The Garden (Haunted Series) Read online

“How about I tell you over at my place. You bring the gumbo, I’ll bring the story.”

  “I’ve got a story too.”

  “Does it involve ghosts?”

  “Yep. Danger too.”

  “Cool beans!”

  “I see by your GPS that you are about twenty-five minutes away from home. I’ll be there in an hour. I have to thaw my shrimp.”

  “I’ll thaw your shrimp, big boy,” Mia said in her best naughty voice.

  “Hey, now, I told you it’s more like an eel,” Ted protested.

  “I only have your word for it, and you’ve been known to exaggerate.”

  “Mia, you’ve cut me to the core,” Ted said feigning irritation.

  “Proofs in the…”

  “Hey now, we’ll finish this conversation later. I’ve got a gumbo to cook.”

  “Deal. See you in an hour,” Mia said and hung up. She looked at the next message and didn’t recognize the number. She ran the message and winced as Whit’s voice asked her if she would be so kind as to ship the rest of Sherry’s paintings to his new address in Maryland. He gave the particulars and, with the emotional level of a computer voice, asked how she was before he ended the call. Their breakup wasn’t messy, but it was difficult. Exes were a problem for Mia. She didn’t exactly fall out of love with them, even when they slammed the door. Burt she had to deal with when they were working, but Whit left town and took with him the easy friendship they had developed over the years.

  He couldn’t get beyond Mia’s freakishness, and she found out too soon that the crush she had on him from high school fizzled once the relationship was realized. Burt was an example of moving too fast. Both of them hit the sheets before knowing who each other were. It was fun, and he helped Mia to come to grips with what she could do ghost hunting wise. But he needed to be in charge always, and Mia bristled at his annoyance when she needed to take lead. As a boss and employee they could work out their problems. As lovers they couldn’t. Miraculously, the friendship was strong enough to survive, and she almost felt at ease with Burt again.

  Ted. What was there to say? The boy wore her down. He was always there pointing out his good qualities. Rescuing her when Murphy could not. He was her superhero and treated her with a mixture of irreverence, worship, playfulness, and love.

  She pondered calling Burt but felt that Mike should give him the good news. Mia was learning how to deal with alpha males. She didn’t like it at times but found out the hard way that you couldn’t change people. You could however learn how to get along with them.

  “Miss,” the driver inquired, “we’re approaching Big Bear now, could you direct me to your home?”

  “Sure, it’s a bit tricky.” Mia gave him directions, and soon she found herself standing at the gate of her peninsula home.

  ~

  Ted walked into Mia’s house and grinned. She was baking cookies. The love of his life wasn’t a natural cook, but she baked like a pastry chef. Previously Mia had shown him her 4H ribbons that she earned in her teens. She kept them hidden, as she did all the things normal people would display with pride. It wasn’t that she was humble. Years of mean treatment by her peers had left her with little trust and no confidence. Ted navigated the baggage-strewn lane with the sensitivity of someone who had gone through similar treatment. Together they could tease, poke fun and snipe. But they would allow no one else to hurt the other.

  “Lucy, I’m home!” he called out.

  Mia rounded the corner wearing a frilly apron over something black and slinky. She had on killer heels, and he didn’t have to stoop when she kissed him.

  “What’s all this?” Ted said, insisting she twirl around. He took in her new hairstyle and the skintight jumpsuit and all but purred. “Catwoman,” he said. “No, better, you’re a new super criminal aren’t you?”

  Mia flashed him a wide smile. “Come on, Batman, feed me, and then we can come up with a name for me.”

  “I think my virtue is in danger,” Ted said, putting the hot casserole down.

  “You’d be right.” Mia said, setting plates out. “What would you like to drink?”

  “Whatever you had that gave you the courage to wear that, um, outfit.”

  Mia laughed. “Coffee. And, well, I had two Manhattans with Mike, but I think that wore off.”

  “So Mike’s still trying to seduce my girlfriend.”

  Mia nodded as she handed Ted a cup of ultra-strong coffee prepared the way she had seen him do while they were on investigations.

  “Never gonna work, I’m in love with a techie.”

  “Do I know this fella?” Ted asked.

  “Intimately,” Mia purred.

  A timer sounded, destroying the mood. Mia took out her batch of cookies, and Ted spooned the gumbo into bowls. He set them on the counter.

  “No, darling, let’s eat over at the dining table.” Mia took off her apron, picked up her bowl and wiggled her finger to have Ted follow her.”

  They sat and laughed as they shared their stories. Ted studied Mia’s face while she related hers. He loved her full mouth and the way she smiled with all of her face. He was still amazed that she was interested in him. Sure, he stubbornly hung in there and succeeded in winning her, but for the life of him he still didn’t see what attracted her to him.

  “A buck sixty for your thoughts,” Mia asked.

  “Sorry, I was lost in contemplation.”

  “Isn’t that near Kalamazoo?” Mia teased.

  “Why me? I was asking myself, why me?”

  “That is a pretty broad area, care to whittle it down for me?”

  “I mean you and me. What could you possible see in me?”

  “I could sing your praises for hours, but you wouldn’t believe me. What I am going to do is tell you something, and I want you to pay attention. Look at my face, come on, I know you can do it.” Mia got out of her chair and took his face in her hands. “Are you listening?”

  Ted nodded.

  “I love you. I admire you, I lust after you, I can’t get you out of my mind. I look at you, and I see my dark knight. I see my future. I love you, Ted. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I’m sure this is the forever kind of love.”

  Ted’s eyes watered a bit. Emotionally he was so vulnerable. He loved Mia with all his heart but kept from her bed. It wasn’t his inexperience that kept their relationship from consummating, but his need to know that he wasn’t the man of the month, or as Beth crudely put it, man of the investigation. He desired her but wanted her forever, not just the night.

  She tilted her head and waited. Mia could see the thousand thoughts as they were dealt with behind his beautiful, soulful brown eyes. She would be patient. What they had, and what they would become, depended on neither one’s trust being stepped on.

  “Mia, I’ve wanted you since the first moment I laid eyes on you. I watched you and enjoyed being with you even though you weren’t mine to have. I’ve dreamed of you telling me you loved me for so long. I know you love me, and I love you. I love that you understand how vulnerable I am. No jokes tonight, just your admission of love. Thank you.” Ted took her hands from his face and drew her to him. “Make love with me tonight.”

  Mia responded by kissing him softly. Her hands moved slowly around his neck, and she sat on his lap. Ted’s kisses were lengthy and brought a moan from Mia as the desire built inside of her. He put his arms around her and stood up, nearly knocking over the table. Neither of them cared. He carried her to her bedroom. The soft lighting displayed the new bed. He shed a tear as he realized that she didn’t want their first night to be on a bed she’d shared with anyone else. The deep hues of the bedding reminded him of something, but he didn’t want to take time to figure it out. He had Mia in his arms, and he wasn’t going to waste the moment with puzzles.

  He laid her on the bed and took her shoes off one by one. He kicked off his shoes and lay down beside her. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her long and deep. She responded with a whimper of pleasure. She
took his hand and placed it on the front zipper of the jumpsuit. He smiled.

  Mia arched her back as he lowered the zipper exposing her breasts. He planted kisses on every inch of skin as it was exposed to him. Mia twisted as her need increased. Ted however maintained a slow torturous pace, knowing that he was in control. Mia reached for the buttons of his shirt, but he pulled the jumpsuit off her shoulders pinning her arms beneath her. He then dined upon her flesh until Mia came loudly uttering a string of curses colored with desire.

  Ted carefully removed the rest of Mia’s clothing. She curled up, touching him as soon as her hands were free. “Teddy Bear, my turn,” she said as she unbuttoned his shirt, kissing his hot flesh, tasting the salt of the sweat that his desire produced. Soon they were naked and lying next to each other. Mia tenderly touched him, and his response was to move over her. She looked him in the eyes and told him, “Ted, I love you.”

  His desire found her, and they moved together, he experiencing the warmth of her body, she the hardness of his desire. Words of love, curses and need drove them until once again Mia arched her back and came. Only then did Ted allow himself the release. And as he moved off her and took her in his arms, all Mia could say was, “You are Batman.”

  Chapter Six

  Audrey smiled as she listened to her message from Alan. The PEEPs team had been vetted, and they requested that she and Alan hold off on her assessment of the lower floors until they could get their team in place and research completed. There wasn’t any rush, and Alan felt that if this was carried out with that in mind that there would be a better result. Audrey’s clients were fine with the delay. An unexpected grant had come through, and they were able to secure another building for the shelter in the meanwhile.

  She tapped her pencil on her desktop a moment. Research, she had a talent and the means to perform a thorough investigation given the right parameters. She put in a call to Alan’s office and left a message with Brenda regarding her contacting the PEEPs team and offering her services. Brenda thought it would be fine, but she would run it by Alan and call her later.

  This done, Audrey sat back pleased with herself. “Okay, enough patting oneself on the back,” she chided and opened up her calendar and started on the morning’s events.

  ~

  Mia moved slowly to the bathroom and ran hot water in the whirlpool tub. She was bruised and battered in all the most wonderful of ways. Ted’s exuberance and stamina made for a nightlong adventure that Mia enjoyed as well as him. This morning, her muscles screamed. “I’ve got to get more limber,” she said as she bent over the tub to check the temperature of the water.

  “If you do, I’m going to start calling you Gumby,” Ted’s sleepy voice said as he passed her on the way to the toilet.

  Mia laughed as she noticed he too was a little sore this morning. She slid into the water and felt the bliss as it soothed her honeymooned body.

  Ted flushed and walked by and stopped. “Brought your water wings with you, I see.”

  Mia looked at her floating breasts and growled as she splashed water on him. “Want to join me, big fella?”

  “K,” he said and stepped into the tub behind her and carefully lowered himself so his long legs wrapped around her body. Mia leaned against him and turned on the jets. They enjoyed the easing of muscle cramps while becoming intimate with each other’s body in the light of day. After, as they toweled off, Mia started humming.

  “Frankly, my dear, I never took you for a morning person,” Ted commented with a full mouth of toothpaste.

  “I’m not. At least I wasn’t. I think last night agreed with me.”

  “Me too. Thanks for the screw, Magoo,” Ted said and spit out his toothpaste foam.

  “That my toothbrush?” Mia asked, knowing the answer.

  He rinsed it and applied a fresh load of Crest and handed it to her. She put it in her mouth and began brushing. This seemed to impress Ted. Mia smiled.

  “I’m going to make some coffee.”

  “I’ve got some Pop-Tarts in the pantry, you’re welcome to them,” she offered.

  Ted looked at her skeptically. “What kind?”

  “Cherry frosted.”

  His face lit up. “My favorite!”

  “Mine too, so save me some.”

  “No guarantees,” he said as he left the bathroom.

  Mia looked at herself in the mirror before hunting for some clean clothes. She needed to have a high neckline. Ted had always wanted to give some girl a hickey, and Mia was game. She closed her eyes and relived some arousing memories of last night. Her body was quick to respond. She opened her eyes and was pleased at how full her breasts seemed. She hoped that Ted would think her beautiful. She knew she was pleasant looking, but she wanted to be beautiful, at least to the man she loved.

  Ted wrestled with the expensive espresso maker and produced two cups of energy. He toasted the Pop-Tarts and took his breakfast to the living room and opened the blinds. The air outside was cold, but you wouldn’t know it by the sunny day presenting itself. The view was amazing. He plopped down on the sofa and turned on his phone. Several texts were waiting to be answered and a voicemail from Mike. He shut the phone and leaned back and closed his eyes. Last night for him had been the most memorable of his life. It beat Comic-Con and meeting Father Santos hands down. He spent the night with the most beautiful woman in the world. He had sex in oh so many delicious ways. They laughed, snoozed and made love again and again. At one point Mia had run into the kitchen and brought back the rest of the gumbo, and they dined on it cold.

  “Did I remember to tell you that I love you,” Mia asked as she joined him on the couch. She took a drink of the strong hot brew and sighed contentedly.

  “Yes you did,” Ted said. He turned and looked at her. “Mia, you are so beautiful.”

  This caused Mia to start crying. This confused Ted until she smiled. “Thank you, Teddy Bear, I want to be beautiful for you.”

  “Mia, you are beautiful and sexy and wild and wonderful and hey, that’s my Pop-Tart!” he said and launched himself at her until he had control of the hand holding his breakfast. He muscled it towards his mouth and took a bite. Mia then bit him. He yelped before chasing her around the kitchen, calling after her, “I take it all back.”

  ~

  Father Santos sat looking out the window of the rectory. He pondered the report he had received involving Hagan Fellows and the problem with the property Hagan inherited. He was pleased the lawyer selected the PEEPs group. He had come to respect the gentlemen involved and was proud that Mia had taken the important step of working fulltime with them. A little responsibility would help to mature her. He also found out from Bernard over lunch yesterday that Mia was smitten with the young technician Theodore. Bernard talked highly of the young man. He had been the lead on the problem at the museum and handled it quite professionally. Bernard also pointed out that Theodore made Mia laugh and put her first. He confided that he was very pleased when Whitney screwed up, leaving the door open for Ted.

  Mia had had so much sorrow in her past. Bernard would welcome Ted into their family if he was Mia’s choice. Angelo agreed with him, worrying that Mia would waste her life and her gifts on a man who only thought about what made him happy. Ted was made of different stuff. He would be the right man for her.

  But now what about Hagan? Would he ever be happy again? If they went to interview Hagan, should he be there? Or would the presence of a priest excite the demon within and defeat the purpose? Hagan struggled every moment to keep the murderous urges in check. They had to get him into a solitary situation soon. To do so would involve getting this mansion cleared for the shelter. Maybe Father Santos’s talents could better be served on that end. He would put in a call to Burt and offer his services.

  ~

  Burt stood outside the Dairy Queen – presently closed for winter – and gazed at the building. This was where he saw his first ghost. This was where it all began for him. He was leaving his home in order to continue with hi
s quest to find a way of communicating with the lost souls while making a living at it.

  As if the ghost knew Burt was there, the man in the coveralls appeared in front of him, walked once again into the side of the building and disappeared. Burt felt that, in his way, the long dead mechanic was sanctioning Burt’s defection of Summerville, Kansas.

  Mike couldn’t wait to go. His mother was glad to see her son leave the nest, again. Ted had already moved there for Mia. Burt hoped the two of them could make a go of it. He cared for both of them and bore Mia no ill will for preferring the gangly tech to him, the alpha male founding partner.

  They were leaving without Beth. She didn’t seem to want to play nice, and Burt had to fire her. He felt guilty about abandoning her, but after the incident at the Kowalski investigation, he felt he had no other choice. They were short one, but Cid, Ted’s friend, was filling in. At the moment PEEPs was looking like a boys club, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. The network loved the dynamic of the last investigation he had sent them. He knew that Mia played a big part in that, and he was glad Mike was able to convince her to join them fulltime.

  Burt got into his car and headed east. He didn’t see the mechanic come out of the building nor did he see the others that lingered near the intersection. He wasn’t meant to.

  ~

  He awoke again to the terror. He was trapped; the weight on his chest was crushing him. His arms tried once again to free himself but to no avail. He listened for a moment, but all he heard was the scratching of bugs and dripping of water. Would no one hear his screams, would no one free him from this prison? What had he done to be punished so? Playing his music was not a crime. Taking jobs in the Speakeasies was his undoing. A whirlwind of tortured memories filled his mind. “Help me, God in heaven, free me!”

  ~

  Cid stood with his hands on his tool belt watching Ted as he parked his car. When Ted emerged from the Ford, he whistled a greeting. Ted blushed and raised his hands in embarrassment.