by Morgana Best
Skinny snorted. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did either one of you have anything going on?”
I didn’t. Judging by Melissa’s silence, she didn’t either.
“I’ve booked rooms,” Skinny said. “See if you can dig anything up, and remember, ghosts. That’s our focus here. Ghosts, girls, ghosts. If they’re not there, invent them! Take it to the next level.”
“All right,” I said. I stood and slid the tickets into my pocket.
“Do a good job, and get some more hours,” Skinny said to me. She was a firm believer in the method of dangling things she thought others wanted in front of their noses. The problem was that she never gave anything up, so no one believed her anymore.
Melissa and I stepped out of the office. “Shut the door,” Skinny said.
I reached back and pushed it shut. It slammed shut a bit more loudly than I had planned, but it made me feel good all the same.
Chapter 2
I packed for a few days, without really knowing what I would need. Summer was rapidly becoming autumn. The air was growing chill, especially during the evenings and nights. I didn’t know if it would be similar in the Blue Mountains, but I packed jeans and a few sweatshirts, along with a pair of shorts and some tees. I threw in some heels and three nice dresses, and then a whole lot of maximum strength shapewear.
I packed one pair of sensible shoes, the ones I would wear at the beginning of the trip, a pair of well worn sneakers. I had bought them with the idea of taking up running, but they had simply become shoes to wear around while gardening, going to the store, or anything else, when it turned out that I would rather jump off a cliff than go for a run.
Diva jumped up on the bed and shot me a dirty look. She shook herself, and cat hair flew all over my shapewear. I glared back, but Diva’s gaze was unblinking. She was clearly furious that I would dare go somewhere without her. The cat was fluffy and fat, and her face always seemed to showcase a look of annoyance. I tried to push down the guilty feelings. She would be okay of course, for only a few days, in the cat motel.
As Diva turned to look away, I reached out to stroke her, but she hissed at me and leaped from the bed, her tail fanned out like a bristle brush. I finally managed to catch her and get her into the travel basket, several scratches and three packets of cat treats later.
“Goodbye, you ungrateful furball,” I said, as I handed the cat motel lady the basket and a handful of cash. The lady reached in and brought out a purring Diva. I shook my head and headed for Melissa’s.
“I gotta say, free vacations are a nice perk,” Melissa said, as she climbed into my car. “It almost makes up for having to deal with Skinny Troll.”
“Almost,” I said, “but it doesn’t count as a vacation if we have to work, and we do have to work.”
Melissa laughed as she pulled her cell phone out of her purse and thumbed it to life. “Did you get Skinny’s email?” she asked.
I shook my head.
Melissa read from her phone. “‘Try to learn to count for this one,’ the old witch says, and she goes on, ‘You have a reasonable expense account for normal meals, so none of your usual binge eating at the magazine’s expense.’”
I shook my head. “She really pushes my buttons.”
“I have to agree,” Melissa said.
I parked the car at the train station, and we got out and lugged our bags the short distance to the building. It was surprisingly small, with just one window where you could buy tickets, and then a doorway in the back that opened onto the two train platforms. Since we had tickets, we skipped the window and went outside once more. A chill wind picked up and blew its way along the platform. I shivered and moved closer to the brick wall.
“Track three,” I said, and handed Melissa her ticket. “I can only see two tracks.”
Melissa pointed. “There’s only one track here by the station, but see that sign down there? I expect it blinks when the tracks further up from the station switch over. That would mean four or so tracks can stop at the station.”
“Here it comes,” I said, mercifully interrupting Melissa’s train lesson.
As the train approached, my mouth fell open. I had been expecting the sort of trains that people rode these days, sleek, silver, and fast. Instead, this train was an old red one that had seen better days. It rattled and shook.
“No way,” Melissa said. “You’re kidding.”
I looked at the train again as it neared, the brakes squealing as it slowed. “Why is this thing even still running?”
Melissa shrugged.
The train pulled in front of the small group gathered on the landing, and everyone rushed for the doors. We did too, trying to find a good seat. The carriage we entered was filled with screaming children, so we walked briskly through it, only to find ourselves briefly outside and between carriages before going in again and ending up in a dusty, worn car.
The train lurched without warning just as we were getting settled. The only vacant seats we had found were directly opposite two elderly women. I studiously avoided eye contact, as one does in these situations, despite the fact that our knees were nearly touching.
“Hello,” one of the women said to us.
“Hi,” I replied with a smile.
“Where are you two headed?” one of the old women asked.
“The Hydro Majestic,” I said.
“Wonderful!” one woman said as she clapped her wrinkled hands together. “You’ll love it there.” She gestured to her friend. “We’ve been there many times.”
Her friend spoke up. “My name’s Margaret, and this is June.”
“I’m Misty, and this is Melissa,” I said.
“First time going to the Hydro Majestic?” June asked. Her face was plumper, and her hair was snow white, while Margaret’s was gray.
“Yes,” I said.
“Oh, it’s a wonderful hotel,” Margaret said. “We love the Hydro.”
“How long have you been going to the hotel?” Melissa asked.
“More than forty years by now,” June said.
“Fifty soon,” Margaret added.
“Wow,” I said. “Do you go every year?”
June nodded so hard that her glasses nearly fell off. “We do,” June said. “We used to come with our husbands, the four of us, but they’ve both passed, over ten years ago for mine, and hers two years after, and when hers passed we started going again, though we missed two years there, just because I didn’t want to feel like the third wheel.”
“Which was silly,” Margaret said, as soon as June paused for breath. “And I told her that.”
I smiled.
“No one likes to go around with a woman and her husband,” June insisted, and when Margaret clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and rolled her eyes, I laughed.
“Anyway, we didn’t go every year,” June continued, shooting a glare at Margaret. “The Hydro was shut for ages for renovations. It’s only just reopened.”
“So what do you think about the place? The atmosphere?” Melissa asked.
“It’s beautiful there at the Hydro,” June said.
Her friend nodded. “Absolutely. Though sometimes, well, I don’t know, it feels, well, strange. It’s a wonderful place, but anyone who’s been there enough—well, they have one of their stories. One of their ghost stories.”
“Oh, now really, June,” Margaret said, crinkling her nose.
June pouted. “No, Marge, really and you know it! I remember you, twenty years ago, talking about the man on the roof.”
“It was nothing; I was seeing things.”
“You insisted you saw him,” June said, “until old age made you boring.”
“What man on the roof?” I asked.
“I was walking back with Richard, my husband, from a hike, and this was so many years ago, twenty or so, like June said,” Margaret said with obvious reluctance. “And I looked up as we came out of the bush and saw the hotel, and I saw a man standing on the roof. I don’t know, the roof isn’t
somewhere where guests can go. I don’t even know if there’s a door up there. The roof slopes in places; someone could get hurt. But I saw a man, clear as day, wearing a suit, and I was a bit of a space away, but I could tell it was a suit, and I could tell his hands were in his pockets, but by the time I turned and got Richard looking in the right spot, he was gone.”
“And,” June said, taking up the story, “she’s not the only one who’s seen this fella on the roof. Lots of people see him, as the years go on. Different decades, but same man, in a suit, hands in his pockets.”
“And no one knows who he is?” I asked, trying not to sound too eager.
“No,” June said with a shrug. “Just some ghost. Who knows, maybe he fell off the roof.”
“Ghosts can’t fall off a roof,” Margaret said crossly. “I could have heard about it and wanted to see it, and you know how your brain can get going.”
“That’s not your brain getting going! You saw the ghost,” June argued.
Margaret shrugged. “Maybe.”
The two friends soon forgot we were there, and bickered with each other until the train finally pulled up to Medlow Bath station. It was a tiny but pretty station, a white wooden building with boxed-off clumps of pink roses along the platform.
We got off the train and I grunted as a small child knocked me into a green railway bench. “Ouch!” I rubbed my shin, and turned to Melissa to complain, but she was already half way across the Great Western Highway, pointing to the Hydro Majestic, which was across the road and just down a little.
“Wow,” she kept saying. “Wow!”
Chapter 3
This was a dream. It had to be. The interior was just as impressive as the outside, perhaps even more so.
Melissa and I stood slack jawed as we gazed around the lobby. It screamed opulence.
We stood under a huge vaulted ceiling, reminiscent of the cathedrals of Europe. “Are we in the right place?” Melissa asked breathlessly as she nodded to an enormous vase of exquisite fresh cut flowers almost as tall as she was. “Can the magazine even afford this place? I feel like I should be paying admission just to peek in the lobby.”
“Melissa.” I shushed her in a low whisper. No one at the hotel was supposed to find out about the magazine article. Ghost sightings were one thing as they likely draw in new visitors. However, hotels usually don’t like press about their guests disappearing mysteriously before checkout. High class hotels like this one had a lot to lose if their guests did not feel safe in their own rooms. We would be tossed out on our bottoms in a heartbeat, or if we were allowed to stay, the staff would no doubt constantly hover and try to censor us. We would never get any work done. It was better to avoid any mention of the magazine while we were on the job.
“Sorry, but look at this place.” Melissa waved her hand at the exquisite lobby area. “And we have two rooms? We had to have blown the travel budget for the rest of the year on this.”
“Maybe sales are up.” I glanced around to make sure no one was listening in.
“Keith didn’t say anything about it,” Melissa said as we made our way to the desk. “Though we don’t usually talk much about business off the clock.”
I had to ponder that. I knew the missing lawyer would be an interesting read, but the magazine had just cut hours, notably mine. Could it really afford all this for a feature article? And, come to think of it, what made Skinny think that the lawyer’s disappearance was anything to do with the supernatural?
The handsome desk clerk was sharply dressed. The suit looked tailor made, and fitted him perfectly in all the right places. His smile was super white and flawless as he greeted us.
“I apologize, ladies.” He gave us an award-winning, apologetic smile. “It appears that your rooms are not quite ready yet. If you would like to leave your bags, we will have them delivered up shortly. In the meantime, our lounge has complimentary coffee and sparkling water for guests. Please enjoy some refreshments while you wait, or feel free to explore. We have an excellent view of the mountains from the garden area.”
Gardens and mountain views. I could get used to this. I was getting paid to stay here, and with my best friend at that. This was easily the best job I had ever been assigned.
“You think he’s on the room service menu?” Melissa asked with a playful smile, nodding her head toward the attractive desk clerk.
I laughed softly, glancing over my shoulder. “Behave. You have Keith. Remember Keith?”
We joked back and forth as we made our way into the lounge. Tables were covered with crisp white tablecloths, and the counter looked freshly polished. The display case had tall glasses filled with pastries and custards, along with chocolate drizzled éclairs. There were so many guilty pleasures that I didn’t know where to look. They were all made so prettily that it was almost a shame to eat them. Skinny would have a field day at my expense if she caught me just looking at the treats.
“Oh my goodness, look at that.” Melissa pointed out the window at the landscape. It looked like something straight out of a movie.
“The architect was a genius. You can’t landscape that sort of scenery.” Melissa rambled on as we found a table. After taking a sip of her latté, she leaned over to me and spoke in a softer voice. “Look at that valley below us. I bet it’s creepy with fog in the twilight. We should get some shots.”
I studied the landscape. I could imagine a thick, hazy fog swirling low in those trees, and rising up to surround the hotel in a sea of mist. Melissa did have a great eye for detail, and for turning the mundane into the paranormal. “We should see if we can chat up the staff about any haunted rooms, too,” I said.
“Yep. I bet management will have warned them not to say anything, though. They have you-know-what to deal with,” Melissa said as she turned her coffee in her hands. “So how are you doing?”
“Pardon?” I poked at the blueberry cheesecake parfait. It was cheesecake layered in a beautiful dessert glass. Resistance had been futile.
“With the cut hours. Is everything going okay? You know you can tell me if you need anything?” Melissa asked.
I wished I could come clean with Melissa about that, but I couldn’t tell anyone about my new job. Who would believe it? I, Misty, was on a government payroll. The magazine was my cover now. I was paid to research paranormal activity, but my real priority was to search for answers on a secret ancient organization in which I had been auto-enrolled by birth.
“I’m doing a bit of freelance writing here and there,” I said carefully, as I took a little bite of my cheesecake.
“I still don’t know about you freelancing,” Melissa said with a worried frown. “It’s not regular work, and you refuse to show me anything that you’ve written.”
“I’m a bit embarrassed by it.” I nibbled on my dessert, trying to enjoy it despite the guilt of only being half-truthful with Melissa. I was sort of freelancing. And I had to have some sort of answer for Melissa about how I kept up with my bills on cut hours. Melissa was too sharp when it came to some things.
“Girl’s gotta eat. I get that.” Melissa waved a hand. “I’m not judging you or anything. I’m just worried what’ll happen if you can’t manage. I’m still cross that Skinny cut your hours and Keith couldn’t stop her. The job can be annoying, and Skinny is second cousin to the wicked witch of the west, but it does have some pretty good perks.”
I smiled and glanced around the lounge. Indeed it did. This felt more like a paid vacation than work. A very luxurious paid vacation, with some investigating on the side. “I know what you mean. Who knew that we’d end up here?”
At that point I thought I saw a familiar set of broad shoulders disappearing around a corner. I did a brief double take and squinted across the room. I could almost swear the man was Jamie. I felt sorely tempted to run out and see if it was him. But that’s impossible, I thought. He’s still in the UK.
“Misty?” Melissa asked quizzically.
“Oh, sorry.” I gave her an apologetic smile, and t
hen glanced back out in the direction of the lobby. “I guess the trip is catching up to me.”
I tried to shake off the weirdness of that moment as best I could. If I told Melissa that I thought I saw Jamie, I would never hear the end of it for the whole trip, especially when I could almost swear that I saw someone who looked vaguely like Douglas follow him.
I shook my head. No, I was simply tired from the trip. I was definitely just seeing things. Those two were miles and miles away, far off in the UK. There was no way I saw what I thought I saw.
As we went outside to explore the gardens, I kept an eye out for Jamie’s look-alike, but sadly, he was nowhere to be found. I would have to tell Jamie about it. He might be amused by the thought, or would it seem stalkerish to mistake people for him?
The place was spectacular. Melissa and I had more than enough material to work with for the setting of this mystery. Opulent surroundings, a magnificent, historical hotel dramatically perched high on the very edge of an escarpment.
Yet things were not adding up. The lawyer had left his stuff in his room and disappeared. But to where? There was nothing to suggest that anything supernatural had been involved, and so that would be a difficult connection to make, even given Skinny’s creative license with the truth. And what was with the magazine’s sudden generosity? I knew from experience not to take things for granted. There was definitely something I was missing.
We both made our way down a gorgeous red hallway with huge hand-painted images carefully arranged behind plush chairs along the walls. This place was huge. “Perhaps the lawyer is simply lost in the hallways somewhere,” I said to Melissa.
She laughed. “It would be easy for a search party to miss someone in this place. I have to wonder if any of the staff have ever seen every room.”
I wondered what Jamie would think about a place like this. I hadn’t been able to get him off my mind since I had seen his doppelganger earlier. I could see him keeping more to the gardens and the quieter areas. The busy lounges and restaurant would be more Douglas’s scene.
