by Alexie Aaron
“Gossip doesn’t bother the Martins. Mia was used to it before PEEPs drove into her life.”
“So the amazing Mia has no Achilles heel?”
“I’m not saying that. She, like we, has many problems, but she developed a callus when it came to how the town of Big Bear Lake spoke about her. I think that’s one of the things that I admire most about her.”
“Well, put me down as a fan,” Kiki said truthfully. “I’d like to spend more time with her.”
“If you’re heading in our direction, give us a call, and we’ll put you up. But I do have to warn you, nothing is normal about the Martin household.”
“Now, I’m definitely coming.”
The waitress came back with their drinks. She told them the appetizers would be up in a few minutes.
“Okay, time for you to answer some of my questions,” Cid said.
“Fair enough,” Kiki said.
“How are you feeling about being played by Calvin Franks?”
“I’m not sure I was. He told me the place was haunted, the bad history, and a bit about the murders. He just didn’t tell me the complete truth about his motivation. He knew more about you than I did. If I didn’t know better, I swear we were hired because of you.”
“If he only wanted a ghost rested, he would have just called PEEPs in. I believe he really wants an artists’ colony here. Maybe his way of honoring Pedro and his family.”
“He adopted those traumatized children.”
“He’s got a big heart.”
“Do you think he’s looking for revenge?” Kiki asked Cid.
“I think it’s justice. Calvin doesn’t seem like the revenge type, but I know he enjoyed making those men wait on him and cutting them short.”
“Like a cat with three blind mice,” Kiki observed. “Well, as long as none of my workers are harmed in the process, I’ll continue to rebuild the studios.”
“Good to know. Otherwise, I was going to have to inquire about another job.”
“Money that tight?” Kiki asked, worried.
“No. But I’m ready to break ground on my house. I’m going to build it in stages like the settlers did.”
“You’re building a sod house, you’re going to share with your livestock?”
“Well, maybe not that authentic. What I’ve got planned is to lay the foundations of a much bigger house, but start with the first story, and build on and up as the need arises. I figure, a nice parlor and dining room on one side, a chef’s kitchen in the middle, and a master suite on the other side of the house. This will eventually be an office when I build up or perhaps a guestroom. A detached garage with a large workspace. Although Ted will let me use his converted barn, I’d like to separate what I’m doing for the house from our inventing endeavors.”
The appetizers arrived. Cid waited until they were alone again before he said, “You’ve once again directed the questions away from yourself. Kiki, it’s time for you to come clean with me.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Kiki bought herself some time by putting a large helping of the spinach artichoke dip in her mouth. She chewed slower than a cow with its cud. Finally, she swallowed and said, “Go ahead, ask me.”
“Why the sporadic animosity for Mimi?” Cid asked.
Relieved it wasn’t about Jake, Kiki smiled. “Haven’t you been around long enough to see her at work?”
“I want to know your side,” Cid insisted.
“Mimi and I never were the stereotypical identical twins. She was needy, and I was more of a self-starter. Mimi needs to be admired, petted, and loved. In turn, she is nurturing and loving. We share an emotional link of sorts. She seems to know when I’m low emotionally. I know when she’s upset. We both get pulsing headaches when the other is in trouble. Instead of weekly phone calls, we both assume, if we aren’t feeling the other, that life is good, and we live our own lives. She doesn’t need to be in the limelight unless I am, and then life becomes difficult.
“The two of us are competitive in regard to familial admiration. I suppose our parents used this to get us to achieve. Both of us fought hard to be number one academically. That was until I discovered my true love; I love to work on old houses.
“When I ceased to compete with Mimi in school, she found other ways to better me. She took my friends away by pretending to be me and acting horribly. Naturally, Mimi as Mimi, came to the rescue. Kids don’t look too deeply when it comes to people. They never suspected that maybe there was a deception going on. I was pretty lonely during school, but the moment the bell rang and my uncle was there waiting for me to take me to whatever job he was working on, I became whole again. As we grew up and she went to college and was immersed in her academic life and I in learning the trades, we rarely had a problem with each other. We met up occasionally and seemed to get along famously. As long as she felt she had the better of me, she was happy.
“I guess I was lulled into a false sense of security. I didn’t see the Holy Shit thing coming. Gary worked for Rustic Renovations, a competitor of mine. Mimi, evidently, was dating him. Our paths crossed at a lumberyard, and he grabs my ass and starts pawing me. I took great exception to what he was doing and almost broke his arm getting him under control.”
“He must have been embarrassed. He told the guys that he mistook you for Mimi.”
“That’s what we agreed. That is what he would say if questioned on the job. The truth was, Mimi met him and pretended to be me for a month. He thought he was dating Kiki Pickles. He thought he was sleeping with Kiki Pickles. So, when he found out there were identical twin Pickles and Mimi was masquerading as me, he uttered those words…”
“Holy Shit,” Cid said. “I thought it was an interesting nickname to give him.”
“Yes, my sister figured that she would play fast and loose with someone in the construction field and build me a bad reputation. She thought it was funny playing with Gary that way. She figured, eventually, Gary and I would meet, but my rep would be so damaged by then, that Gary would assume I was lying and playing him for a fool. This is why I let my crew and, yes, even my customers know that I have a twin sister with a strange sense of humor.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know or I wouldn’t have called her.”
“It’s my mistake putting her down as my emergency person. I have just changed it to my cousin Imelda Wong. Cid, I know Mimi loves me in her way, but she can’t stand it when she’s not the number one twin.”
“It must be driving her nuts that you have such a loyal crew.”
Kiki smiled. “She knows better than to play with Walrus and Jesse. You, she didn’t know. You hurt her pride, so be careful. I’m not sure if she’ll retaliate or not.”
“Don’t worry, I can handle Mimi. I can hear the difference in your voices.”
“Really? My parents can’t tell us apart on the phone. I have a secret code word that I give them, so Mimi can’t fuck up my relationship with them.”
“Well, you and I share sister problems. They are vastly different, yet the same. It’s a shame that the people we’re raised with are the first to hurt us.”
“It’s not that way in all families,” Kiki said.
“You’re right. Ted’s sisters are very supportive, even though he terrorized them with pranks when they were kids. Macy Eggleston thinks that I’ve found my soul family with the Martins.”
“I think that’s an excellent way of describing what you have,” Kiki said.
The waitress returned, inquiring if they wanted to see the dinner menu.
Kiki looked at Cid, and he nodded. She said, “Yes, please. And another round.”
“I’m not sure…”
“Don’t worry, if you can’t drive, I’ll call Jesse to pick us up,” Kiki said. “That guy owes me big.”
“I’m sure there’s a story there.”
“A few stories. I’ll leave it to Jesse to tell you. What are you going to have? I’m starved. And before you cry poor, I know payday is tomorrow, so you can pay me
back. I think we’ll keep this meal a Dutch treat.”
Cid frowned.
“What’s the matter? Did you think I was paying?”
“No, I’ve just never been fond of that phrase, ‘Dutch Treat.’”
“Um, why?”
“Aren’t we disparaging the Dutch community?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Going Dutch refers more to the Dutch door, you know, split in equal halves, than being hurtful to the Dutch community. As contractors, we should take the example of the door itself and split the check.”
“Fine, I can’t argue with that logic,” Cid said, raising his beer. “To contractors who drink beer.”
“Hear, hear,” Kiki said. “I’m getting a steak, a big steak, a Wayne-size steak.”
Wayne looked at the last drumstick in the bucket before he took it. “How can they call this Kentucky Fried when it doesn’t taste like anything I’ve eaten in Kentucky?”
Jesse looked over at his friend and hunched his shoulders. “Branding, perhaps. All I know is that I didn’t have to cook it. I was hoping for a meal from master chef Cid, but he’s AWOL.”
“He took Kiki home.”
“Then he should have been back hours ago. You don’t think?”
“With Mimi around, no. Besides, Cid’s not interested in Kiki that way. I hear he’s dating a newswoman. She’s the Macy that’s going to join us tomorrow.”
“Nah, that was business. She hired him to help her with the ghosts at the newspaper. Faye told me that one of the ghosts is connected to our building site.”
“What a creepy coincidence,” Wayne said.
There was a rapid knocking on Jesse’s trailer door. He rushed to open it. Amy stood there, listening to something in her earpiece.
“We have one or more intruders on the site. The sheriff’s deputy has locked down Cabin 4. Stay inside, we don’t want to mistake you for a hostile,” she said and walked off.
“We better let Cid know, so he doesn’t walk into a problem.”
“Already on it. I’ve texted him and Kiki both, just in case they’re not together,” Wayne said. “Kiki just responded. She and Cid are just finishing their meal. They were eating out, and she’s calling her sister just in case she shows up here looking for her.”
“Faye!” Jesse called out.
It took a few minutes, but Faye materialized inside the trailer.
“What’s going on out there?”
“Two assailants came out of the woods. I think they were surprised to see the deputy there. They had made it past the security patrol. One of them dropped a bottle with a rag sticking out.”
Jesse and Wayne looked at each other. Wayne typed something into the phone and showed it to Faye. “Did it look like this?” he asked as he showed her.
“Yes. What is it?”
“A Molotov cocktail, an incendiary device. They light the cloth and toss it.”
“Why?”
“To burn things down.”
“But why use a poor man’s petrol bomb?” Jesse asked.
“To misdirect that this isn’t a professional job,” Wayne said.
The trailer felt like it was slammed. The insides shook. One end of the Airstream filled up with a black swirling mass. “Come quick!” Luminosa’s projected voice echoed off the aluminum walls.
Wayne put a hand on Jesse. “Amy said to stay inside.”
“Sorry, but when Luminosa talks, I listen,” Jesse said and grabbed his tool belt.
Wayne thought this must just be a reflex.
“I know where to go,” Faye announced, picking up on Luminosa’s urgent calls.
The men followed Faye, her body glowing to light the way.
“When did Faye start glowing?” Jesse called back to Wayne.
“Didn’t think she could. The girl’s been holding out on us,” he complained.
Jesse followed Faye to where Cid’s trailer was parked. They heard a cry for help behind it.
Faye went through the trailer and out the other side. “It’s Amy!” she shouted.
Jesse and Wayne ran around the trailer from opposite sides. Jesse was first to find Amy hanging on by one hand to a tree root. There was a black mass under her that seemed to be pushing her upwards. Jesse took his pry bar and stuck it in the earth and looped one end of a rope around it. The other he tied to his belt. Jesse got on his stomach, eased himself over the edge upside down and reached for Amy’s hand while his legs entwined themselves in the rope to steady his descent.
“Amy, give me your hand!” he called.
Amy looked up, squinting through the blood that streamed from the crown of her head. “I told you to stay inside.” She lunged upwards and grabbed Jesse’s hand. Walrus grabbed Jesse’s legs and pulled the two of them to safety.
“What happened?” Jesse asked.
Amy shook her head and opened her commlink. “String cheese. Be aware that I was attacked from behind. The suspects are still in the area. Be careful,” she said. “Damn, we need more light. I can’t see my hand in front of my face most of the time.”
“Cid’s got these super light discs. Wayne, call 911. I’ll get the discs. Faye, you’re on watch,” Jesse commanded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Who’s Faye?” Amy asked weakly. “I thought Miss Pickles’s name was Kiki.”
Wayne removed his overshirt, folded it into a neat square, and pressed it firmly on Amy’s head wound. “Faye is our ace in the hole.”
Faye beamed.
“Is that woman glowing?”
“You’ve been hit hard on the head,” Wayne said.
“And tossed off a cliff,” Amy said. “I caught a root on my way down, but I lost it. I know this sounds crazy, but someone held me against the cliffside until I got a better grip on it. I didn’t see anybody, but damn it, I felt like I was being hugged by my mother. She was a big woman. It felt like that.”
Jesse ran back and lit a disc, warning, “Cover your eyes a moment or you’ll be seeing blue dots for an eternity.”
“Wow, daylight!” Amy said, looking around her. “Now that woman is see-through. I’ve got a head injury alright.”
“No, that’s Faye. She’s a ghost,” Jesse said. “Wayne, did you get ahold of emergency services?”
“They’re already on their way, as is the Sheriff’s Department. Deputy Leidecker must have called them.”
Amy pulled off her commlink. “Here, use this to stay in touch with the guys. The code word is string cheese.”
Jesse put on the commlink and called out using the code word. “I’m going to light up the area with these discs. The parking lights are shit,” he informed the men.
“There is a fire in the storage shed. We’re fighting it but losing too much dried wood. We’ve called the fire department,” Jorge said, winded.
“Damn-it-all, a diversion. I’m going to go and help the deputy,” Jesse said. “Luminosa, if you’re around, I suggest you protect Cabin 4 with everything you’ve got,” Jesse called out.
Cid pulled in just ahead of the fire engines. He left Kiki in the truck. He grabbed his go bag and ran towards Cabin 4.
Kiki all but fell out of the truck. She grabbed her crutches and directed the firemen towards the blaze and the EMTs to the back trailer. “There are some light discs on the ground. Follow them.”
The sheriff and three deputies pulled in.
“Cabin 4!” Kiki shouted. “Your deputy, Cid, and Jesse are there now. Protect Cabin 4!” she shouted. “I’ve got this,” she said as the state police cruisers arrived.
“You need to get to the Forest Preserve road and look for vehicles parked near here. We have two reported assailants who are armed and have already started a fire. They may be who blew up your cruiser, patrolman,” she lied convincingly.
The patrolman called it in before he got out and directed the other car to the site of the fire. “Respectfully, ma’am, let me take over. You’re going to fall off them damn things, and my wife will kill me if you get hurt again on my watch.
”
Kiki nodded and hobbled over to the office and opened the door. She then opened the security trailer door and lifted herself in. An array of monitors were going from night vision to day as Jesse dropped light discs on his way to Cabin 4.
“And night became day,” she said, knocking on wood that this wasn’t the end of days.
Chapter Twenty-three
When Sheriff Grady picked Deputy Leidecker and two other deputies, he gave them a little speech. “You may think I’m nuts to put you out at that construction site guarding an old cabin’s cellar, and yes, I may indeed lose my job over this, but I assure you that the difference between something regrettable and something horrible is in your hands. Be alert, and don’t leave your post, no matter what you hear or see.”
“Sir, I’ve heard the place is haunted by an evil spirit,” Leidecker said, turning red as the other two men rolled their eyes.
“There is something out there, gentlemen, that I can’t explain. I ran into something in the woods that made its presence known to me. But it’s not this anomaly that we are worried about. It’s flesh-and-blood professional disrupters, cleaners if you will. Leidecker, I want you to take the late shift. Get some sleep. I want you alert.”
Deputy Leidecker moved slowly in the shadows of the large cabin. He kept the cabin at his back. He had interviewed one of the original security guards that had been hit from behind. He wasn’t going to give anyone the opportunity to do the same to him. He carried with him an extra radio to communicate with the new security team. They checked in with a series of taps. He identified himself with four taps with the microphone sending. If there was a voice communication, it would start with the words string cheese.
Faye had watched the deputy from her perch on the extended limb of an old chestnut tree. She was the first to see the two men steadily make their way through the overgrowth between the motel and the Forest Preserve. She moved off her perch and hovered over the men, judging their size to be equal to Deputy Leidecker, but two against one wasn’t good odds.
One of the men drew out of his pack a bottle of some kind and thumbed his lighter to start the flame.