He nodded, and I followed him into the dining room. “And this is the dining room and kitchen. I can tell it was being used fairly recently. I’m assuming the restaurant was open?”
“Yeah, until the lease ran out after the state announced you would take ownership.”
“Why didn’t they clear everything out, though? The kitchen is fully stocked with pots, pans, and equipment.”
I shrugged. “All I know is they told me they’d cover my contract, which ends this month, and that you’d have to take over my fees if you wanted to keep me on.”
He laughed. “Sorry, I’m not rich. Despite how it may appear now that I own this estate, I can barely afford myself, much less your salary.” He turned toward me and cringed. “Sorry,” he said again, but this time he sounded genuine. “I didn’t mean to say it like that. I really can’t afford your salary, or anything for that matter. I’ll have to sell or rent the place if I’m going to stay afloat.”
I knew this was coming and, to be honest, it made handling our ghost problem that much more pressing since I would no longer be here full-time to manage them. I had so much work to do.
Ignoring my internal conflict, I mustered up a reassuring smile for Evan. “It’s worth a lot. You should have no trouble finding a buyer.” I looked around the dining room. “Obviously, Hallock did let the cosmetics go, but they were a good company and kept the old place up… at least the bones of it.”
Evan nodded and followed my gaze. “Why didn’t they try to keep it running as a hotel?” he asked. “There must have been some money in it. I mean, I’d think tourists would flock to this place, especially the history buffs.”
“Yes, tourist season here is intense, all summer it’s busy, but that traffic slows down considerably the rest of the year. Besides, Hallock is a family business. The old man who owns it has mostly sold out of the business and just keeps a few hotels his kids will inherit.”
“How well do you know him?” he asked.
I shrugged. “His grandson and I are best friends. We went to school together in Tillamook. The state would’ve taken the estate back from them anyway. Before they decided to give it to you, I’d heard they were considering turning the manor into a museum, and the land would be converted to a park.”
“It could be a museum,” Evan said, looking up at the grand ceilings and intricate chandeliers. “You can almost feel the history of this place. It’s as if it wants to tell you all its secrets.”
7
Evan
As we walked backthrough the building, I asked Cary one question after another. Mostly he couldn’t answer since he wasn’t really involved in Hallock’s day-to-day running of the hotel, but he did say he’d ask his friend, the owner’s grandson, to come up for a visit. “He should be able to help you with a lot of those questions,” he assured me.
When we went through the kitchen and came to a door, I reached to open it, and Cary immediately stopped me. “That’s the basement,” he said with a noticeable change in his tone. He sounded nervous all of a sudden.Interesting.
“Oh, the basement,” I said, eyebrows raised. “Let’s check it out.”
“Why don’t we wait until you’ve had more time on the property,” Cary said, and I couldn’t help but become suspicious.
“Mr. Beacroft,” I said, switching to his formal name in hopes of sounding more authoritative, “…why don’t you want me to go into the basement? In fact, why don’t you explain to me what happened yesterday when I tried to enter the manor? Are you hiding something in the basement? Weed? Are you growingweed?” Then I stopped short. “Fuck, you’ve got a meth lab down there, don’t you? Damn it, man, you can’t be making meth in my basement!”
My imagination was getting the better of me. I knew meth was an issue along the Oregon coast since I’d read about it when researching the area. Well, it was an issue in lots of places, really. “I won’t turn you in. Just… you need to get that cleaned out now,” I said, and turned to go, feeling disappointed. “I won’t go down there, not right now, because I don’t want to have to testify in court that you had a lab in my basement, but for all our sakes, get that crap cleared up before—”
He stopped me, laughing. “Mr. Garland, you’ve got a good imagination.” I didn’t miss his switch to formalities like I’d done. I couldn’t explain why, but I didn’t like it. “I don’t have a meth lab in the basement, and I don’t grow weed. I buy weed because it’s legal here in Oregon, but I don’t grow it. I’m a witch, a man who worships the natural world. People like me do not put household chemicals in our bodies, much less make it to sell to other people to put in theirs. It’s against everything we stand for.”
My mouth fell open. “You’re awitch? Like Wicca?” I asked.
Cary smiled and shook his head. “No, although I have a few Wiccans in my coven, I operate more under the Goddess directly. I don’t pursue Wicca as a religious doctrine.”
“Then,” I asked, looking at the door that led to the basement, “…why are you so reticent for me to go down there?”
The man’s expression turned from jovial to deadly serious in an instant, then he looked me in the eye. “Because what’s down there is too dangerous for you to be exposed to, hell, you were attacked yesterday, and I couldn’t keep you safe. If you go to where it… well, where he died, I can’t predict what’ll happen.”
I felt my eyebrows shoot up again. “Wherehedied? Like a ghost? You’re saying I was attacked by a ghost?”
He nodded. “It sounds odd, I know, but that’s what happened. And it took me and my entire coven several hours last night to calm him and the other spirits that exist here. I’d prefer it if you didn’t go down there, at least not yet, until I can ensure you’re safe to do so.”
I stared at him for a few moments, then burst out laughing. “Dude, you’re crazy,” I said, and returned to the dining room with Cary following behind. “I don’t know what you’ve got down there, and right now I don’t want to know, but you better get rid of it before I start having buyers coming here.” I was just about to head back up to the room I’d already begun to think of as my apartment. “Can you get the place locked up? I don’t want to be here alone with the doors open.”
He sighed. “I can lock them, but they won’t stay that way. You might think I’m lying about the spirits, but trust me, they’re here, and they don’t allow the manor to remain locked.”
I scoffed. “Really? Let’s test that out, shall we?”
