Puzzle (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

  Ted got up also, and the two walked over to the school holding hands. “So not only are you our resident sensitive, you are also doing double duty as Stephen Murphy’s assistant,” Ted joked.

  “I don’t mind. I’m glad he’s being included. Whether Murph will think so I can’t fathom. But the invitation should be extended.” Mia picked up a rock and slammed it on the inside of the propped open steel door. “Murphy!”

  A crack echoed through the bottom floor of the school. Murphy appeared before her within seconds. He walked out of the school, dropped his axe down and leaned against the building.

  “Mike is having a meeting and wants all PEEPs there. That includes you.”

  Murphy pointed to his chest.

  “Yes, you. He had me ask you especially. If you want to play, you too have to sit through boring meetings,” Mia told him.

  Murphy tried to hide his smile, but the hand he put up was transparent. Mia pretended not to notice. “Well, if you’re coming, fine.” Mia nudged Ted, and they turned around and left.

  Both of them felt Murphy on their heels. Ted squeezed her hand, smiling.

  “Our original intent for being here was to rescue the trapped boys inside Clinton Middle School. Dave Hult alerted us to the situation. We have accomplished our objective, and all the young men are out of the building.” Mike took a moment to let this sink in before continuing, “However, we have a situation here that I feel needs to be resolved, but I will leave it up to the group to decide. It seems that the entity inside used some kind of ritual that included the bones of Civil War veterans to gain the power he has. Burt and Ted can attest to a least one skeleton being inside the building presently. We think he used it to develop the Clinton Cougars into a Triple A state, winning athletic department. Unfortunately, he trapped the souls of the soldiers here on this property. I feel that they deserve their rest, and we should take the time to try to accomplish this.”

  Homely put his hand up. Mike hid his smile and asked, “Homely, do you have something to add?”

  “Yes, sir. I’ve collected some information from my friend Anne who tends the veterans’ graves. I think we may have names to go with William’s compatriots and a dandy of a story too.” He held up a manila envelope. “I haven’t read the pages. They’re copies of an old diary, but the gist is that the group of soldiers were in this area transporting a prisoner when he got the better of them, and they all, prisoner included, died in the skirmish.”

  “That would explain the bullet hole in the skull of the skeleton we had to assemble,” Burt said, looking at Ted.

  “If you would allow me,” Audrey started, “I could look further into those names. I may be able to find out more. There’s been a wealth of information accumulated on recovered documents of the Civil War. Maybe I could find out more about their mission,” she offered. “It might help in laying the gentlemen to rest.”

  “Homely, would you like to work with her on this?” Mike asked.

  Homely smiled and nodded, handing the envelope to Audrey.

  “Speaking of the ghosts, have any of them communicated to you or Murphy why they think they are trapped here?” Mike asked Mia.

  Mia turned to Murphy, and he shook his head. “Just that they want to go home. William Shelby wants to return to St. Charles, Illinois. I’d like to try to return and pass them over if it is still possible. They shouldn’t be trapped here for eternity, it’s not fair.”

  Murphy punctuated her statement with a crack of his axe.

  Ted raised his hand. Mike, not used to this new mannerly way of group communication, squeaked out, “Yes, Ted?”

  “There may be more than the soldiers trapped here,” Ted informed them. He went on to describe the cypher and what he and Mia worked out. “We don’t know who it is but…”

  “Ira Levisohn!” Audrey blurted out. “When I was interviewing his parents to get information on the coach - which I will share in a moment - something kept bothering me. He wasn’t on a ventilator, and his vitals readout seemed familiar. I knew I had seen the numbers before. It just hit me, they read like Ted’s monitoring program, the one he used when Mia was pulled out of her body. Ira’s vitals were exactly like Mia’s.”

  “Tell me more, what did he look like?” Mia asked excited.

  Audrey apprised her and the others of the physical quality of the supposedly comatose boy. “He had no prior heart defect, no stroke happened, his body isn’t showing any reason for him being unconscious. Plus his brain is showing an increase in activity. This, according to his parents, started Friday…”

  “When we entered the building,” Mason finished.

  “Whoa,” Cid blurted out. “Sorry.” He raised his hand and spoke at the same time, “I heard instructions, a warning from the floor. I thought it was the entity. But as we were sitting here, it came to me. The sound quality was very similar to when you, Mia, yelled at me in the woods when I was lost.”

  “Is it possible that Ira is simply having an out of body experience?” Mike asked Mia.

  She held up her hands. “I don’t know.”

  Audrey waved her hand wildly. “I know from his parents, he had been running before his collapse. He was being pushed and pushed into competing in track.”

  Mia raised a finger as she compiled the information. She took a deep breath. “If he was in an adrenaline situation and unaware of his abilities, it’s possible that he could have pulled his essence out of his body. No, not pulled… He ran out of his body and trapped himself somehow. Time means nothing in that dimension. It could have been only a few minutes to him and a year to us. Moving through objects, walls, ceilings and floors isn’t something one can do right away. You have to practice and learn your limitations. Let’s say he ran out of his body and into the floor. He could have trapped himself if he stopped moving. Things would become solid to him. I know this sounds hokey, but I really can’t put into words what happens - you have to do it.”

  “So, he’s trapped in the floor?” Mike asked.

  “Well, he isn’t trapped in the floor anymore. He left us this message. ‘I am the boy in school imprisoned, he didst painfully remain.’ He used the book in my back pocket. It means at one time he was with us, and we didn’t know it,” Ted said frustrated.

  “Don’t feel bad, OOBers move faster than ghosts,” Mia reminded everyone. “You couldn’t see him. It’s a miracle Cid could hear him.” Mia turned around. “Murphy, did you see a young boy in the school.”

  Murphy shook his head but pulled out his watch and tapped on it and shook his head.

  “He says no, but he wasn’t in the school very long,” Mia interpreted. “Whatever is keeping me out is keeping Ira in.”

  “Which brings us back to the veterans and the massive trunk over there,” Mike added.

  “And the coach,” Mia said. “What was he messing with?”

  There was a scratching sound of steel on concrete. Mia turned to see Murphy holding up two fingers. “You’re right. I saw it too, through Mason’s eyes. There are two of them, the coach and something controlling the coach.” She turned back to the others. “I think the coach - do we have a name for the moron yet? Anyway, he was dabbling in things that were beyond his control. Something evil attached to him. I’m not talking a demon, like Hagan’s, but I can’t rule it out either. The level of energy that is controlling that whole building is beyond one entity.”

  Audrey flipped through her notes. “Stewart King is the name of the coach.”

  “I know it’s too much to hope for, but maybe his widow knows what he was up to. Maybe kept his stuff? An old book, papers, seen him messing around with things he shouldn’t,” Mia listed.

  “She said he was acting crazy since he started working here, according to her testimony at the inquest,” Audrey told them. “Also, a reminder, the EPA cited high levels of mercury in the gymnasium flooring.”

  “I’ve read up on this,” Doc interjected. “Mercury exposure can drive you insane. They used to have no idea of the damage it
caused. In the days when they used liquid mercury to illuminate the old lighthouses, it drove the lighthouse keepers mad. They killed themselves, sometimes their coworkers, and, sadly because of the isolation, their families too.”

  “So we have maybe what made the man unstable. He was on that floor in there day in and out, five days a week, perhaps longer if the teams were training. It could have unbalanced his bean,” Ted said. “He begins to see the world a bit skewed and decides to… what?”

  “Dabble in the black arts to produce a winning team?” Cid offered.

  “Hex the other teams?” Mike asked.

  “No,” Burt argued. “He uses it to fuel the boys. To control them so that they push themselves beyond what is safe.”

  “I’m just an outsider here,” Patrick Callen spoke up, “but it seems to me that you aren’t finished here yet. It also occurs to me that you aren’t exactly here legally. Which brings about the worry… What happens when the cops show up? So far we’ve had the weekend working for us. But the week is starting and, with it, regular patrols.”

  “He’s right. It’s only a matter of when, not if, we’ll be found out.”

  “There’s that open window in the front that will send up fireworks,” Patrick pointed out.

  “I could fix it up right quick,” Homely offered. “But it will eliminate an exit for those trapped inside.”

  “Not if you put some retardant in the mortar,” Cid recommended.

  Homely nodded. “I’ve got some stuff that might do the trick.”

  “It might buy us some time,” Mike said.

  “Here’s a unique idea, why not get permission to be here?” Mia suggested. “Maybe I know a guy that knows a guy…”

  Ted smiled and added, “That knows a guy…”

  The PEEPs members laughed.

  Mike looked at the confused faces of the others. “I’ll explain later. Mia, you work on getting us permission. Burt, Cid, you find us a place to lay our heads and don’t come back until you’ve got six hours of sleep. Ted, how are you holding up?”

  “Fine and dandy. As long as I have coffee, I’ll live.”

  “Good because I need you on communications.” Mike looked at Audrey, “Can you make it through the night?”

  “I’ve had a full night’s sleep,” she said. “Alan may be able to help get us permission. He’s familiar with the case,” she said to Mia.

  “Let’s start with Alan, and if he can’t help then I’ll ask Gerald. With Gerald there comes a favor owed. Something we’d like to avoid,” Mia said.

  Burt smiled. Mia was thinking like a member of a team instead of a solo operator.

  “Homely, let’s see if we can put the bricks back up in the window.” Mike turned in the direction Mia had been facing when talking to the ghost. “Murphy, can you make sure Homely doesn’t take a swan dive?”

  Mia looked at Murphy who was confused. “Darlin’, he means can you make sure he doesn’t fall off the wall?” she explained.

  He nodded.

  “Homely, he’s got you covered.”

  “Are you sure? I’m not a little doll like you.”

  Mia blushed. “I think Murphy can handle your weight,” she assured him. She turned to Ted and said, “Homer says I’m a little doll, not the doughnut munching, sideshow act you’ve been complaining about.”

  Ted put his two fingers to his eyes and then pointed at Homely, signaling, “I’m watching you.”

  Homely laughed. Mia jabbed Ted in the ribs. Murphy practiced the sign. He rather enjoyed learning new things, even if they were threats.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Mia stood nervously tapping her foot at the back entrance. She had sent Murphy on a mission. Between Ted and Audrey they had produced two dozen handbills that said:

  Ira, we have not forgotten you.

  We will be back.

  PEEPs

  Murphy was to slide them under doors, stick them up on boards, wherever he could considering his limitations. Mia was worried that the boy would give up hope once the men started to fix the second-floor window.

  Mia was tired, bone tired, but she refused to leave the site until they had Ira out. How had he survived so long? What would happen now that he was active? Would Stewart King find him, and if he did, what would transpire?

  A warm hand fell on her shoulder. She turned and saw Doc standing there.

  “What’s up, Doc?”

  “You’d think that would get old, but it doesn’t,” Doc said. “It’s been awhile, Miss Cooper. I see you have a different man in your life…”

  “Before you give me a lecture on promiscuity, let me assure you…” Mia said, tugging off her glove. She held up her hand and showed Doc the ring Ted made for her. “This is the real thing.”

  Doc laughed. “Don’t get defensive, I was just going to congratulate you. He’s as unique as you are. I respect your choice. I just came over to thank you for being true to your word.”

  “I’m not following you.”

  “To Dave. You said he could call you. He did, you came. That meant so much to him, made him feel less of a freak and more like the rest of us.”

  “I’ve been a little nasty to him though. The word cruel was used,” Mia admitted shamefully.

  “Really, I got nothing but admiration for you from him when I talked to him earlier. I think that you instinctively handled the situation right. How can you be all happy and proud when the kid got into this situation by breaking the law?”

  “I was rather tough on him. I just didn’t want him fu… fa… messing up his life. If it weren’t for PEEPs and the sensitivity of Burt Hicks in the beginning, I’d be still barricaded in my hidey-hole cursing at the world. Now I curse in public, but not around small children,” she qualified.

  This caused Doc to break into laughter. “I think the tough love angle was the right way to go, but who am I, just a board certified psychiatrist,” he said. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to Richie before he left. I hope this incident doesn’t set him back.”

  “Ted said he handled himself well inside. Still haunted by what he can’t see. Dave’s haunted by what he does see. The two are bound by Manny’s death. Thing is, I think they need to go their separate ways in order to get over this. Each is a reminder to the other that what goes bump in the night can kill you,” Mia said sagely.

  “I agree with you. How do you handle it?”

  “Before Ted, I was reckless. I figured if I died then I would be out of pain. Maybe hang with Murphy for a while and then head to parts unknown. But now, I try to weigh the consequences, consider my options before I leap. I think, actually, I’m handling it better.”

  “You mentioned pain…”

  “Emotional pain, the fear of the undead was making my life a hell on earth. They are so needy. I can’t help them all, and some of them I’d like to send to hell.”

  “Lucky’s,” Doc said and watched Mia’s slow nod.

  “You know something good did come out of that. Two lovers reunited over a yellow diamond. Bad things too…”

  “Care to elaborate?”

  “I think, somehow, our past associate, Beth, was influenced by all that evil. She changed. I morn losing her, but she was bound and determined to ruin my life.”

  “PEEPs chose you over her.”

  “I feel guilty over that but happy still the same. I’ve never been the first one picked for dodge ball. This time I was.”

  Doc smiled. “What do you think about Mason and Patrick?”

  “They should be spanked. The elder Callen especially,” Mia insisted.

  “Homely thinks they’re redeemable,” Doc commented.

  “He’s right. Be nice to set them in the right direction, but they lack someone to report to… Like a parole officer,” Mia said sarcastically.

  “You are cruel,” Doc observed.

  Mia smiled. “Perhaps Homer needs another project…”

  “Your thoughts have echoed mine. I’ll see if I can use my head-shrinking abilities to mo
ve the three in front of each other and see what happens.”

  “I knew it. You not just a doctor, you’re a witch doctor.”

  “Board certified,” he said.

  Murphy moved out of the darkness of the building and waited for Mia to notice him. She turned and grinned. “I’ve been talking to a witch doctor, Murph. What do you think about that?”

  Murphy crossed himself before covering his private area with his axe. Mia burst out laughing. “They shrink heads, not nards,” she said in between hiccups.

  “I have a feeling I’ve been maligned by the invisible axe man,” Doc said.

  “No offence meant, just a misunderstanding,” Mia assured him.

  “Houston to Mia, come in,” Ted’s familiar voice transmitted through her ear com.

  “Mia, here.”

  “Well you should be there,” Ted insisted.

  “There?” questioned Mia.

  “The front of the building. Homely and Patrick are ready to start bricking up the window, over.”

  “On our way, over. Oh and, Ted,” Mia said softly.

  “Yes?”

  “Nice to have you back in my ear, over.”

  “I can think of a better place to be in about now, over and over,” Ted teased.

  Mia turned beet red. She was happy Doc wasn’t standing close enough to overhear what was being said. “Come on, Murph, time to watch the men juggle bricks.”

  Murphy saluted and fell into step beside Mia.

  ~

  He pushed out of the corner and ventured down the hall. The second floor had always been a mishmash of departments. A little bit of math here and a small biology lab there. The advanced placement math classes were up here when Ira had his incident. He smiled and remembered so were the computer labs. He ran down the hall and moved through the door. To his disappointment, all that was left were the long bi-level desks that used to house the keyboards, mice and monitors. He walked over to where he used to work and tried to sit down. Try as he might, gravity kept pulling him through the chair. Ira started to cry.

  “What are you blubbering about?” hissed a voice at the door.