“Are you still there?” Cameron asked.
“… If I do this, you better not mess up. One wrong suspect and we’re over. Clear?”
“Crystal,” Cameron replied.
Jesse said, “I must get going. I’ll call you back when I have the files on those missing persons.”
“And their next of kin, please,” Cameron said.
“Very well. Talk to you soon, Cameron.”
“Thank you, Jesse. I owe you.”
“Yes. Quite a lot, actually,” Jesse replied.
The call ended.
Cameron tossed his phone aside. He got up and paced. He thought back to that creepy pedo freak that ruined everything. The man wouldn’t talk. Cameron had to be persuasive. Years of strategic career planning was worthless thanks to some misinformation.
He didn’t want to resort to this Club Blue case, but something this big would put him back in position. He’d grown accustomed to being an agent. To revert back into his father’s peasantry wasn’t an option. Thinking of the old man infuriated him. Overcome by a sudden flash of rage, he punched the wall. His fist didn’t break the wood, but a portion of the wall a few feet away popped open an inch.
Cameron approached the hidden door that had been seamlessly blended into the wall. He pulled it open, revealing the dark corridor. A path strayed away from the windows. Bent nails hugged the inner walls. Dusty cobwebs streamed down from the room.
Cameron stepped inside.
11
Woke Girl
Late at night, Asher heard a knock on his door. Half-asleep, he dragged his feet to the looking hole and peered into the hallway. Widened by the fish-eye lens-like view, Raven stood with a blank expression and her hands behind her back. “I know you see me.”
Alarmed, Asher glanced down his bare chest and boxer shorts. He quickly put a pair of pants and shirts on before opening the door a crack. “What are you doing here?”
“Geez, you don’t have to be so suspicious of everything,” Raven replied.
“I’m not,” Asher backpedaled. He spoke quieter. “Has something bad happened?”
Raven laughed.
The girl’s reaction confused Asher.
“Everything is okay,” Raven said.
“Right…” Asher replied, still unsure why she was visiting at 1 am.
Raven said, “I thought we could go exploring.”
Asher buried his hands in his pockets. “It’s a little late…”
“Scared your mom’s going to get mad at you?” Raven playfully taunted.
“I’m worried about you and your dad,” Asher lied.
“Dad will be up all night working on his book anyway,” Raven said. “I had to get away from his typing. I was afraid I’d go postal.”
Asher glanced back at his bed. The idea of sleep sounded really good right now.
Raven said, “Come on. It’ll be fun. Maybe I’ll even tell you about this place’s dark secrets.”
“Like what?” Asher asked.
A cheeky smile formed on Raven’s pale face. “Now I have your attention.”
“Does this have to do with the skeleton?” Asher asked.
“It has to do with everything.” There was something ominous yet intriguing about Raven’s tone.
Asher stood quietly for a moment, conflicted between a good night’s sleep and following the creepy girl on one of her adventures. He folded to her request and agreed to follow her.
“Awesome,” Raven replied. “Come on, and be quiet. Certain walls are thinner than others.”
Asher slipped on his shoes. He used his fingers to comb his hair as he trailed behind Raven. They reached the internal balcony at the center of the second floor. The lights around the balcony and hallway were on, but not the ones in the ballroom. Raven pointed to the eye-shaped symbol above the center of the middle wall.
“What do you think that is?” Raven asked.
Asher studied it. “I don’t know. It looks like what you see on the back of the dollar bill.”
“Correct,” Raven said. “It’s the Eye of Providence.”
“Like God watching us. It fits with the Jacob’s Ladder theme,” Asher said.
“It's also a reminder to Freemasons that they are being watched and have a higher standard they must live up to. Like recipients of the fire Prometheus brought to man, they must be good stewards of their knowledge,” Raven explained.
She impressed Asher. “Sound stressful,” he remarked.
“Look closer though,” Raven said, leaning her torso on the railing.
Asher stood next to her. It took a few moments, but he realized the eye was inverted. “Is it supposed to be like that?”
Raven smiled at him. “Not at all.”
She spun around and walked to the photos on the wall. They mostly showed old white men dressed in odd outfits. “These are the Masons that used to lodge here.”
Asher stayed fixed on the inverted eye.
Raven said, “They’re unnamed, but that’s okay. It’s the tradition they carried on that mattered more than fame. Funny enough, it is only by the good name that order gets its proper recognition.”
“How do you know all this stuff?” Asher asked, joining her by the photos.
“My dad,” Raven replied.
“Is he a Mason?” Asher asked.
“Nope. Just a researcher,” Raven said. “There is something bigger I want to show you.”
“Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like this?”
“Little risk, little reward.” Raven led him down the stairs and across the checked floor. The darkness didn’t bother Raven. Asher used the light on his phone to guide their path. Raven took him out the back door.
Crickets and other night critters chirped. The wind rustled the trees. Asher felt uncomfortable but didn’t complain. He wanted to see what secrets Raven had to share. The girl seemed to hold a wealth of knowledge about seemingly random things. Compared to her, Asher felt inadequate. Sure, he was good at school and learned quickly, but he didn’t possess the ability to just draw up random facts out of nowhere. Raven knew more than him. That insight pressured him to be better.
They walked alongside the brick walls. Vines grew up the sides. Their leaves had started to brown as the season changed. They reached the metal ladder suspended eight feet above their heads.
Raven said, “Find a stick to get that down.”
Asher shined his light across the grass earth. He walked below one of the nearby trees and found a broken branch near a stone bench. He lifted the crookedly shaped branch. “Would this work?”
“Let’s give it a try,” Raven said, still standing behind the ladder.
Asher held the stick above his head and snagged the bend at the end around the bottom rung. It had a weak hold, but a small knot on the stick held it in place. He pulled. His thin arms failed him.
Raven grabbed ahold of the stick too and counted back from three. On one, they yanked as hard as they could. The rusty metal screeched as the ladder came sliding down. It stopped falling an inch above the dirt.
Asher tossed the stick aside. “Thanks.”
“I knew you had it,” Raven said and started to climb.
The small compliment grew a smile on Asher’s face. He followed after her. The rusty rungs scraped against his palms. He glanced down, realizing how far he’d gotten. Heart racing, he kept his eyes on the rung above. The moonlight was his best source of light.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked as he neared the third story.
“Trust me. You’re going to want to see this,” Raven replied.
Asher continued the ascent. One mistake and he’d be in the hospital. He tried not to think about it. Raven reached the last rung and vanished over the corner of the roof. Asher quickened his pace. He reached the top and crawled onto the roof. He created a few feet of distance between himself and the edge before standing. His light reflected on the large glass pyramid before him. Seven feet from the roof’s edge, the pyram
id capped the roof. It stood eighteen feet tall. The fogged glass panes were three-by-three feet.
Asher gawked.
Raven said, “Now you get to see the cool part.”
They jogged around the side of the pyramid, eventually reaching a rusted metal door. It had a number lock instead of a traditional keyhole. “Can you guess the password?” Raven asked.
“Uh, 1,2,3?”
Raven made a buzzer sound. “Try 3,3,3.”
Asher turned the number dial. The lock clicked. He turned back to Raven, shocked it worked. “How did you know?”
“My dad,” Raven said.
“And how does he know?”
“Old letters to the Order’s members. They opted for a number lock because keys could easily be lost. Once someone was initiated into the higher degrees, they’d learn the codes and have access whenever they pleased. Most of their gatherings here were under the cover of nightfall, away from prying eyes,” Raven said. “Go ahead. Open it.”
Asher pulled on the door handle. Despite the rust, it opened without a sound. He walked down a flight of seven steps and onto a checkered floor. Two marble columns topped with marble spheres stood near the wall opposite of the door. A throne-like chair stood between them. Its red leather gave it a sinister appeal. Other chairs lined the walls.
The moonlight shined over the fogged glass and illuminated the entire pyramid. Though an outside light source was still necessary, the glass’s glow provided enough light to see the silhouettes of those around you. If every seat was occupied, it would look like you were standing in a council of shades.
Raven closed the door behind her. “Welcome to the highest place in Club Blue. Only a handful of people have stood where you stand, Asher.”
She held her hands behind her back and gracefully spun around.
“The floor reminds me of the ballroom,” Asher said.
Raven walked around the room, circling Asher. “The checkered floor is a means for spiritual access to a cross dimension.”
The girl’s quick, methodical movements made Asher nervous.
Raven said, still moving. “It’s a place of sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice what?” Asher asked, suddenly becoming sweaty. He wished he’d remembered his inhaler.
“What do you think?” Raven asked, something sinister in her eye.
Asher swallowed his spit. “They couldn’t have killed people up here. How would they hide the bodies?”
“They’d take them apart limb by limb and put them in trash bags. They’d toss the parts off the edge of the roof and burn them deep in the woods. A little mop and bleach took care of the tile here,” Raven explained.
“Maybe we should get going, Raven.” Asher’s voice cracked. “It’s getting late and I have school tomorrow.”
Raven asked, “Aren’t you curious why they killed people?”
Asher shook his head. “No, because you’re making this whole thing up to scare me.”
Raven kept pacing. Asher turned to keep up with her. Raven said, “True, I don’t have any way to prove this is true. After all, the cops never arrested anyone from here for serious charges. Nevertheless, it's easy to hide a crime when everyone is in on it. That’s what the Order at Club Blue was all about, Asher. Turning Masonic traditions and metaphors into actual practice. The dark arts.” There was something deeply disturbing about Raven’s fascinations.
Asher said, “Look, I’m gonna go. Okay?”
He felt dirty just being in this place.
Raven blocked his path.
Asher tried to slide by her right side. She blocked him. He tried her left. She blocked that way too. Asher frowned. “Move, please.”
Raven shoved him.
Asher’s bottom hit the cold floor. Pain shot up his tailbone. “What was that for?”
Raven walked over him and lowered on top of his thighs. “I lied about my dad just being a researcher.”
Asher squirmed, intensely uncomfortable being this close to the girl.
“He was a Mason,” Raven said. “Not of this order. Oh no, what went down in Club Blue was a bastardization of years of tradition. Not that Masons are saints, either. A favorite motto of theirs is Ordo Ab Chao – order out of chaos.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad,” Asher said, wanting everything to get this girl off him, but not wanting to be rude.
“Not unless if they’re the ones staging the chaos,” Raven said. “Secretly set someone up to fail. When they do, sweep in and save the day. Suddenly, you’re the hero.”
“I want to go back inside,” Asher complained.
“Rumor has it that in this room, they’d test their members' loyalty. They’d find a helpless woman or boy, probably drugged, and bring them in here.” Raven put her hands on Asher’s shoulders. “They’d pin them to the floor, cut them open, and use their blood to reach out to whatever was on the other side. They’d invite that spirit to dwell inside of them, and then they’d have the courage to make bigger sacrifices in society.” Raven lowered her head and whispered into Asher’s ear. “It's all bullcrap.”
“What?” Asher asked.
Raven giggled and sat up. “Yep. There’s no way to prove any of this, or that ghosts, spirits, or whatever they were trying to reach out to were real. Their rituals mean nothing at all.”
Asher felt relief.
“Or are they?” Raven asked.
She stood up just as Asher’s legs were going numb. She extended a hand.
Asher took it and allowed her to help him stand. Annoyed, Asher asked, “Do you like scaring people?”
“I just think it’s kinda cool to think about this stuff,” Raven said. “I mean look at this place. There are so many secrets and symbols. Who knows the real reason behind any of it? Part of me wants all of it to be true, like I’ve stepped into a world outside myself. The other part of me wants to run from it and bury my head in a pillow.”
I agree with that second one. Asher thought.
Raven said, “Either way, I’m just glad I got to show you all these things.”
Asher was rather shocked.
“Like my dagger,” Raven lifted up her black pant leg and brandished the curved blade from her shin sheath.
Asher cursed. “Put that thing away!”
Raven pretended to jab it at him.
Asher ran away. “Stop it!”
Raven playfully chased him. “You’ve got to go faster than that!”
“Is that thing real?” Asher asked.
“Duh,” Raven replied.
They ran a few laps around the room before running out of breath. Raven laughed. She spun the dagger around her hand. “You want to hold it?”
“No!” Asher exclaimed, really wishing he had his inhaler.
Raven said, “I thought boys liked this kind of thing.”
Asher shook his head. “Can we go now?”
Raven slid the weapon back into the shin sheath and covered it with her pant leg. “I won’t bring it out anymore if that makes you happy.”
“Thank you,” Asher said exasperatedly.
They walked hand and hand to the ladder. Asher would be happy never to see that place again. Going down the ladder was scarier than going up it. Asher reached the bottom. They both grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder and pushed it up. It didn’t get to the same place it was before they pulled it down, but it wasn’t low enough for someone to reach with their hand. Returning inside, Asher found himself glancing over to Raven. Despite all the weird dark stuff she was into, there was something enigmatic about her. She was like a well-made horror movie: haunting yet beautiful. It was the type of film that you can’t get out of your head even years after watching it.
As they walked through the second-story hallway, they heard a sudden scream coming from a nearby wall.
Both of them froze and listened.
Silence.
Raven walked to the wall and pressed her ear against it. Asher knew there was no one staying in the room nearby.
Raven pulled
her ear away. She shook her head. “What do we do?”
Asher replied, “I-I…” he didn’t have a clue. She heard the scream too. He wasn’t crazy. He thought about the thumping he heard the other night. Maybe there was something in the walls. Maybe it was trying to reach out to him.
No noise followed the strange scream. Instead of waking his mother, Asher decided to lock himself away in his room. If something truly bad had happened, everyone would know tomorrow.
12
Check Out
At the start of her day, Anna found a sealed envelope and a room key on the lobby counter. The key belonged to the honeymooners’ suite. Using her finger, she opened the envelope and found cash, but no note. She went to their room and knocked. After announcing her presence, she entered.
The covers snuggly hugged the mattress. The trash can had been emptied. Everything was neat and tidy apart from the pile of dirty towels on the bathroom sink. She’d have Justin clean those up after he started his shift, which should be thirty minutes from now. She turned off the light and shut the door as she entered the hall.
Lance was heading to his room, holding a bag of ice. He smiled at Anna. She smiled back.
At the lobby counter, Anna noticed more of her pens were missing. The vanishing of various items had grown annoying. She was inclined to believe that a guest was playing a prank on her. Or maybe Asher.
At random parts of the day, she felt cold chills. First was when she was standing at the desk and another time when she was preparing her lunch in the large kitchen. While in the lobby bathroom, she heard whispers in the stall next to her. As she washed her hands, she glanced in the mirror. Through the cracks in the stall behind her, there was no one. The quiet is getting to you, she thought as she dried her hands.
In the afternoon, a delivery truck arrived and dropped off a bouquet of flowers.
“Which room?” Anna asked.
“None, ma’am,” the deliveryman said. “The instructions just said to bring them here.”
Anna examined the flowers. A red string fashioned a mini note around the stem of the flowers. Anna opened it. Written in cursive was the question, Do you still offer special services? – L. Anna said. “I don’t know who that is?”
The Haunting at Sebring Hotel (A Riveting Haunted House Mystery Series Book 13) Page 8
