October 31st

Halloween

Chapter Five

Mary Margaret happened to look up from her paperwork she was leaving for Sergeant Broderick at the front desk when she saw Captain Simms come through the entrance. The captain always had an air of poise and control about her, but after battling the storm outside, she looked more than a little bedraggled and very water-logged.

"That's some storm system we've got going out there," Mary Margaret said in commiseration. "Want me to take your umbrella?"

Simms nodded gratefully as she handed over the umbrella. Mary Margaret shook it as Simms removed the scarf from her head and opened her coat. "I'll put this with the other umbrellas while you hang your coat on the rack," Mary Margaret said as she glanced back over her shoulder while walking toward the side room they used to hold bad weather gear. "Do you want a cup of coffee?"

"No, thank you. No time for coffee," Simms said briskly.

Mary Margaret darted into the room to deposit the umbrella and came right back out. Something was going on, Skalany knew that much by the set of the captain's jaw.

Simms was just finishing with her coat when Mary Margaret returned. The captain started down the hallway, heading away from the conference room where everyone was waiting. Mary Margaret frowned for a moment. She wasn't sure if she should follow Simms or return to the conference room, but then Simms glanced back toward her and said, "Walk with me."

When Mary Margaret fell into step beside her, Simms asked, "How did Jody and Peter fare last night?"

Mary Margaret shook her head. "Not good. I was up with Jody most of the night. She was having horrible dreams and from what I gather from TJ, Peter had them, too."

Simms nodded. "I was afraid of that."

They turned a corner and entered one of the interrogation rooms. "Why are we going here?" Skalany asked as Simms pulled the door open.

Simms let out a long breath. "You don't even want to know."

The tech guy, Mary Margaret thought his name was Harold or Henry or something like that, was in the process of popping a tape out of a VCR. He nodded to Simms as she came to a stop beside him and held out the tape to her. "It's queued to the right point. Just put in the tape and hit play."

Simms hesitated before she took the tape from him. "How bad is it?"

The tech guy shrugged. "It's no 'Debbie Does Dallas', if that's what you're afraid of. Mostly a lot of flirting, but if I was one of those people, I'd be upset knowing there's a recording of me flirting like that, especially when it – well, when it isn't really me – or them – or whatever."

He scratched the back of his neck as he paused. "Both Caine and Powell are good detectives and decent people. I'm just glad I was the one to find it instead of one of the idiots we have around this place."

Simms nodded. "Thanks, Hank, I'll be discreet with it."

Then she turned and left the room. Mary Margaret scrambled to stay on her heels. "A tape? Captain, there's a tape of Jody and Peter?"

Simms didn't answer right away. She frowned, wearing the same kind of long-suffering expression she usually had when she was about to meet with Commissioner Kincaid. "You'll see soon enough. Is everyone gathered?"

It took all Mary Margaret had to answer Simms' question without asking several of her own. Finally, she nodded. "Yeah, everyone's in the conference room, except Caine – "

She stopped when they arrived back at the front desk just in time to see Caine enter the precinct with a huge gust of wind and rain.

"Caine, we were about to begin," Simms said.

Caine nodded, bowing slightly. "I came as quickly as I could."

Simms put out a hand to usher him forward. "We're meeting in the conference room." She glanced over at Mary Margaret. "Did you bring the diary with you?"

Mary Margaret nodded. "I had a lot of time on my hands last night and read most of it."

Simms sighed. "I hope everyone else is as well prepared. We need every edge we can find to beat this."

Everyone looked up as the three of them entered the room. Simms didn't waste any time. "Peter, Jody, I heard you had a tough night last night."

Peter and Jody just looked away in response. Simms continued, "We'll do our best to ensure you get a better night's sleep tonight."

She looked at the others. "Thank you all for meeting here. We have several items to discuss. Kermit, if you could start us off with the information you've uncovered," she said as she sat down.

Kermit waited until all three of them were situated before he began. He typed something into his computer and said, "I'll begin by introducing you to Abigail Brigham and Joseph Ashbury." A weathered picture appeared on the large screen at the head of the room with the images of a man and a woman.

Mary Margaret stared with interest at the old black-and-white photos, instantly seeing a vague resemblance between them and Peter and Jody. It was a little creepy, to be honest, but then they seemed to be writing the book on weird lately.

Kermit continued as he added a third image to the screen. "This is Zebidiah Bixler, who was Abigail's legal guardian. Apparently, Zebidiah Bixler had posted a reward for information about Abigail or Joseph after the two of them had disappeared suddenly. He had the posters printed and distributed throughout the state, which included a photograph of both of them."

Kermit tapped some keys and the old poster replaced the other pictures on the screen. He paused and looked up at Simms. "I don't know how detailed you want this to be," he said.

Simms gestured with her head. "You're doing fine. Please, continue."

He put up another picture of Abigail. She was much younger in this photo. "Abigail Brigham was born in 1876 to Mary and William Brigham. The well-to-do Bixler family employed both of Abigail's parents as butler and maid in their expansive mansion. Three years later, Mary and William were both killed in a train accident, leaving the child an orphan with no other living family. Abigail was raised as Zebidiah's ward at the request of his mother, Pearl Mae Bixler. Pearl Mae died a few years later due to a stroke, but by then, young Abigail was already the apple of Zebidiah's eye."

Kermit replaced Abigail's picture with another one of Joseph. "Joseph Ashbury was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1870 and had moved to town in 1890 to work directly under Zebidiah Bixler in the construction of the city's proposed underground transit system. Apparently, Bixler had seen potential in the young man and took an almost fatherly interest in seeing Joseph's career progress."

He changed the picture back to the one with the poster. "We know that Abigail Brigham and Joseph Ashbury had both disappeared in 1892. Everyone at the time assumed the couple had eloped and settled elsewhere. Zebidiah eventually developed the city's first subway system years later. He married and had three children, but by all accounts he was never really the same man after Abigail disappeared."

Simms nodded and turned to Mary Margaret. "Mary Margaret, would you please share what you found from reading Abigail's diary?"

Mary Margaret took a deep breath to gather her thoughts, then said, "Joseph and Abigail loved each other and were secretly planning to marry. There's no disputing that, but theirs was a tumultuous relationship, one that often ended in arguments."

"Drama," Blake said simply.

Mary Margaret nodded as she picked up the diary. "This is Abigail's last entry, 'If only Joseph could control his temper. It seems as if he spends most of his time these days angry, especially when it involves matters with Zebidiah. Joseph has such a good heart, but his temper scares me at times. I cannot wait until we are away from this town and have started our new life together.'"

"So, his temper was an issue," Strenlich said quietly. "Things might have grown more physical. I mean, look at what we saw happen in the bullpen. It wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to consider things might have gone bad and instead of eloping, Abigail died."

Mary Margaret frowned without answering him. It was possible, but didn't feel right for some reason. She tapped the diary on the table with her finger a few times. "She also mentioned something I didn't expect. There's a few entries where she seemed confused by a change in Zebidiah's feelings towards her. Things got muddier. She wrote that Zebidiah and Joseph both resented the other for being in Abigail's life – like they were both trying to vie for her affection. Abigail was only sixteen, so unless she stood up for herself, the prevailing mindset for that time left major decisions in the hands of the menfolk."

She looked up at the others. "It might have been a lover's triangle scenario. Joseph and his documented jealousy might have reacted to Bixler's attention towards Abigail. It might have been enough to cause an angry confrontation." She shrugged. "Yeah, it could have been something like that with Abigail paying the price with her life."

There was a long contemplative silence in the group before Simms said, "Thank you, Mary Margaret."

Simms sighed deeply and Mary Margaret knew what she was thinking of – the recorded tape – and how Peter and Jody would react to it. "One last item and this is more for Caine's benefit than anything else, so he can witness for himself the interactions between Abigail and Joseph."

She paused, looking very reluctant to continue, but she finally did, "I was made aware of something this morning on my way to work. Peter, Jody, the following may be too disturbing for you. If so, please feel free to leave the room at any time."

Peter and Jody looked alarmed, but it was obvious they had no idea what Simms was referring to. The captain's voice took on an especially compassionate tone as she explained, "Hank Jennings from data storage called me on my cell phone this morning to say he'd discovered something at the end of a taped video interview between TJ and one of his suspects. What caught his eye and why he brought it to my attention was that it involves Peter and Jody – or rather Joseph and Abigail.

"Apparently, TJ had left the room with his video camera running. Jody and Peter came into the interrogation room before TJ returned. They were there for more than a few minutes. Their behavior was... atypical and having heard of our recent encounters, Jennings contacted me."

Simms met Peter and Jody's wide-eyed gaze. "I've been assured the encounter was basically innocent."

Peter and Jody didn't relax much with Simms' attempt to ease their concerns. She gave them a reassuring smile before she put the video tape into the conference room's VCR.

"It's queued to the proper point in the VCR. I repeat, if you want to leave or if this disturbs you in the least, we can stop the tape."

Both Jody and Peter looked uncomfortable, but they nodded for her to proceed. Simms hit the play button and stepped back to watch. Mary Margaret found herself drawn to the monitor with the sight of Jody and Peter behaving so unlike themselves, especially knowing the souls of long ago deceased people were using gestures and mannerisms that were not Jody and Peter's way.

To their credit, Jody and Peter watched the first minute or two without comment, but then the overhead lights flickered and the temperature dropped twenty degrees in a matter of seconds. Mary Margaret started to glance up to look at the lights when she noticed a subtle change come over Peter and she knew he wasn't Peter at any longer – he was Joseph and Joseph was looking at Jody, but Jody wasn't Jody anymore.

Joseph's expression darkened as he stared at Abigail. "I told you not to tell anyone about our plans!"

Abigail's chin jutted out. "And I told you that you can't order me about as if I'm your slave!"

Joseph stood up and pushed away from his chair so quickly the chair hit the wall behind him with a loud clattering noise. Abigail followed him to her feet, then cowered when Joseph spun and raised his clenched fist into the air as if to hit her.

"Go ahead! Strike me if you must! But, mind you, Zebidiah will not stand for your abuse!"

Mary Margaret glanced at Caine and saw him observing the supernatural exchange going on before them, then he stood and raised his hands in the air. He closed his eyes and seemed to center himself before saying, "Enough! Leave them now!"

Both Peter and Jody slumped for a moment, then they looked around, more than a little disoriented. Shuddering, Jody drew her arms around her. Mary Margaret wasn't sure if it was from the cold or fear. Mary Margaret slipped off her jacket and draped it over Jody's shoulders. Peter ran a shaky hand through his hair before he met his father's gaze. Kwai Chang let out a deep breath, but he looked a little tired from his effort.

Simms shook her head and asked, "Is that all there was to it, Caine?"

Instead of nodding to agree, Caine looked away and bowed his head. "No," he said quietly. "Unfortunately, it was not."

Mary Margaret caught a slight shake of TJ's head and wondered what that was about, but before she could ask, Caine said, "I am sorry, Captain, but 'it' is far from over. There is much yet to do. I must gather some crucial supplies from Lo Si's apartment, but I will return shortly."

Simms' lips twisted in disappointment. "Well, you did warn me there might be other things you would need, but I would be lying if I said the delay isn't frustrating."

Simms looked over at TJ. "Go with him. Help speed things along as much as you can and get back here ASAP."

TJ and Caine left the room without another word. As the rest of them lingered in the conference room, Mary Margaret eyed Peter and Jody. Halloween was upon them, whether anyone wanted to acknowledge the date or not.

oOoOoOoOo

Milo Milanski took a bite of his corned beef and rye sandwich as they sat during their lunch break. They were back at work again with the scheduled renovations in the precinct's newly discovered lower level, but the mysterious brick wall plagued Milo. His mind just wouldn't let go of what might be behind it.

"Jaime, what if – what if it's... like there's some buried treasure back there and we've just been walking around a fortune for days? How can you live with a thought like that floating around in your head and not do anything about it?" he asked as Jaime poured coffee from a Thermos into his cup.

Jaime shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Pfft, yeah, right. Like that's gonna happen to a couple of guys like us. Get your head out of the clouds and just stick to the job we've got to do."

Milo sighed deeply. Jaime smiled, as if he had a sudden inspiration, and said, "Okay, think of it this way, smart ass – what if there's some curse on it? Just remember King Tut's tomb and how everyone who was there when it was opened died."

Milo set his sandwich inside his lunch pail. "Well, I'm willing to take on a curse. How about you?"

Jaime's expression grew incredulous. Obviously, that was not the response he'd anticipated. "Ah, shit, Milanski! George would have our hides nailed to that brick wall just for thinking of doing this without proper authorization."

Milo leaned closer and whispered, "It doesn't have to be a big hole. We can tell him it was an accident."

Jaime's eyes widened in disbelief. "An accident? Geez... George wouldn't fall for that."

"He would if we said we found a hole in that section by the wall where the mortar was eroding and wanted to see how extensive the problem was."

Jaime shook his head, but it seemed as if his resolve was weakening.

Milo pressed on with a matter-of-fact tone. "It's okay. If you're not man enough to check this out, fine by me. I mean, you 'are' the boss while George is gone to talk with the big-wigs."

Jaime sighed, then scratched his furrowed forehead in utter frustration. "Man, I need to have my head examined."

He ran a hand through his thick, dark hair and sighed. "Okay, but we're only spending break time on it. And if anyone complains... "

"It's your head that rolls, brother!" Milo exclaimed as he slapped Jaime on the back. "Okay, guys, we only have ten minutes, let's see what damage we can do."

It actually only took less than five minutes before the brick wall that had stood for over one hundred years was breached. Because he was the boss at the moment, Jaime had the honor of being the first to shine his flashlight through the gaping wound of aged bricks to see what was on the other side.

When Jaime frowned and remained in place, Milo leaned close and whispered, "What do you see, Jaime? More skeletons?"

Jaime swallowed and stepped back as he shook his head, "Close, Milo, too damned close. It looks – it looks like there's a goddamned casket in there."

The other guys pressed forward to peek through the crevice.

"Geez! Damned if he ain't right, Milo... all that's in there is just one casket in that whole danged room. Weird. That's just too frigging weird if you ask me," Kenny Conners muttered as he joined Jaime and Milo.

After a moment, Jaime said, "I guess I better go make sure that's what it is. And if it is a casket, then we'll have to notify the people upstairs again."

"Are we getting hazard pay on this gig, Jaime?" Kenny asked, sounding as if was only half kidding.

Jaime grunted. "Hurry back," Milo added as he slapped Jaime on the shoulder.

"Anyone want to come with me?" Jaime asked, sounding more scared than lonely.

Milo smiled ruthlessly as every member of the crew took one step back in unison. Jaime shook his head and sighed. "Okay, okay, I get the message. I'm in charge and I'll do it, but I'm not hanging around in there – I'll tell you that much right now."

He turned and lifted a leg to step through the hole in the wall and slowly advanced upon the casket. Milo watched as Jaime rubbed his palms together, then hesitantly reached forward. The very moment that Jaime's right hand lifted the lid to the rough-hewn wooden casket, a mighty whirlwind swept through the empty room. It rushed up towards the opening to the basement, almost as if it had a predetermined destination in mind.

Milo cursed under his breath when the maelstrom of cold air knocked all of them off their feet as it swept by. It was so cold and so fast, it nearly froze Milo's blood in his veins and rattled his nerves something fierce.

To Milo's credit, he didn't think twice as he scrambled back to his feet and dove through the brick opening the very moment their flashlights powered up again. He raced to Jaime's body, lifted him over his shoulder, and brought him back out again in the same time span in which most people used to breathe in and to breathe out.

Kenny was on his hand mike, calling for paramedics as Milo carefully laid Jaime on the ground, cursing under his breath. "God, I swear I'll never make another stupid dare as long as I live, just let Jaime come out of this okay," Milo whispered as he tugged off his jacket and laid it across Jaime's still form.

Kenny finished his call and knelt beside Milo and Jaime. "King Tut's tomb? Shit, Milo, you've cursed us again," Kenny muttered as he picked up Jaime's limp right hand. He glanced up at Milo in concern. "He's ice cold, Milo, just like those cops the other day... "

Milo shook his head. He didn't even want to think about what had just happened, let alone the madness from the other day. "Stop talking, Kenny, just pull off your jacket and put it over mine. Come on, guys, we gotta warm him up fast."

Kenny nodded and shrugged out of his jacket, along with the rest of the guys, but Milo knew not talking about it didn't make his guilt any less pressing. In fact, it probably made it a lot worse.

oOoOoOoOo

"Hey, Skalany," Kermit called out from the doorway of his office. "Tell me you made that pot of coffee and not Blake. I need a refill, but my stomach just isn't up to another cup of gut rot."

Mary Margaret smiled. "I made it, but drink it at your own risk."

Kermit grunted as Mary Margaret glanced at her watch.

Caine had left with TJ a hour ago and still hadn't returned. She looked up in alarm when Jody and Peter froze in place. A moment later, a swirling whirlwind whipped through the bullpen. The sudden wind picked up loose papers and other miscellaneous debris to add to its chaotic vortex as it knocked everyone from their feet with its rushing icy gusts.

Windows rumbled violently, as if they were on the brink of shattering. The power popped off again as it had the previous day. Mary Margaret thought she heard a muffled cry coming from Kermit's direction, but it was hard to tell for sure in the surrounding mayhem. When she glanced over at him, Kermit was on the floor beside his doorway and not moving. She started to get to her feet, intending to go to him, but paused when the winds that were blasting around the room suddenly went still.

Mary Margaret's breathing came in rapid gasps in the aftermath. Her shaky hands moved to grab her desk for support, then she moved up onto wobbly knees in the frightening darkness that still surrounded them. Strenlich's voice was much firmer than Mary Margaret could ever hope for as he ordered, "People, call out. I want a role call now."

People started to sound off, shouting their names in a semi-orderly fashion, each response spaced out enough to be understandable. Mary Margaret fumbled around in her pocket until she found her lighter, muttering to herself, "Light, we need light."

It was a hell of a lot easier to focus on lighting up the room than to try and figure out what the hell was going on. Ghostly encounters were definitely out of her area of expertise. After all, that was Caine's job.

She flicked on the lighter. The tiny beam that appeared barely gave any illumination to the room at all, but she held it high as she stood, as if light alone would restore order to the chaos around her.

"Joseph? I'm scared," came the sound of Jody's voice with the inflictions of a sixteen year-old girl.

"Don't worry. I'm right here, Abigail," Joseph answered and Mary Margaret was surprised at how they had moved near each other in the brief moments they were shrouded in darkness.

Strenlich called, "Blake, are the phones working? Kermit's down. Better call for an ambulance if they are."

Turning, Mary Margaret could see Strenlich kneeling beside Kermit's slumped body in the doorway of his office. Damn, she'd forgotten about him when Joseph and Abigail made another appearance. She stepped closer when Strenlich said, "Kermit's ice cold."

Strenlich took off his suit coat and draped it over Kermit just as Kermit groaned. "Hang in there. Help is on the way," he said as he patted Kermit on the shoulder.

It was difficult to keep track of everything that was going on. In those few moments while she'd been focused on Strenlich and Kermit, she'd lost track of Joseph and Abigail, but as she tuned in, their conversation had gone from comforting to angry.

Another nasty argument was brewing and it was escalating quickly. Mary Margaret worried it would go physical at any moment.

"Don't you dare raise your voice to me, Joseph Ashbury!"

"I'll do whatever I want to do," Joseph sneered.

When Joseph brought his face close to Abigail's, she slapped him harshly across the mouth with enough force to split his lip. Blood poured from the cut and Joseph dabbed at it with his fingertips in disbelief as he raised a closed fist, preparing to strike back.

The others rushed forward to stop him, but none of them had a chance of being there in time to prevent an attack when a forceful shout came from Kermit's doorway, something which stopped everything. "Ashbury!"

Mary Margaret jumped in surprise, then spun around to see it was Kermit who had done the shouting.

"Ashbury!" Kermit bellowed Joseph's last name again, louder this time and with more vehemence.

Mary Margaret looked back to where Kermit had been lying unconscious, only to see Strenlich's discarded coat. Her alarmed gaze returned to Kermit, who was standing only a few feet away from her – but it wasn't Kermit Griffin who stood with his fists on his hips, his feet apart in a defiant stance, and an expression of pure contempt written upon his lips. No, it was someone else altogether.

"Zebidiah!" Joseph exclaimed, turning away from Abigail.

The someone else was now identified. Kermit was Zebidiah Bixler, Abigail's guardian.

Joseph's whole persona shifted from lover's wrath to seething, murderous hatred in a heartbeat. He turned and lunged at Zebidiah with such rage, it was obvious Joseph meant to kill Zebidiah with his bare hands. The very moment Joseph touched Zebidiah, light bulbs throughout the room exploded with a fiery display of sparks and flying glass, then all three possessed bodies went limp, dropping to the ground in a state of semiconsciousness, as if they'd all been hit by a stun gun.

oOoOoOoOo

There was an eerie silence present in the devastated bullpen as Skalany, Blake, and Strenlich knelt beside the three unmoving detectives to check them. Karen held a hand to her mouth in bewilderment. Now, Kermit was involved. She stared at him with deep concern. She could handle the cold spells, power outages, or other strange occurrences she'd seen, but knowing another person under her command, especially Kermit, had just fallen victim to this ongoing nightmare was almost more than she could tolerate.

Caine, she thought, Caine had to know what to do. She'd let him handle the metaphysical end of things while she dealt with the practical side of it.

"Blake, did you get through to emergency services?" she asked with as much authority as she could muster. Even so, she could hear shock still echoing in her voice.

"They're already on their way, ma'am," someone said before Blake could answer.

She spun around to view a tall, lanky blonde-headed construction worker. "And you are...?"

"Sorry, Milo Milanski with the Public Works detail. Something's happened down below. We found another body, but this one was in a casket. We, uh, found it behind that brick wall down there."

Milanski looked strangely uncomfortable as he mentioned the body's location.

"I see... and when did you find the third body?" Simms asked pensively, but she already knew the answer.

"Just a couple of minutes ago. We've also got a man down. That's why I wasn't able to come up right away."

"Very well, we will direct the paramedics down to your location when they arrive."

The construction worker left quickly with a nod.

"Doesn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together on that one," Karen said grimly as she shook her head in frustration.

'Caine, where the hell are you? You were supposed to be here for this!'

oOoOoOoOo