Things that Go Bump in the Night (Haunted Series) Read online

  “I like rascals,” Mia said getting up. “That’s why I can put up with you.” She tousled his hair and left him to his work.

  Mike rubbed his hand again. Mia may be a novice at telekinesis, but she was strong. Those pens almost tore up his hand they wanted to turn so much. He would keep his promise to her and not say anything, but he would keep an eye on her and make sure he was always on her good side.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Mia, I need you to team up with Cid. I’m sending the two of you under the stage. Make sure the traps are locked before we give the okay for Amber to take the stage,” Mike ordered.

  “Are we stage hands now?” Mia asked dryly.

  “When I say you are,” Mike replied.

  “K,” Mia said, holding her annoyance in check.

  Cid popped an ear com in and handed one to Mia. She placed it in her ear. “Testing, Tesla, testicle,” she said quietly, touching the com.

  “I hear you, but I’ve not gone by Tesla since my third reincarnation, over,” Ted replied.

  Mia laughed. “Who were you before Tesla?”

  “Galileo.”

  “Before him?” she challenged.

  “Archimedes.”

  “Whoa, you’ve been around the block a few times. Remind me to check on your warrantee before I purchase,” Mia teased.

  “How about you? Any reincarnations I should know about?”

  “None, this is my first time out, and I intend to make all my mistakes in this go round,” she said proudly.

  “You know that dooms you to come back, again and again,” he warned.

  “Oh, I know.”

  “Excuse me for butting in, but can you check my levels, Wizard King?” Cid said with a drop of irritation in his voice.

  “Loud and clear. Watch out for Mia, she’s small and hard to see in the dark.”

  “Yes sir, I remembering tripping over her before, over and out.”

  Mia and Cid left the command post and entered the building. Mia looked longingly at the dogs as she passed them, heading for the steps that would lead them under the stage.

  They walked into the darkness. Cid flipped a switch near the bottom of the stairs, and the underworld of the theater sprung to life. Props, rolled backdrops and other miscellaneous gear were lined up along the sides of the large open space under the stage. They headed into this area.

  “Let’s check out the locks on the trapdoors first,” Cid suggested.

  Mia stood under one of them and looked up. She pulled out her flashlight and shown it on the two large steel latches. “Good thing I have you with me, Superman. I wouldn’t be able to reach them to fix them if they were open,” she commented.

  “That’s what those ladders are for in the corner,” Cid said, flashing his light in that direction. “Is it me or are we losing illumination here?”

  “Hey, Tesla, where’s the fuse box? Cid and I are rapidly headed for… It’s dark now.” Mia pulled out a few LED light disks and tossed them around the area she and Cid were supposed to check out.

  The lights barely hit the floor when they went out.

  “Holy shit, we have an energy drain,” Cid said. “Murph’s not around eating up the juice is he?”

  “Murphy is outside in my line of sight,” reported Ted.

  A loud moan rumbled through the bottom floor. Mia’s penlight stopped working. She reached out for Cid just before the two of them were plunged into total darkness.

  “Talk to me, Sweet Pea, your heart rate is increasing,” Ted requested, watching the feed from the monitor necklace that Mia wore.

  “There’s something approaching,” she whispered. “The smell is overwhelmingly rotten.”

  She moved slowly forward with Cid hanging on to her belt. The infinitesimal amount of light that came from the spaces in between the floorboards of the stage did nothing but illuminate the size of the black mass that was rapidly taking over the basement space.

  Cid balanced the camera, trying to focus it with shaky hands. “I’m getting the feeling I should have borrowed Burt’s iron vest,” he hissed.

  Mia pulled out her recorder and turned it on. “Hello, my name is Mia, can I be of service to you?” she asked the big black void in front of her.

  “Pain! Stop the pain!” it roared.

  An arm appeared out of the darkness. Cid pulled Mia backwards into him hard. A larger than life hand shot forward. It missed grabbing Mia by inches. She pulled out her salt shaker and drew a line around her and Cid. He trembled but managed to keep the camera steady. He had plugged in the extra battery after the first one failed with the manifestation of the black monster. He hoped that the entity had taken the energy it needed and they would have some left to film it.

  “Why are you here?” Mia asked.

  “Cold, pain. Stop the pain!”

  The fetid smell of earth joined the rotten egg smell. Mia asked, “How do I stop your pain?”

  “Find me. Find me before it’s too late.”

  “I hear the sound of water,” Cid whispered in her ear.

  “Are you in the water?” she asked.

  Mia felt an icy draft move around them. The salt protected them. She watched the salt ring to make sure the breeze didn’t disrupt the connection.

  “Pain…” the entity said once again before it dissipated.

  “Lights are coming back on,” Cid reported to Ted. “The entity has left the building.”

  Mia walked over the salt ring and resumed checking on the remaining trapdoors before she requested a trip to the ladies room. Cid walked upstairs with her and stood outside the bathroom. Mia could hold it in no longer; she ran to the toilet and threw up her dinner. Whatever that was, it was so steeped in evil that it turned her stomach.

  She flushed the toilet, walked over and splashed some cold water on her face. Cid stuck his head in the door asking, “Are you alright?”

  “Lost my meal. You?”

  “Mia, I could have held your hair back for you.”

  Mia looked at him amused. “That’s what girlfriends do, Cid.”

  “It’s what friends do,” he corrected.

  “I’m a bit puzzled by the whole thing,” Mia said as she toweled off her hands. “The entity was in so much pain and needed our help but still wanted to hurt us. If you didn’t pull me back in time, I would have some crushed ribs. Is it the pain that invites the evil in or is it evil that is causing the pain?” Mia weighed her thoughts. “I have to admit I’m facing a conflict of interest. Why would I want to help something so evil? Wouldn’t I be helping evil?”

  “You would be doing what you can to get rid of it,” Cid answered. He was fiddling around with the feminine product machine on the wall. “Condoms, they have condoms.”

  “Girls just want to have fun, but be safe, Cid,” Mia said. “Back to the ghost. If we help it, where do we send it? Seems to me, the light would reject anything so angry and evil.”

  “Don’t know. It occurs to me, when they are released, the universe takes over. We are just instruments of fate.”

  “Instruments of fate,” Mia repeated. “You may want to make a few buttons with that on them, or better yet, T-shirts,” Mia offered. “PEEPs on the front and on the back, we are just instruments of fate.”

  Cid wanted to tell her she had a twisted mind. On the other hand, he thought that the shirts would probably sell in the twisted world they lived in. “Back on topic. What do we do now?”

  “Explore the basement. Look for anything that would tell us where an old well or access to the river may be. I bet you we’ll find whatever it is down below the stage. Oh, and if it’s a well, I’m going on record to say it won’t be me going down there.”

  “Amen to that,” Ted said in her ear. “Heads up, Bev has arrived and has brought a gourmet spread with her.”

  “Thanks. We’ll be right out,” Mia said and then closed her eyes.

  “What are you doing,” Cid asked.

  “Just drawing strength. I have a feeling I will be needing
it soon.”

  “Stick with me, kid, I’ll protect you,” Cid said, mimicking Cagney.

  Mia smiled and nodded. “Let’s go.”

  Cid opened the door, and the two of them headed down the hall towards the exit door. Mia stopped, knelt down and petted the dogs before she left, much to the amusement of Cid.

  Mia eyed Bev as she descended the steps.

  “What the hell happened to you? You look green,” Bev observed.

  “Cid and I were just having tea with your garden variety, creature from the black lagoon type of ghost. It was a nasty one with an evil agenda.”

  “Where was he?” she asked interested.

  “In the basement under the stage. It dines on electricity so beware folks,” Mia warned. “I’m going to check in with Ted. Nice to see you, Bev.” Mia climbed in the truck and sought out Ted. He opened his arms, and she sat down on his lap and closed her eyes.

  “Just lay back and recharge. I was a bit worried when your heart rate increased.”

  “That’s because she was near me,” Cid said from the darkened corner.

  “He’s right. Sorry to break it to you, Ted, but you’re out and Cid’s in,” Mia teased.

  “Well, you couldn’t have a nicer fella.” He coughed out, “Judas,” and flipped Cid the bird.

  Mia opened her eyes and watched as Ted’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “I found some archived blueprints of The Jewel. I’ve forwarded them to Audrey, but I wanted you two to take a look at them. Come on over, Cid.”

  “But, Daddy, Mia’s hogging your lap,” Cid complained.

  Cid sat down next to Ted and watched as Ted pulled up the original blueprint of the basement. “I’m going to put an overlay on it so you can see what it looks like now,” he explained.

  They watched as the basement took the form of what they had just explored.

  “See this round thing? I’d say that’s a well, and look at the placement of it. Wait, let me put a schematic of the stage over it.”

  “There is a trapdoor right over the well. Interesting,” Cid said. “Perhaps our nasty boy took the long dive one evening. No wonder he’s pissed.”

  Mia stared at the monitor. “But we were standing almost on top of it.”

  “I told you I heard water,” Cid said.

  “Wouldn’t his body… I’m taking for granted it’s a he,” Mia admitted. “Wouldn’t it have floated to the top of the well and stunk up the place? What about their drinking water?”

  “There is another well under the bar at the front of house,” Ted pointed out. “Maybe the older well wasn’t used at that time. Presently they have city water, so I bet the well under the saloon is no longer used too.”

  “The body may have stayed down because it was too cold or it was weighted,” Cid explained. “Remember the entity complained that he was in pain.”

  “I thought it was his tormented soul type of pain,” Mia admitted. “Ghosts don’t feel pain unless…”

  “They are hit with salt, iron or holy water,” Ted listed.

  Cid was flipping through the papers on the desk. “Do we have a list of complaints, sightings and rumors?”

  “Don’t remember seeing anything.” Ted asked, “Why?”

  “It occurs to me that this is a new ghost.”

  “Let’s see, the audience members, headless Harriett, Harriett’s head, the bloody man in the white dinner jacket,” Mia listed from her memory. “Maybe it’s the dinner jacket guy.”

  Cid hunched his shoulders. “Perhaps, but according to the witnesses, the ghost was just rocking the bloody Bogart look and didn’t say anything.”

  “He screamed and pointed at the choreographer,” corrected Ted. “That’s what Amber told Burt.”

  “So shall we name this basement entity Neal?” asked Cid.

  Mia and Ted turned and looked at Cid.

  “Neal, as in Neal Fleshman?” Ted clarified.

  “Yes, exactly. If Mia gets to call the headless harpy Harriet then I can call the stinking rotted-flesh monster with arms Neal.”

  “I’m sensing a backstory,” Mia said, getting off Ted’s lap. She walked around the men, found one of the thermoses and poured herself a cup of coffee. She sat down and said, “Well, what’s stopping you? Tell me all about Neal Fleshman.”

  “Neal Fleshman was the star center for our high school’s football team. He was a powerful 285 pound guy who hated nerds. He claimed that we drove the grading curve upwards where he, an arrogant but stupid jock, couldn’t get a passing grade,” Ted said, allowing a little malice to filter into his narrative.

  “He had to get a C on the next Algebra quiz or he was off the team,” Ted continued. “Knowing that Miss Moran always graded on the curve, Neal ambushed Cid on the way to second hour. He pulled him into the locker room, tossed him on the floor and sat on him. He farted on his face until the poor kid threw up and had to be sent home.”

  Mia got up and hugged Cid in sympathy. “Didn’t the asshole know how grading curves worked? You toss out the top number and the bottom…”

  “Ted was also in the class,” Cid interrupted. “Having two geniuses pretty much stacked the cards against the simple-minded player of sports. That day, Ted got to class first and was sitting pretty when Neal walked in. He left and went looking for me.”

  “So how’d Neal do?” Mia asked sheepishly.

  “He flunked. Miss Moran took off five points because he got to class late.”

  “Serves him right.” Mia kissed the top of Cid’s head. “Poor little Cid.”

  “Hey, no kissing the interns,” Ted said.

  Mia shook her head, finished her coffee and tapped Cid on the shoulder. “Come on, we have to report to Mike about Neal and that the trapdoors have been secured.”

  Bev watched Mia approach the table. She sensed Mia’s unease but let it go. It wouldn’t do to back Mia into a corner. Gerald had lectured her on how to behave all the way from Chicago. They brought with them Chef Larry’s Picnic for the Stars basket. It was filled with sandwiches, salads, expensive wine and cheeses. The other members of the team seemed to appreciate the offering. Bev introduced herself to Audrey who was a bit standoffish. Burt and Mike treated her like family. Ted ignored her.

  “What kind of sandwiches?” Mia asked.

  “Salmon, pear and brie, goose liver pâté, tuna,” Bev listed.

  Mia grabbed a tuna sandwich and handed a salmon to Cid before sitting down. “Mike, the entity we ran into we feel is a new, as in unreported, one. It could be trapped in the well directly under the right silent trapdoor.”

  “Do you think tearing up the floor and looking for its bones is going to stop him from escalating?” Mike asked.

  “I don’t know, maybe. I hate to go on record with just the one visitation,” Mia said.

  “Anything to add?” Mike asked, looking at Cid.

  “No.” His eyes moved to the left as he thought a moment and smiled. “Yes, after the attack, we both checked the trapdoors after the entity left, and the safety locks are engaged.”

  “Good job. I guess Burt, Audrey and Bev are up next. Amber is going to need the stage in a half hour. Why don’t you guys check it out first.”

  Burt got up and stopped. “Bev, I suggest you get an ear communication device from Ted. It’s better than carrying a walkie-talkie.”

  “Sure thing.” She got up and walked over with him to the truck. Mia watched her leave.

  “If your eyes were lasers, your aunt would resemble lunch meat,” Audrey said, sliding closer to Mia. “Which would go down better than that pâté did.”

  “I’ve decided to give her a pass. It doesn’t do any good to add to the stress here.”

  “You’re a saint.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Mia said.

  “Saint Mia of Ted, hangs around farmers who are dead. What she can’t see just cannot be. But we love our Saint Mia of Ted,” Mike recited.

  “My god, there is no end to your talent,” Mia said dryly.

  Au
drey got up and pocketed a few gadgets she had laid out on the table. She had a wide grin on her face.

  “Pray tell, what’s that for?” Mia asked, observing the smile.

  “I’m not the red shirt tonight. Ted said Bev is.”

  “My dear Teddy Bear forgets that Bev was investigating ghosts back when Ben Franklin was haunted.”

  “I heard that,” Bev said, jumping out of the trailer. “You all could learn a few things about maturity.”

  “From who? You? Oh give us the pearls of your ancient wisdom,” Mia said, putting her feet up on the table.

  “Let’s not go there,” Bev warned and followed Burt towards the stairs. “Come on, Audrey, we’re his backup singers.”

  Audrey made a face and turned around and followed obediently.

  They no sooner entered the building when Murphy showed up.

  “Hey, Murph, what’s going on?”

  Stephen Murphy put his axe on the table and started to strut around the table, swinging his hips from side-to-side. He even gave a spectacular bump for good measure, causing Mia to tip over in her chair.

  Mike looked down at her and asked, “What the hell just happened?”

  “I was just treated to Murphy demonstrating the old bump and grind. I need to go and have my mind washed.”

  Mike extended a hand and helped Mia up. She got back into her chair and wagged a finger Murphy’s way. “What I’m trying to figure out is, is that an impression of Amber or my aunt Bev?”

  Murphy slapped his thigh and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Laugh it up, smart ass,” Mia said. “Did you see anything else, let’s say, ghostlike?”

  He shook his head and looked at his watch.

  “Murphy thinks it’s a bit early for the ghosts,” she interpreted.

  “Where were you when Mia and I were treated to stinky Neal Fleshman?” Cid asked as he got up from the table, passing Murphy on his way to the command truck.

  Murphy looked a bit sheepish.

  “Don’t worry, Murph,” Mia commiserated. “You can’t be everywhere.”

  Mike and Mia were alone with Murphy.

  Mike nudged her and whispered, “Show him what you can do.”

  Mia smiled. “Hey, Murph, watch.”