Old Bones (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

  “I know, Mia. I know,” he said, leaving quickly before his tears flowed.

  Ted came in and rushed over to hug his sobbing fiancée.

  “I expect you heard all that,” Mia said in between hiccups.

  “Oh yes, Minnie Mouse, eavesdropping is an art form one needs to practice to be good at it.”

  “I have something you may be missing,” Ted said. He opened his hand, and resting in his palm was her engagement ring.

  “Oh my god, I thought Judy lost it in the vortex.” Mia thrust out her hand, ordering, “Put it on my finger, please.”

  Ted did so. “I love you, Mia Cooper.”

  They kissed until the nurse arrived with the wheelchair. Ted picked her up from the bed, grinning as he gallantly set her in the chair.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Burt’s face when I tell him about you fencing with a femur.”

  “You wouldn’t. You’ll destroy my rep.”

  “I would, and it wouldn’t do you any harm, I assure you.”

  The nurse took in the banter and stored it to tell her children that evening. She recognized the girl with the purple hair right away. The talk of ghosts confirmed her suspicions. She was wheeling out of the hospital one of the PEEPs team members. She was positive if Mia Cooper was fencing with ghosts, then she wasn’t shot with an arrow by accident.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Charles found his jeep in the impound lot. He paid the fine and drove off towards Chicago. He was approaching the exit to Cahokia, and he made a quick and responsible decision to stop there. The story he had worked out with the PEEPs team was that he had fallen exploring an old warehouse and been found by good Samaritans, who had mistaken him for a homeless man. He needed to tell the director. He would elaborate that he spent the last few days in a flop house while he regained his strength. He would apologize for worrying the group and promise to give them some assistance with the work Doctor Enrich abandoned.

  Doctor Morrison’s office was empty despite the assurances of the tour guide that he was in there. Charles decided he would wait for him. The administrator was probably seeing to an end of working day chore and would return to the office before leaving for the day. He browsed through the books on the shelves while he waited. The closing hour came and went but still no Morrison. Charles turned off the lights and ventured into the main part of the building. Cleaners were at work preparing the displays for the next day. He stopped at the information center and asked if Morrison had checked out for the day. The confused worker shook her head.

  “Perhaps he’s out at Mound 72. We’ve had some unauthorized digging there,” she explained. “Do you need a map?”

  “No Mound 72 is very familiar to me,” Charles assured her. He left a note for Doctor Morrison, that he would call him this weekend to talk about how he could help with the project Enrich had abandoned, at the info desk with the young woman. He left the building and walked over to his jeep.

  He passed a familiar beat-up Land Rover on the way to his car. Morrison had paid a pretty penny for that vehicle years ago. Charles had put up with many a bumpy ride in the thing on various digs. His friend wouldn’t have left it for the night. He looked at his watch and then at the sky. There still was an hour or two of good light; maybe he’d run over to the mound and see if he could catch Morrison there.

  ~

  Ted pulled beside the PEEPs truck and hopped out. He wasn’t happy that he’d have to ride back up north without Mia, but he understood that, short of an ambulance ride, Mia would be most comfortable in the limo Ralph had ordered, where she could stretch out and elevate the injured leg. He met Burt and Cid as they were coming back from their last recovery mission.

  He grabbed the heavy cable roller from Cid and asked, “Do we have all the equipment?”

  “I think so. Let’s run down the checklist just in case,” he said.

  Burt smiled at the two techs. He really had it easy as the team leader. Each person knew their job and took it seriously. Rarely did they leave behind a cable or tape recorder at the scene of an investigation.

  “How about your wind detector?” Ted asked Cid.

  “Come to think of it, I didn’t see it down there. It could have been blown over or sucked into that vortex?”

  “Why don’t you guys head down there with the big lights. Be careful, that vortex opened up by itself before, it may again,” Burt warned.

  “That’s right. It was open when we first found it. Remember the drag marks…” Ted stopped a moment and thought. “Cid, Charles never went through the portal. The emerging deity was taking him up to Wisconsin and back. Whose heel marks are those?”

  “We never looked further in the passage because of the risk of the vortex activating,” Cid reminded him.

  Mike walked over from where he was loading equipment into the van. “Come on, guys, we only have a few hours of daylight, and I’m hungry.”

  “You sound like Mia,” Ted said.

  “Speaking of which, I guess she is winding her way up north in the lap of luxury while us working stiffs clean up?” he asked.

  “We’re headed down to get the wind detector and explore the passage beyond the vortex, you game?” Cid asked.

  “Might as well, we have the security guards until nightfall. Let’s take a camera. Maybe we’ll run into some Civil War era ghosts down there. Speaking of ghosts, where’s Murphy?”

  Ted looked around and found him waiting by Mia’s truck. He walked over and explained what the delay was. “You want to go exploring?” he asked.

  Murphy nodded, picked up his axe and followed Ted.

  The five ghost hunters, armed with camera and lights, headed down the stairs once again. The passage was as they left it. Cid found the detector lying behind a pile of rubble. He set it upright so they would see it on their way out.

  Burt stopped before the broken wall and asked, “Ready, gentlemen?”

  They all nodded, and he stepped over the wall and shone his light beyond the area where the vortex had appeared. “There seems to be a door back here.” He waited until Mike joined him before pulling the old iron door open. Murphy skirted the door and moved ahead of them. The floor beneath them was difficult to walk on. The old bricks were uneven, and a mossy substance had made some of them slick.

  Mike stopped and shown his mag light on a spot on the floor. “Drag marks. Something or someone has been using this passage. Be on your toes, guys, this could be someone’s idea of a home, and we’re trespassing.”

  They continued on. Murphy stopped ahead and dragged his axe. The men slowed their stride and cautiously approached him. The passageway ended with another iron door, this one with a window and bars on it.

  Burt pulled on the door to no avail. Mike moved the light around the door and frame. He found an old skeleton key hanging on a nail driven into the sandstone. “The nail is a galvanized two penny,” he announced pulling the key off. “Someone has recently used this area.”

  Burt took the key Mike handed to him and unlocked the door. It opened with a screech into a large room.

  Ted pulled out a few light disks and dropped them on the floor. They were amazed to find camp beds, lanterns and the remains of a few fast-food feasts. Tucked into the corner was a camp toilet that reeked from previous use.

  “Hidey-hole or prison?” Cid asked the team.

  “If it’s a prison, the inmates are gone. Looks like recently,” he said, holding up the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder box. “It’s got a date and time on it.”

  “Burt knows his fast-food,” Mike pointed out.

  “Hours of sitting in the command post with nothing to read, one discovers these things,” he explained.

  “I don’t get it. We’ve been here all day. They couldn’t have gotten past us, let alone the cameras,” Ted said.

  “Maybe there’s another way out. Search every corner of this room,” Burt instructed. “Murphy, go back along the passage, see if we missed anything.”

  A light tap of t
he axe answered him.

  The three of them searched the room. There was only one way in and out, that was the iron door. On the floor under a camp bed Cid found a wallet. He shown his light on it, flipping it open to read the ID. “Andrew Enrich. Isn’t he the missing archeologist?”

  “Name’s familiar,” Ted said. “What was he doing down here?”

  “If Charles was zeroing in on what he thought was a find, it could be that Enrich followed him. Archeologists are quite competitive,” Burt said.

  “Indiana Jones comes to mind,” Cid said.

  “Fiction, dude, fiction,” Ted chided.

  “Where the fuck did the writers get the idea from? My money’s on real events. Look at Egypt for fuck’s sake,” he argued.

  “Boys,” Burt warned. “Let’s not fight. I can see his point, Ted.”

  Cid beamed and put his thumbs in invisible suspenders and thrust his chest out.

  “Real mature, dude,” Ted said.

  Mike started digging through the pile of trash. “Blister bandages? If these are prisoners, someone is taking care of them.”

  “Where are they now, and how did they get out unnoticed?” Burt asked.

  CRACK!

  Murphy’s axe echoed down the passage.

  “I think he’s found something,” Ted said and headed out of the room.

  Mike shut the door after them, replacing the key, and caught up to the others.

  Ted conversed with Murphy and translated for them, “He’s found a passage. We didn’t see it because it’s hidden.” He shined the light on the wall of the passage. “See, it looks solid but…” he said, stepping into the wall. Actually, there is an opening and a parallel passage behind here.”

  The others followed him into the cramped passage that eventually emptied into the basement of an adjoining building. They followed the stairs up, and this building, although in better repair, was abandoned.

  “Cid, Ted, go back down and retrieve the detector and head back to the truck. Mike and I will continue to explore and meet you back at the loading dock.”

  Burt waited until they were gone before he consulted Mike. “This looks like a job for the police. Someone is keeping Doctor Enrich captive along with at least three others in that hole in the ground. Hell, it could be Doctor Enrich himself for all we know.”

  Mike pulled out his cell phone and dialed Charles’s number.

  Charles felt the vibration of the new phone and picked it up as he strode across the lawn headed for Mound 72. “Hello, this is Doctor Cooper.”

  He listened to all Mike had to say without interruption. “Andrew Enrich, are you sure?”

  “All we have is his wallet. It could have been stolen, but the man is missing isn’t he?”

  “Yes. I’m over at Cahokia now. Doctor Morrison has done a walkabout. I’m looking for him now.”

  “Be careful, we’re going to call the St. Louis police to have a look at this and then head over.”

  “Keep me apprised,” Charles said and hung up his phone.

  ~

  Mia woke from sleep. It took her a moment to fix on where she was. Audrey lay asleep next to her inside the stretch limo Ralph had hired. Her thigh throbbed with each bump in the road. Bumps in the road? She didn’t remember Highway 55 being under construction. Could they already be back in Big Bear Lake? If so, that meant she slept over four hours since leaving the hospital with Audrey. She looked for her phone and remembered that Audrey had it with her other things.

  She inched along the long seat, being careful to keep her injured thigh elevated. She tapped on the window that separated the driver from the back compartment.

  The window lowered, “Yes, Miss?”

  “What time is it?”

  The driver told her the time, and Mia was puzzled. It had only been twenty minutes since they left the hospital. She looked at the road through the windshield of the limo. This wasn’t I 55.

  “Are we taking a detour?”

  “There’s an accident shutting down the highway,” the driver said crisply and raised the window before Mia could ask another question.

  She inched her way back to Audrey and gently shook her. No response. Mia put her hand on her neck, and there was a strong pulse. She shook Audrey and the woman fought to open her eyes. It was becoming apparent to Mia that this was a drug-induced slumber. Why would Audrey take a sleeping pill when she was so adamant about taking care of Mia? Another jarring bump set Mia’s teeth on edge. She needed a pain pill and a drink of water. She noticed the bottle of water setting beside Audrey. Mia picked it up and saw that it was half drunk. She smiled remembering the comment Audrey made to Mia once about staying hydrated. Mia was about to put it down when she noticed something floating. “Ew, backwash,” she said and almost put it down. She didn’t know what made her hold it to the interior light, but when she did, she saw small white particles swirling in the water.

  Mia reached over Audrey and into the ice bucket and pulled out a fresh bottle. The seal had been broken, and as she examined the bottle in the light, she found like particles floating in the water. She picked up the remaining two bottles and sure enough, upon examination, they too had been opened. Someone had drugged the water. Mia looked for Audrey’s briefcase and couldn’t find it. She checked the pockets of the borrowed clothes and found nothing there. Mia patted down Audrey. No cell phone.

  “Shit.”

  The window lowered. “Did you say something, Miss?”

  “I’d like to make a call but can’t seem to find my cell. Could I use the car phone?”

  “Sorry, Miss, the phone is out of order. Sit back, we will be at our destination soon.”

  The window rose again but not before Mia caught sight of an all too familiar landmark. Monks Mound stood sentinel against the fading light.

  “Why are we in Cahokia?” she asked herself.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Ted put down his phone, puzzled. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

  Murphy, who was leaning against the command center, turned to him with a questioning look.

  “I can’t reach Mia, Audrey, the limo driver, no one. We’ve driven that route before, and I never remembering losing more than two bars.”

  Murphy didn’t remember there being any saloons alongside the highway.

  Cid stuck his head in the truck and said, “We’re almost ready to start to head back. The locals don’t need us. Gerald’s group is going to liaise with the St. Louis cops.” Cid looked at Ted’s confused expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t raise Mia, Audrey or the limo.”

  “That’s odd. That car has a satellite phone. I saw the antenna when it pulled up.”

  Ted pulled out his iPad and started typing. He swore and connected the keyboard to increase his speed.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Trying to hack the limo company’s computer. If that car has sat nav then I can track it from their website.”

  “Dude, use the big computer. I’ll plug in the generator.”

  They worked quickly, and soon Ted was in the company’s website and tracing the car. “Fuck.”

  “What?”

  “Cahokia, the limo is turning into the Interpretive Center.”

  “Call Charles…”

  “Already doing it.”

  Charles ignored the vibration of the phone. He stood transfixed, staring at the activity surrounding Mound 72. A platform had been erected, and six fire pits had been dug with dry wood laid in them, ready to burn. The men working were unfamiliar to Charles. Their clothing was old and a few of them hadn’t seen a razor in weeks.

  “Excuse me,” he said.

  The startled workers looked at Charles as if he had two heads.

  “I’m looking for Doctor Morrison.”

  “He’s busy,” the nearest worker informed him.

  “Could you let him know that Doctor Charles Cooper would like to speak to him? It’s very important.”

  The worker nodded and l
eft. Charles followed him with his eyes. The man walked up the side of the mound and disappeared inside. Inside? Charles was flabbergasted. Mound 72 was a burial mound. It wasn’t hollow. Was it? He started to doubt himself. He walked over to the platform and started up the side of the mound. Before he reached the entrance, Andrew Enrich walked out.

  The man was pale and nervous. He walked over and shook Charles’s hand saying, “It’s good to see you again. Doctor Morrison told me he’ll give you a call soon. My love to Betty Ann.”

  Now Charles was very confused. “Oh, okay. I’m headed back to Cleveland now.”

  “God I love that town. I better get back now.”

  Charles nodded, walked back down the mound and increased his speed as things started to fall into place. He had never talked to Andrew Enrich before but had seen him from afar at a few functions. Everyone who was anyone in archeology knew that Charles was married to the much published Amanda, and everyone knew that Andrew Enrich hated Cleveland ever since his embarrassing disaster of a presentation on Mesoamerican pottery was rebuffed by the Cleveland scholars.

  His phone buzzed again, and he picked it up as he headed back to the building. “Doctor Cooper.”

  “Charles, why is Mia’s limo in Cahokia?” a very anxious sounding Ted asked.

  “Here? I’m sorry, did you say her car is here? Something’s wrong.” Charles filled him in on what he found and suggested Ted and his team get over here.

  “Should we talk to the police? They’re checking out the dungeon as we speak.”

  “For what? I don’t have any proof. All I have is a missing man found. Besides St. Louis police aren’t going to cross state lines. I’m headed into the center to see if I can raise a few security guys and have them call the state police.”

  Charles heard rapid footfalls behind him. He turned around to see several of the workers headed his way. Charles put his phone in his pocket with Ted still connected and ran like hell.

  ~

  The limo pulled into the parking lot and idled. Mia pulled at the door handle fruitlessly. She turned off the interior lights and put her face against the dark tinted windows. The Interpretive Center was dark. There were a few vehicles in the lot, including her father’s jeep. Dare she hope that this was just a stunt, and she just imagined the drugged water? One look over at Audrey changed her mind. The woman was fighting to wake up, but she had drunk too much of the drug-laced water and fell back to sleep.