“How many have you caught?” Anna asked.
Cameron said, “Six. A few rapists as well. Some of them are remorseful. Others are not. I liked to put the fear of God in both.”
“That doesn’t sound like you got very many,” Anna said.
“Wow. Thanks,” Cameron said sarcastically.
“What do you do all day?”
“Research. Interviews. I look over dates and crime scene files. Maybe something will hit and we can proceed with the case. Most of the time, it’s desk work.”
“Well, thanks for your service,” Anna said.
Cameron toasted her.
The instrumental soundtrack occupied the silence.
Cameron said, “You’re a remarkable woman, you know that?”
Anna replied, “Are you flirting with me, Agent? That’s not very professional.”
“Relax. I’m just saying that I admire your hard work. Being a single mother and full-time manager takes a certain type of grit. Not everyone has that,” Cameron said.
Anna shrugged. “I do what I got to do to survive.”
“There are easier ways of making a living,” Cameron said.
Anna replied, “True, but I’m building something here. If it turns out well enough, it’ll be here long after I’m gone.”
“Ah,” Cameron said, nodding. “A legacy.”
“Just a nice hotel,” Anna replied.
“My father would’ve liked you. He always talked about leaving his imprint on the world,” Cameron said.
“What did do?”
“He was a cobbler. His business wasn’t very successful, so he spent a lot of his time grooming me,” Cameron replied.
“You going to take over the family business?”
“In a sense,” Cameron replied. “Sometimes I feel like I’m becoming more and more like him.”
“Dreaming of making shoes?” Anna teased.
“Bitter,” Cameron said. “Towards the end, he wasn’t a happy man. His passions didn’t fulfill him the way they used to. It was sad watching him go. He left this world miserable and alone.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Anna said. To lighten the mood, she said, “You might want to start looking for a wife.”
Cameron smirked. He finished his drink. “How about your parents?”
“Both of mine are using their retirement to travel the world,” Anna said. “The memories they’re making is the type of thing I want to leave my residents with here.”
“That’s romantic,” Cameron said.
“I’m a sucker for that type of thing,” Anna replied. She checked the wall clock. “I should get back to the desk.”
“Mind if I stay a little longer?” Cameron asked.
“Not at all,” Anna pulled out two more lemonades. “Enjoy.”
“Generous,” Cameron said, surprised by the gift.
Anna smiled at him and returned to the desk. She left the door open.
The next day Anna got the news that Harry was comatose. His wife wasn’t happy and wanted Anna to pay worker’s comp. Anna added that to her building debt. Lilith had a broken hip. She wouldn’t be back for months. Seeing that her boys had to go to school, Anna took over Lilith’s duties. She washed towels, dusted the rooms, and vacuumed the hallway. While washing the tall wall mirrors in one of the unoccupied second-story rooms, she pressed too hard on the glass and the mirror spun around like a revolving door.
“Whoa.” Anna took a step back.
A four-foot-wide passage was now open behind the mirror. She poked her head inside. Dusty particles swirled. Unpainted wood planks and flooring made up the passage. Turning on her phone flashlight, she stepped inside. It was claustrophobic, but she could walk through without turning sideways.
The floor creaked beneath her. Standing behind the mirror, she could see into the adjacent room. It was the young honeymooners fooling around on the bed. Anna felt dirty seeing it. She continued through the corridor and reached a T-intersection. She followed the path to the right, coming to a stop in a little pocket behind the second-floor storage office.
Sprawled out on the floor was a human skeleton. She wore a tattered, moth-eaten dress. A knife hilt jutted out of her forehead.
9
Alley
Like the wailing of a terrible beast, police sirens sounded in the distance. Clouds covered the coal-black sky. All around, autumn-kissed trees stood like creepy silhouettes in blackness. Under the light of the large club sign, Anna stood. She wore a thick jacket over her long-sleeve shirt. She hugged herself.
The squad car zoomed through the forest-lined path and braked harshly outside of the hotel. The two overly-familiar cops from last time exited. Anna bothered to read their name tags this go around. The muscular, dark-skinned one—Officer Parkman—led the short and squat Officer Dana toward the hotel’s front door. Anna matched their brisk pace. “It’s this way.”
She led the officers to the second floor. Like last time, they insisted on going alone. This time, they came back quickly and were more interested in the case than Anna’s womanly figure.
Dana asked Anna, “You’ve not touched her, right?”
“No. I called you right away.” Anna fidgeted, thinking about her patrons. “Is there any way we can do this without getting the entire department involved?”
Parkman said in his deep voice, “Protocol is protocol. Are you aware of any other passages like this?”
“Mr. Ferguson never told me anything about this,” Anna said. “So no, I’m not aware.”
Dana said to his partner, “We might have to canvas the entire property.”
“I’ll see what I can do about a warrant,” Parkman said.
“Not happening,” Anna said.
Dana said, “Ma’am, this hotel is a crime scene. It’s our job to search for clues.”
“It's my job to respect my patrons’ privacy,” Anna argued.
“A woman is dead,” Dana reminded her.
“But my patrons aren’t. They have rights,” Anna said. “This room and that corridor are your crime scene. If you want any more than that, you’ll have to talk to my lawyer.”
Dana grumbled. “Lady, let us do our jobs.”
“As soon as you let me do mine, sure,” Anna said.
Dana boiled.
“It’s cool, man,” Parkman said to his partner. He turned his attention to Anna. “We’re asking for your cooperation.”
“Every room here is considered its own residence. You wouldn’t search an entire apartment complex if there was a murder in one. Same rules apply,” Anna said.
The officer didn’t like being told no. Neither did Anna. She’d fight tooth and nail before she’d let her establishment be raided by the cops. Her reputation meant everything at this early stage.
Move cops arrived. Then the detective and the forensics team, including photographers, and the coroner. The second-floor hallway became a madhouse. One by one, Anna’s handful of patrons stepped out of their rooms and watched the chaos unfold. The female honeymooner wrapped her arms around her spouse. They both seemed intrigued by what was happening. Lance, the creepy blond man who had oily skin, was mortified. He stood by the old gentleman named Andrew Warren and said, “I can’t believe it.”
Asher was confused and lingered next to his mom, asking her a million questions that she didn’t know the answer to. “Who died? When? What’s on the other side of the passage? Are there more bodies? Are we in danger?”
Justin wore a hard face, annoyed the cops were around.
There were a handful of other residents that had been staying for the night. They gasped and spoke quietly amongst one another. The only person Anna didn’t see was Agent Cameron. Granted, he lived on the third floor.
After the skeleton was extracted, the police dispersed and, soon after, the fanfare. Anna apologized for the inconvenience. She followed Officer Dana and Parkman out of the lobby.
Dana asked Parkman, “What about this Ferguson character?”
“H
e is our number one priority,” Parkman said. “No one knows this place better than him.”
Dana cursed softly. “That means…”
“Yeah, all those stories must be true,” Parkman said.
They pushed open the double glass doors and walked out into the brisk, autumn air. It smelled of salt from the nearby ocean.
Parkman glanced over his shoulder. “Do any of the old employees still work here?”
“I wish,” Anna replied. “It’s just me and my sons. The rest quit when I took over.”
“We’ll find them,” Dana said.
“Thank you, Officers,” Anna said.
Parkman said, “Don’t thank us. Our superiors denied the search warrant.”
“How come?” Anna said.
Dana replied, “Club Blue has a lot of history. The local color doesn’t like to air it out in the open. The old bloods are especially sensitive when it comes to past mistakes.”
Parkman said, “But don’t get too excited. We’ll find a way into that horror house of yours. The truth won’t stay buried forever.”
Hearing this from the more reserved of the two officers shook Anna.
“Stay safe,” Dana said.
The officers got into their squad car and drove away.
Head hung low, Anna returned inside. She bumped into Cameron. “Sorry, I didn’t see you.”
“Quite the night,” Cameron said.
Anna nodded. “It reminded me of how much I miss sleep. I swear I’ve had more problems in the past two days than I have in my entire career.”
Cameron said, “Maybe it’s the hotel. The place might be cursed.”
“Well God, send a priest,” Anna mocked.
Cameron smiled.
“What?” Anna replied, peeved, “You need a towel or something?”
“You’re funny, that’s all.”
“Yeah, my life is a series of unfortunate events. It must be hilarious to a spectator.”
Cameron replied, “You look like you could use a drink.”
“I’d prefer a bubble bath… and a pizza. That would be nice.” Anna’s stomach growled.
Cameron said, “I have one.”
“A bubble bath?”
“A pizza. I got two on a discount. I can lend one to you.”
“It’s pretty hard to lend a pizza.”
“You know what I’m saying. You want it?” Cameron said.
“Yes, but I can’t stay up with you. I’m exhausted.”
“I understand,” Cameron said. “I’ll bring it down.”
“Bring it to my room. I’m closing early tonight,” Anna replied.
Cameron went his own way. Anna stayed at the desk until eleven-thirty. She put her closed sign on the door and locked it, then returned to her room. She felt the day’s labor in her bones. Cameron knocked on the door, holding the pizza box.
He said, “You want me to bring it in or…”
“Nah, I’ll take it from here. Thanks, though.” Anna took the box.
“Have a good night.”
“You too,” Anna closed the door, curious why he would like to enter her room. Did he like her? Anna thought of all of James’s romantic gestures when they first started dating in college. The memories left a bittersweet taste in her mouth. Dating after James would be… problematic. There were too many emotions she didn’t need in her life right now.
The next morning was hard. Her boys were off to school. Lance called her up to his room. The nearly forty-year-old man dressed in twenty-year-old clothes showed her the broken sink. The fixture was loose. It wasn’t anything Anna couldn’t fix with a wrench. She grabbed her tools and crawled underneath the sink. She felt the man’s eyes on her. Anna shuddered and worked quicker. She tested the sink. No more leak.
Anna said, “Anything else I can do for you?”
“That about does it,” Lance said. “Say, have you been able to reach Ferguson yet?”
“I’ve not heard a word,” Anna replied.
“That’s strange for the man to run off like that,” Lance remarked. “And that skeleton too. The whole situation is horrible.”
Anna agreed.
Lance said, “Well, at least you got it handled, right?”
“I do,” Anna said, sounding convincing.
“Good, good,” Lance mumbled to himself.
Anna went about her business.
That night, she brought her boys to the bowling alley and locked the door.
“Why are we eating in here?” Asher asked.
Anna set aside the glass, grabbed the ball, and rolled it down the lane. It knocked over three pins. “That wasn’t as dramatic as I hoped.”
Justin asked, “What? You want to play or something?”
Anna shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you have what it takes to beat me?”
“Psh.” Justin set aside his plate and joined her.
Always the competitive one, he started bowling spares and strikes. Asher entered the game and got swamped. They played two games.
It ended with Justin as the victor. 138 to 129. Asher had 81.
Anna high-fived her sons. “Good game.” She sat on the plastic bucket seat. “I should probably get back to the front desk.”
Asher sat opposite of her. “I feel like we’re not getting any new people.”
Anna felt the anxiety building in her chest. “Yeah, we need to be more aggressive in our marketing. I haven’t gotten around to it.”
“I could help,” Justin said.
“You’re already doing a lot,” Anna said.
Justin said, “Let me work full-time.”
“Justin, you can’t do that and school,” Anna reminded him.
“I wouldn’t,” Justin replied. “School sucks. It's not getting me anywhere.”
Anna said, “You used to love it.”
Justin replied, “Not really. Besides, that was before everyone thought I was a rapist. My teachers won’t even look me in the eye. Everyone moves when I sit down. Asher knows. He’s seen it.”
Asher nodded. “It’s messed up. I tried to sit next to Justin, but he wouldn’t let me.”
“Because it's gay to sit next to your freshman brother,” Justin replied.
“Enough of that, Justin,” Anna said. “You’re old enough that you shouldn’t be calling your brother names.”
“Yeah,” Asher added.
“I didn’t ask for your insight,” Anna said to him. She looked at Justin. “I know it’s hard, but everyone goes through it.”
“You don’t understand, Mom,” Justin said seriously. “Everyone hates me. Every. One.”
“That can’t be true,” Anna said.
Asher said, “It is. Even people in my grade spread rumors about him. That McKenzie chick doesn’t even come to school anymore. Apparently, she hasn’t said a word since that night.”
“Geez,” Anna remarked.
Justin said, “And I didn’t touch her, okay? She’s the one who left claw marks on my back.”
Anna could’ve gone her whole life without knowing that. She sighed. “You really can’t manage, huh?”
Justin said, “You need me here. I want to be here. Let’s just do it.”
Anna pondered it. She thought about her son a lot. To be accused of such a horrible thing must be unbearable. If he stayed full-time, she’d save money and time, but her motherly side wanted to give him a good education. “How about this: I let you stay, but after a few months and we start paying off some of this debt, you take online classes.”
Justin groaned. “Online sucks.”
“Throw me a bone here, Justin. I can’t have you going through your life as a loser,” Anna said.
Justin seemed conflicted and annoyed.
“I could transfer you to another school if you’d prefer.”
“No, no. I’ll be fine doing the online stuff,” Justin said.
“Awesome,” Anna said, “We’ll see your principal first thing tomorrow.”
Anna gave him a hug.
1
0
Redemption
Agent Cameron Ryder sat on the chest by the large bedroom window. The view of Sebring, the surrounding woods, and the Atlantic was stunning. Night had already fallen, but the beacon on the old, distant lighthouse shone on. Cameron’s right knee was bent and his foot rested on the chest. His left leg hung off the side. He held the phone to his ear.
“The skeleton was female. I suspect it was Alana Brown,” Cameron said.
“Is that the one that went missing in ‘86?” asked Jesse Coleman, Assistant Director for the FBI's criminal investigation branch. He was an Englishman who’d been at the agency for decades, and Cameron’s mentor.
“Yep. Another one of the runaways,” Cameron said.
“The police suspect this Ferguson fellow?”
“He’s the obvious candidate.”
“Occam’s Razor, Cameron,” Jesse said, very teacher-like.
“But there’s more here,” Cameron said. “The fire. The missing bodies. It could’ve been any one of the past patrons or a local for that matter.”
“I suspect the truth will come to the light when Mr. Ferguson is found,” Jesse said.
Cameron said, “I’m just asking for a little help.”
Jesse replied sympathetically, “You know I can’t.”
“I lost my temper one time and now I’m thrown to the wolves? There are agents who’ve done a lot worse than me,” Cameron complained.
“You nearly killed an innocent man,” Jesse said. “He’ll never walk. Never make love.”
Cameron pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jesse, I can’t keep living like this.”
“You’re a smart man. You’ll find a suitable career.”
Cameron said, “I need to have my job back. I said I’d do anything, and I meant it.”
“If the agency found out that I helped you—”
“They won’t. Trust me, when your superiors find out about all the names tied to Club Blue, they’ll have their hands full. Give me a little latitude, Jesse. I won’t let you down.”
Jesse said, “You’re not an agent anymore.”
“Not in title,” Cameron replied. “Help me. Please. I’m begging here.”
Jesse’s line went quiet.
The Haunting at Sebring Hotel (A Riveting Haunted House Mystery Series Book 13) Page 7