Given Enough Rope (Haunted Series Book 20)

by Alexie Aaron

  “So you don’t have to put out any fires?” Mia inquired.

  “No, part of me wouldn’t mind getting involved, but I know this is her time to fly the nest.”

  “After years of tossing you out of the nest,” Mia teased.

  “Well, when you have it good, you don’t want it to change. Ask your buddy Braverman; he’s still living in the basement of his parent’s house.”

  “No, Susan never asked him to move out of his childhood room. He still has the same posters on the wall.”

  “You’ve been in Braverman’s bedroom?” Mike asked, shocked.

  “Yes, as I’ve been in yours… Oh. I’m starting to see how gossip gets started. In my mind, I’m still a teenager. In this case a knocked up one. Do we ever mature?”

  “I doubt it. We may become more responsible, but the aging person in the mirror doesn’t reflect the Peter Pan inside,” Mike said.

  “That’s very insightful. You and Cid should have a talk show. He’s got the psychobabble, and you have the real talk.”

  “Me and Saint Cid,” Mike said. “I’m not dismissing the idea, but I fear my ego is too large to let Superman sit next to me.”

  “I see what you mean. K, changing subject… How’s the love life?”

  “Nonexistent.”

  “I thought you and…”

  “I did too. Played it slow and respectful, but she didn’t want to play second fiddle to PEEPs.”

  “It can be all consuming at times,” Mia agreed. “Maybe we should look at changing it. Taking on younger talent, perhaps offer a few classes at the local junior college.”

  “You want to teach ghost hunting?” Mike asked, amused.

  “Not me, you. PEEPs has been on the forefront of developing instruments that will aid in detection. You could throw in some ethics too.”

  “I’ve never thought of myself as a teacher before. I’m sure it will just be more of a community classes kind of thing.”

  “But it could develop into a curriculum in the right school,” Mia said. “Give you some regular hours and opportunities to meet people that share your interests.”

  “I see you have been thinking about me. I’m flattered,” Mike said.

  “I’ve been thinking about everyone. Bed rest for a few weeks has given me so much time to think, that I have Brian’s entire life planned out.”

  “Wanna bet on how far your plans go?” Mike asked.

  “No. I know he’ll go his own way.”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t OOBed out of here.”

  “Can’t. Being pregnant means I have to be here one hundred percent. I don’t even get visited in my dreams.”

  “So you’re bored.”

  “Enough to watch television.”

  “The great and mighty Mia Cooper Martin watching television. That makes no sense. You could read,” he suggested.

  “I have, but I’m a person of action. This major timeout I’ve inadvertently given myself is driving me crazy.”

  “So when can we expect you up and running?”

  “Don’t know. No one seems to know. I even asked to be taken to the Gray Ladies, but Judy assures me they can’t help. The fact is that I used a weapon genetically tied to my birdmen ancestors. The birdmen of old used to use these knives to honorably kill themselves instead of being captured. Angelo says that it’s only my human genes that kept my leg from disappearing. That and Michael.”

  “Ah, the fabled Prince of Angels. The being that cast you out of heaven. Hey, you and Lucifer have something in common.”

  “Except that Michael forgave me.”

  “You don’t have your wings back?” Mike asked, excited.

  “No, but I could have them if I wanted.”

  “Do you want?”

  “I’m not sure. I think I’d rather spend my time with my feet connected to Mother Earth… Mother… Mother Nature.”

  “You’ve got a strange look in your eyes,” Mike said, moving closer, as if the difference in space would tell him what she was thinking.

  Mia sat up. “What if I ask Mother Nature to heal me?”

  “Isn’t that what’s happening now?” Mike asked. “Seems to me that you’re naturally fighting off the injury you caused.”

  “You’re right. Why am I so impatient?”

  “Time is fleeting. If I were you, I would take this time to reconnect with the human side of Mia. Let nature take care of your wounds. Spend your time ruing the day you married Ted and not me.”

  “You were never in the running, and you never asked,” Mia pointed out.

  Mike grinned. “Not in my revisionist history.”

  Mia was about to reply when the front door opened and Dieter and Lazar walked in. Mia waved them over. “I have five minutes left of my timeout. Do you have any questions?” Mia asked Lazar.

  “I notice you have quite a large aerie atop the guest house. Will I be responsible for feeding the birds?”

  “Those birds will feed themselves,” Mia said, her eyes dancing. “Sometimes we have international guests stay there. When we do, if you could help me make the big beds, I would appreciate it.”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  “Can I ask you a personal question?” Mia inquired.

  “My life is an open book,” Lazar said.

  “You seem to be taking the whole paranormal thing in stride. Mind explaining it?”

  “When the bomb blew up under the jeep, I felt hands lifting me up. I passed through the ceiling of the vehicle. Had this not happened, I would have been incinerated. Ever since, I’ve been more observant of the unseen things around me.”

  “Angels?” Dieter asked, looking at Mia.

  “Or Valkyries, maybe birdmen…” Mia mused.

  “Basically, when I told my story during group therapy, I expected to get ridiculed, but quite a few had their own stories. My turn, how did you get that wound around your leg?”

  “Short version. I was bit by a sea snake. I cut off blood flow with a tourniquet made of my hair and proceeded to cut off my leg to prevent the poison from reaching my child. Fortunately for me, help arrived. Unfortunately, the nature of the weapon makes the wound almost impossible to heal.”

  Lazar looked at Mia with admiration. “You’re one tough broad… I mean woman. I have this salve my grandmother made for me. I use it when the friction of the prosthetic limb rubs sores into my stump. It’s made from Crone magic…”

  “Tell me more,” Mia requested.

  “My parents came from Bulgaria. My father is a man of science, but my mother and her mother are women of the old faith.”

  “I’d love to meet them,” Mia said.

  “They are keeping their distance on my request. I want to come home as whole as I left.”

  “I take it, you’re not talking physically,” Mike said.

  “Yes, sir. I’ve been suppressing too much. My mind is jumbled, and I can be a bit short tempered.”

  “We all have our breaking points,” Mike said. “But I think spending time with the Martins and, yes, that old ass, Murphy, may help you to heal. They have done wonders for me.”

  “How old are you, Lazar? I know your birthdate was on the government form, but I hate doing math,” Mia admitted.

  “I will be twenty-five December 19th.”

  “That’s my birthday!” exclaimed Brian from the top of the stairs.

  “What are you doing out of bed?” Mia asked as she watched her son climb down the stairs. Dieter had moved to the bottom to rush in if the boy faltered.

  Brian stopped, turned around, and sat midway on the stairs. “I had a dream that the tin man came for a visit.”

  Lazar lifted his pant leg and showed Brian his prosthetic. “It’s not tin, but I have a feeling you mean me.”

  “That’s awesome.”

  “Thank you.” Lazar dropped his pant leg. “I’m Lazar Popov. I’m hoping to join your household as…”

  “Asylum keeper,” Mike filled in and was rewarded with Mia punching him in the a
rm.

  “Don’t mind my uncle Mike,” Brian said and turned around and crawled the rest of the way down the steps. “Mom says he’s a donkey’s behind.”

  Mike laughed.

  “Mom, I want to stay with Dieter and Lazar,” Brian said, crawling up on the couch.

  “No, Grandma and Grandpa Martin have already told all the Martins, and they are going to have a very early birthday party for you…”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  “Sorry, Tin Man, I’ve got stuff to do,” Brian said.

  “Brian, I don’t think Tin Man is very respectful. You see the tin man didn’t have a heart and Lazar Popov has a beautiful heart,” Dieter told him.

  Lazar, caught off guard by the teen’s description, cleared his voice before speaking. “I seem to remember the Tin Woodman getting a heart from the wizard, but finding out he’d had one all along.”

  “The man reads,” Mike said. “Hire him or I will.”

  “He was hired the moment he passed the Murphy test,” Mia said. “I’m just trying to make sure we are a good fit for him.”

  Lazar spoke up, “I’d like to give this a shot. The only thing I ask is that you don’t treat me like a cripple.”

  “Seems to me you’re more enhanced than the rest of us,” Ted said, walking in from the kitchen. “I’d like to pick your brain on my robotics problem, if you have time.”

  “I’d like that, Sir.”

  “We have to do something about you calling us sirs,” Mike said. “I know it’s your military training, but it’s aging me, and my vanity can’t handle it.”

  “I’ll try to remember everyone’s name… Mike?” Lazar guessed.

  “Mia, you can get up now. I’ve come to take you to the conservatory,” Ted said.

  “I’d rather walk, but I could use your elbow to hang on to,” Mia compromised.

  Ted held out his elbow, and the two started to move down the hallway. Brian followed behind them.

  “How old is he?” Lazar asked Mike about Brian.

  “Not even two. The Martins have a genius streak running through them. That combined with Mia’s unusual heritage… That child is very special and needs to be protected, without hovering,” he said pointedly.

  “I understand. Please excuse me,” Lazar said and followed the parade down the hall.

  “What do you think?” Dieter asked Mike.

  “I like him. I don’t get a bad vibe off of him. Do you think you could allow him to run the show here when your parents are gone?”

  “Yes, but I really don’t think I need a sitter.”

  “Do you want to do all the chores yourself?” Mike asked.

  “No. I didn’t think about that. How come you’re so smart?”

  “I tried to convince my mother when I was your age that I could take care of myself. She gave me a day without her as a test. I ended up burning down the kitchen. I was just making toast,” Mike said.

  “This is a lot of space,” Lazar said, looking around. He was shown the full bath that was tucked in the far corner.

  “Do we need to widen the doorway for when you’re less mobile?” Ted asked.

  “I don’t use a wheelchair, and I know I could make it through here with my crutches,” he replied. “What was this room supposed to be? You have a lot of switch plates,” he said, lifting up one of the dozen plug covers in the floor.

  “We thought we were going to grow our own herbs and maybe some tomatoes and peppers, but with our schedules, it didn’t get started,” Mia said. “I can barely keep the flowers alive in the summer, let alone a full garden year around.”

  “I’d like to bring over my bed and a few other things for the week. And then more after, if that’s alright.”

  “Fine. I think the outside door would be the best route. This way you don’t have to attempt that sharp corner with anything large,” Ted said. He walked over to the door. “Presently, this leads out into Maggie’s yard. I’ll have Cid put in a more permanent walkway.”

  “And curtains! Oh let me donate the window treatments,” an excited voice said from the door to the kitchen. “Mia Cooper, your hair is atrocious. Come to Ralphie. I brought Dash. We’ll make it all better.”

  “Is it time for the PEEPs meeting already?” Mia asked, confused.

  “Not for hours, but I thought Dash would need the time. I can see he’s going to have his hands full. Hello, young man, I’m Ralph, Mia’s godfather.”

  Mia stepped up and furthered the introduction, “Ralph, this is Lazar Popov. He’s our new…”

  “Asylum Keeper,” Lazar answered proudly.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Murphy moved into the Paranormal Entity Exposure Partners’ office, choosing not to manifest. He didn’t want to frighten the client. He looked around the room, and with the exception of Audrey, who was on maternity leave, all the PEEPs, along with Ralph, were sitting patiently to hear Ralph’s friend Dash Renee’s experiences with the paranormal at his downtown restaurant. Dash was dressed with a bit more flair than Murphy was used to seeing in the hollow. But city people had their own idea of what was proper for daytime wear. And who was he to comment? In his day, the overalls he wore were considered a bit avant-garde.

  Dash began, “I walked into the restaurant like I do each time I open the doors of The Eighty-eight - named it for the number of keys on a piano, but it also happens to be the address of the building, which I thought was a coincidence I had to take advantage of. It’s a long narrow building which made sense as its former use was as an ice cream parlor, but as the piano bar I want, it’s too close for comfort. The grand piano is stuffed in the corner. If you’re sitting in the front of the restaurant, there is no way you can properly enjoy the entertainment. We looked at remodeling the place and decided that we needed an expansion more than a parking lot. After a lot of research – no pun intended - and permits, construction started. It began with the ripping off of many layers of blacktop. Evidently, the lot was subject to sinking. Instead of digging in and finding the source of the sinking, the previous owners just kept dumping asphalt on the problem. So there was a lot of work to be done before the footings could be put in. We intend to have a single-level annex to place an open stage for the entertainers to use. But I also wanted to have the option to build up, so the foundations had to be able to - I don’t know - hold the load?”

  “Excuse me.” Dash took a swallow of his water and ordered his thoughts. “Back to the first occurrence. I noticed that the chairs that are normally spaced along the long bar were all pushed together in the middle. Normally, this wouldn’t have worried me because the cleaner would most certainly move them to clean. But I was the last to leave the bar the night before. The floors had already been taken care of, and the stools were in place. They are pretty heavy, good quality chairs. You can’t move them easily.”

  “Does anyone else have keys to the place?” Mike asked.

  “Yes, my chef, emcee, and my cleaner.”

  “Could any of them have been in before you?” Mike asked.

  “No, they are all late risers.”

  Mike nodded for him to continue.

  “I had this weird feeling that I was being watched while I replaced the stools. You see, I’ve been in a few old theaters and have even seen a ghost or two. If this was all it was going to do, then I would welcome it with open arms. I thought, hey, maybe a soda jerk from the fifties perhaps? My silly mind imagined him enjoying being part of the bartender line.”

  “What did you do next?” Mia asked, fingering a strand of her new face-hugging bangs. Dash had found a way to save most of Mia’s hair. He had pulled the long hair back and cut shaggy bangs to cover the lost tresses. On camera, Mia would have her hair arranged in a French twist, her bangs blown back over the shorn parts and cemented down with freeze spray. Off camera, it was a shortened ponytail with the bangs left to hang down or be clipped back with skeleton-hand barrettes that Dash had gotten from G-Dragon’s stylist.

  “I we
nt back to my office. It’s not much more than a closet. Okay, it is a closet. One must sacrifice if one wants to succeed in the bar/restaurant trade. I had just started on yesterday’s receipts when I heard the first crash. It sounded expensive. I ran out into the bar and saw what looked to me to be a man pinned up against the back wall of the bar by another man. I could see a tipped bottle of Hpnotiq liqueur leaking through both men, so I took it for granted they were ghosts. I no sooner opened my mouth to protest, when both men disappeared. They left behind a smashed bottle of Grey Goose and half of the Hpnotiq on the floor.”

  “What did they look like?” Cid asked.

  “Rough clothing, patched woven trousers, shirts with rolled up sleeves. I remembered the one with his back to me had some kind of a cap shoved into his waistband. Work boots. The pinned man had a carefully trimmed beard, and his hair reminded me of a revival play I saw.”

  “The Vampire?” Ralph suggested.

  “Yes!”

  Jake, who had been listening in, presented cast pictures of the revival and, also, some Pinterest pages of collections of men from different eras.

  “Do you see anything here that one or both ghosts may have worn?” Ted asked.

  Dash pointed to the clothing that came closest to the articles worn by the ghost.

  “I think you’re talking pre Civil War, definitely pre fire,” Burt said. “Which brings up the question, how deep was your contractor digging?”

  Dash raised his hands, “Clothing, hair, I can tell you. Construction, that is beyond me. I can connect you to my contractor, and you can ask him all the questions you want.”

  “Won’t he be on site?” Mike asked.

  “No, not after what happened to his cement forms.”

  “Go on,” Mike requested.

  “They were pulled apart before the cement was set. Originally we thought it was some delinquents, but the security camera feed told a different story. He stopped and pulled out a CD from his messenger bag and handed it to Ted. “Go to three AM,” he instructed. Ted inserted it into the computer and worked on locating the spot. The large monitor displayed a grainy image, but after a few adjustments, they saw the dig site illuminated by the neighboring street lights.