Delayed Departures

by Terri Reid

  “Okay, that’s a really good question,” Mary said. “Why here?”

  “The only thing that’s here is Midnight Mary, you and…” Dee began.

  “The conference,” Ian and Gwen said at the same time.

  “What are you presenting at the conference?” Mary asked.

  Dee shrugged. “Just a bunch of clips from upcoming shows,” he said. “I’m still editing them, but they’re just regular clips.”

  “Is there anything unusual at all in them?” Bradley asked. “Something you hadn’t done before, a place you hadn’t filmed before?”

  “Yeah, well, there’s the asylum,” Dee offered. “It’s in the middle of Wisconsin and hadn’t been available for anyone to explore until a couple of months ago.” He smiled sadly and shook his head. “It was crazy. Everyone wanted to get in there before the conference. It was like waiting in line for a freaking Disneyland ride. Once one group was out, the next would go in.”

  “How much paranormal activity can you get with that much human interference?” Ian asked.

  Dee nodded. “Exactly,” he said. “It was a total bust. Too many people walking around interrupting the psychic paths. I mean, I haven’t looked at all the footage, but pretty much it was a loss.”

  “What do you mean by everyone?” Bradley asked.

  “Well, not everyone,” Dee replied with a shrug. “But during the time we were there, there were five other groups. Pretty well-known groups, too. Everyone wanted to be ‘the group’ to find something substantial.”

  “Would you mind if I reviewed the footage with you?” Ian asked Dee.

  “No, I would be honored, really,” Dee said. “I’ve got it all on my laptop, back at the hotel. But there’s twelve hours of filming, and it’s really raw stuff.”

  “Well, we can get a start on it this afternoon,” Ian said, “and then continue while we’re at the conference.”

  Ian looked at Mary and Bradley. “Do you mind if I go over there with Dee?” he asked. “There might be something on the footage that will give us a lead.”

  “No, that would be fine,” Mary said. “It’s a great idea.”

  “Yeah, actually, I’d feel better knowing you were with him,” Bradley added. “And then I can go to the office and start pulling backgrounds on the rest of the groups at the conference.”

  “Kathi was going to send me a list of all of the groups attending, as well as the vendors,” Mary said. “So I can forward that to you.”

  “That’d be good,” Bradley replied, standing up. “I can give you both a ride over to the hotel, and then I’ll go to the station. Ian, when you’re ready to go, just text me, and I’ll pick you up.”

  “I could just drive,” Ian offered.

  “Well, if you’re as well-known throughout this ghost hunting community as you are with these guys, you might be inciting a little anxiety with our shooter,” Bradley said. “I’d rather not take a chance.”

  Mary gasped softly. “I hadn’t even thought of that,” she said. “Ian, we’re putting you in danger by having you help out on this case. I don’t think…”

  Smiling, Ian stood and walked over to Mary, bending over and placing a kiss on her cheek. “Darling, I knew what was up when Bradley told me about the case,” he said. “I won’t put myself at risk. I promise.”

  Dee looked across the table at Mary. “If it helps,” he said, “not many of the people in the groups will know who Professor MacDougal is…”

  “Ian,” Ian interrupted.

  Dee nodded and smiled. “Who Ian is,” he added. “They are generally more interested in getting their own data, not reading information about the field of parapsychology. Especially not scientific journals.”

  “So, why do you read them?” Mary asked.

  “I told him he should,” Gwen inserted. “If you’re going to do something, you might as well do it right.”

  “Actually, my mom told me I should,” Dee said, looking around the room. “She’s here, isn’t she?”

  Both Mary and Ian nodded.

  Dee stared at Ian. “You can? You can see my mom, too?”

  “Aye, it’s a gift I’ve had since I was a wee lad,” Ian explained. “Which is what lead me to my interest in the paranormal. It was right there in front of me.”

  “Well, my mother told me that if I was going to do a job I needed to learn all I could about it,” Dee explained. “So, I started studying, and I found your research.”

  “So the only reason Sven knows about Ian is because of the information you’ve shared with him?” Bradley asked.

  Dee nodded. “Yeah, I’ve told him about the papers, and then I’ve shared some of the online lectures Ian has done.”

  Bradley rocked back on his heels for a moment, his arms crossed over his chest. “I’m not quite ready to take Sven off the list of suspects,” he finally said. “He has to be at least a little intimidated by Dee’s knowledge and abilities. He basically admitted that Dee does everything for the show except stand in front of the camera. Sven might feel that Dee’s a threat to his stardom.”

  Dee shook his head. “I don’t know about that,” he said. “I think Sven’s so wrapped up in Sven, he doesn’t even notice what other people are doing. But, I’ll watch my back when I’m around him.”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Bradley said. “We should get going.”

  He walked over to Mary, bent over and kissed her. “Take a nap,” he whispered in her ear.

  She smiled up at him. “I already slept in this morning,” she said. “Besides, I have some research to do of my own.”

  “Research?” Bradley asked.

  Mary nodded. “Yes, on Midnight Mary.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Clarissa came down the stairs and looked around the nearly empty living room. “Did Ian leave?” she asked.

  Mary looked up from her laptop and patted the spot on the couch next to her. “He went over to the hotel, sweetheart,” she said. “To help Dee.”

  Clarissa sat next to her mother and peered at the laptop screen. “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Some research about a lady called Midnight Mary,” Mary replied. “She’s a ghost in downtown Freeport who is waiting for her son to come home from the war.”

  “Why won’t her son come home?” Clarissa asked.

  “Because he was killed over there,” Mary replied. “So she keeps waiting.”

  “That’s so sad.”

  “Yes, sweetheart. Yes, it is.”

  “Guess what!” Clarissa exclaimed, the hint of sadness completely gone.

  “What?” Mary asked with a smile.

  “Me and Maggie decided.”

  “Okay. What did you two decide?”

  “That when we grow up we are going to be like you and Daddy,” the little girl replied. “We’re going to help ghosts.”

  Mary placed her arm around Clarissa’s shoulders and hugged her. “I think that’s a wonderful idea,” she said. “And I think you both would be very good at it.”

  Clarissa nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to go to police school, ‘cause I can’t see ghosts,” she explained. “And Maggie is going to go to ghost school to learn more stuff about ghosts.”

  Mary frowned, suddenly understanding what her parents must have felt when she decided that she wanted to be a police officer.

  “Is that okay?” Clarissa asked, noting her mother’s face.

  Mary smiled down at her daughter and nodded. “Yes, that’s perfectly okay,” she said. “You just need to work hard and be the very best at what you do. And I think that you and Maggie would make an excellent team.”

  Clarissa smiled. “Can I tell her?”

  Mary shook her head, confused for a moment. “Tell who what?”

  “Can I go to Maggie’s house and tell her it’s okay that we can be ghost helpers?” Clarissa asked, slightly exasperated at her mother’s lack of understanding.

  “Well, if it’s okay with Katie…” Mary began.

  “I alrea
dy called. It’s fine if it’s fine with you,” Clarissa interrupted.

  Smiling, Mary nodded. “Yes, it’s fine with me,” she said. “But be home for dinner, okay?”

  Clarissa jumped off the couch and ran to the closet to get her coat. “Okay,” she said. “Is Ian going to be here for dinner?”

  Mary nodded. “Yes, I think so.”

  “Can Maggie come to dinner?” Clarissa asked. “She loves Ian.”

  “Yes, of course she can,” Mary replied with a smile.

  Clarissa hurried over to the door but turned back, her hand on the doorknob. “Oh, Mom,” she said, looking over her shoulder.

  “Yes?” Mary asked.

  “Midnight Mary’s son looks like Dee,” Clarissa replied and then quickly let herself out of the house.

  Mary looked back down to her screen and realized Clarissa was right. “Isn’t that odd,” Mary muttered.

  “What’s odd?” Gwen asked, appearing next to Mary on the couch.

  “Midnight Mary’s son looks like Dee,” Mary said, turning her laptop screen so Gwen could look at it.

  Gwen studied it for a moment and nodded. “I suppose there’s a resemblance,” she said. “But my Dee is much more handsome.”

  Mary grinned and nodded. “Of course he is,” she said. “How’s it going over at the hotel?”

  “Well, if you were interested in the shape, size and movement patterns of anomalous paranormal phenomena, then that would be the place for you to be,” Gwen replied with a smile. “I don’t understand how grown men can sit in front of a computer for hours and get excited over a dust mote.”

  “Well, there’s a chance it isn’t a dust mote,” Mary said.

  Gwen shook her head. “Oh, no, honey. I was there,” she said. “And it was a dust mote.”

  Laughing, Mary nodded. “See, they should have gone to an expert.”

  “I know,” Gwen teased. “You want to know about ghosts, you should ask one.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Mary heard the front door open as she was preparing dinner in the kitchen. She wiped her hands on a towel and hurried into the other room.

  “How did it go?” she asked as Bradley and Ian walked in.

  Ian shrugged. “Well, we got through about five hours of taping in the asylum,” he said and then brightened. “We saw orbs, but that was about it.”

  “Dust motes,” Mary said, folding her arms over her belly and leaning against the couch.

  “What?” Ian asked.

  “Gwen, Dee’s mother, said they were dust motes,” she said with a smile. “She was there.”

  “Ach, then, well she would know,” Ian said. Then he paused. “Or maybe we were picking up her presence, and she didn’t realize it.”

  Mike appeared in the room near them and nodded. “Happens all the time,” he said. “Paranormal entities not being aware that they are the ones creating the readings.”

  “You should know,” Bradley teased.

  Mike nodded. “Yeah, rub it in, big guy.”

  “So any luck with the background checks?” Mary asked Bradley.

  “Well, it seems that quite a few of them have been arrested for trespassing,” he said.

  “Well, a good ghost hunter goes where the ghosts are,” Ian said.

  “But other than that, I don’t see a whole lot of nefarious activity,” Bradley finished. “They have fairly routine and boring lives.”

  “And those are the ones you have to watch out for,” Mike said. “By the way, the ladies are on their way home.”

  “Good. Dinner is nearly ready,” Mary said.

  “Ladies?” Ian asked.

  “Yes. Clarissa insisted that Maggie come for dinner since you are here,” Mary said. “You know they both plan on marrying you.”

  Grinning, Ian slipped off his coat and hung it in the closet. “Well, let’s not share that bit of information with Gillian,” he said, referring to his fiancée. “She can be a might jealous.”

  “I’ll keep it under my hat,” Mary said. She stood up and walked back into the kitchen, the three men following her.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” Bradley asked.

  “You could set the table,” Mary suggested. “And I’d suggest you seat Ian across from the two girls so they can watch him while they eat.”

  “Are you sure he won’t ruin their appetites?” Mike teased.

  “More likely they won’t know what they are putting in their mouths,” Mary said.

  “So are we going to feed them something they’d never eat and take advantage of the situation?” Bradley asked. “Brussel sprouts and beef liver?”

  “Gross,” Mike said. “I thought you loved those girls.”

  “Girls nothing,” Mary said, placing a hand on her protruding belly. “I thought you loved me.”

  Chuckling, Bradley walked over and hugged Mary. “Sorry. I forgot about Mikey,” he said, placing a kiss on her forehead.

  “Lucky you,” she replied with a smile.

  “So, what are we eating?” Ian asked. “Something good for the wee bairn, like haggis and porridge?”

  Mary stared at him. “You are just as bad as Bradley,” she said. “No. We are having homemade, stuffed pizza, a spinach salad, garlic breadsticks and brownies for dessert.”

  “Wow, my mouth is watering, and I’m a dead guy,” Mike said.

  Laughing, Mary moved over to the oven and pulled out the stuffed pizza. “Well, there’s plenty if you can figure out how to eat it and not have it drop all over the floor,” she said.

  Mike shook his head sadly. “Yeah, I haven’t quite figured that part out yet,” he said. Then he looked up and smiled. “Ian, you might want to go and answer the door.”

  Ian walked over to the door and pulled it open just as Clarissa’s hand was on the door knob on the other side. “Hello, darlings,” he said. “You’re both looking mighty pretty this evening.”

  Both girls giggled softly, a blush rising on their cheeks.

  “Hi, Ian,” Maggie whispered. “My mom said I could eat dinner here if it wasn’t a bother.”

  “Oh, darling, you’re never a bother, only a delight,” he replied, opening the door wider. “Now come in out of the cold and take your coats off. Mary has dinner just about ready.”

  “It smells great,” Clarissa said. “What is it?”

  “Well, it’s not haggis, Brussel sprouts or liver,” Ian said.

  “That’s a relief,” Maggie said.

  “Right. We wouldn’t want to puke in front of you,” Clarissa added.

  Ian grinned. “Aye, that would be slightly uncomfortable,” he said, biting back laughter.

  “And disgusting,” Clarissa added.

  “Come in and wash up,” Mary called from the kitchen. “And then I’ll serve the not disgusting dinner.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  “What a fun evening,” Mary said as she stood in front of her bathroom mirror and washed her face. “I don’t think I’ve laughed as hard in a long time.”

  Bradley, lying in bed, his head propped up on pillows, looked up from his phone. “I was a little worried you were going to laugh yourself into labor,” he replied with a chuckle. “And the girls nearly slipped off their chairs.”

  Patting her face dry with a towel, Mary walked to the doorway. “Ian certainly has a way with words,” she said.

  “I think it’s the accent,” Bradley said. “He’s really not that funny in real life.”

  Laughing, Mary hung the towel on a hook and walked over to the bed. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy?” she asked, her eyebrows raised.

  Sitting up, he sat on the side of the bed. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close. “I got the girl,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “I have nothing to be jealous about.”

  She sighed and leaned against him. “You are the only one the girl wanted,” she said, linking her arms around his neck. “And the only one she will ever want.”

  He lifted his head and gently pressed his lips agai
nst hers. “I’m so glad to hear that,” he murmured as he continued to press small kisses against her lips. She moaned softly, and he kissed her again, his hunger deepening the kiss as his hands slowly roamed over her body.

  “You are so incredibly sexy,” he whispered against her ear.

  She moved her head to allow him greater access to the sensitive areas of her neck. “Sure I am,” she said with a soft laugh. “About as sexy as a pumpkin.”

  Bradley abruptly stopped kissing her and pulled back a little, studying her face.

  “What?” she asked.

  He slid his hands up to cup her cheeks in them and then looked deeply into her eyes. “I’m not lying or offering false flattery,” he said seriously. “There’s something about your body, ripe with pregnancy, that is the most erotic turn-on I’ve ever felt.”

  His hands slowly moved from her face, down her shoulders and then deliberately, tenderly, over her swollen curves. She inhaled with a shudder as her body responded to his touch. “Bradley,” she whispered, her mouth suddenly dry.

  He raised up the hem of her pajama top, exposing her belly. Bending, he kissed it as his hands glided over the stretched skin. “So incredibly sexy,” he said. Then he slid his hands up farther.

  “Bradley,” she moaned, responding to his touch.

  With a deft move, he brought his arms underneath her legs and picked her up, placing her on his lap. “How tired are you tonight, Mrs. Alden?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

  She stared up into the darkened eyes of the man she loved more than anything else in the world and smiled, lifting her hand up to caress his slightly stubbled cheek. “I’ve never been less tired in my life, Mr. Alden.”

  The look in his eyes caused her heart to skip a beat. “I’m so glad to hear that,” he whispered, rolling them both over into the bed. “Because I have a feeling we’re not going to be sleeping for a while.”

  He knelt on the bed and looked down at his wife. Her lips were slightly swollen from his kisses. Her hair was tousled, and her eyes were filled with passion. He was filled with an overwhelming desire for her. “Not for a long, long while,” he whispered, bending down to capture her lips once again.