Something Old (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

  Audrey was disappointed at the interruption, but the thought of another investigation thrilled her. “I’m all yours,” she said.

  “Audrey’s here. How about you swing by with the truck, and we’ll go down in style.”

  “With our PEEPs logo on the side of the truck declaring to the world that help is on its way,” Cid said proudly. “Be there in fifteen minutes.”

  Burt smiled as he repeated what Cid had announced. “I think you’re right, we do watch too much television. Cid’s sounding like a narrator for NFL films.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticizing. I’m just trying to connect. I feel like an oddball with the other investigators of PEEPs,” she admitted.

  “If you feel like an oddball then you are a PEEP. We’re all square pegs trying to fit into a round world.”

  “Very clever,” Audrey said and took Burt’s hand again as they walked into the house.

  Chapter Two

  Cid roamed around the kitchen taking readings with the various pieces of equipment he had on hand while the Seavers told their story.

  “What happened when Dennis left the kitchen?” Burt asked Ann.

  “The cupcakes began floating towards each other. Then they dropped into a pyramid of sorts around my mixing bowl.”

  “This is the one you had the frosting in?” Audrey asked, taking notes.

  “Yes,” Ann answered.

  “Did you feel anything? Did the room become colder?” Audrey asked Ann.

  “No, but I smelled something I couldn’t put my finger on. Waxy like candles but sweet.”

  “Wax lips?” suggested Burt.

  “Yes! That’s it. It brought back memories of Halloween when I was a kid. We had these wax clown lips and…”

  “Dracula teeth,” Denny finished.

  “If you could smell them then…” Audrey led.

  “They were right next to me. I was sitting on the floor by that time. Whatever was wearing the candy prosthetic had to be right next to my face.” Ann rubbed her arms. “I was scared but not threatened. Does that make any sense?”

  Burt nodded sympathetically. “Sometimes I am so awestruck by what I am seeing, I forget to breathe.”

  “Is this the first time anything odd has happened? Take your time and think. Even the smallest thing. Lost keys, odd smells, objects not in their place…” Audrey suggested.

  “No, I keep a pretty neat kitchen. I have to in order to keep my caterer’s license,” Audrey explained. “No missing food. Well, not any that Denny didn’t have a midnight snack on,” she teased her husband.

  “Both of you work?”

  “Yes, I work at the local grocery store, and Denny has his own business, water softeners.”

  “Do you have any children?” Audrey continued down her list.

  “No, we’ve never been blessed with children. We thought about fostering but with both of us working, we couldn’t,” Ann explained.

  “You mentioned you were baking for the elementary school…”

  “Oh, they ask me every year. My neighbor Barb heads the fund-raising committee.”

  “That’s very kind of you. My mother does that even though I’m well out of school,” Audrey added.

  “The pictures show a lot of mess, yet the place sparkles,” Burt said, squinting at the iPhone as he flipped through the array of evidence.

  “Denny helped me clean up. I could lose my license if a health inspector showed up and found… well… an exploded cupcake volcano,” Ann said seriously and then burst into nervous giggles. “In the light of day, this all seems so silly.”

  “It seems more like an escalated prank than something meant to scare you,” Burt said.

  “So you believe us?” Denny said amazed.

  “Yes, I do. It being a single occurrence although may not qualify it for a full investigation…”

  There was a knock on the door followed by the ring of the doorbell.

  “Excuse me,” Ann said getting up.

  Burt got up to consult with Cid. Ann returned with a very nervous woman.

  “This is my neighbor Barb. She’s the woman I told you about.”

  Audrey scanned her notes and read off, “The fund-raising committee member.”

  “Guilty,” Barb said, trying to control the quiver in her voice. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I saw your truck, and I think you should come over and take a look at my kitchen.”

  “What’s the problem?” Burt asked.

  “It’s hard to explain. I think you’d better see for yourselves.”

  Cid gathered his equipment and camera and nodded to Burt. “I’ll go. Do you mind if I film?”

  Barb patted her hair and looked uneasy. “I’m a mess, but you’re welcome to film the house.”

  “Fair enough. My name is Cid Garrett,” he introduced himself and followed Barb out of the Seaver’s house.

  “Barb’s a single mother. Her daughter’s in the fifth grade,” Ann explained. “She’s also a Girl Scout leader. I don’t think there is one committee she’s not on in the school.”

  Burt’s phone vibrated and he glanced at it. “Excuse me,” he said picking it up.

  “Burt, come on over. You’re going to want to see this first hand,” Cid said and ended the call.

  Barb was waiting for Burt and Audrey and let them in the front door. “Go straight through to the kitchen,” she instructed. “When my daughter Heather was young, I always encouraged her to bring home her graded school work, and we would attach the best ones to the refrigerator door with magnets,” she said. “This morning though…” her voice trailed off as they entered the kitchen.

  There were bright and happy crayon drawings magnetically attached to the refrigerator, pinned to the cupboards, hanging from the ceiling fan, and covering the windows with sticky tape. Images of happy families holding hands, children dancing, and a few representations of zoo animals were displayed proudly. The drawings seemed to have been done by many different sets of hands.

  “Your daughter, could she have…”Audrey started.

  “She’s the first one I thought of, and I was all set to wake her with a scolding, but then I saw these.” Barb walked over to the refrigerator door and pointed out the happy family pictures. “You see, there is a father in the pictures. Heather knows I had in vitro fertilization in order to have her. She doesn’t have a father. I don’t have a male in my life. If there were two moms then…”

  “Has she seen the kitchen?” Burt asked.

  “Yes, she thinks it’s a prank. I’d kind of like her to continue to think so until I get it sorted,” Barb said evenly. “No sense in having her freak out. She’s at that freaking out age.”

  Cid looked over at Burt and mouthed poltergeists.

  Barb’s landline rang, and she let it go to the answering machine while the PEEPs looked over her kitchen.

  Barb, this is Mrs. Alison down the street. Did Heather come over to pick flowers? You know I said it would alright for a posy or two but really…

  Barb grabbed the phone. “Mrs. Alison, this is Barb. Heather’s at school. What is the problem?”

  Audrey watched as surprise filled the woman’s face as she listened to her irate neighbor.

  “Calm down. I think mischief is afoot. I have some people. Actually, the Seavers have some people who might want to see that. Hold on.” Barb placed the receiver against her chest. “My neighbor across the cul-de-sac has this beautiful flower garden, and it’s all been destroyed. Happened last night. Can you take a look at it?”

  Burt raised his hands and agreed.

  “Mrs. Alison, they will be over as soon as they are done here. Two men and a woman. Yes, I’ll come too. See you soon.”

  Barb led the way out of the house and over to where an elderly woman stood at the end of her driveway. She had on a bedazzled sweat suit that bagged at the knees, and a sour expression on her face.

  “This is Mr…”

  “Hicks, Burt Hicks. These are my associates, Audrey McCarthy and Cid G
arrett. We’re PEEPs, we’re here to help.”

  “PEEPs, smeeps, all I care about is finding the rascals that did this,” she said, leading them around the house to where daisies, mums, snapdragons and geraniums used to dominate. All that was left was pinched-off stalks and trampled ground cover. “They didn’t touch the roses or lilies, but as you can see, all the others are gone. Frost was going to take them soon, but I thought with this warm weather I would have a few more weeks in which to enjoy them.”

  Burt knelt down and examined the ground. Cid took out his camera and began taking pictures of the garden.

  “Do you have a recent picture of the garden?” Audrey asked sweetly.

  “They’re a few weeks old, but I do have a few snapshots. I’ll go and get them. Who do you think did this?”

  “No footprints,” Burt reported.

  “We’re not sure. Did you hear anything last night?”

  “Funny, I thought I heard giggling and singing. I assumed it came from Barb’s place. She’s always having Girl Scout meetings in her backyard, although it was quite late…” she mused. “Come to think of it, very late. I just finished Dancing with the Stars and…” she raised her hands guessing, “Nine o’clock maybe?”

  Burt waited until she went inside to get the snapshots before motioning for Audrey to join him and Cid. “Three houses all hit last night. If I didn’t think that Ann was a credible witness, I’d say a gang of kids went marauding last night. There isn’t anything supernatural about crayon drawings or picked flowers, but then there’s the cupcake volcano…”

  “Maybe Mia could take a look around before we decide,” Cid suggested. “She sees more than our instruments can pick up.”

  “If it were just the one house then I wouldn’t bother her but three…” Burt reasoned and picked up his phone and hit speed dial number one.

  ~

  Ted and Mia pulled up into the cul-de-sac, parking the truck in front of the Seaver house. Mia hopped out and a cool breeze caught her Nordic blonde hair and blew it into her face. She reached back into the truck for her Chicago Bears ball cap. She pulled it on, looking around her as she tucked in the errant locks. The neighborhood consisted of older homes set on large pie-shaped lots. The yards were neat and clean considering the lateness of the year. A few early fall leaves were blowing around, but the grass was trimmed and the flowerbeds tidy.

  “There’s love in this place,” Mia said to Ted who had jogged over to the truck and returned with an ear com for Mia. He noticed she was absently fingering the necklace he had given her. The GPS/heart monitor was designed especially for Mia when she took a walkabout out of her body. He had refined the silver orb to automatically turn on the program when her vitals jumped or fell dramatically. This way, he had an early warning device that Mia was heading into trouble.

  “They certainly love their houses. Even the mailbox poles have fresh paint on them,” Ted observed. “Here.” He handed her the com and watched her as she inserted it in her ear.

  She tapped it and said, “Mia is on com.”

  “It’s about time you showed up,” Cid said.

  “It takes a while to drive out of the city,” Mia answered.

  “Especially if you two stop for food. Thanks for the grub.”

  “You’re welcome. Sorry it’s not homemade, but I don’t have a mom on call like Audrey does.”

  “Speaking of Audrey, she and Burt have been making goo-goo eyes at each other all day. I wish they just… Hello Burt. Mia and Ted are on com and headed for Mrs. Alison’s flower garden.”

  Mia took the hint and started walking across the paved circle to where an older woman stood. Ted closed up the truck and followed her.

  “Hello, I’m Mia and this is my fiancé Ted,” Mia said, holding out her gloved hand to the woman. “I understand someone has been picking flowers…”

  “They all but destroyed my garden,” she said, shaking Mia’s hand. “Folks around here call me Old Lady Alison, but I’d prefer Mary.”

  Ted laughed at the frankness of the woman. “Mary, it is then. Mia and I are used to being called a lot worse. Burt said you had some pictures…”

  “Yes.” She dug her hand into her tattered cardigan pocket and handed the photos over to Ted.

  He whistled as he took in the vibrant blooms.

  “This summer was perfect for flowers. Not too wet, not too dry. If you follow me, I’ll show you what’s left of it.”

  Mia lagged back, sensing something at the edge of her mind. She caught snatches of laughter and voices of children at play in the cool breeze. “Excuse me, Mary, is there a school near here?”

  “Used to be. It’s on the far side of the woods. The building’s been closed for a few years. I think they’re going to make a senior center out of it once they get the funding.”

  “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?” Mia asked, taking in the curtness of Mary’s reply.

  Mary stopped walking and turned around. “Don’t get me wrong, a facility for the card-playing, gossiping, hen-partying women would be nice, but it was such a beautiful school. It should be full of children. I went there when I was a girl.”

  “Why did they close it?”

  “The town changed. The young ones grew up and moved away. Not as many children live in these parts anymore. The school district consolidated and moved them into Bear Creek Elementary. Barb’s daughter has to take a bus.”

  “What was the school called?” Ted asked, typing information into his phone.

  “Himmel.”

  “Heaven, in German,” Ted said.

  “You’re right young man. And it was heaven - at least that’s the memories I retain. I suppose I had bad days - I didn’t enjoy spelling much - but the teachers I had were top rate. I looked forward to the first day of school more than Christmas.”

  “That’s some recommendation,” Mia said. “I wasn’t as fortunate. I hated school.”

  “My folks were thrifty, but they made sure I arrived on Himmel’s doorstep with a new frock and shoes. My aunts chipped in one year, and I had an actual lunch box. To this day, the scent of peanut butter and jelly gives me a thrill and sends me back to Himmel.”

  Ted and Mia watched Mary Alison’s face as she recalled the school and envied her. They strolled towards the back of the house, listening to Mary’s childhood memories of a school that had made quite an impact on her.

  As soon as Mia saw the remains of the garden, she stopped in her tracks. There was a strange greenish mist moving around the plants. She’d never seen anything like it. She stooped down and examined a few of the deflowered perennials. “The flowers were pinched off. I expected to see uprooted plants,” she commented as she crab-walked up and down the rows of plants. She took off her glove, hesitating a moment before reaching out into the mist.

  The moisture wetted her palm, and she lifted it to her nose and sniffed. It smelled like its color, green, fresh like newly picked green beans or snipped-off chives. Visions of peas tumbling into a dish as the pods were opened flashed into her mind. “Mary, was there a vegetable garden here once?”

  “Why yes, my mom and dad always had a garden. So did I until my husband passed. Vegetables need attention, and I couldn’t give the extras away fast enough. I settled on flowers.”

  Mia put her glove back on and stood up. “I don’t sense that there was any malice in the fleecing of your blooms, Mary. Just the ignorance of youth, I suppose. Posies made, daisy chains strung and a tribute for…” Mia shook her head as she lost the rest.

  Mia turned around and looked towards the woods. She saw that the edge of the woods seemed to stop in an orderly way at the end of Mary’s property. Years of training would keep nature at bay, but this looked as if nature chose to be orderly.

  “The school is just the other side of the woods. I used to run with the other kids through the trees every morning. When the snows came, we trudged there in our snow pants and boots.”

  “The trees are old but not original,” Ted observed.


  “Good eye. There was a fire…” Mary’s voice trailed off as she gathered her memories and continued, “It was before I was born. My mother said the trees all went up as it was a dry year. The blaze took half the school with it. I don’t remember the particulars though. They rebuilt the missing parts with a state of the art – for the time, mind you – science center.”

  The breeze turned hot and carried with it the smell of smoke. Mia turned until she felt the full heat of a blazing fire on her face. She opened her eyes expecting to see a fire heading towards them. Instead she saw late afternoon shadows that all but swallowed up the undergrowth of the woods behind Mary’s house. Through the dimness Mia could see several children peak out from behind trees and bushes. She watched as they moved into a group, walking along the path. They stopped at the end of the path and gazed towards Mary’s house. Mia counted six children of varying heights and ages. They stood still with soot-blackened faces. The tallest of the group, a boy of ten or eleven, became aware of Mia and put his finger to his lips. Mia nodded and he smiled. He gathered his group, and they walked back into the woods.

  Chapter Three

  Mia and Ted walked around to the rear of Barb’s house and tapped at the window of the back door. She opened the door, greeting them with a smile and two steaming mugs of coffee. “Burt and Audrey said you’d be needing some rocket fuel,” she explained. “Ted, milk’s in the refrigerator and sugar’s on the counter in the canister with the skull and crossbones on it.”

  “Aye, a bit of the old poison is what I be needing,” Ted said in his Caribbean pirate voice.

  Barb motioned to the kitchen table where she and Cid had piled the drawings. Mia picked up a happy family picture and was puzzled. The subject matter didn’t match the prewar children she had seen in the woods. She eased off her glove and touched the drawing. Visions of a linoleum floor and a box of crayons flooded her senses. She saw a chubby hand with a death grip on a fat blue Crayola coloring in the sky, mindful of the smiley-faced sun in the corner. She smelt cookies and looked up to see a woman in a frilly apron bent over the oven, pulling out a batch of cookies, using two tea towels instead of hot pads. It faded quickly. “Interesting,” she mumbled.