Dummy of a Ghost (Novella) (Ghost of Granny Apples) (3 page)

The address Chris gave Kelly for Mayfair Puppetry took them to a quiet street on the outskirts of Encino with no sidewalks but plenty of mature vegetation, including stands of eucalyptus. Most of the homes were older, gated in some way, either with hedges or fencing of some type, including some with rusted chain-link, and most structures were backed away from the street, affording more privacy. The homes themselves were a hodgepodge of well maintained and those in disrepair. It was difficult to tell if the neighborhood was on its way up or on its way down.

Emma pulled her Lexus hybrid SUV up in front of the house that matched the address she’d plugged into her vehicle’s GPS. The front lawn was a wide patch of dried brittle grass. The house itself was a Spanish hacienda type, the color of a paper lunch bag with a red tiled roof. It was badly in need of a paint job.

As they walked up the path, they heard a dog barking from inside the house. Granny popped up just before they got to the door.

“Did I miss anything?” Granny asked.

“Right on time, Granny,” Kelly told her.

Kelly was glad her mother had come with her. There was a bad feeling coming from the house, like the smell of old fried fish that wouldn’t leave. Kelly sniffed, but didn’t smell anything. It was the energy of the house that hung heavy, not a physical smell. She wondered if her mother could sense it, then thought she must be nuts and didn’t ask.

When they rang the doorbell, the barking neared until it was just on the other side of the door. Kelly and Emma exchanged glances, then Granny disappeared. “I’ve got this,” the ghost said.

Through the door, Emma and Kelly could hear Granny cooing to the dog. It stopped barking but started whining. A few moments later, Granny popped back out onto the porch. “You guys have to get in here. There’s a man lying on the ground in the back.”

“Is he dead?” asked Emma.

“No, he’s moving,” Granny told them, “but only half-conscious.”

When pulling and pushing on the locked door did no good, Emma pulled out her cell phone and called 9-1-1. Kelly went down the drive toward the back of the house. A thick wall about five feet high ran alongside the property connecting the house to the garage. There was a narrow gate of old ornamental grillwork set into the wall close to the garage. Kelly peered through and saw a man on the patio. It looked like Chris. Near him was an agitated young boxer. Next to the boxer hovered Granny, trying to keep the animal calm. The gate was locked.

“Mom,” Kelly yelled. “Back here.”

When Emma came around from the front, Kelly waved her over. “Here, give me a boost.”

Emma started to protest Kelly’s actions, then said, “Not the gate, you might get hurt on the metal spikes at the top. Go over the wall.” Moving over a few feet, Emma wove her fingers together, palms up, to give Kelly a place to put her foot. Then she carefully hoisted Kelly’s leg up so she could grab hold of the wall and throw her other leg over the top.

Once on the other side, Kelly tried to open the gate for her mother but it was secured with a padlock. “The gate’s locked,” Kelly told Emma. “Go around front and I’ll let you in.”

As soon as Kelly unlocked the front door for her mother, she ran back outside and knelt next to Chris. By now he was trying to lift his head and shake off his stupor. Granny kept the animal as calm as possible.

“Don’t move,” Kelly told Chris. “Help’s on the way.” To confirm her words, a siren split the air and came to a stop nearby.

“No, I’m fine,” Chris protested through thick lips. He clutched his forehead with a hand. “Ouch!”

“Look at the size of that goose egg on his head,” said Granny.

“Careful, there’s a big bump on your head,” Kelly told him.

Chris shook his head slowly and sat up. “Feels like my whole head is about to explode.”

The dog, seeing Chris sitting upright, wiggled all over and started licking his face. “I’m okay, Pugsley,” Chris assured the animal. “Really.”

Emma showed the EMTs out to the patio. They examined Chris and suggested he go to the hospital to make sure he didn’t have a concussion. He refused.

“Like I said,” he told Emma and Kelly after the paramedics left. “I was walking out to the workshop to make sure everything was ready for the grand tour when I stubbed my foot on an uneven brick on the pathway and did a face splat.” He looked down at the dog and rubbed the animal’s neck. “It didn’t help that Pugsley here was running around my legs and distracting me.”

“Where’s Edgar?” asked Kelly.

Chris was sitting on one of the dark red leather love seats in the living room. Kelly and Emma sat on a matching one across from him. The inside of the house was nothing like the outside. Inside was painted and beautifully decorated, sticking with the Spanish style of the architecture. In the middle of the living room, the twin leather love seats were positioned before a large fireplace trimmed with Mexican tile. Over the fireplace hung a large flat screen TV. Rich brown-red tiles covered the floors, over which were strewn colorful Mexican rugs. Artwork, mostly primitives, hung from the walls interspersed with gorgeous illustrations. Lined up against the left wall were bookcases on which books and collectibles shared space with CDs and a sound system. Off to the right was a dining room with a heavy wooden table, chairs, and buffet in the same style. Across the back of the house were French doors leading out to a large patio and yard. It was elegant and tasteful, yet masculine.

“He got an emergency call of his own and had to run out and repair the favorite dummy of a client who is performing tonight. Judy Jump,” he said, looking at Kelly. “You remember her from the party, don’t you?”

“Sure,” Kelly answered. “Judy invited me to come along and I said I would, but at the last minute I decided to stay home and get some stuff done. Edgar thought he’d be back before you two got here.” Chris chuckled. “He’ll be sorry to have missed all the drama.”

Pugsley was whining and pawing at the air, trying to get Granny to play with him, but only Emma and Kelly knew that. “Behave, Pugsley,” Chris told the dog, but there was a lightness to the command. “Don’t worry about him,” Chris told them. “He’s spoiled rotten but harmless.” Chris fixed the animal with a stern eye. “Not the best watchdog either.”

“He probably smells Archie, our dog,” Kelly told him.

Emma smiled at Chris. “It’s wonderful to see you again, Chris. I’ve been following your career a bit. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Whitecastle,” he said, “but I still have a long way to go.” He hesitated, then said with a wide smile, “But you’re the one with the surprise booming career.” His face lit up. “I don’t remember you being into ghosts and stuff like that when we were in high school and we kids spent a lot of time at your house, at least before you and Kelly moved to Pasadena.” They all knew Chris was referring to the breakup and divorce between Kelly’s parents during which Kelly and Emma moved in with Emma’s parents.

Emma laughed. “No, I didn’t have a clue about it back then. And please call me Emma.” Emma glanced around. “The house is beautiful, Chris.”

“Yeah, Chris,” agreed Kelly. “It’s awesome.”

“Well, at least the inside,” he told them, making a face. “We poured our money into buying the place and making it habitable. Next year we’re tackling the outside. You should have seen it.
Fixer-upper
would have been a compliment.” He stood up, weaving slightly.

“He don’t look so good,” said Granny, coming close. “He’s pale as a ghost, if you don’t mind my saying.”

“Don’t worry,” Chris said to Emma and Kelly when he saw their concern. “I’m just a little unsteady, but it’s clear now. Good thing I don’t have a show tonight or I’d be the dummy.” He started moving off toward a hallway. “I’m going to grab some aspirin. Why don’t you come along and I’ll give you a quickie tour before Edgar gets home.”

Chris led them down a short hall. Granny and Pugsley followed. “The house isn’t that big,” Chris explained. “But the property is sizeable and there’s room for expansion.”

The house was built in a basic L shape. At the end of the hall to the left was a small bathroom with a shower. Two small bedrooms were off the hall, with one being used as an office. “This is where I work,” Chris told them, indicating the small bedroom next to the bathroom with a large L-shaped desk built in against two walls. In the center on top was a laptop computer. The desk was messy with notes and scattered papers.

“Mom, there’s Shirley,” exclaimed Kelly. She went to the familiar puppet, which was sitting in a chair in a corner next to a closet. Next to Shirley was the puppet pictured with Chris on the website. “This is the puppet I was telling you about,” she told her mother, pointing at Shirley. Turning to Chris, she asked with excitement, “Is this other one Doug?”

Chris laughed, then winced and touched his head. “The man himself.”

“Kelly told me how you designed and named the puppets after your grandparents,” Emma said to him. “That’s quite an honor.”

Chris smiled at both of the puppets and said, “Some would say it’s creepy, but I like having them around.” He looked at Kelly and Emma. “Even if I have to put the words into their mouths myself.”

Emma walked over to Shirley and Doug, studying them. “May I hold one?” she asked. “I’ve always been curious about how they work.”

“Sure.” Chris picked up the puppet called Doug and showed Emma how to hold it and how to put her hand inside to make its mouth and eyes move.

While Emma got the hang of it, Kelly watched Shirley, looking for any sign of the shimmer from the night before. She saw none, but when she glanced back at Doug, there it was in his face. Kelly shot a look in her mother’s direction and immediately knew that her mother had seen or sensed it, too.

“There he is,” announced Granny, confirming what they saw. “And look,” Granny said, moving over to Shirley. “She’s here, too.”

Sure enough, when Kelly and Emma looked over at Shirley, the puppet’s face was sparkling and another face, less distinct, was gradually showing through the puppet’s comical countenance. Pugsley was dancing around at their feet.

“Pugsley loves these puppets,” Chris said. “We can hardly keep him away from them. Sometimes we even have to shut the door to keep him out.”

Emma, Granny, and Kelly exchanged knowing glances, then Granny peered into Shirley’s puppet face, getting almost nose to nose with the puppet.

“Boo!” shouted Shirley.

Granny jumped back. “That’s not one bit funny,” she told the other ghost. She crossed her arms and scowled at the puppet.

Emma and Kelly were giggling and so was the ghost inhabiting the dummy named Doug.

Granny turned her scowl on Emma and Kelly. “A ghost scaring another ghost is just not right.” They giggled more.

“Wow,” said Chris. “You two are really into these guys. Why don’t you both come to my next show and sit in the front. I could use the laugh track.”

“They are pretty funny,” said Emma, trying to cover the real reason for their laughter.

“Yeah, maybe I should learn to do ventriloquism,” said Kelly. “Never know, it might come in handy after Harvard. I could have a dummy named Granny.”

“I could see that,” added Emma with enthusiasm. “Maybe dress it up in a pioneer costume and have it say the most outrageous things.”

“She could be obsessed with TV and football,” added Kelly.

“Ha-ha!” snapped Granny, stomping off to the side in a huff. “You two are a real pair of comedians.”

“Ow,” said Chris, who was holding his sore head and laughing. “That’s actually quite clever.”

Kelly looked at Chris. “Are there many women ventriloquists? Judy is the first one I’ve ever met.”

“Not very many,” he said. “It’s definitely a male-dominated field. I’ve met some women besides Judy who are quite good, but it’s much tougher for them to break into it.” He pointed to a deep shelf on which sat another dummy, though not quite as well designed as Doug and Shirley. “Do you remember him, Kel?”

Kelly looked at the puppet with surprise. “Yes, I do. That’s the dummy you used in high school. I remember you with him in some of the talent shows.”

“Yeah, that’s Buddy, my first puppet.”

Kelly studied Buddy but saw no shimmer. Granny looked at him, too, but not getting as close as she had to Shirley. “Just a block of wood,” Granny pronounced.

“Buddy’s a real dummy,” said Doug, speaking for the first time.

“We’re very glad you ladies came,” said Shirley, “but does anyone besides me think it’s terribly rude that we’re having this side conversation in front of Chris and he doesn’t know about it?”

“Bah,” said Doug, “it’s for the boy’s own good, Shirl.”

Chris took Doug from Emma. “I really need to get that aspirin,” he said, oblivious to the other conversation. “Why don’t we finish the tour.” He placed Doug back on the chair with Shirley. “Edgar should be back soon. If you loved these guys, you’re really going to get a kick out of seeing the workshop. That’s were these puppets really come to life.”

“Wanna bet?” snapped Granny. Emma shot Granny a scowl. Kelly almost giggled again.