The Chimes: The Alcrest Mysteries, #4

Prologue

Before I slide my souvenir ticket off the counter the clerk has already gone to the person behind me as if I’m not even there.  I’m a nuisance which must be brushed aside.  Some would call it rude.  I can live with it.  She’ll know me soon enough, or what I can do.

The clerk says, Tonight’s the night Chrys, eager to get on with someone more important.

The customer is pretty.  Not really my type.  Her skin is too dark and she’s too full of life.  Yeah, I need 7 tickets.  Hi.

The last is said to me accompanied by a smile of full lips.  I nod and slip away.  She’ll forget me in seconds.  She probably forgot me before I even nodded.  I’ll get on the bus with all the others, sit in my seat like I’ve done a dozen times before and no one will really see me.  Someone will even try to sit on me.  Oops, sorry.  Didn’t see you there.  They won’t remember seeing me by the start of the tour and the man who almost sat on me will forget by the time he takes his seat and places his daughter on his lap, but they’ll all remember what they see. 

Near the end of the tour the bus will come to a spot in the woods of Leigh Park where I’ve hung a silent wind-chime.  It might still be dripping.  Drip.  At first they won’t believe what they see.  Their brains will say it’s not real.  It’s part of the ghost tour, that’s all.  Then one will scream.  I’m guessing the woman with the three children will be the first.  She keeps asking her husband if their kids are old enough for the scary tour.  They’re just stories, he says.  When they see what I have waiting for them his mouth will gape open with no explanations to spew.  A swarm of flies would be able to land on his tongue. Others will follow the first scream as they realize it’s not part of the tour. Some will hide their faces.  Some will have to look between their fingers like they would at a scary movie. How many camera phones will be broken out?

I bet the one named Chrys won’t scream at all.  Will she be afraid or turned on?  I’d like to pick her brain afterward if I could.

They are all my actors.  I’m the director of this play.  I’ll be sitting in the dark wings unseen and unnoticed like I’m on the edge of the stage listening to them scream, as I try to hide my Joker’s smile and hard cock.  Still they won’t notice me.  They’ll be sitting with a killer looking at his artwork and won’t have a clue.

I’ve been hiding too long.  It’s time to make a scene.  Action!

Chapter 1

This is gonna be fun, Chrys Alcrest did a double step.  Her Steve Madden ankle boots clicked on the faux-cobblestones outside the tourist center.

Spencer Alcrest shoved his hands in the pockets of his cashmere coat.  The beauty of living on the west coast of Canada was that snow and winter didn’t last long.  That didn’t mean it wasn’t still chilly at night.  How much is this costing me?

Nothing. I’m paying for it.  Chrys bounced and smiled bright.

His eyebrows popped up.  You’re paying for the whole crew to go on this bus thing?  Since when do you have money?  His foster-sister had been putting in less hours at the restaurant with their family name on it, but was always there to get free food.  He was starting to understand why.  She had always had her own little secrets.

Her smile disappeared and somehow her pillowy lips looked thin.  You’re a downer.

I can leave if you want.

No you can’t.  Chrys stepped in front of him to block his path.  The two of them considered each other blood-related siblings, however over the past few months she had started to wonder why.  He was becoming a real tyrant asshole both in the restaurant and at home.  I’m paying for this.  I teach at the dance studio, I’ve been putting in hours for Hoyt at the locksmiths and, Chrys stopped herself before she said anything else to her brother.  She realized half of the staff from The Alcrest Gastropub was right there pretending not to listen.  She didn’t need everyone knowing what other side job she had and wasn’t ready yet to tell her brother.  It was going to piss him off and that wasn’t a fight she wanted to have out in public.  I have more money than you know, Spence.  Leave it at that.  Fuck.

Then why don’t you pay some of the bills at home?  He turned away from her and joined the others, still with his hands in his pockets.

It was almost midnight on a chilly April night.  Chrys had convinced most of the restaurant’s evening shift to come to this.  All of the servers came – well, there had only been two on, Hanni and Wylie.  Wylie seemed excited about the ride and even called his fiancée to come down.  Chrys was paying for her too.  Hanni looked less enthusiastic.  Chrys really didn’t want the slooty bitch there, but she had been working and couldn’t exclude her.  All of the cooks came.  Gordie was off somewhere probably smoking something of a questionable nature, Ranger and Mallory were by the door of the bus with their shoulders slouched not talking to each other or anyone else for that matter. 

There were other people hanging around waiting for the tour.  A few parents tried to reign in their children who were excited to still be up so late.  A man carried a little girl wrapped in a Disney Princess blanket.  The girl struggled to keep her eyes open.  A couple stood by the tourist center wall cuddling to stay warm.  Most of the crowd was from out of town.  A few looked like they were from different countries.

After a minute of deep breaths to calm herself Chrys tucked her long chestnut hair, in the dim light it looked black, inside her jacket and stepped beside her brother.  Why didn’t Jessie come?

She was tired.  Spencer’s voice was absent and quick as if it was just a stock response.

Chrys stomped her feet on the ground to get some feeling in them.  What’s going on with you two?

Spencer looked up, but didn’t look at his sister.  His eyes caught Hanni’s gaze.  Nothing, he said.  Another stock response.

Come on.  Chrys was fearless and often seemed to lack that little voice that said, shut up.  I don’t know when she last stayed over.  I may not be a fan of hers, but I thought you guys were something.  What’s going on?

Nothing, I said.  Why don’t you talk about your own life and leave mine alone?  Spencer and Jessie, the front-of-house manager at the restaurant, had been an item for 4 years, however almost a year ago their relationship started to get extremely strained.  Strained enough that for the past few weeks they only spoke during work hours.  Spencer didn’t know what would happen.  He was pretty sure things had gone too far for anything to be fixed.

You are such a dick.  Chrys wrapped her arms around her body.

The Midnight in Middleton Ghost Tour had been a draw for locals and tourists for almost 10 years.  The motor coach (the sides of which were painted with a woman in a ghostly white gown walking on a stormy shore) left the tourist center at midnight and zig-zagged through the streets as a guide told the haunting stories of the city’s past.  For some it could get spooky, but it was all in good fun.  Near the end of the tour the driver pretended the bus broke down in the wooded park that everyone knew was haunted.  The driver would flick the lights, pump the breaks and pretend the engine shut down to scare the crap out of everyone.  Chrys and her friends tried camping out there for one night and couldn’t do it.  She had been on the ride three times in the last week and it frightened her every time.  The ghost stories of Leigh Park were well known amongst the kids of Middleton.  After they would have their laugh the driver would start up the coach and it would return to the tourist center where everyone went on their way to have nightmares.  It was in all the tourist guides and had even been mentioned in a few magazines as 1 of the top 10 things to do in Middleton.

The coach tour season had just started with some new stories added onto the tour.  That was why she made everyone come out.

Chrys took a breath and let it out slow.  She stepped beside a man with a round belly pushing out his City of Middleton jacket and put her shoulders back, chest out, chin up.  Could I have everyone’s attention please?  My name is Chrys and I’ll be tonight’s guide into the ghostly stories of Middleton’s past.  As you come on board please show me your souvenir ticket and take a seat.  You will see a few reserved seats for a group from The Alcrest Gastropub in the front, so please don’t sit there unless you are part of that group.  And nobody sit directly behind the bus driver unless you want me to sit in your lap.  Okay?

There was a snort from the man holding the little girl.  He got an elbow from his wife because of it.

This was just the first of the jobs Chrys had been doing which she didn’t tell her big brother about.  She avoided his gaze as he climbed onboard.

After the last guest climbed into the bus Chrys followed.  Her eyes fell on the seat behind the one saved for her.  Hanni sat next to the window and Spencer right beside her.  The two women didn’t get along, even though they had each saved the others life, and that wasn’t about to change.  Chrys didn’t like the way she was around her brother.  Hanni served at the restaurant and would flirt with anyone to get bigger tips.  Her push-up bras and tight skirts barely hid anything.  She was shameless about it.  Chrys was sure the woman was high on something most of the time too.  Chrys really didn’t like her sitting with her brother.

Hanni liked doing what she could to make Spencer, the chef and owner of The Alcrest Gastropub, as nervous and uncomfortable as she could.  The fact that it pissed off his foster-sister was a bonus.  Even if it meant grabbing his ass in front of his girlfriend who was also her direct supervisor.  She looked up at Chrys with a perfect resting-bitch-face

Chrys shook her head.  She didn’t get her brother lately.  It was his life though.  If he wanted to ruin it with slut petri dishes then that was up to him.  She put a microphone headset over her right ear, the lobe of which was slightly deformed, and flicked the on switch.  Can everyone hear me?  There were some responses.  You sir, in the back, can you hear me?

Yes, I...I can.

Okay, welcome everyone to the Midnight in Middleton Ghost Tour.  As I said outside, my name is Chrys.  Your driver tonight is Jerry.  Say hi, Jerry.  She waited for him to wave.  Tonight we are going to tour the city as I tell you tales of ghosts, spirits, strange occurrences, dastardly crimes and cases of murder.  The City of Middleton has a long and colourful past.  Some of these stories are from before Canada was even a country, some are from the last century and a couple are as recent as last year’s news headlines.

Spencer’s head popped up.  His aquamarine eyes blasted fire at his Aboriginal foster-sister.  If she was talking about what he thought she was talking about...  He was going to kill her.

Chrys wouldn’t look down at him.  As the bus started to move again she was still standing holding onto a metal bar.  Even though she couldn’t see all the way to the back she looked there.  She felt her brother’s eyes burning into her.  I will tell you things that may shock you.  I will tell you things which will frighten you.  Please note, that every story I do tell you is absolutely, one hundred percent true, no matter how outlandish it may seem.  Sit back as we go into the world of the macabre.

Spencer had gone on the tour a couple of years ago with Jessie.  It always started at the Aeronautics Museum just down the street.  Chrys talked about the World War Two pilot whose plane was inside and how he had been spotted walking the floors.  Also about Wendell the janitor who died there from a heart attack and still could be heard sweeping the foyer.  The moment she was done telling the stories she sat down and the bus continued.

Spencer sat with his arms crossed in front of him.  He had things he could be doing instead of sitting on a bus listening to his sister tell ghost stories.  The restaurant wasn’t in a good place.  They had been losing customers over the past year which meant bills weren’t being paid.  As far as cutting corners to pay those bills, he didn’t know what else he could do.  He loved the fact that he made a new menu all the time depending on what was at the butchers, farmer’s or fish markets, however if customers didn’t want what he had planned all of that went to waste.  He didn’t want to be one of those places with the same menu day after day, but he was becoming just that.  He kept items on the menu lately because they sold.  That was never the plan.  He wondered if his dad went through the same thing all the years that he ran The Alcrest.  Too bad he was gone.  Back then it was a pub and the food was second to the beer and booze.  Spencer also wondered if his dad was as angry as he had become.  He remembered his father yelling, but for him it was becoming overwhelming.  Being on this ride wasn’t helping.

Spencer felt Hanni’s French-tipped nails running up and down his thigh.  Even that wasn’t helping with his mood.  She had a way of getting him excited to the point of feeling uncomfortable like he should either run or give in.  Only lately it wasn’t uncomfortable that he was feeling.  Not with her anyway.

As the bus slowed Chrys stood and turned around.  She wrapped an arm around the metal support pole before glaring down at her brother for a few seconds.  She looked to the back of the bus again.  Okay everyone, the area of town we are coming into was, at the turn of the twentieth century, China Town.  It is of course now known as Old China Town.  So creative right?  In 1908 opium became illegal and as the story goes the opium and gambling dens moved to tunnels beneath Old China Town.  The story is that ... as she spoke her eyes continued to drop down to her brother.  Hanni was now whispering in his ear.  He smiled and nodded.  What did that mean?  What poison was she spreading?  ... As the myth goes that is why this street is called Butcher’s Alley.  The truth is probably that an important politician at the time was John H. Butcher, so the alley is most likely named after him.  We are now going to head to a brand new addition to the tour and this one is no myth.

As soon as Chrys was down in her seat she turned off the microphone and twisted around the back to see what was happening in her brother’s lap.  Even in the dim light she saw the blond woman was pressed up against Spencer.  What the hell are you doing?

What?  Spencer snapped.

Hanni took the moment to put her hand on-top of his thigh and gave it a squeeze.  Leave us alone, Chrys.

Do you mind?  I’m talking to my brother.  Chrys stared at her until she turned to the window with a flourish of her long hair.  Chrys noticed Hanni’s hand never left her brother’s leg.  Cut it out, Spence.

His arms were still crossed over his chest.  Don’t tell me what to do, Chrys.  And where are we going?

A new spot on the tour.

Which is?

Wait and see.  Chrys turned back to face the front.  She didn’t have quite the flourish in her locks.  Hearing Hanni and Spencer laugh behind her made her entire body shiver.

Spencer knew exactly where they were going.  They had already crossed into the part of Middleton called Fontana.  It was mainly a residential area with a lot of smaller, family owned businesses on certain streets and some right out of people’s homes.  Pretty soon they’d be heading up Pearson Street.  He was pretty sure the address they were going to was 3231 Pearson between Gillies and Scoble.  He was going to throttle his sister.

Hanni screeched.  She leapt away from the window almost climbing over Spencer’s lap.  Mallory screamed.  Chrys let out a little yelp.  Others in the bus yelled and flinched away from the left side windows.

It took half a block before Chrys had her microphone back on.  She chose not to stand.  Her knees felt week.  Everyone have a little scare there?  That has become the latest Middleton Mystery.  Two or three nights a week people have reported seeing a mysterious clown on random street corners.  Tonight he had been standing on the opposite side of the street almost staring at the bus as it went by.  He was dressed in a baggy suit of yellow, blue and white with large red puff-balls down the front.  His face was all white except a painted on smile, red nose and blue around the eyes.  In the street light his wild hair looked orange.  For Chrys the creepiest part was that the three balloons he held in one hand didn’t move in the wind.  She continued, Some of the younger crowd have now made it a game trying to find the clown so they can get their picture with him.  Nobody knows why he’s out there or where he came from.  He just appears on street corners.

Who the hell would do that?  Hanni was much louder than she needed to be.  Her entire body trembled.  She had always been terrified of clowns.  She pulled a flask out from inside her coat.

There are a few theories floating around social media, Chrys said over the loud speakers.  Lunatic escaped from a mental hospital?  A college student trying to prove something?  A demonic creature wanting to eat our souls?  Some have even said that it may be more than one person and that is why he’s so hard to catch on film.

Here we are at our next stop.  Chrys quickly got to her feet.  A favorite meal spot in Middleton, The Alcrest Gastropub, has now become more well-known because of a brutal murder just last year.  The headless body of one of their very own cooks was burned to a crisp in the restaurants very own oven just last year.

The only thing that had changed to the front of the faded brick building since back in the day when it was a pub was the large bay window with the restaurant’s name etched on it.  It had to be replaced last summer.  Beside the front door, imbedded in the wall, was a polished