“I just cleaned up from last time!” he snarled and stomped off.
We shared glances as Fiona wrung her hands. “Let’s have lunch, and you can discuss a plan.”
“Good idea,” Connor replied, throwing an arm around her. I exchanged a look with Jack. This would be fun!
Chapter Two.
Sunny
After a fantastic lunch, we sat in one of the cosy sitting rooms on offer as we planned. Fiona was detailing what had happened and where it had happened. In all honesty, it didn’t seem as if anything was off limits where the ghosts were concerned. The main hotel had the most incidents. However, chalets thirteen and nineteen also boasted activity, as did Santa’s house, workshop, and the church.
“When the village was bought—the first time around—to be converted into a resort, most of the original buildings were demolished. But part of the hotel is original, the church is, and several of the chalets are,” Harry said, looking up from his laptop.
“Yes. Some of them are original but were expanded, and new roofs were put on. We restored a lot here, but some buildings did have to be torn down from the previous resorts,” Fiona assured.
“And Santa’s house?”
“That’s original,” Simon confirmed.
“The workshop?” I asked.
“That was the former windmill. It was a weird design, one we hadn’t seen before. It has a basement, a ground floor, and two further levels. When we came across it, it was just a shell; everything that made it a mill had been ripped out. We renovated it to make it a three-storey workshop,” Simon said.
“Okay, so I suggest we set up our cameras in those areas,” Callie said.
“Are there any other buildings with activity?” I asked, and Fiona and Simon shook their heads.
“The Santa ride is the only other thing. As you saw on your way in, a path cuts through the woods to the stone arch and two towers. We have an illusion there that lets kids think they’re passing through a portal to the North Pole. They’re in it for about fifteen seconds. But our employees have reported seeing other figures there too,” Simon said.
“How does that work?” I asked, intrigued despite myself.
“The arch is a small tunnel. The driver parks the sleigh in it, and lights appear like the Aurora Borealis. They swirl around, and then, after fifteen seconds, the driver moves forward, and the children think they’ve been transported to the North Pole,” Fiona explained. Her face was lit with joy, and a glance at Callie showed she wanted to experience this too.
Inwardly, I sighed. Sheesh, this was turning into a bad idea, and knowing her mind was already working on things, I asked, “Got a plan, babe?”
“Yes!” Callie beamed, and my heart sank. Worst nightmare ever!
Callie
Sunny really seemed grumpy about being here. I’d never considered whether he liked Christmas. But he appeared tobe set into a modern-day Scrooge. I felt like kicking him, but refrained. Did Sunny really not like Christmas? Liv had recalled some good times with him and Cherry. Maybe he was missing them, which was making him grumpy. I grabbed my phone and sent a text. If this wonderful place was making him miss his family, there was something I could do about that.
“Callie?” Jack asked, and I shook myself. I recalled the stories that Fiona and Simon had told us over lunch.
“Sorry. Right, there’s clearly a lot of activity around here. Let’s set up in the two cabins, Santa’s workshop and house, the church and the main hotel. I’m concerned about how we investigate the tunnel. Are the figures seen when the illusions are turned off?” I asked Simon.
“No. Only when they’re on, which is strange,” Simon replied.
“Actually, that does make sense. The shimmering lights might help them materialise,” I replied.
“Never thought of that,” Simon said.
“It’s what we’re trained for. Okay, so we’ve got Monday through to Sunday when we fly out again. On Monday, I think we will investigate the two cabins and the tunnel. Tuesday, we’ll do Santa’s workshop; it’s got four levels and will need all of us.”
“You could do three teams,” Ashford suggested. “You don’t need all four of us on security, as nobody knows we’re here.”
“That would be a great idea,” Connor agreed as I considered it.
Slowly, I nodded. “Maybe even four teams. I’ll look into it. On Wednesday, we can do Santa’s house, since it has multiple levels. On Thursday, we’ll examine the church, and we’ll follow up at the hotel on Friday. On Saturday, we’ll have one team investigate the church while the other two follow up where needed. Phil, you have the plans. I know you’ve not had much time to decide—”
