by Alexie Aaron
“No, I’ve been the only one besides yourself in contact with Mia. Murphy was helping Ethan clear off the truck when we arrived. We spoke a few minutes, sharing information. I wanted to pick his brain about negative elementals. I asked him to come down to help. I hope you don’t mind.”
“He saved Jesse and, I suspect, my bacon out there on the ice.”
“I thought that ghosts weren’t fond of moving water,” Father Santos said.
“Maybe the ice helped, or he was motivated. Can you imagine him explaining to Mia how he lost me and Jesse because he didn’t want to get his feet wet?”
“The scorn of a good woman is a powerful motivator. Not that it has worked with me.”
“Well, you have a different power to answer to.”
“Stephen mentioned that you have a sweetheart,” Santos probed.
“Her name is Sally Wright, and she’s Carl’s foster sister. I can’t explain it, but the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was the one.”
“Physical attraction can be a tricky thing,” warned Santos.
“Being with her just increased my ardor. Ted always said, when the right one comes along, you know instantly.”
“Ted the scientist?” Santos confirmed.
“Yes.”
“The man who is convinced a spaceship is going to pick him up when he dies.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll remind him of this next time we have an argument about faith,” Santos said. “Tell me about Sally.”
“She is sweet, kind and stubborn. We have cooking and reading in common. She was in the Army and suffers from PTSD. Right now, she’s getting help in the Leighton rehab facility.”
“That where Stephen said he’d met her. He said she was a beautiful person who wasn’t judgmental.”
“I envy he’s had all those conversations with her.”
“Do you trust Sally to know her heart?” Santos asked.
“Yes.”
“Then don’t worry about Stephen. He’s just being a good friend.”
Murphy moved over to the men. “Excuse me, Father, I think there is something in the woods that you should see before we lose the light of day.”
“I would feel better if Father Simon were with us.”
“Will I do?” Carl asked walking up. “I wasn’t raised in the faith but attended Catholic school.”
Father Santos looked at the size of the man and nodded. “I think you will serve the Lord well with your brawn.”
Murphy manifested fully so Carl could see him. Gary, who was with Pete in the hall, whistled and said, “Look at the size of the axe he is carrying.”
“He cracked the lake open with it,” Pete said. “I only saw the ice break away, but I imagine it was something to see.”
Murphy fidgeted.
“Don’t embarrass the ghost. Anyone can see he’s a humble man,” Carl scolded.
Father Santos got up and said under his breath, “Stephen, your secret is safe with me. Lead the way.”
After the three had left, Faye moved to Cid. “What did the priest mean by Murphy’s secret was safe with him?”
“Stephen isn’t humble. You should hear him and Mia talk about each’s conquests in battle. He can keep up with an archangel.”
“Archangels battle?” Faye questioned.
“They fight for us, Faye. But when called upon, Stephen fights harder.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Murphy took the time to let the energy from the trees refuel him. He moved slowly as to not rush the priest and the burly contractor. He listened to the harmonics of nature. It was quieter in the winter, but it was still there. Under the snow, things were getting ready to sprout. The limbs of the trees moved nutrients through the twigs to the tight buds that awaited the coming spring. The young pines that had infiltrated the walnut grove shook off the snow from their boughs. Murphy could hear the wind as it swirled between the trees, kicking up little whirlwinds of late-falling leaves.
Carl and Father Santos moved at a steady pace until they reached the old clearing. There were standing stones not much taller than gravestones set in a circle. Murphy moved the standing snow to show them the four vaults.
“Under each slab is a wooden box that doesn’t rot,” Murphy said. “Inside is what is left of a man who is chained with iron chains and has a black crystal in his mouth. All the skulls are open in the back as if bashed in with an iron spike or maybe the head of a hammer.”
Father Santos brushed off the standing stones and studied what remained of the carvings.
“It’s warm here,” Carl said, unbuttoning his coat.
“It’s not warm, you are. Your muscles are taking on power,” Father Santos warned.
“Why?” Carl asked, flexing his fingers.
“I’m not sure,” Father Santos admitted.
“Sally read that there was a battle between two men. Could one of the men have gained power from here?” Murphy asked.
“I had forgotten about the account Daniel Sullivan wrote,” Santos said. “It seems to me that one of the combatants was cheating. I’m an old man, yet I feel strong as an ox.”
“Or maybe, Father, it made them equals. Remember that one man had been enjoying the power given by the demon for decades,” Carl said.
“That’s a very astute observation.”
“Can we free the souls here?” Murphy asked.
“Should we free the souls here? Isn’t that the question?” Father Santos considered.
“Mia says to offer all the choice of the light, and then let the light decide what happens to the souls,” Murphy told him.
Father Santos opened his coat and extracted the dagger. “Carl, if one of the creatures comes at you, stab it with this. Remember, you are essentially stabbing air, so be careful not to do it in such a way that you will be cut by its blade.”
Carl felt the weight of it, shaking his head. “It hardly weighs five pounds…”
“Yet it delivers a mighty blow,” Murphy said. “Don’t stab me with it. I’ll cease to exist. Father Santos won’t get the pleasure of sending me on.”
“See how he teases me,” Father Santos said. “He’s never leaving this earth until it is covered in trees and he has his best friend at his side.”
~
Wayne wheeled his IV stand beside him as he returned to his bed from the bathroom. He no sooner got back into bed when they wheeled Jesse in. He was covered in heated blankets. The nurses gently moved him into bed, hung up his IV, and connected his oxygen before checking his vitals.
“Mr. Holden, your doctor would like you to drink warm fluids. We can offer you coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. If you’d rather, some soup can be brought up.”
“Herb tea if you have it, please,” Jesse said.
Father Simon walked in the room. He walked over to Wayne and took his hand. “I sincerely hope you’ll be out of here soon. That man will drive you insane.”
“I take it you’re talking about Scrub,” Kiki said, walking in with Alan. “What’d he do?”
“Tried to walk out of the emergency room without his clothes, and then he disappeared on his way to imaging.”
“I was misplaced,” Jesse said.
“I heard you used your gurney like a surfboard and paddled yourself down the hall with your apelike arms,” Father Simon said.
Alan started laughing. “Jesse, are you related to the Martins?”
“Why?”
“You’d fit right in. The stunts they pulled in Green Ridge Hospital are legendary.”
Jesse ignored him. “Kiki, I would like to leave now.”
“You can’t.”
“I’m not ill,” Jesse argued.
“You died,” Kiki said.
“Do I look dead?”
“Kiki, he was dead but not dead-dead,” Alan said, looking at his nails.
Father Simon recognized the phrase and smiled.
“I’d like to sue Bridgeton Atwater fo
r assault,” Wayne said. “Will you recommend someone to take my case?”
“I can. You’ll have to prove it was him,” Alan said.
“I’m sure there are some fingerprints and handprints on that glass jar he hit me with.”
“But also mine and Cid’s,” Jesse said.
“If you’re worried about money, I’ll cover your healthcare,” Kiki said. “We have a hell of a disability clause built into this contract. That is, if we can deliver the house before all hell breaks loose.”
“What happened after I left the two of you?” Jesse asked.
“He wanted to see the completed list. He was talking all the time my back was turned as I was putting the paperwork together on the desk. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, and then bash.”
“He hit you hard enough for us to hear it in the kitchen. Also, you’d make a fallen tree jealous. Boom! Down goes the mighty Walrus!” Jesse said.
Wayne grabbed his IV stand and advanced on Jesse.
“It’s the painkiller in his IV,” Kiki lied, putting herself between the two men.
Alan’s phone vibrated. He looked at the caller ID and excused himself.
“Where’s Cid?” Jesse asked.
“He’s holding the fort,” Kiki said. “Evidently, you can almost drown the man, serve him up frozen on dock, but he still keeps on working.”
“It must be his ghost hunter training,” Wayne said.
“He saved my life,” Jesse said.
“He wasn’t the only one,” Father Simon said. “You fell into the water. The current took you under the ice. Stephen Murphy chopped the ice away, and Cid dove in and found you. He had the forethought to tie a lifeline around him. When he had you, Carl and Pete pulled you both to safety, but you were dead, yes not dead-dead as Alan said, but dead.”
“Now you’re sounding like Dr. Seuss,” Jesse commented.
“Today hasn’t been my day,” Father Simon pouted. “First, the Italian ghosts think I’m a pirate of all things because of my accented Italian, and now I’m reduced to Dr. Seuss.”
“Dr. Seuss is not a reduction,” Jesse maintained.
An orderly arrived with a wheelchair. “Wayne Shipley?”
“Over here,” Wayne said.
“I’m to take you to imaging.”
“Why?”
“I’m just the transport.”
“Can I go along?” Kiki asked.
“You can’t go into imaging, but you can wait with him until they’re ready for him.”
“Wayne, is that okay?” Kiki said. “I’d like to have some one-on-one time.”
Wayne’s face turned from angry to calm. “I’d like that.”
Alan walked in and waited until Wayne and Kiki left before he closed the door.
Jesse looked over at the man. “Uh-oh.”
“I just finished talking to Mia. Cid called her because…. Well, listen.”
“Do you want me to leave?” Father Simon asked.
“No. Mia is very happy you’re with Jesse.”
“She had me record our conversation for you,” Alan said and set the phone up to play the recording on the speaker.
“Hello, Jesse. A few years ago, I took a high dive, not by choice, into an icy well. The water was so cold that my heart stopped. Murphy, who was down in the well with me, restarted my heart. He reached into my chest and squeezed until my blood was moving. Essentially, he brought me back. I was dead but not dead-dead.”
“That’s where you guys got that from,” Jesse realized.
“Murphy gave me back the gift of life, but with it comes something else. Bear with me a moment while I elaborate. During another investigation, Tom Braverman drowned in quicksand, and his heart stopped. Ethan Aldridge pulled him to solid land. Because of Murphy’s success with me, he reached in and restarted Tom’s heart. Yes, he’s our one-ghost defibrillator. The reason I mention Tom is because after Murphy brought him back, Tom started seeing ghosts. I’m not sure why this happened, but it’s a distinct possibility that you too may be able to see some of the other side. I’ll be back in the country in a week’s time. I would be happy to guide you through this. It can be a curse or a gift. It’s all how you look at things. In the meanwhile, no driving.”
Alan turned off the recording.
“Well, that explains my hallucination in the hall. I thought it was the drugs. The reason I moved down the corridor a bit was that I saw three drunken women in various modes of undress who were fighting. Actually, I’d say brawling.”
“I bet there’s a story there,” Alan said.
Father Simon looked at Alan in amazement. “This doesn’t faze you does it?”
“After you rid your girlfriend of a negative elemental while trying to keep the car from plunging into an icy river, nothing really is that frightening.”
“Why can’t I drive?” Jesse asked.
“Mia spent years driving around ghosts, causing more problems. She eventually figured out how to tell the difference. She taught Tom,” Alan answered.
“Why am I like this?”
“Can I answer that?” Father Simon asked.
“Please,” Alan said.
“Stephen Murphy is pure energy, and he transferred some of that energy into your body. It acts like a special key to unlock the next veil.”
“Speaking of keys… What happened to them?”
“Cid has them. I gave them to him myself,” Father Simon answered. “The prayer beads had an energy to them.”
“Mala beads. They were a gift from someone who thought she could save me from myself.”
“There is energy still there. There must have been a lot of love attached,” Father Simon said.
“Unfortunately, my baggage far outweighed the love,” Jesse divulged.
“Did she move on?” Alan asked.
“In a manner of speaking. She went to the Roof of the World and either is still there, dead, or she never intends on returning – to me anyway.”
“Tibet is called the Roof of the World,” Alan realized. “I think we know people who could find out for you.”
“Thanks for the offer, but she made it very clear she wouldn’t be waiting for me, not on Earth and certainly not in the light.”
“You must have really pissed her off, Scrub,” Kiki said from the doorway.
“Enter Miss Congeniality,” Jesse said. “Kiki, you always manage to make me feel like an overdrawn checking account.”
“Some of us are talented that way. Gentlemen, I received a phone call from Congressman Atwater’s assistant. He will be at the mansion in two hours and expects me there.”
“Don’t go,” Father Simon said. “If the negative elemental is in residence, there is little I or Father Santos can do to protect you.”
“I’ll try to meet with him outside or in the carriage house,” Kiki said.
“Bridgeton was possessed,” Jesse said. “If he’s around, I expect old August to stay with him. No offense, but if he’s going to toss more keys, Kiki, you throw like a girl.”
“I consider that a compliment,” Kiki said, her eyes sharp.
“I think we’re going a bit off script,” Alan said. “I’ll be with her. Folks, I think we need to get a handle on this so we can do the right thing.”
“Agreed. Father Simon, see if you find me something to wear,” Jesse said. “What clothes I have that haven’t been cut off are soaking wet.”
“You’re staying here,” Kiki said. “I don’t want Wayne alone. His doctor says he suspects Wayne’s skull is cracked. If you leave, he’s going to leave.”
“Not if I take his clothes,” Jesse said, pulling off his nasal cannula.
“Mr. Holden!” a very large male nurse scolded, walking in. “You put that back and settle down or I’m going to recommend having you strapped in.”
Jesse lay back and crossed his arms, which took some doing, considering the IV and the other monitors.
“You may develop a lung infection. Pneumonia isn’t abnormal considering you drowned. The EMTs said you took in a lot of water.”
“It was icy cold. It was like inhaling an Icee. Talk about brain freeze,” Jesse said.
“Your brain has been frozen for years,” Kiki said.
“Your heart stopped,” the nurse reminded him. “It’s a miracle it started again. Let us do our jobs.”
Jesse frowned. “I’m sorry…” he looked at the man’s name badge, “Bernie, it’s just I’m missing out on so much.”
“I’m sure, considering your friends, you’ll have more adventures ahead of you. Get well first. I’m sending Dr. Crisper in for your psych evaluation. You’ll get a kick out of her.”
“Psych evaluation?” Jesse paled.
“Standard protocol for suicides.”
“But…”
“Bernie, I assure you Jesse didn’t try to kill himself,” Kiki stressed.
“Didn’t he go walking on a thawing lake?” Bernie asked.
“I wasn’t there. I’m sure he had a good reason,” Kiki said.
“Not one I can talk about in front of non-believers,” Jesse said.
Father Simon got up.
“Father, tell him,” Jesse pleaded.
“I’m sure a little talk with a head shrinker will do you good,” Father Simon said. “Maybe the doctor can shrink your ego too. I’m going to go back and see if Father Santos can use my help.”
Kiki followed the priest out. Alan waited a beat and said, “For what it’s worth, I thought you were heroic.”
“Thanks. Tell the guys, I appreciate them saving my butt.”
“I will,” Alan said and walked out the door.
Jesse found himself alone in the room. He didn’t like to be managed by Kiki, but he knew he wasn’t 100%. He’d just be a liability. Cid needed clear heads and healthy bodies.
His door opened, and a stunning brunette holding a clipboard walked in.
Jesse thought, please be Dr. Crisper, please be Dr. Crisper.
“I’m looking for a Jesse Holden?”
“I’m he.”
“I’m Dr. Crisper. I see your roommate is absent. Would you mind us chatting in here?”
