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“Who’s idea was it?” He couldn’t imagine Mrs. Carruthers thinking it was a great idea, not so much because of the members thing but because of the people in general. She would not want all those people messing up her space.
“Gina’s.”
“Who is Gina?”
Shah leaned back in his seat. “You’ve not met Gina yet? She’s slipping. Usually, she’s on the top step when anyone new shows up.” He frowned. “Gina Ling is the… uh, membership manager.”
“I thought that was Mrs. Carruthers’ job.”
“Mrs. Carruthers manages the operations but Gina specializes, I guess you’d say, in managing the members. She makes sure to supply anything they need that they may not feel completely comfortable asking Mrs. Carruthers for.”
“Interesting,” Flynn said. “I’ve never come across this type of situation anywhere else.”
Shah shrugged slightly. “We’re not the normal Society outpost. The members who come here are a little more…” Flynn stayed quiet while Shah tried to come up with a word that wasn’t insulting to most members of the Society.
“They’re more like regular tourists. Leaf peepers in the fall. Cross-country skiers in winter. People who just want some time out of the city. That sort of thing.”
“So then why the need for Ms. Ling?”
Shah opened his mouth to speak when Donovan burst into the office. “Here are your keys, Mr. O’Connor.”
Flynn turned to see the kid standing there soaking wet and making a puddle on the floor. He tried not to smile. “Thanks, Donovan. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” He glanced at his father. “I’m going to head up and get some hot chocolate. Would you like anything, Dad? Mr. O’Connor?”
“I’m good,” Flynn said.
“Me too,” Shah agreed.
Donovan turned and left the office.
“Make sure you call your mother,” Shah called after him. “Tell her you’ll be home late.” Then he turned back to Flynn. “You must be wondering about Donovan.”
“None of my business.” And he meant it. He had enough of sticking his nose in people’s private lives through his work at the Society. If he didn’t have to know about it, he didn’t want to know.
“I met and married Donovan’s mother about eight years ago. He was ten then. His father died when he was five. He’s called me Dad since the day my wife and I got back from our honeymoon. He’s a great kid.”
“Seems it.” Flynn liked Ravi and Donovan. They came across as nice people, which made him wonder what the hell they were doing working for the Society. Not that everyone who worked for the Society wasn’t nice. It was just not a place where good people spent a lot of time. Mostly people were like him. Willing to play fast and loose with laws and things of that ilk.
“Like I said,” Shah repeated, “things are like that up here. I’ve worked in other Society locations. If Everlasting Manor was like that, I wouldn’t let Donovan within twenty miles of the place. But here, well it’s more like a luxury resort. Donovan doesn’t know about Society business, and I keep him occupied with things that won’t expose him to it.” He frowned. “Or I did.
“In the last six months, we’ve had more of what I would consider regular Society members turning up. Gina showed up about five months ago. Archer Gray sent her after a few people complained that they didn’t like Mrs. Carruthers’ disapproving attitude.”
Flynn understood that. She would make anyone feel bad no matter what they asked for. She was a very judgmental type or so she seemed. “So, in the last six months things have changed. Do you know why?”
Shah shook his head. “Not a clue. And to be honest, I wish they would go back to the way they were. I think I’m going to make Donovan find another part-time job if things keep going like they are.”
“And is that when the…” Flynn struggled to get the word ‘hauntings’ out. “Um…disturbances started?”
“No. Those are more recent. I’d say the last four months.” He grinned. “I bet you never thought you’d be hunting ghosts, huh?”
Flynn shook his head. “Nope. Not once did that even enter my mind. Why don’t you fill me in?”
CHAPTERFOUR
“Madam Mayor, who do you think is responsible for this?” a pushy reporter from Portland yelled over the crowd.
“I have no idea,” Susan said. She stood under the picnic shelter in front of the trailhead, in a somber black sweater and pants that highlighted her steel-colored hair and dark eyes. “But we will use every resource possible to find out.”
