by Alexie Aaron
“Sorry, I think that’s my bad,” Cid said as he hefted the large camera onto his shoulder. “Ted and I were running late, and it slipped my mind,” he explained.
“See, there’s where you need Mia,” Ted said. “My wife never lets food slip her mind.”
Glenda chuckled. She was glad Mia wasn’t around to overhear that. There was enough drama going on around there. She pondered if it was being generated by the investigation or if it was just time to clear the air. Either way, it was damned uncomfortable to find oneself caught in the crossfire.
“What takes priority on this jaunt into the tile-tossing warzone?” Cid asked.
“I’d like Glenda to try to get the remaining spirits to communicate. Let them know what we’ve found out, and see if there was a chance that they were followed. Did any of them tell a friend or a relative where they were headed? Be careful, Glenda, there is a better than not chance that one of the deceased was in on the moving of the money.”
“Jesus H Christ,” Glenda said. “Time was, that there was honor amongst thieves.”
Ted was the first one to laugh. Cid and Burt soon followed, each shaking their heads at the audacity of the well-used statement.
“Audrey to PEEPs control, over,” Audrey’s voice came over the speakers.
“Go ahead, over.”
“Incoming. I just spied Ronald and Gail driving into the cul-de-sac, over.”
“Thanks for the warning, over,” Ted said. “Burt, you may want to head them off if you’re going to have any daylight left in which to continue this investigation.”
“I think I’m going to be proactive here. Glenda, Cid, if you had to have one of the Malones…”
“Ronald!” they chorused.
“I’m in complete agreement. Let’s see what I can do.” Burt hopped off the back of the truck as Ronald was helping Gail out of the Bentley. He rushed over excited. “We have so much information to share with you,” he started.
“We heard about the dead bodies,” Gail said dryly. “Know anyone that wants a gutted Victorian?”
“Don’t give up yet. The bodies are gone, and we’ve made major strides in the investigation. The ghosts are looking for treasure.”
Gail’s eyes lit up, and Ronald squirmed trying to keep his excitement at bay.
“Ronald, would you like to accompany the next team into your home?”
“Would I!”
“We hope to find a traitor amongst the clowns – yes, I said clowns – and find out who moved the money after the seven died of gas poisoning,” Burt explained.
“Gas!” Gail exclaimed. “We don’t have gas, just electric.”
“You used too, or the house did. When it was built, there wasn’t electricity. They used gas to light the home and, in this case, the root cellar,” Burt explained.
Gail looked Burt over and asked, “Ronald will be safe, won’t he?”
“Safe from gas, yes. Ghost, maybe,” Burt said honestly.
She looked at her husband who was all but peeing himself with excitement.
“Please, please, oh please, I’ve always wanted to go on a ghost hunt,” he pleaded.
“But I heard your sensitive is down for the count,” Gail pointed out.
“They have another more experienced sensitive,” Bev said from behind them.
Ronald turned around and saw her run her hand along the hood of the Bentley.
“Nice car,” she said. “Hello, Ronald, I’m Beverly Cooper. I’ve been investigating haunted houses since your bride was in diapers.”
Gail, who was pushing her late thirties, was seduced by Bev’s deliberate age inaccuracy and smiled. “Ronald, I think this lady will take good care of you,” she said. “I’ll send out for some food. We’ll make a party of this,” she said, pulling her phone out of her purse.
“Ronald, why don’t you go to the truck where Ted will set you up with an ear com and a set of investigation equipment,” Burt instructed. He waited until Ronald was well on his way to the trailer before saying, “I’m surprised you’re still here.”
“Do you think I’d leave an investigation shorthanded? What kind of investigator do you take me for? No, don’t answer that. Let’s bury the hatchet. Speaking of hatchets, where’s that Murphy boy?”
“Cid saw him back at the farm a few hours ago. He left with Angelo and hasn’t returned yet.”
“What’s going on?” Bev thought aloud, “Angelo and Murphy together by themselves? Is this the end of days? Has anyone seen a quartet of riders?”
Burt grimaced. “About earlier…”
“I think we’ve cleared the air. For the record, I have seen my granddaughters. One of them keeps saying bum, and the other two just laugh. Either Sabine has birthed idiots or the kids have a long running private joke.”
“I didn’t set out to seduce Mia nor Audrey,” Burt clarified. “Mia was so vulnerable when we met, and I fell in love with the idea that I could save her from herself. But Mia isn’t vulnerable, and she is more capable of getting through life and investigations than I am. It was simply the case that once we spent enough time together, we began to see that we shouldn’t be together, not as a couple anyway. Audrey, she was a mistake. I like her, but I have nothing to offer her. I don’t think she’ll wait until I do. So I simply let the option expire.”
“She isn’t property. You can’t option a person,” Bev scolded. “You need to sit down with her and hash this out. She’s been a professional and hasn’t let this interfere with her work, yet, but it will. Love ignored always causes trouble. Look what it did to Beth. She became this creature that I doubt she recognizes now. Mia lost a friend…” Bev stopped and remembered Whitney, “maybe two friends. Don’t let it happen again,” she warned.
“What about you?”
“Me?” Bev put her hand on her chest. “For some ungodly reason, my niece has forgiven me for selling her to Angelo. I’m not sure I would be able to do that if the situation was reversed. I’m not going to let anything get in the way of me making it up to her. She’ll never trust me again. I have to be satisfied with that and with whatever crumbs I can get from her table.”
“That’s why you came back?”
“I never left. I was playing canasta with the old woman that lives in 1309. She cheats, but most ghosts do.”
“There’s a ghost in 1309?” Burt asked surprised.
“A gin-swilling old woman named Martha Bedford,” Bev clarified. “I followed her from Glenda’s RV. Fortunately for me, the owners of the house are in Barbados, and the security alarm was easy to disarm. People really should stop using their house number as codes.”
Burt paled at the thought of one of his team being arrested for breaking and entering. “I’d rather you refrain from further illegal entry while you’re under our banner, alright?”
“Sure sure, but don’t you want to know what I’ve found out about the clown incident?”
Burt stood there amazed. “Yes! Don’t just stand there, tell me.”
Bev ran her hand along the strand of pearls she was wearing and smiled. “According to the old woman - she got this tidbit second hand, mind you - on that fateful night when the police searched the houses in this neighborhood, two of the said officers spent an inordinate amount of time in the old carriage house after the rest moved on to the next street.”
“The carriage house…”
“Has been renovated to be a pool house, but the foundations haven’t been touched,” Bev informed him.
“The carriage house is also on the property of the Malone’s next door neighbors. We’re going to have to get permission.”
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Bev asked. “Do you want me to call Gerald…”
“No! We’ll handle it ourselves.”
“Ahem, I couldn’t help but overhear,” Gail Malone said, “that you think that our treasure may be in the Rochesters’ pool house?”
“Perhaps, under it or in the walls,” Burt explained. “We need permission to go in…”
“I’ll get you the permission, hold on,” Gail said. She flipped through her contacts on her phone and dialed.
“Karen, it’s Gail, Gail Malone, your neighbor… Yes, that’s me. We’ve just had the exterminator here… No, not rats, thank god. Skunks have been found under the garage. Anyway, dear, the exterminator says that while he was setting out his humane traps, he saw a very pregnant creature head into your pool house… You want me to tell him what? But what if he has to open a wall? Sure, no problem. Key is… alright. Talk to you later. Bye.” She lowered the phone. “Key’s in the potted plant next to the red lounge chair.”
Burt was struck dumb.
Bev opened her eyes wide. “I’m impressed.”
“That’s the way we get around red tape out here in the burbs,” she said, lighting up another cigarette.
Chapter Nineteen
Mia felt a tingle move along her jawline. It felt like a caress. She opened her eyes expecting to see Sister Agnes standing there, rosary in hand. Instead, Stephen Murphy gazed down at her. She saw the regret in his eyes.
“It’s okay, Murph, I’m alright. How did you get here?”
“I brought him,” Angelo’s velvety voice drifted over from the chair in the corner.
A wave of fear shot through her. “Ted, PEEPs, is everyone alright?” she asked, sitting up and pushing her covers down to launch into action.
“Calm down, everything is fine with the PEEPers,” Angelo said, rising out of his chair. “Mr. Murphy and I came to consult with you and ask your permission.”
“Is this about the mission Roumain hinted about? The dangerous mission I’m not allowed to go on?” Mia asked, allowing herself to fall backwards onto the pillow.
Murphy fussed with her covers. If Mia wasn’t dreading the conversation to come, she would have seen the humor in how he used his axe to make the hospital corners.
“Mia, I have every reason to believe that Paolo Santos’s soul is trapped in the outer ring of the dark world.”
“Are you sure? He could have passed into the dark world,” Mia warned Angelo.
“No, I don’t think so. Please hear my reasons. According to Roumain, when he lay dying at the foot of the deer-woman, a reaper came for him. He fought the reaper, knowing that it was taking him to where all the deer-woman’s victims go, into the dark world. While this battle was going on, Father Alessandro gave Paolo the last rites. Paolo’s soul would have begun to reject the pull of the dark world. While the battle was still going on, I had taken Paolo’s body to the aerie, and the Gray Ladies stabilized him. By the time Paolo succumbed to the reaper, he was alive. He would not be able to be pulled further into the dark world because he is not yet dead.”
“Why doesn’t he come back to his body?” Mia asked.
“He may not remember he has one. Or who he is. The punishment of the dark world is an eternity of wandering without contact with any other entity. The outer rings may not be as harsh, but they do alter the state of consciousness.”
“Forgive me, Angelo, but I find this all so fantastical. Are you sure you’re not grasping at straws? You wishing Father Santos alive, don’t make it so.”
Angelo moved towards the bed and looked down at Mia. His brown eyes were determined, almost manic. “I am not some lovesick child wishing a dead parent back. I am a friend seeking to rescue another. Enter my mind, Mia. Look at the evidence, look at my heart, and then tell me I am grasping at straws.” Angelo extended his hand.
Murphy momentarily stopped the progress.
“No, Murph, I have to see for myself,” Mia said and grasped Angelo’s hand.
Inside the corridors of Angelo Michaels’s mind were thousands of doors. Mia moved by instinct and soon found the information Roumain had shared with the birdman. She was in agony as she watched the skin-walker toss Santos on the deer-woman’s antlers. She had to push away the horror of the relived memory and look at it clinically. She watched the hand appear. It was much like a human hand. It wore a signet ring… The same ring Ted had found. Mia’s stomach turned. So this is why Ted was needed. Her unsuspecting husband had picked up the ring. What would have happened if Father Alessandro had not told him to put it down? Would he too be wandering the outer ring, not knowing how he got there or who he was?
Mia pulled out of Angelo’s mind.
Angelo explained, “The ring acts as a homing beacon. It will transport Ted into the dark world if he puts the ring on. Had I or anyone else touched the ring first, then I wouldn’t be asking your permission to ask Ted to do this. But it has to be the finder of the ring.”
“I already know from my dream that two companions can go with him. But how will you find Santos before you all lose your memories and become trapped there?” Mia asked. “And it seems to me that the dark world, even at its farthest edges, isn’t going to give up a soul easily.”
“I have obtained, with Murphy’s help, the Light of Everest. It should enable us to see what others can’t. I have the Water of Mu. I’m not sure why I need it, but Roumain assured me I do. We will all wear wreaths of rosemary and bring one for Santos. Aside from that, I haven’t a clue what we’ll find. Roumain’s journey was a quick one. I fear ours will be longer. Santos has been gone quite some time.”
“I can’t speak for Ted,” Mia said. “He’s not my property; he’s my husband, my friend, my life.”
“I’m asking you for the permission to ask him,” Angelo said.
“What if I say no?” Mia asked.
“Then I will release Santos’s body to his brother for burial.”
Murphy looked at Angelo and then back at Mia. Mia locked her eyes with his. He saw the agony of decision. He pushed a word into her mind. Faith.
“You have my permission to ask Ted. If he accepts, then you have to let him lead this mission. Cid will, without question, go with him. Promise me, you will do your best to bring both of them home. You have to act in my place, Angelo. No endgame attitude. You have to make sure all are safe. And if you can’t find Santos or he doesn’t wish to return, you must accept that. He wouldn’t want you to diminish. This I am certain of,” Mia stressed.
“Thank you. I will go and prepare for the journey, and then I’ll be back to ask Ted. You may want to discuss this with him first. Tell him… tell him, I wouldn’t ask this of him if I wasn’t sure there was a chance,” Angelo said hurriedly. “Murphy, are you staying or do you want a ride back to the farm?”
Murphy raised his finger and nodded.
“I’ll wait for you by the car,” Angelo said and walked out of the room.
“I’m sorry,” Murphy said softly. “I’m selfish. I don’t like sharing you.”
“I’m confused. I thought you had accepted Ted?”
Murphy reached down and put his hand on her stomach. “Baby comes, no more love left for me.”
“You imbecile, the human heart has infinite chambers to hold love. Just because I have this child or a dozen children, it doesn’t mean I stop caring for you. Honestly, I’ve been hanging around a dolt all this time. There must be a hundred ghosts out there lining up to be my friend, and I chose a dumb one,” Mia exaggerated. She reached over and tapped his chest reminding him, “Love may change, but it never dies.”
Murphy smiled and looked duly chastised. “I’ll try to remember that.”
“Now get out of here so I can get some rest. You people wear me out.”
Murphy picked up his axe and tipped his hat before he disappeared.
Mia pulled the covers over her head and let the tears fall. Life used to be so simple. All she had to do was hide in her sanctuary and shut out the world. Now she was married, pregnant and responsible for the fate of all around her. Perhaps she had taken on too much?
“Either you are playing one lousy game of hide and seek or you’re having a breakdown?” Margaret Mary’s voice asked.
Mia lowered the covers. “Go away.”
“No, it’s time for vitals. Did that handsome Italian upset you?” she asked.
&n
bsp; “No, yes, sort of.”
“Well, that about covers it.”
“He didn’t mean to. I’ve got a lot of baggage, M&Ms. How am I going to be able to raise a child lugging all that behind me?”
“Ever think of using a porter?”
“Huh?”
“Baggage can be shared or allocated to someone else for the time being. We women, we try to do everything. No one could possibly do more than we make ourselves do. Husband, children, friends, relatives,” she listed. “In your case, ghosts, ghouls and grocery shopping.”
“Ah, the three G’s,” Mia said sarcastically.
“You need to stop trying to be everything to everybody. Right now, you need to rest so that baby you claim to be having has the best start it can get. Your handsome husband wants to care for you; let him. So the dishes don’t get washed the way you want or the world is saved by someone else for a while. You’ll survive.”
“You said handsome. No one but me and his mother thinks that Ted is handsome,” Mia confessed.
“Oh, my, Mia, when that lad looks at you, he is Brad Pitt, Robert Redford, and Cary Grant all rolled up into one tall, skinny package.”
“So you’re not placing any bets that our child is going to look like a WoW creature.”
“I don’t know what that is. No, honey, your baby will be beautiful as all babies are beautiful. It will be loved and cared for by the best. You have more than the two of you looking after that child. You have me, Doctor Walters and that community of lunatics you hang around with. That child is going to have a full and interesting life. Now order some dinner, and if you clean your plate, I’ll talk Doctor Walters into letting you go. Your pal Dupree is already scheduled for release. Let’s see if we can make this a twofer, shall we?”
Mia smiled and nodded.
~
“The foyer camera is showing activity on the stairs, over,” Ted notified the team via the open channel.