Sand Trap (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

  Her co-worker moved away from her. She looked up at Dr. Wesley and pleaded with her eyes to be released from the burden of nursing this crazy person.

  Bernard nodded and the woman took flight. He knew that she would make sure everyone knew that Clara had gone crazy. There was nothing he could do about that. What he could do is bring Clara into the privacy of his office and protect her from the prying eyes that would inevitably find their way there, to stare at the woman in crisis.

  “Come on in,” he guided the frail woman, “I’ll make you some tea. We can talk more privately.”

  Clara did as instructed. She found herself in the lush richly decorated office of the head of the Culture Department. He led her over to a wingchair, removed the throw, and once she sat down, placed it around her shoulders. He positioned an ottoman before her, and she raised her feet and placed them on the upholstered piece. She thought how out of place the fabric was in conjunction to her gummed-soled work shoes that rested upon it.

  “Tell me again what happened,” Bernard said as he poured fresh water into his hotpot and clicked it on. As he measured the loose tea into the teapot, he listened to her tale. He didn’t interrupt her but continued to prepare the tea quietly. When she had finished, he pulled up a side chair and sat across from her. “Clara, I believe you, as impossible as this may seem to others. I have an open mind and clever friends who have told me stranger things. I’m not sure how we can prove that Tan was killed by the fulgurite, but I will do my best to find an explanation.”

  “Thank you.”

  “In the meanwhile, I want you to take some sick days and stay home. I will contact a friend of mine who is good at these types of things. Father Santos will call on you and help you through this.”

  “I’m not Catholic, Dr. Wesley.”

  “Doesn’t matter to him. Does it matter to you?”

  “Oh, no, sir.”

  “Do you have the sick days?” he asked.

  “Never been sick in my life. I have some stored up,” Clara said proudly. “But I don’t want to leave my department short.”

  “Let me worry about that. In the meanwhile, rest and heal. You’ve been through a trauma.” Bernard walked back to his console and strained a cup of soothing chamomile tea. He handed her the cup. “Clara.”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Do me a favor and don’t talk about this to anyone but your family and Father Santos. I don’t want to frighten anyone needlessly.”

  “Yes, I understand.” Clara sipped her tea before she spoke, “I hope it is just my imagination, Dr. Wesley. I really wish it were.”

  “Me too, Clara, me too,” Bernard confessed.

  There was a tap on the door.

  “Come in,” Bernard instructed.

  Mary, his secretary, stood there taking in the picture of the loony being cared for by her sensitive boss before speaking, “Clara’s husband is here.”

  “Send him in.”

  Mary walked out and ushered the middle-aged bus driver in.

  “Clara!” her husband rushed over to her. “Are you alright? What happened? They said you had a breakdown.”

  Clara’s eyes flashed briefly, but she pushed down the anger in order to comfort her husband, “Frank, I’m alright. Take me home.”

  He looked over at Bernard for confirmation. “Take her home. I’ll handle the report. We’ll be in touch.”

  Frank gently took the empty china cup out of his wife’s hand and took the plush throw off her shoulders, folding it badly. He tried again, and Bernard waved him off. “I’ll do that. You just get Clara home. How did you get here?”

  Frank patted his uniform and said, “Bus, one of the perks with my job.”

  Bernard thought about how many bus changes the couple would have to go through to get home and offered, “Let me get you a cab. It will be on me.”

  Bernard walked out of the office and instructed Mary to have security walk them out and pay for a trip home for Clara. He pulled some bills out of his pocket adding, “I’d like my change back.”

  Mary smiled and nodded. She put on her plastic smile in time to greet the couple as they left Bernard’s office.

  He watched them leave. He walked in and poured himself a cup of tea to drink, before he called to break the news to Ralph that he would be working late and wouldn’t be able to pick up the new towels, let alone drive out to Mia’s house.

  ~

  Mia opened the door of motel room number eight. She refused the other rooms closer to the PEEPs team as Murphy did a sweep and found some undesirables hanging around those rooms. Eight seemed to be free of ghosts and have a ghost free zone of clean rooms on either side of it. As a precaution, Mia salted the sills and doorway before she plopped herself down on one of the twin beds. She pointed to the other bed and said, “Murph, feel free.”

  He not having taken a nap in 150 years looked at her oddly before dissipating.

  “Serve yourself,” she mumbled as her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

  Murphy reemerged and sat down and stared at Mia’s sleeping form. He concentrated and was able to move the coverlet up and over her body. She snuggled under it and smiled.

  There was a lot Murphy hid from Mia. He had developed his ability to touch things outside his realm. He didn’t need to use anger like the biker did over at Lucky’s. He just practiced until it was possible. He couldn’t feel what he was touching though. A comforting hand laid on a distraught Mia may be felt by her, but he didn’t have the same type of feeling. Not like he did when she came out of the vortex. He could feel her hand in his. The kiss they shared, but was never spoken about again, was also felt by both of them, but again it was due to the power of the ley lines. He couldn’t hold her nor express his feelings in any physical way. It just was not possible, and to his disappointment, Mia was immune to his charms.

  He would have to happy to serve as her protector and friend. Murphy decided to go out of the room. He left by moving through the other rooms as Mia had salted the doors and windows. He had the mobility and mindset to check on the rest of the PEEPs team. He noticed the vehicle Mike drove had returned. Ted may be back too. Murphy decided to wander over and see what was new in the world of the technical supervisor.

  Ted was busy in his room tinkering with an EMF detector when Murph moved through the wall. He took his axe and tapped it against the wood of the door.

  “Hey, axe man, where did you and Minnie Mouse go after the hospital? I didn’t expect to beat you back.” Ted watched the machine pick up Murphy’s movements and smiled. “Don’t expect you to answer, old man. Just joking with you.”

  Murphy tapped the desk next to Ted, and the small sound of metal meeting wood assured Ted that he was alright with the situation.

  “Well, you know we have a problem on our hands. When do we not have a problem? Sheesh. If they would just do and think technically, and leave all that emotional bullshit alone, we’d be done a lot quicker. I think the owners are bat shit crazy. They should blow the fucking house up. The spirits could leave, and then they could rebuild. But no one listens to your friend Ted, except maybe you, and well you don’t vote.”

  Murphy pinged again to commiserate. Ted smiled and felt less alone. He missed Beth, she was a good ear and ripe for teasing. Mike only put up with him, and Burt was up his own ass lately. Not the man he was when Ted signed on with the partners. So here he was, tops in his class, jawing with a farmer who took care of all his problems with the swipe of an axe.

  ~

  Mia dreamed she was being pulled down through the bed into a watery abyss. Her lungs burned and she struggled to find the surface. She broke through, and as she gasped for air, she felt the ground rise beneath her. Her feet trod on sand, then cold stone as she was alone in a cave not unlike the one her friend Sabine described to her after their encounter on Sire’s island. But here the walls pulled away her power, leaving her vulnerable. She managed to navigate the slippery floor and found an altar. Placing her hands to steady her, she turned to vie
w the rest of the cave. A fog moved beneath her feet and moved up her bare legs. She saw that she was naked. Mia swore a long stream of cuss words, not meaning to offend the ones who had placed the altar but to pull herself out of what she prayed was a dream.

  Mia’s eyes snapped open. She rolled over and looked at the ceiling. Her heart was racing. She moved her hands over her body and was pleased to find herself totally clothed. “Just a dream,” she said to the empty room. She sat up and pulled her knees in. The dream images spoke volumes. Mia was vulnerable because she was unprepared. There would be no way she would be convinced to go back into Lucky’s unless she knew more. “I wonder if Ted got a sample yet?”

  A light tap on the door sounded. “Coming,” she said as she moved her aching body out of bed. She glanced in the mirror and tried to smooth down the cowlick that had formed while she slept. Not having any luck, she left it and opened the door slightly, letting the chain hold the door. “Hello?”

  “Murphy delivery service,” Ted said quietly. “Let us in, or we’ll huff and puff and chop your door in.”

  “Mind the salt,” Mia said as Ted walked over the line. Murphy came through the wall which pissed Mia off. If Murphy could move through the wall then what’s to stop another entity from doing it?

  “Hey, Ted, what’s up?” Mia pointed to the cooler where she had a few beers on ice. “Help yourself.”

  Ted smiled and pulled a longneck out and twisted off the cap. He took a long pull and smiled. “What a great thing beer is.”

  “I’m glad you think so. So Murph’s been visiting?”

  “Yes, he wanted to know if I had a sample ready for you to send or take for analysis,” Ted said offhandedly, digging in his pocket and coming up with a small plastic envelope filled with mortar and a chunk of stone. “This enough?” he asked.

  Mia ignored the summation Ted must have made up regarding Murphy. Hell, Murphy didn’t talk much, and she doubted that Ted would hear him had he tried. She looked at the sample and nodded. “Should do it.”

  “I’m here to invite you to the he-man woman haters club.”

  Mia laughed, none of the PEEPS guys would qualify for membership, but she let it go. “Sure, do I have time to take a shower? I smell like road dust and stale beer.”

  “Yeah, you got about twenty before we are going into town and have ourselves a sit down meal, before visiting Beth at the hospital.”

  Mia nodded and began rummaging through her duffle for something to wear. Ted sat back and observed the sensitive toss things out of the bag. Beth had suitcases organized by weather, occasion and color. Mia had a mound of clean panties, bras, tees, jeans and a crumpled sundress. She shook out the dress and smelled the pits. She made eye contact with Ted. “It’s rumpled but clean.”

  “Beth’s got an iron in her room. I could iron that for you,” Ted offered.

  “Could you?” Mia tossed it at him. “I’ll owe you a big one. Favor. I’ll owe you a favor,” Mia said quickly.

  Ted grabbed her key and left. Mia went to the bathroom and coaxed some hot water out of the shower before stepping in. As she soaped up, two things occurred to her: one, that she was naked and two, Murphy could see her naked. She blushed to the roots and tried to push this fact from her mind. In order to have the protection of Stephen Murphy she had traded her privacy. She remembered what happened at the farm and felt even more vulnerable. Murphy may be non-corporal, but he still had emotions, lust included. “Oh fuck,” she cursed. Why the hell didn’t she think things through? Just run off to places unknown with a ghost. She scrubbed out the dust of Lucky’s and conditioned in some softness before rinsing her hair. She turned the water off and peeked out the shower curtain. The room seemed empty. She grabbed the towels off the rack. She encased her head of hair in one and her body in the other, holding tightly to the sides that just met. Only then did she feel comfortable enough to walk out of the bathroom in search of her toothbrush.

  Ted was just hanging up her dress when Mia turned the corner into the room. The surprise of seeing him made her drop her towel. His surprise of seeing her naked with a towel around her hair and one around her ankles caused him to blush. He stammered, “Gee, Mia, a thank you would have been enough.”

  Mia grabbed her towel and stumbled back into the bathroom. She didn’t need to look in the mirror to know that her body was beet red. The blush that turned her cheeks red was covering her body in the same color. She retied the towel and ventured out again. Ted had his back to her and was busying himself with opening another beer.

  “Thank you, Ted, for ironing my dress. I’m sorry for the peep show…” realizing what she said she started to laugh, “Giving a PEEPs member a peep show well…”

  “It was greatly appreciated,” Ted said not meeting her eyes.

  “Beth is going to kill me,” Mia groaned.

  “Why?” Ted asked, this time looking at Mia.

  “Dumb boy, the girl likes you.”

  He smiled and agreed, “Yes, she does.” He pulled off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. “Must be my good looks.”

  Mia stood there and nodded. “Can we pretend this didn’t happen?”

  “No, but I won’t say anything to anybody,” Ted promised. He turned to leave and stopped with his hand on the door and asked, “Why the hell would Burt stop tapping you, is a mystery to me.”

  “Ted, get out,” Mia said and watched the tech ease himself out of her room guiltily. She waited four seconds before chaining the door. “Men!” she said oblivious to Murphy standing by the window. Mia looked at the time, swore, and ran back to the bathroom.

  Murphy took the whole event in stride. Ted wasn’t interested in Mia, why she chose to show herself to him was a mystery, but women were a complex sort. Mia was a beautiful vulnerable female with a core of iron. He shook away his lust and decided to hang back awhile to see how the wind was blowing.

  Chapter Ten

  Mia checked her phone and there was a call from Bernard. The voice mail he left indicated for her to call his cell. Everything was fine, but he needed her advice. Mia placed the call and waited for Bernard to pick up.

  “Hello, Mia, it’s so good of you to call me back.”

  Mia loved hearing Bernard’s formal, elegant voice in her ears. It was filled with a richness that can only be born into a person. Her pseudo godfather didn’t let life, the populace, or himself, get in the way of enjoying the best life had to offer. He was a smart man who studied his way into a perfect SAT score, and once the halls of academia were open to him, he excelled. She knew her lack of college disappointed him, but he did understand her problems and sought ways for her to educate herself without venturing into the haunted halls of the suicides, overdoses and stressed out grad students that couldn’t face life anymore.

  “I was thinking of you today. I actually could use your advice. Why not trade questions and see where it takes us?” Mia tempted.

  “Splendid. Can I go first?”

  “Please do.” Mia put the phone on speaker and listened to him relate what happened at the museum while she put her makeup on, brushed her hair and tore apart her duffle looking for her other sandal.

  “At this point I’m stuck. Father Santos will visit poor Clara, but has to be gone to a conference in Rome right after. Angelo is off campus as are Gerald and Bev.”

  “Hey, don’t worry, I’ll hand deliver my favor and take a look around. Sounds like you may have a paranormal problem, but what kind, is a mystery to me. Speaking of mysteries, let me tell you mine.” Mia told him about the stone building and her inability to OOB in or Murphy’s to move into the bar. She omitted talk of the monster that was trapped inside and spoke instead of the trapped spirits. “Could you have someone in geology examine a sample of mortar and tell me what’s in it?”

  “A chemical breakdown?”

  “Yes, but give me the Cliff’s Notes version.”

  “I think that can be arranged. How soon can you get here?”

  “I think two days, possibly
sooner. I will have a better idea after the meeting I am late for,” Mia said looking at the cell’s time display.”

  “Mia, do me a favor. Come straight into Chicago, don’t go home first.”

  “Ooh boy, this wouldn’t have anything to do with why Ralph accessed my alarm with his code this morning?”

  “I can’t say, but yes.”

  “Is he in the decorating mood again?”

  “Yes, he’s nesting, I fear. Please understand, Mia, he can’t control himself. He means no harm.”

  Mia blew air out that she had been holding. “Bernard, I do understand, but I feel a bit railroaded right now.”

  “Tell you what. You indulge Ralph, and I’ll take two future favors owed to Gerald off your hands… And… to sweeten the pot, if we do have a paranormal event here, I’ll give PEEPs an exclusive.”

  “Wow, done and done,” Mia agreed. “I have to run. They’re going to knock on my door if I get any later, and frankly I left the room looking like a tip.”

  “You always do,” Bernard chuckled. “Be safe and get back to me with your ETA.”

  “Bye!” Mia hung up, grabbed her key and shouted, “Murph, if you’re coming, get a move on,” before heading out the door.

  The men were waiting outside of their rooms, beers in hand. They all looked up as Mia approached. Mike let out a wolf whistle, and Ted gave her a thumbs up on the outfit. Burt just remarked she was late.

  “Sorry, I had an interesting phone call with Bernard. There may be an opportunity for PEEPs to get into the Field Museum if interested.” Mia threw out the bait.

  “You can tell us about it at dinner. Let’s split up. You go with Ted, and I’ll ride with Mike,” he ordered.

  “Sure thing, I’ll ride with Ted,” Mia repeated, aware that she was shunned yet again. Mike mouthed “What the fuck?” Mia just shrugged her shoulders. She turned to Ted and asked, “My truck or yours?”