“Kiki, I have no problem with you except for how you treat your contractors. You need to get away from here and get a little perspective.”
“And let Cid take my company away from me?”
“How exactly would he do that? He doesn’t have the connections. Plus, Cid doesn’t have two nickels to rub together.”
Kiki frowned.
“You’re under stress here. It’s not the ideal working conditions. We’re all stuck together and not allowed to go into town. The isolation is enough to breed odd thoughts.”
Kiki shrugged and walked out of the kitchen without a word.
Jesse was the last in the common room. He filled his plate with whatever was left in the warming trays. It was enough for three people.
Kiki stood up. “What is your focus this morning?” she asked the group.
“Media room,” Pete answered. “We’re going to run the wires using conduit encased in decorative trim board, cleverly designed by Cid and Jesse. This way, we only have to disturb the room by coming up from underneath. Carl will tie it into the new fuse box.”
“How are you attaching the trim board?” Kiki asked.
“To the floor mostly.”
“Why not the walls?” she asked.
“Polished limestone. We could drill it, but every time you disturb something like that, you risk cracking it, and I don’t think we have the budget or time to replace it. I noticed there weren’t any slabs in the basement with the other odds and ends.”
“Sounds good. Do you need a full crew for this?” Kiki asked.
“Yes.”
“Keep me updated,” Kiki said.
“I will, Boss,” Pete responded.
Kiki’s phone rang. She looked down. “Pete’s in charge today over at the house. Excuse me, I have to take this.”
Kiki walked out of the room into her bedroom and shut the door.
The contractors looked at each other. Kiki seemed to have returned to being reasonable overnight.
“I can’t leave here!” Kiki said, loud enough for the men to hear from down the hall. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Ahem,” Sally said from the doorway. “Give the girl some privacy or I’ll put aprons on the lot of you and you can scrub pans.”
There was a quick exodus from the common room.
Cid waited until everyone had left before walking over and kissing Sally lightly. “Have a good day, dear,” he said, turned heel, and walked swiftly down the steps.
Sally methodically emptied the sideboard of its contents. She washed and reassembled the steam pans to use for the dinner service. She almost walked into Kiki on a return trip to collect any errant mugs.
“Whoa Nelly! Sorry, Boss. Is there something I can get you?”
“Alan Jefferies is on his way here.”
“Would you like me to include him in the lunch count, or perhaps put together a nice meal for the two of you?”
“No and no. He wants to take me into the city for a business lunch.”
“So I won’t include you in the lunch count,” Sally said, making a note.
“Yes. Do you know anything about this?” Kiki asked her through her teeth.
“I’ve never met Alan.”
“Of course you haven’t,” Kiki said, massaging the back of her neck. “I’m sorry, I’m going to take a shower.”
“I left my salt scrub in our bathroom. You’re welcome to use it. It helps get off the grime.”
“What grime?”
Sally picked up one of her omelet pans, turned it to the shiny bottom, and handed it to Kiki. “You look like you’ve rolled in ashes.”
Kiki didn’t recognize the woman reflected in the pan. Her straight black hair was half caught up in the neck of her sweatshirt. Her face was dirty.
“Do you have something clean to wear?” Sally asked.
“Yes, I think so.”
“How about letting me look your outfit over. I found an iron in the laundry.”
“I don’t pay you to iron.”
“I know. I’m just trying to help.”
“Don’t try to bond with me, Sally. It makes me comfortable.”
Sally tossed up her hands. “Go ahead and be a bitch. See how far that gets you down the road.”
Kiki narrowed her eyes but refrained from saying something that might result in the taller, stronger woman giving her a black eye. She turned heel and walked out of the kitchen.
Sally texted Cid, not sure he would get the text before he started working.
Kiki is meeting with Alan today away from the property. She’s in the shower now.
Cid responded:
Thank you for the info. Give Kiki a wide berth until she leaves.
Sally put a thumbs-up, and Cid responded with a heart.
Inside the bathroom, Kiki started the shower. Part of her didn’t want to have anything to do with the water. “Since when have I been aquaphobic?” she questioned herself. She forced herself under the shower head and felt the warm water on her skin. It eased the knots in her shoulders. She reached for the offered salt scrub and put some in her hands. She closed her eyes and scrubbed her face.
Kiki didn’t see the black ooze that flowed out of her body and over the edge of the ledge of the shower. Nor did she see its rapid retreat out of the steamy bathroom from under the door.
Sally, who was passing with a handful of dishtowels, stopped, thinking she was going to step in a puddle of tar. She backed away and took a picture and sent it to Cid as the tar moved into the shadows of the hall.
There was a pounding of footsteps, and she felt herself gently moved out of the way. Cid drew a salt line between them and the shadowy hallway.
“What’s going on?” Cid asked.
“Kiki’s in the shower.”
“Running water isn’t a ghost’s best friend, but this seemed like an active retreat.”
“Oh, oh!” Sally said excitedly. “I gave her a salt scrub to use on her face.”
“That would do it.” Cid drew
