by Alexie Aaron
Our boss learned his craft from the Bassos. He showed us the intricate walnut leaf and nut design he wanted carved into the balusters of the grand staircase. Walnut leaves are not pretty as the oak and maple are, and walnut is harder to carve, but this is why we were getting paid the wages promised. We would make such a grand staircase that all seeing it would drop their mouths open in awe.
We were working on the second-floor landing when the Italian workers began to grumble. They dug beneath their vests and kissed the crosses which hung from their necks. Jon managed to get a gist of what was going on. Evidently, a group of workers from Spain had arrived with flooring they were going to install. The Italian craftsmen crossed themselves and spit when they were passed by the solemn procession of floorers.
“What has them upset?” I asked Jon.
He shook his head and mumbled, “Something about evil tasks done by evil workers. But I could have the translation wrong. You really must teach me more Latin.”
“Why? Do you want to become a priest?”
“Latin is the root of all language,” Jon argued.
“Father Mathew would argue that Greek is.”
“You are blessed to have such an education.”
“The way I see it, my eyes were ruined by books, and my childhood was rot.”
From our position on the landing, we could see partway into the large west room. This room already had beautiful carved limestone walls, and the fireplace was one of which to be proud. It was connected to the floor above by a circular stairway that was tucked into a recess in the wall. Our boss produced a beautiful carved floor-to-ceiling panel that would hide the stairs from the rest of the room. We assumed the floor would be made of expensive marble, but when we saw them lay the wood, we were disappointed. It was not much better than the hardwoods that were laid in the lesser bedrooms. It wasn’t until they unwrapped the cherry did this all make sense. It was a wood inlay of some kind. Jon had said he’d seen drawings of old ballrooms and state rooms where the family’s coat of arms was embossed in the center of the room.
Not long after the flooring was completed, we workers were presented with a reward for the work we had accomplished thus far. The lot of us were given transportation to New Orleans where we were to enjoy ourselves for one month. Our accommodations were paid for, and we received an allowance for the time we were there. Our boss warned us that if we got into trouble or gambled away our allowance, we would not be welcomed back.
I spent my days listening to tales of the merchant marines and reading books I had found in the bookshops. Jon asked my help in finding books that would help him to improve himself. He said my education was a gateway to riches. I didn’t want to crush his hopes. While the other workers drank their allowances and enjoyed the free women of the night, I tutored Jon in Latin and Euclidean geometry.
Soon, our holiday was finished, and we traveled back to Walnut Grove House. The west sitting room and the suite above it was locked and made off limits to we workers. At night, we could hear footsteps pacing above us, but no one knew who was living in those rooms.
Sally yawned. It was difficult reading between the printed lines of H. G. Wells’s masterpiece. She looked at the clock and decided she’d better call it a night so she could be awake to serve the contractors a healthy breakfast in the morning. She did take the time to note two important facts before she succumbed to slumber. One: Atwater may not be the family name, and two: there may be a hidden staircase in the new media room.
~
Kiki stood looking out at the quiet streets. The hour was late, and Alan was sleeping peacefully in bed. Kiki felt an unrest she couldn’t exactly identify. Was it paranoia? Had she really fallen so far down that she no longer could value a good employee but thought of him as her competition? Kiki would love to have blamed her parents for this nurtured distrust. They had pitted her against her identical twin sister Mimi. Their intention was to get each girl to excel by making them compete with the other, but all it did was separate the two girls who really needed the other to balance what was lost in each during the division of cells.
Kiki thought about the project she needed the money from this job to secure. She had already optioned it to keep it off the market. Alan had a client who owned the block and was arranging for his estate to be put into order. Richard Westly wasn’t ill, but he was a planner. He had purchased the properties when they were not much more than a ruin, and he and his employees had worked hard to produce economic apartments for the working class of the city. But those initial renters had eventually moved on. Westly put limits on the leases of any new renters so that the property would not be occupied when he wanted to sell. Alan had suggested either he sell to Kiki or take her on as a partner. The two had spoken, and Kiki was pushing to have the project to herself. Westly decided it was time he retired and saw Kiki’s project as one that would further improve the neighborhood. Kiki had sealed the deal when she promised that the block would be called Westly Square.
“Why not Pickles Square?” Westly had asked the young contractor.
“I can’t see Pickles Square as something someone with a solid bank account would be wanting to be put on their expensive stationary. Besides, you saved these buildings from being torn down. You deserve to be remembered for your sacrifice.”
“You really love these old homes, don’t you?” Westly observed.
“They are my children,” Kiki said.
“Buildings can’t return your love, young woman,” Westly cautioned.
Kiki turned around and looked at the man sleeping in the bed. Alan had returned her love and wanted to make a life with her. Why was she still so resistant to marrying him? What was wrong with her?
~
Cid and Jesse locked up the house and followed the other’s boot prints in the snow to the workshop. They put their tools away and headed back outside to the trailer. Inside, Sally had left some snacks and a thermos labeled hot toddy. Jesse and he talked quietly, sensing Sally was asleep in the back bunkroom. Cid looked at the book and glanced at her notes and smiled.
“She’s gotten pretty far into Daniel’s story. Two interesting facts. She thinks that maybe Atwater isn’t the family name. It could have been changed when August immigrated. Also, at the time of building the house, there was a circular stairway hidden by a carved wood panel in what is now the media room.”
“That’s impossible, we would have found it when we ran the conduit,” Jesse said and then shook his head. “We didn’t run any on the fireplace wall, did we?”
“We didn’t. Let’s take a look tomorrow.”
“After we finish testing all the plugs for Carl,” Jesse said. “If we can get the electrical finished, we can seal that ceiling.”
“It will be interesting to do because there is no way to avoid smearing the salt lines, unless you can levitate?”
“Do you think Kiki would mind putting Jon and Daniel on the payroll?” Jesse mused.
“Right now, I’m not sure either of us is still on the payroll,” Cid said.
Jesse got up and cleared the table and helped Cid to make his bed. “Get some sleep. Until we hear otherwise, we are still employees of Pickles Renovation.”
~
Faye walked into the nursery to find Jon and Blue Daniel playing with the toy soldiers. But instead of lining them up on the battlefield, they were using them as chess pieces.
“I would like to thank you on the behalf of the renovation crew for your forethought in disabling your crazy comrades in the basement.”
“It was the least we could do considering they locked up the monster who has been feeding off us for more years than either of us can remember,” Jon said. “We didn’t know about the salt, or the iron, let alone lead.”
“Cid has been part of a paranormal investigation group for a few years. He is a good person and will end up doing the right thing. You can depend upon that.”
“Ah, but he isn’t in charge,” Blue Daniel said
. “I’ve seen the fierce woman with the strange looks. She runs this crew.”
“She can be fair. We think that that monster that feeds off of you has been possessing her and making her think the wrong kinds of thoughts,” Faye reported. “Do you know who that was before it was turned into a negative elemental?”
“Negative elemental, what in the holy church is that?” Blue Daniel asked.
“Demon ghost,” Faye said. “When demons die, they become negative elementals. But we are investigating whether this can happen to a very bad human.”
“If it’s the latter, then it’s August Atwater,” Jon said. “The first time I locked eyes with him, my heart bled. The second time, he was holding my bleeding heart in his hands. The third time, his negative elemental was feeding off my soul.”
“How horrible,” Faye said.
“Let’s put that behind us for tonight,” Jon said. “Tonight, we want to hear all about you, Faye.”
“My story is an incomplete one. I can tell you my activities since finding my way out of the well, but alas, my life is a mystery.”
“How sad,” Blue Daniel said. “Tell us of your exploits.”
“Well, at first I thought I was being robbed of my emerald pin…” Faye began.
Jon and Blue Daniel were captivated by Faye’s adventures. They also were beginning to form an opinion on Cid Garrett and the other contractors.
“Stephen Murphy?” Jon asked when he first heard the ghost’s name. “There are a lot of Murphys in the old country.”
“His father’s mother is a Callen if it narrows things down.”
“Farmers. They were farmers,” Blue Daniel said. “Most had a bit of a problem with alcohol.”
“And how would you know that?” Faye asked amazed.
“I was taught by the holy fathers,” Blue Daniel said. “I was underfoot when things like this were discussed.”
“I’m very envious of your memory. Do you know how you died?”
“Yes. But the circumstances are still not completely clear,” Blue Daniel admitted.
Faye nodded sadly.
“I remember lips upon mine, and hands holding my head still, and fingers holding my nose closed. The lips sucked the air out of my lungs, and when I had no more air to expel, the sucking didn’t cease until I felt my lungs wither in my chest. Only then was I released. As the light faded, I felt my head hit the floor. That was it until I woke up in this state.”
“How horrible,” Faye said. “I could see you died from lack of air, but that is probably the most horrendous death. Did you know who did this to you?”
“I think it wasn’t a who but a what. The same what that took Jon’s heart.”
“There is a consensus among those who are helping us that dark magic is involved,” Faye said.
“I would agree,” Daniel said.
“Your book is being read and taken most seriously,” Faye reported.
Daniel allowed himself a moment of hope.
“The woman reading it mentioned to me that it’s written scholarly and in a style that gives her insight into the caliber of the man writing it.”
Jon angled his head and looked at Daniel. “See, all those hours were not a waste.”
“You said they were,” Blue Daniel reminded Jon.
“I was wrong, I’m sorry,” Jon said.
“Tell me about the woman reading it,” Blue Daniel asked Faye.
“She’s the woman who stood between you and Cid. I’ve only just met her, but she is a veteran, a former foot soldier,” Faye said, pointing to the pawns on the chessboard. “She was injured and suffers a nerve disorder because of it.”
“That is most unfortunate. Wars should never happen,” Blue Daniel said.
“I agree,” Faye said.
“I hope that my account will not bring back the horrors she has escaped,” Blue Daniel worried.
“If it does, I expect Cid will help her.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sally slid out of her room and gathered her things, including the book, before leaving the trailer. The sun was just cresting the eastern hills when she opened the door and climbed the stairs. She listened, and aside from the chorus of snoring men, there were no other sounds. She put a breakfast together that would keep for a few hours. She wasn’t sure exactly when the crew had finished for the night, but she knew it was late. The aroma of coffee brewing seemed to enliven her step. She rolled out some sweet rolls before she got off her feet and looked at her notes from the evening before.
There, nestled next to her bookmark, was a note.
Dear Sally,
Have a good morning. I will enjoy speaking with you about the book when I can put two good brain cells together. Jesse thinks I will have to order at least one brain cell from the internet.
Love,
Cid
Sally smiled. She was just about ready to continue to read when she heard a footfall. Carl stood there sleepily in the doorway.
“Well, it looks like you’ve forgotten where you put your teddy bear,” Sally said.
“I’m just checking in. You look well.”
“I think I’m the only one who has gotten a full night’s sleep,” she commented.
Carl fumbled along the counter and secured himself a mug.
Sally poured him a cup of coffee and one for herself. “Sit.”
Carl did as he was told.
“Tell me about your night,” she pressed.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. We worked like a well-oiled machine. No egos, even though each of us is a master at our craft.”
“You have a common goal.”
“Yes, get this job behind us,” Carl said. “How are things with you?”
“And he casts his line into the water…” Sally said.
“Yes, I’m fishing. Cid was very happy. Too happy.”
“That is none of your business.”
“Do you like him?”
“Very much. I know it’s too soon, and my head says one thing, but the rest of me says another. When we are through here, I’ve decided to go to Big Bear Lake for a while.”
Carl lifted an eyebrow.
“It’s not what you think. There is a veterans facility that Cid has some pull with. Sarah Leighton is a family friend. I’d like to try some therapy for my PTSD. I had another spell…”
“I know, I saw.”
“It’s the first time I let anyone touch me during one,” Sally said. “I’m thinking this is a good sign.”
“I’m thinking it’s the man who was touching you,” Carl said. “I can’t protect you forever, and I have no warnings to give you, except, please understand that, like we all, Cid isn’t perfect. He will make mistakes. He thinks with his heart, and sometimes, he’s very slow in making up his mind.”
“He’s worth waiting for.”
“He’ll never be a rich man.”
“I’m not looking for a rich man, Carl. Just a man who can love me full out.”
Carl took a long sip of his coffee. “We aren’t related, but you think like I do. Maybe it’s the nurturing we got from Mama.”
“I’d like to call her today. Is it too soon?”
“She’s been up for hours.”
“No, I mean to tell her about Cid.”
“No. I hear Cid called the Martins as soon as you two returned from Whole Foods.”
This made Sally blush. She got up and kissed Carl on the head. “Pew, I recommend a shower. You smell like a construction site, and not the nice part.”
“Ever the charmer,” Carl said. He finished his coffee and watched Sally continue to work on her breakfast rolls. Damn if he didn’t see his mother in the way Sally worked the dough.
~
The librarian was surprised to see Kiki and Alan when she opened up the doors. “I’ve just put a reserved sign on the second-floor workroom,” she told them. “I understand you’ve got a lot of material to go through.�
�
“Yes, ma’am,” Alan said.
“Come to the counter, and I’ll clear off a rolling rack for you to use.”
“Thank you,” he said.
Kiki grabbed his arm as they walked. “Stop a moment and look up.”
He did so without question. He saw the beauty of the ceiling. “Wow.”
“I want to recreate that in the condos I’m going to renovate.”
“I think then, you and Cid need to sit down and iron out your differences,” Alan counseled.
“I don’t want him taking control of my projects,” she said.
“Does he tell you what to order or who to hire?”
“No,” Kiki said. “I see where you’re going with this. He only steps in when he thinks I’m not paying attention and I could possibly get someone hurt.”
They approached the desk, and Alan put a mental bookmark in the conversation until they were in the research room. Kiki and he split up the list and met back at the elevator with the cart full of materials. They rode up the large lift in silence. Alan admired the carved surfaces.
“Seems to me that they had a few craftsmen in the area who really knew how to work with wood.”
“Yes, I’m beginning to see this. I wonder if any of their heirs are still around?”
The room wasn’t lit with fluorescent bulbs. It had ceiling fixtures and a lamp on the large table itself. It was plugged into the table.