by Alexie Aaron
“Thanks, Murph,” Burt said as he ran past the farmer. “Mia, where are you?” he called.
She ran out of the kitchen by way of the dining room. “It’s about time you got that door open. I couldn’t even break a window.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the house.
She glanced at the pieces of the door and smiled. “Murphy strikes again.”
They ran over to Bev who was standing still in the middle of the park. Her eyes were closed. She opened them and spoke, “Steele’s gone, but all isn’t well here.”
“No kidding, hanging guy is still running around, pissing me off. There are at least five staring out of the windows of the middle house. I think the traveling menace is gone, but there is something else...”
“Something old,” Bev agreed.
“Something ancient,” Angelo added as he joined them. “Is everyone alright? Burt, you look a bit ragged.”
“I feel twice that bad,” Burt said then asked, “Are we winning?”
Mia grasped his hand. “I think we won a battle but not the war.”
“It may be time to regroup,” Bev suggested. “I need to pee. How’s the house on the other end?” she asked Mia.
“I don’t sense anything other than residual. I’ll go with you.”
“I’ll stand guard,” Burt insisted.
Angelo nodded. “Meet us over in the graveyard when you can. If you’re not back in fifteen minutes, I’m sending the cavalry.”
Bev and Mia linked arms with Burt. As they passed the middle house, they compared notes on the faces in the windows.
Burt asked, “Are they trying to get out or keeping us from going in?”
“They could just be curious,” Mia said. “But why are they here?”
“Something’s holding them. What’s your take on hanging man?”
“He’s kind of happy to be here. Loves to frighten me. I thought he was pulling power off of Steele, but now I think it’s something else. He definitely killed himself in the attic. I don’t know why though. He’s kind of a jerk,” Mia said.
“They all give me the creeps,” Burt said as they went up the steps. He tried the door. “Locked.”
Bev reached inside her coat pocket and came up with a set of lock picks. She got on her knees, inserted one pick and then eased the other in, feeling for the sweet spot. The door opened.
Mia opened her mouth to speak.
“Don’t ask. And yes, I’ll teach you. Handy things to have. Now where is that bathroom?”
They stood in the foyer, and Bev whistled at the opulence of the carved staircase. “This is where the box came from,” Mia pointed out.
“I see the resemblance, same artist,” Bev said as they moved past the steps and were rewarded with a small water closet tucked under the staircase. “Me first. Man, I should have declined the coffee but...” she was cut off as she closed the door after her.
Burt pulled Mia into his arms and hugged her. She melted into his embrace. “I don’t care what has happened since we fought, and I don’t know if Whit is in the picture. I just want a chance to compete. You are such a wonderful person. With all that you’ve gone through in the past... today too, you can still laugh. I care a lot for you. This isn’t a love-em leave-em sort of feeling I have.” He released her.
Mia was going to respond, but Bev opened the bathroom door.
“Next.”
Mia walked in, closed the door, peed as fast as she could. She noticed her aunt had left her a few tissues, no doubt from her coat pocket. She washed her hands and dried them on her jeans.
“Next,” she said opening the door. Burt moved quickly past her and shut it again.
Mia moved next to Bev who was leaning against the wall. She was humming, “Torn between two lovers...”
“Amen, to that,” Mia said and sighed. “Thanks for the tissues.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied.
Burt exited the washroom. He reached for Mia’s hand, and she gave it. He reached out for Bev’s, and she acquiesced. “So, Burt, how are you handling all this second sight business?”
“It’s a bit intimidating. How do you get used to seeing the dead?” he asked his beautiful bookends.
“Seeing them is the easy part. Sensing what they want is the hardest,” Bev explained. “Sometimes I just have to walk right by them.”
“That’s why I have my sanctuary. A place I can just be normal. It’s exhausting. They drain you. They can mess you up real bad. At least I can see them,” Mia said, rubbing her thumb along his hand.
They stopped and looked at the graveyard.
“Now, that young lady waving a handkerchief...”
“Daisy Sprigs,” Mia filled in.
“Yes, Miss Daisy. Why is she still here?” Burt asked.
Bev looked at Daisy and replied, “Don’t know. Angelo can hear them. Ask him. Or use one of those thingies... digital voice recorders. You may get an answer if you ask her directly. But don’t be disappointed; in some cases they don’t know.”
“Mia, could you come over here?” Angelo called and waved her over.
She dropped Burt’s hand and said, “Excuse me,” before she left.
Bev patted Burt. “Give her time.”
“I’ve got to get back to Kansas...”
“If you want her, stay. Find some stupid reason to stay and court her. Seems to me that there are still a shitload of ghosts just in the house behind us alone,” Bev pointed out.
Angelo leaned over Mia and whispered something in her ear. She colored and shifted her feet.
“What are they talking about?” Burt wondered aloud.
“I have my suspicions, but I’ve learned in the past, the quickest way to find anything out is to ask. Unless you have Sabine, and then you just have to listen.”
“She’s a mind reader?”
“No, she is much, much more. I don’t think there’s a label I would feel comfortable putting on her,” Bev said. “Oh look, they finally noticed us. We better join the group. Hang in there, Burt.” She let go of his hand and entered the graveyard.
Burt followed her and nodded in respect to Daisy as he passed.
Chapter Forty-nine
Beth passed the spade to Ted who finished digging the grave for the Lewis child. Before Father Santos would let the remains be lowered into the earth, he had the box opened. The gnaw marks on the small bones bore witness to the horrific way he died. He was eaten. They lay in a heap despite the care they took in carrying him to the graveyard. Father Santos looked over at Mia, the daughter of an archeologist. “Would you?”
She didn’t have to ask, she knew what he wanted. “Give me a few minutes,” she said simply.
“Here use this,” Angelo said, handing her the cloth she had stolen just days before.
She laid the altar cloth from the Lutheran church down, sliding it carefully under the bones. Mia rolled one end, creating a pillow and folded the other end back at the foot of the box. With great care and reverence, she placed the child’s skull on the pillow. As quickly as possible, she assembled the rest as best as she could. Mia knew that she didn’t get everything right, but she hoped it would be enough. She slipped her christening cross off of her head and placed it on the broken rib cage.
When she had finished, she pulled up the remaining cloth and tucked it around the child as if she were settling him for bed. “Sleep well, little one. Go to your maker.” A single tear fell from her eye and landed on the small skull. She went to brush it off when Gustav Lewis appeared in amongst his bones. “We are laying you next to Daisy Sprigs, she will take good care of you. But don’t linger, move on,” she said softly. The boy smiled, and the apparition faded. “He’s ready, Father Santos.”
Gustav had an honor guard of four deputies who carefully lowered him. Beverly Cooper started singing “Amazing Grace.” The others sung along until they ran out of words they knew. When she had sung the last note, Father Santos stepped forward.
“Gustav Lewis is finally laid to
rest. He will be met by friendly faces as he joins with the light. Do not mourn him. Rejoice that he has finally found peace. In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.” He bent down and picked up some dirt, blessed it and tossed it on the small boy’s casket.
Each member of the group came forward and added to the tribute. Finally, it was time to fill in the grave. Mike stepped forward and took the spade. Burt and his team looked on with pride. Mia and Murphy were surprised.
Whit hadn’t exactly been avoiding Mia. They all were either busy fighting evil or cleaning up the aftermath, but he never looked at her, not even a glance. Mia reran all the things she said and didn’t find any faux pas, nothing obvious. Maybe she had built it all up in her mind. Gone was any feeling of closeness between them.
She looked over at Burt who was presently taking the promised digital photos of Father Santos with Beth and Ted on either side of him. He was a good man. He came through a pretty horrific trauma and was brave enough to face his attackers. Maybe she had judged him too harshly. The baggage she carried from her childhood sometimes skewed her perception of things. Was this just going to be another lost opportunity? “What am I going to do?”
“Pardon?” Tom asked. “Were you talking to me?” he said behind her.
She turned around and said, “Nope, sorry, I’m just talking to myself. Just another bad habit,” Mia explained.
“My ma does the very same thing.”
“Oh, speaking of your Ma, I wrote out the recipe.” Mia dug into her pocket. She withdrew a crumpled, folded three by five card. “Sorry it’s a bit messy.” Mia tried to flatten some of the creases. “I was going to give it to you earlier.”
Tom smiled and held out his hand. She placed the card in it. “I could write it over...”
“Nope, I can honestly tell Ma that I went through hell to get it from you.” He tucked it in his shirt pocket.
“Tom, you sure made a quick turnaround and warmed up to this ghost hunting business,” Mia commented.
“Mia, when you go through your first exorcism, it changes your perspective on things,” Tom said sagely. “Have you seen Whit?”
“Only in the distance. He’s gone ice cold on Mia Cooper.”
“I noticed that. Must be all the funeral stuff. I’ve got to go find him. The sheriff wants me to keep an eye on him. He went off his nut down there in the tomb. He’s got some anger issues.”
“Must have a lot on his mind,” Mia said. “I’m starving. I need to get back. Say hello to your mom.”
“Will do.”
Mia walked away from Tom and smack into Gerald. “I’m sorry,” she said, backing up.
“Don’t worry, I am used to Cooper women walking all over me.” He smiled and held out his hands.
Mia put her hands in his. Instantly, she had a vision.
She and Murphy were watching the Indian riding when everything reversed. She ran after the rider who was going backwards. She followed him through the forest to a murky swamp. There in the middle of the swamp was a dark form that twisted and oozed. The rider moved off his horse and walked backward to the far edge of the swamp. Time stopped and moved forward again. He was looking for herbs when he was startled by a scream in the middle of the brown water. Up came the withering form. The rider was frightened and hopped on his horse in order to warn his people. He rode full out, and just as he felt he was safe, the blackness caught up to him and choked the life out of him and his steed. It moved on to his village.
The vision faded, and she looked into Gerald’s eyes.
“I thought it was Steele, the evil,” Mia said.
“He was the threat, the immediate one. This old one may have encouraged Steele when he was living. I don’t know.”
“What do we do?”
“Go on living our lives. But maybe keeping an eye on Cold Creek Hollow would be wise.”
“There’s still more to do here.” Mia nodded towards the middle house.
“All in good time. I don’t know about you, but I need to recharge. Maybe I’ll get laid,” he said, glancing at Bev.
“Maybe. I’m going to get Murphy home, get something to eat and then sleep for a hundred years. Thank you for your help.”
“Thank you, Mia.” He gave her a courtly little bow before walking away.
“Come on, Murph. Time to go home,” Mia said and walked down the road.
“Hey, Mia, wait up.”
Mia turned around to see Ted running after her. “So, we have to leave tonight. I wonder if I can get a hug, a phone number and maybe a picture of Murphy?”
She laughed and turned to Murphy. “You want your picture taken?”
Murphy pulled off his hat and smoothed his hair. He balanced his axe between his legs until the procedure was complete.
“Ted, Murphy would love to have his picture taken. Would you like me to stand with him? He’s kind of hard to focus in on.”
“I want him next to you on your right.”
Mia turned to Murphy, “You heard him.”
Murphy inched closer to Mia and raised his axe.
“No, honey. Lower the axe a bit so Ted can get your face,” she instructed and Murphy complied. “We’re ready, go ahead.”
Ted raised the digital and shot a few pictures, and then he brought out another camera and continued to shoot. Murphy raised his eyebrows as still another camera came out.
“I think you’re being taken for a ride,” Mia said out of the side of her mouth.
“Okay, sorry, but this is my only chance to get a ghost to stand still for me.”
“Me too,” Mia said. “Remember, a hundred bucks if one turns out. We want two copies. One in a waterproof frame.”
“Do you really think Murphy’s going to keep it?”
“Yes, I do. Now let’s exchange numbers so I can get out of here,” Mia insisted.
Ted pulled out a notebook, and they each wrote down their numbers. Mia reached over and hugged the young man. “Please remember, be careful. The dead rarely are as accommodating as Murph.”
“After today, you’re preaching to the choir,” Ted said and walked Mia the rest of the way to her truck.
Whit watched Mia leave, feeling like a heel. He didn’t know if Sherry was still hanging around, but he knew he had to keep his distance and get his head on straight. Being Mia’s protector was one thing, but taking her on as a friend was another. There was a compatibility between them and maybe some chemistry, but did he want to be saddled with her sort of craziness all of his life? Hell no.
“Hey, Whit, I was looking for you. Sheriff Ryan says we can hit the road. The guys are due to go off shift, and we can all go back in one vehicle,” Tom said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Fine with me. I’ve been a bit off my game today.”
“Whit, I’d say you were one mean son-of-a-bitch down there. I would be honored for you to have my back any day.”
“Thanks, Tom, I appreciate it. How about we stop at the pub, and I buy the first round.”
“Done and done.” Tom smiled. It was good to see the old Whit back.
“You’ll keep an eye on things?” Father Santos asked John Ryan.
“My county, my eyes. Thanks for coming when I called.”
“Actually, you were the second call, but it still counts.”
“The ever honest, ever cagey friend I remember,” John said, remembering a couple of their past encounters.
“How are you going to write this one up?”
“Very carefully, lots of adverbs,” John wisecracked.
“If things start up...”
“You’re on my speed dial,” John said and patted the priest on the back. “Now get out of here so I can go home and catch the rest of the ball game.”
Burt stayed while Mike finished with the grave. “What a wild ride. Who knew that when we started with fussy April we would end up in a full out war with the Hell Fire Club!”
“I wouldn’t have placed money on it,” Burt admitted.
“So wh
at are you going to do about your broken heart?”
Burt did a double take.
“I’m a trained investigator for crap’s sake. I noticed the honeymoon high and then the pit of despair.” Mike looked around him at the gravestones. “Life is too short to take the easy way out. It seems to me that she’s hurting too.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Mia’s been making googlie-eyes at you since day one. I heard she full-out tackled two ghosties to save you, Burt. For the record, I didn’t need any girl to save me,” Mike teased.
“I want to stay but...”
“But what? What’s stopping you?”
“PEEPs, work...”
“You hate your job, and we’ll be busy looking through hundreds of hours of tapes. You’re not off the team, just doing a little recruiting.” Mike elbowed him. “I’ll ride back with the techs.”
“You’re sure? I don’t know how long...”
“Burt, I owe you. Come on, I need to get out of here. This place gives me the creeps,” Mike said as he carefully stepped around Gustav’s grave.
Burt followed Mike to the PEEPs van and helped to secure some of the equipment. Beth and Ted had already uploaded the pictures of Father Santos and were talking a mile a minute.
“See you guys when I get back,” Burt said and left them arguing about who was driving.
Chapter Fifty
Mia and Murphy sat side by side on the picnic table facing the hillside. “He was trying to warn his village when the great evil from the swamp killed him. I don’t know what happened to the village. It was long before you came here to settle,” she explained.
The rider appeared, and Mia now had more respect for the man’s quest. If only this wasn’t a repeat, if only she could change the outcome, but the past can’t be changed. There were no do-overs for the rider or his people.
