Cid (Cid Garrett P.I. Book 1)

by Alexie Aaron

  Kiki saw the light bobbing around and disappearing entirely as a dark mass moved quickly down towards her.

  “Get against the wall,” Cid ordered. “I’m going to drop down and keep you afloat.

  Kiki didn’t have time to protest. Cid dropped down and quickly popped up out of the water. He picked her up with one arm and pulled her to the other edge where he spotted some branches.

  “I’m going to push you up so you can grab hold with your good arm,” he instructed. “I’m coming up after you.”

  Kiki did as she was told and managed to lift herself up. She was cold, but getting out of the freezing well water was important.

  Cid moved around and found his way out of the water and underneath where he had Kiki hanging on. “Jesse’s coming. I can hear him up there. I think they’re putting together some kind of harness.”

  “Pays to take a plunge with the world’s best contractors within screaming distance,” Kiki said with a bravado she didn’t feel. “Cid, I’m not sure…”

  Cid climbed up and grabbed hold of her.

  “Don’t worry if you can’t hold on anymore. I’ve got you.”

  “Cid, we’re going to pull this up and send a stronger rope down. Put Kiki in the sling. We’ll bring her up first,” Jesse instructed.

  “Gotcha!” Cid shouted back.

  The rope came down, and Cid carefully helped Kiki into the sling. “She’s ready! Pull!”

  Kiki found herself rising out of the well. With every tug from above, she felt the temperature change. Arms were waiting on top. She was pulled out of the sling, and it was immediately tossed to Cid.

  Walrus carried Kiki to the parking lot where the EMTs had just pulled in. She looked back at the house as she was loaded into the back. A dark cloud seemed to have formed over the west wing. Was it hyperthermia setting in or an omen that only she could see? Either way, Kiki knew in her marrow that the trouble at Hidden Meadow was just starting.

  Chapter Five

  Cid noticed something shiny as he rose upwards. He leaned over and snatched the object out of the roots where it must have either landed or been torn off whomever had taken a similar plunge as Kiki. He put it in his shirt pocket and buttoned it. Cid would deal with it another time. Right now, he needed to get topside and into some dry clothes. He had taken off his jeans, shoes, and socks, so he would not be hampered in keeping afloat. His feet hurt. His fall, although less than Kiki’s, was still twenty feet. The roots were not kind to bare skin.

  Jesse and Gut helped him up as his head cleared the well.

  “How’s the boss?” he asked.

  “Last transmission said hypothermia was setting in. The EMTs have taken her away. Walrus went with her. He’s going to give us updates,” Jesse told Cid.

  Cid jammed his feet into his boots, picked up his go bag and jogged to the house where he could change in peace.

  Jesse was waiting for him across the hall from the bathroom. “Boss says you have to go and get checked out. It’s an insurance thing.”

  Cid stood there in the PEEPs sweats he kept in the bag for emergencies. “I’m not going like this. I’ll stop off at the…”

  “You’re going with me, right now,” Jesse insisted. “Can’t have you driving until the doc says you’re right in the head.”

  Cid looked at the no-nonsense air Jesse had taken on and felt there was more than insurance prompting his attitude, so Cid put his wet clothes in the Ziploc he’d had the sweats in. He followed Jesse to his truck after he tossed his clothes in the back of his own truck and locked it up.

  “So you always keep a pair of jammies with you?” Jesse teased as they pulled out of the lot.

  “When you’re investigating the paranormal, you have to be ready for anything. Mostly the lead investigators end up using my sweats.”

  “Leads as in that hot little Mia?”

  “Mia and Mike.”

  “You think Mike is hot?”

  “No. I’m just explaining that… Oh, nevermind,” Cid growled. “Mia is like a sister to me. It’s hard hearing the others talk about her like she’s a piece of meat.”

  “Seems to me, she posed for the poster…”

  “Actually, the poster was taken from the Bodacious Beach Body contest. She only entered that because she thought her husband was watching.”

  “Was he?”

  “Yes, but he wasn’t right in the head enough to appreciate what it took for that shy girl to do that.”

  “So she’s shy?”

  “Not around ghosts or people she knows. But I’ve seen her steel herself to converse with people. Mia practically raised herself, so she doesn’t have the social graces my sister Candy or Ted’s sisters have.”

  “Seems to me that you’re a little stuck on her.”

  “No, it’s not that. I can appreciate her charms. It’s just that she trusts me, and she’s my best friend’s girl. I’m godfather to their son who was named after me. His name is Brian Stephen Cid Martin.”

  “So she’s family.”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “Cool, that’s cool. How is the PEEPs gig going?”

  “It’s certainly more of a challenge than I thought it would be. I thought I’d just follow some crazies around with the camera, right? No. I have experienced things that I can’t tell most of the world about. I’ve fought and saved ghosts. I hang out with the ghost that inhabits the Martin farm.”

  “So, that thing that attacked me?”

  “It was ghost, what we would refer to as an intelligent haunt. It worried me at first when Walrus said he smelled sulfur, but I think that came from the house demon in the west attic.”

  “You’re shitting me,” Jesse accused. “Come on, there is no such thing as house demons, or demons.”

  “Think what you will, but I’m telling you that Walrus, Kiki, and I’ve communicated with the demon. Which brings up what I was going to do today.”

  “What?”

  “I need to block off a vortex before one of our guys wanders into it accidently.”

  “What would happen?”

  “Worst case scenario, it would send them into the arms of demons that don’t like humans. They’d be dead in seconds.”

  “Where is it?”

  “In the subbasement of…”

  “There are no subbasements.”

  Cid looked over at Jesse.

  “Fuck me. I’ve been over that house with a steel comb. How did I miss a subbasement?”

  “There’s one in each wing. I suspect there may be some wine stored on Kip’s side,” Cid said.

  “I think the heirs would have drunk it up before they let the Hollywood set buy the place,” Jesse said.

  “Let’s check it out, but keep it between us. In my experience, it doesn’t do a project any good to advertise there are paranormal entities involved,” Cid explained.

  “But first things first, time to get you checked out,” Jesse said, pulling into the lot of the small hospital.

  Kiki put up with the humiliating probing. She was glad the nurse sent the overprotective Walrus to the waiting room. She was waiting for the ER doctor to review her MRI results. The cursory examination showed her left shoulder was bruised but not broken and her arm had managed to reseat itself in the socket. She was on a morphine drip which kept her from escaping the bed.

  She saw a familiar head being wheeled by. “Clark?” she called.

  Cid looked over to see the gowned Kiki waving at him with her good arm.

  “I thought you said your name was Cid?” the nurse asked suspiciously.

  “It is. Lois over there thinks it’s funny to call me Clark Kent.”

  “Since you’re friends, I’m going to put you in the next bed over. Don’t worry, the sheet will hide your secrets from Lois, Superman.”

  “Cute,” Cid said to the middle-aged nurse who was sporting a name tag of Wilhelmina.

  She handed him a gown and instructed him to put it on and get into bed.

  “I’m not hurt. I’m
just here to satisfy the insurance company,” he said.

  “And I’m telling you how things are done around here. You get dressed and hop into bed. The sooner you cooperate, the sooner you get out of here. Swimming in freezing well water isn’t a smart thing to do.”

  “He did it to save me,” Kiki called over. “Treat him like the prince he is or…”

  “Or what? You sit back and behave or I’m cutting that morphine off,” the nurse warned.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Cid laughed.

  The nurse looked at him and tried to suppress the smile she got from the now contrite Kiki but failed.

  Cid raised his hands and pulled off his shirt. The nurse left with the image of Cid’s muscled chest in her mind. Her smile widened.

  “Psst, Clark, is Broomhilda gone?”

  “For the moment.”

  “That well isn’t listed on any of the plans we have,” Kiki told him.

  “I suspected that might be the case. We’ll talk more about it when we get out of here,” Cid promised.

  He laid back until the nurse came in to take his vitals.

  “The doctor will be right in. Actually, it’s going to take him a while. Take a nap, or I could put on the TV?”

  “I’m fine. I’ll just close my eyes.”

  “Why aren’t all my patients good boys like you?” the nurse asked.

  “Wilhelmina, you must just bring out the bad boy in all men,” Cid teased.

  Wilhelmina drew the drapes around for the feeling of privacy. With Cid’s hearing, nothing in that emergency room was private.

  The ER doctor walked into Kiki’s room. “Well, Miss Pickles, aside from those cuts on your legs and arms, your bruised shoulder appears to have come through with very little trauma. You may see a lot of bruising in the next few hours. If you experience dizziness, tarry stools or anything else out of the ordinary, come in immediately.”

  “I will.”

  “See your GP in a week to follow up.”

  “My GP is in San Francisco.”

  “I’ll have Wilhelmina jot down the numbers of a few general practitioners in the immediate area. I don’t want to be a bore, but you’re lucky you didn’t die from that fall.”

  “I appreciate the seriousness of the matter,” Kiki said through her teeth.

  The doctor walked out of the cubical, and Kiki picked up her phone and called Walrus.

  “How are you?” he asked.

  “Doc says I’m going to live, but I need some clothes so they can spring me from here.”

  “Already in process, Jesse mentioned he had to get Cid something less embarrassing to wear, and I handed him a list which had underthings and shoes and socks too.”

  “Did you have to have Scrub buying my stuff?” Kiki asked, embarrassed.

  “Now, Boss, who would you rather meet in the bra and panty aisle of Walmart, me or Scrub? I’d probably get arrested.”

  Kiki thought of the massive man handling delicates and had to agree with him.

  “I’ll have them sent in when they arrive. I’m going to get a cup of coffee. Ring me when you’re ready to leave,” he told her.

  Kiki clicked off. “Are you still there, Clark?” she called over.

  “Yes. I’m heading to X-ray soon.”

  “You break something?”

  “No, but my feet are swelling.”

  “Damn. I hope you don’t get the gum-snapping volunteer I had.”

  “Odds are, in a place this small, she’s it,” Cid said. “So did I overhear that Jesse is buying us clothes?”

  “I forgot about those super ears of yours,” Kiki commented. “If we end up dressed alike, I’m going to fire him.”

  Cid laughed. “I didn’t ask him for anything. I’m used to these PEEPs sweats, but I don’t think he wants my nerdy lifestyle to bleed into this job.”

  “I didn’t hire you for your looks, Clark, just saying…”

  “I appreciate that, Miss Pickles.”

  “Boss is fine. I’ve never seen myself as Miss Pickles. What was my mother thinking?”

  “That she was in love with Mr. Pickles,” Cid said. “I see that my chariot has arrived. If you leave before I get back, I’ll see you later at the motel. Take care.”

  “Cid Garret?” the gum-smacking teen asked.

  “That’s me,” Cid said, easing himself out of bed.

  “I’m here to take you to X-ray.”

  “I gathered.”

  Kiki slid out of bed to spy on Cid and the candy-striper through the gap where the curtains didn’t meet.

  His feet did look a bit swollen, but he was walking on them, which was a good sign.

  The volunteer looked at him appreciatively. “Are you the one that recued that lady from the well?”

  “A few of us did,” Cid answered.

  “But you jumped in. How romantic!”

  Cid didn’t respond.

  Kiki stepped back and thought about it. How many guys had she dated that would jump in a well to save her? Not many. She wondered if her new friend Jake would.

  “Ahem,” Jesse cleared his voice. “Delivery for Miss Kiki Pickles,” he said, trying not to stare at her uncovered behind.

  Kiki turned around and wondered why Scrub’s face was red.

  He handed her the bag and left. She heard him give the other bag to the nurses for Cid and leave.

  “Men are funny creatures,” she thought and opened the bag.

  Walrus had Gut drive his truck over, and both of them waited at the curb for their boss to be wheeled out of the hospital.

  “She’s lucky she didn’t break her neck,” Gut said.

  “Lucky that Cid heard her fall. I understand she didn’t scream on the way down. Who doesn’t scream when they’re falling to their deaths?” Walrus asked.

  “The boss was probably calculating the cost of covering the well on the way down.”

  Walrus started laughing. “Probably coming out of my budget,” he said and sobered up. “I had no idea there was another well on the property.”

  “People never think ahead. The first owners probably told the next owners it was there, and that was it. It was covered up and forgotten,” Gut guessed.

  Kiki was being wheeled out of the hospital. She was dressed like the stereotypical image of a 1940s librarian in a cheap pastel-pink twinset and an ugly brown skirt. Jesse had found a cheap pair of brown shoes, and Kiki wore them with the pink anklets he’d purchased to match.

  Gut got out of the truck and helped her inside.

  “You’re looking…” Walrus started.

  “Don’t say it. You could have gone with him,” Kiki complained.

  “I think you look sweet,” Gut said, climbing in after her and shutting the door.

  “Scrub is a strange man,” Kiki said. “What would you have bought, Gut?”

  “I don’t know, a T-shirt and jeans, tennis shoes.”

  “Leave the guy alone,” Walrus said. “He doesn’t have kids or siblings. He probably asked someone for help.”

  “That would explain the granny panties,” Kiki said, bursting into laughter. “They come up to my armpits.”

  Walrus and Gut joined in on the laughter.

  Jesse waited patiently for Cid to be wheeled back from X-ray. He had gone through all the reading material he could find. Most of the papers and magazines that were left behind were months old. He did rip out a recipe he thought Cid would like. He never could figure out his pal’s penchant for cooking. Cid had told him, when you’re a fat kid, you learn how to make tasty things out of basically nothing. His mother demanded that he stay away from sweets, so Cid made sumptuous meals instead.

  Jesse and Cid had bonded years back at the Heritage Home jobsite. Jesse had taken the shy four-eyed carpenter under his wing. The Cid back then had basically two goals: the first was to get Lasik surgery in both eyes, and the second, to earn enough money to be able to build his own home.

  They had kept in touch with infrequent emails. Cid seemed happ
y with his present living situation, so no one was more surprised than Jesse when Cid had called to see if there were any short-term jobs this summer. Jesse set him up with Hidden Meadow.

  “And I told Becky that if she didn’t get her hands off of Brendan, I was going to tell everyone what she did with Harris and Toby and…”

  “We’re here,” Cid announced and launched himself out of the wheelchair. He brushed by Jesse, whispering, “Save me,” as he got back into bed.

  Jesse looked at the gum-chewing teen and smiled. “Thank you,” Jesse said curtly. “I’ve got this.” He shut the drapes in front of the candy striper.

  Cid and Jesse waited until they heard the chair being wheeled away. It was only after the last snap of gum could be heard that they started laughing.

  “She talked nonstop. I have no idea how an editor would have punctuated her dialogue,” Cid said, scratching his head.

  “Here, I got you some clothes.”

  “I heard that Walrus palmed his shopping off on you.”

  Jesse started laughing. “No one’s going to ask me to do clothes shopping again.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I found the ugliest shoes and went from there. There was this very helpful cashier on her lunchbreak. She bought the underwear. I told her I was buying my granny some things and explained she was in the hospital. The girl was very helpful, and I stopped and thanked the management.”

  “Kiki will kill you.”

  “Nah, she’s not going to want to hurt my feelings,” Jesse said smugly.

  Cid looked in the bag and was relieved to see jeans, Hanes boxers, tube socks, and a plain black tee.

  “I figured your boots would get you to the motel.”

  “They’ll be fine. They’ve been through worse. Paranormal investigation for a cameraman is hell on footwear, especially if Mia is leading you through dog shit.”

  “I’m beginning to like this Mia.”

  “Don’t. Everybody does, and it messes things up,” Cid said. “Ted’s a big jealous baby, and she doesn’t like the attention.”