Ghost Canyon (The John Decker Supernatural Thriller Series Book 7) by Anthony Strong (ebooks that read to you .TXT) 📕

Chapter Four

When Robyn Miller returned from the mine, there was no sign of Carlton, much to her relief. She entered the hotel and crossed the lobby, then climbed to the second floor where the workers still labored. Most of the rooms on this level were already completed. Soon they would shift their attention to the top floor, which still waited in a sad state of dilapidation.

She stepped inside the closest room, which looked like something right out of an old Western movie. Sage green patterned wallpaper covered the walls. Silk curtains held with tiebacks adorned the window. A lighter inner curtain of lace covered the windowpane. An ornate mirror with a teak frame hung on the wall. The only items that didn’t look authentic were the modern electric lighting, the flatscreen TV sitting on the bureau opposite the bed, and the en suite created by sacrificing the room next door and cutting it in half to create a pair of bathrooms for the adjacent bedrooms.

It was an added expense that had pushed the cost of renovation much higher than she would have liked, but nobody wanted to stay in a hotel that forced them to share the facilities.

This was especially true of wedding parties who might book a stay to feel like they had stepped back in time but didn’t want the experience to be too real. With Las Vegas and its swanky hotels right down the road, she had a lot of competition, as Carlton had gleefully pointed out.

Robyn returned to the corridor and made her way to the far rooms where work was still going on. When the construction crew’s supervisor saw her, he stepped into the hallway, rubbing his hands on his shins. He was a big man named Hank, with a shock of ginger hair and a pale complexion that Robyn thought was unusual given the area of the country in which he lived. She wondered if he owned shares in a sun block manufacturer, or just had a naturally pale complexion.

“Come to make sure we’re working hard, have you, Miss Miller?” Hank asked with a grin.

“I just wanted to see how far along we are,” Robyn replied. “I love how the place is coming together. It’s exactly what I wanted.”

“Pleased that you like our work.” Hank hesitated, his expression becoming serious. “I know you want to get this done as quick as you can, but I got some bad news, I’m afraid.”

“What now?” Robyn’s heart sank. “You’re not going to tell me there’s another delay, are you?”

“That I am.” Hank dropped his gaze. “The plumber’s working a job at a new condo complex on the north end of the Strip. He should have been finished next week, but they’re behind schedule so he’s not going to make it back here anytime soon to run the piping for the bathrooms on the third floor.”

“Just great.” Robyn grimaced. “How long a delay are we looking at?”

“Three weeks. Maybe a month if they run into more issues.”

“What issues could they possibly have? Its new construction.”

“They’ve been having an argument with the building inspector. As expected, he won. They have to redo a bunch of the plumbing.”

“It can’t be helped, I guess.” Robyn felt a flicker of disappointment. Not that it mattered. She would not be open before the spring, anyway. “We can’t use another plumber?”

“With the amount of construction in these parts? Are you kidding me?” Hank let out a snort. “We’re lucky to have a plumber at all, given that we don’t have the deep pockets of the gaming industry. You know what it’s like. They’re building new casino hotels almost as quick as they can tear the old ones down. Labor’s at a premium.”

“I get it. Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Robyn said. “Just get him here as quickly as you can, okay?”

“Sure.” Hank glanced back into the half-finished bedroom, where the sound of construction had come to a halt. “What the hell?”

The three workers, who until now had been replacing the rotten plaster with modern drywall, were standing at the window, staring out.

Hank crossed the room to see what they were looking at, then turned to Robyn, brow furrowed. “I think you have a problem.”

Robyn hurried to join him. One of the workers stepped aside to let her through. A figure was stumbling down the trail from the old mine, waving his arms and screaming at the top of his voice. As he drew closer, she realized it was the lead geologist, Bill Fenton.

A chill ran through her. Had there been an accident? She turned and ran from the room, taking the stairs two at a time before hurrying across the hotel lobby and out onto the dusty street. She barely noticed Tieg, who had come bounding out from his bed at the sound of her footfalls, and now stood looking up at her with expectant eyes, his tongue lolling out excitedly.

But Robyn didn’t pay the dog any heed, because Fenton was drawing closer now and she could see the terror in his eyes. The man looked positively beside himself.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Robyn asked, afraid of what he might say. If there had been an accident inside the mine, like the roof had caved in on the geologists, or one of them had fallen into an open shaft, she would never get this place open for business.

“You’ve got to help me,” Fenton screeched as he reached her. He gripped Robyn’s shoulders with powerful hands and looked into her eyes. “They’re still up there. It got them.”

“Your men are still in the mine?” Robyn’s world crashed down around her. “What got them? Tell me.”

“The creature with the red eyes. It came out of the darkness and ripped them apart.” Fenton was hysterical, close to tears now. He looked over his shoulder toward the trail, then back to Robyn. “We have to get away from here. It will come for us next.”

Chapter Five

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