Page 75 of Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
Lucky held her camera steady to create a static overhead shot of Rebel holding the map. Her knees buckled when Maverick pressed his hand gently against her lower back as he watched over her shoulder. She slowly turned her head and blinked at him.
His guilty, amused smile as he stepped back gave him away. He did that on purpose.
They traveled through the parking garage and reached the set of elevators quickly. Inside, Maverick tapped Lucky on the shoulder and pointed to the reflective stainless-steel door. She checked the camera to see if they appeared in it—they did—and silently indicated to Rebel to lower the camera.
At least he wasn’t distracted and was on his game. One of them had to be.
On the second floor, the doors opened to a darkened room. They were greeted by one of those cloth cubicle walls extending in both directions. A flyer had been pinned to it, now stiff and yellowed with age:Misuse of company supplies is considered theft! Reduce crime by recycling!
Rebel asked, “Which way should we go?”
“Wait.” Lucky placed a firm hand on Rebel’s shoulder to keep her from going any farther.
Maverick stood at her side. The front of his clothes brushedagainst her arm, followed by the gentle warm touch of his hand as he held her wrist to check in.Why are you going off script?
She forced herself to pull away from him to concentrate. Almost immediately, something told her to leave. Very rarely was her gut so insistent—it felt like it was retreating toward her spine as if that alone could turn her around.
For all its flowers and chills, Hennessee House had never once felt threatening in the way this floor did. Something invisible but tangible in the air pressed against her the moment the doors opened. It slowly tickled up her body like fingers eager to strangle her.
Using her agreed-upon voice, she said, “We can’t be here.”
“Why not?”
She chose her words carefully. “It doesn’t feel right.”
Rebel didn’t hesitate, leaping to the back wall of the elevator.
Maverick gave Lucky a questioning look—instead of responding, she hit the button for the first floor.
“Did you have a gut feeling?” Rebel asked, wide-eyed.
Maverick had asked Lucky to explain her stomachache system over breakfast. “I did.”
“What was it like? People will want to know.”
Lucky almost laughed, but her still-jangled nerves held her back. Rebel was truly her father’s daughter, interview skills out in full force. “You know I’m not good at explaining.”
“Well, how are you going to get better if you don’t practice?”
Maverick barely concealed his snort.
She glared at him. Not the whole family treating her like this. She said, “It was like a…like a clear bubble. I could feel it touching me. Walking through it would’ve been a very bad idea.”
On the first floor, however, Lucky didn’t feel any resistance,so they freely explored the semi-dark office space. It smelled like a mixture of cleaning solution and mildew. Soggy carpet squished under their shoes with every step. Overhead the florescent lights that worked bathed everything in a sickly yellow glow. Laminated labor law notices and employer memos still covered the walls, while desk chairs appeared in random places, like in the middle of walkways.
Rebel stated her line from the script: “Did you see which way they went?” She was supposed to see someone on the second floor and follow them down to the first.
“I didn’t,” Lucky said, using her calming voice. “I never did. Are you sure you saw someone?”
“I’m sure.”
“Why would anyone be here?”
“Well, we are.”
Lucky laughed. “Good point. I meant why would anyone else be here, Shortcake? Maybe we should head back.”
“What if they’re in trouble and they need our help, but they’re too scared to talk to anyone?”
