by Alexie Aaron
~
“Mia, come in, Mia,” Ted called through the ear com.
“Mia here, what’s up?” she asked as she crawled out of the closet for what she hoped was the last time.
“Mike says you have a visitor.”
“Me? K. I’m on my way down.” She handed the last of the tea set to Audrey who carefully placed the china pieces in a box after wrapping them in bubble wrap.
“Evidently, I have a visitor,” she said, dusting off her pants. “It could be Ralph or Bernard. Ralph will scream when he sees my nails.” She held up her dirty broken nails to prove her point.
“Pretty nasty. Put on your gloves,” Audrey suggested, following her out of the bedroom.
They walked along the hall, and as it opened up to the foyer, Mia looked down.
Audrey saw all the life go out of her face. She put the box down and rushed to support Mia who looked like she was going to faint.
“What is it? Is the Basso entity back?” Audrey asked, looking down from the second floor balustrade.
Standing, looking up at Mia was a thin older woman wearing a tattered cotton dress and slippers. She stood ramrod straight with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. She looked from Audrey to Mia as if she was puzzled as to whom it was she had come to see. She took the cigarette from her mouth and asked, “Which one of you is Mia Cooper?”
“I am,” Mia said. “I’ll be right down.”
The woman nodded and drew on her cigarette once more.
“Who is it? Is she trouble?” Audrey hissed in her ear.
“It’s my mother, and if she’s here, there’s trouble,” Mia said flatly.
Audrey let her go and picked up the box of precious tea things. She kept an eagle eye on Mia as she slowly walked down the stairs. Mia looked like she was approaching a scaffold to attend her own hanging.
“Mother, is something wrong?” Mia asked, stopping a few feet from the woman.
“It’s your father. He’s missing.”
“Missing? How long?”
“I haven’t heard from him for days. I think, five days. I’m not sure.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want you to move in and take care of me. I’ve got a deadline and can’t be fooling around with meals…”
“How did you know I was here?”
“Bernard called, looking for your father. He wanted to discuss you of all people. It was then I realized that I didn’t have to go it alone. I had you.”
Mia bristled. Audrey could see that she was trying to maintain her cool, but she was fraying faster than the corduroyed knees of a toddler at the play yard.
“Mother, let’s take you home. I assume you’re in the apartment. We’ll call the police and…”
“Why? He’s gone. Time to move on. I’ll have to scrap the paper I’m working on, but I have another in mind…”
“Bloody hell, do you ever listen to yourself, you selfish bitch?” Mia shouted at the stone cold pillar misrepresented as a person. “My father is missing, and you haven’t even thought to look for him?”
The front door burst open. Bernard and Ralph entered and headed towards the women. Ted ran in from the kitchen, his headset was still on and he was out of breath.
The Cooper women glared at each other. Amanda looked down her nose at her daughter and said, “You’ve never understood what is important. Charles knew the moment we met. My work is…”
“Drivel, academic drivel,” Mia spat.
The older woman raised her hand. Ralph caught her arm as he put himself between Amanda and Mia. “You touch that child, and I’ll break all your fucking fingers,” he warned.
Ted pulled Mia back and under his protective arm. Mike walked out of the study and suggested, “There are some chairs in here. Doctor Cooper, why don’t you come in, and I’ll fetch you a cup of coffee.”
Bernard took her elbow and directed her towards the room asking, “Amanda, when’s the last time you took your pills?”
“The case was empty, Charles normally refills them for me,” she told him.
Bernard looked back over his shoulder and nodded to Ralph.
“I’ll be right back. We went to the apartment, but she’d already left. I grabbed the pharmacy bag,” he explained before he left.
Mia turned into Ted and groaned.
“We’ll sort this out, Mia. Come on, you’re Mighty Mouse, you can do this,” he encouraged.
Audrey cleared her voice. “Give them a moment with her. Here comes Mike with the coffee. I’ll go get something for her to eat. She’s pretty gray, Mia.”
Mia sighed, turned around and walked towards the study. She had put on a face Audrey had never seen before. The petite blonde had hardened as if she was a walking causality of Medusa.
Cid ran in and grabbed the headset from Ted. “Burt’s got the com,” he explained. “You take all the time you need.”
Audrey left with him. Ted turned Mia around and looked at her. “I know you’re in pain, and I know your mind is working at warp speed on finding your father. Let the pain go, so you can concentrate on finding Charles. We need info, and unfortunately, the one that knows the most is chain-smoking her way to an iron lung. Treat her like you would a stranger, if it helps.”
“I might as well be a stranger. She couldn’t figure out if Audrey or I was her daughter. I doubt she even has a picture of me. I’ll be damned if I’ll ever wipe the drool from her chin,” Mia said with clenched teeth.
Ted knelt down and held her by the shoulders. “Listen, no one wants you to nursemaid her. We’ll arrange for that. Right now we need information so we can find out what happened to your dad.”
Mia shook herself out of her downward spiral. “Yes, I need to find my father.”
“That’s my girl. Now let’s face the dragon and get information.”
Mia turned to leave, stopped and held out her hand asking, “Coming, Saint George?”
Ted rose to his feet. “Yes, M’lady, my lance is yours…”
Mia cocked an eyebrow, and in spite of the situation in the other room, and in spite of the worry about her father, she laughed.
Mia stood in the doorway and watched the coolness with which Bernard handled Amanda. Ralph couldn’t quite let go of his aversion to the woman. He read off the meds and dosages in a clipped voice as he handed them to Bernard. He turned and saw Mia standing there with Ted behind her. He gave her such a loving smile that her heart melted. He opened his arms, and Mia moved into them. He gave her a long hug, glaring at Amanda, daring her to say or do something mean so he could bitch slap her.
Ted suppressed a smile by turning around. He jumped, not expecting to see anyone behind him. Audrey stood there holding a tray of sweets and a few of her mother’s sandwiches that she found in the cooler. He stepped aside. She walked in and set them on the desk.
Amanda’s eyes traveled from Audrey to the hole in the wall covered by visqueen. Curious, she asked, “What happened there?”
Bernard looked at Ted.
“We’ve had an excavation. All that’s left is the paperwork,” he explained.
Amanda nodded.
Bernard indicated with flapping fingers for Ted to continue to talk.
“This was an interesting investigation. I have loads of reports to write.”
“I find, young man, that the quicker you get to them, the better,” Amanda said, her voice changing from the demanding bitch mother to the academic. She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Once when I left something too long, I confused the middle formative with the late formative. If it weren’t for Charles looking over my shoulder, I would have made a grave error.”
“Speaking of Charles, what was he working on when you two lost touch?” Ted asked it so causally that it surprised everyone in the room.
“You see, we found a couple of things, pot shards, tablets, beads, this and that. I believe they were from Cahokia.”
Mia looked over at her mother. She had OOBed through the ancient city of the mound builders
not too long ago.
“I don’t know if anyone knows this, but Charles has an advantage the other archeologists don’t have. He can actually see the past. I sent him to find the connection between the western Missouri dig and the city.”
“Whoa, back up,” Mia said, moving around Ralph, who was worried his goddaughter was going to murder Amanda in front of witnesses. “My father can see ghosts?”
“Yes,” Amanda said, hunting in her pockets for another cigarette.
“All the times you two treated me like a freak, he could see spirits.”
“We didn’t treat you like a freak; we just ignored your claims. I thought it would go away if we pretended you were imagining things.”
“We, as in you and he, or just you?” Mia asked, setting her jaw.
Amanda lit a cigarette and waved the smoke and Mia’s question away with her free hand. “He called from St. Louis to tell me he tracked them to an old warehouse near the river. He was supposed to spend the night at the motel and then go to the university and pull some permits.”
Bernard picked up his phone and walked out of the room. Audrey offered Amanda a sandwich. Amanda took two and smiled. She looked over at her daughter and back at Audrey. “Your parents must be so proud.”
“They are actually. My father is over the moon that I get to work with your daughter. It’s a dream come true.”
Amanda looked blank. “I’m sorry, dear, I don’t know what she does except live off an inheritance that should have been Charles’s.”
Ted opened his mouth but closed it as Ralph had gotten to his feet. “Amanda, we’re going to get you to the apartment. Bernard has a grad student that will see to your needs. Mia’s talents are best put to use in tracking down Charles. If the man has finally opened his eyes and left you, we will look into some senior housing or something along those lines. Don’t fear, dear, I suspect he’s lost track of time.”
“I’ll go with you, Ralph. Maybe I can find something amongst their things that will point me in the right direction. Audrey, I could really use your help,” Mia asked.
“I’ll get my things. Give me five.” Audrey turned and hurried out the door.
Mia looked at Ted. “I know we need to wrap things up here. See if you can smooth the waters with Burt.” She looked up at him, and he smiled down at her.
“Don’t worry, just don’t OOB out of the city without me knowing about it. Remember, you have a lot of resources at your disposal with PEEPs,” he told her. “We’ll find your dad; I’m sure of it.”
Audrey bustled back in. “Mike’s pulling the van around front. He’s going to drive us. No taxi will fit this crew,” she explained.
Bernard completed his call and motioned for Mia and Ted to come over to talk to him. They looked at Ralph, and he shooed them away saying, “I’ve got the old witch.”
“According to the people in charge of Cahokia, Charles never checked in after his initial visit a week ago. They are in turmoil because several researchers of theirs have disappeared in the last two months. They suspect foul play, but remember, archeologists are a paranoid lot. And very disorganized. The researchers could have requested time off, and the paperwork is sitting under a pot or pile of old bones somewhere,” Bernard said. “I myself talked to Charles when he installed Amanda in their apartment near the university. He was in good spirits and keen on following a lead he discovered. Amanda isn’t much of a field person. I offered to check in on her, but he didn’t expect to be gone more than a few days. He said he left her with a freezer full of food and her medication sorted out.”
“What’s she on?” Mia asked, expecting to hear a few antipsychotics mentioned.
“She’s got gout, high cholesterol and a vitamin D deficiency. I think she’s nuts, but Charles disagrees and ran interference when her last doctor wanted her to see a shrink.”
“You mean this delusional state is normal for Doctor Cooper?” Ted asked.
Mia nodded slowly. “It’s an act to get people to do things for her. Don’t get sucked in,” she warned him.
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Minnie Mouse, try to keep your spirits up. I’ll let Murphy know what’s going on and cover for you and Audrey.” He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. “Remember…”
“No OOBing,” Mia said.
“Let me see your fingers.”
Mia laughed and showed him her hands. “Not a finger crossed.”
“K, then off with you. The sooner you start, the sooner we can have that deep dish pizza Audrey promised to buy.”
“Audrey promised what?” Audrey asked, distractedly looking out the front door.
“We were talking about pizza,” Ted said simply.
“Yes, a deep dish would be nice,” she said absently. “Guys, Mike’s got the van out front. We should get going; he’s parked in the red zone.”
Bernard went to help Ralph with Amanda. Ted walked out and helped the girls into the van. Ralph sat with Amanda, and Bernard got up front to direct Mike, explaining the best route to take across town.
They drove away, and Ted stood there a moment watching as the van disappeared around the corner. He climbed the steps to the parish house and shut the door they had left open.
Cid met him in the hall. “Burt wants us to disassemble the camera feeds. When we’re done, he wants to start on the cataloging of evidence.”
“Let’s get the cable rollers and start at the top and work our way down,” Ted suggested. He didn’t mind the work. It would keep his thoughts off of worrying about Mia.
“Ted, what did you think of Mia’s mother? Burt’s not too fond of the woman. You should hear him.”
“He and I are of one mind. Mia’s childhood wasn’t a cakewalk like we had.”
“Dude, we spent most of our youth being given wedges and locked in our lockers.”
“But we had family that cared. Mia was all alone.”
Cid nodded his head in understanding. “Her father any better?”
“I haven’t met the man. I really don’t know,” Ted said and patted Cid on the back. “We’re Mia’s family; she’s under our umbrella now.”
“You sound like an insurance commercial,” Cid joked. “I’m expecting a red umbrella to come floating down.”
“Gee, dude, what a way to nerd block my ominous speech, thank you very much.”
“Any time, Ted, any time.”
Chapter Twenty-three
Mia stopped at the top of the stairs. She wasn’t ready to enter the apartment. The last time she’d been in there, it had been with Whit. He had spent time with her there after his wife’s funeral. She and Whit weren’t meant to be together. She had accepted that and moved on. Sherry would always have stood in their way. Her guilt of loving the man when he was still married and his unease that she was somehow responsible for Sherry’s death, would always have been in between them. The latter was untrue, and Whit knew this, but it didn’t stop his pulling away from her until there was nothing left to save.
Audrey’s hand touched her arm, pulling her out of the past. “Are you alright?”
“Ghosts,” Mia said. “Ghosts of memories best forgotten.”
“I’m here, if you need me,” Audrey said and followed Mia inside the apartment. “Oh my!” she gasped as she beheld the living room. Books were piled so high, it resembled Monument Valley. The air stank of cigarettes. Ralph was already opening the widows and fussing about the poisonous air.
Mia walked into the kitchen and grabbed a garbage bag and began tossing the eating containers as she came across them. “I’m lost for words,” she grumbled.
“Don’t you dare throw anything out before I’ve had a look at it,” her mother screeched behind her.
Mia turned and looked at the woman, trying to see any resemblance to herself. “Mother, I’m taking care of the microwave cartons, plastic silverware and chop sticks, nothing more,” Mia said with a voice devoid of emotion.
“Good,” she said and turned heel.
“Mother,” Mia
said, catching her before she exited the small kitchen. “Are you for real? I mean, is this all an act or should I look into mental asylums?”
“You little brat. Charles looks after me. I don’t have time to clean.”
“It’s not the mess; we all make messes.” Mia reached up and flipped open the dish cupboard. “It’s the papers filed in between the dishes. The silverware used as bookmarks.” Mia opened the dishwasher. “Who in their right mind keeps priceless pottery shards in the dishwasher?”
Amanda looked at the girl blankly. “I didn’t want them stolen.”
She left and Mia wondered if it was the pottery she was talking about or the stacks of papers. Mia pulled out the top rack. She perused the pieces and spied something amazing. Nestled behind some Mesoamerican pot fragments was a tablet. It was a piece of sandstone not much bigger than Mia’s hand. One side was scored in a snake pattern representing the underworld. Mia put on her gloves before lifting the priceless piece of stone out of the confines of the old Westinghouse dishwasher. She turned it over. On the other side Mia expected to see the familiar Birdman that represented Cahokia to this day. Instead, there scratched into the flat plane was a handsome Native American. His head was bald with the exception of a thick braid that grew out of the side of his head. Mia heard her father’s voice from a distant memory describing these braids as horns. She let his voice describe the elements of this piece to her as if he held her up to look at the museum piece.
“The earring, see they are shield shaped, but look closer, see the goggle eyes and the slit for the mouth. The nose is very long and pointy.”
“Like Pinocchio, Father?” Mia’s five-year-old voice asked.
“Maybe. Perhaps he tells lies too. This nose curves upwards. Perhaps the wearer was a rich man. Upwardly mobile comes to mind. There are ear pieces like this where the nose is bent, crooked. There is much symbolism in the ear pieces. They tell a story perhaps. What do you see, Mia?”
“I see the road that this man has traveled is ever changing,” Mia’s grown up voice pierced the fog of her memories.