Crossroads

by Alexie Aaron [Aaron, Alexie]

  “Ted, how do you feel about Mia OOBing in? She can’t trip anything. She has no form.”

  “Ask her.”

  “She’s on her way.”

  Murphy saw a flash of light, and then Mia stood before him in her hoodie persona. “Hey, Murph.”

  “Does Ted know?”

  “He asked for my help. I need you to talk for me.”

  “Yes, Mia.”

  “Tell them I’m here. Ask them what they want me to look for.”

  “Ted, Mia’s here,” Murphy said. “She wants to know what she’s to look for?”

  “First, if there are men down there, and if so, are they armed? If there is no one, then let us know right away.”

  “Tell him to point one of those lights down into the entrance.”

  “Ted, Mia can’t see in the dark. Point that light down into the passageway.”

  A pounding of feet brought Cid from the truck. He had a tiny box with him. “I brought the dust lights.”

  Ted opened the box. “Murphy, ask Mia to come closer.”

  “She’s at your elbow.”

  “Mia, I know you were able to maneuver Colorforms for a short period of time when we were taking the guns to the police station. These lights are designed for Mars. They don’t weigh much more than a Colorform sticker.”

  “She understands. She says ‘light ‘em up.’”

  Ted did so, and Whit and Tom were amazed to see three tiny lights move in a triangle down into the darkness.

  Mia moved quickly through the dark passageway. She noted a web of something like fishing line across the open doorway to the fallout shelter. Mia was very careful that the tiny lights did not come into contact with the web. The shelter was empty except for three dead men. She examined the other door into the shelter and saw that it too was boobytrapped. She followed a line to some old pipes on the side of the wall where white clay of some kind was holding them and a small mechanical device to the wall near the pipes. She returned to the top and told Murphy everything, and he told Ted, Whit, and Tom.

  “Tell Ted this isn’t the time to blow himself up. I have no spare.”

  “I’m not telling him that with Whit here.”

  “Sorry, you’re right.”

  “I thought I was your spare?” Murphy teased back.

  Mia lifted an eyebrow very slowly, making sure Murphy understood her ire.

  Tom radioed in that he wanted the gas turned off to a four-block radius and for someone from the company to disconnect the old fallout shelter from the grid.

  “Lazar, I’m sending Mia back. She’ll describe what she saw to you.”

  Ted opened his hand, and the three tiny lights fell into them. He thought he felt a hand on his chest for one moment, and then she was gone.

  Mia returned to her body and opened her eyes. Lazar stared down at her. “Do I have to rub anything?”

  “I’m telling your mother,” Mia said and sat up and rubbed her own legs back to life as she told him about the web of filament and the three dead men dressed in mismatched clothing and no shoes.

  “Ted, there are three cadavers down there,” Lazar reported. The boobytrap starts eight inches from the floor on your side. I think Curly can maneuver under it, but I am advising not to do so until the threat of gas explosion is taken care of.”

  “Copy that.” Ted repeated Lazar’s recommendations.

  “I think we can back off on entering the fallout shelter. I’ll have my team look into missing cadavers,” Whit said.

  “Why go to all this trouble?” Tom asked. “Obviously, the bodies were planned to satisfy a forensic team, after the fact, that the bomb makers died with their bomb. Why go to the trouble for a secondary revenge killing of the wife and son of an informant? They want to obliterate the house if we get too close. They want something from the house, and if they can’t get it, they want it destroyed. Whit, use your governmental muscle, and see if you can open the files on this case.”

  “How’d they know the fallout shelter was there?” Whit asked. “Tom, you and I grew up here and didn’t know there was an exit on this side of the house.”

  “Noah,” Ted said, looking at the dried mud around the hatch. “The kid flooded the backyard at one point. The water must have seeped into the shelter here.”

  “Ted, can your house take two more visitors?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m sending my mother and father there pronto.”

  “I’ll let Mia know.”

  Lazar looked over at Mia. She looked tired but exhilarated at the same time.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Tom is sending his parents here to live until they have the Glynn situation sorted.”

  “Tell me where you want to put them?”

  “The guest suite is still empty. Your in-laws are too stubborn to use it.”

  “I’ll go and make sure we have enough clean towels,” Mia said, rising. “Make sure my husband doesn’t blow himself up while I’m gone.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Lazar said.

  Jake waited until Mia left to comment. “If not for us, he would have already done so.”

  “We don’t have to tell her that.”

  “Oh, she knows, she knows,” Jake said.

  ~

  Burt woke to find a series of messages, some with audio and video attachments, waiting for him. He brewed some coffee and started through the pile. The coffee was forgotten as the full picture unveiled itself.

  “Do I smell coffee?” Paula Glynne asked, walking out of the guestroom.

  Burt nodded. “Paula, you better sit down,” he warned.

  “Oh dear.”

  Burt explained everything he knew. “I fear you’re going to be questioned and moved to a safer location.”

  “I thought it was just a vengeful ghost.”

  “There is a paranormal element, but the immediate threat isn’t Macario Franco.”

  “Derek has a lot to answer for. Always with the shortcuts. ‘The money is good, Paula,’ he says. ‘We’ll be able to afford a bigger house.’ What good is money if you’re dead, Derek!” Paula cried.

  Burt walked over and sat down. “We’ll figure this out. There are good men and women working on this right now. What I want you to do is think about what your husband took with him when you moved. Is there anything left in storage? Did he give anything to one of his relatives?”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “I’ll get you a cup of coffee. Then I suggest you get dressed. We will be having visitors.”

  “They are going to take us away again,” Paula said. “Noah is settled. He has a best friend. What happens to him if they take me away?”

  “Do you have any relatives?”

  “No, none that I’d trust with my sensitive boy.”

  “I’ll talk to the Martins. If they can’t manage it, Noah can stay with me.”

  Paula’s face softened. “You would do this for us?”

  “Yes. I have been fortunate to be friends with the most caring people. They have shown me what being a citizen of the world really entails. I know of a sanctuary where Noah would be safe, but I think he would like to stay here in Big Bear Lake. He told me the muse speaks to him here. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s work on finding out what these monsters want.”

  Paula nodded.

  Mia put down the phone. She looked over at her sleepy husband. He came home after Whit kicked him and Cid off the Glynn property. Cid was smart and headed to bed. Ted stayed up and analyzed the data they had collected in the house while the Feds were busy elsewhere. Mia insisted he eat breakfast with the boys. She was trying to pull him out of the problem. Sometimes Ted got locked in, focusing on one thing.

  The boys had been there and gone, and still he sat, typing furiously on the iPad with one hand while absentmindedly spooning cereal into his mouth with the other.

  Mia took both of her hands and turned his face towards
her. “Ted, I need a 100% of your attention.”

  His eyes snapped towards Mia and focused on her green eyes. “Go on.”

  “They are going to take Noah’s mother into custody. That means Noah goes into care. Burt thinks I can convince them to let us take Noah. He says if we can’t handle him here, he will keep him at the peninsula house.”

  “Noah can’t survive on pancakes and takeout,” Ted said. “Bring him here.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Can you handle another little boy for a while?”

  “I may have to apply some of my training, but I think that he can’t be worse than Brian or a demon. Come to think of it, Brian is harder to deal with than a legion of demons…”

  Ted’s eyes crinkled and he laughed.

  “I’ll call Paula and tell her that I’ll be picking him up from preschool today. We’ll go to the art store. That should keep him distracted for a while. Meanwhile, you go to bed. I don’t want to have to tell your mother, you’re not behaving again.”

  “Pulling the mom card is dirty dealings,” Ted said and got up.

  Mia waited until Ted left before she called Paula Glynn to invite Noah to stay with them.

  Lazar walked in the door. “Brian is safely dropped off. We have three hours to recharge.”

  Mia looked at Lazar. “I have something to break to you.”

  “You’re not pregnant already.”

  “Honestly, you’re as bad as your mother.” Mia sniffed.

  “Tell me.”

  “We’re going to have Noah here for a while.”

  Lazar put his hand through his hair. “Where are we going to put him - and don’t say the boy’s room. He, Brian, and Varden…”

  “Is a recipe for disaster.”

  “Varden can bunk with me,” Charles said, walking in to refill his coffee. “He can have the top bunk.”

  “But…”

  “Mia, you survived. Varden will survive. Besides, it’s about time he learned all about bones.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Mia said, hugging her father. “I’m going to tell him.”

  She found Varden in the nursery helping Nanny Berta with putting away the twins’ clean clothes. The babies were awake and fixated on the new additions Varden had made to the large mobile.

  “When did you learn how to make paper cranes?” Mia asked.

  “Altair.”

  “Will you show me how?” Mia asked.

  “Yes of course.”

  “Varden, I have something to ask you. Feel free to say no.”

  Varden looked over at his mom and nodded.

  “Noah’s mother may have to go away for a short while. Your Uncle Burt would like to know if we could take care of Noah until she gets back.”

  “Noah’s going to live here?” Varden asked breathlessly.

  “Only if the family agrees. This means…”

  “He can have my bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

  “You don’t have to sleep on the floor. Grandpop Cooper wants to know if you would consider rooming with him. He snores,” Mia added quickly.

  “Grandpop asked me and not Brian,” Varden clarified.

  “Yes.”

  Varden put his hand on his heart. He turned around and collected his little self. “He asked me.”

  “Varden, you are every bit as important in our hearts as Brian is. Grandpop thinks that the two of you would be good roommates. When the Bravermans move back home, you can have the guestroom. Until then, it’s you, Dr. Cooper, and Enos over the garage. Or you can sleep with Daddy and me,” Mia added.

  “I want to be with Grandpop Cooper,” Varden decided. “I’ll go pack.”

  He left the room, and Mia started crying. Nanny Berta walked over and pulled her in for a big hug.

  “He’s not even three, and he’s more mature than my husband is,” Mia cried. “I’m going to lose him, aren’t I?”

  “No, he needs a little time with grumpy old men. Look at what it did for you. If I get any inkling that he is upset, I’ll let you know right away.”

  “Incoming, the Bravermans are driving up,” Jake announced.

  “I had a suspicion when Ted designed this big house that he wanted to fill it up,” Mia said. “I didn’t know that it was going to happen this soon.”

  Don Braverman passed Varden in the hall. Varden was dragging a backpack, and Don was wheeling a suitcase. Don stopped. “I’m not forcing you from your bed, am I?”

  “Oh no. I’m going to stay with Grandpop Cooper. Noah is going to be in my room.”

  “I see. If you have any free time, I’m looking for a fishing partner. I hear you have trout running in your part of the river.”

  “Me?”

  “Susan says you’re the best mannered of the Martin boys.”

  “Thank you.”

  Nanny smiled. Varden was not going to be the forgotten Martin after all.

  Mia walked into the kitchen to find Millie, Susan, and Judy standing around staring at a chart with Lazar.

  “I know all of you are excellent cooks,” Lazar said. “And all of you want to help out. So, I’ve divided up the food procurement and production accordingly. Your husbands are on evening dish duty. I’ll handle the breakfast and lunch dishes. I want you three to give me a list of what you need for the next few days. I’ll call it in, and Ethan will pick the order up from the market. Nanny Berta is more than happy to have you help with the twins and will let you know when. Mia needs to feed them, but in between their naps, they are available for nurturing.”

  “So says the major,” Mia said.

  Millie laughed.

  Lazar pointed to Mia. “You can be replaced with a bucketful of formula.”

  “Yes, sir,” Mia said and saluted.

  The women twittered.

  “Do you want me to put you in the meal rotation?” Lazar threatened.

  “I’ll help whomever needs it, but these women don’t want to be poisoned. Who’s going to break it to Cid?” Mia asked.

  “I believe that’s you,” Lazar said, tapping his chart. “I believe you PEEPs are still in an active investigation, so his hands are full.”

  “I can use that,” Mia said and walked out the door towards Cid’s house.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Murphy hissed as Mia pulled out onto the state road.

  “Stop it. I had plenty of time to turn,” Mia pointed out.

  “You’re going to get us killed.”

  “Shut up! You’re already dead. I survived one crash already this month. Don’t make me regret asking you along.”

  Murphy smiled. Mia didn’t ask him. He insisted. Varden didn’t want to go to the art store. He, Dr. Cooper, and Don Braverman were going fishing.

  “My dad never took me fishing,” Mia grumbled.

  “What did you say?” Murphy asked.

  “I said my father never took me fishing.”

  “Did you try to row the boat?” he asked.

  “Ouch!” Mia said. “You’re a bully today. You and Lazar. You, Lazar, and Cid,” she corrected.

  “I take it Cid wasn’t too happy to have his kitchen duties reduced.”

  “Nope. And when I pointed out all he had to do with the investigation, he reminded me I hadn’t done my voice-overs yet.”

  “I think this is what they meant when they said don’t kill the messenger,” Murphy pointed out.

  “You’re very philosophical today.”

  “I’m happy.”

  Mia smiled and asked, “Because?”

  “I broke two of Whit’s ribs yesterday saving him.”

  Mia didn’t scold him. She had wanted to break more than a few of Whit’s ribs at one time or another. “Should I be healing him?”

  “No. If you do, I’ll turn you over my knee and…”

  Mia pulled the car safely over. She turned to Murphy and said very evenly, “You dare pull a stunt like that, and I’ll import some elk.”
<
br />   “Elk?”

  “Big, huge, tiny-tree-loving deer.”

  Murphy was gobsmacked. It took him a minute to say, “Touché.”

  “I know you and Nicholai think that this is the way to discipline or show your displeasure, but I’m telling you it’s not okay.”

  “I hear you loud and clear,” Murphy said, pushing his hat back on his head.

  “Talk to me. Tell me my behavior is inappropriate, and I will apologize.”

  “But will you stop?”

  “Touché,” Mia conceded.

  Burt walked through the Glynn house with Paula. Whit hung back as the woman pulled things out of the closet and separated them.

  “What are you doing?” Whit finally asked.

  “Looking for a tether. We think there is something in the Glynn’s possessions that is drawing Macario Franco to them. Think of it as one end of a zipline. We need to find it. I’m going to have Mia and Murphy go over what Paula has separated to see if we can find what is attracting the ghost to them.”

  “You don’t think Mrs. Glynn is at fault?”

  Paula turned around, her face furious. “I told you, and I’ll tell the marshals when they arrive to grill me, that I have not communicated with anyone from my and Derek’s past.

  “Could there be something in your possession that his crime family may want?” Whit asked.

  “After all this time? No. But take it. Take it all!” Paula said, throwing her hands up. “I don’t care if I leave here with naught but my son. I just want us to be safe.”

  Mia watched as Grandma Z took charge and took the boys to see the new items Acalan had brought in for summer. Acalan waved Mia up to the studio. She walked up the stairs, taking in the calm atmosphere. She looked around to see if Ester, Acalan’s guardian angel, was there and found that they were alone.