THE GHOSTLY CHRONICLES

by D T Yarbrough

  "Because they ride Harleys?" Rita asked.

  "That, and the group's initials," said Jack. "It's actually quite clever."

  "It says here members only," Rita said.

  "They'll let us in when they find out we're members of PIGS," said Jack.

  "PIGS?" asked Rita.

  "Paranormal Investigators of Ghostly Sightings," said Jack. "You're the vice president."

  "Why do you always get to be the boss?" asked Rita.

  "You can be co-founder," said Jack.

  "Co-founder of PIGS? I think you deserve full credit for that," said Rita.

  "Well, let's go in and find a seat," Jack said.

  "Uh. Excuse me. Where do you think you're going?" said the huge biker. "You're not members."

  "We're members of PIGS, " said Jack. "Paranormal Investigators of Ghostly Sightings."

  "Do you ride Harleys?" he asked.

  "No. Our members are all ex-football players. We like to toss around the old pigskin."

  The biker looked at Rita and then looked at Jack. "Well, you've got to have cheerleaders," Jack said.

  The biker smiled. "That's sort of neat that you're called PIGS, and you like to toss the old pigskin."

  "Just like you guys," said Jack.

  "Uh. What do you mean?" he asked.

  "Well, you're called HOGS and you ride HOGS," said Jack.

  "We are?" he asked.

  "Sure. The initials of your club spells HOGS."

  "Oh yeah ... I wonder if the other guys know that?" he said. "Go on in. I've got to talk to Lugnuts and Dipstick and see if they know about this."

  "Somehow, I don't think they have a ghost of a clue either," said Jack.

  "Now be nice, Jack. We're guests here," said Rita.

  As the speaker began talking, a ghost walked across the stage and stopped behind the speaker. The ghost began making bunny ears behind the speaker's head. The speaker continued talking and no one in the room seemed to notice. Suddenly a man seated about three rows back yelled out. "Frauds! You guys wouldn't know a ghost if it sat in your laps and farted." A roar of laughter erupted from the crowd.

  "Quiet ... quiet!" the speaker yelled. "That's not funny."

  A silence fell over the crowd. "Rocko. See our guest out and make sure he stays out," the speaker said.

  "Let's go," said Jack. "We need to talk to that guy."

  As Jack and Rita entered the lobby, they saw the Japanese ghost wandering through the lobby. "I thought you convinced her to wait in the room?" Jack said.

  "I thought I did, but I can't tell what she understands and what she doesn't," Rita said. "I'll get her. You catch up with that guy. I'll meet you back here."

  "Hello, I need to talk to you a moment, if you don't mind," Jack said.

  "What about?" the man asked.

  "You could see that ghost on the stage behind the speaker, couldn't you?" Jack asked.

  "See it. I put the ghost up to it. I wanted to prove that no one in that room can see ghosts. They're all frauds. Except for you, I see," said the man.

  "Can you speak Japanese?" Jack asked.

  "No. Only English and Spanish," the man said.

  "What about your ghost. Can it speak Japanese?" Jack asked.

  "I don't think so. We can ask him," the man said. "You're trying to communicate with a Japanese ghost, aren't you?"

  "Let's go back into the lobby and find our ghosts," said Jack.

  Rita was waiting as they reentered the lobby. She had both ghosts with her. "He can't speak Japanese," Rita said referring to the ghost.

  "Do you know anyone else that sees ghosts?" Jack asked.

  "I'm afraid not. You two are the first I've seen and I've been looking for years," he said.

  "Do you have a card, in case we need to get in touch some day?" Jack asked. "Here's mine."

  They exchanged cards and parted ways. Jack, Rita and the Japanese ghost went up to the room. It was still early enough to check out. "What are we going to do?" said Rita. "We can't even tell her that we can't help her."

  "I know what she wants. She wants to talk to her husband," Jack said suddenly.

  "You're right. I just got the same feeling. It came to me right out of the blue," said Rita.

  "Did you say blue ..... ? Harvey, is that you? Show yourself, Harvey," Jack said.

  "Sorry, guys. I just got promoted to GAIT level 2. I can make myself invisible to even you guys. I just had to try it out," Harvey said.

  "Guardian Angel In Training level 2, congratulations, Harvey," said Rita.

  "I've been talking to your guardian angel to see what I could do to pay you guys back for helping me. He told me about your situation. I would have been here sooner, but I had to brush up on my Japanese," Harvey said. "She wants to talk to her husband. Mainly she just wants to say Sayonara."

  "Where's your leisure suit, Harvey?" asked Jack.

  "Like it?" said Harvey. Harvey was wearing a light blue kimono.

  "You look very nice, Harvey," said Rita.

  "The ghost can lead me to her husband. I'll let them communicate through me. Afterwards I'll accompany her to the afterlife. I might even get another promotion for this. You know what they say about good deeds," Harvey said.

  "No good deed goes unpunished," Jack replied.

  "Gee ... I never heard that one before," said Harvey.

  "What were you going to say?" asked Rita.

  "A good deed is good indeed," said Harvey. "That's what we always say."

  "I like that better," said Rita.

  "What can we do?" asked Jack.

  "Enjoy Las Vegas. You've earned it."

  CUPID

  "Do you see that?" Jack asked. "Is that an angel?"

  'Well, he has wings," said Rita. "But what is he wearing?"

  "I believe it's a diaper," said Jack. "Extra large."

  "A six foot angel wearing a diaper. Now I've seen everything," said Rita. "Is he real or just someone in a costume?"

  "I think he's real. I don't believe anyone else sees him," Jack replied.

  "He looks like he's looking for someone," said Rita. "Should we introduce ourselves?"

  "I don't know. He's got a weapon," Jack said.

  "That tiny bow. I don't think he even has any arrows," said Rita.

  "You don't suppose that's Cupid?" said Jack. "I always pictured him as a tiny naked cherub."

  "Looks like he's all grown up, and he's kinda cute, too," said Rita.

  "I guess we could offer to help," Jack said, "but let's wait until he's alone."

  "It looks like he's going into that church. Let's go in and see what's going on," said Rita.

  "It looks like a wedding," said Jack.

  "No. It looks like a rehearsal. There's no one in the audience, except the angel," said Rita.

  "He still seems to be looking for someone," said Jack. "He keeps looking over his shoulder."

  "Let go sit down behind him and see if he will talk to us," said Rita.

  Jack and Rita walked over and sat down behind the angel. As the angel looked over his shoulder, Rita smiled at him. "You must be Jack and Rita," the angel said.

  "Yes ... but how did you know?" Rita asked.

  "I've heard of you. You obviously can see me, so that narrows it down," he said.

  "Are you Cupid?" asked Rita.

  "Cupid was the God of Love. Do I look like a god to you?" he asked.

  "Well, yeah, but then I've never seen a god before," said Rita.

  "Trust me. I'm not a god. I work for God. You can call me Fate," he said.

  "Fate? You determine what will happen in our lives?" Rita asked.

  "Well, not exactly. I step in when someone tries to change fate," he said. "I have to set things right before everything gets screwed up."

  "So what's your problem? You look like you've lost something or someone," Rita said.

  "Both. I lost my arrow, and the ghost that took it," Fate said.

  "You let a ghost steal one of your arrows?" asked Jack.

 
; "I only have one arrow. I've never missed until yesterday. The ghost distracted me. I think it was intentional. When I missed, the ghost grabbed the arrow and vanished," Fate said.

  "What would a ghost want with an arrow?" Jack asked.

  "It wouldn't be the first time a ghost has taken an item just because they can. They can't hold on to worldly items, and when they run across something they can hold, they tend to not want to let it go," Fate said.

  "Then you should have been better prepared for this," Jack said.

  "Normally I am on alert for this sort of thing. But since I was in your city, I guess I let my guard down," Fate said.

  "In my city?" Jack asked. "What do you mean?"

  "Everyone knows what a great job you and Rita are doing. There's hardly any ghosts running around loose here, especially the older ones that have forgotten their unfinished business. They're the ones that give us the most trouble," Fate said. "We actually come here on vacations to enjoy the peace and quiet."

  "So you think this is an older ghost?" Rita asked.

  "No. It moved too quickly and with too much purpose. It knew what it was doing," Fate said.

  "So what happened exactly? You said you missed. What did you miss?" Jack asked.

  "His heart. In fact I missed him completely," Fate said.

  "Whose heart? Who did you miss?" Jack asked.

  "The groom. He's not supposed to marry this girl. Someone has interfered," Fate said.

  "Any suspects?" Rita asked.

  "Normally I would suspect one of the mother-in-laws, but they are both alive and well. This was a lady about their age, but she was quite dead," Fate said.

  "You said both mother-in-laws. What about the mother of the other girl, the one he is supposed to marry?" Rita asked.

  "What difference does it make if he marries the wrong girl? What's the big deal?" Jack asked. "So one person's life is changed."

  "It's not that simple. The girl he should have married will marry someone else, and the bride will not marry the person she was supposed to marry. It goes on and on until eventually no one follows their intended fate. Without fate, anything could happen," Fate said.

  "And that's bad?" Jack asked.

  "I just follow orders. My boss thinks it's important and that's good enough for me," said Fate.

  "Okay. So you were trying to kill the groom because he's marrying the wrong girl. Then what happened?" Jack asked.

  "Not kill him. Make him fall in love with the right girl," said Fate.

  "I thought that was Cupid's job," said Rita. "Are you sure you're not a god."

  "I'm sure, and I wish history would get it right. I'm tired of Cupid getting all the credit for my work," Fate said.

  "Let's stick to the point. You were trying to shoot the groom and the ghost distracted you. How did she manage that?" Jack asked.

  "She stepped in front of me just before I shot. Before I realized it was just a ghost, I guess I flinched," Fate said. "I was so stunned that I had missed, I forgot about the arrow for a moment. I'd never had to retrieve one before. By the time I realized it, she had already picked it up and was vanishing through a wall."

  "So, obviously the mother of the other girl doesn't want her to marry the groom. Wait a minute, is the other girl here?" Jack asked.

  "Of course she's here. She's the maid of honor. I had to shoot the groom in her presence to make this work," Fate said.

  "We need to find out if her mother is a ghost," said Rita. "Do you know her name?"

  "Sure, but how did her mother know what I was up to?" asked Fate.

  "Well, let me see ... an almost naked six foot angel with wings and a tiny bow and arrow," said Jack. "Cupid on steroids would have been my first guess. What's with the diaper, anyway?"

  "It's not a diaper. Haven't you ever seen a Djinn or a Sumo wrestler. In some societies my clothing inspires respect," Fate said.

  "Well, when in Rome," Jack said.

  "Okay, you two. We've got work to do," said Rita. "Give me the bridesmaid's name, and I'll cross check the recent obituaries."

  "Susan Wheeler," said Fate.

  "We should talk to her after the rehearsal," said Jack. "Maybe she can tell us something that will help."

  "Here it is. Wanda Wheeler passed away two weeks ago," Rita said. "Looks like we have a ghost trying to finish her own unfinished business."

  "We're going to need a good excuse to ask our questions if we are going to get any answers," Jack said.

  "Let me handle that," said Rita. "Jack, look around for the ghost but don't take Fate with you. She'll see him coming a mile away."

  "What should I do?" asked Fate.

  "Try to think of an alternative plan in case we fail," said Rita. "How long before the actual marriage ceremony?"

  "One week. I'll try to come up with a way to postpone it," said Fate. "Once the marriage takes place, I won't be able to change things."

  As Jack and Fate went their separate ways, Rita waited for the rehearsal to end. "Excuse me, Susan. I'm Rita Hopper. I'm doing a TV news article about weddings. The bride and groom said you could give me some background information about this one," said Rita.

  "Sure. What do you need to know?" asked Susan.

  "Tell me about the bride and groom. As the brides- maid, you're obviously a good friend of the bride, but what about the groom?" Rita asked.

  They talked for an hour before Rita got Susan to talk about her mother. Her mother had definite plans for Susan. She had been an Olympic figure skater and had won a silver metal. She was determined that Susan would win the gold. She was an excellent coach and Susan loved skating, but she didn't have the competitive nature to be a champion. The long hours of practice had prevented her from developing any sort of serious social relationships other than a couple of friendships.

  Even now, with her mother gone, Susan found it hard to think about letting her down. Her mother had hired a new coach before she died and made Susan promise to make the olympic team. Seeing her friend Adam about to get married had made her realize that she had feelings for him that went beyond friendship. Dianne, her only other friend, was to be the bride. She wished her the very best, but at the same time, she wished it wasn't Adam.

  Rita called Jack and waited in front of the church until he returned. Jack had not been able to find the ghost. "Did you learn anything from talking to Susan?" Jack asked.