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I was in the office early the next morning and had most of Dave Johnston's
story ready when Tony Vincenzo walked in.
"Good morning, Carl." Tony greeted me, walking up to my desk.
"Good
morning, Tony. There was another traffic death outside of Resurrection Cemetery last night and I'd like a day or two to follow
it up." I said.
"Sure, Carl sure. These kids should respect the sanctity of a place like a cemetery, and not use it
as a place to hold their races." he nodded.
"You're right Tony, the cemetery lends a very important aspect to my story.
It kind of ties it all together." I bluffed, not wanting to reveal to Tony what I was really thinking. I was becoming convinced
that the ghost of Resurrection Mary was causing these deaths, but knew from past experience that I needed to be careful letting
Tony in on the story.
That night I went back to Scorchers bar to see if I could get any insight into the
earlier deaths. Most of the patrons were in a somber mood since two of their number had so recently died. They were also upset
since the Justice Police had shut down their recreational racing and were keeping a close watch on them. I had passed a squad
car parked outside when I walked in.
I spotted Howard 'Turk' Turkewicz up at the dj booth and asked him to talk.
"Sure,
Mr. Kolchak, I remember all the drivers who died. Some people kind of stick out in your memory, you know."
"Call me
Carl, Turk. What can you tell me about the first victim, John Bowers?" I asked.
"I'm glad you asked about him. Because
I see a lot of what goes on around here. And I think it all started with him. John was a real nice guy, hung around here awhile
before he started racing. He was kind of tentative, quiet, kept to himself, until he met Resurrection Mary, that is." Turk
answered.
"What! Resurrection Mary? How do you know he met her?" I asked, surprised.
"He met her here, right
over there on the dance floor. Of course, I didn't know who she was until after he died. Then I put it all together. And of
course, no one believes me." he replied.
I said, "Slow down, tell me the whole thing. When did she first appear?"
"It was probably a couple of weeks before he died. She just started showing up a few nights a week. Hanging around...dancing...and
she and John just hit it off. You could tell, each would come in and look for the other. They'd dance all night; they'd talk
and leave together at closing. They both were very happy, you could tell they were in love." Turk said.
"That doesn't
sound like Resurrection Mary, what made you think it was her?" I asked him.
"John told me. He started asking me about
the legend. I grew up in Bridgeview and knew the legend. John moved here from Phoenix a few years ago, so he didn't know that
we had a neighborhood ghost. He had gotten to know her and then he noticed things weren't quite right with her. She would
only let him drop her off. They would only meet here. She would say things that didnt relate to the modern world. And of course,
she always wore the same white dress and was cold to the touch." he said with a smile.
"But she never hurt him, you
think they were in love?" I asked. I couldn't believe what he was telling me, that a ghost was having a relationship with
a living person.
"Oh, I'm sure of it. Mary and John had kind of a melancholy love affair. I guess she knew it couldn't
last and he finally realized that he never really could get close to her." Turk answered.
"How did John die, did Mary
cause the crash?"
"Oh no, Mary had nothing to do with it. John was racing another driver and had an accident. Mary
stayed away for a while and when she came back, she was different, more sinister. That's when I made the connection, that
she might be the ghost. She acted more like a predator. You could tell that she would come in the bar and start prowling,
looking for someone that she could lure away. Word spread to steer clear of her and she stopped coming around. Now the only
sightings are out on the street." Turk explained.
"Did you ever see John's ghost? You would think that maybe, John
dying would bring them closer." I said.
"I'm no expert, but I think that Mary is trapped here on earth and John must
have passed on. I think she is more alone than ever."
"Tell me Turk, do you have any idea why the other drivers died.
Did Mary target them for some reason?" I inquired.
"I've been trying to figure that out and I think each driver was
just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't think any of them can be held responsible for John's death." he answered.
"You said John was racing the night he died, who was he racing with?" I asked.
"I don't know. The police were
trying to figure that out, they questioned a lot of people at the time. I don't think they ever found out, though." he said.
"So Mary may have already killed the other racer or she may still be looking for him." I speculated.
"You're
right Carl, she may be looking for the other driver, whoever he is. I wonder if the other driver knows that?" Turk asked.
"I think its time to tell this story. I'm going to have to sell it to my editor though, and that won't be easy." I
answered.
I spent the remainder of the night doing research and by the next morning I had finished the story. I presented
it to Tony Vincenzo saving the ghostly aspect until the end.
"A ghost, Kolchak! Youre trying to tell a ghost story
by making it a murder mystery! People are not going to believe that a ghost is responsible for these deaths, and I'm not going
to jeopardize the credibility of this news organization trying to convince them!" he yelled.
"I think Resurrection Mary is trying to eliminate the street racers
one at a time until she gets her revenge. Until we find out who the other driver is, none of them are safe, Tony. Maybe running
this story, complete, as is, will flush him out." I argued. "People already believe in the ghost of Resurrection Mary. Sightings
have been regularly reported for the past fifty years." and I read to him from my notes:
"Item: March 10, 1934. Marie
Bregovska a 19-year-old polish immigrant went out dancing with her boyfriend at the O'Henry ballroom on Archer Avenue in the
Chicago suburbs. Marie's boyfriend left her after an argument and she was forced to hitchhike home. Tall and lovely, blonde
haired and blue eyed, Marie started walking north along Archer Avenue. Near the 7600 block and just outside the gates of Resurrection
Cemetery, Marie, or Mary as the new American preferred to be called, was struck and killed by a hit and run driver. Mary Bregovska
was buried in Resurrection Cemetery wearing her favorite white dress.
"Item: March 1938. Jerry Paluzski met a lovely
blonde at the Liberty Dance Hall at 47th and Mozart. Jerry and the girl hit it off and both enjoyed dancing together, although
later, Jerry remembered that the girl, Mary, was cold to the touch. Mary accepted Jerry's offer of a ride home and gave him
her Bridgeport address. On the way to Mary's house, she asked him to drive past the Catholic cemetery on Archer Avenue...
Resurrection Cemetery. As they approached the main gates, Mary started acting funny and asked Jerry to pull over. Mary exited
the car and Jerry watched as she ran towards the front gates of the Cemetery and vanished.
"Simply vanished.
"Later,
Jerry tried to find Mary by going to the home address she gave him. Jerry met Mary's mother who showed him a photograph, from
which he recognized the girl he had danced with the night before. The photograph was a treasured possession of the mother's
because the daughter, Mary, had died several years before.
"Item: for several decades, late night drivers along Archer
Avenue reported seeing the blonde girl in the white dress. More than one report tells the tale of a lonely girl accepting
a ride home from a man she meets at a dancehall, only to disappear near the gates of Resurrection Cemetery. Modern police
procedure and reports to the press have allowed more recent accounts to remain as fresh as the day they were first told.
"Item:
August 1976. Justice Police received a call advising a young blonde girl was apparently trapped inside the gates of Resurrection
Cemetery and was calling for help. Justice Police Sgt. Holman arrived at 10:30 pm and while shining the area with his searchlight
found two wrought iron gate posts bent outwards. Upon closer examination, impressions of hands and fingers were visible where
they would have been gripping the bars. The impressions were pressed into the metal and included evidence of skin texture,
as well. News of the possible physical evidence of the supernatural spread and the bars were examined by metallurgists who
could not explain how the marks could have been made. The bars were eventually removed by the cemetery administrators to dispel
the public attention.
"Item: August 1976, two days after the bent bars were discovered a Cook County Sheriff, answering
a CB radio call for help pulled up in front of the cemetery's main gate. The CB radio caller, a female driver, reported seeing
a hit and run victim, a female dressed in white, lying facedown on Archer Avenue. The county sheriff found the caller, crouching
in her car, holding her CB microphone and crying. When the sheriff asked where the victim was, the caller stated that just
as the sheriff's car made the turn onto Archer Avenue, the body on the side of the road faded and disappeared.
"Item:
May 1978. A young couple, Steven and Teri Malowski were driving south on Archer when a blonde girl ran out in front of them.
Steven hit the brakes, but knew a collision couldn't be avoided. Both were amazed when the vehicle struck nothing and the
image of the girl disappeared before them.
"Item: January 1979. William Gunder, a cab driver, was trying to find his
way back to the toll way after dropping a late night fare. While driving north bound on Archer Avenue, Gunder spotted a young
blonde wearing a party dress and no coat standing at the curb. She didn't wave him down, but Gunder pulled over when she looked
at him. Gunder said that she answered his questions like she was "drunk or stoned" and mentioned something about the snow
coming early this year. As Gunder passed the cemetery gates on the right, the girl said "here, here" and pointed to the left.
The cabbie hit the brakes and looked to the left, and when he looked back the girl was gone.
"Bill Gunder swears to
this day that the cab door never opened to let the girl out.
"Item: during a period in the fall and winter of 1980,
a figure matching Resurrection Mary's description was seen by dozens of people, many of which only heard the legend after
making their report. She was seen dancing down Archer Avenue, running towards and disappearing through the cemetery gates
and standing inside or just outside the main gate.
"Item: September 5, 1980. Tony Koczak was driving south on Archer
Avenue after leaving a softball game. He offered a ride to a pretty blonde girl in a white dress who he saw standing on the
side of the road. Tony tried to draw her into a conversation but her answer to every question was, "just take me down Archer."
He said, "You look like Resurrection Mary, but I know that there's no such thing." The rider vanished in front of the cemetery
gates. Tony's car hadn't dropped below 45 mph, and all the doors remained locked.
"Item: September 7, 1980. Carla
Ramirez, along with three friends, were driving home at just after 1 a.m., when they saw a female dressed in white walking
along the side of the road. Several of the group shouted, 'It's Resurrection Mary' and as they slowly passed the figure they
were shocked to see a black void where the girl's face should be.
"Tony, you don't need to convince people about Resurrection
Mary, they are already convinced." I concluded.
"Alright, Carl. I'm going to put this on the wire to New York as is,
but we may both regret it. I'm also keeping you on the story. And please look for an alternate explanation for these deaths.
How about good old-fashioned faulty brakes?" Tony sighed.
Chalk one up for the underdog.
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