by Alexie Aaron
“Dinner went well,” Cid said. “You were kind of a zombie though.”
“Sorry, it was the sauce.”
“I thought it tasted alright.”
“No, the sauce on her chin. I wanted to…”
“Oh.”
“Notice she still has her gloves on,” Ted said. “She does that when she doesn’t want to feel.”
“She’s trying. I heard her crying upstairs, Ted. She’s struggling the same as you. Give her time. Don’t rush her.”
“Here I am getting advice from Clark Kent.”
“At least Clark knows how to treat a lady, Batman. Fact is, you’re sitting brooding in your cave while the world is admiring your woman, and that includes me.”
Ted lunged at him. But Cid expected it, and Ted ended up on the floor. Cid held out his hand and said, “Don’t worry, bros before hoes.”
“The last thing I need in this house is Captain America making love to Superman,” Ted grumbled, walking to the front door.
Cid laughed. He said what he said to remind Ted that it wasn’t just angels he had to worry about, but the human males too.
~
“Ah am Ah am,” Brian said, reaching for his mother.
Mia ran to him. “Thank you for watching him, Susan,” she said before she took Brian from the older woman’s arms. “Did you have a good time with Ssssuz?”
Brian babbled on while he touched his mother’s face and hair. She kissed him, and he kissed her back.
Susan wiped a tear away. “I can’t help it, Ted. Those two are so good together.”
“I know,” he said lamely.
“Ted, could we go to Dairy World and get a cone? What do you think, Susan, could Brian handle it or will he get a bellyache?”
“Get him a small one. Tom was eating new things all the time. I would avoid the sprinkles though. Too much sugar, and Brian will be up all night.”
“So would I,” Mia confessed. “Come on, Daddy is going to take us out for ice cream,” Mia said and danced out the door.
“She’s so tan and healthy, Ted. But her eyes are sad. You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you.”
“I’m surprised you’re still rooting for me, Susan.”
“I’ve not given up on true love, son. Not yet.”
~
Tom cruised by the Dairy World on his mother’s insistence. She was worried that Ted would put his foot in his mouth if left alone too long with Mia.
He slowed down, watching the young couple. Mia was wiping Brian’s mouth while Ted held him. They looked like any other set of young parents from a distance. Mia seemed stronger than he remembered. She actually seemed taller. Was that possible?
“I think we are being observed,” Ted said, moving his eyes towards the road.
Mia glanced over and waved at Tom. “He’s just keeping the peace, Teddy…” she stopped. “When did Tom start growing his hair out?”
Ted swallowed hard, trying his best to push past the slip. “I’m sorry, I don’t know.”
“Ah crem, ooooh, ah crem,” Brian said, saving the conversation.
“Murphy can’t eat ice cream, darling. Or Mommy and Daddy would bring him back something.”
“That reminds me. I’ll order a sundae for Cid while you strap Brian in the car?”
“Sure thing,” Mia said. She moved through the summer crowd heading for the car. She passed a few people she recognized from high school, others from her days of working as a handywoman. She heard a few whispers, but nothing that she couldn’t block. The only sound that permeated her brain over and over again, as if running in a loop, was Ted screaming, “I am not your Teddy Bear!”
Chapter Twenty-five
Mike walked into the office and noticed a familiar pair of boots propped up on the conference table. “Have a good vacay, Cooper?”
“Pretty good, you?”
“Quiet. I’m ready for this investigation. I’m bored out of my skull.”
“I’m excited about it too.”
Mia didn’t offer him a coffee, so he walked over and got his own. He knew she was distancing herself from being a hostess. He would treat her like one of the other team members. They had reconciled with what had happened, and he and she were fine with each other. She and Ted, well, that was something else. He sat down next to her. “Love the tan.”
“Thank you, I’m not sure how long I can keep it, but it suits me fine right now.”
“Are you trying to hide the ice queen?”
Mia slapped him on the arm. “I’d almost forgotten about that, and you had to bring it up again. By the way, where is my trophy?”
“Hey, you’ll get it when you return the bathing suit.”
“Bev sold it on Ebay, sorry.”
“What is it with her and you lately?”
“I’m not sure if she’s being supportive or just interested in fifteen percent of me. But she has been good company.”
“Sorry I haven’t been around. I just thought that…”
“You thought right,” Mia said.
Cid sighed. He was relieved that the conversation unveiled that Mia’s dinner date hadn’t been Mike Dupree.
Audrey breezed in. She gave Mia a hug. Orion arrived soon after. Mia had placed the clothes Angelo’s driver had brought over on the bed and left the window open for him before she came downstairs.
“I see we’re sharing a room,” he said and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t worry, I don’t take up much space.”
Mia was going to say something but stopped herself when Ted walked in. He handed her the scabbard. “I think this ought to work. You do have to make sure the sword goes under the gun and the shield over the two.”
“Thanks, I’ll try it out before we leave.”
Mike did not make eye contact with Ted. He knew the two of them weren’t ready to make friends yet. Mike’s involvement had been aboveboard, not that Ted would ever believe that.
Ted took a few moments and studied Mike. He wanted to push the man until he would fight him. How dare he take the role of protecting his wife?
Burt banged the gavel. “Is Murphy here?”
Mia looked around but didn’t see him. “I’ll go ring the bell,” she offered, running out the door and down the drive.
Audrey noticed that all eyes were on Mia. She didn’t mind. In actuality, she felt bad for her friend. All Mia wanted was to be normal and treated as an equal. Audrey promised herself that she would take time and make a girl’s day out date with Mia as soon as this investigation finished.
Mia pulled on the cord. The sound of the bell seemed to ease her. “Music may indeed make calm this beast.”
“Pardon?” Murphy asked.
“Just talking to myself as usual. The meeting is going to start. I thought maybe you had lost track of time.”
“I found where you should build your house.”
“Is it on my land? Excuse me, your and my land? Not Ted and your and my land,” Mia said, wrinkling up her face.
“You don’t have to spell it out for me. It’s in the new tract that Gerald bought for you.”
“Oh, that’s closer than I wanted, but I can see the advantages.”
“You could build it on the other side of the ridge so you don’t have to look over the farm. You would have to share the valley with the flowers and the deer though.”
“Could do that. Maybe a low ceiling cottage or a hobbit hole.”
“Bad Mia. You just want to keep the men out. Brian will grow tall, and he will need the headroom.”
Mia nodded. “I see your point. Let’s look it over before I leave today.”
“I wish you and Brian didn’t have to leave.”
“I have to, Murph. I’ll see you this weekend at the mall.”
Murphy opened the door, and Mia walked over and sat down in her chair. “He’s standing beside you on your right side,” she told Burt.
He turned and reached out, and Murphy shook his hand.
“Okay, let’s begin. We have a start da
te for Saturday. The security team will be able to let us in at ten in the morning. We are going to do interviews of the staff for a few hours and then take a walk through the mall. I was thinking that we would start with me filming Mike and the ice queen.”
“That’s Ms. Ice Queen, Hicks,” Mia fired back.
The joke seemed to break the tension in the room.
“Normally, I like to pair Audrey and Mike up, but I thought we could take advantage of the recent free publicity. Mia, if you want to wear your bikini, that’s up to you.”
“That would be a no.”
“Okay, moving on. Next will be a sit down with Audrey and Cid in the center court. I think, having the two of you describing what happened all those years ago, yadda yadda, and mention what happened to you, Cid, when you heard the group singing. Kind of an up close and personal.”
“Who’s going to be filming?” Mike asked.
“I guess I’ll do it.”
“That’s too much. Ted used to be a great camera man,” Mike reminded him.
“We need him in the control room,” Burt said.
“I could do it with Jake’s help,” Mia offered. “I just need a refresher on the new system.”
Burt looked over at Ted. “What do you think?”
“Mia can handle it. I’ll fill her in after the meeting,” he said.
“Okay, then that’s the pairings for Saturday’s filming. As for investigations later in the evening, it’s all hands on deck. Murphy and Mia will be on call for any disturbances. Orion, you’re welcome to come. We’d love to have you work with us.”
“I’d like that. What time?” Orion asked, pulling out a small notebook.
“Six? Unless you want to watch the filming. In that case, you would need to be at the mall at ten. Once we are inside, folks, we are locked in. We’ve been given permission to drive our large PEEPs truck inside. Ted, you’ll be able to tap into the building’s electricity, but I think it would be wise to bring along as many backup generators as we have. This weekend there is a chance of storms.”
Ted groaned. “That’s hell on the audio.”
“I agree, but it also seems to perk up the ghosts. We may have the opportunity to get some, if not all of them, on film.”
“We’ll play the rest of the weekend by ear. Does anyone have any commitments?”
“It’s my weekend with Brian,” Mia said. “I have Tauni Cerise watching him, but I’d like to get home for a few hours on Sunday so she can go to church.”
Burt made a few notes, nodding. “Okay, I may have you bring back food if that’s okay?”
“No problem, and don’t worry, Cid. I won’t be cooking it,” Mia said.
The group laughed.
Burt waited until the group calmed down. “Now for the good stuff. Audrey and Orion dug into the rumors about the prison that stood on the same grounds. Audrey…”
Audrey stood up and recapped what Father Alessandro said and then talked about the actual facts. “It was called West City Prison. It was where the dangerous criminals were kept. Unless you’re a collector of True Crime magazine, you wouldn’t have heard of the cast of characters who were executed and buried at the prison. In 1925, it was the site of one of the most horrendous prison riots. Afterwards, they shut down the prison and sold the land to developers in 1968. Construction of this upmarket mall was completed in the summer of 1970, and the mall enjoyed five years of high-end retail profits. We’ve already talked about the missing teens.”
“Do we have a list of the dead buried on the property?” Mia asked.
“I was able to get ahold of the mortuary records,” Orion said.
“Were there any hangings?” Mia asked.
“I see where you’re going, and yes, there were quite a number of official and non-official hangings. Illinois does not presently have the death penalty,” Orion reported.
“How much information do we have about the last riot?” Mia questioned Audrey and Orion.
“Just the dry reports,” Audrey admitted.
“Thank you,” Mia said, making a note.
Ted looked over at Mia and studied her. He knew her well enough that she didn’t waste time asking questions unless she had a feeling about the situation.
“What’s the time limit on the investigation?” Mike asked.
“We have until Audrey finishes her investigation and presents it to the board of directors.”
Mike looked over at Audrey, and she looked at the calendar before speaking. “Two weeks from Monday.”
“I have a concern,” Mia blurted out.
“Go ahead,” Burt said.
“I think that Cid is susceptible to the call of the sirens because of his great hearing. I think we need to work out a way to bring him safely and quickly out of a trance.”
“I can help you there,” Orion said. “But we should have a priest or pastor on call just in case.”
“I could plant a safe word in his mind if you want,” Mia offered. “It would allow anyone with you the power of pulling you out of a trance,” Mia explained. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea for all of us to have one. Sirens are unfamiliar to me, but I hear they can be quite dangerous.”
“That would be a great idea,” Orion said. “But it’s up to Cid and the rest of you.”
“Think it over people,” Burt said. “How long would you need to do this?”
Mia looked at Orion and said, “It depends on the mind. I could provide a recording so the participant would know what I said, where I went.”
“Me too,” Orion said. “This way, when you do a jig or crow at the sound of the word banana, you know who is responsible.”
Mia laughed.
“I’d like to say right now, I would like Murphy nowhere around when you walk through my mind, Mia,” Mike requested.
CRACK!
Orion looked puzzled.
“That’s because Murphy likes to play jokes on Mike,” Audrey explained.
“Oh, how long has this been going on?” Orion asked.
“Since we met,” Mike said.
Murphy nodded.
“I’m glad I got off on the right foot then,” Orion said.
Murphy put his two fingers to his eyes and then pointed at Orion.
This made the birdman laugh.
Cid filled Audrey, Burt and Mike in on what happened.
Burt shook his head. “I think Mia’s pulled a few stunts too on Murphy.”
“I’m being set up,” Mia feigned fear.
“Okay, back to the discussion. I’m going to ask Audrey and Cid to restock the munchies. Mia, you’ll handle fast food runs, and, Mike, you’ll keep on top of keeping us legal with the contract. For the first time, we are going to have temporary medical insurance, folks.”
Mia clapped. “Thank God. Those MRIs add up.”
“You should have a frequent flyer card with the hospital,” Ted said.
“Yup. Doctor Walkers has my picture up with a warning. It says Do Not Serve.”
Audrey watched the two banter back and forth. She had feared that had ended.
“Okay, children, let’s wrap this up,” Burt said. “Any new news? Okay, then see you no later than ten on Saturday.”
“I’ve got some snacks back at the farmhouse,” Cid said.
Mia picked up the scabbard and walked into the barn looking for her go bag. She didn’t find it.
“Can I help you?” Ted asked.
“I was looking for my go bag. You didn’t burn it with the rest, did you?”
Ted winced. “No, it’s in the truck. I’ll get it. You stay here.”
Mia walked around, looking at the various projects. She saw a small bracelet-size machine that looked a lot like Curly. She knew better than to pick up anything in mid-project. She heard Ted come back. He tossed the bag at her. Mia wasn’t expecting it, and it hit her hard in the stomach, knocking the air out of her. She sunk to her knees.
Ted ran to her. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”
Mia waved him
off. It took her a moment to get up. Mia slid the sawed-off shotgun in the pouch Ted had prepared for it. She pulled on the scabbard and practiced pulling the gun out. She had to take the holster off to rehouse the shotgun, but still, it was a practical way to go into a paranormal fight prepared. The shield would cover the gun. “Thank you. It’ll be fine.”
“Mia, I’m sorry about all your stuff,” Ted said softly. “I wasn’t myself when it happened.”
“I understand. I lost a lot that day. My grandmother’s picture, her pearls. My necklace. All gone. Angelo couldn’t have done a better cleanse of my emotional past then you did with your bonfire.”
“Mia…”
“Ted, I don’t think this is the moment to hash this out. I’m going to leave now and pickup Brian,” Mia said. “I’ll be back for you and Cid to show me the new system.”
She walked out of the barn using the big door. He heard her truck start up and leave the lot.
“She’s not very happy,” Orion said.
Ted looked for the small birdman. He was sitting on the steps to Cid’s apartment.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Ted said. “And you’re right, she isn’t.”
“You’ve been through quite a lot.”
“She doesn’t seem to take that into account. Or her part in the Roumain assault.”
“What did she do to anger you so much? If she wasn’t in such good shape, you would have broken her ribs with that bag.”
Ted looked at the entrance door to the office. It was still open. “I’d rather not say, Orion, if that’s okay with you.”
“No problem. But if you need a shoulder.”
“I have Cid, but thank you just the same.”
“You don’t trust our kind.”
“No offense, but it’s the company you keep.”
“Ah, Angelo.”
“He’s…”
“Up to his pin feathers in this. I believe you called him to come and heal Mia, and you let him take her to New Orleans. Where he read Mia’s mind.”
“Keep going.”
“He made a big error in judgment. He told Mia something that he believed to be true at the time, but he didn’t have all the data.”