The Garden (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

  The odor vanished along with the chill. He turned on his micro mic and said, “Theodore, warn Mia, I think Richard Bonner found another way out of the subbasement.”

  “Yes, sir. How?”

  “A trapdoor opened up in the ceiling.”

  “Thank you, Father.”

  “The bastard’s in the walls!” Mia growled. “He knows the passages better than me. I would be a sitting duck in there. I know where he’s headed. I’ll wait for him there.”

  “You want me to warn Audrey, or are you going to use her for bait?” Ted asked seriously.

  “Warn her. I’m going to protect her, silly. But if I were to be honest, bait had crossed my mind. I blame Angelo; he’s a bad influence.”

  Ted rolled his eyes upward and said a little prayer that his Mia wouldn’t be hurt. He watched as she pulled on her hoodie and loaded her cargos with ammunition and other ghostly deterrents. She picked up the shotgun, grabbed her backpack and headed outside.

  Chapter Forty-two

  Murphy watched Mia trot out to the excavation area. She motioned for him to back away. She took out of her backpack two large boxes of salt.

  “Audrey, find a comfortable position,” she instructed. “Because once I enclose this ring, you are not to leave it, no matter what.”

  Audrey nodded and asked, “Why me?”

  “He’s taken a liking to you. He hates me.”

  “It’s because you keep shooting him full of holes,” Audrey answered.

  “True, most men don’t like that.” Mia finished her circle and tossed a box of salt to Audrey. “Here, just in case some moron steps on the line.” Mia scanned the excavation area. Cid had hopped down in the hole and was using a shovel to remove the dirt around the remains of a large wooden crate filled with stones.

  “They’re almost ready to open it. I think Dr. Nam wants the priest here before he breaks the seal on that. I get the feeling that Richard wanted to make sure his brother didn’t rise out of the ground.”

  “In a way, it is a burial of sorts,” Mia observed.

  “Heads up to Murphy, Father Santos is on his way,” Ted said in Mia’s ear.

  “Excuse me, but I have to have a word with a friend.”

  Audrey watched as Mia moved away from the crowd and pointed to the house and then to the woods. She said something that Audrey didn’t catch. Mia stood watching the woods for a moment before returning to the site.

  Burt viewed Mia’s arrival and attention to Audrey through the large camcorder lens. He followed Mia with it as she warned Murphy of Father Santos’s arrival. Through the lens, Burt could see that Murphy was hesitant to leave Mia and the group. He didn’t know what she said to change his mind, but he walked off into the woods. Burt smiled as he used the telephoto to see that Murphy was standing, watchful and waiting until he was needed, just inside the tree line.

  Ted had a long talk with Burt about his earlier conversation with the farmer. He told him, like he told Burt, that he would like to ask Mia to marry him. Ted wanted both men to know that he realized that they may be hurt by this. He asked them to understand that he would die for Mia. He would protect her from Angelo and any and all others that would try to use her, and that he would treasure every moment they spent together.

  Burt took it harder than Murphy evidently. Ted’s friendship with the ghost seemed to help the situation. Murphy knew Ted and sized him up to be a good corporal husband for Mia.

  Burt was hurt. He knew she’d accept Ted’s proposal. Every day the two of them became closer. He didn’t want to be forgotten. He liked Ted but never saw him as much of threat, until Ted decided to go after Mia. Now, Ted had achieved his quest. And Burt was left to watch as someone he loved, loved another. Ego, avarice, and stubbornness had led him down this road. He was determined to not let it dictate his future.

  “Before we desecrate this grave, please bow your heads in prayer,” Father Santos said and led them in prayer. Dr. Nam, who was a Buddhist, opened his eyes to see Mia watching him. He winked at her. She smiled before lowering her eyes.

  Santos nodded to the men in the hole. Cid took a crowbar and broke the lock and pulled the rusted chains away from the crate. Mike opened the crate and watched as a stream of technicians placed themselves in a line similar to a bucket brigade and began to remove the large rocks away from the flattened corpse of Terrance Bonner. The skull was intact and facing sideways.

  Dr. Nam walked over and carefully examined it. “He was shot through the back of the head,” he announced.

  Carefully they placed the bones and fragments of clothing in the black bag. When Dr. Nam lifted his head, he commented, “Nice pillow, Terrance old man.”

  Burt zoomed in and smiled as the glint of unpolished gold twinkled in the late afternoon light. Mike waited until the body had been removed before examining the coins. “St. Gaudens twenty dollar gold pieces,” he confirmed.

  Cid passed him a large aluminum bucket, and Mike began to fill it. He looked at each piece as he put them in as he started, but he later just counted the remaining coins as he added them. Cid had to put down the bucket as its weight was too great to hold for too long a time.

  “Alan, I would suggest you get these under lock and key, a bank vault preferably, until the ownership can be determined,” Mike suggested.

  Alan nodded and walked away from the group to make a few calls.

  Dr. Nam’s techs started to load up their gear. Two Tall Terry was headed to the Bonner mausoleum with his niece Elly. The other bodies would be held at the morgue until proper identifications could be done. They would then be buried as their religions dictated.

  Richard arrived in time to see his brother and his gold being removed from the grave. Mia watched as his anger grew, and he moved towards Audrey to take out his aggression on her. He launched himself and hit the invisible barrier put there by the salt ring. Mia cocked her gun and started to walk up the hill. A black mass formed in front of her, and Two Tall Terry shook his finger at her saying, “He’s mine.”

  “Warning, I recommend anyone made of blood and bone, leave the area now. Not you, Audrey, you’re safe,” Mia called out.

  Terry grew to his full height and filled out with anger and revenge. He charged up the hill and picked up Richard and tossed him into the vacated grave.

  “Mia, Father Santos requests you keep the boys busy so his team can finish scraping out the two inches of bone and whatnot,” Ted informed her through the com.

  “Well, they are entertaining themselves at the moment. Burt’s got it all on film if you want to have a gander. My money’s on Two Tall.”

  “I hope it is a slow pummeling. I do so hate it when someone gets knocked out before the first round,” Ted said. “Heads up, an armored car has just pulled up the drive.”

  “Mike will be so devastated. He has the look of Midas at the moment.”

  “Easy come, easy go. Only love lasts.”

  “Very romantic, Teddy Bear,” Mia cooed.

  “I better get going, little to do, so much time. Wait, reverse that, over.”

  Mia laughed and motioned to Mike. “Truck’s here. Want me to cover you? I don’t expect Richard’s going to be too pleased to see it leave.”

  “Come on, Annie Oakley, just don’t shoot me in the process,” Mike cautioned. He picked up the bucket and climbed up out of the hole. They ducked as Terry started to toss large rocks at his brother.

  Murphy waited for Mia on the hillside. He nodded over at a nervous Audrey. “Come on, Audrey, I’ll walk you home,” Mia called. She turned to Murphy and asked sweetly, “Mind keeping an eye on Burt?”

  Murphy grinned and nodded his head in accordance.

  Cid sat in the cab of the vacated backhoe. “How long do you think they’re going to be? I have a schedule to keep.”

  Mia turned to see Richard struggling to rise. Terry looked a bit transparent. “I give them another ten minutes at the most. Richard will try to return to his pit only to find his power removed. Terry’s remains are he
aded for the cemetery. Have they dealt with Mary’s ashes yet?”

  “Last I heard, she was still too hot to handle. I think it’s going to be a long night.”

  Mia caught up with Mike and offered to carry the bucket for a while. He looked at her and laughed his ass off. “Mia, you are a force to be reckoned with, and I wouldn’t want to face you in a ‘ghost off.’ However, this bucket weighs more than you do.”

  “He has a point,” Audrey said. “Thanks for the salt, by the way. I didn’t see what hit the wall in front of me, but I heard it.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m hungry, is anyone else hungry?”

  “Hate to admit it, but I am,” Audrey chimed in. “What fast food haven’t we had yet?”

  “Cuban, Thai and all that is curried,” Mike informed them. “I’m not familiar with the area enough to know where to order from. Although I’d give a month’s profits to see the face of the delivery boy once he got a look at all those hearses.”

  “Just a normal day for PEEPs,” Mia sang.

  “Just because I’m nosy,” began Audrey, “but how much money do you estimate is in your bucket?”

  “If it were handled right and the government doesn’t confiscate it… Two million minimum.”

  “Whoa!” Mia exclaimed. “That’s a lot of money. No wonder Centers and Bonner came to blows over it.”

  “It’s going to be a big headache for Alan,” Audrey mentioned. “His conscience is strained to the limit over the bodies that aren’t being reported to the authorities. I know the coroner knows, but she thinks it’s just an old cemetery.”

  “Do you think all the bodies buried on Boot Hill for example are put there legally?” Mia asked.

  “No, but we know most of what has happened so far, and these people were murdered. Poison, gunshot, broken neck, and the list goes on. And we haven’t even gotten to Eleanor’s pages of the journal yet,” Audrey sighed. “I’m sorry I roped you guys into this. It turned out to be a colossal undertaking instead of a few days’ work.”

  Mike stopped for a moment and put the bucket down and flexed his hands a bit. “Audrey, we never know what we are getting into really when we start a job. Some jobs are just a few hoaxers trying to pull one over on us. Others, we are able to save a family their home. But each time we learn something more, about ghosts, ourselves and humanity. This is a house of horrors, hands down. You were abused, the boys knocked around a bit, and Mia got in some target practice. Do you know she hates firearms?”

  “No.”

  “I do, but Richard just… Well, you get the picture. We were in a haunted house with secret rooms and passages. We had a walled-up woman, bodies buried in the basement and a treasure to find. Kind of cool if you ask me.”

  Mike picked up the bucket, and they began the long climb to the parking lot. Alan met them halfway and took the bucket from Mike. He winced at the weight. “Want to join me in an inventory, Mike? The driver won’t take the coins until I do. Ted has a table set up. Audrey, could you act as auditor?”

  “Sure why not.”

  Mia followed them in and headed for the bathroom. She knew she had to return to the hog barn. It wasn’t fair to Burt or Murphy to be there all by themselves. She just wanted to wash some of the grime of the day off. She stood on her tiptoes and looked in the mirror. Her hair was still streaked with pink and orange but it somehow suited her. She washed her face and neck in the warm water before leaving the small room. She stopped by to flirt with Ted before heading back.

  “You look different,” Ted observed. “I kind of miss the soot-covered patina of your skin. Made you look like a street urchin. I kept waiting for you to say…”

  “Please sir, I want some more?” Mia said, her eyes dancing. “But I remember just the other night…”

  Ted’s face lit up. “You’re right, I remember that too.”

  “Ted, I was looking for… There you are. Mia, Mary’s about ready to be moved, but the techs are a little frightened. Could you…” Father Santos asked.

  “I’ve been waiting all day. Nothing I like better than crawling in between walls. That is why I’m called Tapakah.” She shed her backpack and pulled out the extra shotgun shells. “K, I’m ready. Ted, please give Burt my regrets. He and Murphy will have to watch the wrestling match by their lonesome.”

  “Done and done. Take care,” he ordered.

  Mia smiled.

  “I’m surprised, Miss Cooper. You have gone a whole five minutes without swearing,” Father Santos said as they walked away from Ted.

  “Give me time, Father, give me time.”

  Ted gave a shout out to Burt who was heading back. He and Murphy had watched until both combatants faded away. “Murphy kicked around the gravesite and nothing stirred. He found a gold piece and gave it to me. He put his finger to his lips.”

  “I think you ought to keep it, Burt. I wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of the axe man for refusing a gift. If it wasn’t in the bucket, then it’s finder keepers,” Ted advised.

  “You have been corrupted by… Hell, I will keep it, over.”

  Ted smile as he put his hand in his pocket where it rested on another gold coin, one that Mia put there.

  ~

  Mia accepted a mask from one of Dr. Nam’s assistants. She knew when she entered the tunnel she would be breathing human remains. Mia had thankfully pulled over her clothing a white jumpsuit, the too-long legs were tucked into her socks after folding them a few times.

  Cid stood there ready to assist her. He handed her a small snow shovel. “Just run it along the floor towards the corpse if there is one. I’ll wait for you on the outside with the shop vacuum. Don’t look horrified, I put a new bag in.”

  Mia put on Ted’s hard hat with light, a relic from his nerdom, and walked up the stairs. She put the shovel down, gliding it in front of her. She was surprised by the amount of ash she had accumulated before she reached the end. She knelt at the pile and sifted through them until she found a twisted metal ring – wedding ring perhaps – and what was left of a gold crucifix.

  Mia looked around her and pushed on the walls. They were solid on two sides. On the third the stones crumpled to reveal a small passage. “Give me a break, another effing passage.”

  “First Mary, then the passage,” Ted softly reminded her of her original intention for being in the wall.

  “Cid, I’m ready. Drop me the hose.”

  “You didn’t really say that to my best friend, did you?” Ted acted shocked.

  Mia suppressed a giggle, “You are a horrible human bean.”

  She grabbed the nozzle and yelled, “Hit it.” The vacuum roared to life and made short work of an otherwise messy situation. Mia also vacuumed her hair, face, shoes and clothing. She didn’t stop until you could see a shine to the stones below her feet. She whistled, and Cid turned off the shop vac and reeled the hose in. She ventured into the newly exposed part of the tunnel and stopped short when she found she was face to face with another mummy. She looked at the death grimace and spotted the missing tooth. “Hello, Buddy. Someone’s been waiting a long time for you to come to her party.” She tapped her com and said, “One more for the Bonner mausoleum express. I’ve found Buddy. Let’s bury Elly and him together.”

  “Any more?” Ted asked.

  Mia pushed her hand to the back of Buddy and felt wall. When she pushed on it, she found it solid.

  “Nope, that will about do it.”

  She waited until Dr. Nam joined her. They squeezed by each other with embarrassing difficulty. He took his time looking at the body. He called out instructions, and a few techs found their balls and headed their way. Mia squeezed past them and walked out of the tunnel. “Ted, I’m tired. I want a bath, a…”

  “Mia!”

  “A meal,” she finished and accused, “You have a dirty mind, sir, tsk tsk.”

  Chapter Forty-three

  Alan looked at the sleep-deprived PEEPs team and felt guilty. He went home to his comfortable apartment and slept a full sev
en hours each night. Ted was hopped up on something Mia cautioned others not to drink. “Ted’s special will keep you up for days.”

  They had adjourned to the living room to take turns reading aloud the journal entries. Audrey and Alan had reached the beginning of Eleanor’s scrawled messages and lacked the fortitude to go any further.

  Audrey started off with Eleanor’s first entry. “We found this under the heading ‘Heirloom Roses.’”

  Mary died last week. She requested that her coffin be filled with rose petals and laid next to her husband Richard. Her body, however, she had a different place for. Upon learning of the cancer, she commissioned a special grave to be built into the north side of the south wall of the garden. A window at eyelevel for the tall woman to gaze upon the roses she loved so much. A wooden chair was fixed to a tall platform. Mary was gowned in her mother’s widow’s weeds. I myself placed the lace over her head, careful to keep her eyesight clear. Robert cut her eyelids off and propped her in the chair. Robert promised me if I participated in this defilement, I would receive a legacy when he died.

  “Major ick. Cut her eyelids off, why not just glue them?” Cid said.

  Ted turned to him. “It bothers me that you seem to have thought this over before.”

  “I’ve marked the passages where I found handwriting,” Audrey explained and put the book on the table.

  Mia looked around and said, “Cowards.” She walked over and picked up the journal in her gloved hands and read, “Forget-me-nots.”

  I have been living a lie, I know this now. From my supposed accident to my marriage to Robert’s and John’s half-brother Niles, I have been confused. The prayed for memory never came. I learned recently of a couple that died within weeks of each other. The strain of never knowing what happened to their daughter weighed heavily upon their hearts.

  Mia stopped and pulled a newspaper clipping from the book. “Missing thirty year-old woman feared dead. Tammy Peters of Waukegan, Illinois was last seen leaving her apartment on Saturday April 22, 1962. She waved at a neighbor and asked if she needed anything from the local market. Tammy never returned. Any information on this missing person case should be directed to the Waukegan Police Department. And there is a picture… Look familiar?” Mia passed it to Ted, and he passed it on. “Shall I continue?” She received nods.