The Haunting at Sebring Hotel (A Riveting Haunted House Mystery Series Book 13)

by J. S. Donovan

  Anna’s hair blew across one side of her face. She brushed it away. She stood at the edge of the raging water. The breaking waves a few feet below sprinkled water on her shins. It seemed months since she’d taken a step out of Club Blue. She left to get groceries and other necessities, but that was goal-oriented. Standing at the edge of the water wouldn’t help her sons or her hotel. As a workaholic, the idea of getting fresh air rarely crossed her mind. She worried that if she got into a leisurely mindset, it would affect her output. Momentum was her friend and in the last few months, it was the only thing that had gotten her through. Losing two staff members, hearing allegations against her son, being pushed from a window, and the million other problems she faced would’ve broken her if not for seeing the bigger picture: creating her own little paradise where people could lodge and forget about their problems, even if only for a night.

  She removed the button and rolled it between her fingers. She stared out at the choppy waters.

  “God bless you! Have a wonderful afternoon!” Stephen the priest waved at an old couple walking away from him, looking to get as far away as they could.

  Making a split-second decision, Anna tossed the button into the water.

  Stephen lingered near a park bench. He noticed Anna heading his way and waved at her.

  Anna glanced at the couple walking away. “Getting new converts, I see.”

  “Sowing seeds,” Stephen replied.

  “Ah,” Anna said, standing by him.

  The priest eyed the various people around them.

  “Who are you looking for?” Anna asked.

  “Sorry, I have to—,” He didn’t finish what he was saying as he hurried to a young man and his elderly mother a few dozen feet away.

  “Excuse me,” Stephen said to them. “Sorry to interrupt. This may sound strange, but I feel like God has a word for you two.”

  The elderly woman was intrigued. The man was guarded.

  Anna couldn’t hear the rest of Stephen’s words, but it ended with the three of them holding hands. The young man glared at Stephen as he prayed.

  Anna chewed on the inside of her lip. It appeared even God had more important people to worry about. Feeling cold, she returned to Club Blue.

  She entered the side entrance and headed to Asher’s suite. She wanted to ask what he’d like for dinner. The moment she stepped inside, her heart broke. Her baby boy hadn’t moved since the morning. Anna lingered by his bed.

  “Hey,” she said softly.

  Asher didn’t reply.

  Anna said, “I was thinking about getting Chinese food for dinner. I know it’s your favorite.”

  Asher didn’t respond.

  Anna begged, “Please, Asher. We really don’t have the money to take you to the hospital. I need you—this family needs you to wake up.”

  Asher’s lips moved.

  Anna moved closer. “What was that?”

  He mumbled.

  Excited, Anna put her ear near his mouth. “Speak louder.”

  Asher whispered, “He told me what happened to him.”

  Anna’s heart pounded. “Who?”

  Asher whispered, “He was still alive when he took it off.”

  “Baby, you’re not making any sense.”

  Asher turned his bloodshot eyes to her. “He wants freedom.”

  Anna took a step away. “Who?”

  “The faceless man,” Asher said. He reached over and grabbed his spare inhaler from the nightstand. He blew a jet into his mouth.

  “I-I don’t understand.”

  “He was on the fourth floor,” Asher said. “I spoke to him—”

  “What the hell were you doing up there?” Anna exclaimed.

  Asher said, “We needed to find him.”

  Anna wanted to tear her hair out. “You know I expressly forbade anyone from going up there. Remember Harry? He’s still in the hospital. Why did you wait to tell me this?”

  “Something…” Asher lowered his head. “Something very bad happened here, Mom. A lot of bad things.”

  “You sound like Justin,” Anna said frustratedly.

  “It's real. Why else would I be in this bed?” Asher said. “I was too afraid to move.”

  “So, it was a big act?” Anna asked.

  “No, I-I-I spoke to him,” Asher shuddered.

  Anna knew something had happened to Asher and perhaps he did see something horrible on the fourth floor, but he was uninjured. There was no one coming after them. “Asher, I really can’t deal with this right now.”

  They went back and forth a while longer, but Anna eventually had enough. She left the room and headed to her office. Passing through the lobby, Justin sensed she was distraught.

  “Asher okay?” he asked.

  “It seems like you’re not the only one who thinks the place is evil,” Anna went to the office and slammed the door. She sat at her desk and buried her head in her palms. She was pissed that her son would pull a stunt like that. Pretending to be sick. In some ways, she believed it. Maybe Asher saw a fleeting shadow or got scared by something in the upper rooms. What mattered was that he wasn’t truly injured. Maybe it was time to sell the hotel. It had brought her nothing but grief.

  She couldn’t believe she was having such thoughts, but what else should she do? Everyone hated it here. She didn’t have a solution for that issue, and selling would only cause more problems. Where would they live? Who would buy the property after all the potential lawsuits? How would they pay off their massive debt? Love it or hate it, Anna was in this for the long run. Though for the first time, she truly had doubts about her purchase. She only wished things would’ve improved since escaping her abusive husband. At what point would she catch a break? She could hope something good would come of this. No, she couldn’t just hope; she had to believe good things would happen. She wasn’t a bad person. She didn’t deserve this. Everything she’d ever done had been for her family... or had it?

  25

  Names

  Late at night, Justin rapped his knuckles on his little brother’s door.

  “Leave me alone,” Asher shouted.

  “It's me,” Justin said.

  “I don’t want to talk,” Asher said.

  “Stop being gay and let me in,” Justin replied.

  A few seconds later, the door opened.

  Asher’s eyes were puffy. His hair was a mess. His body odor was horrible. “What do you want?”

  Justin pushed by him. “Shut the door.”

  Angered but always the pushover, Asher closed the door.

  Justin sat at the two-person table near the kitchen. He commanded Asher to sit.

  “I don’t want to talk right now,” Asher said.

  “Just do as I say, okay?” Justin said.

  Hesitant, Asher sat at the table. He locked his fingers together and rested his hands on the tabletop. An ugly frown hung lopsided on his round face.

  Justin said, “You saw one of them, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah…” Asher admitted. His anger began to subside.

  Justin said, “The one that keeps coming after me is a woman. I’ve been trying to get pictures of her.”

  “What good will that do?” Asher asked.

  “If Mom sees that this place really is haunted, she’d let us pack our bags and leave,” Justin said.

  “She’ll never believe us,” Asher said. “Besides, I didn’t see any woman.”

  The information alarmed Justin. “Was it the man without the face?”

  “You know him?” Asher asked.

  “No, but McKenzie does. That’s why she snapped,” Justin replied.

  The comment sickened Asher.

  Justin felt a righteous fire. “We have enough witnesses to convince Mom.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Asher said. “She saw what happened to me and still didn’t want to go.”

  “You think we should just leave then?” Justin asked. “She’ll follow us. I know she will.”

  Asher replied, “That won�
�t fix anything.”

  “It’ll save our lives,” Justin said.

  “The faceless man doesn’t want to hurt us. He desires to be free. We need to let him out,” Asher said.

  “Why?” Justin asked, “What makes you think he won’t try to kill you?”

  “He spoke to me,” Asher said. “He told me how he was trapped here until he’s avenged.”

  “If every murdered person was forced to walk the earth until their killer was stopped, we’d see a lot more ghosts,” Justin said.

  “This place is different,” Asher said. “I know you can feel it. The cold chills. The strange sense of being watched. Nightmares. It’s all tied to this location.”

  “Are we on some sort of Indian graveyard?” Justin asked.

  “Don’t be an idiot. It's because of the rituals,” Asher said.

  Justin seemed really confused now.

  “How can you not know?” Asher asked. “Geez, you must be living under a rock. Can’t you see the symbolism in the paintings and on the walls and roof? Even the tile floor has meaning. There is an Eye of Providence over the ballroom if you look carefully.”

  “You’re making stuff up.”

  “I’m not! The Freemasons made this place… well, a rejected sect of the Masons that took their traditions to the extreme. Whatever sacrifices they performed cursed this place. Why do you think there’s been so many accidents and bad people coming here? They’re drawn to this place.”

  Justin didn’t believe him, but he forced himself to keep an open mind. At this point, anything was possible. “Okay, so how do we break the curse?”

  “Break it? Heck if I know,” Asher replied. He got up and paced. “Did you know that the fourth floor was home to MK-Ultra experiments? They were using certain mind-breaking methods to make slaves.”

  “Where are you getting this information?” Justin asked.

  “The butterfly paintings on the wall,” Asher explained matter-of-factly.

  “That’s retarded,” Justin said.

  Asher shrugged. “Believe what you want, man. Truth is truth.”

  “Show me, then,” Justin said.

  “I’m not going back up there,” Asher said.

  “We’ll go together,” Justin suggested.

  “No way. I thought I was going to die last time. That freak grabbed me. I couldn’t do anything to stop him.”

  “But you said he didn’t want to hurt you.”

  “I said he wants to be free, but I don’t want to make him angry by messing around in his domain,” Asher said.

  “If we want to break this curse, we have to learn the truth about this place,” Justin said.

  Asher gawked. He collected himself. “I thought you wanted to leave.”

  “McKenzie is being tormented by this thing, people are getting hurt, and there is a killer lurking around here. If it’s all tied to the curse, we have to understand what we’re dealing with, and we can’t do that unless we get our hands dirty. Long story short, if we break the curse, it won’t matter if we move or not. Everyone will be okay,” Justin said. He’d run for too long. Agent Cameron had rejected his help just like everyone else. This was his declaration against his cowardliness. He had nothing to lose. Well, nothing but his life. The life of a stupid high school dropout, he thought bitterly.

  Asher said, “You can do whatever you want, bro. I’m not going up there again.”

  “Then, I’ll go myself,” Justin declared.

  Asher crossed his arms and averted his gaze. “You’re going to get hurt.”

  “So what?” Justin said. “Something needs to change, Asher. We can’t keep going around in circles. I’m going to put an end to this, one way or another.”

  If that means confronting the faceless man, then so be it, Justin thought.

  “Look, I’ll help you, but I’m not going up there.”

  Justin stood. “Well, if I don’t come back, at least you’ll know what to tell Mom.”

  Asher asked, “Tell her what?”

  Justin spoke defiantly. “That we were right.”

  He left his little brother and snuck into his mother’s suite. She was working the night shift. Justin grabbed the fourth-floor key from the dresser. He returned to his own suite and grabbed his equipment. Fully decked out, he adjusted the GoPro strap on his forehead. Taking one last look at himself in the mirror, he marched out of his suite. He followed the stairs to the fourth floor and unlocked the door.

  He stepped into the scorched hallway. The floor creaked below his skater shoes. The headlamps resting above the GoPro cast a circle of light down the black corridor. The needle on the EMF meter trembled. He checked various rooms and peered into the clogged secret passages in the wall. It looks like someone had purposefully piled debris inside. The broken walls groaned like a dying old man.

  The EMF needle spiked when passing by one suite. Sweating, he pushed open the door and took a few steps back. The room lacked furniture. A tall and skinny wall mirror had a large crack down the front. A part of the ceiling had broken, leaving a small pile of burnt wood on the floor.

  Justin approached, seeing his shattered reflection. He could see the hollowness of the wall behind the crack in the mirror. Justin picked a burnt wood plank from the floor and slammed it against the mirror. The glass shattered, revealing the hidden corridor. Justin pulled the EMF reader back out and stepped inside. The passage here was clear of debris. He followed it, either having to crawl in the space under the windows or climb up a ladder that would lead to a cramped space above the door. Justin found old film cameras set in different bathroom mirrors. Their film rolls were missing and the cameras were non-functional. He found peepholes in the bathrooms and behind burnt picture frames.

  He followed the seemingly random spikes of the EMF reader. Eventually, it led him through a crawl space which ended at the elevator shaft. He looked down at the pit below him. The elevator was currently on the ground level. Directly across from him was a second crawl space. A rope net had been strung up across the upper wall of the elevator. Similar to what you’d see in a ship mast, you could use this web-like rope to move across the shaft and arrive at the crawl space. That’s just what Justin did. He took hold of the rope and moved to the hole. He crawled across and found a little room too small to stand in and only wide enough to have an old sleeping bag. There was a shelf nailed into the wall. Old jewelry and weddings rings rested on it like a shrine. A list of names was carved into the wall above the jewelry. The EMF reader went wild.

  Not relying on his video camera to save the footage, he pulled out his phone and snapped pictures of the names. There were fourteen in total. The first and last name was listed.

  The EMF reader stopped going crazy.

  This appeared to be what the dead wanted Justin to find. Just in case the police needed to get involved, he didn’t touch the jewelry.

  Justin returned to Asher’s suite. His brother was impressed by the find.

  Asher reviewed the list of names. He researched them online. It took a long time, but eventually, he found them on the Missing Persons list spanning over the last thirty-five years. The last one went missing fifteen years ago.

  Asher and Justin traded looks.

  Asher said, “I think there was a serial killer.”

  With the sudden disappearance of Rosy and Christophe, Justin knew the killer was still active.

  26

  Past Sins

  Anna was at the lobby desk. More of her pens were missing. Other things were missing too. It was really getting old fast. After Asher’s recovery, her head had been in a bad place. She’d started looking into hotel costs and perhaps a time to put Club Blue on the market. Someone would argue that she should’ve given up on Club Blue months ago when Lance attacked her, or after the discovery of the skeleton, something she’d not forgotten but actively chose not to think about. However, to understand why she kept the hotel so long, one had to look into her past.

  As a child, she never had much going for her. Her
parents were supportive but rather distant, and she wasn’t the most attractive or the smartest in her class. She was average all the way around. It was that general blah attitude of life that sparked her need for escape. She loved reading romances and adventure stories set in exotic locations like the Nile or someone’s old house in the middle of an ancient European home. Her parents had an affinity for travel and whenever they would go on a road trip, Anna would come along and pretend to re-invent herself. On the cruise, she imagined herself as a rich socialite with the world at her fingertips. In Japan, she imagined she was a girl on a quest for spirituality and would spend long hours walking alongside shines and graveyards. That little escape was freeing, not because she had a bad life, but because she had a mundane one.

  One day, she decided she wanted to travel the world alone. She dreamed of taking a single suitcase going through the Alps or staying in a lodge on top of the Himalayas. She had this romantic vision of meeting a colorful cast of world travelers like herself and discovering the little hole-in-the-wall places that she’d forever carry in her memory. Just after college, when she was about to start her grand trip, she met James. He was a young, wealthy engineer who also longed to escape the mundane. His romantic outlook drew them together. They dated, went to a few destinations around the States, and eventually got married.

  Wanting to invite people to share her same experience, Anna started working at a local hotel. She learned the ins and outs and quickly climbed the corporate ladder. Her only complaint was that the hotel wasn’t romantic or located anywhere special. Many of the guests were families on vacation or businessmen wanting to save some money on room cost. Anna wanted the world travelers, the quirky hippies who lived like nomads, and artists looking for their muse in a foreign land.

  Before she could act on this sense of longing, Anna got pregnant. Her goals were again put on hiatus. Her unmet expectations added tension to the marriage. James was angry because of work and feeling as though Anna had changed. Being a fellow romantic, it meant he had impossible expectations of what she should be and what their marriage should look like. Anna was never good enough and because of that, James became bitter. His bitterness turned to violence. For years, Anna was a prisoner in her home. Sure, she could go to work and to the community pool, but James forbade her to leave. Her emotional numbness angered James even more. Club Blue was more than just a nifty hotel. It was the realization of years of bottled-up dreams. It was a sign of Anna’s freedom, not that she hated marriage, but the prison that was hers was shut down. Leaving Club Blue would be like putting shackles on her hands and feet.