“I thought…” she started. She broke off. How could she tell him what she had thought? He was already looking at her like she might be about to have some sort of breakdown.
“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head.
She forced herself to relax. She’d be ok now he was with her.
She went back to the blanket. Jason sat beside her. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “What happened Kel?” he asked gently.
“I kicked the bottle over and I panicked. I went to the kitchen to look for a cloth or something. Then you came back and I got a shock. That’s all.”
She hated lying to him, but what else could she do? She couldn’t crack up. Not now. There was too much to do.
“Jase why was this place so cheap?” Kelly asked as slowly chewed the pepperoni pizza slice.
“Oh you’ll love this one,” Jason said. “You know the business flopped with the past owners right?”
Kelly nodded.
“I went through the books, and it seems that the decline coincided with the husband developing a drinking problem. But instead of blaming that, the couple said there was a demonic presence in the place. Said it scared the guests away. Something happened one night. Something neither of them will discuss. They left and never came back. They called a realtor, had a house clearance take everything away, and waited for an offer.
“Rumours flew about the demon hotel as the locals named it. No one would touch the place. They slashed the price more than once. How lucky is that?”
“Very,” Kelly said. Her mind flashed back to the bloody kitchen, the low laughter, the moved bottle. She paused. “What if it’s true?”
“Don’t worry if it is,” he said. “I’ll set the trained unicorn on the ghost.”
He laughed and Kelly found herself joining in. He was right. There was no such thing as ghosts. Was there?
Chapter 2
Three Months Later
Kelly squeaked with excitement as she saw the car pull up in the driveway. She hopped from foot to foot clapping her hands.
“They’re here,” she said to Jason. “They’re really here.”
Jason laughed at her excitement. “Calm down honey, they’ll think you’re loony.”
Kelly stopped jumping and clapping, but nothing could get the huge grin off her face. The last three months had been more hard work than she had anticipated, but they had paid off.
All of the ten rooms where redecorated in a soft magnolia with oak furnishings. The bathrooms had all been replaced. Everything was clean and fresh and new. And now they were ready to welcome their first guests.
Kelly had felt the presence a few more times, but never again in their living quarters. She knew what had happened. It had been her fear of the unknown. Once she felt comfortable in their living space, with their own things around them, the presence went away. And now she only sensed it in the rooms and communal areas. As they redecorated, she felt it less and less. As they made the place theirs and her fears melted away. She thought a shrink would call it transference.
And there hadn’t been anymore hallucinations for which she was grateful.
The bell above the main door tinkled as it was pushed open. A man appeared, pulling a large suitcase, followed by a woman and a child. The couple looked about the same age as Kelly and Jason – mid-twenties – and Kelly would have put the little girl at around eight or nine.
Kelly forced her excited smile down to what she hoped was a welcoming smile that wasn’t too eager.
“Welcome to the Wiley Manor Hotel,” she smiled, as the woman approached the desk she stood behind. “Did you find us ok?”
“Yes thank you,” said the woman. “We’re booked in for the weekend. The name’s Jones.”
Kelly clicked around on the computer. She knew who they were. They were the first ever guests and they would be the only guests this weekend. But she wanted to look like she hadn’t memorised every details of their booking.
“Mrs Jones, you will be staying in room four. There’s a double and a single as you requested. Breakfast is served in the dining room between seven and ten. You’ll find a menu in your room so you can consider your options.”
She smiled, suddenly nervous. Was she babbling too much. Mrs Jones smiled back. Kelly turned to the cork board behind her and grabbed the key to room four.
“Here’s your key. Jason will show you to your room and bring your suitcase. If you need anything, please don’t be afraid to ask. If neither of us are about, we’re on third floor. Just give us a knock. I’m Kelly by the way.”
“Thank you,” Mrs Jones said. “Call me Leila. This is my husband Josh and our daughter Sammy.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Kelly said. Sammie waved and Kelly waved back. “How old are you honey?”
“Nine,” Sammy said back quietly.
“Nine?” Kelly said. “Wow, you’re almost a grown up.”
Sammy beamed. Kelly turned back to Leila. “Enjoy your stay,” she said.
“Thank you,” Leila said again. Jason took the suitcase from Josh and the four of them disappeared along the corridor, Jason leading the way.
He soon came back. He was clutching a spray bottle in his hand. “You left this in their room,” he said.
Kelly shook her head. “No I didn’t. I was just in there checking it before they arrived.”
Jason shrugged. “Well it was in there.”
Kelly didn’t know what to say. Not this again. She couldn’t cope with things moving around. Not today. Not with their first guests. No.
She gave up trying to form an explanation. “I must have missed it,” she said, taking the bottle from Jason and heading to the supply closet with it.
“Yeah,” Jason said to her back shaking his head. How could she have not noticed a spray bottle standing in the middle of the bed?
Kelly felt a shiver run through her as she felt two sets of eyes on her back. Jason’s and someone, or something, else’s.
Chapter 3
Kelly sat behind the reception desk with a large mug of tea before her. She had a magazine spread out beside the computer. She was reading an article about red carpets and who wore it best.
She wasn’t really taking in the words. She was too excited to read. The bad feeling from yesterday was an almost distant memory, and when it did try to pop up, Kelly pushed it away, refusing to let it affect her good mood.
Breakfast, the first breakfast Kelly had cooked for guests, had gone really well. The Jones family had all chosen cooked breakfasts and they were all full of compliments after the meal. Kelly was particularly pleased when Sammy told her she had enjoyed her breakfast. Grown ups might lie to be polite, but children, well, they just say things how they are.
Her enthusiasm had worn off onto Jason who had decided to spent the day outside, sprucing up the B&B’s grounds a little. He had hurried off to the garden centre and returned with new plants – shrubs and seeds to grow pretty borders.
Jason had laughed when Kelly said she would man the reception desk. He reminded her that calls rerouted to her cell phone, and there was a bell for walk ins. And that they only had one family staying with them who knew where to find her. She had shrugged and told him she would rather be on reception. She said it felt more professional.
She was starting to think maybe he’d been right. The phone had rung a couple of times. Three queries, two of which she managed to answer and one new booking. That was all. She could have dealt with that from her own rooms. She hadn’t seen a single sign of the Jones’s since breakfast.
She sighed. She hoped that they could pull this off. She imagined the lobby busy with guests coming and going and the gardens filled with people reading, children running around and enjoying the sun. She knew they would get there. It might be slow to start with, but that was normal.
Kelly looked up as she sensed more than saw movement. Leila opened the front door.
“Sammy! Sammy!” she shouted. “Come on, it’s time to come in now. W
e’re going into town.”
There was no answer. Leila stepped outside. A couple of minutes later, she was back, still alone. She approached the desk.
“Have you seen Sammy?” she asked. “She went to explore the grounds after breakfast.”
Kelly shook her head. “No,” she said, “but Jason’s been out there sorting the garden all morning. I’ll give him a quick call.”
Leila smiled. “Thanks. If Sammy spotted him, it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s hanging round him helping him.”
She put the word helping in air quotes. Kelly laughed.
She picked up her cell phone and called Jason.
“Is Sammy with you?” she asked when he answered.
“Who?” he said.
“Sammy. The Jones’s little girl?”
“Oh. No I haven’t seen her. Is everything ok?”
“Yeah. Sammy went to explore the grounds and Leila can’t find her. We thought maybe she was with you.”
“I’ll have a scoot around. The grounds aren’t that big. She can’t have gone far.”
“Thanks,” Kelly said and hung up the phone.
She turned back to Leila. “He’s going to have a look around. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee or anything?”
Leila shook her head. “No thanks. We’re off into town to have a look about once Sammy’s back. I told her not to go too far.”
“That’s kids for you isn’t it? Their idea of not too far and ours are so different.”
Leila smiled knowingly. “You got that right,” she said.
The women chatted about what to expect in the town. Leila showed a lot of interest in the local history and Kelly found herself sharing some of the stories the realtor had told Jason about the B&B. Leila laughed along.
“So have you seen anything spooky?” she asked.
“No,” Kelly laughed. If Leila noticed the laugh was forced, she didn’t comment.
The front door opened, saving Kelly from any further questioning.
“I’ve looked all over the grounds and I can’t find her,” Jason said, a look of concern on his face. “It is possible she would wander out of the grounds?”
Leila’s face went white and she shook her head firmly. “No. She wouldn’t do that. She knows how much trouble she’d be in. Especially when we’re somewhere new where we don’t even know the area. Oh God, what’s happened to her?”
The last part of Leila’s sentence was raised, her panic growing.
“Jason, go and get Josh,” Kelly instructed. She turned to Leila. “I’m sure she’s just wandered too far and gotten herself lost. I’m going to call the police and have them help us look for her.”
“She wouldn’t wander off like that,” Leila insisted as Kelly dialled. Kelly nodded sympathetically. Of course Leila wanted to believe Sammy would do as she was told, but the evidence seemed to suggest otherwise. It wasn’t like the place was exactly busy so she couldn’t be with any other guest.
“What if someone took her?” Leila said quietly.
“There’s no one around here for miles,” Kelly said in what she hoped was reassuring voice.
She heard her call get picked up. She quickly explained what had happened and give the officer the address. She hung, relieved to see Jason was back with Josh in tow. At least now she wouldn’t have to try and reassure Leila. She didn’t know what to say.
“An officer will be by shortly,” Kelly informed them.
Kelly went off to make a pot of tea that no one wanted, just to give herself something to do. She left Jason to deal with Leila, who was crying now and getting more worked up by the minute, and Josh who was stony faced and silent, his cheeks pinched with worry.
When Kelly returned with the tea, two officers had just arrived and were introducing themselves.
“I’m Officer Drayton,” the male officer said. He indicated the female officer. “And this is my partner, Officer Harding.”
Jason led the officers and the Jones’s to the dining room so everyone could be seated.
Officer Drayton asked a whole host of questions. How old was Sammy? When had she last been seen? Did she often wander away? Did she know the area? What was she wearing?
When he had finished with the questions, Kelly thought what he had heard must have worried him, because he asked to be excused, saying he had to make a call to the station.
Officer Harding stayed behind, reassuring Leila and Josh that they would find Sammy.
Officer Drayton returned. “Do you have a recent photo of Sammy?” he asked.
“In my purse in the room,” Leila responded.
“Would you be kind enough to get it for us please Mrs Jones?”
Leila stood up and hurried away.
Officer Drayton continued. “We’ve got a large search team on their way over now. Once we get the photo, some officers will be going door to door around the area and in the town. The rest of us will spread out and search the countryside.
“I’m coming with you,” Josh said immediately.
“Me too,” added Jason.
Officer Drayton nodded. Kelly had expected him to object, but it suddenly occurred to her that in a small town like the local town, there probably wasn’t a huge police force. They would need all the help they could get.
Leila returned with the phot before Kelly could say she was going too. Josh updated her and she instantly insisted she would be involved too. Officer Harding tried to persuade her not to. It was clear she was upset and wouldn’t be overly helpful, but she insisted.
Officer Harding looked to Kelly. “Will you stay here?” she asked. “This will be our central point. Someone needs to be here to receive updates and pass them out to the field teams. Can you do that?”
Kelly nodded. She noticed that the officer didn’t say she should be here in case Sammy came back. Had they written her off already or was it just that it went without saying that if Sammy showed up she would inform them?
Chapter 4
The search parties were all organised and ready to go. There were the two officers who had responded to the original call, Josh, Jason, Leila and a further eight officers who had recently arrived. Officer Harding had made sure Leila was to be with her.
As everyone was getting ready to leave, Officer Harding approached Kelly and handed her a sheet of paper.
Kelly glanced at it. It was a list of names and numbers. “This is everyone involved in the search. If anyone calls in, please share the information with the other teams. The top two names will be doing door to door, and the rest of us are divided into two parties, one led by me and one lead by Officer Drayton. If you need anything, call me. Ok?”
Kelly nodded. She pushed the sheet into her jeans pocket to make sure it didn’t get mysteriously moved. That was a bad time to think of that, Kelly thought, just when everyone was leaving and she would soon be alone in this place.
“Everyone know their positions?” Officer Harding called over the group.
It seemed they all did. “Let’s go,” she said.
Jason turned and gave Kelly a half wave which she responded to equally as half-heartedly. She couldn’t believe this had happened. Their first guests and this. Not that they could be blamed for it. But still, it didn’t look good for business.
Kelly tutted out loud at herself. A child was missing and she worried about it would affect the image of her business.
As everyone filed out of the doors and got into their cars, Kelly felt suddenly useless. She sat down behind the desk and tried to think of what she could do to help from here.
It suddenly occurred to her that no one had searched the rooms. Surely an old manor house filled with rooms would sound interesting to a child? Maybe Sammy had gone for a look around.
Kelly grabbed her cell phone in case anyone called in. She started along the corridor. She checked the door handles as she went. They were all locked. She didn’t bother with room four. She thought Leila and Josh might have noticed if Sammy had returned.
She trie
d the handle of room 5. It too was locked. As her hand touched the handle, she felt an intense coldness surround her. She could see her breath clouding in front of her in plumes of white. Not this. Not now she thought.
Determined to ignore the cold and the eyes she could feel watching her, Kelly turned away. Instantly, she turned back. Something was in there. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. It was as though the room was calling out to her.
How could Sammy be in there though? The door was locked. Kelly snorted. Like that mattered here.
She reached for the lanyard around her neck and got the master key. She slowly unlocked the door and pushed it open. Room five looked exactly as it should. Nothing was out of place. Kelly stepped in and looked around.
The door slammed shut behind her, causing her to give out a small yelp. She felt something in the room. Something pure evil. She could have never explained it, but she could feel it in every nerve in her body.
She wanted to turn and run and never look back, but instead, she felt her feet taking her to the far side of the room. To the linen closet. She wanted to fight the urge to open the door, but she couldn’t. Her hand snaked out of its own accord and she pulled the door wide open.
She laughed when she saw the empty shelves and the bar complete with empty hangers. There was nothing in there. What had she expected? As much as she hated to admit it to herself, part of her had been sure she would find the mutilated body of Sammy Jones.
She shook her head. She was letting her paranoia get the better of her. There was nothing here, no evil presence. The room felt normal and it wasn’t cold. She had imagined it all. She had to have.
She closed the cupboard door and crossed the room ready to leave. Before she was half way across the room, she glanced back. Something about the closet bothered her and she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
She stood and looked over it. Suddenly, she knew. The realisation hit her like a punch to the stomach. How had they not seen it before when they were renovating this room?
The Haunting of Wiley Manor Page 2