Title: Evelyn Rabb: Private Investigator Rating: G Author: Mac (ColMackenzieJAG@aol.com) ******************** I'm on a mission. A mission to find out what really happened to Marissa Johanson and her husband, Michael Johanson. Uncle Bud will probably be able to help me with this. He's into the whole paranormal thing. When I told my parents about the Ouija board, they practically freaked out over the name. In fact, the both looked like they had seen a ghost. Heh, sorry for the bad joke. Anyway, here I am at the Falls Church Public Library. I came here cause Dad had to go into work for a few hours. I bet you all think I'm crazy for coming in on a Saturday to do research, but I don't think the internet is going to help too much. Speaking of the internet, I went to the Brookside Manor website again. I wanted to see if I missed something the last time around. It was recently updated and they mentioned the fact that the pillows have stopped disappearing. Hmm... I'll need to file that away for future reference. I grabbed another book and flipped to the index. Hah! There it is! Marissa Johanson. I'm not going to even try to explain how I ended up with this book because I didn't pick it up. Sorry, I'm way off track... Marissa Johanson, page 25. Okay, now we're getting somewhere. 'Marissa Johanson was arrested for the murder of her husband, Lieutenant Michael Johanson. The owner of Brookside Manor...' I did a double take. Brookside Manor??? '...found Lieutenant Johanson had been stabbed to death in room 13 on October 15th, 1935.' What the hell? Brookside Manor, October 15th, room 13. That had to just be a coincidence, right? What was it Fox Mulder said in an episode of The X-Files? 'If conicidences are just conicidences, why do they feel so contrived?' I glance at my watch. Damn! I'm supposed to meet Dad out front in five minutes. I grab my purse and the book and run to check out my book. I arrived outside just as he pulled up. "Hey, Evie." "Hi, Dad," I said, putting on my seatbelt. "Get all your research finished?" I nodded. I told him that I was doing research for a huge school project. Just wait until he finds out what I've really been doing... I feel his gaze on me and notice that he hasn't made an attempt to drive yet. "What is it?" I ask. "That book. 'Famous Naval Deaths of the '30s'? Exactly what kind of project are you doing, Evie?" I mentally smack my head. Great job, Evie! "It's just part of my history project," I tell him. He nods and, thankfully, doesn't pursue the issue. Yeah, I guess it'd be kind of weird to find your daughter reading something like that... *************** That night, we visited the Roberts' family. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect opportunity. I found Uncle Bud in the kitchen alone. "Hey," I said. He smiled. "Hi, Evie. Are you having a good time?" "Yeah, but there was something I wanted to ask you about." Uncle Bud nodded. I handed him the book and told him to read what I had bookmarked. "Marissa Johanson is the one my friends and I summoned Halloween night." Uncle Bud slowly looked up from the book. "And that murder happened at Brookside Manor. In the same room and on the same day your parents were there!" "Quite a conicidence, huh?" I ask, grinning. "Are you sure it is one? Maybe that's what happened with your parents. They never did say what they were doing. Besides, the reaction you explained to me when they heard the name 'Marissa Johanson' is a little odd, don't you think?" I nodded. "Not a little, a lot, Uncle Bud! Will you help me figure out exactly what happened? Maybe there's a case file on it or something." "Well, he was a Naval officer so it's a possibility," Uncle Bud replied. "I'll get right on it first thing Monday morning. It's going to be a slow day anyway." "Great!" I said in excitement. Evelyn Rabb: Private Investigator... I like the sound of that! **************** I stood in front of my parents, hands behind my back. Now was the time I revealed to them what I knew. Uncle Bud and Rena were with me and Aunt Harriet said she'd watch the little ones. Mom and Dad exchanged looks of confusion before I began to speak. "Thank you for being here today," I began. "I want to confess something to you before I explain why we're here." "What's that, honey?" Mom asked. "About that history project I was working." They nodded. "Well, it wasn't a project for school. I was actually trying to find out more about Marissa Johanson." They exchanged glances again, but didn't respond. "I learned some interesting things about her and the husband she stabbed to death, Lieutenant Michael Johanson." Uncle Bud handed me some papers. "It states here that she killed him at Brookside Manor." "Mom, Dad, she killed him in the room you two were staying in on a date you were there. What do you have to say about this?" Mom sighed. She didn't seem to certain she wanted to reveal anything. Dad took her hand and said, "I'll tell you guys what happened. You know Marissa and Michael's side of the story, but you don't know ours." "Harm," Uncle Bud replied, "are you saying--" "Shut up, Bud, and we'll tell you." I laughed. He's always doing that. "You see, it all started with your Mom's dream..." I listened, eyes wide. I could hardly believe what I was hearing! Mister- I-will-never-believe-in-the-paranormal-in-my-life. This was the greatest story I had ever heard. "...and that's when we woke up." "Oh my God!" I gasped out. "That's awesome!" Uncle Bud was in too much shock to respond. Dad got up and waved a hand in front of his friend. "Bud!" "Harm, that's... that's unbelievable!" "This from a man who forced me to search for aliens one night on an air force base." I laughed. I remember Dad telling me about that. Uncle Bud was so insistant that something paranormal was going on at the base. I think that's what makes him such a fun-loving person. "Well," I said, "thanks for sharing that with us." Rena finally walked over to them. "You know, you could have told us everything from the beginning so Evie wasn't all over me and Uncle Bud to help her with the research." "Aw, come on, I wasn't THAT bad?" "Really?" Rena said, crossing her arms. "What about making me stay up until four am just to help you find out about Lieutenant Johanson." "Heh, well, at least we figured it out." Mom smiled. "Yes, and I think you did pretty good with that presentation. Thinking about being a lawyer?" "Maybe," I replied. "It does run in the family, doesn't it?"