Vic: Mystery & Magic

By Jerry Gill

Her detective friend, Evelyn Chan, asks Vic Challenger for help.  A relative's house has a ghost problem and huge hairy beasts have been spotted on the property.  The ghost mystery must be solved by midnight Christmas Eve, just a few days away. There are thousands of pages of possible clues but Vic can't help with tha

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ann Darrow Co
• Release date: Nov 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781889823874

Book preview

Teaser

The fall stunned Robbins and he lay still until he heard movement above. He rolled and reached over to push himself up, but nothing was there! He pulled back just in time to prevent plummeting and pressed against the dirt wall and froze momentarily. Beside him in the darkness lay a void of unknown depth. Above, the eight-foot, vicious looking Sasquatch glared down at him!

From Chapter 8, More Menace

Prologue:

100,000 years ago when life was stupendously savage and every day was a test of your will to live, an epic love was born. Two cave dwellers, Nat-ul, daughter of Tha, and Nu, son of Onu, each a stupendously mighty hunter and warrior to match that time, vowed to love each other as long as the moon would rise in the night sky, which, in their primitive fashion, meant forever. They both died in geologic cataclysms on the very day following their sacred oath. Buried by mountains, one would think their story ended. Yet, since that time the wise of every generation and every culture have proclaimed that true love never dies. There is a reason they say this. In 1896, the moon still rose in the night sky when Nat-ul was reborn as Victoria Custer and as a young woman, the educated Nebraska farm girl vividly recalled her former primeval life and eternal vow. One thousand generations did not cool her love and the recall restored her savage, stone-age instincts and defiant boldness. Now, under the pen name Vic Challenger, she writes adventure travel articles and her work allows her to literally comb the globe in search of present-day Nu. She realizes her quest may take a lifetime and mortal peril may become her regular companion, but she is determined to do whatever it takes to reunite with her eternal love. Perils are inconsequential and time doesn’t matter!

In 1919 Vic remembered her primitive past and swore to find Nu. In early 1920, she began her search in Mexico. and in September of that year she traveled with high school friend Lin Li to Outer Mongolia. The following year, Vic and Lin enjoyed epic travel with excursions to the Grand Canyon, Scotland and a daring trip down the Amazon! In early 1922 the duo searched for treasure in Australia, and in the Fall they visited Siberia as a favor to O.

In January 1923 Vic and Lin were savagely attacked in their hometown and Vic went on a binge of revenge. Later that year, after a powerful lesson in revenge and it’s cost, she took some casual camping trips for her column as well as a couple of undocumented trips.

Vic was still full of Thanksgiving turkey when she received a call from an old friend. She and Lin met Evelyn Chan, a budding detective, on their way to Mongolia. Evelyn needs help. She is embarking on a strange case and thinks Vic and Lin can help.

Doc Pat saved Lin Li’s leg after the attack in January. Then he warned her about her habits, like kicking bad guys and jumping off moving horses. Fearing she might get them both killed because of her injured leg and limp, Lin swore not to go adventuring with Vic again, but this is different, it’s for a friend. After all, how dangerous could Christmas be in the heavy-snow dead of winter in the lonely woods of Washington state?

Chapter 1 Call for Help

Three chairs sat across from a porthole window and in each chair sat a boy of seventeen. All three stared at the window and listened.

One boy held an alarm clock and looked at it, If there is a ghost, it’s late!

The center boy looked at the clock and said, It’s only fifteen after. The sun just went down. There is a ghost!

You said you never saw it, said the third boy.

None of my family has seen it. We don’t want to. I don’t know why you guys want to see it. On the third floor and down in the parlor, you can hear its footsteps and groans loud and clear. That’s enough for us! What if it comes to devour the souls of men?

"Aw, that’s just stuff like in magazines like Weird Tales and Unknown. It ain’t real."

The ghost is real. You’ll see. It’ll come!

Those words still hung in the air when the loud, echoing sounds started up. First came a drawn-out scraping, followed by a hard click, and they repeated and came closer! In an excited voice, one boy whispered, "There is someone on the roof!

Not someone, a ghost, corrected the center boy.

Let’s look!

The sound is getting closer!

Their moves were fast, but not without a touch of hesitation. At the porthole, the three heads were like one as they sought to glimpse who or what was making the eerie sounds on the roof.

Light from the half-moon filtered through dreary clouds. Snow covered everything and still fell and reflected the moonlight to provide a brilliant spectacle. A Chinese man alternately took a step then dragged his other foot, and as he neared the window, he began to moan!

I told you guys!

That’s gotta be your dad trying to scare us!

I don’t think it’s his dad. I think it’s real!

The apparition drew nearer, its eyes intent on the watchers. The guttural moans stopped, and his mouth began to move!

He’s saying something, observed one boy.

The boy who lived in the house squeaked, Or he’s getting ready to devour our souls!

Should we tell your parents? worried the third boy.

Suddenly the man was there, and the boys on the right and left jumped back from the window. The third boy, who lived in the house, couldn’t move and called for his friends to help him. They attempted to pull their friend away from the window, but he was immovable!

Then the man’s face slammed hard against the glass. His eyes were wide and staring. His skin shined. His lips were blue, and ice crystals clung to his beard and eyebrows.

All three boys screamed. The boy who lived there, put his hands against the wall to push himself away. The instant the boy’s hands touched the wall, the frozen man’s hands came through and grasped the boy by his wrists!

The other boys jumped back and began to plunge down the stairway. Like a greased pig at the fair, now the third boy stepped back from the wall without effort. The man from the roof held the boy’s wrists tightly and moved with him. Suddenly, as if the wall had vanished, he was inside! The boy pulled away again, and his hands came free with ease. The man stood motionless for a moment and moved only his eyes to survey his surroundings. Then he walked toward the opposite wall. When he came to the open stairwell, he didn’t stop nor did he fall. He walked in the air as if he were on a solid floor and continued to the other wall! There he leaned until his head bent forward, partway into the wall like it didn’t exist and he was looking down. Momentarily, he turned toward the wall where he entered. The man shivered and wrapped his arms around himself as though trying to keep warm. As he retraced his steps back across the room, he muttered in Chinese too low to be understood. When he exited through the wall, the boy sprang back to the portal to watch him, but the man was gone!

It stopped snowing an hour earlier, but its cold, white carpet covered everything. The only way to know you were on the road was to stay between the higher drifts and hope. Vic Challenger didn’t mind the snow. The white blanket on the forest was beautiful, and this was the time of year when Vic hoped for snow. It was almost Christmas. She was joining an adventure, but it seemed more benevolent and less dangerous than previous exploits. Vic figured it shouldn’t interfere with Christmas. Plus, she would enjoy a visit with a friend she last saw two years ago.

Vic could use a vacation. Only a year ago Vic and Lin Li returned from a harrowing experience in Siberia. Later Vic went to Scotland alone to answer a distress call from friends, Mac and Wright, who had a howler problem. Then Lin was injured in an attack in their hometown. That sent Vic alone on a quest for bloody reprisal which she later called the notorious Curtis Hunt.

Now came a request for assistance for both Vic and Lin Li. When she talked on the phone with Evelyn Chan, Vic's response was one hundred percent positive. When she hung up, she was doubtful. Lin Li had not traveled with Vic since her injury. More than once, she proclaimed that she never would as she felt her injury would endanger them both. Vic was nervous when she went for a root beer float with Lin at her store, Li and Mortimer Drug and Dry Goods.

Vic didn’t need to worry. When she told Lin that Evelyn Chan wanted their help over Christmas, Lin hesitated less than a minute. You know, Evelyn and I never settled who the master is. This trip will give us a chance to settle it. I’ll need my camera to document the greatest mahjong battle of the century and my supremacy!

Vic and Lin first met Evelyn en route to Mongolia, and the three hit it off immediately. Lin and Evelyn had a special bond. Each considered the other her first serious mahjong competition. Lin was eager for the reunion but still was wary of running into trouble. She told Vic, Don’t get into a dangerous situation with me, Vic. I can’t do what I once could, and I might get us both killed.

The stipulation was A-OK with Vic. She didn’t expect anything strenuous or dangerous, nor did she want to put a friend in jeopardy. Lin worried about her store a bit. Then Mr. Mortimer said he could lend a pharmacist from his original Mortimer’s Drug to help out while she was gone. There was one other consideration for Vic. It was just two weeks until Christmas. It would be the second Christmas since her mother died and she didn’t want to leave her dad alone for the holidays. When he found out about it, though, he told her Go. He would have Christmas dinner with Lin’s family and spend time ice fishing with Mr. Eddy, the friend who built Vic’s indoor toilet.

Fate, which Vic didn’t believe in, seemed to conspire with everyone they knew to send her and Lin Li on a Christmas vacation with Evelyn Chan. Everyone concerned wished them a Merry Christmas and a safe trip and that was that.

When they arrived in San Francisco, Evelyn picked them up at the train station. Evelyn spent most of her time in Honolulu as an apprentice to her famous detective uncle Charlie, but her family lived in San Francisco.

After a hasty reunion, Vic and Lin cheered Evelyn’s car. It’s so big! Vic said admiringly. You have a trunk mounted, too!

Looks new! Lin said and then showed her practicality. Mind if I ask how much?

Evelyn made a wry smile. $300. I keep it up, but it’s six years old. ‘17 Fageol Tourer. Company already stopped making cars, but it’s a swell ride!

From the train station, Evelyn drove to the docks where Vic and Lin had a new experience. Both found it interesting and exciting when Evelyn drove her car onto a barge which ferried them across the bay to Oakland. In Oakland, they had a burger lunch and caught up on what each had been doing since Mongolia.

Evelyn had blankets for the passengers and sandwiches in the trunk, so after lunch, they set out. Vic and Lin were curious about Evelyn’s assignment, and as soon as they were out of town, they asked.

"Gee, I feel on the spot. Uncle Charlie actually asked me to do this. My cousins called him for help, but he is busy with a big smuggling case. I heard him on the phone. He told them your cousin Evelyn could handle it. I’ve gotta crack this case, or I’ll be ashamed to face Uncle Charlie and will let down family, and there might be two cases. That’s why I called you guys."

Vic asked, I know you were born in the United States, Evelyn. Did these cousins move here before your family or more recently?

Evelyn kept her eyes on the road but grinned, made a slow, exaggerated nod and answered, Oh, they came long before! My great, great, great, great - I think that’s all the greats - grandfather had a cousin who came here in the early 1840s to work on the railroad.

He made enough on the railroad to buy a farm? Lin asked.

Oh, no. That was a huge disappointment. He worked for years trying to save adequate money to bring his family over. He wasn’t earning enough until he switched work in late 1849. Does that ring a bell?

Vic and Lin were silent a moment, then Vic asked, Was your ancestor a 49’er?

Oh yeah! Lin chimed in. Like Darlin’ Clementine’s daddy!

Pretty close! Evelyn answered.

Stop teasing and tell us! Vic laughed.

Evelyn told the story.

Evelyn’s great ancestor, Chaoxiang, came to America to make enough money to bring his family and to buy a farm, but he didn’t get rich as he expected. When the 1849 gold rush began, he decided to give it a try.

That didn’t go well at first, but then he got an idea. He knew many other prospectors, and they were often greedy and a little lazy. They thought they could shovel buckets of gold and become very wealthy overnight. They would take the easy pickings and move on.

Chaoxiang would go work that abandoned site for 2-3 months. He worked long hours, and usually walked away with more than the original prospectors. When it became too lean for Chaoxiang, he would go to another picked over location if he knew of one. If he didn’t, he would go into the nearest town and work. He cooked, mended miner’s clothing, tended horses and anything else he could find. People let him sleep in barns for free. He ate leftovers from when he cooked for others. He saved money and earned money every way he could