Chapter 13
Roy waited until the Teal car had driven slowly past the squad before cautiously sidling along the side of it. He opened the driver's door, slid into the seat, started up the engine, and placed his hands on the steering wheel before looking over at his partner. Although, he really wasn't clear on whether or not it really WAS his partner currently residing on the seat next to him. The hard gaze he was bestowing on his friend wasn't penetrating his subconscious, unfortunately, for Johnny's head remained turned away.
"Johnny?" He asked a little louder than he had intended, his right hand abandoning its white knuckled grip as he stretched it out towards Gage palm up.
"Huh?" The head finally turned and Roy was relieved to see the normal brown eyes peering at him, questioning both the inquiry and the outstretched hand. He dropped the hand, feeling foolish.
"I just wanted to know what was going on back there," he said quietly, making them available and pulling away from the curb. Ahead of them the brake lights of the Teal car flashed on as the vehicle turned off of Clinton Drive. Roy went in the opposite direction, heading back to the barn.
"I…." his reply lapsed into silence as John struggled to come up with the words to describe what had happened. Because this time he had felt something, someone, trying to control his actions and had fought back. Not very well, apparently, as he had patches of memory loss. "You're not gonna believe anything I say."
"No, I have to admit that I'm seeing things, hearing things, that can't be explained, so….." DeSoto said, keeping up the side glances.
John swallowed hard, and rubbed a hand over his jaw. "I felt something this time, maybe because I was focusing so hard on doing my job. You know, usually you do everything instinctively, relying on training, your own common sense…you just do it…."
DeSoto nodded in encouragement, keeping his face schooled to a careful blankness. A wrong look, word, or even the smallest gesture would clam his friend up and cause him to withdraw back into his moody, nervous shell.
"Whatever IT was, seemed to be, I don't know, trying to invade, control, or something like th...that…..." he floundered to a stuttering halt and threw up his hands in a helpless gesture. "God, Roy, I think I'm losing my marbles here."
"No, you're not losing your marbles, John; if you are, then I guess I'm losing mine too because I believe there is something going on. What exactly, I don't know, but definitely something."
"You do? Seriously? Because Roy, you said very clearly that night when we left the Teal house that you didn't believe in ghosts and I'm sure that includes any whatevers as well."
"I also remember you offering to hold my hand if I got scared, does that offer still stand? For right now, my friend, I'm going to admit that I'm both scared and confused," Roy admitted slowly, finally bringing himself to say the words out loud. If you would have asked him at the beginning of the shift if he would believe in ghosts and little green men only hours later, he would have laughingly denied it. But now, now he was second guessing everything, especially if it had to do with Gage.
"Wow, I'm…speechless." Johnny finally replied, relaxing a bit in his seat. Considering how tense he had been when he had come in this morning, and then became even edgier as the morning progressed, Roy was glad to see that bit of hope soften the other man's features.
"I think we need to talk with Marco and Chet, especially Marco, about what we should do. He seems to be well versed in these things, and even Chet may have some good suggestions."
"Yeah, good old Chet," Gage mused, rubbing his hands along his pants as if to rid them of something unpleasant. "But you're right, both of those guys might be able to come up with something, er, interesting."
"I sure hope so," Roy muttered under his breath.
~eeeEEEeee~
"I think it's time for a séance," Chet decided, tapping fingers on both hands upon the surface of the table. The four men, linemen and medics, were gathered in the day room; all were lounging at the table in various positions. The paramedics had just returned to the station after dealing with a man trapped in a warehouse thanks to an overzealous coworker operating a tow motor like a race car. Mike was in the dorm room reading while their captain was plowing through the pile of paperwork in his office.
"I thought you were all for an exorcism," Roy contradicted mildly. He glanced over at Johnny who hadn't said anything since they had returned but was clearly listening.
"Well sure, he'll probably need that too because it's pretty clear that she's determined to inhabit our Johnny baby."
Johnny's lip curled upward in a soundless snarl and his hands clutched convulsively at the top of his backwards chair as he joined in the conversation. "I am sitting right here, ya know. And besides, Mr. Teal already came up with that suggestion."
"He did, didn't he?" Roy pondered out loud. "Although I don't think he is going to do it."
"Probably should get the same lady to do it that did it for Mrs. Teal. After all, from what you said, it sounded like something happened in that house during the séance." Marco added, looking pointedly at John.
John shook his head, plainly skeptical. "You really believe those things work?"
"If you have someone that can really communicate with the departed, then sure, absolutely. We're not talking about those charlatans that have the bells tied to their ankles, or they push buttons under their foot to play the spooky music, or have mirrors rigged up in the room with an accomplice hiding behind the drapes," Marco explained earnestly.
"That medium, Mrs. Butler, didn't look like she had any of those props, at least none that she carried out when she left. All she had was a tablecloth, a candle, and some little ornamental thing," DeSoto said, his eyes darting about watching the men and their expressions. "Although she did shove everything into a big black bag…."
"Honestly guys, I think we need to find out why this Alice chick is coming back to harass both Mr. Teal and Gage. I mean, why is she so bent on giving them both grief?" This time the question came from Chet, who had gotten up from his chair and was pacing restlessly around the table.
"I think I can help with that," a voice from the doorway floated eerily in and Stoker stepped into the room. "I have a friend that works over at the library; she did some research for me on this Alice character."
"Geesh, is there anybody on this shift that doesn't know what's going on?" The younger paramedic queried fretfully, running a hand through his hair. Beads of sweat were popping out on his forehead and his upper lip but he shivered, goose bumps rising up on his arms. There was a foreboding silence as he caught the attention of his crewmates; he ducked his head down and rubbed his arms, not noticing the stares.
"Probably the captain," Chet supplied helpfully, leaning closer and trying to get a better look at the distraught man. No doubt checking his eye color and Roy had to work at fighting down his own urge to check his partner over. The last time he had seen him this fretful and sick looking, he had been infected with that deadly monkey virus and they all knew how that had almost turned out.
It was time to break up the creepy atmosphere that seemed to be wafting slowly around them. "What did you find out, Stoker?"
"Alice Baylor died last month from a self-inflicted gunshot wound…"
"What?" Chet squawked, slapping a hand over his mouth when his exclamation came out louder then intended. He repeated his question from earlier. "The chick offed herself and she's come back to haunt her brother- in -law and Gage? What in the world for?"
The lanky engineer poured a cup of coffee, taking his time and purposely diverting all the attention that had been focused on Johnny on to himself. He was a good man, Roy confirmed silently and not for the first time. He shot Stoker a grateful glance before nonchalantly easing out of his chair and ambling over to the taller man's side. He held out his mug for a partial refill, his eyes flicking back over to his partner.
Johnny had his eyes partially closed; his shivering seemed to have abated but he was gripping his crossed arms tightly and rocking a bit, perhaps to try and keep the shaking unnoticeable. It was disconcerting to watch his strong friend battling whatever it was that was bothering him; was Alice trying to force her way back into him or was he merely succumbing to the thick undercurrents permeating the room and the men?
"That's not all," Mike said slowly, seemingly reluctant to say anymore but knowing that he had to tell them everything. "She killed herself after she killed her husband."
"Oh boy," Marco muttered, hand going up to touch the newly repaired chain around his neck. "This just keeps getting better and better by the minute."
Even DeSoto was dumbfounded by this latest bit of news. Alice was definitely one disturbed individual, both in her earthly life and now in her ghostly afterlife. But Chet had a good point - why was she haunting Mr. Teal and the innocent, unwilling participant in her possession? Surely it couldn't just be that Gage had treated Mr. Teal, for he had been just as involved and hadn't been bothered by her, yet. "Does it say the reasons behind the murder and the suicide, Mike?"
A shake of the dark head was the disappointing answer. "Nope, not even much speculation. The article, and the several that followed it within the week, just stated that there were "family troubles" and that was it."
"Family troubles," Chet repeated thoughtfully, stroking his lip and directing a peculiar gaze towards the stubbornly silent John. "That could mean anything from not liking a comment about her cooking to him having a little fling on the side. We'd better be real careful when we have this gathering of spirits thing."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Roy asked sharply, not liking the meaning behind Kelly's words.
"He just means that you'd better keep all sharp objects away from me," Gage drawled out in a flat voice, head up and arms now dangling loosely at his sides. "And nobody better be packing a gun, because I'm liable to lose all control and, well, you know…."
"Don't be such a twit, Johnny," Marco huffed, involuntarily repeating Captain Stanley's favorite insult. "We all trust you with our lives every day, and this is no exception."
"Well, there are four of us against one of him, so I guess we can take the chance."
It was Mike this time who jumped in and berated the Irish lineman. "Kelly, knock it off!"
"You know he's right, we don't know what I'm going to do if "she" comes around," Johnny admitted, looking at each of the men in turn. "Maybe we'd just better forget the whole thing."
"Not a chance!" Marco declared. "This needs to be taken care of as soon as possible, and if we can get that medium to do it, so much the better. Where should we hold this thing?"
"Too bad we can't borrow that spooky old house on the hill that those two spinsters own," Chet said, finally plopping into a chair and playing absently with an abandoned mug on the table. "It really fits the bill for the atmosphere part."
"Yeah, it does but somehow I don't think they would let us use it for that kind of thing, or come to think of it, for anything at all. They're pretty territorial about that house they inherited."
The senior paramedic's truthful statement got a grin out of Gage; he had settled into a placid state which had Roy just as equally worried. Was this the calm before the storm perhaps, or was he just over reacting again to every nuance of his friend's behavior? It was hard to tell because he was confused about his own state of mind. Were they both going crazy as Johnny had suggested?
The snap of Marco's fingers broke his solemn reverie. "I've got it! One of my great aunts owns this old house that used to be a, ah, a brothel, oh you know, a house of ill repute. It's way out, away from everything."
He stopped, his face turning a dull shade of red as snickers rolled through the room. "Oh, give me a break; she bought it years ago from a friend, way before I ever came on the scene. Some of the common areas still have the original furnishings, you know, like velvet kind of drapes, that sorta thing."
"Of course she did! A brothel in LA County, can you imagine?" Kelly chortled, slapping the table in glee. "Lopez, you just opened up a whole can of worms!"
"Sounds perfect Marco," Mike interrupted with a tight smile, looking around the still laughing lineman at the doorway. Chet immediately took the not so subtle hint and quieted down.
"As long as no johns died there, we should be okay," Gage added, covering his mouth with a hand to hide his sly grin. Marco groaned but manfully took the good natured ribbing.
Thirty minutes later plans were firmly in place. They had found Mrs. Butler in the yellow pages and obtained her services for the next evening, after making sure all five of the crew would be available. Lopez had gotten in touch with his relative and had been assured of full cooperation in anything he needed or wanted, including a gracious offer of supper before the séance would take place.
The excited mood didn't last long, however, as the men began their shift chores and had time to think about what they were going to do. The usual chatter was so conspicuously absent that Hank Stanley came out of his office to check up on them.
"No, there's nothing wrong," DeSoto lied valiantly, keeping his head conveniently facing away as he shelved the drug box. He slammed the compartment door closed and turned to find Cap an inch away, glaring at him.
"Then perhaps you'll invite me to this séance thing tomorrow night so that I can see for myself that there is absolutely nothing wrong here in my station?"
The medic coughed nervously and bit his lip. How to explain this? "Sure you can go, Cap, we just didn't know if you would have any interest in that kind of thing."
"I have a healthy interest in anything that affects my men, or the work that they are supposed to be doing. You and Gage have been acting hinky for several shifts now, Roy, and I want a believable answer for all of it. Especially now that it appears all of my crew are involved….."
Shifting uneasily, Roy followed Stanley into his office. He filled him in all the events that had occurred since the first call to the Teal house, sticking to the facts and trying not to add his personal opinions to the tale. The captain listened dispassionately, leaning back in his chair with lips pursed, and fingers steepled together under his chin. He didn't interrupt the one sided dialogue and when Roy finished, simply gazed up at the ceiling for a long moment.
"I've seen and heard some strange things in both the fire service and the army, but I have to admit that this has got to be one of the oddest." He rose to his feet, unfolding his long legs and turning to look out the window. He parted the blinds and peered out before turning back around. "But I have five good, credible men believing in whatever it is that is occurring, and so I have to also believe, at least for the moment…"
His quiet declaration of faith in his crew was interrupted by the tones going off for the whole station. The hair on the back of Roy's neck rose when the address was repeated and he shot his leader an incredulous look.
"That's the Teal house, again…"
~TBC~
A/N – Sorry, I really wanted to post this on Halloween, but it wasn't quite ready. The next chapter should be ready to go in a few days, thanks for reading!