Walnut Grove House

by Alexie Aaron

  “I’m not ready to tell you what started this, and what prolonged it. I’m not even sure it will ever go away. I felt it coming tonight. That’s why I stayed in here away from people. I have been known to hurt others in this condition. I get the overwhelming urge to run away. I’ll fight anyone in my way, yet there is nowhere I can go. It’s very frustrating. It can come on in an instant or stay away for as long as six months. That’s when it’s heartbreaking. You see, Cid, I get to thinking that I’m normal again and then bam!”

  “In my town, there is a veterans center run by Sarah Leighton. She’s a woman whose husband has locked-in syndrome. Come home with me and see if it’s someplace that might be able to help you. There is no pressure, and you can stay with Ted and Mia. I’m just… just…”

  “Being a wonderful caring friend who I’m falling in love with,” Sally said. “What if I’m always going to be broken?”

  “Then we’ll have many times like these in our kitchen. There had to be a reason I was made with these extra-long arms. I assure you they didn’t help me to do pullups in gym class.”

  Sally took a moment to snuggle, feeling not only Cid’s muscular chest but his heart beating inside. “I better get on my feet or Carl is going to have to pull me off you.”

  “And that would be bad, why?” Cid teased.

  Sally got to her feet, extended a hand, and helped to pull Cid, whose legs had fallen asleep, to stand.

  Cid walked over and opened the door. He sat down and finished his meal. Sally was a good cook. The telling was that even cold, the meal was delicious.

  Carl waited, and when he saw her emerge from the kitchen, he released the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. She smiled at him.

  “I have dessert if anyone has room?” she announced. “Cupcakes on the counter.”

  Gary jumped up and carried his plate into the kitchen and returned with two handfuls of cupcakes.

  Kiki didn’t say anything. She was very curious, but since Sally didn’t give her the courtesy of telling her why she really moved out, Kiki would withhold any extension of friendship. It was clear which side Sally stood on.

  Wayne watched the table with interest. He didn’t like how Kiki had been and continued to be behaving. But she wasn’t his kid; she was his boss. She had made that abundantly clear when he tried to reason with her earlier.

  Cid’s phone rang. “Excuse me,” he said and walked out of the common room and down the stairs into the workshop to take the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Cid, this is Audrey.”

  “Your number didn’t come up.”

  “That’s because I’m using a burner phone.”

  “This is very cloak and dagger, Miss Moneypenny.”

  “I’ve been warned to be very careful, Mr. Bond.”

  “By whom?”

  “Jake. He did a little favor for me.”

  “I thought that he’s in Alsace with the Martins,” Cid said.

  “He is, but he can still do a little investigating while he’s not needed. Evidently, ghosts don’t sleep.”

  “So I hear.”

  “Anyway, he suggested that if I’m going to do some digging, then I better not be using my home phone.”

  “That’s smart.”

  “Before we start, you should know that Kiki terminated my contract this afternoon as per an email sent to me and copied to Alan Jefferies. Between you and I, Alan is picking up my expenses and paying me. He’s concerned.”

  “He should be. She’s acting very similarly to Burt when he had the flitch.”

  “Father Santos says that should wear off the more distance and time she has between the last time she was exposed to the heritage demon. Jake found out its name.”

  “Really, do tell.”

  “Gadus. Jake said it’s been MIA for a little over a hundred years. Gadus’s gold hasn’t been touched. That’s not normal behavior for a demon. It’s not even traded a soul for gold during this time. If it was a heritage demon, according to my husband, then it would have taken the Atwaters to Hell as they expired. According to Father Santos, there is a possibility that Atwater is holding Gadus hostage. The question is how?”

  “Jesse and I found…” Cid went on to tell her about the boxes and the meeting of Jon O’Connor and him telling them that his heart was contained in one of the boxes.

  “What kind of magic is this?” Audrey asked.

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “I’m going to find out. You wouldn’t have a picture of one…”

  “Sending it now.”

  “I’ll have Orion look at it. Cid, until we have a grasp on what you’re dealing with there, play dumb but be smart.”

  “You couldn’t be more vague.”

  “It’s my specialty,” Audrey said. “Goodbye.”

  Jesse watched Cid as he put his phone away. Cid looked over at him and said, “Lots to tell you but not here.”

  “Understood. In the meanwhile, let’s work on that trim so we can contain the conduit. Upon further thought, let’s run it at floor level. There is no way Pete or Gary is going to want to drill into that limestone to hold the trim piece into place. I’m thinking they will attach it to the floor. It would be nice if we had a few pieces ready to go before we venture into the room with the demon summoning circle in it.”

  “I had a few ideas,” Cid said, reaching for his tool belt. He stared at it a moment. Something was different. He pulled out a chisel. “I forgot I picked this up,” he said, handing it to Jesse.

  “It’s a wood carving chisel,” Jesse identified. “Stone carvers normally use an all-metal-shaft chisel with teeth on the end. This is smooth. It has initials. D R F.”

  “It’s a clue. I’ll have Audrey look…”

  “Audrey doesn’t work for us anymore,” Kiki said, walking into the workshop.

  “Why?” Jesse asked.

  Cid started the video function on his phone, turning the camera towards his diminutive boss. He thought that if she were being influenced, there was an outside chance it could be picked up digitally.

  “She’s not necessary,” Kiki said. “We need to concentrate on the job and leave investigating alone.”

  “Whatever you say, Boss,” Jesse answered.

  “Cid, a heads-up. Start looking for another job. I’m going to terminate your contract at the end of the week.”

  “Fine,” Cid said. “I should be finished with my lists by then.”

  “Kiki, start looking for another structure carpenter,” Jesse said. “I’m not working here without Cid. I need to protect myself.”

  “You signed a contract.”

  “Read it. I know what I signed. I put in a rider that stipulates that if I find I’m working in an unsafe environment, the contract is void. He leaves, I’m out. I’m not going to be sacrificed on the steps of your ambition, doll. Excuse me, Boss.”

  Kiki picked up a hammer and tossed it at Jesse.

  Jesse tried to move out of the way but was caught in the shoulder. Fortunately for him, he was hit by the cheek of the hammer. Had it been the face or the claw, it would have been debilitating.

  “That’s it, Pickles. I’m calling the cops.” Jesse pulled off his shirt to see a very large contusion forming. “Cid, take a picture of this, please.”

  Cid did so and left his phone on video to continue to record the ensuing conversation.

  Kiki paled. “I don’t know what’s come over me. What’s happening here? I feel such anger!”

  “I think maybe you need to take a drive to clear your head, or better yet, go back to Chicago,” Cid said. “I’ll arrange for Father Santos to look you over. Don’t worry, your precious client will have no clue,” Cid said. “We’ll just continue to work on the building. Leave your notes. Put Wayne in charge and leave everything to us.”

  “What excuse do I give my client?” Kiki asked.

  “You’re a managing contractor, Kiki. You don’
t have to be here.”

  “You’re right, I don’t. One week, Garrett. Scrub, I’ll hire your replacement when I’m in town. I expect you two…”

  “Three,” Sally said from the bottom step. “I’m out if they’re out. Cook for yourself, Ms. Pickles.”

  “Why?” Kiki asked.

  “Basic survival skills. A smart soldier doesn’t stay if there is no one to have your back. I assume Carl will be right behind me. Carl warned me of the ghosts but neglected to tell me I would be working for a megalomaniac.”

  Cid was about to say that seemed harsh, but Sally’s experience of working for Kiki only had been a short time. In that short time, Kiki had not shown her softer side, the side that cared for her employees. All Kiki had shown was paranoia and a penchant to treat the contractors like tools and not the capable humans they were.

  “Fine, suit yourself. One week, Cid. Don’t bother your priest. I’m going to be too busy finding replacements for the whole lot of you,” Kiki said and walked back upstairs.

  “And so it begins,” Jesse said.

  Cid stopped the recording.

  “I’ll have a quiet word with Carl,” Sally said. “Cid, I’d like to take you up on your offer to visit the veterans rehab facility. Jesse, is it still okay if I bunk with you guys until she leaves?”

  “Just as long as you don’t crawl in with me. I have my standards.”

  Sally laughed. “I’ll bring down some ice for that shoulder.”

  When Cid heard the door upstairs close, he said, “I’m going to send this video to Alan and to Father Santos. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think Kiki is quite right in the head. She flits from being the boss we tolerate and this overly aggressive mean person.”

  “Will I regret not calling the cops?” Jesse asked.

  “That’s up to you. Call it the inherent tinfoil-hat-wearing nerd in me, but I suspect Atwater may have the local police - if not in his pocket - certainly under his influence.”

  “I can see you in a tinfoil hat,” Jesse said. “You’d have it setting at a jaunty angle.”

  “Stop flirting with me, people will talk,” Cid countered. “And put your shirt back on. How am I going to be able to compete with that?”

  “Don’t worry, Cid, she’s not into me,” Jesse said.

  Faye looked over Kiki’s shoulder. She expected to see her working on a schedule. Instead she was drawing. It was a tiny scaffold she’d seen a few people use when playing a word game called Hangman. Except there were no empty blanks. They were all filled. Hanging there was a completed stick figure. Under it was the name Cid Garrett.

  Faye tried to see if there was a ghost inside of Kiki. She couldn’t see an overlay. Faye pushed inwards and retreated. There was something inside of Kiki, and it was vile.

  ~

  Alan stared in horror at the video clip he received from Cid. He had been expecting a call from Kiki, but he had yet to communicate with her. Did she find out he had hired Audrey? Kiki’s behavior on the job was inconsistent with the woman he was in love with. Sure, she was driven and treated her contractors with too firm a hand at times. But he knew she liked each one of them. In the past few days since she had been on the job, she had flitted between being a tough managing contractor in charge of six professionals to a paranoid despot who not only wanted to fire her best employee but ruin his career.

  Seeing her attack Jesse was too much. He called Audrey.

  “Hello, Alan,” she greeted him.

  Alan appreciated that even late in the evening the researcher for PEEPs was upbeat. He had met Audrey when he was handling the Gruber Mansion, which turned out to be haunted. He was immediately drawn to her easygoing ways and upbeat personality. He really liked her, but she was knocked off her feet by Burt Hicks, one of the originating partners of PEEPs, who were called in to help clear the house of the ghosts. That relationship fizzled. Audrey moved on to a doctor before Alan could make a move. In the end, she married Mia Martin’s grandfather who didn’t look a day over fifty. They already had two children. Audrey took on Marla Kitteridge as a partner and was able to not only balance her home life and her consulting business, but also enjoy doing research for the ghost-hunting group.

  “Audrey, I need to meet with Father Santos, but I don’t want to sidestep Father Simon.”

  “So you want me to smooth the way?” Audrey said.

  “Please. I’m in a difficult position. It’s escalating at the Atwater renovation.”

  “Have the ghosts hurt anyone?”

  “Not yet. It’s Kiki. She just threw a claw hammer at Jesse Holden. It caught him in the shoulder. It didn’t appear to break the skin…”

  “Appear?”

  “Cid sent me a video.”

  “Send the video to me, and I’ll talk to both priests as soon as they are available. Father Simon is with his homeless flock at the shelter, but I believe Father Santos will be available after taking confessions. I’ll talk to his secretary and let him know that this is important.”

  “Thank you, Audrey.”

  ~

  Sally used the bathroom in the carriage house, collecting some of her personal items as she finished. She pulled on her boots and drew her coat around her shoulders before she walked through the common room. Pete was on the phone with his wife and waved at Sally as she walked by him. The stairs were dark. Sally put on the light before descending. She thought she heard something in the workroom as she passed but knew better than to venture into the dark cavernous space alone. She walked out into the night air.

  The air was crisp, and snow had fallen while she was attending to her ablutions. It had turned to sleet, and tiny ice pellets settled on her unprotected head. Her curls tightened as it melted. Cid was clearing a path to the trailer and met her halfway.

  “Ms. Wright,” he said and tipped his hat.

  “Mr. Garrett,” she responded. “How long have you been outside?”

  “Not long. I noticed the snow starting from the window and decided to clear a path for you and Jesse.”

  “Thank you,” Sally said.

  Cid escorted Sally to the door and returned to finish his shoveling. Sally ventured into the trailer alone. It carried the scent of whatever soap was last used. She walked into her bunk area, and she found a hand-drawn picture of a bouquet of flowers setting on a nightstand stuck to the wall beside her bunk. “How sweet.”

  She heard the door open and Jesse and Cid walk in. Suddenly shy, she hung back.

  “They are just as nervous as you are,” Faye said, manifesting beside her bunk. Faye was comically wearing pink sponge rollers and a tatty housecoat. On her feet, which incidentally floated a few inches off the carpet, were pink bunny slippers.

  “You’re adorable,” Sally said. “I suppose hugging you wouldn’t work.”

  “You’d just end up hugging yourself,” Faye said. “Now get out there. I would suggest a game of scrabble to break the ice.”

  Sally walked out. Cid was wrapping a fresh icepack to Jesse’s shoulder.

  Cid looked up, and Jesse turned around.

  “Thank you for the flowers.”

  “Don’t look at me,” Jesse said. “I told him you were allergic to paper roses.”

  “That’s why I drew daisies,” Cid said. “I’ve never heard of a paper-daisy allergy.”

  “Thank you, Cid. Um, do you guys play poker?”

  “I sense a card shark,” Jesse said. “I play, but young Cid, he’s more into Old Maid and Crazy Eights.”

  Cid opened his mouth and then closed it. “I am. But I cheat, so no one will play with me anymore.”

  Sally laughed. She slid into the banquette and pulled a deck of cards out of her pocket. Cid and Jesse sat down on either side and watched as Sally shuffled the cards with the skills of a croupier. “Shall we start with Go Fish and move our way into Texas Hold’em?”

  Jesse got up and pulled out three rolls of quarters. He handed one to Cid and Sally. “I’m spotting
you guys ten dollars. I expect it back.”

  Faye watched the three move from awkwardness to teasing each other. The conversation was easy, and the game ended with Cid owing Jesse ten dollars. Sally bid the guys a good night and used the restroom before crawling into her bunk. Faye noticed Sally didn’t close the pocket door all the way. Whether this was an invitation, a sign of trust, or just that she didn’t like the idea of being in a small confined space, it wasn’t an issue because Cid and Jesse left her alone.

  Kiki stared down at the trailer from her room. She watched the lights go out and shook her head slowly. She didn’t see Sally being in the trailer as anything other than there was someone else protecting Cid. Cid was a problem. He would have to be watched and dealt with as soon as he lost his usefulness.

  Across the courtyard, Jon O’Connor and Blue Daniel stared out the window. They saw the woman standing in the window.

  “She looks funny,” Blue Daniel said.

  “That’s because her parents come from across the Pacific,” Jon said.

  “I remember our ride across the Atlantic.”

  “I do too.”

  “We had such hopes,” Blue Daniel said.

  “I still do,” Jon said.

  “We’ve been here a long time. All that was ours are long buried.”

  “I expect so. Danny, we have to keep the faith. Be strong. We just need to escape this place and the light will come for us. I’ll see my mam and you your parents.”

  “The last letter I wrote home, I put in a few dollars. I hope they got it,” Blue Daniel said.

  “I’m sure they did.”

  “Do you think they miss us?”

  “I think my mam is looking down from Heaven at me,” Jon professed.