Page 41 of Serenity Falls

‘You don’t?’

He shifts a little uneasily. ‘Tourists don’t necessarily share the values of the town. It can be disruptive. The Conservators decided it was better for the community if we limited outside visitors.’

‘So, who does stop here?’

‘Well, you’d be surprised. The hotel hosts a lot of weddings, anniversaries, other celebrations. Sometimes, couples just want a weekend away from the kids. It does better business than you might imagine.’

I nod. ‘I see.’

I don’t see. It seems odd. More than odd. A hotel that doesn’t welcome visitors from out of town. That’s got to be a first. I’m about to ask Lockhart more when – with impeccable timing – Alice returns with our drinks.

‘Ah, Alice.’ Lockhart beams. ‘I was just telling our guests about the history of the hotel.’

‘Oh, right.’ She places the glasses on the table. ‘Did you tell them about Room 134? Our haunted room.’

Lockhart chuckles, a little nervously. ‘Actually, no.’

‘What happened in Room 134?’ Sadie immediately asks.

‘A woman killed herself there.’

‘That’s sad,’ I say.

Alice nods, but she doesn’t look very sad. She looks delighted. I guess in a place like Serenity nothing much happens, so you need a bit of drama. And then I remember that since we arrived on Monday we’ve found a dead body floating in our pool and I thought I saw a boy drowning in the lake, so I guess it hasn’t exactly been uneventful.

‘Apparently,’ Alice says with some relish, ‘she was due to get married, but her groom jilted her, so she checked into the honeymoon suite and hanged herself. They found her there the next day still in her wedding dress, all bloody and dead.’

‘How was she bloody? I thought she hanged herself?’ Sadie asks.

Like me, Sadie is a stickler for details.

‘Oh yeah. Well, I think she might have cut her wrists too. Just to make sure she died, y’know.’

I can feel Sadie radiating scepticism beside me.

‘But anyway,’ Alice continues, ‘her ghost haunts Room 134.’

‘It’s said that she curses young women because she doesn’t want them to be happy,’ Ellis adds. ‘She wants them to die miserably like her.’

‘Nice,’ Sadie deadpans.

‘Yeah.’ Alice smiles triumphantly.

‘You ever seen her?’ Sadie asks.

Alice shakes her head. ‘No, but a lot of odd stuff happens in that room. Guests complain that stuff gets moved around, perfume bottles smashed, clothes torn. Once, one of the maids claimed Weeping Wendy locked her in the room.’

‘Weeping Wendy?’

‘That’s her name.’

‘Like in The Shining?’ I say.

Alice stares at me blankly. ‘The what?’

‘The Shining. You know – the book by Stephen King. Film by Stanley Kubrick.’

Still nothing.