by Alexie Aaron
She heard a creak as an older boy stepped into the room. He walked up and pushed one of the boys aside and grabbed the toy men and said, “No! These are mine. You have your own toys. Baby toys because you are babies!”
The pushed child began to cry, and the boy slapped him before kicking at the other twin on his way out. The two little lads moved close to each other and whispered words that Mia could not make out. She got the idea they were comforting each other. The vision dimmed and Mia opened her eyes.
“Thank you. I will put you back now,” she said as she carefully rose. It wasn’t until after she had placed the doll upon the changing table, that she realized that her face was covered in tears. She wiped at them with the end of her sweater. “I understand.”
The doll closed its eyes, and Mia left the room.
~
Beth was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. “Shall we test out our theory?”
Mia knew that Beth wanted to communicate with the woman that rocked in the chair. She had tried to explain earlier that she wasn’t able to do what Sabine was so good at, communication-wise. She could only take in what the ghost wanted her to see, not what the ghost was thinking. But Beth thought if they could pin down this ghost’s past, then the PEEPs team could work out how to help them and, in turn, their clients. “I can’t promise anything, but let’s give it a try.”
Beth smiled, took her hand and squeezed it. They walked into the living room and over to the rocker. It sat still, the e-book charging on the table beside it. Mia walked over and dragged a dining room chair away from the table. Beth followed her example, and they placed the chairs so Grandma would be able to look at them without raising her orb-less eyes. Beth placed her recording devices out around the rocker before settling in. She handed Mia a photocopy of the family tree, pointing to a name. She nodded to Mia to begin.
“Anneliese, I wonder if you would have time to talk to me and my friend Beth. I don’t want to interrupt your reading time. I understand how precious it is to you.” Mia stopped, and the girls were silent for a while. She briefly glanced at the family tree before continuing, “I had a nice visit with your grandsons, Erdmut and Garrit. They don’t talk much, but they were happily playing with Klaus’s tin solders.”
The rocker shuddered slightly as if someone sat down.
“Klaus doesn’t like to share much, does he, Anneliese?”
Mia saw an old woman start to take form. Beth didn’t flinch so Mia assumed that only she could see the apparition presently. “I understand you like to read. Did you read to the twins? They sure love nursery rhymes.”
The woman smiled at a pleasant memory. She wore a simple gown, cut more for ease of old bones than fashion. A cap of white hair crowned her head. Wispy strands fought the braids in which they were contained before they were wrapped around the crown of the woman’s head. She had no eyes. Mia wondered if this was how Anneliese saw herself or if this was the condition she was in when she died.
The chair began to rock. The slow movement brought out a low creak. Anneliese sat there with her arthritic hands in her lap. She looked at Beth and back to Mia.
“This is my friend Elizabeth Bouvier, and I am Mia Cooper. She can’t see you presently so please excuse her lack of attention. She doesn’t realize she is being rude.”
Beth’s head snapped up, and she gazed at the back of the chair as if she could see the woman. “I’m sorry, Grandma,” she blurted and realized her mistake.
The old woman raised an eyebrow but returned it and smiled again.
“She takes no offence, Beth,” Mia informed her.
“Can I ask you a few questions?” Beth asked meekly.
Mia looked at Anneliese who nodded. “Go ahead.”
“We, the people who have been in this house the last few days, were asked to come here and see if we could help. Mia came to help us out. She can see things we can’t,” she explained. “How can we help you?”
Anneliese’s fingers moved in her clasped hands. She looked at Mia and held out a hand.
“She wants me to take her hand.”
“Take it if you want to. I’ll pull you away if I think you’re in trouble,” Beth said excitedly.
Mia pushed down the feeling of revulsion and got up and walked the few steps to the chair. She knelt down and put her hand out.
Anneliese took the hand of the corporal tiny woman and pulled her into her lap. She began to rock this small human to calm her as if she were a child.
Mia settled into Grandma’s arms and opened her eyes.
Gone was Beth, and Marjorie’s house, and in its stead was a parlor adorned with floral wallpaper. There was a horsehair settee settled in between two casement windows with lace curtains. The curtains moved with a breeze that was reminiscent of the scent Mia had picked up from the twins’ room. She turned her head and peered out the window and caught the image of a flowering bush. “It must be spring,” Mia thought.
There was the sound of footfalls, and Mia looked up to see two little boys descending the stairs. They moved quickly to the chair. One put his head on Grandma’s lap, and the other stood at her side. They shyly looked at their grandmother without making eye contact.
“Now what are you two scamps up to? Did I not just put you to bed?”
The standing twin brought a book out from behind his back and handed it to Anneliese.
“Another story?” she asked them, knowing the answer. “One last story, but you daresn’t get out of bed again.” She rose and Mia moved with her, feeling the swish of her skirts as she climbed the stairs after the boys. The book wasn’t the tome she had Beth copy but another colorfully illustrated children’s tale. As she approached the nursery, Anneliese called, “Klaus, I’m going to read a story to Erdmut and Garrit, come in and enjoy this tale.”
“Baby stories,” a young male voice growled from an adjacent room.
“You could bring one of your adventure stories. I’m sure the boys would love to hear you read to them,” suggested the indulgent grandmother.
“They can’t talk, they’re idiots,” Klaus said, peering his head around the corner, watching his grandmother tuck each child into their small beds. “How are those meatheads supposed to understand river rafts and mountain climbing?”
“You’re too hard on them. They understand, they just can’t tell us what they understand,” Anneliese said walking over to the boy. She reached out and ruffled his black hair. “Be kind to those who do not have what you have, Klaus.”
The boy’s face darkened. “You and ma are always catering to those mumblers,” he spat. “Father says that they will have to be put away if they don’t straighten up.”
Grandma shook her head sadly as she watched the boy retreat into his room. She turned back to the twins. “Don’t pay him no mind. I know you’re smart. You take after your Grandmother.” She smiled and the boys smiled back, not exactly meeting her eyes.
The story was read, and Mia watched through Anneliese’s eyes as the two little boys’ eyes closed and Garrit began to snore. Mia’s heart pulled at the scene of innocence and felt the love of the older woman for her grandsons.
The woman gently closed the nursery door and walked over and tapped lightly on Klaus’s. “Are you sleeping?” she asked gently.
The door opened, and Klaus stood there decked out in his nightclothes and slippers. “Good night, Grandmother,” he said stiffly.
Anneliese bent down and placed a kiss on her eldest grandchild’s head. “Goodnight, Klaus, may your dreams be filled with adventure.”
“Thank you,” he said gruffly.
As they were talking, Mia took in what she could see of the child’s room from Grandma’s position in the doorway. There was a more substantial bed and a desk by the window at the far wall. A few boy trophies were encased in fluid on top of the sill. A dead frog floated in dark water in a jar made for canning. A bird lay on a piece of sanded wood with pins securing its wing in a death flight. She saw several candles in various states
of use, their melted wax flowing down into pools at the base of a hastily covered project protected from sight on the desktop by a linen napkin.
“Remember to blow out your candles before you retire and put out the gas light,” Anneliese said, ignoring the irritated look that Klaus was giving her. She left him, and Mia watched the boy’s face change from obedience to mischief as the woman’s back was turned.
She traveled with Anneliese back to the rocker and saw her pick up a book and settle in for the night’s watch. Mia got the idea that this grandma was babysitting the boys upstairs. She didn’t hear any other people in the house. The only sound now was the dry rasp of pages turning and the squeak of the rocking chair.
After a while the air smelled different. Gone were the fragrant blooms. They were replaced with an acrid smoke. Anneliese tried to rise but fell back into the chair and began to lose consciousness, a sleep brought from the smoke that poured down the stairs. She heard a set of slippers run by her towards the kitchen, but she couldn’t move. She started coughing and fought to regain consciousness. Her mind screamed “Wake… Wake… WAKE UP!” over and over, but her lungs burned and she had no strength left.
Mia couldn’t breathe. She fought Grandma’s arms and struggled to regain her own mind. She heard screams, hers, no, Beth’s. Strong arms pulled her from the chair, and she felt herself being carried roughly from the house. She struggled to open her eyes, but all her strength was occupied in the business of breathing.
“Come on, Mia,” she heard Burt’s voice, felt his hands on her. She was falling down a well, and just before she hit bottom, a hand reached in and pulled her out. “Murph?” she said as she opened her eyes.
“No. It’s Burt, honey.”
Her eyes focused and she smiled. “Hello, Burt.”
He smiled down at her. Behind him were several other faces, Beth’s and two little old ladies. She felt the dry prickling of sod and got the idea that she was laying on the front lawn of Marjorie’s house.
“Is she alright, young man?” one of the gray haired, house-coated women asked.
“Should I call 9-1-1?” the other lady asked.
“I’m fine,” Mia said trying to get up. “Where am I?”
“Drugs, shameful,” one of them chided.
“Burt, tell them I’m not on drugs, please,” Mia asked, coughing out the smoke of Anneliese’s death.
“Ladies,” Beth started. “I’m Elizabeth Bouvier, and we are investigating a possible gas leak.” She pulled out some devices from her pockets. “Let’s go over to your houses and make sure your homes are fine.”
Mia looked up at Burt who faced away from the elderly women. He smiled with pride at the approach Beth was taking. “Go ahead, Miss Bouvier, I will take Miss Cooper here into the trailer and get her some oxygen.”
The women bought the story, and they pointed out where they lived to Beth. Beth played her part and turned on the little handheld machines and let the women watch as she scanned the street as they crossed it.
Burt helped her up and then back into his arms. He carried her into the trailer and down to the bedroom and set her on the bed. He sat next to her and said sternly, “There has to be a better way. No more of this shit!”
Mia reached a hand up, “I love you too, Burt.”
“Mia, you had us pissing our pants,” Ted said in her ear. “You should see the footage. Mike’s grooming himself for Hollywood. “
Mia laughed and pulled her earpiece out and handed it to Burt. “You were talking about giving me some oxygen?”
Burt’s face lit up, “Now?”
She could see his torn emotions. Making love to her or proceeding with a hot house full of activity.
“Don’t worry, I’m just joking.”
Burt seemed relieved and disappointed at the same time. “It’s because I’m not Murphy, isn’t it?”
Mia laughed heartily which eased the pride of her boyfriend. Her laugh convinced Burt, but it was far from convincing Mia. “I need a shrink,” she thought to herself.
Chapter Twenty-four
Gerald walked Sabine’s visitors out of the building and stood sentinel while Brian was being lifted into the van via the steel cage. He listened in on Holly’s thoughts as she struggled not to do everything herself. He admired this young woman but mourned the loss of her youth because of her active participation in the care of her brother. He didn’t often meet them, but when he came across people of Holly’s caliber, he made a note to put good things in the way of them. It was his way of tickling karma.
“Thank you for seeing us out, Mister Shem,” Holly said, holding out her hand.
“It was my pleasure,” he said, taking her hand in his. May this not be the last time we meet young lady.” He gave her a warm heartfelt smile which she returned. “I know Brian will do what he wants to, but I would dissuade him from bi-location for a while. My contacts haven’t got a firm line on Sabine’s captor yet. I am worried he will seek retaliation.”
“I’m sure if I explain that it would put Sabine in danger, my brother will forgo his afternoon strolls.”
The driver walked around and opened the passenger door for Holly. She smiled again before climbing into the transport.
Gerald’s phone rang as the van pulled away from the curb. He looked at the caller ID and smiled. “Angelo, please tell me you have good news.”
~
They waited until Beth came back from her cover-up activities. She brought with her a pineapple upside-down cake. She insisted they cut the treat and eat off of plates with plastic ware, which drove Ted crazy as he was all set to grab a chunk out with his hand. They sat grouped around the big viewer while Ted ran the tape.
Mia saw herself yanked like a rag doll into the chair where she struggled and then sat still, her legs over an armrest for a while. The chair continued to rock. A few moments later she started gasping for air. She looked like she was having a fit. Burt arrived and pulled her from the chair.
“How long was that?” Mia asked.
“Ten minutes by the computer clock, why?” Mike asked.
“Because it felt like hours had passed.”
“What happened,” he asked, producing a digital microphone and turning it on.
Mia related all that had happened to her under Grandma Hofmann’s influence. The group was spellbound at her telling. “It seemed to fit in somehow with what I got from the twins upstairs.”
“How so?” Mike asked in a professional manner.
“My impression is that the twins were damaged in some way, perhaps autistic, Asperger’s, something along those lines. The older brother was brutally jealous and took out his anger on them physically. They were lovingly cared for, but they had no way of communicating what was happening to them. Our Grandma was fair and cordial to the elder boy as much as she was indulgent with the little ones. You know the type, fair to all, no favorites. The night of the fire, the elder boy did have candles burning in his room even though the house was equipped with gas lighting. This is just my gut feeling, but I think he had something to do with the fire. Although, did he set it deliberately? I don’t know. I heard him run to the kitchen. Could he have been going for water? Maybe.”
“He was the only survivor of the fire according to the family bible,” Beth interjected. “You were screaming ‘wake up!’ Why?”
“Actually, that was Anneliese. She was trying to wake herself up in order to save the boys. When Marjorie thought she was trying to tell her to wake up to see what a cheating lying son of a bitch George was, in reality it was Grandma trying to tell her that she herself couldn’t wake up.”
“Do you think she was blamed for their deaths?” Mike asked.
Mia shrugged her shoulders and looked to Beth.
“I will put it on my list of things to ask George’s father when I see him tomorrow.” Beth dutifully copied down the question. “Anything else to ask him?”
“What happen to Klaus? Did the original house burn down? Were the bodies recovered? Those kin
ds of things,” Burt listed.
“Beth, I hate to put more on your plate, but the symbols in book and the walls, do you have any take on them?” Mike asked.
Beth brightened up and said, “Actually, I did have a breakthrough. Well, not me, it was Ted. He pointed out that one of the symbols appeared on the clothing of a boy in a nursery rhyme.”
“Cool,” Mia said in awe. “Which one?”
Ted turned around and recited, “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick…”
Mia jumped to her feet and spat, “That fucking little bastard!” She turned and ran into the house. Burt followed her, and the other three watched, via the cameras, her run full speed through the house followed by Burt, armed with Little Susie. “She’s going into the nursery,” Ted announced as they saw Mia cross in front of the camera and pull the book from the shelf. She flipped through and found the rhyme. She opened the book and held it up to the light from the closet.
“Did Klaus make you jump over burning candles?” she asked the room.
“Dudes,” Ted said as they saw the doll’s eyes open and head nod up and down.
“Did he burn you?” Mia’s voice broke.
The book’s pages in her hand began flipping. They stopped at “Ring around the Rosy.”
“Ashes to ashes…” Mia cried, sinking to her knees.
The book flipped more pages and stopped. Mia read, “Lady bug, lady bug.”
Beth grabbed her laptop and found the rhyme, reading along as Mia continued, “Your house is on fire and your children are gone, All except one and that’s little Ann, For she crept under the frying pan.”
“Anneliese is that Ann,” Beth pointed out.
Mia set the book down. The doll moved its hands, encouraging Mia to pick it up.
“Mia, you have been through enough tonight,” Burt said, stopping her.
The closet doors burst open, and the nails on the top shelf were all pointed his way.
