by Alexie Aaron
“He sure is a talker,” the woman said and smiled as the young couple excused themselves and walked towards the shallows.
“Just Mrs. Ted Martin? Just? Come on, Mia, you’re married to Batman,” Ted said, feigning hurt feelings.
“But we can’t let them know that. If the beach public knew that the Ice Queen and Batman were here, we’d be mobbed,” Mia teased.
“You’re right. We have to keep our secret identities safe.”
“Yes we do,” Mia agreed, wading into the water with Brian.
Ted watched as his beautiful wife sat down in the water. Brian gasped as the water hit his feet but soon smiled as Mia moved him around in the water. The flotation devices Ted had made for Brian kept the child floating with his head out of the water. Mia moved a little deeper so her breasts would be covered by the water, much to Ted’s disappointment.
“I love you, Mia.”
Mia looked up at him, her face expressing what those words meant to her. “I love you too, Ted,” she said. “As I do Brian, who may just get the job of Aquaman.”
“Can the Martin family handle another superhero?” Ted asked in an announcer’s voice. “Stay tuned for the further adventures of Batman and the Ice Queen, as they fight paranormal injustice with the aid of Aquaman.”
“Did you hear that?” Mia asked Brian.
“Pblsst.”
Chapter Two
Mark stood at his grandpa’s fish-cleaning bench, cleaning the bluegills he’d caught. Sam looked over his shoulder but couldn’t find anything to criticize. Instead, he patted his grandchild on the back before sitting down in the nearby rocking chair.
“How was the pond?”
“Quiet,” Mark replied. “You were right about waiting until after the weekend. I was the only one on the east shore of Buckley Pond. I saw your friend Roger on the west shore. He was using minnows. I saw the flash of silver while he was casting.”
“Minnows in Buckley? Did he catch anything?”
“No,” Mark said, laughing. “I saw him give up after I pulled my eighth bluegill out.”
“People discount worms. All those fancy gadgets can’t replace a worm when a fish is craving one,” Sam said sagely.
Mark nodded. “I never thought I’d be spending my summer elbow-deep in fish guts,” he said. “But I’m happy.”
“You’re missing your games though,” Sam acknowledged.
“The interaction with my friends, I miss the most.”
“School friends?”
“No, actually, the people that I battle with. I’ve never seen them, but we talk to each other over Ventrilo while we play. It’s a good group of nerds.”
Sam scratched his head. “Good thing I was born too early for video games. I don’t think I could keep up.”
“Grandpa, you were an electrical engineer. I’m sure you could be running a game if you wanted to.”
“Alas, we have no internet here, so I can’t embarrass myself. Maybe next time your gran and I visit, you can let me watch.”
Mark turned around and asked, “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“It’s a date then.”
“Speaking of dating…”
“Grandpa, I’m only twelve. There are no dates for me.”
“I guess I think of you as older. You’re very serious.”
“Mom would disagree with you.”
“My daughter doesn’t remember being a kid.”
“Mom’s got a lot on her plate with Dad in the rehab facility. I hardly see her, between work and her visiting him.”
“At least she had a career to fall back on when this tragedy struck,” Sam said proudly.
“Yes, but it’s all so senseless. He’s not trying to get better, Grandpa. All that money, and he just lays there and feels sorry for himself.”
“Maybe he is trying, Mark. The brain is a funny thing. I know that after a stroke, it needs to rewire itself, but your father didn’t have a stroke. It was the blast that killed his friends, that locked him in. It may take longer.”
“Sometimes I wish…” Mark started and stopped, feeling guilty.
“I know, son, I know. But let’s look on the positive side of things. This has given us a chance to reconnect while your mother takes the qualifying courses she needs for that promotion she’s up for.”
Mark smiled. “Grandpa, tell me about the old house.”
Sam rolled his neck and closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m not sure what you want to know about it?”
“Why did they let it fall to ruin?”
“I’m not sure, but here’s what I know… Something horrible happened in that house. A whole family was killed. Things like that imprint on buildings. No one wanted to live in it. They tried to sell it, but no one bought it. They tried renting it, but no one lasted more than a few months there. It’s a shame. It’s such a beautiful house inside. Or it was.”
“So it’s haunted,” Mark confirmed.
“Hell yes. I’ve even seen a few ghosts.”
“I can hear them playing upstairs, the kids.”
“Let’s see, that would be the boys. What were their names? Something alike, maybe Timmy and Jimmy. They would have been my age if they had lived,” Sam told him. “My family was farming down south in Grundy County when it happened.”
“You were just a kid.”
“Yes, and I doubt that my father or mother paid any attention to the murder at the time. It was after your gran and I bought this place that I became acquainted with the old house and its history. Sad, very sad.”
“What happened?”
“Tell you what, let’s take those fish in so your gran can plan her supper, and then I’ll sit down with both of you and tell you about the murder at the old house.”
~
“There was a farmer named Earl Wayne, and he had two sons. The elder, Wyatt, and the younger, William. Earl and his wife Mary raised the boys in the house by Buckley Pond. Earl owned most of the land in these here parts. He made his fortune by domesticating strawberries and supplying them to the restaurants and hotels in Chicago. He purchased some more land and had a large home built in Big Bear Lake. Wyatt would inherit the farms and the new house, while William would inherit the house by Buckley Pond and the five acres surrounding it.”
“Sounds like the younger kid got screwed,” Mark observed.
“It was how some folks did things. I think it was to encourage the younger son to set out into the world and make his name and money that way. But fear not, Earl wasn’t an ogre. It was rumored that he liked William more than Wyatt, and that’s how the trouble started.”
“Trouble?” Mark asked.
“The conditions of the will stated that William would inherit the old house and all the contents of the building.”
“I assume, dear, that the good furniture was already at the new house, so why would there be trouble?” Edie asked her husband.
“Evidently, when Earl was planted, Wyatt took inventory of his fortune and found it lacking. Gold coins that he was sure were in the new house were missing. He demanded to search the old house, and William declined. William said that it was his house, and tearing apart the walls wasn’t necessary. He was sure that their father, probably, had converted the coins into other investments.”
Sam went on, “Wyatt had his brother arrested for the theft of the coins, but the law wouldn’t search the old house as William’s wife and two sons were living there. Eventually, they had to let William out of jail.”
“Why did Wyatt need the coins?” Mark asked. “Didn’t he have all the land, the new house, and the money in the bank?”
“He did, but he was fixated on the coins. So fixated that, one cold February evening, he went to the old house and killed his brother, his brother’s wife and the boys by piping the exhaust from the furnace into the house. But no one could prove that he did it.”
“Why do you think he was the killer, Grandpa?”
“The bodies were no sooner removed when
he began to tear large holes in the walls, looking for the coins. His explanation for the destruction was that he was tearing out the heating system that killed his brother. Wyatt had an accident while checking out the ceiling in the dining room. He fell and broke his back. He spent the next twenty years painfully navigating through life in a wheelchair. He cursed the house, which he was sure made him fall off of the ladder.”
“Did they ever find the coins?” Mark asked.
“No, I don’t think the coins were ever there. Seems to me, if William had found the coins, he would have given them to his brother. He wasn’t jealous of his brother; he was happy to have the house in which he was raised. His wife was a frugal woman, and the boys were intelligent and would have no trouble making their fortunes.”
“Why didn’t they let Wyatt search the house?” Edie asked.
“William was very protective of the old house. He didn’t want to see it damaged. I think that he, his wife and children also wanted to preserve the old building the best that they could.”
“So they died protecting the house,” Mark said. “It’s a shame, as it’s in ruins now.”
“It still has good bones,” Grandpa Sam pointed out. “The roofline is straight, and the foundation is solid.”
“Grandpa, we could fix it up.”
“Oh dear,” Edie said, paling at the idea.
“Mark, your grandmother and I aren’t fixed that well with money. Any extra, we have given to your mother for your father’s care,” he explained. “It would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to make it livable.”
“Consider it an investment. I bet you could sell it for twice that price,” Mark said optimistically.
“But, dear, it’s haunted,” Edie reminded her grandson. “No one would buy a haunted house, not on purpose.”
“It would take a strange person to deliberately buy a haunted house,” Sam agreed.
~
Ted and Cid were busy preparing the floorboards of the porch for staining. Murphy used his brawn to sand down any areas where the old paint still clung.
“This is the spot were Amber did her little sexy dance when she was possessed,” Ted informed Cid. “Paint has never adhered to this area since that happened.”
Murphy stopped and moved to where Ted and Cid were working. He put his hand on the wood and felt just a bit of a memory of his wife there. He picked up his axe and sunk it into the boards.
“What the hell, Murphy!” Ted objected.
“Evil boards,” he said simply and left.
“What? Mia, Murphy’s gone nuclear on the porch!” Ted called into the house.
“Coming,” she called from the kitchen where she had been inventorying what was left of their plates and bowls after Murphy had chopped the cabinets off the wall. Mia walked out and over to the chopped pieces of wood, took off her gloves and touched one of the boards. She dropped it like a hot potato. “Evil boards,” she said, rubbing her hand on the leg of her jeans as if she could disengage the image that way.
“That’s what Murphy said,” Cid told her.
Mia looked around her to make sure Murphy was not within earshot before she spoke, “I saw Chastity Murphy engaged in a disturbing, carnal act with Steele just before he killed her. The boards soaked up so much of her blood. Frankly, I’m amazed that the floorboards of the porch are still original.”
Cid looked at the hewn and sanded boards. “Stephen did a first rate job in preparing the wood. Look, the bottom and two sides have been soaked in a resin of some kind. I’ll go and…”
Murphy returned with replacement boards, the saw, a hammer, and nails. He cleared his throat. “Excuse me.”
Ted, Cid and Mia made room for the ghost. Mia put on her gloves and picked up the cursed wood, headed over to the fire pit and tossed the boards in. Ted caught up to her with a road flare, lit it, and the two of them watched the boards burn.
“Normal people use a match,” Cid stated on his way to the barn for more supplies.
Mia leaned into Ted and felt his comforting arm around her.
“Do you think he knows what happened on that spot?” Ted asked.
“I don’t know. I hope not. Perhaps to him, the boards were just evil.”
“I was telling Cid about Amber’s dance and…”
“Oh dear,” Mia said, wiping a tear away. “Then I’d say he knows she died there. I just hope, not how.”
“I’m sorry you have to see that kind of stuff, Minnie Mouse,” Ted said.
“Me too,” Mia sighed. “I find it disturbing that a house can hold on to so much. It’s almost as if it has a memory.”
Ted’s smartwatch lit up. Centered on the small black screen was Brian, babbling in the middle of the crib. “The little dude’s awake.”
“I’ll go…” Mia turned to leave. Ted caught her arm.
“Mia, let me go. I think you need to have a talk with Murphy. He’s hurting right now and needs you.”
Mia looked up at Ted. “You can’t help being wonderful, can you?”
He grinned. “Guess not. Oh, I’ve tried, but mediocre and I just aren’t a match.”
“Neither is humble,” Mia teased.
Ted trotted up through the back door. Mia walked around the house and waited until Murphy had finished.
“Why don’t you and I take a little walk?” she suggested.
Murphy looked up and scowled.
“Come on, it’ll do you good. Cid can finish this.”
Murphy nodded and moved beside Mia who was headed in the direction of the woods. “I’m sorry I ruined the porch.”
“No need to apologize for taking out some bad boards,” Mia insisted. “I’m sorry that you had to deal with them in the first place.”
“I wasn’t there for her,” he said quietly. “She had no one on her side.”
Mia was surprised by the guilt the farmer was carrying. His wife was an adulterer and probably aided somehow in his death.
“She came here expecting an easier life. Chastity wanted parties and party dresses, but all she got was work and more work.”
“Life was harder back then, Murph,” Mia pointed out.
“We tried and found out that we couldn’t have children. My mother moved in, and instead of providing company for Chastity, she was always critical. It couldn’t have been a good life. I had my farm and my trees. All she had was me, and I was too busy.”
“Did you love her?” Mia asked.
“Not at first. I didn’t know her. Our marriage was arranged by our families. But I grew to appreciate her. She was beautiful, Mia. Like a fairytale princess. She had little bones, and her feet were so small. I felt oafish next to her.”
Mia chose to be silent. She waited for him to open up to her. There was something holding him back. She watched again and again as he looked over at her and tried to form the words, but instead, he remained silent. They had crested the hill and were wading through the long grass when he lightly touched her arm. Mia turned.
“I’d like to see her grave, please.”
“I’ll call Father Santos. I don’t know exactly where they buried her,” Mia admitted. She pulled out her phone, but shook her head as she was in a dead spot. “I’ll call when I get back to the farmhouse. We’ll go together…”
“No. Cid will take me,” Murphy insisted.
Mia tried not to be hurt. “Okay, I’ll ask Cid.”
“I’m sorry, Mia,” Murphy said and disappeared.
Mia looked around her and saw she had traveled about a mile and a half from home. She sat down on the grass, lay back and let the tears flow. She cried for the injustice of Murphy’s short life. She cried for the cloud that had moved over her marriage and was taking its damn time moving off. She loved her husband, but she worried that he no longer adored her. He had to work through the damage that Beth and Judge Roumain had done to them. She had to push away Angelo’s words regarding the lack of love that had kept the curse from setting in.
“It’s not fair!” she screamed and
pounded the ground beside her.
“Life isn’t fair,” Sariel voiced in her ear.
Mia turned her head to see the archangel, in human form, lying beside her. He was dressed in casual clothes, not unlike what she was wearing.
“Why are you here?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even.
“Mia, I sensed you were upset, and I thought I’d offer you my wing to cry on,” he said, dripping with sarcasm.
Mia laughed and rolled back onto her back.
He rolled to his side and leaned over her. “I take it you don’t want a guardian angel?”
“Um, that’s several paygrades below you, sir.”
“Indeed. Actually, I’ve been waiting to talk to you alone.”
“Well you have me… You have me alone that is,” she clarified.
He lifted an eyebrow. “I admit to being puzzled by your circumstances.”
“Puzzled. Why?”
“You’re a very powerful woman, Mia, yet you choose to lead an ordinary life.”
Mia laughed. “You call what I do ordinary? I’d hate to see what you would think of as exciting.”
“Are you content to clean up the paranormal world? To mop up the lost and protect the victims of the angry?”
“I think that’s why I was given these gifts. To help someone to cross over and to take the fear away from a family that is haunted. It is very rewarding.”
“How about your personal life?”
“I have beautiful son, and I had a husband who adored me.”
“Had?”
“Geeze, now you’re acting the shrink,” Mia said and sat up. “I’ve discovered the problem, but I can’t seem to return to how things were before the… interference.”
“Mia, you never can go back. You have to make things better in the present time.”
“Any suggestions?”
“I’m a warrior not a marriage counselor, but I’ve learned a few things today in speaking to you.”
“And that is?”
“You’re not ready to fly yet. Don’t go with Angelo. Don’t let him further divide you and your husband. Angelo wants you for his own, Mia. Just as I do.”