The Garden (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

  “And where were you last night?” Cid asked in a parental tone.

  “I left you a text.”

  “A picture of a sock on the door is not my idea of a message.”

  Ted blushed and smiled. “I had a very enjoyable evening, and as a gentleman that is all the explanation you’re getting out of me.”

  “Your silence speaks volumes,” Cid pointed out. “I’m glad the cherry has been popped, and now your acne can clear up.”

  Ted burst out laughing and playfully punched at his young friend. “Tell me, what’s on the docket today?”

  “Well, there’s that giant hole in the wall to deal with. I looked over the sketch on the floor. From a builder’s standpoint it’s feasible. It sure would be nice having an area to warm up in, a place where we wouldn’t have to run electric cords to when we want to use a power tool.”

  “Let’s do a cost analysis on the job, and then I’ll decide. In the meanwhile, let’s secure the tarp. I don’t want any animals moving in.”

  “I’ve not seen any vermin in this place since I got here. I think there’s a vibe that keeps them out,” Cid said.

  “A vibe named Murphy.”

  “Handy guy to have around from what I’ve heard. Mike’s a bit wary of him.”

  “Murphy likes to play tricks on Mike and has done since the beginning. Careful, Stephen Murphy is more than a playful ghost. He’s a powerful and growing entity. Mia’s always warning us to tread carefully.”

  “That’s a strange thing for what I believe his best bud to say.”

  “Mia’s had to deal with a ghost that went nuts on her. She loves Murphy but is wary that he could flip at any time. Me, I think she’s being over cautious, but then again I haven’t experienced what she has.”

  “How is she by the way?”

  Ted blushed. “Wonderful. And that’s the last I’ll say on that subject. Now let’s get to work.” He patted Cid on the back, and the two of them headed for the barn.

  Murphy stood and thought a moment about what he overheard. He understood Mia’s worries about him. She hadn’t been shy in telling him that when she said she had his back. She meant that if he went rogue, she would send him to his reward personally. He rubbed his chin. As far as he could tell he was fine, as fine as a dead man gone on a hundred plus years could be. It was true he was growing in his abilities, and he no longer had a tether to the farm. He stayed here because he loved it. To him it would always be his heaven. Since Ted moved in, it had become a more interesting place. He and the techie had certain rules. He would avoid the sensitive electronic devices, and Ted would leave the surrounding woods alone.

  He understood when Mia chose the beanpole. He had watched Ted’s admiration for the tiny woman from the start. Sure, if providence was different, Murphy would give Ted a run for his money. Stephen Murphy loved Mia Cooper and had done so since she wandered into his barn all those years ago. But facts were facts. Mia was corporal, and he was dead. Nothing was going to change that. All he could do was push down his jealousy and desire while Mia continued to live her life. Why she chose to hunt down his fellow spirits was beyond his understanding. Women belonged in the home, having babies and making the meals. As it was, she was no cook, and he couldn’t fill her womb with a child. He would have to bear the pain of Ted being the man to do that for her. He, however, would be there for her every moment of her natural and hopefully long life. He had her back.

  Chapter Seven

  The snow had all but disappeared. It hung on stubbornly in mounds where it had been piled to make way for motorists and pedestrians. A thaw had been triggered by an unseasonable push of warm air from the south. People would no doubt blame Global Warming for the short Chicago winter. Old timers shrugged their shoulders; they’d seen it before. It was cyclic. All Audrey knew was that she could, for the time being, abandon her long wool coats and arctic footwear. She parked her car next to one of the PEEPs vehicles that had preceded her up the long drive. She waved shyly at a sprite of a woman that bounded out of the truck towards her car. From her notes, she took this to be Mia Cooper, the seer of ghosts.

  Audrey lowered her window. She greeted the investigator with a cheery, “Good morning!”

  Mia smiled and returned, “Good morning to you. You must be Audrey. I’m Mia Cooper, please just call me Mia, and ignore other names I will no doubt be called during this investigation.”

  Audrey noticed the speed with which Mia talked and reasoned that a lot of coffee must have passed those lips. “Mia, Audrey will be fine for me too. My associates also have names for me, but pedantic witch is a little long for a moniker.”

  Mia laughed and her smile reached ear to ear. “Pedantic people do get on the nerves, but they are so needed. I’m in love with a pedantic son of a bitch, so you’ll not have any trouble from me,” she said frankly.

  “Good, it’s nice to know where one stands.”

  Mia stood back, and Audrey closed the window, turned off the car and gathered her things.

  Ted bounded over and rubbed his hands together. “Brrr, it’s cold out here. I hope we’ll be able to set up inside.”

  “I guess it’s the lawyer’s call,” Mia said. “I’m sure Mike and Burt will be pressing for this as soon as we get inside.”

  The car door opened, and Audrey exited the car. She took a look at the tall man beside Mia and said, “Redheads rule.”

  Ted’s face lit up. Mia looked from one to the other and said, “You look like you’re related. Audrey, this is Theodore Martin, our head technical engineer. Ted, this is Audrey. She, like you, has a penchant for being pedantic.”

  Ted reached out a hand and shook Audrey’s vigorously. “Nice to meet another superior life form.”

  Mia rolled her eyes.

  “It’s a pleasure. I see Alan hasn’t arrived yet.”

  “Nope. Come on, let me introduce you to the rest of our team,” Mia said.

  Audrey followed her to the large van. Lounging outside wearing coke bottle lenses was a specimen of God’s gift to women.

  “Cid, this is Audrey. She’s representing the shelter. Cid’s helping us out on this investigation.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Cid said.

  Audrey nodded to return the greeting.

  “Where’s Mike and Burt?” Mia asked.

  “They headed around back to check out the lower level entrance. They thought it would be easier bringing in the equipment from back there,” Cid explained.

  Audrey shook her head. “The little I’ve seen of the basement tells me the stairways are narrow and the place cold and unfriendly.”

  “We heard,” Mia acknowledged. “But they are men and have to find out for themselves.”

  “Ouch, Mia, you’ve wounded my kind,” Ted’s voice came from behind them.

  “You can’t help being handicapped, Teddy Bear,” Mia said as she reached up and touched his face tenderly.

  Audrey smiled seeing the love pass between these two.

  Cid cleared his voice and asked, “Should we come up for the tour?”

  “Not a bad idea. Let me plug into the generator first before we power up. When the house is opened, we can run a power cord.”

  “Actually you can run one right now. In my inspection I found a covered outlet to the right of the front door,” Audrey notified them. “It’s live and protected with a ground fault switch.”

  “Thank you, Audrey, you’re on the ball. Must be the red hair,” Ted observed. He and Cid opened up the back of the truck and began unloading cable.

  You wanna stroll down and see what trouble the boys have gotten into?” Mia asked.

  “Why not.”

  The two women walked through the parking lot to where the asphalt started to ease downward in an easy grade. The house loomed overhead as they descended the hill. Twice Mia caught something moving with them as they walked. It didn’t have a defined shape, but it was paranormal. She stopped and turned to Audrey and whispered, “We aren’t alone right now. I don’t think it’s un
friendly, just be prepared for contact.” Mia drew out a voice recorder and held it in one hand as they continued their walk.

  Burt tugged on the garage-like door and found it locked. Mike peered into the windows and shook his head. “The space is filled with junk. Snow blowers and a golf cart. Gardening equipment, and I think I see some major horror-flick cutting implements.”

  “Watcha doing?” Mia’s singsong voice asked as the two women approached.

  “Looking for a way to break in,” Mike answered back.

  “Alan should be arriving with a key soon,” she pointed out.

  “Yes, but…”

  Mia turned to Audrey and said, “You’ll have to forgive them, they were raised in Kansas.” Mia turned to the men and introduced Audrey.

  Audrey was impressed by Burt’s professional demeanor. Mike, she felt was a bit too, I’m handsome and I know you know it, for her.

  The honking of the truck’s horn alerted them.

  “Alan must have arrived,” Audrey said.

  The four of them left the back of the house and started to climb the hill. Mia lagged a little behind. Burt noticed and slowed his gate so she wouldn’t be alone.

  “There’s an entity to the left of me, hugging the house. It seems very interested in what we’re doing. It doesn’t have form, I don’t know what it is,” Mia admitted.

  “Do you want to stop and talk to it?”

  “I can try.”

  Mia stopped and slowly approached the distortion in the air before her. “I’m Mia, and I’m here with people that wish you no harm. If you are able, please talk to us. This is Burt beside me.”

  The distortion thickened, and they could see it try to form. Then it disappeared completely.

  “Shy?” Burt asked.

  “I don’t know, maybe not strong enough. We better make sure we are flush with extra batteries and the back up DVR. If it wants to talk to us, it will be searching for energy.”

  “You sound like Ted,” Burt observed. “Been spending some time with the boy wonder?”

  “The boy wonder is Cid. Ted’s Batman,” Mia corrected. “And, yes, we’ve been courting.”

  Burt smiled in spite of his status of being one of her exes. “I’m happy for you. He’s a good guy.”

  “Most super heroes are.”

  “Ah, but there you would be wrong. I may look normal, but I too am a collector of comic books, and super heroes are a specialty of mine.”

  Mia stopped and looked at him. “I’m surprised, it never came up when…”

  “We were only together a heartbeat, Mia. I never mentioned it.”

  “I’m sorry, Burt, I thought maybe I wasn’t listening.”

  “Mia, you always listened and still do. Let’s let our past fall into the pleasant memories category and get on with our lives.”

  “That’s shrink talk,” Mia accused.

  “Yes, and I’m drinking the Kool-Aid.”

  Mia walked over, wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. She held on until he patted her back.

  Burt controlled the tears that wanted to spring from his eyes. “Come on, if Ted catches us canoodling, he’ll fry my circuits,” Burt said gruffly.

  “He could do that, I suppose,” Mia teased. She changed the subject, “This Alan is a good guy for a lawyer. His client is a real scary guy, but Alan seems to have been raised by attentive parents.”

  “Interesting observation.”

  “I’m trying to pay as much attention to the living as the dead,” Mia confessed. “Lately, it’s been the living that have brought the most dangerous elements to our investigations.”

  “You would be correct there. I’ve not had time to think about that,” he confessed.

  “I’ve had too much time. Ralph dragged me back to the hospital to be retested and then the spa visit. I prefer the MRI machine to the manicurist.”

  “Care to share your MRI findings?”

  “The tumor is gone. My brain is functioning on the higher end of normal, and the stress fractures in my legs are gone.”

  “I’m thinking Angelo had something to do with that.”

  “Freaks me out, but yes, I think he did. Speaking of him, I’ve got a few drawings of Gwen’s to send to him in Italy. Father Santos told Bernard, who told Ralph, who told me, that he is there presently.”

  “Oh, oh, speaking of Father Santos, I’ve had a call from him,” Burt said and stopped walking. “He wants in on the cleansing of this house when we’re ready.”

  “Really?”

  “He said he’s had some contact with our client and feels strongly about us clearing this house of the evil that seems to be nurtured here.”

  “Whoa, I just got a set of uncomfortable goose bumps,” Mia said, rubbing her arms.

  “Don’t worry, it’s a house. At least it’s not a tribe of Illini chasing you through three feet of snow.”

  Mia laughed thinking about their last investigation. “I guess that’s one way of looking at things.”

  They resumed their climb and soon were standing at the PEEPs control vehicle. Mia introduced Burt to Alan before climbing into the truck. “Teddy Bear, I have a surprise for you.”

  Ted looked up from the console and waved her over. “You’re not pregnant are you?”

  Mia colored, and Cid burst out laughing.

  “No, but a nice thought. Father Santos is wanting in on this investigation.”

  “Father Santos,” Ted exclaimed. “He’s coming here?”

  “Calm down, big boy,” Mia warned. “If he’s coming here then it’s bad in there.”

  “You have a point there. Cid, put on the red shirt.”

  “Not it,” Cid said as he handed Ted some prepared earpieces. “I was redshirt last episode. That lawyer looks like my size,” he pointed out.

  The three of them burst out laughing.

  “What took you so long, Minnie Mouse?”

  “Burt and I were making out,” Mia said dryly. “It takes a while.”

  Ted raised an eyebrow and lowered it.

  Mia handed him the voice recorder. “We ran into an entity, not sure what. I asked it some questions but didn’t hear any answers. I worry that it may be a battery-draining kind of thing.”

  Ted noticed the recorder was still on. Mia wasn’t used to using the equipment. He didn’t want to chastise her in front of Cid so he shut it off and set it aside to listen to later. “We’ll be prepared, thanks for the heads up. Oh, might as well take your com now.”

  Mia placed the specialized communication device into her ear. She sang a few off key notes, and Ted nodded that she was hooked up. He also handed her a small giftwrapped bundle. Cid made himself scarce. Mia opened it up. Lying inside was a beautiful silver orb hanging from a silver chain. Mia moved the orb around in her hand and smiled as she realized what it was. “But, Teddy Bear, I love my present GPS.” She pulled the Lego-covered device out of her shirt.

  “This one gives me your location within a few feet. It registers your heartbeat, and it is filled with my love,” Ted pointed out.

  Mia smiled and took off the older version and kissed the new one before placing it around her neck and clasping it. She tucked it into place. “Thank you. Why my heartbeat? You expecting me to expire?”

  “Silly rabbit, it will tell me whether you are OOBing. Your heart beats much much slower when you are out of your body. Also, if you lose track of where you planted your bod, we can find it. Pretty cool, huh?”

  Mia smiled. “You’re a genius, Ted.”

  “I know. Now get out of here before the natives start talking. I heard a very loud sigh from Burt just moments ago.”

  Mia bent over and kissed the seated tech. “Be good and be safe,” she said.

  “You too, Magoo. Send in the other punters so we can get this circus started.”

  “Aye aye, Cap’n,” Mia said before leaving the truck.

  Chapter Eight

  The group of three PEEPs investigators, Alan and Audrey were assembled in the main hall.
Burt nodded to Mike who was taking lead on this investigation.

  “I think we should get the basement out of the way first. Audrey needs the information, and frankly I’d like to get the scary bit over and done with,” Mike said, flashing his movie star smile her way.

  Alan bristled a bit but shook it off. He’d been paired with Burt, Mike with Audrey, and Mia was enjoying the freedom of her fifth wheel status. She kept circling, taking in the entirety of every room they passed through on the way to the kitchen. She spoke softly, to the command center he assumed, directing them to what kind of materials they would need.

  “Alan,” she said, “Would it be possible for us to set up a command center in the big entrance hall? The temperature outside isn’t exactly comfortable to work in for long periods of time.”

  “Sure. I’m sure they will take the utmost care with some of the antiques we have yet to assess.”

  “They will,” she assured him. Mia walked a few feet away and relayed the information to the command center. Her eyes widened a moment and she winced. “Indoor voices, boys, indoor voices.”

  They had reached the kitchen, and Burt brought out the mini LEDs Ted had developed for the last investigation. He turned the knob on the door and stated, “It’s locked.”

  “We have no key for this door,” Alan informed him.

  “Excuse me,” Mia said. “I’ve lived in a house of this age, would you mind if I try?”

  Burt stepped back.

  Mia walked over to Audrey. “Can I have a piece of paper?” she asked.

  Audrey pulled a sheet off the back of her legal pad and handed it to Mia.

  Mia thanked her and walked over to the door. She got on her knees and slid the paper under the door in line with the latch. She then pulled out a small set of picks her aunt Bev had given her for Christmas and chose the largest one. She took out a small mag lite and stuck it in her mouth. She started to work the keyhole until they heard the skeleton key slide and tumble out of the lock. Mia pulled the paper slowly back, and the key came with it. She handed the key to Burt and got to her feet.