A Tale of Two Dead Ringers - Chapter 20
The story moves on to its climax! The ego trips are over. The truth is out there and the characters must deal with that, and work on solving the central mystery!
In this chapter... The wounds are still fresh, as the girls have just found out Aaron had been lying to them. Still, there's no time to waste, so, after they figure out exactly how much each of them knows, they decide to do some investigating. Now, if only Emerson were there to help them...
Title: Chapter 20 - Klondike 5
Word count: 4,193 Chapter count: 27
Previous chapters: S, P, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Observations: A Pushing Daisies/Wonderfalls crossover - a tale of mystery with a slight surreal touch.
Previously on “A Tale of Two Dead Ringers”
It's Halloween. Aaron and Ned have switched places to solve a mystery, which involves voodoo dolls representing Ned and Chuck, anonymous notes threatening Emerson and his friends, an old lady with muffins poisoned with “the zombie drug,” and a sinister coroner who moonlights as travel agent between two magical lands.
Summary of Chapter 18 - “Down in the Muses' Territory”
In his own “ego trip,” Aaron Tyler goes back to Jaye's trailer and, completely unable to remember how he got there, he lives the events of Chapter 15 “Plastic Tasmanian Devil.”
He has to face Jaye and Mahandra. His girlfriend especially is extremely suspicious and asks many questions to test him. But he passes the test with flying colors and convinces her that he loves her. She leaves satisfied.
But as soon as she leaves, a torrent of memories come to him, and now he remembers everything about Ned's universe. To make matters worse, he hears the muses telling Jaye to kiss him on the lips, and he has no choice but leave that body.
Aaron finds out he is inside the Tasmanian Devil, and he sees Ned trying to regain control of his body, rambling about spoons and all. The other muses keep ordering Jaye to kiss that man on the lips, and Aaron, now as one of the muses, joins the choir. He does so because he wants Jaye to shock Ned out of that trance. She deserves to know the truth.
They kiss, and a thunder knocks the Tasmanian Devil off the table. Aaron falls onto the floor, but, to his surprise, keeps falling down. He ends in a white room.
He realizes he is in the Muses' Territory when they start appearing in front of him, but as threatening giants. The Tasmanian Devil wants him crushed like a bug. The Cow Creamer isn't happy to see him either, since he broke her head off. The Brass Monkey and Mr. T Cookie Jar defend him.
Finally, the Wax Lion, their king, decides to “send him where he belongs.” Before being sent away, he tries to find out why the muses won't talk to him but will talk to Jaye. The muses say they are not interested in him.
Aaron falls again. Now he meets the Devil, who promises him an eternity in Hell. When things seem lost for Aaron, a flood of water throws him on the ground. He opens his eyes and realizes he's back at the Pie Hole, his face is wet, and Chuck is holding an empty glass.
Chuck demands to know who he is and where Ned is. Aaron is extremely happy to see her.
XX
Klondike 5
(October 31st , afternoon - Papen County - The Pie Hole)
“We're expecting an answer!” demanded Chuck.
“Yeah! Start Talking! You tall... seductive... stranger!” said Olive doing her best to sound tough, which only made Aaron smile even more. “And wipe out that stupid grin off your face!” she completed.
“Olive! You're back!” said Chuck, not hiding her satisfaction.
“Yeah, Chuck. I'm back all right. You broke my heart, but then... I started thinking,” she said, closing one eye and exposing her teeth, making her 'astute' face. Thanks to Ned's memories, Aaron knew it meant that was Olive P.I., not waitress Olive talking. “I'm not the kind of woman who looks at a gift horse in the mouth, so I allowed myself to be fooled by this charming stranger, but as I thought of Ned's behavior... I started adding up all those inconsistencies, the things that were and shouldn't be, and I realized...”
“That I would never hurt you?” said Chuck with a hopeful smile.
“No! That you were trying to keep me out of the loop as you always do! And that this tall, handsome man taking me to lunch was just too good to be true!”
“Guilty as charged,” said Aaron. “And thank you for the tall and handsome,” he completed, giving her his best smile. Life was good. After that horrible vision, he'd cherish every moment he could.
“We'll handle you in a minute, pal!” said Olive. She exuded confidence, and if Aaron had found her interesting before, imagine now.
“We should handle him now, Olive, and deal with our differences later,” said Chuck, but without much conviction. She really seemed to feel guilty.
At this moment, Digby got up and started whimpering and zig-zagging his way towards Chuck...
“Come here, Digby. You really took one for the team this time,” said Chuck.
But he walked past her, for her evident disappointment, and reached Olive, who hugged and kissed him. Aaron wasn't sure what to think. He was still getting used to the idea he could remember everything that had happened when he had received the inconvenient spiritual visit from Ned, and loathed the the feeling Ned had when he thought he had killed his longtime canine companion. Could Ned's residual presence in Aaron's body have partially drained Digby's life force somehow?
“Did he fall?” asked Olive, and she patted Digby behind his ears. He growled with pleasure.
“As a matter of fact he did,” confirmed Chuck.
“Well, looks like he hit his head on the floor, poor thing. Dogs are not like cats, you know. Sneaky, treacherous cats... Some of us get hurt when we fall. Because some of us have feelings!” she said, looking directly at Aaron. “And speaking of sneaky and treacherous,” Olive nodded at Aaron, and Chuck, crossing her arms, gave him a very stern look.
“All right, sir. Start talking!”
“Yeah! You can start by telling us who the hell you are!” said Olive, with her P.I. tone of voice.
“My name is Aaron Tyler and... First of all... I'm really, really, really... sorry...”
* * *
The jury was still out. Aaron had told them about him, his family and his hometown. They listened intently and even though they wanted to know about Ned, they were patient enough when he told them the story he had to tell was just too incredible to be believed, so he had to tell things from the very beginning. Finally, just out of the blue, they asked him to step out the kitchen while they discussed what they thought of Aaron and his tale. And now, guarded by Digby, he waited in a booth for their verdict.
Those were two terrific examples of human beings, and, as he patted his “guard” under the chin, he felt mortified to think he'd been deceiving them. They were such good people, but at the same time, naïve and completely unable to deal with violence. Aaron meant, real, vicious, tragic violence.
Not that Aaron had had any first-hand experience with that. But as an accomplished theorist, he knew a little about everything. Besides, he had studied enough about human nature to know that, in the history of religion, people had committed the most despicable acts in the name of God and the fight for good. No wonder he had grown to be such a skeptic.
But those girls, even dealing with murders on a regular basis, had such a rosy approach to life where others would just see ugliness, that he couldn't help but surrender to their charming innocence. There he was, a complete stranger who had been lying to them, and could be out to do god-knows-what, and all they thought of doing was to leave, to keep an eye on him, a Golden Retriever, perhaps the friendliest dog breed there was.
But he was afraid he might not get their forgiveness. That was too terrible to consider.
After quite a long while they came out of the kitchen, walking arm in arm, alongside one another. It seemed, for Aaron's satisfaction, that their sisterhood had been restored. They both walked resolutely and sat in front of him.
“Mr. Tyler,” said Chuck with a solemn look. “We appreciate your being so candid tell us about yourself and your reasons to be here.”
“Yes, it was about time you were honest!” said Olive.
“As I was saying... We decided to give you a vote of confidence. Somehow we feel we can trust you,” Chuck completed. Aaron nodded.
“Yeah! But don't take our good will for granted! That may change, just like that,” said Olive, snapping her fingers.
“Anyway, we had to decide whether we could trust you before asking you the big question.”
“Yeah, if you fed us with another bunch of lies, what good would that do us?” said Olive.
“Ask anything. I'll tell you the truth. You have my word,” Aaron assured them.
“All right then. The question is simple. Where is Ned? In he all right?” asked Chuck.
That question gave Aaron pause. He looked at them both, and behind that thin veneer of serenity and resolution, these were two highly sensitive girls to whom Ned's wellbeing meant the world. So, he had to choose his words very carefully not to alarm them more than they would have to be alarmed.
“We're waiting,” said Olive impatiently.
“Well, again, I have to tell things you from the beginning. I just ask you, please, to remain calm because Ned's fine and whatever situation he's facing is a product of his own choice.”
“Mr. Tyler,” said Chuck, now showing some impatience as well. Aaron felt she was calling him by the last name because that seemed to make her feel more confident, and reminded them of the seriousness of the situation. He decided to play along.
“Yes, Ms. Charles...”
“We're two grownup women. We're perfectly able to handle bad news, and react in a mature way.”
“We just want the truth,” said Olive, which immediately brought to Aaron's mind a movie scene about being able to handle the truth, more precisely Jack Nicholson's line from the movie A Few Good Men.
“Exactly. There's no need to sugarcoat reality. Tell us what we need to know, Mr. Tyler.”
Perhaps she was right, and he was underestimating their emotional resilience. Obviously they wanted to get involved, and their help would be important. So, Aaron let them have it. He told them about how he had been poisoned, how he thought he was going to die, Ned's visit, and their long conversation. He also told them about the threats against them and his sister, and why he urged Ned to go protect her, and how Ned chose to go so that danger wouldn't come anywhere close to the people he loved. He made sure they knew Ned was willing to sacrifice himself for their safety if necessary, and even described his and Ned's out-of-body experiences.
Aaron definitely had a knack for storytelling, making it perhaps more dramatic than it actually was necessary. He definitely got carried away, though. The girls followed his narration intently, and each dramatic details that was added, was matched by an equivalent emotional reaction, and an occasional “ohhh...” or “ahhh...” as the two sisters by choice, if not by blood, held each other's hand, with a grip that grew firmer as the story developed. So, about fifteen minutes later...
“Oh, Ned... Ned... Why did you have to go???” Chuck lamented, now unable to hold her tears back, with her head on Olive's shoulder. The blonde, in turn, patted Chuck on her head, trying to comfort her. But then who would comfort Olive?
“Oh, Ned... You're so alone in a strange place, among strange people. It must be breaking your heart...” Olive said, also about to cry.
“He hates to be alone, and defenseless... Deep inside he's still that little boy left by his father in that horrible, horrible boarding school I still hate...”
Hearing that made Olive even sadder, and, also unable to hold back, she joined Chuck in that crying symphony.
Oh, brother. What did I get started? Why do I need to go back and see Niagara Falls, when I can see the waterfalls right here in Lakeshore? Aaron thought, as he propped his chin against his hand, with his elbow propped on the table. He looked at Digby, who looked back at him. Digby looked like he was trying to tell Aaron a dog is the least qualified male to understand the volatile emotions of human females.
He stood up, and fetched some paper napkins, which he offered the girls.
“Oh, thank you, Aaron,” said Olive, wiping her tears.
“You're a very nice man,” said Chuck, as she blew her nose.
Aaron Tyler, so much used to the callousness of his sister Sharon and the cynicism of his younger sister Jaye, wasn't sure how to react. But even if he felt that reaction was somewhat exaggerated, he knew enough about them to admire and grow fond of them even more. So, he let emotions take their course, and patiently waited until they calmed down.
“Charlotte,” Aaron finally said, “Ned loves you deeply, and it gives him great satisfaction to know he's doing something to protect you.”
“That's so sweet, Aaron. I appreciate you telling me this.”
“And Olive, Ned wouldn't know where to begin without you. You've been in his life just a few years, but he can't imagine life without you, as much as he can't imagine life without this place he built practically with his bare hands.”
“Thank you, Aaron. I needed to hear that,” said Olive, holding his hand.
Aaron felt touched and satisfied to know that their forgiveness was not so far away after all. After considering all the emotions involved, they all agreed the only way they could have Ned back, and things back to normality, was to solve the case that had brought Aaron Tyler into their lives. It was time for some investigative work after all.
“Let's try to solve this case then,” said Aaron in an encouraging tone.
“Are you sure we can do this by ourselves? None of us are real detectives,” said Olive. “Maybe we should call Emerson. Whatever happened to him anyway?”
“Good idea, Olive. But I guess it wouldn't hurt if we organized what we know first. Then we can tell Emerson all about it, and he'll know what to do next. So... What do we really know for sure?” said Aaron, pulling out of his pocket a small notepad and a pencil.
“Well, as you said earlier, even before this whole thing started, Emerson received those cards warning him against some threat,” Chuck said.
“Yes... They read, 'He’s gonna get you,’ and... ’Your friends are in grave danger,’ if I'm not mistaken,” said Aaron, writing that down.
“This means there's someone here, in Papen County, that represents danger,” said Olive. “We can start by finding out who it is.”
“But it also means someone wants to help us,” reminded Chuck.
“That's true. We might have an ally,” said Aaron. “But I can't get off my mind those creepy voodoo dolls in the shape of Ned and you, Chuck.”
“If Emerson were here, he would laugh at this kind of superstition,” said Olive. “Since he isn't here, let me do it instead. Ha, ha!”
“You might not believe in voodoo magic, but there are many fanatics out there that do. And their spiritual leader is called a Bokor, and he's the only one who could've prepared the zombie drug that poisoned me. And that is real enough, believe me.”
“You don't know this Bokor-guy, Aaron, but you told us about the suspicious doctor in Papen County Hospital, one Dr. Roberts. I bet he knows something.”
“Emerson looked into him, Olive. He's not squeaky clean, but his name led nowhere. He had other suspects in mind. Like Hillary Hundin, and someone with a background in chemistry. The man Emerson was really suspicious of is no one less than Oscar Vibenius.”
As this name is pronounced, Digby barked and laid his front paws on Aaron's lap.
“Calm down, Digby. I cannot play now.” Digby walked away visibly disappointed.
As Chuck heard Oscar's name, she batted her eyes, and raised her hands in visible discomfort, shaking them.
“Oh, no. It can't be Oscar,” Chuck said with firm conviction. Digby barked at her. Chuck patted the dog, but didn't give him much attention.
“I think you got a point there, Aaron,” said Olive smiling at Aaron, who smiled back at her. “I've never trusted Oscar.”
“You're wrong, Olive. Completely wrong! Oscar is a good man... And a good friend!”
“Really, Chuck? Just by curiosity, how good a friend is he? Does Ned know you two are such good friends?” asked Olive maliciously.
“All right, girls! Focus, please! We don't know if he's our man, so let's just list him as a suspect along with Dr. Roberts and Hillary Hundin” he said, making more notes in his notepad. “And the coroner too.” He added the coroner to the list.
“The coroner?” a surprised Chuck asked. “That sweet, old, and completely gullible man?”
“Ha, ha!” Aaron laughed. “He's anything but gullible. He's the one that pushed Ned into going to Niagara Falls. I just don't know if that makes him friend or foe.”
“I remember something!” shouted Olive. “When you and I went out for lunch...”
“Which we should do again...” said Aaron with a certain malice, causing Olive to blush.
“Anyway...” Olive proceeded, “when we went out, I remember a yellow truck parked outside. When we came back it was still there, and it was still there when we closed in the evening.”
“Is that so? Let me see...” said Aaron, closing his eyes. “Yes, I remember that. It had a sign which read... 'Papen County Water and Power Department,'”
“How can you be so sure?” protested Chuck, while Olive grinned.
“Sorry! Photographic memory. Very useful for memorizing books. Sue me,” Said Aaron with fake humility.
“And yet we come back to Oscar,” commented Olive with some sarcasm. Digby barked at Olive, and she patted his head.
“That doesn't prove anything,” said Chuck defensively. “There are hundreds of those trucks all over town.”
“More like dozens, Chuck,” said Aaron. “And you have to admit the number of coincidences incriminating Oscar is growing.”
“You're right, Aaron. Coincidences!” insisted Chuck. Digby barked again.
“Hey, folks, I think Digby is trying to tell us something,” said Olive. “Come on, Digby. What do you want?”
The dog started walking to the front door.
“Do you want us to follow you?” Olive asked, then stood up. “Come on, guys!” she motioned to the others, who followed Digby and her.
They went outside. It was getting dark, and Digby started sniffing a parking place right in front of the Pie Hole.
“That's where the truck was,” said Aaron.
“Do you think you can follow the smell and find out where the truck went?” Olive asked Digby, who barked back. The dog seemed pretty confident he could do it.
“That simplifies things considerably,” said Aaron. “All we have to do is...”
At that precise moment, a thunder was heard. Aaron felt a raindrop on his nose. Then another. Then another. Suddenly, it started raining cats and dogs, so to speak.
“All we have to do is get inside because all our smell evidences are being washed away...” observed Aaron, clearly disappointed.
In just a matter of minutes, the rain became pretty intense, and they took refuge inside the Pie Hole. Aaron felt they had reached a dead end.
“So much for our team of amateur detectives,” said Olive. “Are we going to call Emerson now?”
“You're right again, Olive.” She smiled at the compliment. “We're running around in circles,” admitted Aaron. “Where's the phone?”
“Right there, on the kitchen wall,” said Chuck, failing to show her usual enthusiasm.
Aaron walked to the kitchen and noticed the back door was ajar. Once again he was impressed with their lack of concern for safety, and the innocence that made those two girls so adorable, as well as that entire town, for that matter.
Aaron opened the door. It revealed an alley. He looked at the dark sky and felt the rain on his face. Definitely the gods must be angry, he thought. He closed and locked the door.
He located the phone, and noticed with some curiosity that it had a rotary dialing disk. He tried to remember the last time he had seen one of those. He was still a child, but he guessed that in a town where vintage and retro objects were so valued, those old phones would be pretty popular. Aaron picked the receiver from the wall.
“What's Emerson's phone number?” Aaron asked the girls.
“Here...” said Chuck, picking an a dress book from a drawer in the counter. “It's Klondike 5, 0-1-5-5.”
Aaron, still holding the phone, chuckled.
“It's... a... what?”
“Klondike 5, 0-1-5-5,” Chuck repeated.
“You're kidding, right? I mean... How am I supposed to dial Klondike?”
“Oh, silly. You don't have phones in Niagara Falls?” Olive joked. “You call the operator and ask for the Klondike exchange station, of course.”
Still confused, Aaron brought the phone to his ear. Before he had a chance to think, a voice on the other side of the line asked,
“Operator. May I be of service?”
“Hum... Klondike 5... 0-1-5-5?” Said Aaron hesitantly. A human operator... How quaint, Aaron thought.
“Just a moment, please...” He heard a click.
“Klondike exchange station, may I be of service?” said a different voice at the other side of the line.
“5-0-1-5-5,” said Aaron still hesitantly.
“Of course, sir. Who do you wish to speak with?”
“Hum... Emerson Cod?”
“Just a minute, please.”
The phone rang and gave a busy signal. Aaron waited patiently.
“I'm sorry sir. The line is busy. Would you please try later?”
“Sure. Thank you, miss,” he said and hung up.
Still a little puzzled, Aaron went back to where the girls were.
“The line is busy. He must be talking on the phone. But this is important. Maybe we should call his cell. Do you have the number of his cell?”
Olive and Chuck looked at one another, and didn't seem to know how to answer that question.
“Cell?” asked Olive apprehensively.
“Do you think Emerson is in jail? But you just said he was on the phone in his office” said Chuck, visibly concerned.
“No! What's his cell phone number?” asked Aaron, getting impatient.
Chuck and Olive looked at one another. They seemed lost.
“Cells don't have individual phones, Aaron,” said Chuck. “But why do you think he's in a cell?”
“Oh, my god! A cell phone number! You're going to tell me you've never seen a cell phone?”
The way Chuck and Olive looked at one another, apparently they hadn't. So Aaron explained, and explained some more. He gestured, showing them the size of the phone, and emulated with his hands the movement of opening a flip phone. Ten minutes later...
“And you have those phones in Niagara Falls?” asked Olive.
“That's so neat!” said Chuck.
Aaron laughed, and wondered why he was so surprised. Nothing else should surprise him anymore in that weird land. Finally, he just said...
“Yeah... Niagara Falls is a real magic kingdom. Well, if we're limited to land lines, I guess we should pay Mr. Cod a visit. We should get going.”
“OK. Olive, would you mind staying here in case Emerson or Ned decide to call? Aaron and I are going to look for Emerson in his office.”
“Oh... Well... I thought... OK, I guess...” said Olive, not totally comfortable with the idea. She was still sitting at the booth, and holding Digby, who enjoyed her patting.
Observing that situation, Aaron called Chuck.
“Chuck, will you come here to the kitchen for just a second? I need you to take a look at something.”
Chuck complied and as she went there, Aaron gently pushed her against the wall.
“Listen,” he whispered. “I know why you just did that, and why you think you need to keep Olive out of the loop. I'm not going to tell her anything, but while I'm here Olive is part of the team. Simple as that.”
“What do you think you know?” Chuck whispered back.
“I know everything,” said Aaron, wiggling his long index finger, and then gently touching Chuck on her cheek. Chuck's eyes were wide open with surprise, and she stood erect like a deer frozen by headlights. “That's not possible,” she mumbled.
“Believe me. Anything is possible. Olive comes along. I'm not going to interfere, but you might like to discuss this with Ned sooner or later. Perhaps his reasons are not as candid as he admits even to himself.”
“What do you mean by that?!
“You should ask him.”
Intrigued, Chuck went back to the main area to talk to Olive.
“On second thought, Olive, would you like to come along?”
“Yay!” Olive shouted. “Let's go, Digby!”
Aaron, still in the kitchen, observed Olive's display of joy with great satisfaction.
“All right... Let me go get the raincoats. It's raining pretty hard outside.”
Chuck went back to the kitchen and towards the back door. She then turned the doornob, but the door wouldn't open.
“You don't have to worry. I locked it already,” said Aaron. “You really should be more careful with that back door. Not a good idea to leave it open.”
“Really? So, do you have the key?” Chuck asked.
“Yeah, but... Why... here it is,” he said, throwing the key to her. Chuck opened the door, and then she flipped on the light switch. There she was, inside another room. Confused, Aaron got closer, and saw a room full of rotting fruit, among other things. Chuck got the raincoats and the umbrellas, which were in a box on a shelf. She then turned off the light, and locked the door behind her.
“Wait a minute...” said a completely puzzled Aaron. “But that... Five minutes ago that was the door to the back alley. How come...”
“Don't be silly, Aaron,” said Chuck in a slightly patronizing way. “That's our back room, where we keep Ned's fruits. That room has always been there,” she said, and walked resolutely to the front.
The Pie Hole gang was ready for another mission. Chuck opened the front door and stepped outside, followed by Olive. But before she left, Aaron carefully held her arm just to call her attention.
“Listen, Olive, I still would like to have a private talk with you... Maybe dinner later?”
“We can work together. We can even be friends. But you're exactly the kind of charming and lying man I need to run away from. Thanks, but no thanks,” she said.
As Aaron stepped outside into the rain, he felt the weather matched his present emotional state perfectly. He wondered if he would have another chance with that woman, how much more time he would have in that town, and what exactly he would tell Mahandra when he got back home...
In this chapter... The wounds are still fresh, as the girls have just found out Aaron had been lying to them. Still, there's no time to waste, so, after they figure out exactly how much each of them knows, they decide to do some investigating. Now, if only Emerson were there to help them...
Title: Chapter 20 - Klondike 5
Word count: 4,193 Chapter count: 27
Previous chapters: S, P, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Observations: A Pushing Daisies/Wonderfalls crossover - a tale of mystery with a slight surreal touch.
Previously on “A Tale of Two Dead Ringers”
It's Halloween. Aaron and Ned have switched places to solve a mystery, which involves voodoo dolls representing Ned and Chuck, anonymous notes threatening Emerson and his friends, an old lady with muffins poisoned with “the zombie drug,” and a sinister coroner who moonlights as travel agent between two magical lands.
Summary of Chapter 18 - “Down in the Muses' Territory”
In his own “ego trip,” Aaron Tyler goes back to Jaye's trailer and, completely unable to remember how he got there, he lives the events of Chapter 15 “Plastic Tasmanian Devil.”
He has to face Jaye and Mahandra. His girlfriend especially is extremely suspicious and asks many questions to test him. But he passes the test with flying colors and convinces her that he loves her. She leaves satisfied.
But as soon as she leaves, a torrent of memories come to him, and now he remembers everything about Ned's universe. To make matters worse, he hears the muses telling Jaye to kiss him on the lips, and he has no choice but leave that body.
Aaron finds out he is inside the Tasmanian Devil, and he sees Ned trying to regain control of his body, rambling about spoons and all. The other muses keep ordering Jaye to kiss that man on the lips, and Aaron, now as one of the muses, joins the choir. He does so because he wants Jaye to shock Ned out of that trance. She deserves to know the truth.
They kiss, and a thunder knocks the Tasmanian Devil off the table. Aaron falls onto the floor, but, to his surprise, keeps falling down. He ends in a white room.
He realizes he is in the Muses' Territory when they start appearing in front of him, but as threatening giants. The Tasmanian Devil wants him crushed like a bug. The Cow Creamer isn't happy to see him either, since he broke her head off. The Brass Monkey and Mr. T Cookie Jar defend him.
Finally, the Wax Lion, their king, decides to “send him where he belongs.” Before being sent away, he tries to find out why the muses won't talk to him but will talk to Jaye. The muses say they are not interested in him.
Aaron falls again. Now he meets the Devil, who promises him an eternity in Hell. When things seem lost for Aaron, a flood of water throws him on the ground. He opens his eyes and realizes he's back at the Pie Hole, his face is wet, and Chuck is holding an empty glass.
Chuck demands to know who he is and where Ned is. Aaron is extremely happy to see her.
XX
Klondike 5
(October 31st , afternoon - Papen County - The Pie Hole)
“We're expecting an answer!” demanded Chuck.
“Yeah! Start Talking! You tall... seductive... stranger!” said Olive doing her best to sound tough, which only made Aaron smile even more. “And wipe out that stupid grin off your face!” she completed.
“Olive! You're back!” said Chuck, not hiding her satisfaction.
“Yeah, Chuck. I'm back all right. You broke my heart, but then... I started thinking,” she said, closing one eye and exposing her teeth, making her 'astute' face. Thanks to Ned's memories, Aaron knew it meant that was Olive P.I., not waitress Olive talking. “I'm not the kind of woman who looks at a gift horse in the mouth, so I allowed myself to be fooled by this charming stranger, but as I thought of Ned's behavior... I started adding up all those inconsistencies, the things that were and shouldn't be, and I realized...”
“That I would never hurt you?” said Chuck with a hopeful smile.
“No! That you were trying to keep me out of the loop as you always do! And that this tall, handsome man taking me to lunch was just too good to be true!”
“Guilty as charged,” said Aaron. “And thank you for the tall and handsome,” he completed, giving her his best smile. Life was good. After that horrible vision, he'd cherish every moment he could.
“We'll handle you in a minute, pal!” said Olive. She exuded confidence, and if Aaron had found her interesting before, imagine now.
“We should handle him now, Olive, and deal with our differences later,” said Chuck, but without much conviction. She really seemed to feel guilty.
At this moment, Digby got up and started whimpering and zig-zagging his way towards Chuck...
“Come here, Digby. You really took one for the team this time,” said Chuck.
But he walked past her, for her evident disappointment, and reached Olive, who hugged and kissed him. Aaron wasn't sure what to think. He was still getting used to the idea he could remember everything that had happened when he had received the inconvenient spiritual visit from Ned, and loathed the the feeling Ned had when he thought he had killed his longtime canine companion. Could Ned's residual presence in Aaron's body have partially drained Digby's life force somehow?
“Did he fall?” asked Olive, and she patted Digby behind his ears. He growled with pleasure.
“As a matter of fact he did,” confirmed Chuck.
“Well, looks like he hit his head on the floor, poor thing. Dogs are not like cats, you know. Sneaky, treacherous cats... Some of us get hurt when we fall. Because some of us have feelings!” she said, looking directly at Aaron. “And speaking of sneaky and treacherous,” Olive nodded at Aaron, and Chuck, crossing her arms, gave him a very stern look.
“All right, sir. Start talking!”
“Yeah! You can start by telling us who the hell you are!” said Olive, with her P.I. tone of voice.
“My name is Aaron Tyler and... First of all... I'm really, really, really... sorry...”
* * *
The jury was still out. Aaron had told them about him, his family and his hometown. They listened intently and even though they wanted to know about Ned, they were patient enough when he told them the story he had to tell was just too incredible to be believed, so he had to tell things from the very beginning. Finally, just out of the blue, they asked him to step out the kitchen while they discussed what they thought of Aaron and his tale. And now, guarded by Digby, he waited in a booth for their verdict.
Those were two terrific examples of human beings, and, as he patted his “guard” under the chin, he felt mortified to think he'd been deceiving them. They were such good people, but at the same time, naïve and completely unable to deal with violence. Aaron meant, real, vicious, tragic violence.
Not that Aaron had had any first-hand experience with that. But as an accomplished theorist, he knew a little about everything. Besides, he had studied enough about human nature to know that, in the history of religion, people had committed the most despicable acts in the name of God and the fight for good. No wonder he had grown to be such a skeptic.
But those girls, even dealing with murders on a regular basis, had such a rosy approach to life where others would just see ugliness, that he couldn't help but surrender to their charming innocence. There he was, a complete stranger who had been lying to them, and could be out to do god-knows-what, and all they thought of doing was to leave, to keep an eye on him, a Golden Retriever, perhaps the friendliest dog breed there was.
But he was afraid he might not get their forgiveness. That was too terrible to consider.
After quite a long while they came out of the kitchen, walking arm in arm, alongside one another. It seemed, for Aaron's satisfaction, that their sisterhood had been restored. They both walked resolutely and sat in front of him.
“Mr. Tyler,” said Chuck with a solemn look. “We appreciate your being so candid tell us about yourself and your reasons to be here.”
“Yes, it was about time you were honest!” said Olive.
“As I was saying... We decided to give you a vote of confidence. Somehow we feel we can trust you,” Chuck completed. Aaron nodded.
“Yeah! But don't take our good will for granted! That may change, just like that,” said Olive, snapping her fingers.
“Anyway, we had to decide whether we could trust you before asking you the big question.”
“Yeah, if you fed us with another bunch of lies, what good would that do us?” said Olive.
“Ask anything. I'll tell you the truth. You have my word,” Aaron assured them.
“All right then. The question is simple. Where is Ned? In he all right?” asked Chuck.
That question gave Aaron pause. He looked at them both, and behind that thin veneer of serenity and resolution, these were two highly sensitive girls to whom Ned's wellbeing meant the world. So, he had to choose his words very carefully not to alarm them more than they would have to be alarmed.
“We're waiting,” said Olive impatiently.
“Well, again, I have to tell things you from the beginning. I just ask you, please, to remain calm because Ned's fine and whatever situation he's facing is a product of his own choice.”
“Mr. Tyler,” said Chuck, now showing some impatience as well. Aaron felt she was calling him by the last name because that seemed to make her feel more confident, and reminded them of the seriousness of the situation. He decided to play along.
“Yes, Ms. Charles...”
“We're two grownup women. We're perfectly able to handle bad news, and react in a mature way.”
“We just want the truth,” said Olive, which immediately brought to Aaron's mind a movie scene about being able to handle the truth, more precisely Jack Nicholson's line from the movie A Few Good Men.
“Exactly. There's no need to sugarcoat reality. Tell us what we need to know, Mr. Tyler.”
Perhaps she was right, and he was underestimating their emotional resilience. Obviously they wanted to get involved, and their help would be important. So, Aaron let them have it. He told them about how he had been poisoned, how he thought he was going to die, Ned's visit, and their long conversation. He also told them about the threats against them and his sister, and why he urged Ned to go protect her, and how Ned chose to go so that danger wouldn't come anywhere close to the people he loved. He made sure they knew Ned was willing to sacrifice himself for their safety if necessary, and even described his and Ned's out-of-body experiences.
Aaron definitely had a knack for storytelling, making it perhaps more dramatic than it actually was necessary. He definitely got carried away, though. The girls followed his narration intently, and each dramatic details that was added, was matched by an equivalent emotional reaction, and an occasional “ohhh...” or “ahhh...” as the two sisters by choice, if not by blood, held each other's hand, with a grip that grew firmer as the story developed. So, about fifteen minutes later...
“Oh, Ned... Ned... Why did you have to go???” Chuck lamented, now unable to hold her tears back, with her head on Olive's shoulder. The blonde, in turn, patted Chuck on her head, trying to comfort her. But then who would comfort Olive?
“Oh, Ned... You're so alone in a strange place, among strange people. It must be breaking your heart...” Olive said, also about to cry.
“He hates to be alone, and defenseless... Deep inside he's still that little boy left by his father in that horrible, horrible boarding school I still hate...”
Hearing that made Olive even sadder, and, also unable to hold back, she joined Chuck in that crying symphony.
Oh, brother. What did I get started? Why do I need to go back and see Niagara Falls, when I can see the waterfalls right here in Lakeshore? Aaron thought, as he propped his chin against his hand, with his elbow propped on the table. He looked at Digby, who looked back at him. Digby looked like he was trying to tell Aaron a dog is the least qualified male to understand the volatile emotions of human females.
He stood up, and fetched some paper napkins, which he offered the girls.
“Oh, thank you, Aaron,” said Olive, wiping her tears.
“You're a very nice man,” said Chuck, as she blew her nose.
Aaron Tyler, so much used to the callousness of his sister Sharon and the cynicism of his younger sister Jaye, wasn't sure how to react. But even if he felt that reaction was somewhat exaggerated, he knew enough about them to admire and grow fond of them even more. So, he let emotions take their course, and patiently waited until they calmed down.
“Charlotte,” Aaron finally said, “Ned loves you deeply, and it gives him great satisfaction to know he's doing something to protect you.”
“That's so sweet, Aaron. I appreciate you telling me this.”
“And Olive, Ned wouldn't know where to begin without you. You've been in his life just a few years, but he can't imagine life without you, as much as he can't imagine life without this place he built practically with his bare hands.”
“Thank you, Aaron. I needed to hear that,” said Olive, holding his hand.
Aaron felt touched and satisfied to know that their forgiveness was not so far away after all. After considering all the emotions involved, they all agreed the only way they could have Ned back, and things back to normality, was to solve the case that had brought Aaron Tyler into their lives. It was time for some investigative work after all.
“Let's try to solve this case then,” said Aaron in an encouraging tone.
“Are you sure we can do this by ourselves? None of us are real detectives,” said Olive. “Maybe we should call Emerson. Whatever happened to him anyway?”
“Good idea, Olive. But I guess it wouldn't hurt if we organized what we know first. Then we can tell Emerson all about it, and he'll know what to do next. So... What do we really know for sure?” said Aaron, pulling out of his pocket a small notepad and a pencil.
“Well, as you said earlier, even before this whole thing started, Emerson received those cards warning him against some threat,” Chuck said.
“Yes... They read, 'He’s gonna get you,’ and... ’Your friends are in grave danger,’ if I'm not mistaken,” said Aaron, writing that down.
“This means there's someone here, in Papen County, that represents danger,” said Olive. “We can start by finding out who it is.”
“But it also means someone wants to help us,” reminded Chuck.
“That's true. We might have an ally,” said Aaron. “But I can't get off my mind those creepy voodoo dolls in the shape of Ned and you, Chuck.”
“If Emerson were here, he would laugh at this kind of superstition,” said Olive. “Since he isn't here, let me do it instead. Ha, ha!”
“You might not believe in voodoo magic, but there are many fanatics out there that do. And their spiritual leader is called a Bokor, and he's the only one who could've prepared the zombie drug that poisoned me. And that is real enough, believe me.”
“You don't know this Bokor-guy, Aaron, but you told us about the suspicious doctor in Papen County Hospital, one Dr. Roberts. I bet he knows something.”
“Emerson looked into him, Olive. He's not squeaky clean, but his name led nowhere. He had other suspects in mind. Like Hillary Hundin, and someone with a background in chemistry. The man Emerson was really suspicious of is no one less than Oscar Vibenius.”
As this name is pronounced, Digby barked and laid his front paws on Aaron's lap.
“Calm down, Digby. I cannot play now.” Digby walked away visibly disappointed.
As Chuck heard Oscar's name, she batted her eyes, and raised her hands in visible discomfort, shaking them.
“Oh, no. It can't be Oscar,” Chuck said with firm conviction. Digby barked at her. Chuck patted the dog, but didn't give him much attention.
“I think you got a point there, Aaron,” said Olive smiling at Aaron, who smiled back at her. “I've never trusted Oscar.”
“You're wrong, Olive. Completely wrong! Oscar is a good man... And a good friend!”
“Really, Chuck? Just by curiosity, how good a friend is he? Does Ned know you two are such good friends?” asked Olive maliciously.
“All right, girls! Focus, please! We don't know if he's our man, so let's just list him as a suspect along with Dr. Roberts and Hillary Hundin” he said, making more notes in his notepad. “And the coroner too.” He added the coroner to the list.
“The coroner?” a surprised Chuck asked. “That sweet, old, and completely gullible man?”
“Ha, ha!” Aaron laughed. “He's anything but gullible. He's the one that pushed Ned into going to Niagara Falls. I just don't know if that makes him friend or foe.”
“I remember something!” shouted Olive. “When you and I went out for lunch...”
“Which we should do again...” said Aaron with a certain malice, causing Olive to blush.
“Anyway...” Olive proceeded, “when we went out, I remember a yellow truck parked outside. When we came back it was still there, and it was still there when we closed in the evening.”
“Is that so? Let me see...” said Aaron, closing his eyes. “Yes, I remember that. It had a sign which read... 'Papen County Water and Power Department,'”
“How can you be so sure?” protested Chuck, while Olive grinned.
“Sorry! Photographic memory. Very useful for memorizing books. Sue me,” Said Aaron with fake humility.
“And yet we come back to Oscar,” commented Olive with some sarcasm. Digby barked at Olive, and she patted his head.
“That doesn't prove anything,” said Chuck defensively. “There are hundreds of those trucks all over town.”
“More like dozens, Chuck,” said Aaron. “And you have to admit the number of coincidences incriminating Oscar is growing.”
“You're right, Aaron. Coincidences!” insisted Chuck. Digby barked again.
“Hey, folks, I think Digby is trying to tell us something,” said Olive. “Come on, Digby. What do you want?”
The dog started walking to the front door.
“Do you want us to follow you?” Olive asked, then stood up. “Come on, guys!” she motioned to the others, who followed Digby and her.
They went outside. It was getting dark, and Digby started sniffing a parking place right in front of the Pie Hole.
“That's where the truck was,” said Aaron.
“Do you think you can follow the smell and find out where the truck went?” Olive asked Digby, who barked back. The dog seemed pretty confident he could do it.
“That simplifies things considerably,” said Aaron. “All we have to do is...”
At that precise moment, a thunder was heard. Aaron felt a raindrop on his nose. Then another. Then another. Suddenly, it started raining cats and dogs, so to speak.
“All we have to do is get inside because all our smell evidences are being washed away...” observed Aaron, clearly disappointed.
In just a matter of minutes, the rain became pretty intense, and they took refuge inside the Pie Hole. Aaron felt they had reached a dead end.
“So much for our team of amateur detectives,” said Olive. “Are we going to call Emerson now?”
“You're right again, Olive.” She smiled at the compliment. “We're running around in circles,” admitted Aaron. “Where's the phone?”
“Right there, on the kitchen wall,” said Chuck, failing to show her usual enthusiasm.
Aaron walked to the kitchen and noticed the back door was ajar. Once again he was impressed with their lack of concern for safety, and the innocence that made those two girls so adorable, as well as that entire town, for that matter.
Aaron opened the door. It revealed an alley. He looked at the dark sky and felt the rain on his face. Definitely the gods must be angry, he thought. He closed and locked the door.
He located the phone, and noticed with some curiosity that it had a rotary dialing disk. He tried to remember the last time he had seen one of those. He was still a child, but he guessed that in a town where vintage and retro objects were so valued, those old phones would be pretty popular. Aaron picked the receiver from the wall.
“What's Emerson's phone number?” Aaron asked the girls.
“Here...” said Chuck, picking an a dress book from a drawer in the counter. “It's Klondike 5, 0-1-5-5.”
Aaron, still holding the phone, chuckled.
“It's... a... what?”
“Klondike 5, 0-1-5-5,” Chuck repeated.
“You're kidding, right? I mean... How am I supposed to dial Klondike?”
“Oh, silly. You don't have phones in Niagara Falls?” Olive joked. “You call the operator and ask for the Klondike exchange station, of course.”
Still confused, Aaron brought the phone to his ear. Before he had a chance to think, a voice on the other side of the line asked,
“Operator. May I be of service?”
“Hum... Klondike 5... 0-1-5-5?” Said Aaron hesitantly. A human operator... How quaint, Aaron thought.
“Just a moment, please...” He heard a click.
“Klondike exchange station, may I be of service?” said a different voice at the other side of the line.
“5-0-1-5-5,” said Aaron still hesitantly.
“Of course, sir. Who do you wish to speak with?”
“Hum... Emerson Cod?”
“Just a minute, please.”
The phone rang and gave a busy signal. Aaron waited patiently.
“I'm sorry sir. The line is busy. Would you please try later?”
“Sure. Thank you, miss,” he said and hung up.
Still a little puzzled, Aaron went back to where the girls were.
“The line is busy. He must be talking on the phone. But this is important. Maybe we should call his cell. Do you have the number of his cell?”
Olive and Chuck looked at one another, and didn't seem to know how to answer that question.
“Cell?” asked Olive apprehensively.
“Do you think Emerson is in jail? But you just said he was on the phone in his office” said Chuck, visibly concerned.
“No! What's his cell phone number?” asked Aaron, getting impatient.
Chuck and Olive looked at one another. They seemed lost.
“Cells don't have individual phones, Aaron,” said Chuck. “But why do you think he's in a cell?”
“Oh, my god! A cell phone number! You're going to tell me you've never seen a cell phone?”
The way Chuck and Olive looked at one another, apparently they hadn't. So Aaron explained, and explained some more. He gestured, showing them the size of the phone, and emulated with his hands the movement of opening a flip phone. Ten minutes later...
“And you have those phones in Niagara Falls?” asked Olive.
“That's so neat!” said Chuck.
Aaron laughed, and wondered why he was so surprised. Nothing else should surprise him anymore in that weird land. Finally, he just said...
“Yeah... Niagara Falls is a real magic kingdom. Well, if we're limited to land lines, I guess we should pay Mr. Cod a visit. We should get going.”
“OK. Olive, would you mind staying here in case Emerson or Ned decide to call? Aaron and I are going to look for Emerson in his office.”
“Oh... Well... I thought... OK, I guess...” said Olive, not totally comfortable with the idea. She was still sitting at the booth, and holding Digby, who enjoyed her patting.
Observing that situation, Aaron called Chuck.
“Chuck, will you come here to the kitchen for just a second? I need you to take a look at something.”
Chuck complied and as she went there, Aaron gently pushed her against the wall.
“Listen,” he whispered. “I know why you just did that, and why you think you need to keep Olive out of the loop. I'm not going to tell her anything, but while I'm here Olive is part of the team. Simple as that.”
“What do you think you know?” Chuck whispered back.
“I know everything,” said Aaron, wiggling his long index finger, and then gently touching Chuck on her cheek. Chuck's eyes were wide open with surprise, and she stood erect like a deer frozen by headlights. “That's not possible,” she mumbled.
“Believe me. Anything is possible. Olive comes along. I'm not going to interfere, but you might like to discuss this with Ned sooner or later. Perhaps his reasons are not as candid as he admits even to himself.”
“What do you mean by that?!
“You should ask him.”
Intrigued, Chuck went back to the main area to talk to Olive.
“On second thought, Olive, would you like to come along?”
“Yay!” Olive shouted. “Let's go, Digby!”
Aaron, still in the kitchen, observed Olive's display of joy with great satisfaction.
“All right... Let me go get the raincoats. It's raining pretty hard outside.”
Chuck went back to the kitchen and towards the back door. She then turned the doornob, but the door wouldn't open.
“You don't have to worry. I locked it already,” said Aaron. “You really should be more careful with that back door. Not a good idea to leave it open.”
“Really? So, do you have the key?” Chuck asked.
“Yeah, but... Why... here it is,” he said, throwing the key to her. Chuck opened the door, and then she flipped on the light switch. There she was, inside another room. Confused, Aaron got closer, and saw a room full of rotting fruit, among other things. Chuck got the raincoats and the umbrellas, which were in a box on a shelf. She then turned off the light, and locked the door behind her.
“Wait a minute...” said a completely puzzled Aaron. “But that... Five minutes ago that was the door to the back alley. How come...”
“Don't be silly, Aaron,” said Chuck in a slightly patronizing way. “That's our back room, where we keep Ned's fruits. That room has always been there,” she said, and walked resolutely to the front.
The Pie Hole gang was ready for another mission. Chuck opened the front door and stepped outside, followed by Olive. But before she left, Aaron carefully held her arm just to call her attention.
“Listen, Olive, I still would like to have a private talk with you... Maybe dinner later?”
“We can work together. We can even be friends. But you're exactly the kind of charming and lying man I need to run away from. Thanks, but no thanks,” she said.
As Aaron stepped outside into the rain, he felt the weather matched his present emotional state perfectly. He wondered if he would have another chance with that woman, how much more time he would have in that town, and what exactly he would tell Mahandra when he got back home...