said. “Maybe they are after Murphy, or Mia? Remember, the paranormal world is split up between light and darkness. Mia straddles the line. Imagine the boon to the ones that have her on their side.”
“Thanks for the goose bumps, Teddy Scare,” Mia complained.
“I think he gets the Bella Lugosi award for this discussion,” Burt joked.
“But enough about ghosts, let’s talk about you,” Mia said. “We’re glad to have you here, but the question is why?”
Burt looked at the faces before him and worried about being so vulnerable in front of the young sensitive. But if Dave was ever to mature as an investigator, he also had to know that there were consequences when you messed around with the paranormal world. “Mike and I were talking. He and probably all of you have seen changes in me. No doubt I’ve been the subject of a few discussions.”
Mia and Ted looked guilty.
“No, don’t feel bad. I’ve done a fair amount of tongue wagging myself. But, Mia, you’ve got to know, this isn’t me. Ted, you’ve been around me for a few more years than Mia.”
“Yes, the man we’ve dealt with recently isn’t the guy that started PEEPs.”
“You’ve had some traumas,” Mia offered. “It changes people.”
“If that’s the case, then I’ll work it out with a professional. But what if something got inside me in the hollow or at Lucky’s? You didn’t know it when Judy took up residence in you, Mia, not until…”
“I sprouted feathers,” she filled in.
Burt took a deep breath. He let it out slowly to calm himself and then spoke, “I need you to walk the halls of my brain…”
“Me? Surely Angelo or Gerald Shem would be better at it. I may damage you.”
“I don’t trust anyone but you to do this,” Burt confessed. “We’ve had our problems, but I’ve never lost my trust in you, Mia. You can do anything.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Ted stated. “She’s pregnant.”
“I’ll wait until she isn’t. But it has to be Mia,” he pleaded.
“No, I’m not sure any of us can deal with this new Burt. Let me make a few phone calls, and I’ll let you know, soon,” Mia promised.
Burt blushed. It wasn’t the begging but the acceptance that unnerved him. He was, from all accounts, a beast to this woman, yet she, time after time, forgave him.
“Okay, I better get on with my research. Dave, would you help me get the tapes out of the trunk?”
“That’s code for letting the grownups talk,” Dave said, grabbing his coat off the hook at the back door. “Smell you later.”
Ted drew Mia out of the kitchen and into the living room where a fire had been lit. He added a few logs to the fire before settling down next to her. “Mia, you don’t have to do this.”
“It’s not dangerous, Ted. It’s difficult, but I’ll be fine.”
“It’s dangerous because you’re going to be walking the memory halls of your former lover. You still love him. It hurt both of you when you broke up. I guess I’m afraid more for me than for you,” Ted admitted.
Mia reached out and stroked Ted’s face with her hand. “If I loved him, it wasn’t the love, Ted. The Cooper curse didn’t attach me to him or to Whit either. It attached me to you. Come on, where’s the confident guy who was brave enough to speak his mind over and over? You told me that I was in love with you, that I couldn’t do any better than you. Where’s that guy?”
Ted tried not to smile. He sucked in his lips but to no avail. “You really love me don’t you? It’s no trick of Angelo’s or Judge Roumain’s, is it?”
“It’s what I’ve told you over and over again. I can’t get anyone better than you. So stop trying to pass me off on every evil genius that comes along. I’m yours, and you’re stuck with me.”
“Evil geniuses make a lot of money,” Ted reminded her, lifting an eyebrow.
Mia played along and pretended to think
“Thanks for the goose bumps, Teddy Scare,” Mia complained.
“I think he gets the Bella Lugosi award for this discussion,” Burt joked.
“But enough about ghosts, let’s talk about you,” Mia said. “We’re glad to have you here, but the question is why?”
Burt looked at the faces before him and worried about being so vulnerable in front of the young sensitive. But if Dave was ever to mature as an investigator, he also had to know that there were consequences when you messed around with the paranormal world. “Mike and I were talking. He and probably all of you have seen changes in me. No doubt I’ve been the subject of a few discussions.”
Mia and Ted looked guilty.
“No, don’t feel bad. I’ve done a fair amount of tongue wagging myself. But, Mia, you’ve got to know, this isn’t me. Ted, you’ve been around me for a few more years than Mia.”
“Yes, the man we’ve dealt with recently isn’t the guy that started PEEPs.”
“You’ve had some traumas,” Mia offered. “It changes people.”
“If that’s the case, then I’ll work it out with a professional. But what if something got inside me in the hollow or at Lucky’s? You didn’t know it when Judy took up residence in you, Mia, not until…”
“I sprouted feathers,” she filled in.
Burt took a deep breath. He let it out slowly to calm himself and then spoke, “I need you to walk the halls of my brain…”
“Me? Surely Angelo or Gerald Shem would be better at it. I may damage you.”
“I don’t trust anyone but you to do this,” Burt confessed. “We’ve had our problems, but I’ve never lost my trust in you, Mia. You can do anything.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Ted stated. “She’s pregnant.”
“I’ll wait until she isn’t. But it has to be Mia,” he pleaded.
“No, I’m not sure any of us can deal with this new Burt. Let me make a few phone calls, and I’ll let you know, soon,” Mia promised.
Burt blushed. It wasn’t the begging but the acceptance that unnerved him. He was, from all accounts, a beast to this woman, yet she, time after time, forgave him.
“Okay, I better get on with my research. Dave, would you help me get the tapes out of the trunk?”
“That’s code for letting the grownups talk,” Dave said, grabbing his coat off the hook at the back door. “Smell you later.”
Ted drew Mia out of the kitchen and into the living room where a fire had been lit. He added a few logs to the fire before settling down next to her. “Mia, you don’t have to do this.”
“It’s not dangerous, Ted. It’s difficult, but I’ll be fine.”
“It’s dangerous because you’re going to be walking the memory halls of your former lover. You still love him. It hurt both of you when you broke up. I guess I’m afraid more for me than for you,” Ted admitted.
Mia reached out and stroked Ted’s face with her hand. “If I loved him, it wasn’t the love, Ted. The Cooper curse didn’t attach me to him or to Whit either. It attached me to you. Come on, where’s the confident guy who was brave enough to speak his mind over and over? You told me that I was in love with you, that I couldn’t do any better than you. Where’s that guy?”
Ted tried not to smile. He sucked in his lips but to no avail. “You really love me don’t you? It’s no trick of Angelo’s or Judge Roumain’s, is it?”
“It’s what I’ve told you over and over again. I can’t get anyone better than you. So stop trying to pass me off on every evil genius that comes along. I’m yours, and you’re stuck with me.”
“Evil geniuses make a lot of money,” Ted reminded her, lifting an eyebrow.
Mia played along and pretended to think
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