by Alexie Aaron
“The subject has come up,” she said sleepily.
Her voice stirred Ted. “I just wanted you to know that you have twenty years and one day, no more.”
“I’ll put it on my calendar,” Mia said in an odd voice.
“Are you still in the bathtub?”
“No. I was trying to sleep.”
“What’s keeping you awake?”
“Right now, you.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be, I woke you earlier. Tell you what. I’ll tell you a bedtime story.”
“Should I go and put a sock on my door?”
“Not that kind of story, honestly,” Mia giggled.
“Okay, go ahead.”
“Once upon a time there was a knight. He was tall, strong and mighty. He met a lady in waiting who he thought was of the highest caliber. They took many walks together through the gardens and into the woods. Each held each other in the highest regard. One day the knight noticed a tear in the hem of her immaculate gown. She noticed tarnish on his gleaming armor. Suddenly the spell lifted, and they saw each other as they were.”
“Did they live happily ever after?” Ted asked.
“I’ll answer that in twenty years and one day. Good night, Teddy Bear,” Mia said and hung up the phone.
He puzzled over the story. Was she talking about him and her? Or was it Whitney who she was seeing the blemishes in? Burt and she had not survived the tear and tarnish. Was she warning him that she was not all that he thought she was? His eyes were wide open when it came to Mia Cooper. He saw her vulnerability along with her strengths. He admired her gifts and bore her no ill will that she had to travel a different path at times. He wanted to protect her but knew that in doing so, he would smother the spark that fueled her energy. All he could do right now was be there for her. He would have to be patient, and maybe he would be rewarded and maybe not. Either way Mia was worth the wait.
Chapter Sixteen
Beth pounded the keys typing up her research. She didn’t hear the first couple of raps on her door. “Coming,” she called as the knocking became insistent. She peeked through the viewer and saw Ted and Cid standing there. She took off the chain and opened the door. “Morning! You are not going to believe what I’ve found out.”
“Morning to you too. Are you hungry, because we are going across the street to have some pancakes,” Ted informed her.
Beth fought the urge to leave, but the information she had found called to her. “Can you bring me something back? I’m on the trail of something, and I want to see it through.”
“Sure thing. Coffee?”
“Lots, and I don’t mean your special Java Juice. I want to save my stomach lining,” Beth informed the protesting tech.
“Hey, that’s your business. Lightweight. Later,” Ted said, and he and the silent Cid left.
Beth dismissed the two the second she drew the chain. She was already back into a story of betrayal that was so great it was still being told today.
~
Mia had just finished clearing the snow from her drive and the end of her street when she saw the familiar PEEPs van pull onto the apron before her security fence. She waved them in as she opened the gate.
“Do I have to circle the van with salt?” Ted asked.
“Did you drive by the graveyard?”
“No,” Ted said as if that was the last thing on earth he would do.
“Cool beans, then the answer is no. Come on in. I have Ralph’s machine armed and waiting for your magic touch.”
Cid gave Ted an odd look.
“She was given this expensive espresso machine that she doesn’t like to use. Swears it spits at her every time she tries,” he explained to Cid.
“Maybe it’s calibrated wrong,” Cid suggested.
“Mia’s calibrated wrong. She has a different magnetic field than us mere mortals,” Ted pointed out.
The two men walked single file on the cleared and salted walk to the door. Mia had the storm door shut but unlatched. As they stepped inside, the aroma of baking cookies filled their nostrils.
“Oh my god!” Ted exclaimed. “Mia’s baking cookies. She makes the best cookies. It makes up for her inability to cook most everything else.”
“Thanks for the compliment, I think?” Mia said as she walked by them carrying clean sheets headed for the guestroom.
“Expecting guests?” Ted asked.
“Nah, just cleaning the linen. Help yourselves to java, cookies and I fried some sausage, but it doesn’t resemble sausage much, more like dried out Frisbees. Think of it as jerky,” she said over her shoulder and disappeared into the guestroom.
Cid took off his glasses and cleared the fog from the lenses. He put them back on and was awestruck by the scenery. Mia had the blinds pulled back to bring in the morning sun. The lake dominated the view with its thin blue ice layer that had been sugared with the recent snow. The wind was pushing it into drifts. He forced himself to look at the room before him. He liked the mix of fancy and casual. A large French reproduction desk dominated one side of the room. It was balanced by a table of similar style, soft comfortable couches and chairs filled the spaces in between. “Nice digs.”
“It was recently redecorated by one of Mia’s godfathers,” Ted explained.
Cid turned around and looked into the kitchen which was open to the great room and separated by a white marble counter. On the counter Mia had set out a few batches of cookies. Ted was playing Mr. Wizard with the coffee machine, and soon it was producing the strong aroma of coffee. He pulled up a stool and sat down and grabbed a handful of cookies.
Mia came out of the room. She was dressed in jeans and a soft green cashmere sweater. Her thickly-socked feet were jammed in moccasins. Cid noticed the boots at the door and assumed the slippers were a temporary thing.
“That’s me done with chores. What’s he serving?” Mia nodded her head towards Ted.
“Don’t know, but I did hear him ask if you had any eye of newt,” Cid teased.
Mia laughed and climbed onto the stool next to him. “Hey, barkeep, how long until we have…” She stopped talking as Ted turned around holding three cups of steamy froth-covered espressos. “I’m in heaven.”
Ted smiled and set the cups down. He pulled a stool around the island into the kitchen and sat down facing Mia and Cid. He picked up a cookie and just about swallowed it whole. “I’m in heaven now too. You really have got to be the best baker I know.”
Mia blushed. Cid noticed that she displayed a shyness that she didn’t have yesterday. He wondered what happened in the night to make her this way.
“I was hoping,” he began, “that I could borrow your truck and tools today?”
“Fine with me. I can catch a ride in with Ted.”
“My chariot awaits you, fair lady.”
Mia blushed again. “Thank you.” She turned to Cid. “Unless you need help at the house?”
“Do you think there are any more of those wormy things there?” he asked.
“Doubtful,” Mia said seriously.
“Then I’ll be alright. I heard from your boss that I’m to bring every scrap of wood back to the farm.”
“Ted’s boss, I’m a consultant.”
“Oh, what’s the difference?”
“He gets paid.”
“I’m trying to fix that. Mike agrees with me and Burt’s not opposed.”
“But there’s Beth,” Mia said and sighed.
“I don’t understand?” Cid asked.
“May I?” Ted asked Mia.
She nodded and gnawed off a piece of sausage and stuck it in her mouth.
“Beth in recent months seemed to have developed a crush on yours truly. I’m not interested, and she is taking out her rejection on Mia. She thinks that she has seduced me away from her. Mia, who I wish was interested in me, hint hint, has done nothing wrong. But Burt is hesitant to bring up the discussion of bringing Mia in full time with Beth. He doesn’t like conflict. Beth is a hell of a good resear
cher, and he doesn’t want to lose her.”
“Is she that good?” Cid questioned.
“She’s that good,” Mia replied.
“Okay, since the subject is out. Did you seduce Ted?”
Mia blushed. “Not intentionally.”
“Have you two knocked boots?”
“No,” they both said at once. Ted’s no was tinged with sadness, Mia’s colored in avoidance.
“Mia’s got a boyfriend,” Ted pointed out.
“Is it serious?” Cid asked Mia.
“You mean are we going steady or fiancés?”
“Well, yes.”
“No, we’re taking it slow.”
“Okay, forgive me this last question, but I’m in favor of getting all the unsaid things out in the open,” Cid prepared them.
A honking outside interrupted their conversation. Mia hopped off the stool and looked out the door. “It’s Whit,” she explained. She picked up her cell phone, chose an app and accessed the gate.
Ted remained where he was. Cid couldn’t read whether he was relieved they were interrupted or upset. He had set his face in tech mode. Mia’s hands shook a bit with whatever emotion she was feeling.
She waited until Whit’s car cleared the gate and shut it behind him. She turned to the two of them and said, “Try to act natural, the cop’s here.”
Whit took in the PEEPs van and realized he could be walking into a nest of them. He set his shoulders and strode confidently to the house. Mia greeted him at the door. Her kiss was brief and missed his mouth. Not a good sign. He kicked the snow off his boots before he followed her inside. He smelled cookies and coffee. “Lord, something smells good.” Then the burnt smell of meat filtered in. “Honey, did you try cooking sausage again?”
Mia hit him on the arm and directed him to the kitchen. He turned the corner and acknowledged Ted with a nod of the head. Ted saluted him.
“Whit, this is Cid Garret. He’s a good friend of Ted’s. Cid, Whitney Martin,” Mia introduced them.
Whit grabbed Cid’s hands a bit too forcefully and was met with an iron grip. This four-eyed geek wasn’t a push over.
Cid took in the man’s looks and couldn’t help but compare him to his friend. They shared a last name but couldn’t have been more different. The Martin gene pool Whit came from gave him blonde, blue-eyed movie star looks, while Ted’s gave him a face full of character. Ted’s auburn hair was thick and tended to curl when it got too long. Cid found his neighbor to be smart and funny. Cid had yet to see Whit’s smarts or personality. He would reserve his judgment until that time.
“Can I get you a coffee?” Ted asked. “We’ve been enjoying the juice of the espresso bean.”
“I’ll pass. I’m on the way to the dentist. I have to get my teeth cleaned.” He flashed Ted a toothy smile. Cid looked at his teeth, and if Whit were a horse, he’d buy him. “I just thought I’d stop by and ask if you wanted me to pick up anything for you while I was in town?”
“I’m good. Thanks for stopping. I’ll walk you out.” Mia grabbed a coat and exchanged her slippers for boots. She stopped a moment and walked back, grabbed a baggy and stuffed a few cookies into it. “For the road,” she explained.
Cid moved quickly to his feet and watched her walk to the car. The two of them appeared to be having a heated discussion. He felt Ted move behind him to watch the two lovers. “Trouble in paradise, my friend.”
“Nah, he’s just the jealous sort. He’s more worried about you than me. I’m just the geeky friend. You are the unknown element. He probably was driving by and saw the van and thought that Burt was here. Mia and Burt were an item before she and he hooked up,” Ted explained.
“Is he a good guy?”
“Burt?”
“Whitney,” Cid clarified.
“He’s got a great personality. I do believe he loves Mia. Unfortunately, early last year we all saw a side to him that has me worried. He lost his temper, and it was scary. Of course his wife had just been killed, and we were fighting demons. Hey, I try not to hold it against the man.”
“But you want his woman.”
“Hell yes.”
“He’s a cop with a temper, and you’re hitting on his property.”
“At least six times a day.”
“He doesn’t see you as competition?”
“Not that I can tell.”
“Ghost hunting is a dangerous business,” Cid commented dryly.
“Not for the weak at heart,” Ted said and patted his friend on the back. “Come on, let’s give them some privacy. People can tell when you’re staring at them. How about another Ted java juice special?”
“I don’t care that it’s inconvenient, it’s my job,” Mia said in defense of her not being able to spend Whit’s night off with him.
“Seems to me that you’re not getting paid for your time.”
“That’s changing. Burt promised to…”
“Burt Hicks’s promises aren’t worth the weight he’s put on.”
“That’s unkind and very unlike you,” Mia said and stamped her foot. “Not everyone was born with perfect Ken doll DNA.”
“You realize you’re defending your old boyfriend don’t you?”
Mia scrunched up her face. “I guess I am. Just get the fuck out of here before I start comparing you two in bed,” Mia threatened.
Whit’s eyes flashed but quickly calmed down. “Sorry, I just wanted to surprise you, and I find you over your limit in men.”
Mia looked up at Whit and willed a smile on her face. “I told you. The only man you have to worry about is Murphy.”
“Where is the asshole these days?”
“Tracking Indians, last I saw.”
“Native Americans, Mia,” he corrected. “Us law enforcement professionals have to go to special classes to learn the proper way to speak to and about an individual of diversity,” he said smugly.
“Well, you better get your rear in gear, Mister Cop, or you’ll be late for the dentist.”
“My next night off is in a week. Do you think you can manage to save the world by then?”
“I’ll try. There’s always booty calls,” Mia said and reached up and kissed him.
“You make me feel so cheap,” he teased and returned her kiss. He got in his car, and Mia let him out the gate. She watched as he drove off, taking a moment to compose herself.
Chapter Seventeen
Mia pointed out the book of county maps behind the seat of the truck to Cid before he left. “Most of the roads out here aren’t marked, but they are on this map. Call if you get lost.”
“Will do. Thanks, Mia, for the loan. I owe you one.”
“Cool beans. I’ll be sure to collect,” she said and shut his door.
He backed out of the drive and onto the street. He watched her get into the van beside Ted. Cid really wanted to help his friend out but feared he may have set him up for one uncomfortable ride.
Ted backed out the van and stopped the car, waiting for the gate to close. “Mia,” he started. “We may have to table our mad sex-filled afternoon until this investigation is closed.”
Mia laughed. Leave it to Ted to use humor to get them both out of having to discuss their feelings. “I’m disappointed. I wore my best underwear too.”
Ted groaned.
“How about I tell you about what I caught Murphy doing last night?”
“Do tell.”
“He was tracking a party of… Native Americans. Murph was beyond his tether. He was barely visual.”
“Did you see the Indians?”
Mia raised her eyebrows disapprovingly.
“Oh come on, they were Indians to us as kids. I meant no disrespect,” Ted defended himself.
Mia felt a bit guilty as she had made the same mistake earlier and was called on it. “I know you didn’t. I saw several. One of them looked familiar. It pulled me into a vision, and I had to stop the truck,” she admitted.
“Did you pass out?” Ted asked with concern.
“No. The images horrified me. I suspect they came from the bunch of memories Angelo parked in my brain.”
“Can you tell me about them?”
“I’ll try. I saw a hillside with women and children lying slaughtered on the ground. They were dressed in skins. Blood flowed from their bodies in such great quantity that a small stream of blood oozed down the hill and pooled at my feet.”
“I’m sorry you have that in your head, Minnie Mouse.”
“There was more.”
“Go on.”
“I saw the bodies tied to trees. Skins wrapped their bodies. I saw men tying them to the trees at their heads and feet. It wasn’t torture. They were already dead.”
“That’s odd, go on.”
“I felt myself being tied to the tree facing them. I was still alive. I instructed the others I came with to leave me there.”
“A sacrifice or a punishment?” Ted asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Why do you think Gwen was born with these visions?”
“It could be as simple as DNA. Somewhere in her genetics she is related to the viewer of the atrocities or has been in contact with him or her.”
“You mean it could have been a woman?”
“I didn’t get a feeling of gender either way. I’m also no longer mad at Angelo. I understand why I was given the memories.”
“Why?”
“I can handle them. Maybe I will be able to use them to figure out what the DTDs want. Gwen is too young. She has no basis of comparison. To her, they are just pictures. To me, they have meaning. Or will have meaning when we figure them out.”
“Sometimes it sucks to be you,” Ted said.
“Yes, but the good outweighs the bad. I would have never met you or the others if it weren’t for my gifts.”
“So, I’m a good thing.”
“Oh, definitely,” Mia said. She watched him smile. Funny thing about Ted, she thought, was that he looked handsome when he was serious too. She admired the way he was comfortable in his skin. It was a quality she would like to develop in regards to herself. Too much of her youth she had been picked on to build any self-esteem.
