Renovation

by Alexie Aaron

  “Minnie Mouse, quit embarrassing the ghosts,” Ted said, frustrated at Cid for not spilling the beans.

  “I think that the two of them, Murph and Cid, are up to something. I suspect too that Cid can see Murphy. I saw eye contact.”

  “It’s about time. The two of them are thick as thieves. They may as well be able to see each other.”

  Mia loaded the salt into a pack and moved to heft it on her back.

  “No, you’re a prego now,” Ted said, taking the pack. “Cid Garrett, report to the truck for Sherpa duties, over,” Ted announced into the com.

  “How gallant of you, dear. Instead of carrying them yourself, you’ve given me my own Sherpa.” Mia leaned down and kissed Ted.

  “Now if you’re going to make out, you could have a least shut the door. I don’t want to see Ted swapping spit. It’ll put me off my feed,” Cid complained.

  “Get used to it,” Mia said. “I’m going to kiss him every day and twice on Sunday.”

  Ted gave a dirty little laugh.

  Mia wiggled between the two of them and exited the trailer.

  “Hey, is kiss a placeholder for something else?” Cid asked, lifting the heavy pack onto one shoulder.

  Ted just repeated the dirty little laugh.

  “Ah gross,” Cid said, hopping down and following Mia into the house.

  ~

  Mia took time to explain the salt ring to Mindy before she poured it. “It’s important not to smudge it. Ghosts will look for a way in if they can find it. I’ll have Murphy test it out once we’re inside.”

  “Can I ask why you feel it’s necessary?” Mindy asked.

  Audrey, who was walking by, stopped. “Did you ever read Ammie Come Home by Barbara Michaels?”

  “It’s been a few years, but yes… oh. OH! You think that we could be possessed?”

  “To act out an age-old drama, yes,” Mia confirmed. She had never read the book personally. Audrey and Cid were the big readers of the bunch. She was glad to have them in PEEPs. Sometimes people could relate better to fiction than abstract explanations.

  “I’m sure glad Tim contacted you.”

  “Really? Before we came, you only had happy ghosts in residence. Now…” Mia paused as Mindy held up a hand.

  She pulled a notebook out of her back pocket, flipped through a few pages and handed it to Mia, explaining, “This is our to do list. Look at item ten.”

  Mia read aloud, “Tear down garage.”

  “I’m sure that would have stirred those old evil bones, wouldn’t it?” she asked, not expecting Mia to answer. “So you see, providence brought you here, and I’m glad.”

  Audrey and Mia looked at each other, amazed at the attitude of the homeowner in front of them.

  “I used to live in a house that had a ghost of sorts,” Mindy admitted. “She was a small, older woman who would rearrange the cupboards from time to time. My mother just called the ghost her little helper. I was raised not to be scared of them. Perhaps I should have been cautioned that all of them aren’t like mother’s little helper.”

  “I’ve been at this a while, and each haunt is different,” Mia explained. “Sometimes we are prepared, and sometimes it’s chaos. Burt and Mike have assembled a good team of investigators, and we are all skilled in various ways. Audrey’s research and positive approach is as valuable as me being able to see and hear the ghosts. Ted and Cid’s expertise keeps us up on the technical side of things while Mike’s instincts and ability to deal with the public keeps this group running. And there’s Burt, the much maligned team leader. We give him a hard time, and he can be unreasonable at times too, but he always has the homeowner in mind. He watches out for your safety, privacy and for the emotional wear and tear you may be experiencing.”

  “Well, you’ve made me feel less rattled,” Mindy said. “Tim wants to be in on this. How dangerous is it for him?”

  “I’m not going to lie to you and say there’s no danger,” Mia said. “I will, however, point out that if he isn’t here, it may hurt the investigation. After all, he is a member of this household. I believe he’s the victim of all those unwanted glasses of lemonade?”

  “Poor kid, he’s too polite to tell me. I hate making the stuff,” she confessed. “He’s my old soul. He doesn’t talk like other kids. I worry about him.”

  “We oddballs end up okay. As long as there’s love, Tim will find his way,” Mia assured her.

  Audrey felt warm all over as if she’d been hugged. She liked the way Mia was relating to Mindy. Mia had come a long way from screaming in graveyards to comforting a worried mother. She still was socially awkward, but Ralph was working on her. Audrey helped when she could, and in turn, Mia had given her the friendship and support that Audrey had so craved.

  ~

  “I think we have the best piece of film here,” Burt said. “Ted’s enhanced it as well as he could. We’re going to play it a few times at normal speed, and then we’ll slow it down.”

  “Where is Ted?” Tim asked looking around.

  “He’s in the command center keeping watch on the camera feeds. We’ve put a new camera up facing the garage. It’s important to have his eyes on the places we may be vulnerable,” Burt answered.

  “But isn’t he at risk in the trailer by himself? I mean, we have this salt ring to protect us. What does he have?”

  “Murphy,” Mia answered. “There’s no better protection I know of. Plus, my husband has a lot of his own tricks that he can use to defend himself. Don’t worry,” she said, laying a comforting, gloved hand on his arm. “He’ll be fine.”

  Burt waited until Mia nodded before starting the projector.

  Couples danced by the camera. Even with the enhancement, only three quarters of some and half of others could be seen. Mia closed her eyes a moment and put herself in the dance. “Arnaud was dancing with whom?” she asked Audrey.

  “Constance Mary Blanchet,” she answered and read from her notes, “She married Thomas Graves. He’s the dancer with the older woman on his arm. I suspect that’s Constance’s mama.”

  The couples whirled around again. Mindy thought she saw something. She got out of her chair to get a closer look and blocked the projection. “Oh, sorry,” she said and sat back down.

  The film slowed a third, and Arnaud made the circuit once more with Constance.

  “There!” Mindy said. “Who’s the woman in the off-the-shoulder number?”

  “Mrs. Anne Reliford. Her husband Bennington is dancing with her,” Audrey said.

  “Why?” Burt asked Mindy.

  “Watch her face from the beginning. Wait for it, wait, and now, did you see that look of pure unadulterated hatred?”

  “The look that slapped a thousand tarts,” Mia said. “Who is she looking at?”

  “I can’t tell, but it happens when Arnaud looks at Marilee,” Mindy said, jumping up. “Damn, I’m sorry. I keep blocking the screen.”

  “How about we recreate it?” Tim asked. “Like on those Marples you make me watch.”

  “No one makes you, dear,” his mother said, ruffling his hair.

  “My mother, the shredder of my street cred,” Tim announced, bowing in her direction. “Take my arm. You’ll be Anne.”

  “I’ll be Marilee. Cid?” Mia asked.

  Cid walked up next to her.

  “I’ll be Arnaud, and unless Burt’s got on his tap shoes, that leaves you, Audrey, to be the honorable Constance,” Mike said as he pulled Audrey away from her notes. Burt, John, you spot us,” he instructed.

  The players stepped over the salt and walked beyond the screen and into the dining room. Burt adjusted the screen and the projector so he could see them and the ghostly performance side by side.

  Tim looked around and, when everyone was set, said, “And… One two three, one two three…” he continued the count as he led his mother around the room in a stiff but passable waltz.

  “Slow down, Tim, and turn your mother, and everyone stop!” Burt shouted.

  “Who ar
e you looking at Mindy?”

  “I see Mia flirting with Mike. I see them both.”

  “Tim?”

  “I’m looking at the door. Who came in?”

  Mia got goose bumps. She rushed over to Tim and took off her glove. “Tell me who you see?”

  The house was filled with flowers and music. The room was stifling; too many people had joined the dance. Twice, Bennington had stepped on his wife’s toes trying to not swing her into the Oberweis’s. He felt a rush of cool air and turned to see a man dressed in a military uniform. Surely Marilee didn’t invite Stanley? Not after last time.

  Mia let go as the vision faded.

  “Stanley, is there a Stanley on the list?”

  “No. But there was a Stanley in Marilee’s life. Let me check,” Audrey said, wiggling away from Mike’s firm grasp.

  “Anne’s glare may have been just that her husband had just stepped on her toes again with his boots,” Mia said.

  “How, how…” Tim stuttered.

  “How are you seeing this?” Mia asked.

  “Yes.”

  “The house is showing it to you. Don’t ask me how it can do this. This is the paranormal stuff we are trying to learn about. All I know is that when I touched you, I saw through Bennington’s eyes. It’s important. I think Stanley is suspect number one, and let’s not discount Anne quite yet. Marilee had a hand in whatever happened next, as did Arnaud,” Mia informed them.

  “Did Marilee leave a diary?” Mike asked Mindy.

  “The Prunes took all the contents of the house with them. The library’s books are all gone.”

  “But she wouldn’t have put her diary in the library for just anyone to read, would she?” Audrey mused. “Mia, the bedroom set… It’s there, I know it.”

  Mia excused herself and ran up the stairs with John and Tim on her heels. They reached the bedroom breathless.

  “What’s…” Mia started and took a couple of deep breaths and started again, “What’s original to the room?”

  “The bed, the big dresser, the makeup table, the chest and, damn it, I can’t remember!”

  “The tufted hassock and the secretary,” his wife finished. Mindy stood in the door panting.

  “Permission to ransack your room?” Mia asked, looking at Mindy.

  “Permission granted. If that diary is here, we’re going to find it.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Ted lowered the door halfway to cut the glare that was penetrating the trailer with the setting sun. He enjoyed the long summer days which gave PEEPs daylight until half past eight. After that, a gray sky would give them another half hour in which to see without lights. He saw Murphy pass by on his perimeter check of the trailer. He looked like someone Ted wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. The firm set of his jaw and the death grip on the axe handle gave the farmer a mercenary air. Ted sat back down and watched as his wife rifled through Mindy Wheaton’s panty drawer with much amusement. He checked the other feeds. Burt and Cid were disassembling the projector and screen. Mike had his head in the Wheaton’s refrigerator, liberating a cold beer.

  A scratching followed by a clatter outside of the trailer alerted him to something being amiss. Ted quickly transferred the feeds to the iPad before walking to the opening to look out. He had to bend down to avoid the door. Ted didn’t see the hands that pulled him to the ground. He rolled and came up swinging, but he couldn’t see any combatant. He felt a blow to the stomach that doubled him over. Staring at the ground, trying to get his breath, he saw Murphy’s axe just lying there. Was that possible? He felt strong arms take hold of his shoulders and shove him away from the truck. They kept shoving him until he saw that he was being pushed towards the garage.

  A beep preceded the small monitor illuminating. Lines of code ran in waves across the screen. The sound of something moving came from one of the file boxes. The speakers blared with an alarm sound before shutting down.

  John opened the window to let in a breeze. The upstairs had only the one air-conditioner in Tim’s room. The small but mighty machine was outmatched by the hot evening sun. He heard a scratching metallic sound and looked for the source. “What the hell!” he said, stepping back as a large metal centipede rolled over the sill.

  It moved with lightning speed towards Mia. It ran up her body and curled around her arm.

  “Don’t be alarmed. It’s Curly, Ted’s ghost hunting bot,” Mia explained. She touched her ear com and said, “Very funny, dear, but you just gave John a coronary.”

  The bot tightened around Mia’s arm.

  “Ouch. Ted, do you hear me? Curly is crushing my arm. Ted? Answer me! TED!” Mia ran out of the room and down the stairs.

  “Ted’s in trouble!” she shouted as she opened the front door and ran towards the trailer with Cid fast on her heels.

  Mia skidded to a stop. She bent down and picked up Murphy’s axe. “Someone’s dispatched Murphy. I don’t know how long he’ll be out of it,” she reported as she willed her body to connect with the spectral weapon. She could touch it, but she couldn’t move it. “The axe is out of play,” she said to the machine around her arm. “Where’s Ted?” she asked it.

  “Who are you talking to?” Burt asked, picking the crushed iPad and bent headset up off the pavement.

  “Who or rather what? Jake, where is Ted?” she asked.

  “The computer’s talking in here,” Cid called out. “It’s showing me film of the Iran Hostage crisis.”

  Curly unwound and fell to the ground. It took a minute to right itself before it crawled off in the direction of the garage.

  “The garage, Ted’s been taken to the garage. Jake’s in the computer, and he’s seeing all the feeds,” Mia said to Burt who ran alongside her.

  “This is Cid. I’ve got com now. I see dirt flying out of the excavation, over.”

  Mia rounded the corner and saw her bruised and battered husband digging downward around the door.

  “Whatcha doing, Teddy Bear?” she asked, jumping into the hole and taking the shovel from him.

  Burt reached down and, with Mia’s help, managed to pull Ted out of the hole. Mia felt Curly move up the back of her body and settle.

  “Mia, Curly’s camera is on, and I see a distortion behind you,” Cid said quickly.

  Mia turned around flinging the salt stars she had pulled from her pockets. “I can’t see it. OH SHIT, now I can. Jesus, is that even possible?” Mia stared at what she first saw as a two-headed, four-armed entity. It separated, and she saw two military men coming at her.

  “Burt, get the hell out of here!” she warned him as she drew out something akin to a grenade, pulled the pin, tossed it in the air over the entities, and dropped to the ground.

  Salt exploded everywhere. Mia heard male screams and prayed it wasn’t her husband and Burt.

  Murphy found himself in his grave. Last thing he remembered was being tapped on the back. A man in a blue uniform looked down at him. He started to raise his axe when he saw a spectral blade push through his chest from behind him. He dropped his axe, and before he could pick it up again, he found himself here, back at his ghostly beginning.

  Murphy pushed up out of the ground and floated towards the barn. He barely made it through the wall and over to the bin marked Murphy’s Vitamins before he lost form. He concentrated and pulled energy from the stack of rechargeable batteries sitting on the workbench. The energy was just enough to help him to turn on an energon cube. Murphy took in all the energy of the first cube and then turned on one cube after another, absorbing the energy until he felt he was going to go mad.

  The entities withered on the ground. Mia wasted no time; she backpedaled up the cleared stairs and took off running.

  A frustrated Mindy shoved the drawer of the small, mirrored table in forcefully, but it wouldn’t fit flush. “John, can you help me with this? The drawer won’t go in…”

  It took both of them a moment before they realized why the drawer was stuck.

  John turned the table upsi
de down and felt around until his fingers touched something. “There’s something… Damn, I can’t… Tim, your hands are smaller…”

  Tim pulled out the drawer, shoved an arm into the opening and pushed. The blockage dislodged itself and fell out.

  The Wheatons stared down at the red leather-bound diary of Marilee Roux. Mindy stooped and picked it up and opened the book to read.

  They heard a pounding of steps. “Wheatons, come with me. Hurry,” Mike said. “I need to get you to the salt circle.”

  “What’s going on?” John asked, taking up the rear.

  “We’re under attack. Mia’s doing her best to hold them off, but without Murphy, I don’t like our chances. I’ve called in help. It should be here soon.”

  “What can I do to help?” Tim asked bravely.

  “I need you to protect your parents,” Mike instructed. “Make sure they don’t leave the salt circle no matter what you see or hear.”

  “Why are the ghosts attacking?” Mindy asked.

  Mike zoned in on what she was holding. “Is that the diary?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ask it. Marilee may have written it down.”

  “What, written what?” Mindy asked almost out of breath.

  “What the hell happened here the night of the last ball,” Mike said and lifted the woman over the ring. He made a quick circuit and tossed a full box of salt to John. “No breaks. They may try to blow the salt away. No breaks,” he ordered and left them.

  Ted’s head was bursting. He had been battered into submission. His arms hurt from digging. His ribs were sore. He suspected that two of them were broken, and he was wheezing. Burt called 911 before leaving Ted in Audrey’s capable hands. He ran into the garage and picked up every rusted iron implement he could carry. He rounded the corner, almost decapitating a fleeing Mia in the process.

  “Whoa there. Thought you were the grim reaper,” she said, spying the large, grass-cutting scythe. Mia took several iron spikes out of Burt’s collection and turned around to face her pursuers.