by Alexie Aaron
“Go on,” Ted said as he struggled with the focus of the infrared stationary cam.
“We could teach them how to avoid waking the beasts, and if they do, we’ll come in and clean house.”
“Sounds interesting. How would you avoid waking up, let’s say, the mobster buried at the Rosemont for example?”
Cid thought a moment. “Ground penetrating radar.”
“Too expensive. Try again.”
“Having the place blessed.”
“Didn’t work on the parish house.”
“I see your point. I’m not conceding yet. I’ll think on it.”
“Tell me, you’re a contractor,” Ted started.
“That I am.”
“Can you renovate a building without shaking the ground, the walls, or the rafters?”
“No.” Cid said. “But not all properties have ghosts on them.”
“True, I could work out the math on the probability, considering the age, location, and type of building…”
“Do that. I think there’s money in this…”
“Scam,” a deep voice said from the middle of the balcony.
Cid and Ted whirled around and stared at Stephen Murphy sitting with his hat pulled down over his face and his feet up on the back of the seat in front of him. His axe lay harmlessly across his lap.
“Cid, it’s Murphy. He’s sitting here waiting for more Sulus to appear.”
Murphy pushed his hat up and turned in Ted’s direction.
Cid started laughing. “Maybe Murphy should wear the redshirt of shame. Did Mia explain that…” Cid stopped talking and reached behind him and pointed the camera to the wall behind Ted.
Ted whirled around to see what had Cid all excited. Ted backed up to take in the wall. He watched as words formed as if they were being sprayed painted in front of them in red. Murphy got up, moved over and stood beside Ted.
“Do you see anyone?” Ted asked Murphy in a whisper.
Murphy shook his head.
When the graffiti was finished, Ted reached up and touched the drip of red that ran down the wall. He brought it to his nose and smelled the familiar copper smell. “It’s blood.”
Cid focused the camera so it could take in the warning that was tagged to the wall in blood. It read, Get out or die!
Chapter Thirteen
Mike looked over Burt’s shoulder at the display of camera four. “‘Get out or die’ is hardly original,” he mentioned.
“A bit unfriendly,” Burt said. “What bothers me is that Murphy didn’t see anyone writing it.”
“OOBer?”
“Perhaps, we’ll have to get Mia’s take on it.”
“Or Bev’s. She’s the more experienced of the two,” Mike said.
“About Bev. In my opinion, that was a crap move to pull on Mia,” Burt pointed out.
“She’s the one that said to ask her in front of everyone,” Mike defended.
“When did you get the request?”
“Just after we signed the contract, Gerald called me. He told me Bev was worried that she had blown it with Mia and wanted to make amends. I told him she and we were busy with this investigation. He suggested Bev come out and help, and if we agreed, he’d clear our debt.”
“So you sold out Mia,” Burt said turning around. “Better you than me. I hope it doesn’t blow up in your face. I wouldn’t want to have either woman mad at me.”
“I don’t think it will come to that. Besides, it looks like we’re going to be too busy to have time for the girls to get on each other’s nerves.”
“What the hell is that?” Mia said as she walked out on the stage.
“Can you see it from there?” Ted called down.
“Yes, it’s quite a vivid red, blood?”
“Seems to be.”
“K.”
“Murphy couldn’t see anyone writing it,” Cid informed her in his loudest voice.
“Might be a bilocator playing tricks,” Mia said, looking at the wall. “But how did it carry the blood, and where did the blood come from?”
Audrey had an idea. “What if it’s a trick? Someone wrote it before we got here, and it slowly bled through the wallpaper?”
Mia turned around and looked at Audrey. “I’m so impressed,” she said. “You are full of surprises.” Mia turned back, looking at the message and called, “Ted, check and see, oh hell, wait for us. I’m tired of yelling. We’ve got to get on com.”
Mia ran over to the door on the left side with Audrey close behind her. She pushed through the exit door and ended up in the maintenance hallway. She ran until she reached the final ladder before the exit and started climbing. She examined the rungs as she grasped them and noticed that they were free of cobwebs. She moved upwards with Audrey nervously moving on the floor underneath her, pointing her flashlight ahead of Mia as she climbed.
Mia got to the top and pulled open the access door to the speakers.
Ted watched as a rectangular door opened before his eyes and half of Mia was exposed to him. “Neat trick, I see you found the speaker doors.”
“How far above the writing am I?” she asked leaning out.
“Two feet to the top of the G.”
Mia hefted herself over the bottom of the opening. “Hey, Murph, do you mind?”
Murphy moved up the wall and floated, keeping a secure hand on Mia’s back as she scooted forward until she hung over the hatch. She reached down and ran her hand over the wall near the G. She smiled, reached backwards and pulled out of her pocket a Swiss Army knife. She opened it and leaned back down and scratched at something and smiled. “Hang on to me, Murph. I’m about to do something stupid,” she informed the ghost. She ran both hands over the place where she scratched and pulled and lifted the top of a piece of wallpaper and yanked it off the wall. The G and part of the E floated down, exposing matching wallpaper underneath. “It’s as Audrey said, a trick. She’ll explain it to you as soon as we get up there.” Mia wiggled back through the opening and closed the access door.
Ted who caught the strip of paper examined it. Cid walked over, and the two of them had it almost worked out when the girls joined them.
“It’s an old trick. The paper is treated with a chemical with a timed release reaction,” Audrey explained. It probably was misted with water or something else to activate it before we got here. The person did it one letter at a time so it would look like it was being painted before your very eyes.”
“I get it, but the bottom of the exclamation point is blood. I know blood when I smell it,” Ted argued.
“It could be on a sponge under the porous paper,” Audrey suggested. “The blood is contained in a sack, and the seal dissolves slowly releasing the fluid.”
“Why the hoax?” Cid asked. “The place is haunted. Why go to the trouble of faking this?”
“Maybe whoever did this, didn’t know the place is haunted?” Mia suggested. “Someone wants this place to fail or…”
“Scare someone away,” Ted finished. “What time did it start?”
“Six o’clock,” Cid supplied. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. According to the security guy’s schedule, there was supposed to be a rehearsal starting at five forty-five. They would have been up and running when the message would have appeared. They canceled it because of what happened here this morning.”
“Who was supposed to be on stage?” Audrey asked.
“Amber Day,” he read.
“Amber’s tough as nails; she wouldn’t be frightened by this,” Ted scoffed.
“I agree with Ted. Amber was possessed and didn’t let it deter her plans,” Mia explained.
“She’s the one?” Audrey realized. “I didn’t recognize the name.”
“I’m the what?” demanded a voice behind them.
They turned to see Amber standing, staring at what was left of the message on the wall. “And what the fuck is that?”
“Someone left you a message,” Ted said, lifting up the paper for her to see the G and
half of the E.
“Well that makes more sense. I read tout or die! from the stage. I thought it was some kind of instruction from Marc.”
Ted started laughing and explained to Mia who looked at him oddly, “Tout as in sell or flaunt it.”
“A burlesque dancer has to sell the idea of sex with every step, according to Marc,” Amber enlightened them.
“So, who wants to scare you?” Audrey asked.
“I don’t know. Are you sure it’s me they want to scare?”
“No, it could be Marc or one of your back up dancers,” Cid said, looking at the list of personnel expected on the security form.
“Well if it’s Marc, the two clowns in the audience finished off what the bloody man started. He quit, and one of the cat dancers. I mean, what are a few bloody ghosts? If they worked in theater before, they’d be used to ghosts. Look at the Rialto Square, the place is supposed to have Capone visiting…”
Mia kept her thoughts of Capone visiting to herself.
“Well, time’s a wasting. Leave that for Juan’s men. You take care of the dead and leave the living to them,” she said, turning heel and walking out of the balcony.
“She has a point,” Cid said.
“I disagree,” Audrey piped up. “What if all this is connected in some way?”
“I don’t think we should discount it either, but maybe we’ll look at all the evidence when we have more information on the ghosts,” Mia suggested.
“I can live with that,” Audrey said.
Ted looked around. “Where’s Murphy?”
“He took off when Amber showed up,” Mia said. “It has to be awkward for him. Last time he saw Amber, she was possessed with his wife’s spirit,” she explained.
“Oh my god, I didn’t realize,” Audrey said. “Poor man.”
“And here I was feeling sorry for Mike after all they…” Ted stopped talking as he remembered what they all were cautioned about before they took the gig. “They worked together,” he finished lamely.
“Didn’t you and Burt work with her too?” Cid questioned. “Ouch,” he complained as Mia pinched him.
“Hello,” she said, looking at the handsome Japanese gentleman standing just behind Cid. “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. I’m Mia Cooper. This is Cid Garret, Ted Martin and Audrey McCarthy.”
Cid turned around and choked back the name Sulu.
“Very nice to meet you, I’m Juan Carlos, the owner of The Jewel. Amber sent me down to look at the damage some mischief maker has done.”
Ted handed him the strip of paper and explained the time release element of the red dye.
“All this time I thought we just had a few ghosts to clear up. Seems to me we have to dig further. I’ll have my security chief look into who had access to the theater. When would this have been set up?”
“Roughly, a few hours ago the water would have been sprayed, but the wallpaper could have been up for days even weeks,” Ted informed him.
“Thank you, Mr. Martin. This will help. Now if you will excuse me, I have a fiancée to calm.”
They watched him leave, and Mia glared at Cid who was trying to control himself. “Honestly, whatever you’re thinking, save it until you’re out of this theater,” she warned him.
“Give him a break, Mia,” Ted said. “We’re all thinking it. It’s that the voice doesn’t match the face any more than a bottle-blonde’s carpet doesn’t match the drapes.”
“Why does every conversation with you two end up with naked females?” Mia complained. “Come on, Audrey, let’s get on with the business of investigating and leave the adolescents to their dirty giggles.”
Audrey caught up to Mia at the door. She tried to hide the smile that was forming. She knew she was being unprofessional, but she, like the boys, couldn’t get over the image of Commander Sulu talking to them in a bad Spanish accent. The carpet and drape comment she’d let pass. She knew Ted was smart enough to know what he said. He seemed to be riling Mia on purpose, probably to keep her mind off the soon to be arriving wayward aunt, who frankly was cheesing Audrey off, and she hadn’t even met her yet.
Mia waited for her by the elevator. “Remember to keep all limbs inside. Ted said that the force of this machine could shear off a finger or arm.”
“What about a head?” Audrey mused looking around.
Mia’s face lit up. “By golly, Watson, I do believe you’re on to something.”
Mike was sitting at the long table outside, working out a time table when Mia and Audrey came out of the building. In the command center, Burt was busy giving Ted and Cid instructions as they continued to set up the cameras. Mike patted a seat beside him and said, “Mia, could I talk to you for a moment?”
Mia knowing that Mike was in charge of this investigation held back the biting comment she wanted to use and opted for a simple, “Certainly.” She sat down and waited for Mike to speak.
Audrey, catching on that Mike wanted to talk to Mia alone, climbed in the truck to hang out with Burt.
“It’s about Bev.”
“What about her?”
“Burt thinks you may be a bit upset with me for…”
“Life’s too short. If you can handle having one of your lovers up onstage prancing around in her underwear, wearing a diamond on her finger as big as your contact lens, then I can put up with a very inconsiderate former house guest,” Mia replied and stared at the container of pens in the middle of the table, thinking, ball’s in your court.
“That’s very big of you.”
“I’m a team player,” Mia said absently as she thought she saw the pens quiver. She looked around but didn’t see Murphy or anyone else that could possibly have touched the container.
“You know I’d feel better if you yelled at me,” Mike confessed.
“What is it with you males and your craving for negative attention?” Mia asked. She concentrated on the pens and projected a thought, rise. The pens moved again, this time upwards.
Mike who was looking at Mia didn’t notice. “I guess we’re used to your bursts of…of… Are those pens moving?” he asked following her gaze.
“Uh huh,” she said. Mia projected another thought at the pens, twirl. The pens began to turn slowly and then began to spin.
Mike reached out and grabbed the pens.
Mia continued her thought projections.
“Holy shit, they’re still turning.” He gripped harder.
Mia concentrated and pushed harder with her thoughts.
“Ouch!” Mike exclaimed and dropped the pens. “They’re hot,” he explained as he rubbed his palm and watched as the pens were returned one by one to the container. “You’re doing that aren’t you?”
Mia smiled, still concentrating on the pens. “It appears so.” She finished her task and turned to Mike.
He saw the excitement in her face. “You’ve never done that before.”
“No,” she said.
Mike watched the conflicting emotions form one after another on her face. “How do you feel about this?”
“Excited, worried, baffled and I want to do more,” she said. “Don’t tell anyone, just in case it’s an aberration.”
“It’s telekinesis, not magic, not, God forbid, Angelo or Judy for that matter.” Mike took her hands in his. “I’ve read about this. There are a few folks that can do this. It comes from here.” He dropped her hands and touched her forehead. “My beautiful friend, you have an amazing brain, and I think you’re just at the beginning of finding out just what you can do.”
“More freaky behavior, just what I need,” Mia said sadly.
“Stop it. It isn’t a negative. Seems that Murphy and quite a few of the spirits we’ve come across can manipulate the ether. Why not you? You’ve been in both worlds. Hell, if my count is right, you’ve died twice. My former lover Amber killed you once and then my cousin…”
Mia smirked. “I never thought about it before. Dupree, you’re a dangerous man to be around.” Mia put an exclamation
point on her comment by moving to the next chair over and crossing herself.
He started laughing. “I don’t bite, honest,” he said, emulating Béla Lugosi.
Mia couldn’t help laughing. “I only see you at night; you’re eternally young,” Mia counted out on her fingers.
“Don’t forget I’m a snappy dresser,” Mike added. “Seriously, what are you going to do about your newfound, er, shall we say power?”
“Practice. Maybe it’s a fluke, maybe not. I see how it could come in handy. Just don’t say anything until I’m ready.”
“What about Ted?”
“I’ll tell him when I’m ready. You know what a broadcaster he is,” Mia said with a wistful look on her face.
“And yet you still love him,” Mike commented. “You need a shrink. Burt’s got one, why not you?”
Mia wrinkled up her face. I’d terrify the person with all I have in my head.
“True. Stick to a priest, they’re used to the crazies. Speaking of which, have you heard from the good Father lately?”
“Which good father?”
“Santos. Who’s the other one?”
“Alessandro,” she reminded him. “He’s my personal favorite,” Mia confessed.
“Why?”
“He’s accepting and doesn’t admonish me like Santos does.”
“Ah, that’s because Santos likes you. I sense there are a lot of parental feelings in the father.”
Mia wrinkled her face up again. “Santos is friends with Angelo and is suspect in my eyes.”
Mike nodded. “I hear yah. But don’t discount the man; he’s come through for all of us a number of times. After all, didn’t he send you Alessandro?”
“You’re right. I’ll cut him a break.”
“Who’s going to marry you and Ted?”
“Not either of them. Ted and I aren’t Catholic. We decided on having a judge friend of Ralph’s marry us. The priests are invited on the condition they leave Murphy alone.”
“Seems to me, you cater to that rascal’s needs too much,” Mike observed.
