The Guest House Hauntings Boxset by Hazel Holmes (novel books to read txt) 📕

Confusion had been replaced with anger, and Dell stood, towering to the same height as Dennis, who backed down. “A lot of talk for a man who hides behind a big house and an old lady.” Dell leaned forward, and Dennis turned his face away. “What was the plan, Dennis? What did you do to Sarah?”

“She was being difficult!” Dennis said, the muscles along his neck flexing as he screamed, “She didn’t understand what she was! She didn’t understand that she was the last!”

“The last what, Dennis?” Dell asked, matching Dennis’s intensity as he invaded the groundskeeper’s personal space. “The last what?”

“Sacrifice!” Dennis answered. “But she will come back.” He smiled and produced another giddy laugh. “It is her destiny.”

After that outburst, the only words that Dell was able to get out of Dennis were: the last sacrifice. It was like something in the man’s mind had finally snapped, and he just paced back and forth, repeatedly muttering the same phrase over and over.

Finally, Dell stepped out of the room and stared at Dennis through the viewing window.

It was almost too fantastical for Dell to imagine that the family he’d grown up with had been killing people right beneath his nose. But if he was going to make any kind of charges stick, he needed an official statement from Sarah, and that meant convincing her to go on the record. And judging from their last encounter, he wasn’t confident he could be successful.

Dell removed Maggie’s ID from his pocket. If they had killed her or any of the other people that they had employed at the house, then he was willing to bet there was a mass grave somewhere on the property. But getting a survey team up here from Bangor could take a while.

“Faye!” Dell returned to the reception desk, head down as he walked, thinking. “Get Sheriff Nettles on the phone for me.”

Faye sat behind the desk with her nose buried in one of those fashion and glamour magazines. “You sure you want to do that?” She peeled her eyes away from the text. “He’s not going to be happy about it.”

“He’ll be even less happy when he finds out what I have to tell him.” Dell grabbed his jacket from the coatrack and put it on. “I’m running to the hospital real quick. Keep an eye on Dennis for me.”

“You’re leaving me here with that weirdo?” Faye asked. “What happens if he breaks out?”

Dell buttoned his jacket and then reached for the door. “I still have him in his cuffs, and the door’s locked. If he starts to give you any trouble, just radio. And let me know when you’ve got the sheriff.”

The drive from the station to the hospital was short. While Redford was bigger than Bell, it was still small. He pulled into the parking lot and then marched up to Sarah’s room, riding the elevator with a pair of nurses.

One of them smiled at him, and Dell blushed in return. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened for his floor. “Excuse me.” He stepped between them, and then caught their giggles before the doors closed again.

At the end of the hall, Dell spied George down at the nurse’s station, chatting it up with Margaret instead of manning his post. “Don’t forget you’re on the clock, Deputy.”

George spun around, and gave a friendly wave before returning to his conversation.

“Well, Sarah, I think you might have been on to something at the house—” Dell stopped in the doorway, finding the bed empty. “Shit.” He spun around, finding only a stack of papers on the table near the door. He picked them up, frowning as he flipped through the brittle pages, then stepped back out into the hall and marched down to George, overhearing his conversation with Margaret.

“So, this guy is swerving all over the place,” George was saying, leaning in closer as the nurse did the same. “Finally, he stops, the car still halfway on the road, and I tell him to get out of the car and place his hands on the hood, which he does… and he’s completely naked.”

“Oh my god, no,” Margaret said, covering her mouth with excited surprise then breaking out into a fit of giggles.

“And let’s just say it was quite a cold night to be out and driving around—”

“George.” Dell pulled on the deputy’s shoulder. “Where is she?”

“Who?” George asked.

Dell pointed down to the room. “Sarah! The woman you’re supposed to be watching.” He shoved George in the chest a little too hard to be considered playful.

“Whoa, hey, I dunno. She was just in there.”

Dell groaned and reached for his radio. “Faye, this is Dell. Have you gotten ahold of the sheriff yet?”

“No, but I did just get a call for you,” Faye answered. “It’s Pat.”

“Tell him I don’t have time to deal with any of his drunks right now.” Dell returned to the room, and saw that Sarah had taken her backpack too. But he walked over to the table, finding a cluster of papers.

“He says he has Sarah over at his place and they need to talk to you. And to bring… letters? I don’t know what that means.”

Dell rotated the old pieces of paper in his hand. “Tell him I’m on my way.”

Dell remained standing while Sarah told him about the bodies, the ghosts, the visions, the icy scales that had spread when she tried to leave, everything. And all the while unable to gauge from his stoic expression whether he believed her or not.

“And that’s all I know,” Sarah said, keeping her seat on the edge of the bed. “I should have told you about the body sooner.”

“Yeah,” Dell said, his tone irritated. “You should have.”

“It’s a lot for anyone to take in,” Pat said, trying to be the voice of reason.

“We’ll have to get a warrant to search the grounds,” Dell said. “We might be able to wake up Judge Warner, but it’s a long shot.” He grunted in