by Alexie Aaron
“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Beth said. “Mia and Mike are married.”
“Yes,” Glenda answered.
“And Mia’s a medium of some sort.”
Glenda nodded.
“But why do they need spelunking equipment? I admit you lost me there.”
Mike looked at Mia and nodded. She got to her feet.
“Let me start by saying as the new Mrs. Dupree I want some respect,” Mia ducked as the PEEPs crew threw napkins and whatnot at her. She waited for the others to settle down before she started, “What we need the equipment for, is that I believe that there was a very tragic set of events that happened here when Glenda’s parents were first married. It involves a set of twins. One handsome and accomplished and the other, while identical in facial features, was stricken with birth defects so severe that he resembled a monster and was kept hidden from the world. I suspect the hidden room in the attic was his. I haven’t figured out what happened the night Joel, the sound brother, was hung, but it also involves Jonas, the stricken brother. I think after Joel’s fate was learned that Jonas either killed himself or was killed and his body dumped in the well.”
Mike got up and continued the tale. “I believe it was during a time of drought, and his body settled on a ledge or outcropping down there. They’ve been experiencing a record drought here. The water table has never been lower. I think when the water is low, Jonas comes to the house and relives that horrible night when his brother was taken. They are family, they deserve to have their stories known,” he said more to Glenda than to the PEEPs team.
“The boy at least deserves a decent burial,” Glenda agreed. “How dangerous is this?”
“An eight out of ten,” Ted calculated.
“There is also a room to break into,” Mia reminded everyone.
“A ten out of ten,” Ted informed them.
“And a haunt to film,” Burt said.
“Books to find,” Beth added.
“My sister to impress,” Glenda put in for good measure.
“It’s a challenge, but I think we’re capable of it. The rewards are immense. Hopefully I will be rid of my ghost. We will find the books. Mom will be set in her golden years. Joel and Jonas will find their rest.”
“And we can get the hell out of here!” Glenda punctuated.
Mia and Ted headed back upstairs. Mia followed him quietly, taking each step with deliberate care. She was thinking of other stairs she had climbed recently and the investigation there. She wondered about the girls that were kidnapped and lost their sister. How did they deal with the loss? How did Jonas deal with the loss of his - with the exception of the cruelly twisted body - identical twin?
“You’re pretty quiet, Mrs. Dupree,” Ted said, waiting for her on the third floor landing.
“Cute. I prefer Ms. Dupree, thank you,” Mia replied then explained, “I’m just pondering the whole family dynamic. I have no siblings, and my parents, well, I won’t go there but to say they won’t be penning any parenting guides in their future. I admit to being envious and puzzled by familial relationships.”
“Each family is different, I suppose. From all outward appearances Glenda and Mike are at odds with each other, but you can see how much love there is,” Ted pointed out. “I think she is at a crossroads. She wants to see him settled down, but she isn’t ready to share him yet with another woman.”
“I don’t think he’s looking in that direction, so she’s pretty safe there,” Mia observed. “What about your family. Do they want to see little geniuses at your feet?”
“My sister is supplying them with plenty. I think my father thinks I’m gay.”
“Really, now that shocks me,” Mia said as they turned the corner and started up the attic stairs.
“He keeps saying things like, ‘How’s your partner?’ and asking when are they going to meet him.”
“Must be your taste in clothes and prowess in the culinary arts,” Mia said in jest.
“I can make coffee,” Ted argued. “And my clothing choices are very similar to yours,” he pointed out.
“Dude, you’re not making your case here.” Mia laughed heartily. “I’m lost when it comes to clothing. Guys, my godfathers for instance, are always trying to get me to wear girly stuff. I’m just not comfortable in…”
“Clothes,” Ted filled in. “Well, feel free to peel off anything restrictive, Mia. After all, I’m gay. We’ll be like sisters.”
“I can’t believe you said that.”
Ted laughed. Mia couldn’t help but join in the laughter. As it bounced off the low ceiling and cobwebbed corners, it helped to make the space feel less haunted, friendlier.
“I can see why people live in lofts,” Mia said. “It’s so cozy.” She pulled on a pair of leather gloves to put a distance between her and the memories of the items that were stored here. She didn’t think any of them were harmful or she would have put on the clumsy salt-encrusted gloves instead.
Ted walked over to the bureau and pulled out the rest of the papers and put them in a box to be taken to the parlor. He closed the drawer, but something hampered it from aligning with the other drawers. He shook it and tried again. This time it was worse. He pulled the drawer out and was surprised to find tucked in the back of the slot a small book. He handed it to Mia before replacing the drawer. It now fit flush with the front of the bureau.
Mia looked at the book. Its bent pages were filled with a spidery script. She opened the front cover and read, “Diary of Astrid Lund.” She fanned through the pages before asking, “What was Joel’s and Jonas’s mother’s name?”
“You would have to ask Beth or Glenda, I suppose.”
Mia set the diary in the box with the papers. She helped Ted move the dresser towards the door. She picked up her broom and began to sweep where the piece of furniture had stood. The flooring was loose. Mia bent down and adjusted a board. She felt Ted’s shadow over her, watching her play with the board for a while. “It doesn’t exactly fit. I’m worried someone will break an ankle walking up here.”
Ted got to his knees and pulled the board up. It gave easily. Underneath was a cedar box. He pulled it out and sat with it a moment. Mia scooted over and sat next to him and asked, “Should we open it?”
“No, but I’m going to anyway.” Ted lifted the lid and dumped the contents out. A tiny knitted sweater fell to the ground along with two oversized booties.
Mia picked up the sweater and noticed how the sleeve had been adjusted to cover the hand of its wearer. “It’s Jonas’s,” she said softly and held it to her chest. “His mother couldn’t bear to get rid of it.” Mia pulled off her gloves, and before she could grab the garment, Ted snatched it.
“Are you sure you want to touch it?” he asked, taking a protective tone.
“Yes, this will tell us more than any book will. Don’t worry, it’s not the same as bilocation. Just don’t leave me alone. K?”
“I won’t. Here,” he said as he placed the sweater in her bare hands.
The attic faded away, and Mia was standing over a bassinette. Inside were two tiny babies. Each was wrapped tight in flannel blankets. The babies’ faces were very similar to Mike’s. They gurgled and smiled. She saw a woman’s hands carefully unwrap one of the twins. Mia watched as she tenderly dressed the child with the mutant features in the sweater Mia now held. The only sign that she was in distress was the large tear that fell upon the child’s face. Mia sniffed, and the vision paled away into nothingness.
Ted took the garment out of her hands and placed it in the cedar box along with the booties. He waited for Mia to talk. He knew she would do so in her own time. He put an arm around her and cradled her small body as she cried.
“She loved Jonas as much as Joel. She didn’t agree with him being shut away. She knitted the sweater for him to wear to his christening. He wasn’t baptized. The elder Lunds refused, and her husband didn’t fight them. It was very sad, Ted.”
“If his room was on the other side of the wall,
why wasn’t this stored in it when they sealed it off?” Ted pondered aloud.
“I guess all will be answered when we open that door. If it were my child, I would have kept this close to me to remind me of him. Maybe that’s why it’s separate.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Sad. Do you mind holding me a while.”
“Silly question to ask,” Ted said and pulled her closer.
They sat in silence on the floor with the box in front of them. Mia had her eyes closed, and Ted held her until they both heard footsteps on the stairs.
Chapter Eleven
They moved the monitor and console back into the command vehicle. Mia pulled the trailer out, so Ted could get it to the street. Burt helped Mia with guiding the trailer back into place and unhitched it from her truck. They were going to set up cameras and sound in the area encompassing the old churchyard and the rooming house. As much as Beth and Mia wanted to proceed in the house, they bowed to the majority vote. Glenda, curious about what Mike actually did with the PEEPs crew, was happy to join in on the investigation. She supplied coffee and sandwiches, and her sarcastic wit whenever appropriate.
Burt took the lead position. He organized his team and insisted since they were filming that everyone wear PEEPs tees with the PEEPs hoodie over them for warmth. A frost warning went out for the area as the evening temperatures were going to dip below thirty-two Fahrenheit. Mia took her pile of clothes up to her room to change.
Burt watched her climb the stairs, and when she was out of earshot he asked Ted, “Is she okay?”
Ted related what had happened earlier with the baby sweater. “I think she cares so deeply for these lost souls that it drains her.”
Burt sighed, remembering all too well the angst that went along with the gifts Mia had. He had spent more time with her than any of the other team members. They had been a couple, but then it became too uncomfortable to be around her. He chided himself for not taking her feelings into consideration. She was part of his team, but he had been treating her like an outsider. The freak amongst the geeks. “Maybe I’ll go and talk to her.”
Ted looked at him warily. “If I may be so bold and speak plainly to you, Cap’n?”
Burt nodded his assent.
“We have been going at this ghost hunting enterprise fiercely. The PEEPs alone have logged in more than a forty hour week. We get paid a portion of the sponsor monies, so we are getting compensated for the long hours, the risk, and being treated like swabbies on a pirate ship. Mia does it for free. In order to make ends meet she works her tail off doing odd jobs in our meager down time. I think you ought to consider bringing her into the group. I’m not sure she would join, but I think you and Mike should at least give her the option.”
“Did she ask you to bring this up?”
“Oh no! She hasn’t mentioned a word. Mia is upfront and doesn’t lobby behind anyone’s back. You should know that.”
“Yes. I’ll put it to a discussion and vote at our next business meeting. I can tell you that Beth’s not going to like this.”
“Well then she’ll be able to explain why at the meeting,” Ted said.
“Since we are being honest and straightforward, mind if I ask you a direct question?” Burt started.
“Shoot.”
“What are your plans for Mia Cooper?”
Ted smiled from ear to ear. “I’m going to wear her down. It may take twenty years, but eventually she will see me as the catch I am.”
Burt burst out laughing. “I wish you luck in this. Twenty years ought to do it. How are you going to handle the cop?”
“Don’t have to. The cop is a temporary thing. She’ll get tired of looking at his handsome face and perfect body. His great sense of humor and sparkling personality will become old. And he’s not exactly pleasing the lady lately. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy, but, man oh man, he’s not the guy for Mia.”
“I wish you luck, Ted, I really do. I don’t like the cop either, but my shrink says it’s because he reminds me of all the assholes that picked on me in my turbulent youth.”
“He does at that.”
“Some advice from her ex. Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way of an investigation. She won’t be pleased if you interfere in what’s she’s best at. Don’t do a Beth. And most importantly, don’t act like I’ve been acting for the last couple of months.”
Ted nodded.
Burt started the long climb to the third floor. He really had to do something about his health. His excess weight never bothered him before, but he was getting on in years, and maybe he needed to trim some of the fast food from his diet. Mia never complained when they were together. She didn’t look at the exterior Burt any different than she did Whitney Martin. She loved him, and he tossed that away. He would try to regain their friendship, something that he negated when his ego needed the room. He laughed. It may take twenty years or so, but he was going to give it his best, for the sake of him and the team.
He stood outside her closed door a moment, gathering himself. He tapped lightly.
“Come in.”
He opened the door to see Mia struggling to align the small pack that had Murphy’s axe head in it in the middle of her back. “This thing is harder to get into than a bra.”
Burt walked over and helped her. “Do you need to carry this tonight? Murphy’s range is more than adequate for the town.”
“I made a mistake at the asylum by leaving his source of power in the truck with Ted. If he has a problem, it would take him too long to regenerate and get back to us. That error almost got me killed. I won’t be effing up that again.”
“Speaking of Ted, you know he’s developed feelings for you.”
“And…”
“And be careful, don’t tear out his heart and stomp on it.”
Mia turned around and stared at Burt. “Is that what I did to you?” she asked. “I don’t remember it that way. I can’t help who likes me and who hates me. All I can do is be the best asset this group needs. Right now my personal life is that, my personal life,” Mia said emphasizing each word. “I don’t get it. I don’t see what there is to like or what there is to hate. The only person I see in the mirror is someone who occasional has spinach in her teeth. Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered that Ted likes me. We get along famously. Please don’t make this anything other than it is. I know you’re the leader. I know you have Ted’s best interest at heart. I know you’re a good person. But do we have to have all this god damn drama every time? For cripes sake, don’t the ghosties give us enough trouble?” Mia pulled the PEEPs hoodie over her head. She walked over to the bed and grabbed the sawed-off shotgun and stuck it down the back of her pants, securing it by tightening her belt.
“That’s a lot of weight you’re carrying,” he observed.
“It balances the front,” Mia teased and stuck her chest out. “I’m a bit paranoid and want to be prepared,” she explained. “There is something not right about this place, Burt. I’m not sure if it is because of the stuff in the past or something else. I will be very happy to see Lund in my rearview mirror, I can tell you that.”
“I think it’s quite quaint for a ghost town. I expect to see Andy of Mayberry stopping by soon.”
Mia laughed. “Come on, Cap’n, time to get this ship off the reef.”
“What is it with you and Ted and the pirate references?”
“Pirate? Hell, I was referring to the Bounty, Cap’n,” Mia said and scooted around him and headed towards the steps.
“Hey, I’m not Captain Bligh,” Burt called after her. “Am I?” The quiet room didn’t answer him. He shook his head and groaned as he faced the stairs. “I’ve got to get fit.”
~
Dusk had fallen. Mia teamed up with Murphy to investigate the boarding house. Mike and Burt roamed the churchyard doing EVP sessions. Beth sat beside Ted keeping an eye on the various camera feeds. Mia was on m-com but not carrying any cameras. She needed her senses and eyes. Murphy walke
d beside her, keeping an eye on the shadows and her back.
“Ted, come in,” Mia said touching her earpiece.
“Ted here,” he responded.
“Entering the boarding house.”
“Boarding house. Take care, the steps may be rotted, over.”
“Thanks for the info, over and out,” Mia said as she climbed through the empty store front window frame. Her flashlight moved over discarded furniture and trash that had blown in during the years of standing empty. She moved up the stairs to check out the rooms.
Burt was filming Mike when he caught sight of a light moving low through the graveyard. “Mike, point the infrared over there.”
Mike did as he was told and caught a cold blue mass moving through the granite monuments. It moved oblivious to them.
“Location check,” Burt called.
“Mia’s in the rooming house, the rest of us are in the command center,” Ted replied.
“Mia, heads up, there is a mass moving across the street headed for the rooming house,” Burt warned.
“Thanks for the warning. I hear footsteps on the outside stairs, over.”
Mia stood back as the entity made its way into the building. As it approached, the derelict building softened and years fell away. She was confronted with striped wallpaper in the hall. The mass moving towards her became a man with a curved back and an awkward gate. He wore a hooded cape, and as he passed Mia she saw that his face was handsome, his eyes determined. “Jonas,” she said quietly. The entity didn’t hear her, locked as he was in the reel of time. Ted did and worried for Mia.
Jonas moved to a door and knocked. Receiving no reply, he twisted the knob and entered. Mia and Murphy followed him into the small suite. He took up a position in the shadows and waited. Soon they heard light footfalls, and a young woman entered the rooms. She was overly made up, wearing a flamboyant dress for the times. She busied herself with making herself a cocktail. She wound the gramophone before she sat down on the small sofa and put her feet up.