The Hauntings of Cold Creek Hollow (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

  “I’ve been to the hospital to see Burt Hicks. I believe he’s an associate of Amber’s,” Father Santos said.

  “They’re both members of the PEEPs team.”

  “PEEPs?”

  “Paranormal Entity Exposure Partners,” Tom supplied.

  “Thank you. Burt’s not possessed, but he is showing signs of trauma generally associated with a bad fall.” Father Santos continued, “I understand all this could be a cruel hoax to get some free publicity, but since I was in the area...”

  “Thank you for stopping by,” Tom said.

  “If you would oblige me and let me observe Amber, maybe I can help shed some light on the situation.”

  Tom looked at his boss, and to his surprise, the sheriff nodded.

  “I’ll take you back. Please be aware that Amber has been behaving aggressively sexual. I normally have a woman with me.”

  “That’s wise. In this case, I would rather just have you as my witness, and I yours. Things may be said that you may not want to become public knowledge.”

  ~

  Someone was leaning on the doorbell. Mia dragged herself out of bed. “I’m coming, hold your G damn horses.” She stood on tiptoe and looked through the peephole. Standing there in all his glory was Ralph.

  “Come on, open the door, Mia,” he whined. “The coffee’s getting cold, and my foam has fizzled.”

  Mia took the chain off the door and opened it, standing aside as Ralph pushed past her.

  “Bernard is parking the car so put some clothes on before you turn him. Go, get, and maybe a comb wouldn’t go amiss, yes?”

  Mia headed in the direction of the bedroom. “Watch the salt will you? I’m working,” she instructed.

  “Honey, you don’t need salt. You have your Uncle Benny and me to do that,” Ralph said as he searched for a surface to put down his Starbucks. “The book motif has been way overdone. God, what is that awful smell?” Ralph pushed off a couple of paperbacks and balanced his offering on a couple of first editions. He walked to the windows facing the street, unlocked and yanked them open.

  He stuck his head out of one and motioned for Bernard to hurry up. Ralph continued to the other side of the apartment and opened those windows too. He jacked up the heat to compensate for the fresh cold air.

  Bernard struggled in with the two heavy LL Bean canvas bags. “What exactly are in these?” he asked, putting them at Ralph’s feet.

  “Bricks, what the hell do you think are in those? You sir, are getting weak in your dotage.”

  “Careful, you’re older than me.”

  “That’s a lie, scandalous.” Ralph smoothed back his expertly trimmed, dyed brown hair. “I don’t look a day over thirty.”

  “Keep telling yourself that.” Bernard laughed and asked, “Where’s the child?”

  “She’s getting cleaned up. The brat was still sleeping at this hour, imagine.” Ralph made an attempt to pick up one of the bags and decided to drag it instead.

  “Told you they were heavy,” Bernard said as he walked into the kitchen. He looked at the kitchen table, taking in Mia’s salt ring and the intricately carved box with the crucifix jammed in the clasp. He shook his head and examined the altar cloth under it. “Smart child, good at improvising.”

  “Did you say something?” Ralph asked, arms full of Cooper books he was trying to relocate in order to set up his laptop computer.

  “Just mumbling to myself,” Bernard said as he took a careful step over the salt line to examine the box more closely.

  “Not until after we get some food into skinny Minnie,” Ralph said, shaking a finger.

  Mia walked into the living room which had been transformed from a library into a home, the windows open, the heavy drapes pulled back, the sheers gently moving with the incoming breeze. She looked at Ralph who was wearing his spring uniform of Polo, pastel shirt and tan pants. His warm brown eyes looked at her with pride.

  “Mia, now that looks more like my little girl.” He walked over and enveloped her in his strong arms. “I have missed you so much. Shame on you for staying away for so long.”

  “I’m sorry. I was just trying to get my act together, and time just got away from me,” she said, enjoying the comfort of his arms. “Don’t let this end.”

  Bernard looked over at the two and wished that in the next life Ralph would get this child whom he loved so much.

  “I’m starting to get jealous,” he said. “Mia, where’re the plates? All I could find in the cupboard was essays.”

  Mia was released, and she and Bernard hunted down the plates, a mismatched set of Victorian china. They were being used as spacers tucked between ancient stacks of photocopies.

  “I sure hope you don’t have your parents’ taste in décor,” Bernard said as he washed and Mia dried the plates.

  “My home is filled with light. I built on a peninsula, so the view is marvelous no matter what window you look out of. You two are invited over, but give me warning so I can get some food in. Last time I had an overnight guest, I had to serve steak for breakfast.”

  “Did I hear overnight guest?” Ralph edged into the kitchen, carefully avoiding the salt on the floor. “Do tell.”

  “Just Whit, he wasn’t doing too well at the time,” Mia explained.

  “Was this before or after his wife attacked you?” Ralph drilled.

  “Before, and I don’t think she meant to hurt me. She was...”

  “She meant it,” Ralph insisted. “Bernard told me everything, and she meant it.”

  “I hope she went to New Jersey with her body,” Mia said, collecting the dried plates. “Otherwise...”

  “Let’s handle one problem at a time. First, food, coffee, and then Cold Creek Hollow,” Bernard said as he directed them into the sitting area where Ralph had laid out the feast of bagels, muffins, croissants and the fixings.

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Amber sat there staring at the two men in uniform, one in Rome’s, the other in the green and brown of the Sheriff’s Department. The priest was in his middle age. His features seemed dark next to the blonde youth wearing the badge.

  “Hello, Tom.”

  “Hello, Amber. May I introduce Father Santos?”

  “Nice to meet you, Father.” Amber smiled.

  “Amber,” the priest started, “I understand you’ve been having a bit of a problem.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You’re in jail for trying to kill Mia Cooper in the restroom of Sam’s Subs,” Tom reminded her.

  “Oh, that. I don’t know what happened there.” Amber shrugged.

  Father Santos watched as she sat demurely while the entity overlapping her squirmed. This caused a blurring of her features that both he and a horrified Tom could see.

  “Why are you sitting in this cell?” he asked.

  “For my own protection,” Amber said sweetly. “My father is working on getting me out, and when I do, I am going to sue Mia Cooper.”

  “Why?”

  “She put her nose into where it didn’t belong. She, Beth and Ted are trying to stall my career,” Amber said seriously.

  “What career?” Tom asked.

  “PEEPs. I was poised to take the position of principal star when...” Amber’s eyes went blank.

  “When what,” Santos prodded.

  “I don’t remember... What were we talking about?”

  Father Santos could see that Amber was fading, and the more dominate entity was pulling forward.

  “Who are you?” he asked as the apparition pulled Amber’s body into a stiff sitting posture.

  “Isn’t the better question, what am I? In this case, I’m bored. My husband spends all his time working on the farm. My mother-in-law sits outside my bedroom door so I can’t get out. Can’t meet my lover, can’t, can’t, can’t.”

  “Who is your lover?”

  “That would be telling. He’s coming, you know. I can feel him getting stronger. Soon we will be united.”
<
br />   “What about your husband?”

  “He’ll kill him again. Stephen, poor Stephen, chopping wood for an eternity,” the entity laughed.

  “Who is your lover?” Father Santos asked again.

  “You think your collar is going to protect you, priest?”

  “God will protect me, but who is going to protect you?”

  “Morris will. He’s strong. He lives on. He’s coming. Let me out. He waits on the hillside until all is quiet, then he comes and takes me on the porch.”

  Tom watched in disbelief. He watched as Amber’s hand clutched herself between the legs. Father Santos stood still, not willing to provoke the entity.

  “Your name,” Santos demanded.

  “Chastity Murphy.”

  “Chastity Murphy, I demand you leave this body. Go back to the farm and wait for Morris.”

  “Always waiting. Always wanting. This woman’s flesh is my gift to Morris. She is warm and ready...”

  “Leave this body.” Father Santos brought his hands out in front of him and began to chant.

  Tom watched Amber as the Latin words from the priest’s mouth echoed in the cell block. A mini war had begun, each player determined to win. Father Santos’s words were spat back at him. Amber’s body jerked to her feet, and she reached out with clawed hands. Tom pulled his baton from his belt and prepared to step in to protect the priest who seemed oblivious to the threat.

  Within moments it was over. Amber slumped to the ground, and Father Santos took a deep breath.

  “Deputy, my advice is to get this woman as far away from here as possible as quickly as possible. Once a spirit has found a comfortable home, it will return to it.”

  “There is an assault charge against Amber.”

  “Mia will rescind it on the condition that she is relocated to Kansas and cannot set foot in Illinois again,” the priest said with confidence. “Talk to the sheriff, call her father, but do so quickly. I will stay here until Amber leaves town.”

  Tom helped Amber back up onto the cot before escorting the priest outside the bars.

  Father Santos stood vigil while Tom hurried to the Sheriff’s Office.

  ~

  Chastity found herself being sucked back into the house. Past the front door, past the kitchen, down the dark cellar steps, and into the sealed chamber that was her grave. The encounter with the Roman had diminished her. She would have to wait until Morris came for her. In the meantime, she would have to abide the sound of chopping wood.

  ~

  Mia listened to Tom’s account of what went on in Amber’s cell. She sighed and thanked God. “Sure, I’ll send an email,” she agreed, looking at Ralph who already had his laptop set up and connected to the Wi-Fi. “What do you want it to say?” she asked, putting the cell on speaker so Ralph could type.

  Once the dictation was finished and email addresses exchanged, Mia thanked Tom for allowing Father Santos into the jail.

  “Oh, it wasn’t me. The sheriff and he go way back.”

  “That’s intriguing. I didn’t know.”

  “How exactly do you know Father Santos?” Tom asked.

  “He’s friends with my godparents,” Mia lied, looking at Ralph and Bernard.

  “You take care of yourself, get some rest,” Tom advised.

  “Okay, I will. I think I’m here until Whit comes back, anyway.”

  “Take care.”

  “Yes, I will. Bye.”

  “So we’re your godparents.” Bernard lifted an eyebrow.

  “She means fairy godparents,” Ralph explained.

  Mia tried to look aghast but just ended up laughing.

  “So let’s get back to what we were talking about before Tom’s phone call,” Ralph insisted. “How come in this day and age you don’t know how to use a computer?”

  “I said I don’t have one.”

  “Why?”

  “The same reason I don’t have a television or a landline phone. I’m afraid of something using it as an entrance,” Mia told them. “My sanity depends on having a sanctuary away from the things that go bump in the night.”

  “Isn’t your garage away from your house?” Bernard asked.

  “Yes, it’s freestanding.”

  “Okay, we need to build you an office in the garage. That way, Mia-my, you won’t be left in the dark ages.” He reached over and lifted her chin. “You can’t survive living in a self-imposed cage.”

  “Father Santos knows a lot of people like you, and they seem to move on, give their godparents grandkids and a call now and then,” Ralph interjected.

  “First the computer,” Bernard said. “Although Grandpa Benny sounds nice...”

  “Thought you were going to France?” Mia asked.

  “All in good time, perhaps you may want to go with us, be haunted by a superior type of ghost. Oooh, something from the fourteenth century.” Ralph clapped his hands together.

  Mia just shook her head, and each time she looked back at Ralph and his expression of pure joy, she couldn’t help but smile. Why had she kept these rascals out of her life? Why had she preferred to be bullied by the Roses of this world? “I think I just lost hope.” Mia realized too late, she spoke out loud.

  Ralph looked at her and motioned for her to come to him. He held her and let her cry while Bernard sat near the two and rubbed Mia’s back.

  “You know what I’m thinking,” Ralph said, looking over Mia’s back at Bernard.

  “Ice cream,” Bernard guessed. He got up and opened the freezer and found to his delight that the super’s wife had included a tub of mint chocolate chip. The problem was finding where the Coopers hid the bowls.

  ~

  Beth ran the footage of the lone Indian rider for Mike and Ted. They were sitting in the van parked at the B&B.

  “This is going to make us famous,” Mike said, his mind already working on a way to market it.

  Beth would later argue the point that it would be her that would be famous for it. Unfortunately, she used the PEEPs equipment which gave the team the rights to it.

  “This will cheer up Burt. I was going to take the small viewer over to show him,” Beth explained. “I heard his restraints were removed.”

  “It’s about time,” Mike complained.

  “Yes, not long after a certain Father Santos visited him,” Beth said.

  “No way, not the Father Santos.” Ted was excited. “Man I would love to meet that dude.”

  “Come on, who is this guy, and how come I don’t know anything about him?” Mike asked.

  “Cuz you’re never on the net, man. Father Santos is rumored to be who Rome goes to when the demons get restless,” Ted said, his voice dropping to a respectful level. “The name has been passed around the forums and chat rooms for a lot of years. Very hush-hush,” he filled in.

  “You jackals are a piece of work. He can’t be the same man.” Mike dismissed their claims. After all, wasn’t he the authority on the paranormal here?

  A knock on the back door brought Mike to his feet, and he slowly opened it.

  Amber’s father stood back, allowing the door its swing. “Guess who’s on his way to spring his daughter from the hoosegow?”

  “Really?” Mike asked.

  “Mia Cooper dropped the charges on the condition I take Amber home to Kansas. She can’t return to this county without the approval of the local police.”

  “That’s great news. How’s Amber taking it?”

  “She was a bit disappointed. She was looking forward to all the publicity her trial would give her, but I told her she was better off back in Kansas and away from this backwater town.”

  “Tell her I’ll give her a call...”

  “No you won’t,” he growled at Mike. “She’s out of PEEPs. And if you ever come near her again, I’ll press charges.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You got her all fucked up with that ghost shit. And if it weren’t for Father Santos, she would be headed to prison. Stay away from my daughter,” he
warned before stalking off.

  Mike looked back at Beth and Ted, surprised to see that they were ecstatic.

  “Dude, Father Santos! I’m going to town. I wonder if he’s still there?” Ted asked, grabbing his coat. “Mike, either get out or help us secure the van. Father Santos, man,” Ted said, brushing by the stunned man. “Talk about prime footage. If we get pics of the father... we’ll be legends!”

  Chapter Forty

  “According to Dennis McCrae PhD, Blackwell, Steele and Davidson were part of this side of the pond’s Hellfire Club,” Ralph reported.

  “Hellfire Club?” Mia questioned.

  “You know the Hellfire Club that flaunted their sexual and political intrigues in eighteenth-century England,” Ralph explained. “He says the Chicago group was rumored to have a summer establishment northwest of here.”

  “Cold Creek Hollow. But there was a church there,” Mia said.

  “Honey, the Hellfire Caves in England were under an abbey. I think some of them may actually have dressed like monks when, er, performing certain tasks. Maybe there is more under the church than just a foundation?”

  “You did say it was hit by lightning,” Bernard clarified.

  “Yes, it caught fire and eight houses along with it.” Mia looked worried. “I wonder if there’s something down there. If those men were under the foundation when the church caught fire...”

  “If their bodies are still there,” Ralph reasoned, “then no burial, no consecrated ground...”

  “Big trouble.” Mia paused, taking in all the information thus far. “I thought that if the people of the hollow that died in the fire weren’t buried in the graveyard, they were at least cleansed by fire. Or their bodies laid to rest elsewhere. But if the men of ‘the club’ were in the caves, then I think we may have one of the reasons Burt was attacked in the church foundations.”

  “Also you said Abraham Whitney was disgusted with his parishioners’ confessions,” Bernard supplied.