The Return (Haunted Series Book 21)

by Alexie Aaron

  He heard a moan and scrambled to the other side of the fallen appliance to see his mother pinned underneath. He thumb-dialed 911 as he checked for a pulse.

  “This is Deputy Braverman at 1637 Broadleaf Drive, Big Bear Lake. My mother is on the ground with a side-by-side refrigerator on top of her. She is breathing.”

  The operator led the seasoned veteran through the questions, and soon, the fire department and EMTs were entering the front of 1637 Broadleaf.

  Deputy Chambers rushed in as the firemen lifted the refrigerator off Susan. Aside from a dislocated shoulder, a nasty bruise from the handles of the doors, and one on the side of her head, Susan was in good shape. It could have been worse. She started to come around as Cory, the lead EMT, was putting her into a recovery position to get her vitals.

  “What happened?” she asked. “What’s going on?”

  “I was about to ask you that. Did you have an explosion?”

  “No…” Susan said, confused. “It was so cold in here.”

  Ken Stuttgart, one of the firemen, came up the basement stairs. “Your furnace is hot from pumping the heat up, but there is no evidence of an explosion in the basement. I’ll have my guys do a house-to-house. Perhaps, a mini earthquake?”

  Susan grabbed her son’s hand with her good hand. “Look around. I couldn’t see who was slamming the cupboard doors…”

  It took Tom a moment to understand what she was saying. He had inadvertently been given the sight when Stephen Murphy brought him back to life. He could see ghosts, not as well as Mia Martin, but he could see them plain as day. He walked around and didn’t see anything but a wrecked kitchen. He was reluctant to leave her side, so he made a note to call Mia as soon as he got his mother to Green Ridge Hospital.

  “Tom, call your father and the Martins. I was supposed to babysit tomorrow.”

  “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll do it.” He tossed Chambers his keys. “Lock up after they’re through here, and drive my car to Green Ridge. I’m going to ride in with her.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Tom, you’re a busy man. You don’t have to,” Susan protested.

  “You’re my mother, and I’m going with you,” he said firmly.

  Chambers watched Tom climb in the back of the ambulance. He nodded to the EMT, and the doors were closed. He walked into the kitchen. Ken had already taken some photos that he thought Susan may need for her homeowners insurance, so Chambers decided to do Tom a solid. He picked up the can of Brasso and put it away under the sink. He scooped up the newspapers that had fallen on the floor, rolling them into a bundle. He grabbed the bundle of soaked rags on the table. Chambers didn’t notice the little trophy under the cleaning rag. It was deposited with the rest of the soiled newspapers in a garbage bag. Chambers wrinkled his nose at the acrid smell of the brass cleaner. He grabbed the bag and took it to the outside garbage bin and tossed it inside.

  He couldn’t do much for the state of the refrigerator except empty out the perishables, taking the freezer items and depositing them in the chest freezer in the Bravermans’ garage. He set everything he couldn’t save on the counter and took a snapshot before tossing those items and hauling that outside, dumping it also into the bin. The cabinets needed a little wood putty and for the screws to be rehoused. When he had finished, Susan’s kitchen, aside from the dented Frigidaire, looked back to normal. He wrote out a list of what Tom would have to pick up from the store to replace once he had the Frigidaire sorted. Also, if the thing still worked, he’d take the dented thing off Braverman’s hands. He’d put it in his garage to store his beer.

  Once again, Cindy was in darkness. She had blown her energy and feared she had killed the lady of the house. Wherever she was, maybe she deserved this time out.

  Audrey Stavros’s life took an interesting turn when she assisted a team of paranormal investigators at the Gruber estate. She had already established a career in assessing old buildings for renovations when she had decided to give back to the shelter that took her in during her abusive marriage by determining the cost of turning the mansion into a women’s shelter. The job had ignited her curiosity, connected her with PEEPs, and eventually introduced her to her husband, and Luke’s father, Orion.

  If anyone would have told her that she’d be juggling two careers, a husband 370 years older than her, and a baby, she’d have suggested they have a long rest in a rubber room. But here she was, her baby asleep in the next room while she researched Blair Summerfield in her office overlooking Big Bear Lake. Her husband, Orion, was semi-retired and a big help when it came to diapers, dinner, and damn near everything else. He was a small man whose genetics bound him to the Brotherhood of the Wing and Mia, who was Audrey’s best friend. He was also Mia’s grandfather, a fact that she kept from her Irish Catholic parents. They were very understanding when it came to earthly things, but Audrey knew they would never understand her love for a mythical creature who did research on a global, spiritual plane of existence.

  Audrey poured over the investigator’s reports on the youth, trying to establish whether or not the psychotic teen had ever returned to Sentinel Woods. The reason there was so much information to dig through was due to Mia Martin’s assessment of the probable path this young man was heading down. She had asked the Brotherhood to put a watch on the teen.

  Blair, along with his brother and friends, had lured Rory Kline to Sentinel Woods in hopes of raising an ancient creature that would hunt them down in retaliation for what Blair did to Rory. He saw this as sport. The loss of his brother freed up his grandmother’s money. The death of his friend Jason was a calculated risk. He knew that the monster would kill some of them, but what a trip! Blair was saved from the creature by Mia and Ted. He evaded capture, and his lawyers managed to keep him out of prison.

  “How’s it going?” Orion asked, bringing Audrey a fresh cup of coffee.

  “As far as I can determine, Blair has not made any move to return to Sentinel Woods. However, if Burt broadcasts our adventure, he may. His bloodlust hasn’t abated. I worry that he rather enjoyed hunting down Rory and not just to incite the creature. I have some unsubstantiated reports of the young man being looked at for the disappearance of some homeless men in New York, where he is presently residing.”

  “So Chicago was too small a place for this probable serial killer.” Orion frowned. “I’ll make sure that the Brotherhood continues to watch him.”

  “I think that is very wise. But I expect that from you,” Audrey said, her eyes full of love and esteem.

  “Ah, my sweet Audrey, may you always look upon this old bird this way,” Orion said.

  Luke started making some waking sounds, a few burbles that would precede a small cry for attention.

  “It seems that naptime is over,” Orion said. “I’ll go get him. Maybe he’ll be happy with a diaper change and a walk.”

  “He could be hungry,” Audrey suggested.

  “If so, I’ll bring him to the Audrey bar and grill.”

  “Do,” she said, watching him leave in the reflection of the monitor. She started to write up a schedule for the investigation of Sentinel Woods for Burt. She thought, if they did it during Blair’s spring break, he would be on some expensive island debauchery trip with his new friends, and PEEPs would be free to roam the woods without fear of his interference. The family jet had already been booked and the reservations made. Blair Summerfield should not be returning to Illinois any time soon.

  Audrey finished her report and sent it off to Burt after copying the rest of the PEEPs investigative crew.

  Orion brought in Luke. “He’s always hungry.”

  “Just like his godmother. Speaking of, when was the last time we spent some quality time with Mia?”

  “Not since we left for Greece before Luke was born.”

  “I think it’s time to have the Martins over for dinner. It will be fun to see the two babies together.”

  “It will also give me the opportunity to observe our up-and-coming sage.”

&n
bsp; “That’s a lot of pressure to put on a child. I really don’t think they should have told him.”

  “They didn’t. He overheard. It seems that Brian eavesdrops better than his father does.”

  “He’s also developed some bad habits.”

  “Oh dear.”

  “And you’ll never guess who is helping to curb them?”

  “Who?”

  Audrey nodded in the direction of her completed report and said, “Ethan Aldridge.”

  Orion was a bit stunned. “How entrenched is the ex-con?”

  “Not exactly a friend of the family, but he’s headed there.”

  “Perhaps I should have a talk with my granddaughter about birds of a feather…”

  “I think that would be a great idea.”

  “Has Ethan decided to act as a guide for the investigation?” Orion asked.

  “Not yet. According to Tom Braverman, he’s weighing the fear of the creature against his obligation to make things right.”

  “He can’t change the past,” Orion said and then smiled, “but he can change the future. Maybe Mia was right to ask Ethan to talk to Brian.”

  “Oh, he wasn’t asked. He volunteered.”

  Orion frowned. “I think I need to go and speak with Gerald Shem.”

  “I take it you, like me, doubt the new altruistic nature of Ethan Aldridge?”

  “I hope we’re wrong. I pray that someone hasn’t already gotten to Ethan. Audrey, see if you can stall this investigation until I can read the man.”

  “I wish I knew that before I sent my report in. In it, I suggested we start next week while Blair is supposed to be out of the country.”

  “Maybe I’m just being a worrywart,” Orion said softly.

  “Don’t doubt your instincts. How about we include Ethan in our dinner invitation? Evidently, he’s living a few houses over. It could be a welcome home/Martin/Stavros affair.”

  “I’ll leave it to you to find the perfect card for the invite,” Orion chuckled. “Right now, I’ve got to go see a man…”

  “Who knows a man,” Audrey said and laughed.

  Luke looked up at his mother and burbled his comment.

  Chapter Seven

  Ethan followed Mrs. Leighton to the office of the VA Physical Therapy department. She introduced Ethan to Nick, the civilian liaison, and reiterated before she left that the Leighton foundation would be paying Ethan’s salary.

  “The Leightons have been so generous. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to keep helping those men and women who need extra time to get used to their prosthetics. And now they have brought you. We have been needing someone with inexhaustible energy to help out in the PT department. You’ll be an extra set of strong arms when a vet needs it, a runner if something is forgotten, and a calm thinking individual when frustration seems to be the menu of the day.”

  “I don’t have any medical training.”

  “I’m aware of that. And I’m aware of your recent difficulties. Mr. Aldridge…”

  “Ethan, please call me Ethan.”

  “Ethan, this is the place you start over. The slate is clean. I never understood that old phrase until working as a PT for returning veterans. Anything that has been written on your past is erased, and we start anew. For example, Lazar Popov came to us with one whole leg and another amputated above the knee. This is who he was then. Now he has two legs. One just happens to be a prosthetic. He is whole, no missing parts.”

  “So, who am I?”

  “You’re a guy who could use a little building up. You’re a little under-muscled for our purposes. Don’t worry, work here a month and people won’t remember the skinny, pale, and nervous young man. They will just think, ‘There goes Ethan. What an asshole.’”

  Ethan laughed. “So you do know me.”

  “I now know you have a sense of humor. I’m going to have you shadow Tub. He runs the hydrotherapy room. This is where you’re needed the most right now. Don’t worry, we rotate our people, so no one gets burned out, unless you request staying. Before you go, part of your employment contract is that you will talk to one of our psychologists once a week, so I’m going to put you on the schedule for next week.”

  “Why?”

  “Working here, there are a lot of emotions in play. You can go from having a great day to a lousy one in seconds. We’ve found that by just talking to someone, it makes a big difference. We prefer speaking to someone who can’t use or spread the information, hence the shrinks. Feel free to complain.”

  “Is this normal in a VA facility?”

  “I doubt it. We try to think outside the box here. Did Mrs. Leighton discuss the privacy policy here?”

  “She said that anything said or done here is off limits to speak about unless I feel that a vet is in danger, and only after I’ve gone up the chain of command without success.”

  “Good. You’re a bright guy, Ethan. I think you’re going to fit right in,” Nick said.

  Ethan left Nick’s office feeling better about himself. It took him three tries to find hydrotherapy, which was in the old conservatory. When he entered the large glass-ceilinged room, he saw that the linebacker-sized black man, he assumed was Tub, had just finished working with a vet and was typing up his notes. Ethan walked around, familiarizing himself with the equipment, until he was noticed.

  Tub whistled. “Ethan, over here.”

  Ethan wasn’t sure he liked being called by a whistle, but he pushed the annoyance away.

  “I want to show you the locker room. There you will be changing into these scrubs.” Tub patted a large pile. “You may want to bring a few extra sets of briefs, boxers, whatever, because you’re going to get wet. It’s part of the job. And after you get soaked and the vet leaves, you’re going to change, rinse, and repeat. I don’t want you getting ill, nor do I want my vets to be greeted by a wet rat. Let me get you some sandals or clogs. They handle the slippery conditions the best.”

  By the time Tub was finished with Ethan’s orientation, Ethan’s head hurt.

  “I know this is a lot to take in, and you’re going to forget stuff. I’ll just yell at you until it sinks in. It’s probably why they need to rotate assistants.”

  “I’ll try not to take it personally.”

  “Good man, good man,” Tub said and eyed the clock. “Time for our next swimmer.”

  Ethan rolled his neck as he left the facility. He stopped and took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air. The rehab facility was in a converted old mansion, but it was still a hospital, and hospitals never really lost that smell of disinfectant.

  “Ethan!” a teen called from behind him.

  It took Ethan a moment before he placed him. “Mark, what can I do for you?”

  “I know you’ve had a hell of a day, but I was wondering if you wanted to work on studying math together?”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “For your GED. I understand that you’re going to go for yours soon. I’ve been getting tutored by Mr. Martin. I’m a great source if you have any questions.”

  “I’ve got to take a pretest before I know where I’m at,” Ethan confessed. “I kind of thought, if I didn’t do it, it would just go away.”

  Mark nodded. “It doesn’t, but nice try. Mia said I wasn’t to overwhelm you. How about we try for tomorrow afternoon since you work every other day?”

  “Sure, where?”

  “I was hoping your place. I really, really, need to get away from here for a while.”

  “You want to watch me set up my eBay stuff?” Ethan asked.

  “Cool. I sold some rare books on eBay for my grandpa.”

  “Then I’ll watch you set things up,” Ethan said.

  “We’ll work on it together,” the younger boy compromised.

  “Kid, I’m not used to all this niceness. It kind of gets on my nerves,” Ethan said as they walked the beach towards Ethan’s cottage.

  “Huh, I guess it’s how I feel around jocks. They have this way of talking that is beyond me. I do
n’t know if they are teasing, pissed, or what. Yes, I’m an egghead trying to play a sport. I’m basically a bench sitter, but I give it my all when I’m needed. I’m not a natural like Dieter.”

  “How is Mia’s kid a natural?”

  “His tallness aside, he learns really fast, and I bet he runs faster than anyone in school.”

  “Brian said he was from a war-torn country.”

  “Nigeria.”

  “I think the kid had to run to survive. Learn fast or get left behind. Sort of like prison. It took me a day too long to figure out who not to smart-off to. That’s how I got this scar,” Ethan said, lifting his hair. “Lesson learned.”

  “Lazar’s got some stuff that may make most of that go away,” Mark said. “But you can’t let the docs at rehab know because it’s basically magic.”

  “I’ll keep the scar. It’ll remind me not to be an asshole.”

  “Everyone’s got one.”

  “A scar?”

  “No, an asshole.”

  Ethan started laughing. “Kid, you’re nuts.”

  Mark hoped that was a compliment. Ethan was an odd person. Gossips told Mark that Ethan was used to being the bully, the mean kid, but something happened to him in Sentinel Woods that changed him. Prison took his confidence away, but Mark knew that working at the VA facility would help him to find himself again. He did hope that didn’t include Ethan’s proclivity for bullying.

  ~

  Mia walked in the door of Susan’s room. Doctor Walters had insisted she be kept overnight or at least until he could study the information from the MRI and X-rays. In his opinion, no one, unless you’re a PEEP, takes a hit from a refrigerator and doesn’t have something wrong with them.

  “Mia!” Susan said, reaching out her arms. “Rescue me. If I stay abed any longer, I’m going to go crazy.”

  Mia took off her gloves and looked at the door. “I’m going to scan you. If someone walks in, tell them I’m praying.”