“I’m not feeling much of anything,” he said. “How about you?”
“Not really, but…” She wrapped her arms around herself.
“But what? Did you feel a burst of cold air?” According to the episodes they’d watched, a sudden drop in temperature might indicate a spirit was nearby.
“No, but…” Her forehead pinched in concentration. “I can smell roses. Not the flowers, but a softer scent. Like soap. Can you smell it?”
The only aroma he caught was the musty odor of a room that had been locked up for far too long. “I’m not getting it.”
“I’m also feeling…” Her voice trembled. “Kind of awful.”
“Physically or emotionally?”
“Emotionally. Like the way I felt after I broke up with Randolph. I knew I’d made the right move, but sometimes I’d lie in bed and wallow in misery and self-doubt. I’d wonder if I could ever trust myself to get involved with anyone again after making such a terrible decision.”
Fuck.That sounded miserable. “Charlie, if something—or someone—in this room is messing with your mind, we should leave. It’s not worth it.”
She shook her head quickly. “It’s fine. Really. Maybe I’m feeling this way because we saw Randolph last night.”
A plausible explanation, but it didn’t satisfy him completely. Wanting to finish up their investigation, he made a wide circuit of the room, peeking under dust cloths and looking behind dressers. Other than a few spiders, he didn’t see anything creepy.
He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “I’m no expert, but I’m not detecting a ghostly presence. I guess we should have waited for Celia.”
“It’s okay. Coming up here makes me feel brave.”
He glanced over at her, relieved her sunny smile had returned. “Youarebrave. Keep telling yourself that.”
“Thanks. We should get going, though.” She went to open the door, only to tug at the knob in frustration. “Can you help me out? I think it’s stuck.”
“Sure.” He tried turning the knob, but it didn’t budge. “It feels more like it’s locked, but that doesn’t make any sense, unless someone locked us in here from the outside.”
“I can’t imagine why anyone would do that. Maybe the lock malfunctioned?”
“Do you have your key?” When she handed it to him, he inserted it into the keyhole and attempted to unlock the door. The key wouldn’t move. He left it in there, perplexed over what to do next. “Huh. I dunno what’s wrong.”
Charlie grabbed hold of his arm. “Do you think it’s a ghost?”
He was on the verge of teasing her until he realized she was genuinely frightened. “I’m sure this door is just old. Like you said, hardly anyone ever uses this room.” He stepped back a few paces, with her still clutching onto his arm. “Let’s wait a minute, then we can give it another try. In the meantime, is there anyone you can call? Isn’t there an overnight maintenance man?”
Knox couldn’t remember the guy’s name offhand, but he’d called him last month for assistance when the men’s washroom in the bar had backed up.
She perked up. “Good plan. I left my two-way radio in my office, but I can call the front desk and have them send him up here. I’m sure he has a key.” When she pulled out her phone, a frown crossed her face. “That’s weird. I’m not getting any bars. And the hotel’s Wi-Fi isn’t showing up either.”
He took out his phone but couldn’t get a signal. “Same here. This storage area must be a dead zone.” As soon as he said it, he regretted his choice of words. “Which…doesn’t mean it’s haunted. Maybe it’s because it was never renovated, like the rest of the hotel.”
Her lower lip trembled. “I’m kind of freaked-out. I’ve always been able to get a signal at the hotel. Even in the basement. And no one knows we’re up here. What if we’re locked in all night?”
It wouldn’t be the worst thing.“I doubt that’ll be the case. If it does happen, at least we have each other for company.”
Her anxious look filled him with guilt. Even if he didn’t mind getting stuck, she wasn’t comfortable with it. Coming here after hours had been a big mistake.
“Hang on, okay?” He released her arm and dragged an ancient settee until it was a few feet away from the door. After dusting it off, he motioned for her to sit beside him. “We’ll try the key again in a bit. If we can’t get it to work, we could look for a way to pry open the door. Does that sound like a good plan?”
“O…okay.” Her voice was still wobbly, but she sat beside him.
He took her hand and rubbed his thumb over the soft skin. “Let’s talk about something else to take our minds off this room. Last night, you told me you loved the first three seasons ofThe Hidden Forest. Did you have a favorite storyline?”
“Did I ever.” A dreamy smile crossed her face. “I was so invested in Princess Elodie and Finn the Woodsman. Even though she was an Elven princess, and he was a mortal, I wanted them to end up together. When they finally confessed their love, it was everything I’d hoped for. I watched that episode so many times.” She gave a short laugh. “I’m guessing it was too sappy for you?”
