Brimstone by Tamara Thorne

Author:Tamara Thorne [Thorne, Tamara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Glass Apple Press
Published: 2019-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

Adeline Chance had put on a summery floral dress and a little lipstick before leaving Ike in charge of the gas station. Now, she pulled her white-over-aqua Rambler into a parking spot in front of the Brimstone Grand and got out. She stared at the lobby doors, fear in her heart. It wasn’t Dee that she feared - it was walking into the place where she’d nearly lost her life - and where Carrie had died.

She straightened her dress, brushed off imaginary crumbs. She had nearly worn white gloves and pumps for the visit, but finally decided her nicest shirtwaist and a touch of makeup was enough. She patted her hair and started for the lobby doors, willing her hands not to shake.

It was much cooler in the lobby - the building’s cement walls were thick and the ceiling fans whirred away the summer heat.

“May I help you?” someone called from behind a desk hidden by postcard racks.

“Yes, please.” Addie walked toward the voice, marveling at how much had changed and how much hadn’t. She’d not been in the building since it was converted into a hotel. The colors were brighter, so much happier, and the cold hospital sterility was long gone, hidden behind fresh paint, souvenirs, and the historical photos and art decorating the walls. But the structure hadn’t changed. The old elevator still waited dead ahead in its alcove.

The lobby desk came into view on the right. It was a tall new desk, bearing little similarity to the nurses’ station of long ago. But as she spied the copper-clad door on the left, Adeline felt chills run down her spine. That hadn’t changed one iota.

“Adeline!” Meredith Granger’s smile was wide enough to make flowers bloom.

“I don’t ever recall you visiting us before!”

“I haven’t been here since it was the Clementine Hospital.” She approached, her eyes taking in every detail.

“Why not?”

Addie tried to cover her nervousness. “Never any need to, I guess, not after Carrie died. I was caught up in being a wife and mother. And business partner to Ike, of course.”

“You didn’t have your children at the Clementine?”

I’d sooner have squatted in a field. “No, they were all born at home with the help of a midwife named Daisy. A lovely lady, God rest her soul.” She smiled wistfully. “Back then, I thought Daisy had to be a hundred years old, but I’m older now than she was by at least two decades. Perceptions do change, don’t they?”

“They do.” Meredith gestured around the lobby. “When I was a girl, this place was an empty shell. We were all afraid of it and we told ghost stories to terrify ourselves. I never guessed I’d be working here one day.” She shook her head. “If anyone had said so, I would have called them crazy.”

“I’m so glad you invited Holly along on your camping trip!” Addie suddenly felt as nervous as a cat. “She is going, isn’t she?”

“I believe so.” Meredith gave her a curious look. “May I help you with something?”

“Yes.

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