Loose Ends

Doll County Paranormal has a final meeting about the Witch's Cove investigation before turning the job over to a video production company.  

Jeremiah: Let's go over the data from the Raging Rapids area.  Diana's data tells us this land was originally owned by a farmer named Schmidt, and remained in the family until bought by Kida.  

Nova: Lottie reported it as a sad place and we got the photos of the white shape and the vortex of lights in this area.  The best guesses on the single EVP are "leave me alone" and "repeat the note".  There are records of several deaths, as we can expect with a multi-generational family farm in the days before hospitals.  

Esperanza: "Leave me alone" and the sadness Lottie sensed makes me wonder if there were any suicides.  But nothing on record supports that.  

Nova: We do have a few questionable deaths, but nothing so obvious as a note days after being left at the altar.   The strange thing, in my opinion, is this:  We got the photos, which indicate something very strong there, but none of the witness reports were on this side of the park.  

Kenna: It hides from the living, but can't hide from the camera.  It really does want to be left alone. 

Hagrid: Definitely more sightings at the grove by The Overlook.  Kids, mostly. 

Peeta: We ran the movement patterns through a comparison program.  Closest matches were small animal activity and children running.  And by children, the computer specified ages three to five.  

Hagrid: Them EVPs sure sound like kids laughing.  What did we decide they say? 

Jeremiah: First one is "Can't catch me", "Fantasy", or "Don't touch me".  The first and last ones seem very fitting for kids at play.  Second one is probably a response to our asking for a name.  "Antonio." But others heard "Float my boat", "Broke my nose", and "Don't I know".  

Diana:  Well, what I found in the archives fits almost perfectly.  There was an orphanage in the area.  (reads from tablet)  Hillcrest Children's Home, managed by two spinster daughters of the Chase family.  A tornado took it out in 1959.  

Lottie: It must not have been like the orphanages I read about in stories.  None of them are happy places.  

Diana: The ladies who ran the place must have been very nice.  (refers to the tablet again)  Census records list a few boys named Tony - some with Latin last names, so possibly short for Antonio.  One Antonia, in 1930.  And "broke my nose" is a fairly common complaint among rowdy children.  

****

While they talk ghosts, the Pike women enjoy the newest luxury at Windu Acres.

Morgan: I could've used a hot tub back when I was digging up bones for a living.  Academic life is making me soft.  (pokes at her belly)  I've been slacking off on workouts since Candy left.   What is with her, running off to war zones and disaster areas every chance she gets?

McG: She always had an overdeveloped sense of adventure.  I'm pleased that Rose-Grace is more of a homebody. 

Rose-Grace: Hey, don't put the mothers of your grandchildren into competition!  (they all laugh)  She's not comfortable staying in one place long - that's why she divorced Pike when he left the military - but I wish she'd satisfy her wanderlust by selling her photos to travel magazines instead of news magazines. 

Morgan: Probably the result of growing up in foster care.  They move kids around so much. 

Rose-Grace: You'd be amazed how many of those moves are for the kid's safety.  The screening for foster parents is nowhere near as good as it should be.  (pointedly changes the subject)  I heard a rumor that you were applying for Mrs. Moneybags.

Morgan: Mom wishes.  You'd think after getting eight grandchildren out of my brother, she'd leave me alone, but no.  My biological clock is driving her nuts.  

McG: I just mentioned the idea.  As a topic of idle conversation. 

 

Memories and a Mask

Jeremiah and Nova work on Doll County Paranormal's report for their Witch's Cove project. 

Nova: I think we can edit out the bit where Frodo and Peeta are talking about Peeta being a fairy.  We all know that's playful banter, but if this is going into a video for Pocahontas to sell in the park, that could cause problems.

Jeremiah: Not sure how you can do that without editing out the problem with the sensors falling over.  

Nova (listens to the audio): Wait, Peeta calls himself a fairy.  I think we can safely leave it.  

Lottie:  Daddy, I want to be in the video.  Maybe I can get famous.  

Jeremiah: I don't know about that.  Our medium being a little kid, that might open a whole can of worms.  Not to mention the way you'd get teased at school. 

Lottie: I already get teased at school.  And you can put one of them misclaimers Nova was just talking about. Tell watchers that I got all them eighty million tests and stuff. 

Nova: She has a point.  You really can't use a medium without showing her, not with any credibility. 

Jeremiah: Nova, you're not helping! 

Lottie:  Oh, how about a special features called meet the medium! That'd be a big misclaimer! 

*****

Later, they record some footage for the video with Diana and Pocahontas.

Jeremiah: You don't need to introduce yourself, we'll put your name and credentials across the bottom of the screen. 

Diana:  Okay, then, I'll dive right in.  Barbieville was founded as part of the early 1800s Utopian Movement.  The land that eventually became Witch's Cove Amusement Park was divided into farm plots by the founders. 

Diana:  Only the hills directly bordering the stream were known then as Witch's Cove. The roads leading into the property from the north still bear the names of Hadley, Carson, and Handler.  The Carson and Handler families intermarried and it was their joined land that became the original park.  I'll let park owner Pocahontas Smith take it from here. 

Pocahontas: The land had been farmed poorly and the crops were failing.  My grandparents, in danger of losing the property, agreed to host a traveling carnival.  Their daughter Kida, my mother, fell in love with the owner of the carnival and with the idea of owning a permanent park.  Despite being left to raise two daughters on her own, Kida succeeded. 

Pocahontas: The area in the northwest corner was recently added to the property and we're currently rebranding.  We changed the name to Witch's Cove, a traditional name for the area, and the spinning barrels are now cauldrons.  We bought more land and installed the Windigo, with plans for more rides to come.

Pocahontas: The stars on the 1812 map indicate areas of note to the medium, Lottie Russo, who has consented to help me point them out on a modern map.  Lottie? 

Lottie climbs onto a chair to reach.  

Lottie: The grove in front the Overlook.  People see children in old-fashioned clothes playing here, but when they look closer, the kids vanish.  I felt like this was a happy place. 

Pocahontas: The only other location in the park Lottie sensed spirits was here, near this curve on the Raging Rapids ride.  Lottie, is this also a happy place?

Lottie: No, it felt sad.  But no place in the park felt mean, and that's very good.  We're going to find out who your spirits were when they were people and maybe help them go wherever they're supposed to go.

****

Albus gives an account of his own experiences in the park.

Albus: I've been here since the start.  Came with the carnival and never left.  My official title is Head of Ride Maintenance, but I do a little bit of everything.  The girls couldn't run the place without me.  It'd all just fall apart.  (laughs) Anyway, about the ghosts.  I have seen children in the off-limits areas, but when I go to run them out, no kids are there.   I never noticed how they were dressed, though.

Albus:  I was out by the log ride earlier and found this mask.  Just in case it comes up in any of the pictures.  

 

Afternoon In The Park

Nova has just finished a picnic lunch with her stepdaughters.  

Lottie:  Mommy's here!  I just seen her car!

Nova: Well, don't run into the parking lot after her.  You nearly got run over last time.  

Lottie: Did not!  That car stopped so far away from me!

Alex: He was only going like five miles an hour.  You got lucky.

Lara: Are you girls ready?  I've got lots of fun on the agenda.

Lottie: Mommy! 

Nova: We saved you some potato salad.  Lottie and Alex made it. 

Alex: Alex made it while Lottie talked her ear off. (as Lottie)  "Why can't we put candy in it?  Candy would make it yummier.  Mommy likes candy."

Lara: Not in my potato salad.  (laughs)  After the potato salad, for dessert.  (to Alex) Did you use Grandma's recipe?  You know that's the best kind. 

Alex: Of course.  To do otherwise is unthinkable, right, Lottie? 

Lottie: Just like the Titanic.  (Both girls giggle.) Let's go hop in Mommy's car.  I'll hold your hand and be good. 

Nova: Sorry you had to work during the reception.  We missed you. 

Lara: Me, too.  Although if that grandmother of yours was there, it might be best that I wasn't.  

Nova: She wasn't.  Still boycotting the very idea. (changes subject) You sure you're okay to keep them while we run off on our late honeymoon? 

Lara: I signed on for it when I gave birth to them, right?  Anyway, Alex is old enough to watch Lottie if I get called in.  How did the reception go? 

Nova: It was wonderful.  (checks the time) Oh, I better run.  Make the girls show you all the pictures and videos, okay?  

Lara:  I will.  Have a good time in Hawaii.  

*****

Later, Charlotte meets her sister after her appointment with the lawyer.

Charlotte: And he said that if I insist on trust funds for the kids, that might make Kaden give up the lawsuit.  He can't get to the money, he won't want to deal with them. 

Batgirl: Why are you so sure he's motivated by money?  

Charlotte: You're so naive.  Everyone is motivated by money.  You really don't -- Hey!  What the hell do you think you're doing, Hagrid?  And what the hell are you doing in Barbieville?  (Sprints away from her sister.)

Hagrid:  I'm trying to see a comet.  And I live in Barbieville. 

Charlotte slaps him, hard.

Batgirl: Stop it!  What is your problem, Charlotte?  

Charlotte: This is my brother-in-law.  I told you about him. 

Hagrid: Lady, I don't know you from Adam.  And I ain't anyone's brother-in-law.

Charlotte:  LIAR!  (tries to slap him again, but Batgirl holds her back)  You're pointing that thing right at my apartment, you answered to his name, and I recognize you.

The police arrive, much to Batgirl's relief.  She's beginning to think her sister has finally gone totally bonkers.  Lynch has things under control quickly.

Hagrid:  I think the lady's mistaken me for one of my cousins.  Very strong resemblance and lots of us are named after the same ancestor.  (To Charlotte)  Honestly, lady.  Our family reunions look like one of them movies about clones.  

Charlotte: I don't believe you.  I know Kaden sent you to -- 

Jimin: Mrs. Jackson, please, let me do the talking. 

Hagrid:  Jackson?  Oh, yeah, I got cousins named Jackson.  Kinda strange that one of them would be as rough-looking as me, though.  (whispers to Lynch) They got money. 

Batgirl: What's his full name? 

Charlotte (softly): Rubeus Hagrid Jackson.  He goes by his middle name because...

Hagrid: Because the family's overrun with Rubeuses.  (To Lynch)  I'm not gonna be pressing any charges.  Looks like my cousin's giving this lady a rough way to go and she made an honest mistake.  

COVID-19 Fallout

Nova finds her stepchildren in the summer kitchen.

Nova: I just got off the phone with Witch's Cove.  Instead of refunding our payment for The Overlook, we decided to postpone the reception.  We'll have it as soon as this lockdown ends.

Lottie: Why's your grandma being such a meanie?  

Nova: Well, I'm going to have to kick Mariko's butt for telling you about that, but Obachan believes Japanese ladies should only marry Japanese men.   It's a very old-fashioned...  

Lottie: It's racist!   My teacher said only white people can be racist! 

Alex: I'll explain the difference later, when Nova's not trying to draft us into helping with the reception plans.  (In a Butt-head voice) Settle down, Beavis.

Lottie giggles.  

While they are working, Mariko emerges from her post-work shower.  

Mariko:  Well, today was a doozy.  Someone refused to tip Tris because she's a lesbian and Whitney heard that her friend Esperanza has the virus. 

Alex (laughing): Tris is a lesbian?  Someone better tell Four! 

Mariko: She gets that sometimes because of her hair.  

Lottie: Who's Esperanza?  Do we know her? 

Mariko: Whitney's mom's boyfriend is Esperanza's uncle.  We've never met her.    

*****

WDLC multimedia, operating out of downtown Barbieville, has sponsored a series of banners posted around town.  "In The Shadow Of Corona" features seniors who won't be having a graduation ceremony this year.

Kenneth Carson

Whitney Darling

Edward Dean Jr "Frodo"

Tobias Eaton "Four"

Peeta Mellark

Nakoma Nedakh

Tanner Pike

Finnick Pike

Beatrice Prior "Tris"