Page 77 of A Haunting at Keystone Manor

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Alex

“What the hell happened in here?” Frankie screeches as she looks around the lobby. I scratch my head, trying to think of a reply that doesn’t make us sound like crazed lunatics.

“Water leak,” I decide, hoping she doesn’t notice the blood staining the wood floor. We’re going to have to tear this floor up.

She stares at me unconvinced before looking up at the ceiling. “Wow, good thing that water leak didn’t damage the ceiling. Or did you already fix that?”

The question flusters me. “Oh, um, yeah Sasha already took care of that,” I lie unconvincingly. Whatever, she’s my employee, I can lie to her.

“Who’s Sasha?”

“The new handyman. He’s around here somewhere.”

“Where did the rug go?” she asks and points to the bare wood floor, where the ornate Persian rug usually lays.

I scratch my head, trying to come up with another believable lie on the fly. “Oh, uh, I sent it out for cleaning. As one does.” I think I nailed that.

“And this stain on the floor, right over there?” she points. “Did someone spill their smoothie?”

“Something like that.”

“Okay well, I don’t get paid enough to ask questions. I’m gonna get to work.” She eyes me for a second before scooting by me and heading to the stairs.

***

I head to the kitchen and am surprised to see Seth. Today he’s wearing a black button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black ripped skinny jeans and… ooh, blue converse today. His thick black hair is stylishly mussed, and his cast is now black to match his outfit. He gives me a nod when he sees me, which I return, feeling cool.

“When do you get that off?” I ask, pointing to his hand.

“Oh, um, in a few weeks. It got fucked up pretty good, so… it’s slow going.”

I nod and look away.

“Where’s your partner in crime?” I ask.

“In the attic, working on his book. I came down for a snack.”

“Did you borrow that shirt from Jake?” I tease. He runs a hand over his hair and grins shyly.

“No, um, I was actually looking for Sasha.” He looks down at his feet and bites at his lip ring. This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

“You and Sasha, huh?” I subtly try and wring more information out of him.

“I just think we had… I don’t know. A connection. Chemistry.”

“I see. Nothing brings two people together like dismembering and disposing of dead bodies.”

He nods in agreement. “You get it.”

“Well, Sasha is around here somewhere. He’s staying in room twenty-eight now, you might check there if you want to go stalk him.”

“Oh, he moved out of the basement?”

“Yeah, he earned that promotion. He’s been super helpful around here, so…”

“Yeah, okay, I think I’ll go check on him.”