by Alexie Aaron
Ted heard them before Mia saw the old woman and the kicking bad boy move through the lowland mist up the hill towards the consecrated site. Behind her were Erdmut and Garrit. Behind them was a watchful Stephen Murphy. Mia had forgotten the pack on her back in the excitement of the evening. She looked over at Father Santos and prayed that Murphy would remain undetected by the priest.
“Welcome Anneliese, Garrit, Erdmut, and Klaus. The father here would like to offer you a prayer of forgiveness,” Mia said, remembering the order of service Father Santos had used when they interred the bones of her ghost mother all those years ago.
She moved to the Hofmann family who stood huddled together and talked in a low voice, telling them what she could see, “Anneliese is standing with her grandson Klaus. He isn’t happy but seems resigned to being here. The twins are climbing the back of the Millers’ headstones over behind you.”
They turned around, and Mia smiled, watching the boys play. “They aren’t quite sure why they’re here but will do what Grandma says to do. Father Santos is performing a burial service that is used when bones are moved or a body reinterred. The hope is that the children and Grandma will chose to move on. Either way, the items we have brought of the boys will keep them here or within the vicinity of this cemetery. They will no longer be returning to your home. Grandma’s chair is still there so Grandma could return.” Mia handed Marjorie her e-reader. “Thank you, this helped bring her here.”
“Can we say goodbye?” Max asked. “Say a few words?”
Mia’s eyes lit up and her smile sparkled. “Yes of course. The father will indicate the proper time. I am glad you wish to do this.”
“I thought that the twins weren’t properly mourned, and Klaus, well, he is family.”
“I understand. They are very lucky to have you and your sons to continue the line.”
“You know, I love my sons, but I would have loved to have had a few girls running around too. But I have my daughters-in-law who spoil me and put up with my whining.”
Susan and Marjorie smiled and each took a turn and hugged Max.
George looked quietly at the scene before them. He regretted a few of his past actions and wondered if they were his own or if he had been influenced by Klaus’s razor somehow? The priest talked about forgiveness, could his wife forgive him? Would he be able to forgive himself for unleashing the terror on their home by his self-indulgent narcissistic behavior? One step at time. That was what the AA sponsor told him this morning when he attended a meeting with his father this morning.
Mark was a bit puzzled. The last few days he had experienced a few blackouts. He had giant holes in his memory that worried him as he took such pride in not only his memory but in his behavior. Susan seemed to think it had something to do with the hauntings. He hoped she was right.
“Is there anyone that would like to speak before we lay Erdmut , Garrit and Klaus to rest?” Father Santos asked.
Mia saw Max raise his hand and come forward. As he began speaking, she drifted away from the assembled group. She moved quietly away to where Murphy was standing, axe in hand, watching the twins who were now playing peek-a-boo behind the Kliensmiths’ twin monuments of rose-colored stone.
“Now’s your chance. You could head up yonder with the boys.”
Murphy looked over at her and shook his head and said, “No.”
“Okay, it was my duty to ask. I want you to do what you want to do. I would miss you but understand too.”
Murphy smiled at her and pointed towards the group.
Mia looked over and saw that the twins had stopped playing and were moving towards their graves. Klaus stood next to Grandma. He had settled down and no longer seemed to have a need to escape. They were docile. Anneliese looked to the side of her and was watching something Mia could not see.
“Do you see anything?” she asked Murphy.
“No,” he responded. “Watch.”
Erdmut took Garrit’s hand, and he in turn took Anneliese’s. Klaus stared at the trio and at what his Grandmother was watching. She offered her hand, and he grabbed it. The four of them looked at the group and over at Mia and Murphy before walking together towards whatever greeted them. Mia didn’t cry, although she was full of emotion. She spoke up, “They are gone. I believe they all have passed over.”
The Hofmann family turned around and acknowledged her statement. The men hugged their wives and, in turn, their father. Maximillian thanked the PEEPs team. He extended a hand to Father Santos and nodded at Gerald. Mia left Murphy’s side and picked up a spade and began covering the toys at the twins’ grave. She nodded to Ted who was seeing to Klaus’s gravesite. He filled the hole and tapped it down.
Beth put a hand on Mia’s shoulder, and Mia turned around.
“I’m sorry for being so pigheaded earlier,” she began.
Mia waved her off, “Ghost hunting isn’t an exact science, Beth. I am no expert, and, really, neither is Father Santos or his group. Sometimes we have to go with our gut feelings, lead with our hearts and, yes, maybe in my case, use my head more. “
“Do you think they all passed on?”
“The boys, yes, Grandma, I’m not too sure, but she at least made sure the boys were headed in the right direction.”
“How much does the other side influence this side?” Beth asked wistfully.
“Oh, man, to find an answer to that, you would have to ask the father or Angelo if you could get him to talk. I only have my personal experience which is clouded by my human emotions.”
Mike walked up to the girls and gave Beth a big hug. “You did great! I think I have learned a few things tonight.”
Mia backed away and let Beth have her moment. She tapped the earth down and walked over the Anneliese’s monument. She looked down and said, “I hope you find the peace you have wished for.”
“Maybe yes, maybe no,” Father Santos said behind her.
Mia turned around and stared at the man for a few seconds before saying, “Thank you. You have come through again and again for me.”
“No, I have come through for them. The lost ones. You are another story.”
Mia laughed and shrugged.
“I suppose you haven’t convinced that farmer of yours to hit the trail, yet?”
“Actually, I asked him a few minutes ago, told him you were running a pass over four get one free special, and he didn’t bite. I don’t know exactly what he wants, but he is not ready for the great beyond yet.”
“I have a question for you. If you died now, what would be your choice?”
“Whoa, I’m not planning on going. Do you know something I don’t?” she said only half joking. “Okay, for the record I have seen too much hardship and heartbreak caused by lingering spirits, I would probably want to bypass that if I could.”
Father Santos smiled. “I’m not going to lie to you and say I knew you would say that. I’m proud of you for feeling this way, Mia. It’s the only way. It doesn’t matter what your beliefs are. Komal is convinced that there isn’t any god or entity here anymore, that it has moved on. I have to disagree, but, there you go, two beings disagreeing over religion.”
“Age old conflict,” Mia mused. “I hope he will find peace.”
“In time,” the priest assured her.
Gerald walked up and tapped his watch. “Time to get you home, Father. Angelo said you were having too many late nights.” He smiled at Mia and informed her, “Beth says she will call when she needs the trailer to be picked up. I think they’re ready to head back to the house to clean up. I will take possession of the pistols and get them into the right hands before the temporary measures no longer work.”
“I guess this is where we part then.” Mia reached over and hugged Gerald, asking him with her mind, “Burt?”
“He’s not pleased, and he’s sad. I think he’s leaving,” Gerald thought and pulled away to stare in her eyes. “There is more to life than broken hearts, Mia.”
“I know,” she said aloud. “Funny thing is,
it doesn’t hurt like it did with Whitney. Am I becoming callused?”
“You, never,” Gerald said and laughed. “You and Bev share a strong gene, more than this hocus-pocus. You have big hearts. The ability to love more than others. I envy you two.”
“Your heart is big too.”
“Ah, but I can only love one woman, and that is Bev.”
“I hear that there is a pill for that,” Mia teased.
“If there was one, I would have bought the company that made it and razed it to the ground,” he said seriously. “Time to go. Now where did Father Santos wander off to? There he is making nicy-nicy with his number one fan.”
Mia looked over to Ted who was having Beth take some stills of him with the priest. She shook her head as she spotted Murphy behind the two, giving them rabbit ears with his fingers.
“Mia, could I have a talk with you?” Burt said quietly behind her.
“I know you’re leaving. Let’s not make a scene, shall we? I folded up your clothes, and they’re in a box just inside the back door,” Mia said, not turning around. “Mail me the keys or keep them. You’re always welcomed to crash at my place when you are in the area.”
“Won’t you look at me?”
She turned around and stared up at him. She saw the guilt that washed over his face. She reached up and put a comforting hand alongside his cheek. “We had a good run, Burt. We are too similar in some ways, and way too different in others. I have enjoyed my time with you.”
“I’m surprised you don’t want to talk about it.”
“In a graveyard in the middle of the night? No, I think I’ll pass. Write me an email if it makes you feel better. I will deal with this the only way I know how. Discussing things to death doesn’t work for me. I am what I am. I thought you, of all people, could accept me as I am. And to give you credit, you have for the most part. I am very useful with my gifts. But with the gifts come a lot of independence and craziness. A lot to handle if you are trying to make a career for yourself.”
“I see you’ve thought a lot about this,” Burt said, reaching down and hugging her. “I’m not going away forever. I will still call you.”
“Do me a favor. Lose my number for a while. I’m not made of stone,” Mia said and pulled away from his grasp. She walked quickly away, aware of the looks the team was giving each other.
Ted met her at the truck. “I’ve put away the tools,” he explained. “Um, I’m going to hang around for a few days. I though you could use a hand with Murphy’s tomb.”
She looked up at the tech and smiled sadly. “I would like that, Ted. I’ve never built one before.”
“Me either. But I’m sure we can find information on the internet. I can find anything on the internet.”
“I bet you can. Give me a call tomorrow. Not too early. I’m going to sleep in.”
“You’re not the only one, dudette.” Ted reached over and gave her a hug and patted her on the back. “Hang in there. Maybe Burt will get his head out of his ass.”
“Don’t count on it. It appears to be wedged in pretty tight,” Mia said flippantly and climbed in the truck. She pushed the sack off her back and settled into the seat. Ted closed the truck’s door, and Mia rolled down the window.
“Is Murphy with you?” he asked in hushed tones.
“I hope so because if he’s not, he’s walking home,” Mia said and started the truck. She moved carefully past Ted and the Hofmanns who were walking back to Max’s sedan.
Once she hit the open road she started to feel better. She looked in her rear view mirror, swore, pulled over and stopped.
She jumped out of the truck and started cussing. “Get the hell out of my truck. Bloody hell, I’m not the public transit system!” She watched as the hitchhikers she picked up in the graveyard left the back of her vehicle. Some of them saluted her with gestures learned from the teenagers that frequented the secluded place to party. She scrambled in the back and took out a box of salt and shook it all over the bed of the truck. “Murphy if you’re around you better get inside before it fills up.”
She got in the truck again, slammed the door and drove off, the truck’s tires spitting gravel in her wake. Murphy appeared beside her. He pushed his hat back and commented, “Tough shit.”
“You said it. Tough shit,” Mia repeated as she sped through the night, headed for home.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Mia worked side-by-side with Ted. They dug a foundation around the small collapsed icehouse. He helped her to pour the concrete and set the first layer of cement blocks. They talked about everything except her and Burt. Mia was fine with that. She learned all about Ted’s torturous years waiting tables at a steak restaurant while he saved for electronics school. Mia laughed at some of his antics and he at hers. She gathered that he had a crush on Beth, but Mia having just recently bit the dust with a working relationship didn’t push him to make a declaration or commitment to the young researcher.
This morning before she left to meet Ted at the brickyard, she received a FedEx package containing opera tickets. It was a reminder that she hadn’t mentioned her breakup with Burt to Ralph or Bernard. She knew better than to ask Ted to the opera and kept quiet about her dilemma.
Ted’s phone went off. The ringtone blared the trumpeted fanfare to the Star Wars Theme. It echoed through the woods long after he answered it. “Dude,” he said.
Mia tried not to eavesdrop but after the sixth, “Dude, no way,” she began to suspect it was PEEPs business.
“I’m doing something important…”
Mia jumped up and down to get his attention. She mimed that she was okay with him leaving. He smiled and said into the phone, “I could be in Nevada in 24, Dude, after I stop off at home for fresh undies.”
Mia smirked and wondered at the state of what he was wearing now. “Ew,” she said.
“Pardon?” Ted asked, “Are you talking to me?”
“No. Myself. So what’s up?”
“Casino chips are flying off the tables at the Belaggio. And they are offering us money and an exclusive if we get there in the next few days. Burt is already in route. Mike is going to hang back and finish with the Hofmann reports.”
“Go my friend. I can finish up.” Mia shook his hand and watched as he all but skipped to the PEEPs van.
She wished the team a silent good luck and hoped they didn’t get in over their heads. She was glad she was persona non grata right now. Vegas was full of dead people with scores to settle. Not a place for a person with her abilities.
“No, no, Vegas for me,” she said to the pile of cement blocks waiting to be placed. She hefted one up and walked it over to the foundation wall. She worked steadily, grateful for the quiet so she could ponder her life.
She heard a car pull into April’s driveway. Mia expected it was Ted returning or perhaps April, so she didn’t bother to investigate. She placed the block she had been carrying on the wall and bent down to put fresh mortar on her trowel.
“Whatcha doing?” Whit’s voice surprised her.
“Building a mausoleum,” she said, trying to hold her cool together. Mia turned around and stared at the tall, handsome man. He was dressed in his Sherriff’s deputy uniform. She said dryly, “Didn’t know you were in town.”
“You haven’t been in town long enough to know anything. I thought I would find you hanging around with the axe man.”
“Yes, me and Murphy, America’s couple,” Mia said sarcastically.
“Where’s the ghost hunter?”
“Kansas, I expect,” Mia said, feigning disinterest in her voice. She picked up another block and moved it into position.
“I heard April is thinking of selling her place. I’m thinking of buying it.”
Mia spun around. “You, living here with Murphy?”
“Thought he and I could pal around. Go fishing. Talk shit. Watch some Bears games on the TV. I hear she’s got the guy watching Antiques Road Show. I gotta get the guy’s balls back. I owe him one.”
“Yes, I suppose you do.” Mia pulled off her gloves and picked up her thermos. “You want some?”
“Can’t drink, I’m on duty.”
“It’s not booze, idiot.”
“Your coffee?” he said, wrinkling his nose.
“No,” she lied.
“Okay, then I’ll have some. I gots a mug in the car. I’ll be right back.”
Mia watched him make his way over the brambles. There was a lot of hurt inside her that he had caused, but the shape of the man’s backside made her forget eighty percent of it. She made her way to the picnic table. It was getting that time. Murphy would be waiting to watch One Feather with her. He would be surprised to see Whitney Pee Pants, or would he? Mia brushed off the spot next to her, and Whit climbed up and sat down. He was silent as she poured the hot liquid in his cup.
“You got any plans for Sunday night?” Mia asked.
“Nope.”
“You got a good suit?”
“I’ve got a good suit and a tux. Why? Are you asking me to the prom?” he teased.
Mia laughed. “No, but I have to go to the opera with Ralph and Bernard.”
Whit almost choked on the coffee. Mia patted his back. Her hand slowing as the man gained composure.
“I could do opera. I used to be a singer if you remember?”
“That was a Christmas pageant when we were in elementary school. I assume your voice has changed.”
“Some, but I’m sure if I squeezed my nuts I could hit a high C.”
It was Mia’s turn to choke on her coffee. Whit returned the favor and rubbed her back. He didn’t withdraw his hand though.
CRACK! Both of them jumped at the sound of Murphy’s axe.
Mia turned to see Stephen Murphy ambling over to join them at the table.
“I hear Murphy and suspect he’s come a courting,” Whit said measurably. He looked at Mia and continued, “He’s not the only one.”
