by Alexie Aaron
“Is he gay?”
“No, I don’t think so. He’s just talented in the kitchen. Ted and I call him our wife.”
“You lead an interesting life, Mia. A very interesting one.”
~
“Sit still,” Ted instructed. “And keep your eyes open.”
“I’m trying. Why don’t you change places with me?” Cid said. “I think you’ve got something wrong. All I’m getting is static.”
Mike walked over to the two nerds and asked, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Building a communication device so Mark can connect with his locked-in father,” Ted explained. “I’m trying to make the system work two ways so the patient can do more than respond to a yes or no.”
“What’s the problem?”
“I need Cid’s help, but he’s my guinea pig.”
“What does a guinea pig have to do?”
“Sit still, keep your eyes open, and not talk.”
“I can do that,” Mike said. He changed places with Cid. He blinked when the light hit his eyes. “You’re not going to blind me are you?”
“No more than I’m going to blow myself up,” Ted said.
“Touché.”
Burt looked over at the threesome. Mike had come a long way to want to bond with the techies. Hell, Burt himself had matured a lot also, in order to volunteer to watch Brian. The kid was talking nonstop, a mini-Ted with Mia’s beautiful eyes. He couldn’t help but wonder if the child he was holding could have been his if he hadn’t let his ego and the flitch ruin his budding relationship with the sensitive. He wasn’t sad about it, but he did wonder.
Audrey and Mark were on the scent. They had come across some papers in the tiny historical section of the library. Evidently, William Wayne had already published a book and another book was expected. “This could be what Mia was talking about,” she told Mark.
“What does this missing book have to do with the house?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but part of researching for PEEPs is gathering all the facts and letting the team sort through what is valuable and what isn’t. For example, a bill of lading could show us what the occupants of the house consumed. In one case, a researcher found that there was way too much arsenic bought. A normal household would use X amount, but it was doubled. This is how the team involved found out that the woman of the home had poisoned her husband.”
“Wow. I see, we treat their murder like a cold case.”
“In our line of work, an ice-cold case,” Audrey said, studying the microfiche printouts she’d asked Mark to make. “In this report of Earl Wayne’s death, they list it as natural causes due to problems of the heart. He left his big house in Big Bear Lake – that’s where Mia is from, by the way – to the eldest son Wyatt. William was given the land and the old farmhouse. That’s pretty normal in those days. Had the father given everything to William or Wyatt, then this would have told us that there was dissention in the family.”
“Why would that help you in an investigation?”
“Mia needs background information when she communicates with the ghosts. Having little tidbits of gossip sometimes helps her to rouse the ghost into interacting with her. Sometimes a little too much, but Mia can handle most anything that comes up.”
Mark nodded. “Does it mention the gold coins?”
“No.”
“What if there never were any coins, and Wyatt murdered his brother and family for nothing?”
“Murdering for any reason is horrible, but greedy men can justify it. But if it were all for naught, then Wyatt could probably have lost his mind. Or not. He could’ve just been a psychopath.”
The head librarian walked over and placed a volume on the table in front of Audrey and Mark. “I found this stuck in a corner. It’s an indulgent, little self-published book written by the area’s parson at the time you are researching.”
“That’s wonderful,” Audrey said. “Thank you.”
The librarian nodded and walked away.
“Mark, I want you to read this. See if the pastor mentions the Waynes. If he was pompous enough to write a memoir, then he would have sought out the rich members of the congregation in order to better his place in the community.”
Mark opened the book and began to read.
Audrey smiled. It was good to be in the company of such an eager and fast learner. She wondered if this was what Cid was like as a child. He had such an appreciation for books. Ted was smart, but he was more mechanical. Although, his command of four languages was remarkable. Those guys intimidated her. She was more comfortable with plodders like Burt. He was smart but took his time to figure things out.
~
Mia was surprised by the Big Bear Lake connection. “Where was the house?”
“It was a large lake house. Here’s a picture. It’s kind of grainy,” Audrey apologized.
“It looks a bit like one of the mansions on the rich side of the lake,” she said and passed the picture to Glenda.
They decided to have lunch in town. Mia called, and Cid said he would throw something together for the guys and to enjoy her time away.
“They must be neck deep into a project,” Mia thought.
“I wonder what happened to the contents of the house.”
Mark pushed a copy of an auction notice in front of her. Mia squinted, but she could read that a roll top desk was included in the description of the items for auction. “I wonder if we can find out where that desk went.”
“After all this time, I doubt it,” Audrey said.
“Why are you so interested in this desk?” Glenda asked.
“There was a manuscript on the desk in my vision,” Mia explained.
“In those days, without air conditioning, papers would curl with the humidity. Any writer worth his salt would have contained it in something. A biscuit tin perhaps?” Glenda suggested.
Mia looked on the list. “It could be under household items or…”
“It’s there!” Mark exclaimed.
“Where?” Mia asked.
“I saw a stack of old tins in the cellar. Some of them are wrapped in oilcloth,” he said.
“When did you go into the cellar?” Mia asked him.
“I didn’t. The house showed it to me in a dream,” he said.
“Wouldn’t it have already been ransacked like the rest of the place?” Mia asked.
“Houses of that period would have the entrance to the cellar on the outside of the home. It could have been overlooked,” Audrey ventured.
“But not by Wyatt,” Mia reminded them.
“Wyatt was looking for gold not paper,” Mark said. “Mia, can we go into the cellar?”
“Murphy maybe. The house is in too great of disrepair for us to chance a person going into the cellar underneath. But a ghost? Sure. I’ll ask him when we get back. Or, better yet, you ask him.”
“Me?” Mark squeaked, putting his hand on his chest. “He’s got an axe.”
Mia smiled indulgently. “I assure you, there is no sweeter man in the ether. But when he has to be, there is no one more dangerous too. Approach him with respect, and he will return it,” she advised.
Glenda caught Audrey’s eye. She mouthed, “Good mom.”
Audrey nodded.
Chapter Twenty-four
Ted had the air conditioning cranked up in the command post. The computers were having trouble with the heat, so Jake demonstrated his irritation by having Marvin the Martian walking around in a tiny Speedo bathing suit.
Mia stood sweating under the awning. She had stripped down to a tiny tank and short, pocketed shorts. Mike watched her from behind his sunglasses. He foresaw a series of cold showers in his near future. “Damn it, Mia, just go naked,” he complained.
“Burt wants a PG rating or I would,” she snapped back. “Could it get any hotter?”
Today, the PEEPs were going to investigate the upstairs without Mark. Cid had taken Burt aside, and as kindly as it could be told, advised Burt that his weig
ht may be dangerous. Even Mike was going to be in trouble unless he treaded carefully. Burt handed Cid the camera without a word. Mark would be by after he did his chores. Mia appeased Mark by mentioning that Murphy would be around for him then. Edie was expecting Mark to put up a fight, but he seemed to respect Mia’s word, and he was now busy cleaning out their boathouse.
Audrey was under the awning, holding her notes down with rocks. Burt had fans circulating the air, trying to find some kind of comfort. If anyone started to suffer the heat, they would have to have a timeout in the command center with Ted.
Mike gave Cid a brief intro to explain today’s activities. “Mia and I are going upstairs to see if we can record the children playing jacks. The flooring is compromised, so we will all have to tread carefully.”
“And cut,” Burt said. “Good luck, and be careful.”
Mia led the way through the middle room and over to the stairwell. The steps groaned under her feet. “Heads up, gents, walk on the outside not the middle of the stair.” She made it up to the landing and was greeted with a cool breeze. “We have activity.”
Mike stood beside Mia as they waited for Cid. The two of them saw a single bedroom over the parlor, probably once the room of the parents, and then a series of rooms opening in on each other to the back of the house.
“Let’s follow that breeze,” Mike suggested. They headed to the back of the house. The first room would have been a small sitting room or, maybe, a playroom. “This looks like a good place for jacks. He pulled out a fistful of jacks from his pocket and a small red ball. He cautiously moved over to the center of the floor and sat down. Mia moved beside him, and they proceeded to play. Mike had got to threesies when a giggle echoed through the room. It was followed by running footsteps. Mia watched the two young brothers watching the investigator. One got on his stomach, and when Mike bounced the ball, the child swiped the jacks up. To the camera, they just disappeared.
“You’re on foursies,” Mia said. The jacks appeared again. This time Mike was able to grab the jacks, but when he opened his hand, they were knuckle bones.
“What the hell?”
“Shush, there are children around,” Mia said.
The boys whispered to each other. The elder brother pushed the little one, and the boy said, “Hell!” and ran off.
Mike dropped the knuckle bones. “Your turn,” he said to Mia.
Mia played with the knuckle bones. The children returned and sat beside her until she had cleared the floor. “I win,” she said.
“I win!” repeated the boys.
“Timmy and Jimmy, this is Mike, and I’m Mia.”
“Meee ah,” the small one repeated.
“Would you like to play with us?” she asked, goose pimples raising on her arms.
“Meee ah,” the small one said again. “Meee ah wins.”
“Yes. Who wins when you play?” she asked.
“Tim meee,” the older brother said, patting his chest.
“Jim meee,” the younger one argued. The boys began pushing at each other. Some of their strikes went through Mia’s body which was rather uncomfortable.
“Boys! Settle down,” she admonished.
“Meee ah, play with us,” they said in unison.
Mia spread out the knuckle bones and dropped the ball. Timmy swiped one of them. The next turn, Jimmy swiped two. This continued until all the bones had been cleared.
“Thank you,” Mia said. She got up, and a boy on each side took her hand. They led her to their room.
Mike followed with Cid fast on his heels. They entered the last room to see the skeletons of two small, metal, spring beds. Mia saw more. She saw the pink-cheeked boys lying dead in their beds.
She walked over and laid a hand on each of the apparitions and said, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t here to save you.”
“Mee ah…” the boys said, their voices fading.
Mia stepped back so Cid could film the room. On the windowsill were the jacks that Mike had brought.
He put his ball next to them and took Mia’s hand and led her out of the room. He walked carefully, navigating over the weak boards until they were in front of the parents’ bedroom.
Cid positioned the camera on his shoulder so the lens would pick up the room the same moment that Mike and Mia entered it. They found the room empty of furniture, but there was a built-in cupboard. Mia walked over to it and opened it, displaying the contents to the camera.
“There seems to be a lot of shoes inside,” Mike said. “They appear to be a combination of styles from different eras.”
“Button tops and flip flops,” Mia said. “Oxfords and war-era pumps.”
“The house has had a few renters since the Waynes were killed,” Mike said. “It appears they left their shoes behind.”
“Mee ah…” the children sang out.
Mia turned around, and a black mass descended quickly from the ceiling. She pushed Mike out of the way, taking the full brunt of the fury of the mass. It manhandled her before it tossed Mia out of the room in frustration. It drew more power and advanced on her near the top of the stairs. She got to her feet and tossed a salt star into the middle of the mass. A screeching pierced the air. She opened the box of salt and whipped the contents at the roiling darkness. It dissipated, but she knew it was only temporary.
“Get down the stairs quick,” she ordered. “Something powerful enough to toss me around will recharge quickly.” She stood her ground until the men had gotten down the stairs. She took a look into the playroom and said, “Mind the salt. It burns.”
“Meee ah…”
Mia rubbed her arms and fled down the steps. She breezed by Mike and ran out the door, leaping over the blackness that only she could see.
Burt ran over to her. “What’s going on?”
“There is something else besides the Waynes in there. A large black mass. It picked me up like I was nothing and threw me towards the stairs. I think it wanted me to leave. I tossed some salt on it and got Cid and Mike down the stairs.”
“Your lip’s bleeding. Go inside and have Ted fix you up,” Burt said.
Mia did as she was told. She was rattled. She’d absorbed too much blackness to shake off the fear. She touched her earcom. “Teddy Bear, I’m coming in.”
She flipped open the small door and let herself into the cool darkness of the command center. The monitors were lit, and Ted had frozen a picture of the mass on the center screen. He turned around, holding the first aid kit, and beckoned her over.
“Let me see that lip. Ouch,” he said as he inspected it. “There goes my birthday present.”
Mia swatted him on the butt. “Cut it out.”
“I see your temper is intact. Let’s do a bone check.”
“Honestly…”
“I said bone, not boner. Get your mind out of the gutter, dear.” Ted moved his hands over her body and lifted the back of her shirt. There was considerable bruising starting. “You’re done for the day. Lay down and ice,” he ordered, sending her to the lounge chair. He sat down and opened the com. “Burt, she’s got massive bruising to her back as if the thing was trying to break her in two. If it wasn’t for those super ribs, I think it would have succeeded.”
Burt shook his head. “Keep her in there. Tie her up if you have to,” he said. “Remember, Mia doesn’t take kindly to being dwarf-tossed.”
Ted turned around, and Mia was gone. She was out the door before he could grab her.
Mia jumped off the truck.
Burt was right there. “Mind if we film the bruises?”
Mia whipped off her shirt and turned around. “Go ahead.”
Burt waved Cid over who rolled film as Burt described the injuries. “She was grabbed by massive hands and squeezed before she was tossed ten…?”
Mia nodded, confirming the distance.”
“Ten feet,” Burt finished.
Mia put her shirt on and turned around. “You want more?” she growled, tugging on her shirt.
“And cut.
”
Mia walked over to the cooler and pulled some ice out for her lip. She turned her chair away from the team and sulked for a few minutes. Audrey watched her clench and unclench her hands.
“Mia, are you alright?” she asked.
“Where the hell is Murphy!” she shouted, getting up.
Mike was the first to get to Mia. “Calm down. I know you’re upset, but, Mia, you’re not yourself. You’re super acting out. Look at me, come on.” He grabbed her chin and saw a world of hurt and pain on her face. “We’re here to help you. You don’t have to do it all yourself.”
“Hands. Maggot-ridden hands trying to twist me in half. That can’t stay here. Someone is going to get seriously hurt. There’s a pit around the house. Can’t anyone see that?” She pulled his hands off her face.
“Honey, we can’t. That’s why we depend on you.” He grabbed her shoulders. “Something’s got you overwhelmed. You have to fight it.” The solution popped into his mind. “Friends, Mia, friends.”
It was as if a switch was thrown. Mia’s expression went from anguished to loving.
“Holy shit, that still works. Ted, you can stop pacing in there. Your wife is back,” Mike said.
“What’s going on?” Mia asked, looking around. She managed to ask, “Where’s Murphy?” before her back seized up and she was on the ground withering in pain.
~
Murphy heard Mia shout for him, and he had been trying to get to her. He had gone to explore Buckley Pond and found himself on the wrong side of the ley line. He couldn’t move through it without the line pulling him away from the old house. He retraced his steps and was able to move away from the pond area. He rushed to the old house and arrived to see the PEEPs under the awning, having a serious conversation.
“Hello, Murph,” Mia said evenly from her prone position on the lawn chair. “So nice of you to drop by.”
“I got caught on the other side of the ley line,” he explained.
“Crap, I forgot about that. I may have used your name in vain a few times. Sorry,” she said.