by Hazel Holmes
Now they were back home. They were back in their haunted house and it seemed like their lives could be in danger. Neither of them knew what to do about it, though they knew something needed to be done. No one had taught them how to deal with this kind of thing and they didn’t know where to start.
“I don’t know,” Ezra admitted. “Nathaniel’s gone at least, so we don’t have to worry about that anymore.” It still bothered him a little, but especially after talking to Brittany and Sam, he knew it was for the best.
“But he could come back,” Clara pointed out. “He could come back angrier than ever because of what happened. I’m grateful he’s not in our house anymore, but we can’t completely write him off as a possible threat. Plus, we need to figure out who murdered Lyla, Richard, Olivia, and Kyle. It’s probably the only way to rid our house of ghosts, and it’s only fair to them.”
“I agree, but what can we really do about it right now? We do have the opening coming up soon, and we need to get this place ready. We have more work to do now that we have no outside help.”
“So, what are you suggesting?”
“I don’t know.” Ezra shrugged, then downed the rest of his coffee. As the sun reached in through the window to say good morning, it was difficult to even think of ghosts, murder, and secrets. Everything was too bright and beautiful. This was their dream. Ezra just wanted to live it.
“I think maybe we should go back to what we were doing,” he said. “We don’t know the area or the people well enough to solve their murder right now. And we personally haven’t been threatened by anyone. Nothing bad has happened to us.
“We suspect Billy killed the family. If he did, he’s dead too. I know it’s still important to prove it, to clear their names and maybe even figure out if Nathaniel does have any knowledge of it. It’d be nice to know if he…” This was the hardest part for Ezra. He still couldn’t fully come to terms with it. “It’d be nice to know if he wants us out of the picture.
“But I suspect that the longer we’re here, the easier it’ll be to find answers. I’ll be a lot easier at the opening too. People will be here, probably discussing what happened to the family. Maybe someone will let something slip. Maybe we’ll learn more from our guests.”
“Our guests?” Clara asked. “You don’t really expect it to take that long, do you? Don’t you want to solve this before we bring guests in?”
“Of course, I do. I’m just not sure how. So, I don’t know, all I’m saying is maybe we should go about our business with our ears and eyes open until we come across something. Maybe we should focus on the opening until we think of a way to tackle this, or until we hear something at the opening. Our hands are kind of tied.”
“But what if they…” Clara glanced around the room before leaning closer to Ezra. “What if that makes the ghosts mad? What if they haunt us or harm us or…”
“I don’t think they’ll do that,” he assured her. “Like I said before, I do think they’re kind. They’re not out to get us and we’re not giving up on them, not at all. We’re just biding our time while being super aware of any way we can move forward with this. Unless you have any better suggestions. I’m completely open to them.”
Clara wanted to put out another option. Sitting back and doing nothing didn’t feel right. She wanted this solved right then and there. But nothing came to mind.
“I guess we just try to coexist with ghosts then,” she said. Ezra nodded.
“I think that’s the only thing we can do.”
Some of the good feelings brought on by their day out faded as Clara wondered if their bed and breakfast would ever fully be their own.
42
The next couple of weeks were productive for Clara and Ezra. Ezra focused on the restaurant heavily and made some much-needed repairs. Meanwhile, Clara focused on doing some decorating and remodeling, as well as getting the proper paperwork and advertising in order.
For the most part, the ghosts left them alone as Ezra said they would. At the very least, they didn’t see them again. However, odd things kept happening. Random things went missing and sometimes they had the distinct feeling they were being watched. Yet they continued because this was their dream, and they weren’t ready to give up. Not quite yet anyway.
Having made it through many of the rooms, Clara decided to finally tackle the attic. She had avoided it after the spooky happenings in the house, even though nothing scary had happened up there. She figured it’d be a great place for ghosts to hang out, and dealing with them was kind of like dealing with mice in your house. She knew they were there, but her efforts to get rid of them had been unsuccessful so far. So, she tried to avoid them, so she didn’t have to deal with the fear. The fear didn’t ever actually go away though, and she knew she couldn’t avoid it forever.
She told Ezra where she’d be so if she went missing, he’d know where to look. She made sure she had her phone on her, then she took a deep breath and started up the stairs.
The boards creaked under her feet, making her question each step. Surely Ezra would deal with the mess in the attic if she asked him to. So, why not just ask him to?
She chided herself. Ezra was already dealing with a lot, that’s why she hadn’t asked him to tackle this so far. She could do it. This was still her house and she wanted to feel comfortable in it. She didn’t want to fear a single room within these walls. She was going to make this house a home.
Armed with forced confidence, she walked to the top of the stairs and turned the lights on. It was a bit unnecessary. The windows allowed plenty of light into the attic, but Clara didn’t want to take any chances. The two lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling plus all the natural light pouring in assured her no one else was up here. All that awaited her were boxes and children’s toys scattered about.
She touched a rocking horse with her toe and listened to it creak as it moved back and forth. She thought about bringing the toys downstairs for guests to play with, but she wasn’t sure they’d appreciate that, so she made a mental note to donate them instead. Then, she walked past the toys to a more boring pile.
Along one wall was a desk and boxes of records pertaining to the bed and breakfast. Thankfully, they were well organized so Clara could easily sort through the ones they needed and disregard the ones that could be thrown away.
She became immersed in these files, grateful she came up here. There was a lot of important information about the best vendors to buy from, helpful guidelines about what to charge, promotions that went well and those that didn’t, ideas for the future, among many other useful things. Lyla and Richard had been meticulous about their record keeping, and it was clear they put a lot of thought and effort into the bed and breakfast.
“Hope you guys don’t mind if I use some of these,” Clara said as she stacked up some of the more helpful documents. Then, a journal caught her attention. She opened it, expecting more figures and notes on the business. But this one was a bit more personal. This journal was kept by Lyla and detailed her days beyond the business.
Upon realizing this, Clara quickly closed the book. It felt wrong to be reading Lyla’s thoughts. It clearly wasn’t meant for others to read. But then she thought of Lyla’s warnings and pleas. They wanted her to find who killed them, and the journal could hold important information that would help her do so.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I won’t linger on anything too personal; I just want to see if it’ll help. If you don’t want me to read it, knock it out of my hand or something.”
Clara waited. The journal remained steady in her grip. She took a deep breath and opened the book but flipped to the back of it, where she suspected she’d find the most important interactions. She glanced over the pages until she found a section detailing a conversation that interested her. Possible proof that something more had gone on in this house.
43
Lyla was stressed as she ran through the figures once again. Their latest collaboration with Brittany and Sam had cost them a lot o
f money, but it seemed only Brittany and Sam had benefitted from it. She was frustrated with the business, frustrated with the outcome, and a little frustrated with her friend.
She loved Brittany and at first, they had worked well together. They helped each other succeed and grow. Their projects and intense efforts at advertising brought more people into their small town, bringing life back into the dying tourism in the area. Their partnership had been beneficial to both, and she was grateful her best friend had gone into the same business as her. It was a passion they could share.
Lately though, it seemed that these projects tended to help Brittany far more than her, and she was starting to question Brittany’s handling of the finances. It seemed whenever Lyla planned something and oversaw the money, they both profited from it. Yet when she handed Brittany money to fund some new venture, it didn’t quite come back. More often than not, she netted a loss. If it were anyone else, she’d be suspicious.
Lyla scolded herself for her line of thinking. It wasn’t anyone else, Brittany was her best friend, and she’d never do anything to harm her in any way at all. She didn’t have proof of anything sketchy going on, and she couldn’t allow herself to think of the worst, not yet.
Realizing the direction her thoughts were heading in, she worried she was subconsciously using her best friend as a scapegoat for her own failings. Not failing though. Their business wasn’t failing per se, but profits were down, and maybe it was easier to blame someone else. Especially because Lyla didn’t know what had happened to cause this change, and she didn’t know how to fix things.
She did not want to end up like the last owners, stressed to the point it ruined their lives. Too often it seemed their legacy hung over her head, and she refused to go down that path. She wouldn’t lose this house. She needed to find a way to turn this around.
Lyla pored over the paperwork, looking at different ways they could cut down expenses. The warm light from the antique colored glass lamp on her desk fell across her knitted brow. She ran her fingers through her hair, fighting the urge to pull it all out. She was so deep in thought, she didn’t realize Billy had come in until he was right in front of her desk.
“Good evening,” he said, breaking her focus.
“Hey Billy.” She looked up and was instantly worried. She had known Billy for long enough to be able to tell when something was wrong. Something looked wrong. He looked troubled, his eyes crawling across the room, his posture slouched. He smiled. It looked forced. “How are you?”
“I’m okay,” he said. “How’s your night going.”
“Good,” she lied. “Just balancing the books.”
“Never a fun process, though I suppose it’s probably not so bad when you’re running a place like this. It seems like you’ve been doing a lot of events and such lately. Looks like things are going well for the business.”
Lyla wanted to tell him the truth. Billy was their closest friend and he deserved to know the state of things when he was so invested in the bed and breakfast. But his parents had already lost the bed and breakfast, and it cost them everything. Even though Lyla and Richard were nowhere near that point, she didn’t want to bring back old memories.
Part of her was deeply ashamed too. When they first started this business, they did wonderfully. They quickly increased their profits, and everyone thought they’d be a success. They were a success. Things had just shifted a little. Thankfully, they still had a lot in savings from brighter days, but it was troubling. She didn’t know what was going on lately, but she didn’t want to share until she found the cause and fixed it.
“Things are going great,” she said. “Thanks to your help. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all you do around here. Your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. I really don’t know how we’d do it without you. We love you and Nathaniel, the kids do too. I know things have been crazy lately, but I really appreciate you sticking through this with us. Hopefully, things will calm down soon.”
Lyla knew they would because she wasn’t going to keep doing these pricey events or paying for expensive advertising. She was going to try to focus on solo projects from now on. She wasn’t sure how she’d pull back on collaborating with her friend without Brittany noticing, but she had to find a way. Things had to get better.
“Of course,” he said. “I’m here for you no matter what. I’m happy to be part of all the wonderful things that have been done with this property, and it’s exciting to see the good changes it’s bringing to the town as a whole.” He paused “Though there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Lyla’s heart sank at his tone. They had been doing a lot lately and she panicked, worried Billy had decided it was too much. They couldn’t lose him right now. She knew no one else would put their heart into it as much as Billy did.
“Of course,” she said, doing her best to mask her true feelings. “What’s on your mind?”
“Well, I have been doing a lot of work lately,” he said. “I come in early, stay late, offer up ideas that you’ve used, and I’ve really put my all into this. I’ve always worked alongside you and… I was thinking it’s time for a pay raise.”
There was a moment of relief. At least he wasn’t going to quit, and Lyla would do just about anything to get him to stay. He was right, of course. He did more than any employee should have to do. He certainly deserved the pay raise. But right now, considering their finances…
“In fact, I think it’s only fair that instead of my typical salary, I should get a portion of the profits. I think I’m doing enough work to justify that, and it’ll incentivize me to work even harder because my work will directly affect my pay. I just want to see a payoff for the extra time and effort I’m putting in. I’m going above and beyond, and as you said, business is thriving. So, I feel like I should see the direct reward of that. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, but it does have to be fair. I think I deserve it after all this time.”
Lyla’s instant reaction was panic and anger. He was putting so much on her right now when that was the last thing she needed. She couldn’t deal with this while trying to fix everything else. She needed him to remain just as steady as he’d always been. They couldn’t afford this kind of change.
She curbed the anger though because he couldn’t possibly know what she was going through, and perhaps if he did, he wouldn’t be asking her this right now. She felt she couldn’t tell him the truth about their finances, because it might sound like she was making an excuse. She didn’t know what to say though because she just couldn’t do it.
Sure, before the mysterious issues with their finances arose, it’d certainly be something she’d consider. He was right, he did deserve it. If things were like they once were, she’d have a conversation with Richard about it and his wish would possibly be granted.
Now, they just couldn’t afford that. They needed all the profits they could get to claw their way back up to their former success. Furthermore, those profits weren’t great lately anyway. If they paid Billy a percentage of their earnings, he’d soon see the truth of the current state of the bed and breakfast, and Lyla was far too ashamed to let anyone see that. She needed to fix their current predicament before she could even consider his request.
It put her in a tough spot. She didn’t want to say no to him. She thought of her family. As much as she cared about Billy and knew he deserved the extra money, she had to focus on her family and getting the business through this rough patch.
“You do deserve it,” she admitted. “As I said before, you have been incredibly helpful, that hasn’t gone unnoticed. However, I’m sorry to say we just can’t do that right now.”
Billy’s face fell and she hated to see it. She wished she could do something to make it right.
“It’s certainly something we can discuss in the future,” she said, hoping he’d stick by them until then. “I can see it working well at that point. But right now, we simply can’t afford it. We can maybe look at a small raise, but we’re just not in a g
ood spot to offer much more currently.”
Silence fell between them and it was awful. Things between Billy and the family were usually happy and carefree. Neither of them liked the turn this was taking.
“I don’t understand,” he said, trying to keep a level head, trying to keep the bitterness from his tone. He wasn’t fully successful. “You’ve been doing all these events, spending money on advertising and trying to bring people in. You’ve brought people in. How are you unable to afford paying me what I deserve?”
He was right. They were having more guests for quite some time, but the events Brittany hosted were draining them a bit. She had known for a while she needed to put a stop to it, but they did help bring more people in and she cared about her friend. She had hoped it would even out over time. She couldn’t admit that she made a few mistakes. Plus, very recently things had changed with their guests. Numbers had decreased a little.
“You know about the rumors being spread about us, don’t you?” she asked. “Some people are saying this house is haunted. Scary stories are being spread. It’s impacting our business.”
It was. Lyla’s spending contributed to their downfall, but so had these ghost stories. She tried to track down the origin, but she couldn’t figure out who started them. She couldn’t figure out how to stop them. Lately everything regarding the bed and breakfast was a mess and she needed to focus on that. She needed to do everything possible to make it better.
“Sure,” he replied. “But those rumors are so stupid. They’re going to be taken care of soon, I’m sure. And they can’t have impacted business so badly that you can’t afford to pay me what I deserve, when my hard work is helping to drive profits up.
“Besides, in paying me a portion of the profits, you’re ensuring you can afford to pay me even if the rumors impact business a little bit because it’ll also impact my pay. You won’t have to keep paying me extra during those times. It’ll ensure that if you thrive, I’ll also thrive. If you fall on hard times, I’ll work a little harder to get us out of them.”
