by Alexie Aaron
Murphy swung at Skinny and managed to unsettle the ruffian. Skinny tripped and fell.
Mia pulled open the trunk and for one brief moment in time was dumbstruck. Inside were bones, knives, guns, coins and a signed first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird. She grabbed all of the knives she could see and ran into the kitchen with them. She picked up the salt shaker and opened it on top of the pile of steel blades.
Skinny grabbed at the farmer’s leg and pulled upwards as he got up. Murphy fell to his back. Skinny took out his knife, but it dissolved before his eyes. He twisted in pain and slowly faded away.
Murphy got up and looked around, puzzled. Mia waved at him from the kitchen where she stood leaning on the counter next to a pile of salt-covered knives.
“I don’t care if the man has your balls along with your bones!” Albert’s grandmother said. “You just say no!”
Benny, cowed by the woman, walked over to his friend the axeman, hanging his head low.
Murphy tapped the ground and pointed towards the open trunk.
Benny looked up and over at the sea chest before he understood. He smiled and looked into the hoard.
Mia ran over. “Wanna show me which ones are yours?”
Benny pointed to a large leg bone and part of a toe. Mia pulled them out of the trunk and set them reverently on the ground before her.
Eddie couldn’t believe his eyes. How could the tide turn so quickly? He had all the marbles. Two ghosts! One bound by magic, the other, his loyal deranged brother. But Skinny was defeated, and Benny was no longer controllable. Eddie started to back out into the foyer. He didn’t like the situation at present. He would take off and live to steal another day. He turned to leave, but his way was blocked by Burt.
“Going somewhere?” Burt asked.
“How’d the hell you get in here. You’re trespassing! I’m going to call the cops. I’ll sue your ass. I’ll…”
“You’ll sit down in there and explain to the management how a forty-year-old excon is residing in a seniors-only building,” Burt said, using his bulk to his advantage.
The doorbell rang, followed by pounding. “Open up. Chicago Police Department.”
Burt opened the door.
“We’re here on a noise complaint from a Mrs. Abrams. Are you the owner of this apartment?”
“Thank god, you’re here, officer!” Eddie said, pushing Burt out of the way. These two men burst into my home and began threatening me.”
Burt opened his mouth to explain but was censured by the look of the officer at the door.
“Is this true were you threatening this man?”
“I can explain,” Burt started.
Albert walked out of the living room. “Officers, this man kidnapped this woman. We were just trying to…”
A second officer walked in the door, and he motioned for the five of them to move into the living room.
Eddie walked in and saw the trunk’s lid open and Mia looking in it and yelled, “That’s my property! Get out of there!”
Mia put her hands up and said, “You heard him, officer. This is his property.” She waved the uniformed men over to her.
“Sit down over there,” the lead officer demanded of Burt, Albert and Eddie. “Miss, were you kidnapped by this man?” he asked, pointing to Eddie.
“I was restrained by knifepoint in this room,” Mia answered honestly. She pulled her hair away to show the small wound on her neck. “And it’s Mrs.,” she added. “Mrs. Theodore Martin.”
The officer liked the blonde who hadn’t succumbed to hysterics. She didn’t seem frightened at all. He walked over and took a look in the trunk and whistled. “Are the contents of the trunk yours?” he asked Eddie once again.
“Yes,” Eddie said, forgetting for a moment what the trunk actually contained. “I mean no,” he corrected. “I’ve never seen it before.”
“Steve, he’s backpedaling fast.” He walked over and joined his partner. “What’s in… Well, hello there,” he said and reached into his pocket and pulled on a blue plastic glove. He reached in the trunk and pulled out the book. He flipped it open, shut it and replaced it in the trunk again. “Well, I’ll be.” He picked up his phone and called his district commander. “Sorry, sir, we’re at the Uptown. Yeah again. This time on a noise complaint. Who knew? Anyway, what was the only thing stolen from 7A? Yeah, I thought so. I think we have the missing property. Found it in 4B in a trunk. Long story. Yeah, okay.”
He walked over and nodded to his partner who helped Eddie to his feet.
“Mr. Jones, I’d like you to come with us and answer a few questions,” the lead officer said.
“He’s not Mr. Jones,” Albert blurted out.
“I imagine you’re right. Now, I understand you’re the doorman of this establishment.”
“Yes, sir, I am.”
“Can I count on you to hold the fort until the forensic guys get here?”
“Yes, sir.”
The officer turned to the blonde. “Mrs. Martin, I know what’s in the trunk. I expect it to be there when the team arrives, do you understand me?”
“Loud and clear,” she said.
The officers left. Albert followed them out into the corridor.
Mia reached under the couch and drew out the leg and toe bone. “I hid them when I heard the cops were at the door,” she explained to Burt. She picked them up, and walked over, grabbed the switchblade Benny was pointing out to her and put it in her pocket.
“What are you doing? You heard the man,” Burt cautioned.
“He said he knew what was in the trunk. When he was looking, these weren’t in there.” Mia touched her ear. “How’s my husband?”
“Alive, conscious and has one hell of a headache,” Cid replied.
“Another ER visit for the Martin family. I wonder if we accumulate reward points. The seventh visit free or something.” Mia hefted the large bone up and motioned for someone Burt couldn’t see in the room. “Come on. Let’s free you so I can deal with Skinny,” she said and walked out of the room.
Mrs. Abrams stood watching from the doorway of her apartment. Previously, she had seen the two police officers leading away a strange little man. Was that the elusive Edward Jones? He didn’t look a day over forty. Now, she witnessed Mia walking down the hall, talking to herself and carrying a large bone. Maude knew she could have stopped her and asked a few questions but decided to follow the advice of her third husband and mind her own business.
Chapter Fourteen
Mia ran out of the elevator towards the command center. Ted was sitting up, holding an icepack on top of his head.
“I’m so sorry,” Mia said, lifting the icepack and placing a kiss on the goose egg.
Ted winced at the contact but smiled all the same. “No, I’m sorry. If I would have taken care of the salt box then…”
“A little duct tape wouldn’t have stopped Skinny. He would have bludgeoned you with it, until he broke it, setting his spectral knife free of the salt enclosure. I was in too much of a rush. I should have followed through and secured it.”
Cid looked at the couple and shook his head. “Shit happens,” he said simply.
Ted looked at the adult femur Mia held in one hand and asked, “Is that what I think it is?”
“It’s part of Benny. This is a femur and this is…” Mia said, reaching into her pocket, pulling out the toe bone and setting it on the table, announcing, “a distal phalanx.”
“Care to share why you were walking around with a toe bone in your pocket?” Ted asked.
“Where else would I carry it?” Mia asked. She turned around and motioned for Benny to come over.
The giant lumbered over, his eyes fixed on the two bones.
“You told Murphy that you were being controlled by the guy we know as Edward Jones because he had your bones.”
“He pud a spell on dem,” Benny said.
“The problem is that I can’t find any markings on the bones, any reason for you to be tied to the man.”
“He pud voodoo on dem,” Benny insisted.
“Ah, voodoo. Benny, voodoo primarily depends on faith. You have to believe in hexes for voodoo hexes to work, and then they are quite powerful. You were never bound to Jones; you only thought you were.”
Benny looked puzzled.
“He conned you, Benny. He made you believe you were under his control. He used your fear of judgment day against you.”
“I was a bad man. Did bad dings,” Benny confessed.
“Are you sorry you did those things?” Mia asked, praying he wouldn’t elaborate on what was so horrible that he feared meeting his maker.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Can you forgive yourself?”
“Don’t know.”
“You have to. In order to make amends, you have to first forgive yourself. Whatever caused you to behave this way is gone. Whoever hurt you so,” Mia said, pointing to his ruined face, “is gone. All that is left is you. Does this make any sense to you?”
“I think so,” Benny said, and his persona started to change. The damaged face disappeared as a younger, stronger chin thrust out and a smile formed on the restored lips. Mia saw a glint of light reflected in the ghost’s eyes.
“Do you see a light, Benny?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“It’s here for you.”
“What about Skinny?”
“Skinny’s not ready for this light, Benny. Go in peace,” Mia said softly.
Mia watched as the man, once thought to be a monster, walked a few graceful steps across the room before he vanished.
Ted reached out for Mia’s hand. Feeling his warmth helped to tether her to the earth. With each passing that she presided over, part of her became vulnerable to the pull of the light. She looked down at her injured husband and over at her spectral axe-carrying friend. Their presence reminded her that she had reasons for staying.
“Are you alright?” Ted asked.
“Yup.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Nope.”
“Is that a switchblade in your pocket?” Ted asked Mia.
“Yup.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“Don’t know. Do we have any salt left?” she asked.
“Some. Are you going to cross the violent ghost over?”
“I’m not sure I can. He has to want to go,” she explained. “Perhaps I need to consult with Father Santos,” Mia said. “But first, it’s off to the hospital for you.”
“I feel fine.”
“We’ll let the radiologist confirm that, K,” Mia said firmly.
Ted knew that tone in her voice indicated she wouldn’t be talked out of it. He nodded.
“I’ve got the com,” Cid said. “Bring me back a chilidog.”
Chapter Fifteen
The screen filled up with images that were being sent back to Ted and Cid. Mike and Burt looked impressed as they watched Centipede work its way up the girder between the walls.
“Mia, Centipede is on the second floor, over,” Ted reported.
“Just what this place needs, a bug infestation,” she said wryly.
“Cid says one bug doesn’t make an infestation, dear, over.”
“Running on silent for a while,” Mia said before she knocked on Maude Abrams’s door. She looked over at Audrey and asked, “Ready?”
“I better be. I wish you didn’t bet so much on us finding the diamonds first, Mia.”
“I’m not going to let Curly beat us to it, besides a little pressure helps clear the cobwebs.”
“I didn’t think you were fuzzy?”
“Oh not me, the hubby. He needs to exercise that big brain of his. After the bash on the head, I want to make sure he’s firing on all cylinders.”
Audrey nodded.
Mia knocked on Mrs. Abrams’s door. They could hear a faint, “Coming,” from Maude, and they waited patiently.
“Well look who the cat dragged in,” Maude said, surveying the girls.
“I was wondering if we could have a few moments of your time,” Audrey said sweetly.
“Are you going to preach to me?”
“No.”
“Are you going to sell me a set of encyclopedias?”
“No.”
“Then come in. I’ve made a fresh pot of coffee,” Maude said. “You look like you both could use some. Mind telling me what happened to your curls, young lady?” she asked, showing them into the kitchen.
In Maude’s condo, the kitchen was double the size of the other condos Mia and Audrey had seen.
Noticing their interest, Maude explained, “I took out the damned dining room. Who needs to eat formally these days anyway? And then there’s all that slopping about bringing food back and forth. I was raised eating in a kitchen, and it’s good enough for me.”
“I quite agree,” Mia said, accepting the large mug Maude handed her.
“Milk’s in the icebox, sugar’s on the counter,” she said and poured another vat of coffee for Audrey.
Mia sipped on the coffee and nodded. “This is great. Mind me asking…”
“Nothing special, Maxwell House, good and strong,” Maude said. “I know I can afford those swanky brands, and I do admit to being addicted to Starbucks’s Caramel Macchiato, but at home I like the familiar taste of old Maxy Hut.”
Mia looked amused, repeating, “Maxy Hut?”
“That’s what my second husband Marty Finklestein used to call it,” Maude said.
Mia saw a softening around Maude’s eyes as the woman talked about her second husband. “He was your favorite, wasn’t he?”
“Oh yes, he was the love of my life. The first, I married for duty, Marty was for love, and the late Mr. Abrams was for friendship. He and Marty were poker buddies. I’m not quite sure, but I may have been won the last game they played together. You see, Marty had the cancer, the kind you don’t survive. He knew it was time to cash in his chips. He died with a smile on his face, ladies, so don’t waste your sympathy on me.”
“How long have you lived here?”
“Just about ten years. Mr. Abrams and I got a deal on the place. Its owner took off, leaving a hefty mortgage. We took over the mortgage, and when Mr. Abrams passed, I paid it off with his insurance. If my neighbors knew I wasn’t as, shall we say, comfortable as they were, they would find a way to work me out of here.”
“You own the place, don’t you?”
“Yes, but the snobs can do a number on you and make you feel unwanted right away. I’ve seen it before. It wouldn’t matter so much when I was younger, but as I get older, I depend upon the smiles and respect I get. Being shunned is a problem for me.”
“Mrs. Abrams…” Mia started.
“Please call me Maude.”
“Maude, I have a big favor to ask you. Feel free to decline it,” Mia said.
“Go on.”
“Can you show us your safe, not the insides, but where it’s located?” Mia asked.
“Sure. You’ll have to explain why though,” Maude said, getting up.
“We have seen a few of the safes here in the Uptown, and I’ve noticed that all of them have something in common. I just wanted to see another for confirmation.”
“Well, now you’ve peaked my interest. Come on, it’s on the other side of the kitchen wall.”
She led the girls out into the hall, across the foyer and into the spacious living room. She opened up the drapes to let in more light. “I have most of my papers in the safe. The insurance is at the bank along with my will. It’s over here at the end of the bookshelf.”
Mia watched as Maude moved a few books and pushed a button. A wood panel slid out, exposing the metal door of the safe. It was inset six inches into the wall. The carpenter did a nice job of fitting wood paneling around it.
“It’s nice to have the sill there, but recessed as it is, it’s kind of a reach for me,” Maude said and carried a step stool over from the corner. “Here, use this.”
; Mia thanked her and moved it into place. She examined the bottom and sides of the wood surround. She took out her penlight, and on tiptoes examined the top wood panel. Mia took off her glove and moved her hand over the smooth oak and smiled. She put her glove back on and got down off the step stool. “Maude, have you ever opened up the compartment above the safe?”
“What compartment?” she asked, getting on the stool and looking up.
Mia and Audrey looked at each other. Audrey nodded to Mia.
“Would you like me to open it up?” Mia asked.
“Oh yes! I’d love to see how it works.”
“I’m going to get the stepladder Albert left for us down the hall and be right back,” Mia explained. “In the meanwhile, Audrey will tell you why we wanted to see yours.”
“Maude,” Audrey began, “We noticed that all the safes, no matter their size, had one thing in common, and that was that they were recessed into the wall. Most of them aren’t trimmed out with anything other than drywall, but a few had this kind of detail. We wanted to see yours because we are working on a hunch. You and Mr. Abrams moved in here after the apartment had been deserted?” she asked for clarification.
“That’s true.”
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the missing Masters diamonds,” Audrey said.
“Rumors. They disappeared before our time here though. I assure you that the safe was empty when we purchased the apartment from the bank.”
“I’m sure it was,” Audrey said.
Mia walked back in carrying a five foot metal ladder. She set it as close as she could get to the wood cabinet without scratching the surface.
“This condo, according to Mr. Stewart’s records, was empty during the heist.”
Mia stopped her climb and waited for Audrey to finish her explanation.
“We think the burglar used this apartment as a basis for his operation.”
“Surely the police would have searched the whole building, including this place,” Maude argued.
