mother’s cooking. Teach me to line my eyes the way you do, but don’t thank me for giving you the truth.”
“Why, Mia Cooper, I didn’t think you were interested in makeup?”
“I’m not interested because I don’t know how to wear it. Sure Ralph would love to show me, but his tastes are a bit too flamboyant for me.”
“No girlfriends growing up?”
“Nope, you’re the first.”
Audrey blushed. Mia regarded her as a girlfriend. This super little human wanted to be her friend. “Gee, Mia, I’m honored.”
Mia smiled and nodded towards the stairs. “We better help the guys out or get the reputation of being ‘too good’ to pitch in.”
“Gotcha.”
As they descended the staircase, Audrey took the position by the railing. She felt the warmth of the wood. She glanced over at Mia and wished she too could experience this.
A child’s laughter caused both of them to stop and turn to look up the stairs.
No specter greeted them. Just the happy laughter of a child playing in the walls.
Chapter Thirteen
Luke arrived just before the teams were ready to be deployed in the parish house. He parked his car next to the truck and began unloading a large hibachi grill.
“I haven’t seen one of those since I was a child,” Cid remarked as he arrived to help him after securing the gate.
“You’re still a child,” Luke said briskly. “I thought you could all use a hot meal. The McCarthys have been toting this little monster to every tailgate party we’ve been involved in. It’s heavy as sin but does the job. I’m hoping to have hotdogs and brats up and ready for you guys. My wife has salads and condiments in the cooler on the back seat.”
Cid smiled at the chatty man. He now saw what side of the family Audrey took most after.
“Dad, I didn’t expect you here,” Audrey said as she and Mia walked down the back porch steps.
“Darlin’, I couldn’t resist. I called Burt, and he said I could come. I brought food…”
Audrey opened her mouth to say something, but Mia hit her on the arm.
“He brought food, hush up.” Mia danced over and hugged the man, much to his surprise.
“What’s that for?”
“Thinking of us. And to pick your pocket,” she said seriously. “What’s this?” Mia held up a slim bottle with a cork stopper.
“A jar of holy water. I stopped at Father Timothy’s. He blessed it for me.”
“Is there any more?”
“Yes, a mason jar full. It rolled under the front seat when I was driving.”
She smiled and handed it back to him. “Careful how you use it. I have my friend Murphy roaming about.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I’ll be careful. It’s just the violence of the thing that attacked my daughter scares me.”
Mia nodded. “It’s good to be scared. That way you’ll be cautious. Sometimes people forget that ghosts were people. They still have feelings. They don’t know exactly how to communicate with us. Sometimes even the nicest ones are dangerous in certain circumstances.”
CRACK!
They jumped.
“I’m talking about you too, Murph, so stop acting all high and mighty.”
Audrey giggled which was infectious, and soon her father was laughing along with her. Mia shrugged and walked over to Murphy.
Luke and Audrey watched as she had a few words with the air in front of her. “Gee, I wish I could see him,” Luke admitted.
“Careful what you wish for, Da,” Audrey said. “Although, I understand he’s a handsome, dark Irishman with steely gray eyes.”
“Do I have to worry about you and Murphy?”
“Oh no, I’ve got work on the mind and romance in the drawer.”
“Good. Now help me set up the hibachi.”
Audrey complied.
Burt watched the father and daughter work from the back of the truck. Cid was setting up tables and lighting citronella pots and setting them around the makeshift picnic area.
“What’s going on, Gladys?” Ted asked, referring to the meddlesome character from Bewitched.
“I’m not Gladys Kravitz,” Burt insisted.
“You keep telling yourself that,” Ted said as he typed furiously on the keys. “Either get over there and join in with the fun or spend your life looking in the window.”
“I can’t believe you, a backwards techie who still plays with dolls…”
“Action figures,” Ted corrected.
“Are giving me advice on
being social,” Burt finished.
“I’ve always been social even when I was a geek,” Ted said. “Come here and tell me, is this the shot you want of the stairs?”
Burt walked over and nodded. “I’m glad you didn’t position the camera looking up the stairs. It gets in the way when you’re running down full speed heading for the door.”
Ted laughed. “We’ve had a couple of those.” He smiled and handed a headset to Burt. “Listen.”
Burt put on the headset, and he heard the laughter. “It’s a child.” He handed them back to Ted.
“Mia says she’s not a threat.”
“When did you talk to Mia? She just came out of the house.”
“I listened in on their conversation,” Ted said, directing Burt’s gaze to the monitor and the camera in place in the upper hall.
“And you call me Gladys!”
Ted ignored him and continued to work. He enhanced the sound and recorded the little girl’s laughter. “She sounds happy.”
“It’s a good sign. Another good sign is that Luke has the hibachi lit. We will soon have a hot meal.”
~
Fed and happy, the first team assembled at the backdoor. Mia handed Audrey an infrared camera and helped her to secure it around her neck. “Don’t be surprised by your own heat signature. You’ll be able to see it reflected in windows when you enter a room. Sometimes in shiny paneling.”
Cid stood there, uncomfortable without a camera to hold. Burt wanted him out front for this investigation. “Just act natural. You’re going to lead this trip inside. Describe what you see and how you’re feeling. Talk like you do with Ted but leave out the pop references. Be scientific,” Burt advised.
Mia opened the door for them and held it as they entered. She tapped her com. “Bait on hook, over.”
“Acknowledged, over,” Ted’s voice came over clear and strong.
Mia invited Luke to sit next to Ted in the command vehicle. He readily agreed. Mia climbed in after them, taking a place behind them, watching the screen with one eye and Murphy with the other. He was sharpening his axe and whistling. Her little talk with him about not scaring the McCarthys seemed to have sunk in.
“The foyer at the base of the staircase was the last sighting of the entity. Audrey, how would you describe it?” Cid asked professionally.
“A large black mass with strong hands and arms radiating out of the middle.”
“The mass, was it made of smoke or something else?”
“It swirled like smoke but was much denser. It blocked the light behind it.”
Burt was pleased. The two new investigators had poise, and their voices were steady and comfortable.
“Let’s head upstairs and do an EVP session.” Cid walked to the stairway and started climbing.
Burt hung back until Cid and Audrey reached the landing and then followed them up. He had gotten used to traveling with only the sight the viewer gave him. Burt could move backwards as easily as forwards. He could ascend and descend staircases of all sorts. He learned to not hold the camera too rigidly as he walked. This way the filming was smoother, more Hollywood, less Blair Witch.
Cid stopped halfway down the hall. “Hello, my name is Cid. I’m looking for the spirit that attacked my colleague last evening.”
Audrey slowly moved the infrared back and forth, taking in the hall. She shook her head. “Nothing unusual.”
Ted tapped the part of the large monitor that showed the feed from the back bedroom. The picture became larger and dominated the screen.
Mia leaned over and whispered, “I see it too.”
“Burt, we have a mass forming in the back bedroom. To your left, three doors down, over.”
“Cid, we have movement three rooms on the left,” Burt said even though Cid heard everything he did. This was for the viewers, not that they would use this investigation. It was more to train the team for a filmable hunt.
“Let’s go in there slowly,” Cid said.
Burt followed him, and Audrey quickly got behind them as they opened the door. Burt was adamant that the viewer should see what the investigators saw. Too often the trailing cameraman missed the fleeting ghost and left a big question mark as to whether the team actually saw anything at all.
“Brrr, it’s cold,” Audrey mentioned as the door opened and an icy draft moved out at them.
“It’s in the corner, to the right of the window,” Ted instructed.
Luke and Mia watched as Burt moved and focused his camera on the mass.
“I’m picking up a deep blue image about six feet tall,” Audrey said.
“Hello, my name is Cid, and I’m looking for the spirit that encountered my friend, Audrey, last evening.”
The mass twisted a bit but remained in the corner.
“Temperature is dropping. Burt, be prepared to switch to the second battery,” Ted said as he watched the technical feed of the two cameras involved.
Cid held out the digital recorder and placed it on the ground. “Speak into the box on the floor. If you are talking to me now, I can’t hear you, but this box will help me to hear you later,” he explained.
“NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOO RIGHT!” the entity screamed before it launched itself at Audrey.
Cid put himself between the mass and the woman and fell as the brute force of the ghost caught him in the solar plexus.
Mia launched herself out of the truck. “Murphy, upstairs, hurry!” She grabbed her loaded shotgun out of the duffle as she ran into the house.
Audrey let the infrared swing from the strap around her neck. She dug in her pocket finding the small bottle, pulled the cork out with her teeth and flung holy water at the approaching mass. It recoiled but didn’t dissipate. Burt pulled at her shoulder with his free arm and positioned her behind him. He was still filming.
Cid got up and shouted, “What right?”
The entity turned to Cid and started to form solidify. “Myyyyyy business. Stay out of my business,” it hissed.
“Who are you? What is your business?” Cid asked.
“BASSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,” it screamed, and an arm emerged and pointed Audrey’s way. “GET OUT!” it ordered, and when she didn’t comply, it moved towards her.
Audrey turned and ran out into the hall.
Cid moved again to intercept and was batted away. The strength of the entity worried Burt. He saw Cid fly against the wall. He put the camera down and rushed to his side. The entity moved past him and out into the hall.
“I’m fine, protect Audrey,” Cid said, trying to get up.
Burt left him and ran out the door.
Audrey had almost made the stairway when she heard a rush of wind. She turned and saw the mass moving towards her.
“Drop,” Mia’s voice screamed from behind her. She did as she was told, and Mia took aim and shot a load of rock salt at the entity.
It screamed in pain but didn’t weaken. Mia moved forward and shot at it again, giving Audrey time to descend the stairs.
The entity grabbed the front of the spent shotgun and wrenched it out of Mia’s hands. It tossed it over the balustrade. It continued to move towards her.
Murphy appeared behind the mass and swung his axe, bisecting the entity. It faltered and tried to reform.
“Again!” she shouted at Murphy.
He chopped at one of the sides, and it disappeared. He did the same with the other until no trace of the entity remained.
Mia shook her head at the damage she caused to the hall’s wallpaper with the rock salt. “Shit, and it didn’t stop it. Audrey,” she called down. “You said the circle of salt saved you and Luke?”
“Yes. Is it safe?”
“Murphy took care of him. You can come up. I’m heading down to… Oh hello, Burt, nice to see you. How’s the kid?” Mia said as she breezed by him and sought out Cid.
He turned around and watched her minister to the fallen investigator.
“Stop moving!” she demanded. “Let me check you out first.”
Cid started laughing.
“He’s hysterical,” Mia said, touching her earcom.
“No, Mighty Mouse, he’s ticklish,” Ted corrected.
“Oh, sorry, Cid.” Mia continued to check out his ribs, ignoring the laughter. “Does it hurt when you laugh?”
“No. I’m fine. Let me up.”
Mia stood back and let the investigator get to his feet.
“That thing is strong. It reminded me a bit of the monster in the basement of the Gruber mansion. But this one had difficulty forming a body. Arms he had. Biceps as big as the Hulk. What a gun show,” he said, flexing his arm.
Burt walked in and picked up the camera. “Did you see a face?” he asked Mia.
“Nope. His fingernails were dirty though. His hands were very clear when they were wrenching the shotgun out of my hands. I can’t get over the assault he took and kept on coming. If it weren’t for Murphy, I’d say we all would have been hash on the foyer floor.”
“Gross,” Ted said in her ear. “Be advised, there is a little girl standing in the hall in front of Audrey.
“Audrey, can you see her?”
“Um yes, she is wearing a nightgown, bare feet.”
Mia walked passed Burt and looked down the hall. She could see the back of the child. She was a young girl with long, dark curly hair. Mia walked towards the child and Audrey. “Hello, honey, my name’s Mia.”
The little girl turned around and smiled. “Dolly.”
“Yes, I brought back your dolly. What is your name?”
“Esta. Where’s papa?”
“I don’t know. Who is your papa?” Mia asked as she stared into the eyes of the ghostly child.
“Giuseppe Basso. My mother’s name is Gwen. She’s with God.”
“What are you doing here, Esta?” Mia asked gently.
“I’m sick. Papa’s working. He said he’d be back.”
“Are you alone?”
“No, Nico is here,” the girl said frowning.
“Is Nico an uncle?”