Renovation

by Alexie Aaron

  Mia walked out of the pool again. This time Roumain handed her a robe.

  “Come and sit beside me,” he said, guiding her to a bench under an arbor of roses.

  Mia tenderly cupped a bloom and brought it to her face. “I can’t smell them,” she said, disappointed.

  “Dream roses have no scent,” Roumain explained and patted the seat of the bench. “Come sit, you must be tired…”

  “Are you leering at me, Roumain?” Mia asked, pulling the tie of the robe tighter.

  “No, just happy that you’re living a full life. A life for you that will have a few rug burns, but a sated one, yes?”

  Mia blushed. “Is there no place private?”

  “Not in your mind, Mia. I’ve come to tell you something you’re not going to like hearing. Ted is going to be called upon to do something so dangerous that it may take his life. He will be journeying to the dark world. You’re going to insist on going with him. Don’t.”

  “But…”

  “Don’t. You have a life growing inside you now. You must protect it from the dark world.”

  “This is one crazy dream. You’re telling me that I’m pregnant, and I need to keep the baby away from the dark world. Why?”

  “Why are you pregnant? Have you forgotten your hallway adventure so soon? No protection.”

  Mia sucked in her lip, drawing patience. “I’m asking why I can’t take my pregnant body into the dark world.”

  “Because you’ll bring something back with you, inside you. Your child will be replaced with an Other. Your child will cease to be,” he warned.

  Mia saw the weight of the situation in the entity’s face. “I’ll stay. But I have two questions.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “If I am pregnant, should I stop investigating hauntings?”

  “No. As long as they are on this plane of existence, then your baby will not be in danger.”

  “Is it a boy or girl?”

  “The child? Ask me something else. Find out the normal way,” he insisted. “You still have a question which I’ll answer.”

  “How can I keep Ted safe if I can’t be with him?”

  “Choose his companions carefully. He’ll get two.”

  “Cid will go and Murphy…”

  “Murphy can’t go. He is dead. Only the living may pass.”

  “When is he going?”

  “That’s three questions. You must plan better, Mia. Now sleep fast, you need to be on your toes. Those rascals at the Malone place will keep you running…”

  ~

  “What’s with the Mona Lisa smile?” Ted asked Mia as they waited for Murphy by the truck.

  “I was not aware that I’d gone all da Vinci,” Mia said, leaning over and looking at herself in the rearview mirror.

  “You’ve been looking in the mirror a lot too,” Ted observed. “You’re not a mirror person. And you asked me if you looked fat in your cargos. What’s up?”

  “I may be pregnant.”

  Ted’s heart jumped, and he picked up his wife and twirled her around. He stopped, set her down and said, “I better be more careful. When?”

  “When is the baby due?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Nine months from four hours ago,” Mia replied.

  “Wait, you can’t possibly know immediately, can you?” he asked, reaching for his smart phone to ask that question.

  Mia put her hand over the phone. “I had a dream. And in the dream I was told I was pregnant.”

  “But it was just a dream…”

  “And after we, well, enjoyed ourselves, I thought I felt something…”

  “That’s impossible… But not with you, your face is telling me. I’m going to be a daddy. It is mine?”

  Mia hit him on the arm. “Idiot.”

  “I mean, I did leave you for thirty seconds to pee. Anything could have… It’s not Murphy’s kid, is it?”

  “Hush up. I don’t want anyone to know until I get a medical opinion. After all, the king of purgatory isn’t exactly Mother Nature; he could have it all wrong.”

  “What does Roumain have to do with… Oh, he was in your dream.”

  “Yup.”

  “Did he say anything else?”

  “You’re going to be pressed into service soon. You can say no, but I know you won’t.”

  “Any hint on when this may be?” he asked.

  “No, Roumain’s not exactly chatty. He talked a lot about the dark world which scares me, Ted.”

  “The dark world? I doubt that I, even in my superhero cape, can reach that place. Should you be lying down, taking it easy? Most female ghost hunters curtail their activities. Did Roumain say anything about that?”

  “He said that I could participate in investigations as long as they were of this world. No time travel, no jaunts to purgatory…”

  “What about OOBing?”

  “That’s kind of a gray area. If I stick to this earthly plane or Murphy’s plane of existence, fine. But nowhere else.”

  “Why?”

  “Roumain seems to think that the baby is too vulnerable to possession.”

  “When can I tell Mom?” Ted asked.

  “As soon as I see a doctor.”

  “RALPH! He’s going to flip out! What a year for him. First his upcoming wedding to Bernard and then becoming a grandpa-uncle-godfather. I suppose your mother will have to be informed.”

  Mia looked at her husband and giggled. Gone was Batman. Here stood Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant in their iconic rolls as nervous husbands.

  “Let’s not let a dream overwhelm us, dear.”

  “Is that why you attacked me in the hall? Conception time? Oh man, how are we going to break it to the kid that he/she was conceived in the hallway?” Ted asked, taking off his hat and putting it on again and again.

  “We don’t. No one but you and I know. Well, there is Roumain - now that’s disturbing,” Mia said, twisting her hands.

  Murphy took that moment to show up. He looked at Ted and Mia and was baffled. He couldn’t read what was going on by their expressions. From Ted there was joy, but Mia, although happy, seemed puzzled. There was something else about Mia that he couldn’t pin down. She looked different.

  “Glad to see you,” Ted said and tried to pat Murphy on the back. His hand went through him. “Sorry about that, old bean.”

  “Time to get going. We still have to pick up eats. Cid texted me his request,” Mia said looking at her phone. “Where the hell are we going to get hot turkey sandwiches and cherry Jell-O at this hour?”

  “Great, you’re pregnant, and Cid is having cravings… Oh shit,” Ted said, looking at Murphy.

  Murphy, who was adjusting the radio, looked at Mia. His expression was a mixed one. There was joy for his friends but also the pain of loss.

  “We’re not sure. I haven’t been to the doctor yet,” Mia explained. “Could you keep it under wraps for a while? You’re the only PEEP to know.”

  Murphy nodded. His face lost the betrayed look and settled into one of quiet contemplation. Mia tried to put herself in his shoes and felt his pain. She would leave him alone. He would talk to her when he was ready.

  “I don’t know how you feel about this, Murphy, but I know that this kid will have the best misty uncle to watch over him/her in the world,” Ted said and pulled out of the drive.

  Murphy pushed his hat back and smiled. Misty uncle, he liked the sound of that. He reached over and squeezed Mia’s hand.

  Mia felt such a surge of warmth flow into her from his hand that it caught her by surprise. She started to cry. “Thanks, Murph,” she managed.

  “Geeze, here come the hormones,” Ted announced.

  ~

  Audrey looked up from her reading and gazed over towards 1303. She pondered the man and the ghost that resided there. Was he for real? She would have Mia go over there in the morning and see if she could communicate with Matt’s great uncle. Audrey had a feeling that it was more than the renovation of the Malone ho
use that had upset the ghost. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there had to be a tie-in with Simon Bainbridge and whatever happened at the Malone house. There was coincidence, and then there was coincidence.

  “What’s got ahold of you, missy?” Glenda asked, setting a cup of coffee down in front of Audrey.

  “Whether it’s a coincidence that handsome Doctor Bainbridge’s ghost uncle is riled up and pacing the floor at all hours… Or is the ghost sweating?”

  “Ghosts sweat?” Glenda asked.

  “I mean worried about something. Guilty of something.”

  “Ah, now you’ve got me interested. Give me the dope, and let me chew on it a while,” Glenda instructed.

  “What I’ve found out so far is zilch. There were no missing person reports associated with this area in the timeline Mia wanted me to check. No unsolved crimes. No robberies. Nothing that I could find. But when I checked on 1303, I came up with something very interesting…” Audrey said, lowering her voice.

  Glenda sat down beside Audrey to hear her better.

  “It seems that Simon Bainbridge came into a lot of money. This house that is supposed to have been in Matt’s family for generations wasn’t originally theirs. Simon Bainbridge was the butler for the widow Morgenstern when he came into an inheritance, according to the spinster Williams.” Audrey tapped the plastic-protected book from the local historical society. “He bought the house when the widow had to be taken in for care. Long story short, he dumped his boss in the county home for the aged and took over her house.”

  “The bastard!”

  “Of course, we only have the spinster’s word for it,” Audrey cautioned.

  “That’s true. Sorry, I’m a bit sensitive with the whole home for the aged situation.”

  “Glenda, not everyone goes to a home. There are retirement communities. Take the Seeley sisters for example. They live in that luxury high-rise and are still painting the town red. Oh, speaking of paintings, I have to remember to talk to Beverly to see if she is interested in an international paid investigation.”

  “Did someone say paid?” Bev asked, climbing into the recreational vehicle.

  Glenda looked at Audrey and asked, “Is it just me or do people walk into conversations right on cue a lot around here?”

  “Sorry to interrupt, but my glass is not half empty but empty. That goes for my coffers too,” Bev admitted.

  “I thought you left,” Audrey said.

  “Just to run a few errands. I’ve drunk too much coffee to sleep, and this investigation is fun. I’ve not had much fun lately. Seems that I’m a bit of a pariah.”

  “Your own doing,” Glenda pointed out.

  “Thank you, Old Lady Obvious,” Bev drawled. “Anyway, I heard you talking about a paying gig?” she nudged Audrey.

  “Naomi Seeley has a painting with a ghost attached to it,” Audrey started.

  “Go on,” Bev urged.

  “You’ll have to ask Mia the particulars, but in a nutshell, Naomi would like someone to investigate the disappearance of the owner of the painting and, if possible, bring him home, dead or alive.”

  “I could do that. International was also mentioned,” Bev prodded.

  “Yes, India. The owner of the painting disappeared there after asking Naomi to hold on to his painting for him.”

  “That’s a big country and not one of my favorites, too crowded, although beautiful. Where in India?”

  “I think you’ll have to ask Mia about it or Naomi Seeley if you take the job,” Audrey explained. “I’ll broker the deal if you want me to,” she offered.

  Beverly looked at the curly-haired redhead with the earnest face and nodded. “Do that.” She walked over and helped herself to a cup of coffee and sat down. “So tell me about the good doctor. Is he interested?”

  Audrey, wary of the being-one-of-the-girls act Bev was putting on, just shrugged.

  “Audrey’s too smart to go leaping into bed with a man just because he seems flush with cash,” Glenda said.

  Bev glared at her but let it go. “I thought Burt was bouncing on your bed. What’s the deal?” she asked bluntly.

  “Honestly,” Glenda scolded. “Want to stick your finger in the girl’s eye while you’re at it?”

  “I thought there was a relationship. I pushed for the next step at the wedding, and although I enjoyed a fabulous roll in the hay, the scarecrow fled.”

  “He’s a boob. Something or someone sure screwed him up,” Bev said thoughtfully. “He hurt Mia pretty bad, although she’ll never admit it. How she can work with him after that is amazing. Of course, Mia’s no angel in the screw-before-you-think department. She takes after her aunty. No one was more surprised than I when she dumped that handsome Barney Fife for Ted. I mean it’s Ted. Gossipy, comic book-challenged Ted. Sure, he’s a genius and will no doubt be a rich boy from all his inventions, but Ted is Ted.”

  Audrey smacked her hand on the table. “Ted adores her. He cares for her.”

  “He rescued her from my well,” Glenda tossed in.

  “He accepts her for who she is, warts and all.”

  “He lets that moony-eyed ghost hang around her,” Glenda added.

  “He makes her laugh,” Audrey finished her list. “And she loves him. She’s not blind to his faults, but she doesn’t care. To her, he’s her everything. That’s the kind of guy I want. I want my everything.”

  “Don’t we all,” Glenda said solemnly.

  Bev raised her cup. “To our everythings, wherever the bastards are hiding.”

  Audrey and Glenda clicked their cups with hers and said in chorus, “To our everythings.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Why do people insist on investigating ghosts at night?” Glenda asked as Mia guided her around a pile of tile left in haste.

  Mia pointed out the hazard to Cid who was filming them.

  “I think it’s mostly for the thrill. Some say that the witching hour is the best time. Others swear by three in the morning. Me, I see them at all times. But perhaps others can see them better when there isn’t light pollution.”

  “What’s the big deal about ghosts anyway?” Glenda asked, stopping to admire the woodwork around the doorway to the kitchen.

  “I think that most people would like to know what greets them after death. They hope that if they can communicated with the dead, the dead will tell them what is waiting for them after they draw their last breath. Unfortunately, in my experience, most ghosts are closed-mouthed about their experience. Take Murph for example. He doesn’t really say much at all.”

  “Did you ask that rascal why he was putting gin in my drinks? Mike said to watch out for him and the practical jokes.”

  “It wasn’t him. Now if you woke up covered in shaving cream, your hair gel exchanged for toothpaste, then it would be Murphy. I think, Glenda, that you may have an admirer. A gin loving admirer,” Mia added.

  Glenda patted her hair. “Imagine that. Have you seen him?”

  “No, and it could be a her. Remember, I said admirer not lover, but if you’re swinging that way these days, that’s no problem with me,” Mia said.

  Glenda lifted an eyebrow. “You’re a very understanding person, but the only thing that swings these days is my breasts when my strap breaks. Nearly kneecapped me the other day…”

  Cid groaned, embarrassed by Mike’s mother’s anecdote.

  Mia laughed more at his reaction than the joke. They were standing in the kitchen surveying the smashed tiles on the floor. Glenda stooped down and picked one up. She held it to her flashlight and commented, “I don’t know what the problem is. This is quality stuff.”

  “I don’t think it’s the tile. Maybe it’s because the place is being torn apart,” Mia said. “The entities don’t want the renovation to continue. I suspect they are either hiding something in the walls, ceilings or floors, or that they are showing their displeasure at the homeowners messing with their house.”

  “I don’t know why people buy these old places
and then rip out the walls. If they want an open concept, why don’t they just buy a house with one?”

  “I can’t answer that,” Cid said. “All I know is that people want what they want. This house has good bones and sturdy outside walls on a good foundation, and the inside walls are plaster.”

  Mia put a hand on one of the remaining intact walls and said, “But it is haunted. Haunted by violent ghosts. Our job is to find out why and encourage the entities to leave or we’ll have to make them.”

  “Can we?” Glenda asked.

  “When Father Santos was around, yes, very easily. But Father Alessandro has another philosophy altogether. We have to do our best to make sure we have researched the problem and talked to the entities before he’ll step in. He likes to leave the dead be. If they want to stay here, why not let them, as long as they don’t hurt the living inhabitants.”

  “Seems reasonable,” Glenda said. “What in tarnation? Mia dear, something’s got ahold of my leg. Mind taking a look?”

  Mia moved her light over and smiled. “Stay still, Glenda. I believe you’re being attacked by an extension cord. How it got wound around your leg is puzzling.” Mia squatted down and unwrapped the cord. She decided to take matters into her own hands before the older woman got injured. She addressed the room as she tossed the cord away from them, “I don’t know who you’re thinking of scaring here, but you’ve got the wrong people. Glenda and I just want to see what we can do to help you. Playing silly buggers with these things is dangerous.”

  Glenda looked around and was surprised at how fast the kitchen was filling up with men. “Ah, Mia, we have company,” she said, tapping Mia’s head.

  Mia stood up and looked around her. There were seven entities. Many of them were dressed in Sac suits, the vibrant checks seemed to pull away from the material they were woven into. One guy wore a black suit with gorilla slippers on his feet. Mia smiled and gave a point to Audrey.

  “I’m Mia Martin. This is my good friend, Glenda Dupree. One of you punched her son’s lights out.”

  One of the entities looked down, his face filled with guilt.

  “I know it was all in good fun, but this has to stop. Is there anything I can do to help resolve this situation?” Mia asked.