Page 6 of The Haunted Hotel
“Kind?” I feel my scowl deepen.Is this kid for real?“You could’ve seriously hurt yourself. Where’s the rest of the staff? Where’s the manager? You shouldn’t have been up that ladder on your own without any help. That’s got to be against regulations.”
“It’s fine.” He shrugs. “It’s not the first time I’ve fallen off the ladder. Last time, the sofa broke my fall, and the time before that, I was only halfway up so it didn’t really hurt all that much, although I did end up with a really big bruise on my–”
“Where’s the manager?” I demand again as I cut him off. If this is the way they run this place, no wonder there are so many accidents and scandals. I look around, expecting one to magically appear, and it’s then I realise I’m still holding him in my arms.
I clear my throat and carefully set him on his feet.
“What?” He blinks, registering my curt tone and question. “Oh, we don’t have one.”
“You don’t have a manager?” I repeat slowly and he nods.
“The last one was Mr Lance. He left just after Christmas, refused to work under these conditions. Apparently.”
“What conditions?” My eyes narrow suspiciously, but the tiny blonde man just shrugs.
“I don’t know, he didn’t say,” he replies, clearly unperturbed by the lack of manager or explanations. “I’m Ellis.” He holds out his hand.
Despite my irritable mood, my manners have me reaching out and I clasp his warm hand in my much larger one.
“Morgan Ash–” I trail off as I catch a glimpse of something and turn his palm up to read the words scribbled across his skin in pen.
Dead bodies
I glance back at him and raise one eyebrow.
“Oh.” He laughs. “Just an idea.”
“Just. An. Idea.” I repeat slowly. “For what?” I ask in incomprehension.
“The hotel.” He blinks slowly as if it should be obvious. “For extra income.”
“What are you gonna do?” My brow creases in confusion “A serial killers convention? Turn one of the fields and the woodland into a cadaver farm?”
He stares at me. “I don’t know what that is.”
I shake my head. “Never mind.” Given everything that’s happened here recently, I’m not sure I’d like any answer he offered. The best thing to do is speak with my grandfather as soon as possible and then get back on the next flight to the States. “Look… Ellis, is it?”
He nods and then his gaze tracks over to my bags set neatly beside the desk. “Are you checking in?” He brightens.
“Uh, yes.” I frown. “But, I came to see–”
I’m cut off once again when Ellis, forgetting he’s still wrapped in twinkling fairy lights, moves towards the front desk. Before I can open my mouth to say anything, his feet tangle in the wires. He trips and falls, disappearing behind the plush armchair with a loud oomph as he hits the floor. Unfortunately for him, one string of lights is still attached to half of the tree. I watch wordlessly, my mouth falling open as it topples over and lands straight on top of Ellis.
God damn, is this guy always this disaster-prone? I’m surprised he hasn’t accidentally burned the place down. Although that would solve one of my problems.
I grab the tree and pull it off him, propping it back upright before I reach down for him. “Are you okay?”
Ellis scrambles to his feet and brushes the pine needles from his uniform, then unravels himself from the lights. “Whoops,” he says with a small self-deprecating giggle that I should not find charming. “I’m fine, thank you, no permanent damage.”
I shake my head incredulously; it didn’t even dim his smile. Ellis tosses the lights at the foot of the tree and then heads across the lobby, leaving a trail of glitter and tinsel in his wake.
“There now.” He scoots behind the desk and opens a large book. “Let’s get you booked in.”
“With that?” I eye the ledger. “You don’t have an online booking system? What is this? The Dark Ages?”
“You’re such a kidder.” He chuckles. “We do have a computer, but it’s not working at the moment.”
My gaze follows the direction he’s pointing and I’m not surprised it’s not working. It’s a squat, boxy thing that’s yellowed with age.