Page 41 of Be Our Ghost (The Duchess Hotel #2)

Thirty

When Charlie escorted the show’s film crew up to the storage room, she left nothing to chance.

Joe from Facilities kept the door cracked open and stood guard, shooing away the few hotel guests who tried to peek inside.

The crew set up their stationary cameras and digital recorders, then took baseline readings of the room’s temperature and electromagnetic energy.

This time, Charlie didn’t catch the scent of roses or experience any emotional turmoil, which made her suspect Maeve was absent.

Hopefully, she’d return for tomorrow night’s lockdown.

Gertrude peered around the room. “Ooh, it’s nicer than I remembered in here. I’ll bet the food’s better, too.”

“We take pride in our breakfast buffet,” Charlie said. “The banana pecan muffins and lemon poppyseed loaf are baked fresh every day. Since the coffee is locally sourced from Alma’s Beanery, it’s better than the swill you get at most hotels.”

“Maybe Glen and I will have to spend the night here, just to take advantage,” Celia said.

“No need. Remind me before you leave, and I’ll give each of you some free coupons for the buffet.” It was the least Charlie could do, seeing as how Celia had refused payment for all the research she’d done.

“Thanks.” Celia sat at a table facing the window. “And thank you so much for offering to move in with Laurel. I’m glad she won’t be stuck with a stranger. She’s a great roommate. It’s just that…” She trailed off, a dreamy smile crossing her face.

“You’re in love with Glen and can’t wait to move in with him?” Charlie asked. “That’s wonderful. How long have you two been dating?”

“A little over a year. But after our first month together, I knew he was the one. Which isn’t like me because I’m not a romantic at heart.”

“When you know, you know, right?” Gertrude said. “That’s how I felt with Rupert. A few weeks after he started courting me, I was already imagining our wedding.”

Charlie could relate. Even if she’d spent over a year pining for Knox, she hadn’t expected to fall in love with him so quickly.

She was glad she’d followed her heart and told him how she felt.

And equally glad he felt the same way. Now that they’d both admitted their feelings, she was looking forward to everything that lay ahead of them—more nights in his cozy king bed, more hiking excursions and picnics in the park, more sexy teasing and quiet moments of relaxation.

As Logan and the other members of the team came in, she beckoned them over.

The one carrying a handheld camera positioned himself at a table across from theirs.

All the others sat beside him except the leader of the crew, a tall, bearded guy with a shaved head and a firm build that suggested an intense weight-lifting regimen.

He was the first one Charlie had recognized when she met the team earlier since he’d featured prominently in the episodes she’d watched with Knox.

He greeted the women. “Good evening, ladies. I’m Burke, the lead investigator, and I’ll be conducting the interviews. Fair warning—they’re always edited for brevity, so you might not see much of yourself on the screen by the time the show airs.”

“That’s fine,” Charlie said. Based on the episodes she’d seen, she’d expected as much.

Celia went first since she was the one who’d discovered the tragic secret behind room 309.

Gertrude followed, describing the harrowing incident when she’d been locked in for three hours.

When it was Charlie’s turn, she summarized the research she’d done, including the accounts of numerous female staff members who’d had unsettling experiences in the room.

She concluded by recounting the two occasions when she and Knox had been trapped in there.

After she finished her testimony, Burke addressed them while the camera was still rolling.

“Thanks for sharing your stories. Given what you’ve experienced, what would be your best guess as to the source of the emotional manipulation?

Is it coming from one of the people who died during that devastating event? ”

Celia nodded. “I believe Maeve’s ghost has been the entity haunting the room.”

“I agree,” Charlie added.

“What makes you say that?” Burke asked. “Why couldn’t it be the spirit of Frances Delacroix since she committed the murders? I would have assumed she’d be the one who’d stick around as a vengeful spirit.”

“That would have been my first guess, but unlike Maeve, Frances wasn’t forgotten,” Celia said.

“Her obituary appeared in the paper, and she’s buried at Ross Bay Cemetery next to her husband, Howard, where you can find their headstones.

Since they came from prominent local families, they would have been mourned.

Maeve—not so much.” She went on to describe everything she’d learned about the young clerk.

“I don’t know why she hasn’t crossed over.

I think she’s not just devastated at what happened to her, but also angry at being forgotten. ”

Burke nodded enthusiastically. He turned to Charlie. “If that’s the case, why did Maeve allow the door to open when you and Knox were in the room?”

“I don’t know. I think our…love might have diminished her power.” Charlie’s face crackled with heat at sharing something so intimate on camera. “Both times, the door opened right after Knox and I grew closer.”

“All right, I think we’ve got all the testimony we need,” Burke said. “Do you have any advice for us when we’re locked in the room tomorrow night?”

Charlie frowned. “I’m not sure. Maeve doesn’t seem to affect men the way she does women, so I’m worried you might not experience the same sensations.” She turned to Celia. “Any chance you could join them?” Since Celia was so attuned to the supernatural, she would be a huge asset to the team.

Celia shook her head. “Originally, I was hoping to participate, but that was before the filming was set for the thirty-first. Every year, my family throws a huge party on Halloween night, and all our relatives attend. Missing it isn’t an option.”

Burke responded with a condescending smile. “We’ll be just fine without a female team member. Trust me, we’ve been doing this for years, and we rely heavily on our equipment. If there’s a spectral presence, we’ll detect it.”

His smugness made Charlie uneasy. She didn’t want him to grow frustrated if the room didn’t deliver a ghostly encounter. But she kept quiet. By now, she’d done everything she could.

“We’re planning to take some B-roll footage around the outside of the hotel tomorrow morning,” he said. “We’d also like to get some shots of the lobby and the front desk. Charlie, any chance we could grab your boss for a few minutes to get his take?”

Knowing Preston, he’d be all over it. “It shouldn’t be an issue, but I’ll check his schedule and let you know when he’s free.”

“Excellent. Tomorrow night, three of us will be locked in the storage room for four hours. We’ve already set up two digital recorders and two wireless cameras; one of our guys will also be circulating around the room with a handheld.

Meanwhile, our ‘base camp’ team will monitor everything from one of the hotel rooms. That way, if things go sideways, they can break us out.

It usually doesn’t happen, but you never know. ”

“Can Knox and I stop by your ‘base camp’ and take a peek while you’re filming?” Charlie asked. “We promise not to interfere with anything.”

“No problem. Thanks for comping us the rooms. It sure beats doing surveillance out of our van.”

Once the film crew left, Charlie escorted Celia and Gertrude to her office, where she gave each of them a handful of coupons for the breakfast buffet. Though she didn’t know when the episode would air, she promised them she’d be in touch.

After they left, she congratulated herself on a job well done.

Tomorrow night, an actual ghost-hunting show would be filming an episode at the Duchess, thanks to the efforts she and Knox had made.

For someone who’d never considered herself brave, she’d ventured far beyond her comfort zone.

Heck, she’d been locked in that scary room not once, but twice.

Along the way, she’d also had the courage to pursue a relationship with Knox.

Not bad, Charlie Fraser. Not bad at all.

Before returning to the front desk, she popped into the Gilded Lily. Inching her way past the crowds—who filled every chair and high-top in the place—she sidled up to one end of the bar. Both Miles and Knox were slinging drinks, so she waited for a break in the action before gesturing to Knox.

He reached over the bar top and took her hand. “How’d the interviews go?”

“They were great. Tomorrow night, Logan and one of the crew members will be monitoring the lockdown from their hotel room. Do you want to stop by and watch? Burke said it would be okay.”

“Hell, yes. I already talked to Logan about it. They’re going to start at ten. Miles and Jordan will be here at the bar, so I should be fine. I wish I could be in the storage room with them when they’re investigating. What a rush that would be.”

A full-body shudder coursed through Charlie. “Are you kidding? What if something bad happens?”

“Good point. I guess we’ll have to settle for watching it from a distance. What time do you get done tonight?” At the sight of a patron approaching him, Knox held up one finger in the ‘just a sec’ gesture.

“God only knows. I want to make sure the crew doesn’t need anything else before I head home. What about you?”

“Eleven or thereabouts.” He cast his gaze around the bar and scowled. “I’ll be glad when all this is done. The Lily’s been too damn busy for my liking.”

Typical Knox. But she wouldn’t change a thing about him. “Why don’t you stop by my place after work?”

“You sure? I might not get there until midnight, and I know you’ve had a long day.”

“I don’t mind. If I’m not awake, you can use the code to let yourself in and join me in bed.” Even though they’d reconciled in the storage room, all they’d done was kiss.

That got a smile out of him. “I’d like that. We need to make up for lost time.”