Devil In Disguise
By: Carrie Rene
Summary: What if Mindy Church threw a Halloween party and it took place in a known haunted resort?
**Note** Okay, I was not pleased with the lack of Intergang storylines in Season Three. So I love the Fall Season with football, cooler weather, apple, and pumpkin everything, and spooky things. This is my chance to mix my love for Lois & Clark with the Fall/spooky season. This will be set after Just Say Noah, so our couple is back together.
***
Chapter One
“Very superstitious, wash your face and hands
Rid me of the problem, do all that you can
Keep me in a daydream, keep me goin' strong
You don't wanna save me, sad is my song”
Superstition by Stevie Wonder
****
The cool crisp morning was just what Lois needed as she walked into the Daily Planet. She stopped at her favorite coffee vendor and the vendor already had apple cider at his station. She was initially tempted by some hot apple cider but decided caffeine was still needed. The smells of fall and the colors of the trees were exactly what Lois needed these days.
She felt pleased that even her love life was coming together. The smile on her face as she stepped into the elevator made her think how excited she was for the new day.
As she stepped off of the elevator on the floor of the Daily Planet, she realized how early it still was. There were only a handful of people in the bullpen as she looked across the newsroom she saw her boss already going at it. Perry was one of the first to arrive in the mornings and usually the last to leave at night. No one had worked as hard as her Editor, and at times, his family life paid the price.
After a few minutes of her starting her computer up, Perry stepped out of his office.
“Lois, I have some news about Mindy Church I thought you might like to know,” Perry stated with a document in his hand, walking towards her desk. “She decided to buy the Raven Resort.”
“What is Cost Mart not a big enough hideaway for Intergang,” Lois wondered, her eyebrows raising up, as she took the paper from Perry.
“Bill once told me it was his dream to rebuild that resort and put a golf course up there. It is where he met Bill Junior’s mother,” Perry informed Lois as he gazed off into nowhere. “Alice and June would have lunches up there while Bill and I would be off on one of our fishing trips.”
“That resort has sat empty for at least seven years,” Lois remarked, reading the information on her screen. “Who in their right mind would buy an abandoned resort?”
“Especially a haunted one,” Jimmy butted in as he came around the corner.
Lois looked over at Jimmy, her head tilted to the left a bit. She was so confused.
“It is a known fact that there have been three murders in that resort over the last twenty years,” Jimmy announced as he raised his shoulders and chin. “There was the up-and-coming actress in Room 217 back in 1976. Then the murder-suicide in Room 401 with the wife that killed her cheating husband and then shot herself. That one happened in early 1987, I believe.”
“Jimmy, that resort had been built in 1910, of course, there would be murders and such, but that doesn’t mean it's haunted,” Lois retorted. “What do you think, Perry?”
“All I know is Alice and June wouldn’t go to the fourth floor because of what they had heard from the staff. Alice and I did stay there once for our anniversary and I heard footsteps outside our room all night,” Perry admitted, shivering at the thought of going back there.
“Could you imagine the ghost tours,” Jimmy shrieked at the thought. “I can’t wait.”
“Wait for what,” Clark replied as he walked up to Lois’ desk with two cups in his hands.
Lois looked over as Clark put one of the disposable coffee cups on her desk. She held up the cup in her hand to show him that she had her caffeine fix already.
“Well, then glad I’m glad I got you cider instead,” Clark responded with a smile.
She put her coffee down and reached for the apple cider. She inhaled the scent of fall, put her head back, and sighed. Lois took a sip of the hot apple cider.
Clark watched her as a small smile crept across his lips. He shook his head in wonder at the woman that held his heart.
“Lois, are you going to go see Mindy Church this afternoon,” Perry interrupted the two lovebirds. “If we don’t find out why she bought the Raven, we won’t be able to know what she plans to do with it.”
“Mindy bought the Raven,” Clark asked, raising his left eyebrow. “Why on earth would she buy that rundown place?”
“Jimmy says it's haunted,” Lois stated as she took another sip of the cider.
“There are no such things as ghosts, Jimmy,” Clark retorted as he leaned against Lois’ desk.
Jimmy looked around at Lois, Clark, and Perry and knew he had to say what everyone was thinking.
“Well, no one thought there were aliens until Superman showed up,” Jimmy pointed out before he walked away.
Lois and Clark looked at each other and each nodded their heads. Jimmy was right.
“That boy surprises me each day,” Perry said as he looked at Jimmy who was now talking to the new researcher.
Perry walked back toward his office. Clark moved to the other side of Lois’ desk and sat down. He reached for her hand as she put down the cider.
“I missed you this morning,” he whispered as he kissed the back of her hand.
“I know I told you I would pick you up, but I thought I would get started early. Plus I heard there was a mudslide last night, I figured you wanted to sleep in a bit,” Lois responded as she blushed at the feeling he gave her.
“I got back around three-thirty, and I really don’t need much sleep,” Clark responded as he kissed her hand again.
Her pulse was racing and she was hyper-aware of how close his body was to hers. They had made plans the night before to go to breakfast together. But after the newscast late last night, she thought better of it. Now she felt bad for coming into work early and not going to his place.
Her phone rang and she didn’t want to let go of his hand or break their bond. It rang two more times before she let go of his hand and answered the phone. He stood and went over to his desk and turned on his computer. He needed to check his emails and such before Perry called the morning meeting.
Lois looked over at Clark and was distracted for a moment by the feelings he gave her. She had even daydreamed about what it would be like to wake up next to him in the morning.
“Lois, Lois, you there,” the male voice said over the phone receiver.
Lois shook her head and looked away from Clark. She had gotten distracted by Clark many times over the past week ever since they had made up on the Smiley Institute. She needed to focus on the story at hand.
“Yeah, Bobby, I’m sorry,” Lois responded as she grabbed a pen.
After a few minutes, Lois was off the phone and the bullpen started filling up for the morning. Lois stood up and walked over to Clark’s desk. She had news for Clark and this was big.
“What did Bobby have to say,” Clark asked as he finished typing his reply to one of his emails.
He looked over at Lois as she sat at the edge of her desk. She was wearing a knee-length tan suede skirt and a black short sleeve sweater. His heart raised slightly as her skirt raised up to her mid-thigh.
“He said Mindy is in a bidding war with construction companies on who can get the resort completed before Halloween,” Lois reported as she looked over at Clark.
“That’s in four weeks. I heard that place stayed vacant for over five years. How in the world is that supposed to be up to code that fast,” Clark questioned as he put his hand on Lois’ knee.
“The more important question is why Halloween,” Lois responded with a smile at the feel of his hand on her once again.
“I think a visit to Mindy -,” Clark began before he stopped and turned to a sound only he could hear.
Lois knew that look. She had seen that look on him time and again. Over the past two months though, Lois knew what it meant.
“What is it,” Lois questioned putting her hand on his shoulder.
“Five car pile up on the Clinton Bridge,” he answered, moving his hand from her knee and adjusting his tie.
“Go, I’ll set up a meeting with Mindy,” Lois stated before giving Clark a quick kiss on the lips.
She stood up from his desk and walked over to hers. When she sat down, looking back at Clark’s desk, he was already gone. At times, she wondered if he did everything that fast. A smile and a feeling of warmth suddenly made her think she needed to be anywhere but the newsroom if she kept thinking about her partner like this.
“Work,” Lois mumbled, shaking her head, “concentrate on work.”
She reached over for the phone and dialed nine, then the number of Cost Mart Headquarters. Lois needed to start thinking like a reporter and not like a woman in love with a very sexy dark-haired specimen of a man.
First, Lois needed to figure out what Mindy’s plans were for the Raven Resort and then what was the fascination with having the remodel completed by Halloween.
