by Alexie Aaron
“You always find the crudest way of putting things,” Burt said, patting him on the back.
“I do my best,” Mike said smiling.
Audrey got in her car, glanced briefly at the closed door of the trailer and figured that Ted and Mia needed some alone time, so she just texted her goodbye and started the car. She looked at the other houses as she exited the small town and got on the highway that would take her to her apartment. It had been a full day, and she felt satisfied with herself. Mia said that she’d never seen anyone take to ghost hunting as quickly as Audrey did. It was her research-first attitude that impressed the sensitive the most.
“It’s almost like cheating,” Mia said. “To know the history before confronting the ghost is priceless.”
“Sometimes we get it wrong,” Audrey cautioned her.
“We all make mistakes. The important thing, Cid says, is to learn from them.”
“Cid, our private counselor,” Audrey mused. “What would we do without his observations?”
“Have less headaches. To be honest, I’m a bit tired of trying to come to grips with whatever he thinks I have yet to do. Why not just let life take us places. Do we have to dissect every moment of it?” Mia asked.
“He means well.”
“And that’s why I haven’t given him a black eye yet,” Mia teased.
“Is it a problem having him live with you?”
“No. He’s comes with the Ted package. Murphy comes with mine. Maggie falls somewhere in between. I have no idea what this little Martin is going to think of all of this.”
“I find it funny that you think of the baby as a little Martin and not a little Cooper,” Audrey observed.
“Now don’t you start. One Cid is enough,” Mia said and got up. She came back and kissed Audrey on top of the head.
“What’s that for?”
“Being you,” she said and walked off towards the trailer.
Audrey turned into the apartment complex. She walked up to her door and noticed a note pinned there. She opened it and found a summons to the office. She checked her watch, and she had ten minutes before the office closed. “Might as well face the music,” she said aloud. She dumped her tote bag inside and shut the door.
The office was just across the courtyard so she opted to walk to it. She skirted the swimming pool where a few weary commuters had come to cool off. Audrey didn’t know any of them. Fact was, she only knew a few of the other apartment dwellers. She opened the door and walked into the office.
“Hi, I’m Audrey McCarthy in 26B. I received this summons,” she said, handing the card to the night manager.
“Yes, a very large package was left for you. Your neighbor worried that someone may take it, so he brought it here.”
“That’s nice of him,” Audrey said, puzzled about the package. She had ordered some bras from Kohl’s, but they wouldn’t have arrived in a big package, would they?
The manager brought a silver-quilted cooler out from behind the door. “Careful, it’s heavy,” he warned.
Audrey took it from the man. “Thanks, I can’t image what it is?”
The manager held the door open for her.
Audrey lugged the box back across the courtyard and up the steps to her apartment. When she had gotten it safely in the door, she sat down and pulled the card with her name on it off the box.
I thought you wouldn’t have the energy to cook after a long day of ghost busting. Call me when you get in.
Matt
Audrey opened the cooler to find it was actually a heater. The aroma of rich Italian food wafted out. There was so much of it. Audrey picked up her phone and called Matt.
“What a wonderful man you are!” she said when he picked up.
“I know, I keep telling everyone that,” Matt said.
Audrey could hear the intercom of the hospital.
“Are you still at work?” she asked.
“I’ll be leaving in a few minutes.”
“You know, there is too much food for one person to eat.”
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I did that on purpose. Care to share it?” he asked.
“By all means, come on over,” Audrey said, looking at the messy apartment. She started to grab at the discarded clothing as he replied.
“I’ll be there in an hour,” he said. “I’ll bring a bottle of wine.”
Audrey set the phone down and began a quick tour of the small, one bedroom apartment. She stashed her dirty clothes in the closet and looked at her unmade bed. “Good girls don’t screw on the second date,” she reminded herself. “Damn it,” she said and stripped the old sheets off the bed. By the time she made the bed, she was sweaty. She ran to the bathroom, and after checking there was a roll of toilet paper in the holder, she turned on the shower.
~
Burt walked back to the trailer and hopped inside, surprised to see Mia with the headset on.
“Where’s Ted?”
“Sleeping. Can I help you with anything?” she asked.
Burt looked at her and shook his head. “I’m just checking out. Mike left a few minutes ago. Call me if anything unusual happens.”
“Will do. Have a safe drive back,” she said pleasantly and turned back to the monitor.
Burt left his and Mike’s ear com on the console and left without another word.
~
Cid pulled the truck into the drive. He heard Murphy leave as soon as he passed the wood pile. Maggie greeted him from her small fenced-in area. He let her out and ran with her around the yard before encouraging her back into the house where he fed her. He took advantage of Ted and Mia being gone to look over the house. He thought Ted’s idea of the two-story addition to be a good one. Murphy, the architect of the original farmhouse, had put in the basic needs: kitchen, parlor, dining room on the first floor. The second floor originally had four bedrooms. Restoration Realty took one of the bedrooms and divided it into a small master bath and an additional bath for the other two rooms. The master bedroom was small, especially considering the large bed that took up most of the room. Ted was a tall man and needed the extra length the king-sized bed provided.
Where would there be room for a basinet, let alone a crib? he asked himself. There were two other bedrooms. He counted the strides it would take Mia or Ted to get to their offspring, and he shook his head. The addition would be needed, if not to give them a sunny little room for the nursery, but to give Cid room to redesign the upper story. He had liked certain aspects of the French Revival, especially the bathroom. Mia needed a place to relax but yet still be able to bathe children without peril.
He shut the door of the bedroom and walked down the hall. He saw a strange glimmer of light at the top of the stairs. Cid, not being one to beat about the bush, approached the thing, and as he did, a man folded out of the slice of light.
He stood awestruck as the man’s steely-gray eyes twinkled and the skin around them wrinkled into a smile. It wasn’t until he pulled an axe and hat from behind him that Cid realized he was looking at Stephen Murphy for the first time. Did Mia and Ted see the day’s growth of whiskers, the lean muscular frame and the tattered clothing he saw? The axe was made of cast iron but was honed to be a very sharp blade. The handle of the axe was shiny from use. On his feet, the farmer wore boots of a sort. He saw that one lace was knotted several times. This didn’t distract from the overall look of a rugged man but emphasized that Murphy didn’t have an easy life.
“Nice to see you at last,” Cid said.
Murphy nodded.
“I was just trying to figure out how to make room for a baby up here,” he explained.
Murphy pointed to the other rooms.
“Yes, they’ll do once the tyke is weaned, but Mia shouldn’t be trampling this cold hall in the middle of the night for feedings,” Cid pointed out.
Murphy nodded. He waved his hands outwards.
“Yes, an extension, but Ted is worried that he’ll have to pay for a new computer system and won’t have
the funds for building materials.”
Murphy put his finger to this chin. Cid could see that the finger still held the dirt from a day’s work under it. His eyes lit up. He pointed up.
Cid looked up. “The attic?”
He walked down to the end of the hall and pulled the attic access door down and climbed the stairs. To his knowledge, aside from the inspector from the mortgage company, no one had been up in the attic for years. He climbed the stairs. Cid reached up and pulled the cord and the attic was illuminated by a series of hanging bulbs. He could see where Restoration had replaced some beams and metal fasteners were added to the trusses, but for the most part, Cid had just walked into the 1850s.
“This is awesome,” he said as he walked the long beams to the center where Murphy stood. “You did a wonderful job. I’m impressed. Your work has endured over a hundred years. Aside from a set of new shingles every three decades or so, little has been done to this roof.”
Murphy lifted his axe and tapped the long cross beam.
Cid watched as a piece of wood moved out from the center of the massive hewn beam. Murphy pointed to him. Cid moved to the opening and studied it a moment before reaching in and feeling something solid in the carved-out cavity. With a bit of jostling, he managed to draw out a long, oiled-cloth-wrapped bundle. He unwound the cloth and saw a tin box. Cid handed it to Murphy.
Murphy handed it back to Cid.
“You want me to open it? Alright. Let’s see what we have here.” He lifted the lid and the surprise of what was inside almost had him stepping off the beam he was balanced on. Six gold coins, an amethyst necklace and ring sparkled under the light of the bare bulb overhead. “What a hoard. I take it that these coins are yours, but the jewels?”
“Mother’s,” he said. “Give to fancy pants to sell.”
“Fancy pants? Oh, Mike. Yes, I could do that, but why?”
“House. Make bigger house.”
“Are you sure? It’s very generous, but Ted won’t accept, and Mia will insist you keep your mother’s jewels.”
“My house too,” Murphy insisted. “My treasure for my house.”
Cid nodded and fought the tears that were clouding up his vision. “You’re a good man, Stephen Murphy. I’m proud to call you my friend.”
Murphy patted his heart and winked at Cid before disappearing.
Chapter Thirty
“Burt, I was thinking,” Mia said as she handed him the headset. “Perhaps it would behoove us to look at the foundations of the garage.”
“Because of what Étienne said?” he asked.
“It’s what he didn’t say that bothers me. He was also at that last ball,” Mia reminded him.
“I think you have something there. I’ll have Cid go poking around after he comes back with John. It wouldn’t hurt to have the homeowner’s permission before we start tearing up the ground around the garage.”
“I’ll leave it in your capable hands. I’m headed to a promised breakfast and then to bed. See you tonight.”
“You mean this afternoon,” Burt corrected.
“No, this prego needs her rest. I’ll be here at six. Ted will be here this afternoon,” she explained.
“How are you feeling? I know it’s early days, but my sister had symptoms almost at the onset.”
“I’m tired, moody and hungry,” Mia replied and glared at him, daring him to mention that she’s always hungry.
“No morning sickness?”
“There’s only been a handful of mornings, but so far so good.”
“You let me know if you need to spend less time investigating.”
“I’ve been thinking about that. You may want to approach my aunt…”
“Oh no, that woman is trouble. I’d rather go ahead without a sensitive, thank you. Have you heard anything from that gifted boy down south?”
“Dave Hult?”
“The stoner kid. Yes, Dave.”
Mia didn’t like to think of Dave as the stoner kid, but he had made a case for his nickname when they first met him atop the roof of Lucky’s. “He’s in junior college. It took him a while to get in. He had a hard time concentrating, taking the entrance exams.”
“Why?”
“Last place had the ghost of a choral teacher who sang Bye Bye Birdie songs at the top of his lungs. Being a sensitive is no picnic if you want peace and quiet.”
“That’s why you didn’t go to college, if I remember.”
Mia sighed, remembering the shared confidences. “One of the reasons. But I told Dave if he wants to work with PEEPs, he has to go to college.”
“Do you think he would be interested in interning?”
“You mean working for free?”
“Well, he could stay with me. I’d feed him, take care of his needs, in exchange for a few hours when you’re not available.”
Mia thought a moment. “You’d have to stop calling him the stoner kid.”
“My, aren’t you becoming parental,” Burt teased.
Mia blushed. “I think it’s a great idea. He could learn a lot from you, Burt. The question is, are you ready to open your home to a young adult with a ghost-seeing disability?”
“Come on, Mia, I’m barely out of my…”
“Thirties,” she suggested.
“Besides, being a sensitive isn’t a disability.”
“Dave thinks so.”
“Really? Damn, that’s a shame.”
“Tell you what, I’ll run it by his mother.”
“Isn’t the kid nineteen?”
“Mother’s count no matter what the age,” Mia growled.
“Sorry. Go ahead. I’ll do anything to not have to deal with that prima donna anymore.”
“Funny thing, Bev said the same thing about you,” Mia said and walked off.
~
Cid and John decided the best way to see the foundations was to dig around the garage.
“Worst case scenario, I’ll have to backfill it, put in some good soil, and then Mindy would have a place to plant her herbs,” John explained to Cid.
Cid and he had been working on it for a good hour when John stopped digging and called Cid over.
“I think I found a stone header. It’s below the cement line and longer than the other foundation stones I found on either side of it.”
“How far did you dig?” Cid asked, following the homeowner around to the side of the garage he was working on.
“I got a little carried away,” John admitted. “There was this small crack in the foundation, and I followed the crack until I found this.” He pointed down into the trench he had excavated.
“It’s a header alright, seems to be made of the same stone as the house. I bet you this used to be exposed.” Cid turned around, paced off a few feet and began digging. It wasn’t long before he hit stone. He bent down and examined the smooth flat surface. “I betcha this is a step.”
“Well then, there should be another one eight to ten inches below it,” John said, digging his shovel into the ground. He too was rewarded with the sound of metal hitting stone. “Well, I’ll be.”
“What’s going on here?” Mindy asked, approaching the men with a pitcher of iced tea and two ice-filled glasses.
“We found stairs,” John said excitedly.
“I wonder where these stairs go,” she mused.
“They go down,” Ted said, approaching the group. “Burt said you needed some muscle.”
“Perhaps a backhoe,” Cid suggested.
“I’ll message Mia…”
“Whoa, gentlemen, there will be no backhoes today,” Mindy insisted. “The checkbook is hemorrhaging money, and it’s needing a transfusion.”
“Hand me a shovel. Who needs a backhoe,” Ted said. He took the shovel, looked at the building and then skimmed off the dirt on the top step. He continued to skim off more soil until he connected with stone. “Just as I figured. Here’s the retaining wall. The builders wouldn’t have put steps in without something to hold the soil back,” he explaine
d. “I’m surprised, Cid, you didn’t figure that out.”
“You’re the physics man. I’m just a grunt,” Cid answered.
“No kidding, but its mister physics man to you,” Ted joked.
John took a glass of iced tea from his wife and watched as the two friends challenged each other to a duel with shovels.
~
“Wake up, little bird,” Angelo said, softly caressing Mia’s cheek.
Mia sat bolt upright, confused by what the hell was going on. Last thing she remembered was Ted kissing her goodbye and telling her he had set the alarm for five. “Where am I? Who am I? Angelo, what are you doing in my bedroom?”
Angelo laughed. “Mister Murphy let me in, and I brought a surprise.”
Mia pushed the hair away from her face. Standing there at the end of the bed was Father Santos. Mia launched herself at the priest and clung to him, making him promise no more excursions into the dark world.
Paolo Santos laughed and let Mia hold him. It felt good to be missed. His brother, upon gazing at his waking face, only stayed long enough to pack his bags before he shook his hand and left to walk back down the mountain.
“Angelo never gave up. I did,” Mia admitted. “I figured that you were on your way, on a chariot or whatever God sends for the saints.”
“Mia, I am hardly a saint. And I am still a man. Put on some clothes. We will wait for you in the kitchen.”
Mia looked down at her oversized tee and blushed. “Sorry.”
After the men left, Mia called out, “Murph, for fuck’s sake, wake me before you let in company.”
She thought she heard laughter, but she wasn’t sure. She dressed in a hurry, pulled a comb through her hair and shut off the alarm.
She heard them in the kitchen. Angelo was laughing at something the priest was saying. She smelled coffee. She knew Murphy wouldn’t touch the elaborate coffee machine, so Angelo must have been making himself at home.
“This is what I like to see, Angelo either barefooted or in the kitchen.”
