Crossroads

by Alexie Aaron [Aaron, Alexie]

  “Sure, why not?” Mia said.

  Ted could tell she was forcing her smile, but he doubted anyone else would. “I take it Ralph got to you and your clothes before you exited the attraction?”

  “Oh yes. Can I explain now?”

  “No.”

  Mia sighed.

  “Ice Queen, will you be attending the San Diego Comic-Con this year?”

  “I don’t think I’ve been asked,” Mia answered honestly. “If PEEPs do a panel, I’ll be there.”

  “What about signing a few posters for us?”

  “Posters?” Mia asked, looking confused.

  Someone beside the blogger unrolled a poster. It wasn’t the photo shot at the Bodacious Beach Body contest; it was the one Max took when she and Acalan entered the art show. Max had caught her with her eyes wide and her face filled with awe. Ted had to admit, Mia had never looked more beautiful.

  “Where did you get these?” Mia asked as Ralph guided her over to a table where a stack of them had been placed. “I’ve only been in Vegas a few hours.”

  One of her entourage raised his hand. “There were a few left at Alternate Reality Comics. But once word got around…”

  Mia shook a finger at him.

  “There you have it. The Ice Queen in Vegas. Life could not get better. This is Rory Dee signing off.”

  Mia slipped out from under Ted’s arm and walked over to the table where a large shoulder bag was sitting. She dug in the satchel and produced a small bag. She handed it to Ted. “Before you open this, please listen. After I figured out that I couldn’t slip my… um… entourage, I stopped and asked them if any of them knew if one of these could be obtained in Vegas.”

  Ted opened the bag and pulled out the boxed Shadow Trooper.

  “It’s my way of thanking you for giving me my babies,” Mia said.

  “This must have cost you a fortune.”

  “It was expensive, but Bernard paid for it out of his ill-gotten gains. It’s costing me four spa trips with Ralph.”

  “Mike’s on the phone,” Jake announced.

  “I hear the girls,” Mia lied, grabbed a fistful of bacon, and ran out of the kitchen.

  “I’ll take the call,” Ted said. “Put it through to my cell.”

  “Mia?” Mike asked.

  “She’s unavailable. Can I help you?”

  “Did you guys see the Techno Geek blog?”

  “Just saw it.”

  “Was this planned?” Mike asked.

  “I doubt it. But wow, look at the free advertising we got.”

  “Burt’s on the office line waiting,” Jake said, bored.

  “Hang on, Mike, Burt’s on the phone, and we have an active investigation,” Ted said.

  Jake switched him over.

  “You have Ted.”

  “I want Mia.”

  “Everyone wants Mia. But I got to her first.”

  “Not exactly…” Burt said.

  “I put a ring on her,” Ted said.

  “San Diego Comic-Con called Alan Jefferies, and they want PEEPs to do a panel, but they are insisting that Mia be on it. Can you possibly tell me why?”

  “Search for Techno Geek blog and Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. Vegas, and that should probably tell you all. I have Mike on the other line,” Ted said and hung up. He picked up Mike’s call. “Mike, Burt says Comic-Con wants us. Do you think we can get our shit together that fast?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Why don’t the two of you talk it over.” Ted hung up. “Jake, where’s my wife?”

  “Third-floor aerie.”

  “Thank you.”

  Ted poured coffee into a thermos and grabbed a few mugs. “I’ll be with Mia, getting the whole story.”

  “Be gentle. Remember, she’s just had two babies.”

  Ted showed him a few stills Jake took from the video. “Does that look like she’s just given birth?”

  “No, but she has,” Lazar argued.

  “I’m not going to beat her,” Ted said, walking off.

  Mia had finished eating her bacon, sitting on the padded lounge chair. When she heard the door slide open, she started to worry about her behind.

  “Hello, pumpkin. I brought coffee.”

  “Do you still love me?”

  “A smidgeon,” Ted said, setting down the thermos, mugs, and Funko. He lifted her onto his lap. “I’m here for the rest of the story.”

  “It all started with a game of Gay or European…” Mia told Ted basically everything to do with the entourage of nerds and feeling bad when she led them on that she was going to see the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. “That’s when I got the idea about replacing Shadow Trooper.”

  “Where was Angelo?”

  “Playing some kind of game with Bernard at the Wynn Casino. Thanks for dealing with the phone calls for me.”

  “I should swat your behind for ducking out, but Lazar warned me you have just given birth.”

  “I have.”

  “You did a good thing. We needed the advertisement. Although, you’re going to have to be in front of the camera a lot or the fan base will be upset.”

  “I know.”

  Ted went on to tell her about Comic-Con.

  “Isn’t that a good thing?”

  “Yes, but Burt’s going to exploit you.”

  “How do you feel about it?” Mia asked.

  “You’re not upset?”

  “Things like that don’t upset me much anymore. Once you’ve been to Hell, other things are just not that horrible.”

  “That should be on a T-shirt,” Ted said, hugging his wife.

  “How do you feel about it?” Mia asked again.

  “Am I still your main man?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’ll deal with my jealousy. I married a beautiful, talented, scary woman, and I love being your husband. You’ve given me children, a home I love coming home to, and a dream existence. You can have anyone, but you keep choosing me. This is something I’ll never forget.”

  “I forgot about the possibility of a poster,” Mia said. “I believe I gave Max a verbal okay to go ahead as long as I got paid my normal percentage. At the time, I was in shock from seeing the paintings, but I think, legally, I have to go through with the poster. I thought that being fat would tell the world that the Ice Queen is no more.”

  “Mia, it’s not your body that they are looking at.”

  Mia lifted an eyebrow.

  “Okay, in the first poster, it was your body. But the look of wonderment on your face is the draw of the second poster. You look like you do when we’re making love. All those nerds want that.”

  “Um.”

  “I know you’re not fond of being the center of attention. You have to hide a lot of who you are to fit in, which is a shame, but you don’t have to hide that you are a beautiful woman. My beautiful wife. I’ll make sure Mike and Burt don’t exploit you on camera.”

  “The saleslady said I had showgirl boobs,” Mia said. “She wasn’t fazed a bit fitting me.”

  “Did you get something nice?”

  “Yes. I have a few things I can mix and match for the PEEPs investigation, and I have a killer Taco Bell date-night dress.”

  Ted laughed.

  Mia felt a twinge. “Nature is telling me I have to go and feed our girls.”

  “I want to come.”

  Mia smiled. She had hoped he would. She didn’t want to lose this feeling of intimacy with Ted. Too often they were busy with things that took their minds off each other, so when they were connected, Mia hated for it to end.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mia looked over the films while she waited for Cid to set up. Burt was still a no-show. Mia wasn’t sure if this was some kind of passive-aggressive message that she had yet to decode or if he was just running late.

  “The knife thing bothers me. I think I’m going to loot the house of sharps,” Mia said, writing down a list. “Who
’s on security today?”

  “Murphy is supposed to be. He’s pretty distracted,” Ted said. “I think he’s trying to be two places at once.”

  “Do you want me to talk to him?” Mia asked.

  “No. That’s Burt’s job.”

  “What’s Burt’s job?” Burt asked, climbing in the back of the truck.

  The smell of aftershave tickled Mia’s nose. She turned around, seeing Burt dressed in clean pressed pants and a PEEPs shirt, and nodded her approval. “Hicks, you clean up well. I have a blazer if you want to go the whole Mike route?”

  “I don’t know?”

  “Blazer pockets are good places to hide things,” Mia pointed out, emptying hers of holy water, salt, and iron nails.

  “Will it fit?”

  “Mia won’t tell you, but she bought it last night with some of Bernard’s ill-gotten gains.”

  “Ralph thought we’d be cute together,” Mia said. “Like I said, you don’t have to wear it,” Mia pouted.

  Burt pulled the jacket on, and the fit was good.

  Ted frowned.

  “What?” Burt asked.

  “Mike’s not going to like it. You’re a handsome fellow when you’re not covered in fast food and two days’ growth of beard.”

  Mia shook her head at Ted.

  “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not?” Burt questioned.

  “Cid’s ready for you two,” Jake announced.

  Cid posed Mia on the porch step so Burt and she didn’t look so ill-matched. He liked the professional look to the couple, jeans and nice jackets. Mia opted for the washed-out T-shirt while Burt had on a new shirt under their blazers. Ralph had braided Mia’s hair away from her face. It swung down her back, held down at the end by a scrunchy. Burt’s brown hair was washed and cut so that the natural wave wasn’t licking up curls here and there.

  “Welcome to the Paranormal Entity Exposure Partners investigation number 234. I’m Burt Hicks.”

  “And I’m his trusty sidekick Mia Martin,” Mia said, smiling wide.

  “We were notified of a possible active haunt that involved a child. As with most ghost hunters, we put everything aside when a child is involved. The mother and child are residing elsewhere until we can get a handle on what is going on here.”

  “Without putting a target on the house,” Mia said. “We’re doing our best to keep this investigation secret.”

  “Right. Why don’t you give our audience a vague idea of where we are,” Burt instructed.

  “Righto. We’re in a small village in northern Illinois. The house was built in the 1950s and is being rented by this family. We’ll refer to them as the homeowners to simplify things. It’s on a nice lot, on a slow street, and there is a fenced-in backyard. The elementary school is a block away, as is the main street. Burt, has there been any activity mentioned prior to these homeowners’ experiences?”

  “No. Audrey, who is off site, has done a thorough internet investigation, and although the house next door has seen some paranormal activity, this house hasn’t.”

  “I guess we should also address the personnel shift. Mike is locked into a Wheel’s Up investigation in Chile, so Burt’s filling his shoes. I personally am looking forward to doing this investigation with Burt. His perspective and experience are different from Mike Dupree’s, but I assure you, we are in good hands. Cid’s behind the camera, and Ted is sleeping in the trailer,” Mia said playfully. “Ouch! He informs me that he is awake and I’m in trouble.”

  Burt smiled. “Shall we begin, Mia?”

  “Yes, lets!”

  “And cut,” Cid said. “Ted, how was the sound?”

  “Sound and video looked great. Mrs. Martin is on notice, but other than that, I think we have this in one take.”

  “Glory be,” Cid said. “Okay, get something to drink because we’re going inside in ten minutes.”

  Burt looked at Mia. “What do I do now?”

  “You know. If you were Mike, you would look in the mirror and contemplate that receding hairline, but in your case, you don’t have one.”

  “I have an extra chin.”

  “Looks good on you, Boss,” Mia said. “I’m headed to Braverman’s to pee.”

  Murphy fell into step with Mia as she walked over to the Bravermans and followed the sidewalk around to the back door.

  “Well hello, stranger,” Mia said.

  “You look pretty today.”

  Mia blushed. “Thank you, Murph. You’re looking pretty dapper yourself.”

  “I checked out the house, top to bottom. There is a lot of evidence of activity, but I don’t sense anyone present.”

  “Good. I want to get this walkthrough done quickly. Ed and his family are coming home tomorrow, and I want to look the place over. I know that it’s not finished yet. He wanted to do most of the interior work himself as he could afford it. I just want to make sure no rodents have moved in.”

  “I was just there this morning, so I can save you the trip. I figured they would be staying in the aerie and your dad in one of the rooms over the garage.”

  “Yes,” Mia said.

  “Lazar worked everything out. He gave all of us what he calls a honey-do list to complete.”

  “He can be a pain in my backside, but he’s worth a million dollars,” Mia admitted.

  “Why does he boss you around?”

  “In his culture, when Ted’s away, Lazar is the eldest family member. Now that my father will be here, he will have to go back to being just the manager of the house and not me.”

  Murphy laughed. “I remember when all you had was me.”

  “And me,” Tom said, opening the door. “Ma made me put out the good toilet paper.”

  “Oh, I forgot,” Mia said with an odd look on her face. “Dr. Walters said he found this inside. It must have slipped off when you delivered me.” Mia handed Tom a gold wristwatch.

  “That’s not mine, Cooper. It’s way too expensive.”

  “It has your name on it.”

  Tom turned it over and read, “To Tom Braverman, my friend and hero. Love, Mia.”

  His eyes watered. “Thanks, Mia.”

  Murphy whistled.

  Mia walked into the bathroom.

  “Tom, did you bring a ghost into my house?” Susan demanded.

  “No, Mia did.”

  “I hope he wiped his feet.”

  “Yes, Ma’am, I did,” Murphy said.

  “Did you tell Mia?” she asked Tom.

  “No.”

  Murphy caught a look between the two that was uncomfortable.

  “Tell her. Don’t let it be an awkward surprise,” Susan said.

  “Yes, Mother.”

  Mia came out. “I like the new soap. It smells like cucumbers.”

  “You look nice,” Susan said, wondering where Mia had pushed all the sagging skin everyone had after giving birth.

  “Ralph went shopping with me, but I picked the jeans and jacket out. I wanted to look less scruffy.”

  “You succeeded. Tom, tell her.”

  “Tell me what?” Mia asked.

  “Whitney is going to be staying with us for a few days.”

  “When?”

  “Starting tonight.”

  “K. Does Burt know?” Mia asked.

  “Why?”

  “It’s kind of a coincidence that Whitney’s here when there is the possibility that the cohorts of a dead mobster are trying to frighten Paula Glynn.”

  “Damn,” Tom said, scratching his head.

  “Don’t pretend to be stupid. You’re not. Just tell him to come clean with Burt when he arrives. Otherwise, I’d appreciate it if he would stay out of my way,” Mia said and turned heel.

  Tom’s face got red. He followed Mia out into the yard. Murphy and Susan looked at each other. Susan snuck to the door to listen, and Murphy stayed out of the way.

  “Wait!” Tom called.

  Mia turned arou
nd. Her face was pinched.

  “Whit found out because Paula had to tell the marshals why she was living at your place. He is here just in case there are live thugs involved.”

  “You can handle it.”

  “I don’t have the staff. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think you’d be out of bed for a week.”

  Mia settled down. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped. You are my hero, Tom. I guess I take that for granted. I’m sorry.”

  Tom took her hands. “I’m your friend too. Don’t forget that.”

  Susan sniffed. “Oh, if things would have been different.”

  Murphy wasn’t sure what she meant, but he wasn’t going to ask. When Susan wanted to share, she would approach him.

  Mia climbed in the trailer and called for a mini meeting. She told the group what Tom had told her.

  Burt rubbed his chin. “I’m not upset about this development. We’re not sure yet what we have here. Let’s see what happens.”

  Ted rubbed Mia’s back. He knew that Whitney, unlike Burt, was an ex-lover who demonstrated bad behavior when he was alone with Mia.

  “Let’s get this walkthrough started,” Mia said. “I’m going to collect the sharps as we walk through. Enos, if you could help, it would save me a few trips to the trailer.”

  “I would be happy to, Mia. Just leave a pile behind so I don’t interrupt the shots.”

  “Will do.”

  Enos waited until they left to ask Ted, “Who is Whitney, and why does he anger Mia so much?”

  “He’s inconsistent. Ask Murphy, he knows more. I took Mia away from Whitney, so I’m not exactly innocent or an impartial observer.”

  “I thought you took Mia away from Murphy.”

  “No, that was Burt. While Burt and Mia were having problems, Whitney comes back into town. Mia always had a bit of a crush on Whitney when she was a schoolgirl. He used to protect and torment her. He and Tom Braverman were probably her only living friends.”

  “Relationships are complicated,” Enos said. “Victor wants to be friends with Mia, but he can’t get by the fact that she is so beautiful. It confuses him.”