by Alexie Aaron
Mindy almost cried as the stressful situation dissolved. “We love your house. It’s all we talk about,” she blurted out.
“Thank you, my dear. I guess we’re used to it. It’s a bit cold for these old bones. Would you like a tour?”
Mindy’s mouth dropped open, and she was lost for words. She did manage to nod and point outside at her husband and child.
“They can come too. Perhaps the boy is a bit too young to climb all those stairs. I’ll have Arthur entertain him in the back garden. Excuse me a moment.”
Mindy stood statue-still waiting. She feared unreasonably that if she moved an inch, the invitation would be rescinded. She heard the baseball broadcast playing somewhere in the house. She smiled at the incongruity of the sounds of Wrigley Field exploits in this slice of French opulence.
John arrived on the heels of Agatha. They came through a hall Mindy hoped to explore.
“Tim is still a little green. I shouldn’t have twirled him,” he said sheepishly. “He is, however, enraptured over the spray nozzle of Arthur’s hose. I fear we will have a wet host if he isn’t watchful.”
“It would serve the fool if he got a snoot full. He loves to show off his gardening equipment. I think the man married me because of my father’s antique hoes.”
Mindy swallowed the giggle that wanted to escape. Instead she bobbed her head, her eyes twinkling.
“Well, now that we have little Tim sorted, let’s go upstairs to the bedrooms, in particular the red room. It’s the best place to start,” she said and started up the stairs.
The Wheatons were amazed at the speed with which the elderly woman took the stairs. She didn’t get winded until she reached the landing.
“I prefer to take the stairs in a gallop. It clears the arteries,” she explained. “The reason I’ve started upstairs is that it houses the most untouched of the rooms. Sure, we get in there now and again to dust, but living in them is problematic. Too cold in the winter, and even though this house is made of gray-colored stone, it holds on to the summer’s heat on the second story. We have one of those newfangled window air-conditioners in our suite,” she said proudly. “Our room is at the back of the house. Arthur and I couldn’t see fouling the exterior by putting one in the front.”
Mindy and John followed Agatha down the hall. Their footsteps were absorbed by the carpet that ran the long hall without break. The polished wood of the second story shone to either side of the centered runner.
“Here, we are,” Agatha said, opening a set of double doors. She pushed them in and stepped aside smiling. “Go on in and explore. This is the red room. Why it’s called that is a mystery. There is nothing red inside.”
The young couple moved across the hardwood maple flooring slowly, taking in the massive furniture that dominated the large room. There was a faint perfume smell, a scent Mindy could not put a name to.
“It smells like my grandmother’s neck,” John announced.
“I beg your pardon?” Mindy asked amused.
“Oh, sorry. When Grammy picked me up and hugged me, she smelled of spicy flowers. This room smells like that.”
“A woman’s room. Look at the dressing table. It’s beautiful. I wonder if it’s original to the house.”
“Doesn’t matter, it looks like it belongs here. I wonder if the room was called the rouge room. I get the feeling of a lot of time taken on the mistress’s makeup,” John said, touching the mirrored table gently.
“We call it blush now. Like the blush of youth.”
“Nah, that’s too innocent. This room has seen some action.”
“John Wheaton, remember you’re in someone else’s home,” Mindy scolded her husband.
“Agatha and Arthur have been around the block, dear. They are far too interesting to have spent their days sitting primly in the parlor with their hands folded in their laps.”
They heard a suppressed giggle from the hall.
Mindy whispered, “Let’s not outstay our welcome. Agatha may be tiring. The cane she uses is not for show.”
John nodded, and the two exited the room after turning off the lights. They followed Agatha through the other rooms and remarked that the bathrooms were quite modern.
“This line of the family insisted on a proper toilet,” she commented. “I think the plumbing is the only thing that has been consistently updated. This house is hooked up into the sewer system. Most houses are still depending on septic tanks,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“I noticed the radiators…”
“Damn them. Most of them don’t work properly, but the expense of a new furnace is beyond us. And it would mean cutting up those beautiful plaster walls and ceilings. I couldn’t bear to see them ruined. I’ll leave it to others to figure out how to heat the place adequately when we’ve moved on.”
“And they did move on,” Mia said, letting go of Mindy’s hand.
“The Prunes moved to Boca Grande after they sold this house to us. In the last Christmas card we received, Agatha reported that they were trying to figure out which end of a putter was which,” Mindy supplied.
“Thank you for sitting down with me out here, away from the house,” Mia said. “The house itself is full of memories. I didn’t want to get my wires crossed,” she explained.
Mindy looked around the large trailer that housed most of the PEEPs investigative equipment. The console table dominated by a monitor was long, large enough for three investigators to sit side-by-side. Ted explained to the curious Wheatons that during a full investigation, he needed the extra eyes to keep on top of the spiritual activity.
Mia had drawn Mindy away from the others to a tiny area behind large box files. There, she sat the woman down on a lounge chair of sorts and asked her to think about the first time they had entered the house. Mia looked at Mindy with her extraordinarily large, moss green eyes and took off a glove. “I see better through my hands,” Mia told her softly. Mindy had put her hand into the sensitive’s and let her mind take her back.
Mia replaced her glove and spoke, “Tell me, honestly, what do you want PEEPs to do?”
“To do?”
“Yes, do you want the ghosts out?”
“No!”
Mia laughed. “K, do you want us to explain why they are here? Ask them what they want?”
“You can talk to them?” Mindy asked, amazement showing on her face.
“I can talk to them. Whether they’ll talk back is another matter. But what I need to know before I go in is what the best case scenario is for you and your family?”
Mindy shifted her weight nervously. “I guess I want them to know we’re going to take care of the house, but we may have to make some changes. I’m getting arthritic and need a little more heat in order to be able to stay in the house in the wintertime. It can be very disturbing for the living to see a house’s walls torn into to replace pipes and wires; I can’t imagine how it will be for the ghosts.”
Mia’s face twitched. “You are the most unusual person I’ve come across. Your consideration for the dead is rather refreshing. I do want to caution you though. You see, houses survive because the living take care of them. Your family is this house’s first consideration. If you are fine with the other denizens that’s wonderful, but their needs should not come first. Remember, they used to be people. People with peccadillos. Just because they managed to hang around doesn’t mean they are necessarily good for you or for the house. I sense that they are here because they too fell in love with either the house or someone in the house. I’m going to try, with the help of the PEEPs team, to sort out what is what. Let’s see if we can come to an understanding.”
“Audrey said that the dancing crowd can’t be communicated with,” Mindy said. “Can I still put a dining room table in there or am I going to have problems?”
“You can put in your table, but Audrey was just talking about the residual haunt. The singular dancer your son hears, I hope, can be communicated with. I think it has a story to tell,” Mia confided.
“Oh, yes, I’d love to know. And why there is this thirst for lemonade, and who is aping Tim’s voice, and the man in the attic…”
“Whoa, girl, we’ll get to all of them in time. Right now, we’re going to take baby steps. We don’t want to alarm the inhabitants. I suspect they’ve seen our lot before and maybe not had a good experience. Most homeowners have no patience for the former occupants of the house. They want the ghosts gone, and unfortunately both lose.”
“I understand. Can we live here while the investigation is going on?”
“That’s up to you. My husband has cameras everywhere, and we do watch the place twenty-four hours a day.”
“I think John can use some of his hotel points,” Mindy said quickly. “Can we still stop by?”
“You can help with the investigation, as long as you abide by the rules. Burt will be more than happy to accommodate your family in return for you letting us film and show your investigation on our television series. We will do our best to not publicize the area in which your home is located, but your neighbors are going to recognize the place, not to mention the trucks.”
“Tim warned me before we had him contact you,” Mindy said. “We’re kind of used to being the odd family in the neighborhood.”
“You know, Mindy, I think we’re going to get on fine,” Mia said.
“This old, hot water heating system has me lying awake at night,” John admitted to Cid who was studying the wall of controls in the basement. “What if a pipe bursts? They don’t last forever. Or worse, a slow leak. Now that would be horrific.”
Cid looked at the system. “Have you had a plumber, I mean a plumber that specializes in these old systems come in and look this over?” he asked, running his hands along the ascending pipes.
“Honestly, I’ve been afraid of the cost. Also, what if I get bamboozled?”
“Bamboozled?” Cid asked.
“Cheated. I’ve heard nightmares about plumbers going through places like this and swapping out all the copper and…”
Cid raised his hand to stop John before the homeowner had a coronary. “I’ve got pretty sensitive hearing. Why don’t you and I go through each line, one at a time? Let me listen and see if I can pick out any problems,” he suggested.
“Really? How much?”
“Gratis. I think if we can get your blood pressure down, then we can concentrate on the ghosts.”
“Am I that manic?” John asked.
“You’re showing signs of old house ague.”
“We really do love this house,” John said and amended quickly, “Not as much as each other of course.”
“Of course,” Cid repeated. “Now let’s start with the kitchen line…”
“The voice sounded authoritative. I thought it was my dad,” Tim explained to Burt. “He asked for a crowbar. Get me a crowbar, sport, he said. I came down here and couldn’t find Dad’s so I rummaged through this pile of junk, and that’s when I found them. Look at all the old tools.”
Burt looked at the rusted iron implements and smiled.
“Do you think they’re worth anything?” Tim asked. “The reason I’m asking is that my parents are having money problems. They’ll never admit it, but this house is eating away at their savings at an alarming rate.”
Burt listened to the twelve going on thirty-year-old and wondered if the angst over money had stirred up the ghosts more than the careful renovations. “One of the PEEPs members may be able to help us on sorting out the gems here. On one investigation, we found some valuable books. Have you seen anything like them in the attics, cupboards?”
“No, the place was cleaned out, with the exception of the red room’s furnishings. Evidently, it’s original to the house and goes with the house, but the Prunes emptied the drawers and closets. This garage is the only place that still had junk in it.”
“And one person’s junk is…”
Tim added wishfully, “…another man’s treasure.”
“I’ll consult my partner Mike on this,” Burt promised.
Tim seemed contented with that and left Burt alone in the garage. Burt looked around and took in the dilapidated structure that must have been added to the property in the 1950s. He suspected that it may have replaced another structure. He would have Audrey see if she could find any pictures of the property before the 50s. In the meantime, he was going to call Mike to see where the hell he was. He was overdue. They were scheduled to start filming in an hour, and the face of PEEPs had yet to make an entrance.
Chapter Twenty-six
“I’ve got you!” Mike yelled triumphantly, looking at his notes. “You thought you could hide, but I know who you are. Now I’ve just got to find out how you found your way into PEEPs.”
The ring of his cell phone interrupted his celebration. He picked it up and read the caller ID. His eyes registered the time, and he groaned.
“I know I’m running late. I’m leaving now,” he said to Burt.
“Hello to you too. Before you leave the city, I’d like it if you could run by Giordano’s and pick up some pizza, enough for us and the Wheatons. We have a unique situation here. Let’s treat these folks like family.”
“Yell at them and snipe behind their backs?”
“Like PEEPs family,” Burt corrected wryly.
“Gotcha. How’s it look so far?”
“Residual, active and something else. Mia’s been walking around with the strangest expression on her face.”
“She’s pregnant; it’s probably hormonal.”
“Nope, it’s not that. Hey, you better knock that hormonal crap out or we may just end up with a sexual harassment suit on our hands,” Burt warned.
“Mia knows me, and you needn’t worry. She dishes it out as fast as I do. We’re pretty comfortable with each other.”
“What about Ted?”
“Ted’s confidence is soaring now that his lady love is knocked up. He’s not going to go all pissy on me just because I tease Mia a little.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Burt, take this for what it’s worth. You’re looking for problems that don’t exist. If you keep it up, you’ll create the problems you’re so hot to avoid,” he advised.
“Yeah, well, get here as soon as you can. I’m going to see if Audrey has come up with anything more on the house,” he said and cut off the conversation without a goodbye.
Mike looked at the phone and frowned. “What’s up his butt?”
Audrey was in heaven. She was swimming in materials. The Wheaton house had a rich history. She found most of her tidbits in the social pages of the local and downtown papers. The house once had an extraordinary occupant by the name of Marilee Roux. She was a red-haired French immigrant rumored to be the former courtesan of a high official in the French government. She traveled to the United States in the entourage of a French diplomat. He left; she stayed, and proceeded to turn Chicago’s male population upside down and inside out.
“I think you’re my new hero,” Audrey said, lifting the tintype she borrowed from the historical society to the light. The woman in charge of the collection, in which Audrey found Marilee, recommended that she seek out two private art collections. There she could find one, maybe two nudes of the famous temptress.
“Marilee Roux, I’m learning from you…” Audrey sang as she clustered her hair into the messy updo the woman wore so well. She glanced from the mirror to the vase of flowers that adorned the end table of her bedroom. She got up and selected a carnation and took a moment to appreciate its spicy scent before tucking the pink bloom amongst the red curls.
“Thank you, Doctor Matt,” she said. She left her apartment and hummed the music of the night before all the way to the Wheaton’s street.
The date had been a success. Matt was a charming companion, and he had a boyish appreciation for music. He told her he had gotten the Ravinia season tickets in a charity raffle at the hospital and had almost given them away. He hadn’t the time for concerts nor did he have anyone
to go with. Now, he said, he’d make the time.
Audrey, who was suffering from Burt burn, smiled awkwardly.
“Am I going too fast?” Matt asked. “I’m not used to this. Oh damn, I’ve scared you away.”
Audrey put a reassuring hand on his arm. “Let’s take this one concert at a time.”
They had enjoyed each other’s company, and the evening had ended with a long kiss at Audrey’s door. Matt had sent her flowers the next day. Audrey responded with a thank you call, and they had tentative plans for the next weekend. Tentative plans because of the investigation on her end and his duties at the children’s hospital on his. Could these busy people make a connection? Audrey hoped so.
She climbed inside the trailer to find Mia and Ted sitting side-by-side. They were going through footage that Burt had taken when they visited the house for the first time. Mia looked up and said, “We were just talking about you.”
“Really? I hope it was in a good way. I’m not fond of being on the shit list,” Audrey said, setting her stack of materials down.
“You really did a nice job explaining the activity in the dining room,” Mia said. “Very professional.”
“Thank you, that means a lot coming from you.”
“How did it feel?” Mia asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t see something like that every day,” Mia explained and asked again, “How did it feel?”
“It was scary at first, then exciting. Once I realized the participants were not at all interested in Mindy or me, I was able to relax and enjoy a glimpse into the past.”
“I’d say our little girl has grown up, Ma,” Ted said, his eyes on the monitor, his hands on the keyboard.
“Now all we have to do is get her laid and out of the house, Pa,” Mia said, but her eyes silently asked how the date was.
Audrey blushed. “I had a wonderful time. He kissed me at the door. No further, you pervs.”
Mia put out her hand, and Ted begrudgingly put a five dollar bill in it.