Case of the Burned Brownies by Jessica Lansberry

Author:Jessica Lansberry [Lansberry, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-06-26T22:00:00+00:00

If Beatrice had thought that the hotel she was currently staying at was a little run down and old fashioned, it was a relative palace compared to the Mt. Morte Mansion.

It was almost one in the afternoon by the time that Beatrice finally managed to get Buddy to look at her car, and as she suspected, it was a long and arduous process. He treated her like an old blind lady who still called cars, ‘automobiles’, and the movies, the ‘cinemas.’ He then proceeded to charge her far to much, which she had no choice but to pay.

She may have argued the point a little harder too if she wasn’t in such a rush now to get out. Once she was done with Buddy, she hurried back across the road to get the gals. She was going to go and check out the Mt. Morte Mansion and knew that she would need the support.

From the outside of the hotel, Beatrice guessed it to be abandoned. There wasn’t a single window pane that had glass in it and most had been boarded up. That wasn’t to mention the roof that sported huge holes in it and a hotel sign that had so many letters missing that Beatrice misread it as “t te ion.” But the inside was worse.

Indeed, its description as a by-the-hour establishment made sense as Beatrice couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to spend more than an hour in the place. The carpet felt moldy and wet to walk on, the walls were dull and peeling and moldy as well, while the ceiling… actually, it’s best just to imagine the lobby and the entire hotel as one big mold infested trash can.

The only good thing that Beatrice could find to say about the place was that her allergies were at least gone. It was a small praise, but a praise nonetheless. She shuddered at the thought that if she were forced to remain in Mt. Morte too much longer, she might even have to move to this hotel, something she could never imagine.

“Can I help you ladies?” a low-pitched voice wheezed at them from across the lobby.

The owner of the establishment was as vile a man as any Beatrice had ever seen. His thinning hair was black, greasy and hung to his shoulders. His skin was grey and oily. His nose was long and beaky, and although he was sitting behind the front desk, Beatrice got the impression that were he to stand, his back would be severely hunched over.

“I hope so,” Beatrice asked as the three ladies made their way across the lobby. The whole time, Stella clung to Beatrice like she was scared that she might suddenly disappear, a look of horror on her face. Sophie on the other hand, look absolutely delighted by their new setting.

“Just so ya know, if there’s three of ya, I’m going to have to charge extra,” the manager said, wiping his snotty nose. “Just cause the clean-up is usually worse.”

Stella’s face dropped in disgust.

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