Mia sniffed letting the tears fall. “Teddy Bear, I’ll do my best to behave myself. I didn’t anticipate being teed up for a ride into the graveyard. That was so scary. Speaking of, have Andy deliver some roses to the Countess’s mausoleum.”
“Already taken care of,” Ted said. “All that’s left on my list is to take Tom and Andy out for a drink to thank them for playing doctor with my wife.”
“You make it sound so lewd.”
“It was my intention. Mia, our daughters are beautiful, thank you.”
“Thank you, sire of the brood.”
“Cid tried to claim Genevieve as his.”
“He has a lot of nerve. Idra explained Genevieve’s dark hair to Nanny Berta. She said that if Abigor hadn’t opened my eyes, my hair would have been dark.”
“I love your hair. I guess I’ll have to stop spitting whenever Abigor’s name is mentioned.”
“Nah, go ahead. He deserves it,” Mia said.
Chapter Four
Enos met Murphy at the bridge. The late evening light was enough to search by. Enos found the backpack on the rocks in the bed of the river.
“I know I was supposed to leave things be, but I was worried about the camera.”
“We can send Miss Gilbert a message through her website that we found her backpack. Maybe have Cid look at the camera,” Murphy suggested.
“He’s got his hands full with the company coming.”
“Then give it to Ted. He needs something to tinker with at all times,” Murphy said. “I don’t know how I know this, but I suspect that camera has something to do with the lady taking a fall into the river.”
“Ted is having a small drinks party at the Big Bear Lake bar for Tom and Andy. Are you coming?” Enos asked.
“Are you?”
“Nope, I’m on Brian watch. He’s a pretty sneaky little guy.”
“Would it help if I stayed the night at the peninsula?”
“Actually, I was hoping you would attend the drinks party because I think Deputy Chambers will be there. He’s been put in charge of Miss Gilbert’s accident. He thinks it’s connected to the truck that crashed into Mia.”
“Do you want me to spy on the deputy?”
“No, just keep your ears open.”
Murphy looked at Enos and asked, “Are you playing detective?”
“I assure you, Murphy, I don’t play at anything.”
“Now you’re sounding like Victor.”
“He raised me, so I guess it’s natural,” Enos said.
“I’ll go to the party. I’d like to thank Tom and Andy personally.”
Burt settled the boys down at a picnic table outside before he went to the counter at the Dairy Bear. He kept an eye on his charges as the line moved forward. After he got their order, he headed back to find an attractive brunette holding the hand of the infamous camouflaged, tissue-paper-licking Noah. Burt had met the artistic flamboyant child when he had playdates with Brian, but this was the first time he had cast eyes on Noah’s mother.
“Mr. Hicks, I’m Paula Glynn, Noah’s mother.”
“Hello,” Burt said, handing the boys their treats.
“The boys were just telling me about their new sisters. I hope all are well.”
“Yes. I’m helping out the best I can.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
“Can I get you something from the Dairy Bear?” Burt asked.
“Actually, could I park Noah here so I could use the john? I’ll bring his ice cream back.”
“Sure,” Burt said, exuding a confidence he didn’t feel. Brian was enough for any man to deal with, but adding his best friend into the mix could spell disaster.
“Noah, mind Mr. Hicks.”
“Yes, Mama.”
Paula left, leaving a wake of spicy perfume. Noah’s mother was a handsome woman. Burt could tell that most of the fathers in line appreciated her presence. Her curvy figure on top of long legs was refreshing in a world full of underweight body-shamed women.
“Uncle Burt, Noah doesn’t believe that my mother gave birth in the graveyard,” Brian said.
“She did,” Burt confirmed.
Noah put his hands on either side of his face. “I would be too scared.”
“You can’t have babies,” Brian scoffed.
“Why?” Noah asked.
“You’re not married,” Varden answered.
Burt wiped his brow. He was glad he didn’t have to answer that question.
“I’m going to have my babies in the hospital,” Noah said.
“Sounds reasonable,” Burt said.
“I wish I had a sister,” Noah said and sighed. “Mom says she has her hands full with me right now.”
“Yes, I do,” Paula said, sitting down, handing Noah a dish of ice cream. “If you ever take Noah to have ice cream with the Martin boys, don’t get him a cone,” she cautioned.
“Why?”
“He will paint himself and them with ice cream. He calls it his frozen period.”
Burt laughed.
Noah blushed.
“Sorry, Noah. I know you’re serious about your art,” Burt apologized.
“I am.”
Paula look over at Burt, and he got the idea she wanted to say something but was building her courage.
He decided to concentrate on Noah and give her time to make up her mind. “Noah, what medium are you using now?”
“Mud.”
Paula sighed.
“Mud?” Burt asked.
Paula took out her phone, accessed her photos, and slid it over to Burt. The photo was of what Burt assumed was the siding of the Glynns’ home. On it were layers of mud with leaves and other natural fibers stuck to it. In the middle of the shot, Burt could just make out a little mud-covered boy.
“It took him ten minutes. I had a phone call,” Paula said.
“Did you ever think of, perhaps, paper and pencil?” Burt asked.
“Too ordinary.”
“Not the way Uncle Burt uses them,” Brian bragged. “My uncle makes comic books. He draws them himself. No CG crap.”
“Brian,” Burt warned. “There is a lady here.”
Brian put his hand to his mouth and then corrected himself, “Computer Generated stuff.”
“Better,” Burt said.
“Mr. Hicks, may I be so bold to ask if you could show Noah your work?” Paula asked.
“I would be honored,” Burt said.
“When?” she asked.
Burt picked up on the desperation in her voice. “We were heading home after this. If you excuse the messy house…”
“Thank you. We’ll follow you over.”
Varden watched the aura of Noah’s mother calm down. She was very upset inside. He reached over and patted her hand and whispered, “Uncle Burt can fix most everything.”
Paula leaned down and answered, “I hope so. I really hope so.”
~
“Those girls are beautiful!” Ralph gushed. “I can’t wait to take them to Macy’s and have their portraits taken.”
Mia groaned.
“Are you alright? Should we ring the nurse?” Ralph asked, hovering over Mia. He had already straightened her covers twice.
Bernard smiled indulgently. Ralph was in his element. He mothered Mia just shy of Mia losing her temper. He suspected that the nurse added a little valium to Mia’s IV when she saw Ralph coming. Mia was way too calm.
“I’m fine, just a twinge,” Mia lied. “Are you going over to the bar tonight with Ted?”
“We’ll stop by. I want to shake Tom’s hand. Aside from a black eye, he delivered two healthy babies.”
“Oh yes, it was all him,” Mia pouted. “Nothing to do with the eight months and two weeks I carried them.”
Bernard got up, walked over, and slid into bed next to Mia. He put his arm around her and hugged her. “We know how hard it was. How scared you must have been.”
Ralph watched as Mia broke down and cried. Bernard was a great shoulder and always knew when Ralph needed to unload a bucket of tears. He touched the hospital tissues and frowned. “Sandpaper. Here,” he said, handing Mia his handkerchief.
Mia wiped her eyes and signed that she wanted Ralph to join them. He put the rail down and slid in beside Mia. “Don’t make me cry.”
Dr. Walters walked in and looked at the interesting grouping on Mia’s bed. He saw her tearstained face and felt he could finally breathe. “I take it these are your parents?”
“Yes,” Mia sniffed.
“I’m glad you’re here. She needed to cry. It’s not good to keep it bottled up.”
Bernard nodded in his wise way.
“I’m going home. Try not to destroy my hospital while I’m gone, Mrs. Martin,” Dr. Walters said and shut the door after him.
~
Burt put up a fresh sheet of paper on the surface and raised the chair so Noah could reach the table. Burt motioned for Paula to stand by in case Noah got wiggly.
“It’s okay to draw whatever you want, but I’d like to show you how you can, with practice, get textures by shading and crosshatching.”
Enos noticed Varden was craning his neck, trying to see. He lifted him onto his shoulder.
Varden kissed the top of Enos’s head as a thank you.
Burt handed a pencil to Noah. “Do what I do at first, then experiment.”
Noah nodded.
Burt drew a circle, and then he started to shade the circle. He demonstrated, talking about the imagined source of light, and then helped Noah do his best to copy it. “You see, the closer the pencil strokes, the darker it looks.”
“Yes, sir.”
Next, they worked on drawing a 3D box. Noah’s hand was cramping by the end of this drawing, so he asked to be excused. He walked over and showed Brian, who was reading, his drawing.
“Cool,” Brian said.
“Can I try?” Varden asked.
Burt put a fresh sheet of paper down. Enos set Varden down on the chair, and Varden stuck his tongue out and tried to remember everything Burt and Noah did.
Paula marveled at how patient Burt was. Varden’s fine motor skills weren’t conducive to this project, but he was very satisfied with what he had accomplished. “I will do better next time,” he promised Burt.
Enos put him down and called over to the boys, “I’m going to count fireflies. Who’s with me?”
Hands went up, and after listening to the rules of “no going off the deck” and “it’s better to sit still so you don’t count the same one twice,” the foursome left the house.
Burt offered Paula a drink, and she accepted a small glass of wine.
“I sense that you’re not here for me to teach Noah how to draw,” Burt said, sitting down. He sipped his beer, giving Paula time to compose her thoughts.
“Noah told me that Brian’s uncle Burt is a ghost hunter.”
“I am.”
“I think I have a ghost in the house, and it’s not a nice one.”
“Tell me.”
“First, I have to tell you something that you have to swear never to tell anyone else. If you do, Noah and I have to move.”
“I understand. Go on.”
“My husband Derek was an accountant for a drug dealer in New York City. He didn’t know what the business was until he knew too much to exit alive. Derek was arrested and given the choice to rat out his client or go to prison. His client Macario Franco was bad news, so the DA offered us witness protection in exchange for Derek’s help. Macario was put away, but before he left, he swore he would kill Derek and everyone he loved. Macario tried to take over the prison he was sent to, and we received news that he had been killed by a rival dealer.”
“Where is Derek now?” Burt asked.
“I think he was killed by a ghost. I think the ghost of Macario found us and killed him. It looked like an accident, but the same stuff is happening in my house that happened in the first two houses the marshals put us in.”
“What kind of things?”
“Cupboard doors opening, drawers falling out, knives in the drywall of the kitchen. Whispers in the night. ‘I’m coming, I’m coming for you and yours.’ Now all of these things could have been done by living thugs, and Derek was convinced that before the client died, he put a hit out on Derek. The marshals accused us of letting our families know where we were. We didn’t. They moved us farther away. It took a year before the stuff started up again.” Paula’s hands shook.
“Did you report it?”
“Derek didn’t want to move again. He said he’d lay a trap for whomever it was and handle it himself. Weeks went by, and it seemed like he was successful. We grew careless and carefree. One day, I came home from a visit with the pediatrician with Noah and found Derek. It looked like he had died of fright. He was clutching his chest. His eyes were wild. He was half in and half out of a wall. A ladder was near him. It looked like he was fixing the ceiling fan. The coroner thought that he either had a heart attack, fell off the ladder, and crashed through the wall, or he lost his balance, hit the wall, and that stopped his heart.”
“How horrible for you.”
“It took a long while, but I managed to get the marshals to move us one last time to here. We’ve been here for two years. Two days ago, I woke up and found the cupboard doors and kitchen drawers open. And a knife in the drywall.”
“There is a lot of paranormal activity in Big Bear Lake,” Burt started. “I’m not discounting your story. I will have a team ready, and we’ll stake out your home. I’ll try to get answers for you as soon as possible. Mia is my sensitive, so she’s going to be out for a few days. I’ll call and see if her cousin is available if we end up needing to communicate sooner.”
“I’m not sure I can afford you.”
“We normally offer homeowners a choice between being on TV and paying nothing or having this taken care of quietly and paying us our expenses.”
He could tell Paula was trying to add up what money she had.
“But since you’re friends with the Martins, I’m sure we can work something out. I’ll forgo my fee.”
“You can film it and put it on TV,” Paula said finally. “Noah and I can’t be filmed, obviously, but the house is fair game. It’s a rental.”
“What’s a rental?” Enos asked, walking in with the boys in tow.
“My house.”
“One moment,” Enos said and turned. “Firefly fellows, I want you to go into the bathroom and wash up.”
“Yes, sir!” they chorused.
Varden started giggling.
“What’s going on?” Enos asked.
“My house may be haunted, and Burt has offered PEEPs’s help.”
“They may have a ghost who follows them,” Burt explained to Enos. He turned to Paula and advised, “I think it would be safer if you left, considering you have a young child.”
“I agree.”
“Where will you live in the meantime?” Burt asked.
“I hadn’t thought that far?”
“They could live here,” Enos said.
“We only have the two rooms.”
“My room is big enough for a whole family,” Enos said. “Mia has this house set up to repel ghosts. I’ll warn Murphy he will have to knock first.”
“Where will you live?”
“Woodlands has lots of room. I think that Dr. Cooper and I could share the quarters over the garage, or I could bunk in the aerie.”
“I don’t want to put you out, Enos,” Paula said.
“If Mia wasn’t expecting tons of relatives, I’m sure she would put you two up at the aerie. If there is no room at Woodlands, I’ll move back in with Victor for a couple of days.”
Burt saw what a generous y
oung man Enos was.
“I’ll go with you to pick up some things,” Burt said. “Enos, can you watch the boys while you pack?”
“I’m going to have the boys pack for me. Firefly fellows!”
The three ran out of the bathroom.
“Present hands.”
Brian held his hands out. Noah and Varden copied him.
“Good. Now I want you to assemble in my room for domestic duty.”
“He means, go in his room, he’s going to put us to work,” Brian translated.
Burt followed Paula out of the house.
“People are going to talk if we move in here,” Paula warned.
“Does that bother you?”
“Oh, no. I was just worried about you.”
“As one of Mia’s friends, I’m used to people talking about me.”
Chapter Five
Lazar looked at the text on his phone and responded as he got out of the elevator at the hospital.
“You shouldn’t have that thing on in a hospital,” Babcia scolded.
“I’m on duty.”
“He’s got an important job,” Grzegorz told his mother-in-law. “He manages three buildings.”
“He’s a housekeeper,” Lazar’s mother, Magda, scoffed.
“Don’t you think housework is important?” Grzegorz asked. “How can you be a modern woman and not know your worth?”
Lazar stared at his father. “Who are you?”
“I’m one very proud man. Our family has increased by two.”
Mia was cuddling with her two daughters when she heard Grzegorz’s comment. Ralph had made sure she was presentable for visitors, which included a very successful attempt at covering up Mia’s black eye, before he and Bernard left for the bar. She was dressed in a nursing gown with a pale green shawl covering her shoulders.
Magda lost her grumpiness when she caught sight of the babies. She put her hands to her face. “Oh, Mia, I can’t decide which one is more beautiful.”
“One is dark, and one is red. They look like Mia and Ted,” Babcia said. “May I hold one?”
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