by Alexie Aaron
She walked around the corner, past a table holding a massive glass urn full of water where citrus slices fought with the ice cubes for room. Paper glasses were neatly stacked nearby. Mia wasn’t thirsty but felt she should make the effort and poured herself a glass, downing it quickly before the elevator arrived.
Mia was pleasantly surprised that she didn’t encounter any of the floating dead in the hotel. Aside from the black chauffeur, she hadn’t seen much in the way of spirits on her ride in from the airport. For a city that was teeming with the dead, they were sure making themselves scarce.
The doors opened, and Mia soon found her room. She was familiar with the hotel chain. Ralph had arranged for her and PEEPs to share a suite when they were helping Bernard with the fulgurite ghost a few years ago, but she was still surprised when she opened up the door. The sun was still high in the sky, causing the surrounding buildings to glisten with light. She caught snatches of blue between the structures. This must be the river, the mighty Mississippi. She pondered the blue. Last time she crossed the Mississippi, the water has been more brown than blue. Still, she appreciated the view. “Thanks Gerald,” she said aloud. She stepped into the room and let the door shut behind her.
She dropped her bag inside the closet and was checking out the facilities when a knock sounded at the door. Expecting the mysterious package, she opened the door to find a trio of suited hotel employees, a room service table, and a rolling rack.
“Mia Martin?” the leader of the group asked.
“That’s me. I don’t believe I ordered…”
The last of the three employees stepped out from behind the clothes rack and shouted, “Surprise!”
“Ralph, how on earth…” Mia blurted out.
“I was in Houston, and when I heard you were going to be alone in this place of sin, no offense,” he said to the two employees. “I just had to come.”
“Come on in. Are you staying with me?” she asked as the rolling rack full of black, hanging bags moved by her.
“Oh no, those are for you. I just followed the parade to your door. I’m down the hall.”
“Where did you get the uniform?”
“Fortunately for me, the concierge was most obliging. You should have seen your face. I wish I had a picture.”
Mia let Ralph take over. The cart was unloaded, and the table was set for an elaborate afternoon tea. Ralph tipped the men and waited until the door closed before giving Mia a big hug.
Mia’s eyes watered. The kindness of this man outweighed any extra nonsense Mia would be put through because of his attendance. She didn’t think that she was lonely until she saw his face.
He took a step back and surveyed her. “First you need a meal, then a shower.”
“I’m supposed to be somewhere.”
“When?”
“The thing is, I don’t really know.”
“Did they give you an itinerary?”
“Um,” Mia said, stalling. “I signed for an envelope. Maybe it’s in there.” She walked over to the, now crowded, closet and found her bag stuffed behind some shoe boxes. She would deal with this baggage after she found the itinerary Ralph insisted she should have.
She carried the gym bag into the bedroom and dropped it on the bed. She ignored Ralph’s distressed look as she opened the bag and pulled out her wrinkled clothes to find the sealed envelope. Once she had the envelope in hand, she walked over to the table where Ralph had already poured her a cup of coffee. She cracked the seal with a butter knife.
“It’s kind of heavy for just having paperwork,” Mia said, opening the top. She looked in, and her jaw dropped. She stepped away from the table and poured the contents out on the bed. Stacks of money and a few jewel cases sunk into the overstuffed duvet covering the bed. “I think Gerald has lost his mind.”
Ralph was quick to retrieve a parchment-colored envelope from the mass of tumbling wealth and was reading the enclosed letter. “It’s not from Gerald. It’s from someone with the audacity to use the title of Grand Duke.”
Mia turned her head towards Gerald and away from the dragon hoard of currency on the bed. “Grand Duke who?”
“Alexei Romanov.”
“There aren’t any Romanovs left are there?” she asked.
“Not alive,” Ralph replied.
Chapter Two
The old oak floor groaned under the weight of the procession. Burt followed Mike, Audrey and the head librarian, Katherine Hodges, through the old stacks of books while Miss Hodges recounted the series of paranormal events that had been taking place at the Little Goodwin Village Library. Little Goodwin was actually a very large town. The library had been serving the growing community for over seventy years.
“Since I’ve been librarian, we’ve had the odd book found out of place, not misfiled, but on the floor, the desks, or in the light fixtures,” said the sixty-some woman dressed in a cream cashmere twinset, pearls and brown tweed trousers.
Audrey looked up at the large multi-bulb chandeliers and thought they looked like a dandy place to toss a book. She suspected corporeal, human tween boys trying to outdo one another had been responsible for the traveling books but kept her thoughts to herself.
The librarian continued, “The rolling rack is always kept at the front desk, but lately it’s been found across the library in the children’s reading area.”
Burt zoomed in on the rolling rack.
“Calculating how bouncy the floor is and the library being so close to the busy truck route outside, it would take five hours to travel the expanse,” Ted whispered in Burt’s ear.
“All these things we can put up with and have come to expect, but the events over the holidays had us reaching out to your community of ghost hunters for help,” explained the no-nonsense woman with stylish, short, salt and pepper hair.
Mike angled his head, interested in what the woman had to say. Audrey drew out her notebook and clicked her pen.
“Every anthropology magazine in the place was lying open to show women and men’s partially nude bodies!” Miss Hodges explained. Her brown eyes widened as if to put a double exclamation point on the seriousness of the matter.
Mike tried to hide the grin that wanted to be set free. He stooped down to tie his shoes. It would’ve been a nice trick, but he was wearing loafers.
Audrey didn’t miss a beat and asked, “Anthropology magazines?”
“Dear me, I thought you would know. National Geographic, some old Life magazines and Anthropology Today,” she listed.
“I’m confused. I have a subscription to National Geographic, and I don’t think there have been any undressed people,” Audrey stated.
“These were old magazines from the reference section, dear,” Miss Hodges explained. “There used to be quite a few photos of third world people in their native attire.”
“Oh,” Audrey said.
“Is there anyone here at night?” Mike asked.
“Just the cleaner Mr. Baker. He normally leaves around ten o’clock.”
“Has he ever seen anything suspicious?” Mike asked.
“Not that he’s let on. He’s been here longer than I have. His shift starts in an hour, so you can ask him yourself.”
“What would you like PEEPs to do for you?” Mike asked.
“We would like it if you can find out who is playing these tricks and ask them not to be so destructive.”
“You don’t want it or them to leave?” Mike asked for clarification.
“Oh no, the library is for everyone, alive and dead.”
Audrey nodded.
“And cut,” Mike said. “Thank you, Mrs. Hodges.”
“It’s Miss, never married. I’m married to my job,” she said proudly.
“That’s admirable,” Audrey told her.
“Thank you, dear. Not many people understand my devotion.”
“Ma’am,” Cid asked from where he had been setting up a camera. “Where do you put the old books? You know, the ones that have gone out of vogue.”
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Miss Hodges was so impressed by Cid’s question that she didn’t correct him on the ma’am/miss error. “Most libraries put the old books on the dollar rack, but I’ve always tried to house them within the library. As long as we have space, at least one copy of every book this library has purchased will be available to the community.”
Burt focused in on the librarian. The official intro interview was finished, but he was interested in this dedicated woman with a knack for sound bites.
“If you follow me, young man, I’ll show you where we keep them,” Miss Hodges instructed.
Cid looked at Burt, and Burt put his thumb up, still filming.
“I’d like to wash my hands first,” Cid told her.
If her heart was made of butter, it melted right then. Burt increased his focus, and the older woman’s eyes started to fill up with tears. He watched as she got her emotions under control before one teardrop escaped her eye.
“I’ll wait for you at the stairs,” she informed Cid. “We house them in a low traffic area of the basement stacks.”
Cid headed for the bathroom, and after a few minutes, Miss Hodges started walking to the stairs. Burt followed her by extending the focus of the camera. As soon as she turned the corner, he put the camera down.
“What an artful piece of filming, Hitchcock,” Ted remarked.
Burt had forgotten he was on live feed. He was embarrassed but managed, “Thanks, Ted.” Changing the subject, he asked, “Have you heard from Mia yet?”
“No, but she wasn’t going to call me until she was settled into her room for the night. No news is good news in the Martin family.”
“Sound thinking. How’s Brian doing?”
“Right now, he’s working on his vowel sounds while filling his diaper. I’d wait five minutes before entering the command post if I were you. That kid takes after his old man when it comes to stinking up the joint.”
Burt laughed at Ted’s admission. “I’ll give you ten.”
Cid walked over to the stairs and dutifully followed the spry woman down the stairs.
“Were you looking for a particular book?” she asked him.
“No, and I hope this doesn’t sound odd, but I’d like to discover my next book. I want a book that hasn’t been formatted first for an e-book or a book that hasn’t been destroyed by Hollywood making a movie out of it. Something that slipped by. A forgotten treasure.”
“There are hundreds of those. Tell me what you like, and we’ll see if we can narrow it down a bit.”
“Adventure, but I’m not opposed to a saga if there are a few heart-stopping moments.”
“Historical?”
“Historical is fine, but not too far back that I’d feel like I was in school and going to be tested on the material.”
This admission brought a giggle from the librarian. “We can’t have that. If you hadn’t mentioned the movie thing, I would have recommended Graham Greene or perhaps Joseph Conrad - although, his books seem so racist now.”
“They’re too popular for my taste.”
“Ah, you have given me a challenge, young man.” She led him down a long hall, pointing out the rooms as they walked. “These rooms we use for public meetings, book readings, and once a year, we have a Chocolate Lovers Challenge.”
“Oh, you’re going to have to explain that last one,” Cid insisted.
“We purchase a hoard of chocolate from around the world. People buy tickets to sit blindfolded and guess who made the chocolate. We have a chocolatier from the city who volunteers to give background on the chocolate. It is one of our most profitable fundraisers.”
“When is this? I have several friends who would be interested, including myself.”
“It’s coming up. I think it’s scheduled the weekend before Mother’s Day. It’s not on the public calendar yet. I’ll have my assistant send you the information. Don’t dawdle. The tickets are snapped up once the news gets out.”
Cid smiled. He was looking for someplace different to take Marta Steensen. He knew she loved chocolate, and this seemed like a good fit for the two of them.
“Here we are,” Miss Hodges announced. She withdrew a set of keys and said, “We normally keep the door to this area locked. We’ve had a few book miners snooping around at our first editions. Some of them are quite valuable. I’ll give a set of keys to Mr. Hicks if you ghost hunters need to get in here.”
When the door opened, the overhead lights flashed once then settled in for the long haul. Cid followed the librarian into the crowded space. Books were stacked as closely as possible.
“We’d stack them to the ceiling, but the fire department would have our heads. Instead, we have forgone the mid aisle, using that precious four feet for shelving books. Once you start down an aisle, plan on packing a lunch, for you will be there a while.” She stopped and looked at Cid a moment. “Have you read An Eagle has Landed?”
He nodded.
“Did you like it?”
He nodded again.
“Ever read Storm Warning?”
“No, did Jack Higgins write that too?”
“Back before your parents were courting, Jack made the bestseller list with it. And then it disappeared. I’m sure a few book clubbers have their copy, but it didn’t generate the fame that Eagle did. It’s a wartime, maritime thriller. You game?” she asked him.
“Yes, that sounds perfect.”
“Good. Follow me.”
Miss Hodges walked smartly down the long aisle. She stopped and ran her finger across the books that were eye level with her. She tried to pull the book out, but it was wedged tight. The protective plastic cover had become stuck to the book covers on either side. The librarian was used to this. She would simply take out the three books at once. She reached in and pulled the trio towards her. It took a little wiggling, but the determined Miss Hodges was not going to let go of her prize.
“Can I help you?” Cid offered.
“No, just in case I ruin these, let it be on my head,” she said and gave them a last tug. The books popped out of the space and into her arms. She handed Storm Warning to Cid and proceeded to shelve the other two books.
Cid watched as she tenderly fanned the pages and made sure all was well before placing a book on the shelf. She reached forward with the first book and froze. Little squeaky sounds came from her throat. Cid thought she might be having a stroke and clicked on his earcom. Before he could speak, she grabbed him with her free hand and hissed, “Look.”
Cid looked at the space in the bookshelves and saw a man’s face looking back.
“Do you see the face?” she managed to get out.
“Yes.”
“He shouldn’t be in here.”
“Ted and Brian here, how can we help you? over,” Ted asked in Cid’s ear.
“Ted, we have an intruder in the basement. I’m going to see if I can head him off.”
“Whoa, where in the basement?”
“In the old stacks behind the conference rooms,” he said. Cid ran to the end of the aisle and started up the other side. “Hold on, he’s gone. Miss Hodges?” Cid called.
“Yes, I’m here.”
“Can you still see him?”
“Yes, I can, dear.”
“Dude, I can’t see anyone where the man should be standing. Cancel the cops. Send the team down with the camera,” he whispered. Then to Miss Hodges he called, “I’m working my way opposite to you.”
“That would be the L O’s through the L U’s,” she called back. “The man is still staring at me if you are interested.”
Cid shook his head, marveling at how quickly the old gal had got herself under control. He reached the L U’s and began unhousing books at eye level. He had just unseated The Chancellor Manuscript by Robert Ludlum when he saw the back of a man’s head. He carefully pulled out the other books to gain a perfect view of the ghost’s bald spot.
Cid heard a commotion at the entrance to the room. He spied Burt and waved him down the next aisle to film and s
upport Miss Hodges. Mike, who was on Burt’s heels, directed Audrey to follow Burt while he ran down to help Cid.
Together they took out all the books on the shelves below the head. Audrey and Miss Hodges did the same.
Burt flattened himself to the shelf behind the women, filming the ghost who seemed to appreciate all the fuss. When they had finished, the entity shook out his shoulders and stretched his arms as he walked forward out of the stack of books.
“Thank you. You have no idea how long I’ve been stuck there. I could have sworn there used to be an aisle here.”
“Sorry, sir, we needed the space,” Miss Hodges apologized.
The ghost nodded and looked up and down the aisle. “Melville?” he asked.
“Next aisle over,” Miss Hodges directed.
The ghost turned around and walked back through the shelves past Mike and Cid before disappearing.
All was silent for a moment before everyone started talking at once.
“Have you ever seen anything like that before?” Audrey asked the librarian.
“Lost readers sure, but that reader was way lost,” Miss Hodges said, pushing up the sleeves of her ivory twinset. “Come on, troops, these books aren’t going to shelve themselves.”
Audrey and Miss Hodges worked together shelving the old books, and although Mike did try to help Cid, Cid kept complaining that Mike was doing it wrong. So Mike left the pedantic putz to shelve the books solo.
Audrey picked up the last book and was starting to shelve it when Miss Hodges caught her hand.
“That’s the book that started this mess. I believe Cid has decided to read it.”
“Is it any good?” Audrey asked, opening the cover and reading the inside blurb. “Yuck, it’s a boy book.”
“Young woman, there are no boys’ books or girls’ books.”
“Sorry, but I’m not interested in war.”
“Have you seen the musical South Pacific?” Miss Hodges asked. “It was based on James A. Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific.”