Chapter 3 - The Old Wing
The Christmas tree stayed lit for half a second after the chandeliers died.
Then everything went black.
Someone cursed.
A glass fell.
Claire felt Ethan’s hand close around her wrist.
“Don’t move.”
From somewhere near the stairs came the sound of a door slamming.
Then footsteps.
Fast.
Claire pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight.
Other screens lit up around the room.
Margaret was gone.
So was Richard.
Ethan looked toward the hallway.
“Dad?”
No answer.
Lauren whispered, “The breaker panel is in the basement.”
Claire looked at the brass key in her hand.
“No. This is a distraction.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You think my mother cut the power?”
“I think she searched my purse during Christmas dinner.”
Fair.
He took a breath.
“Show me the tag.”
Claire held it under the phone light.
BLUE ROOM.
The handwriting was shaky, old-fashioned.
Ethan recognized it immediately.
“That’s Grandma Eleanor’s.”
They moved down the hallway together.
The old wing had been closed since before Claire met the family.
Margaret always claimed there was mold damage and unstable flooring.
Yet there was no plastic sheeting.
No warning signs.
No smell of damp wood.
Only a locked oak door at the far end of a corridor most guests ignored.
Ethan tried the handle.
Locked.
Claire inserted the brass key.
It turned.
Behind them, Lauren said, “You have got to be kidding me.”
The door opened into a narrow passage.
The air smelled like cedar and dust.
Their phone lights swept over covered furniture, framed family photos, and a runner carpet that looked untouched.
At the end was a blue-painted door.
Claire felt her pulse jump.
“The Blue Room.”
Ethan reached for the knob.
A voice behind them stopped him.
“Don’t.”
Margaret stood at the entrance to the old wing.
She held a candle in one hand.
Her face looked almost colorless.
Claire had never seen her afraid before.
Not even after the soup.
“Why?” Ethan asked.
Margaret’s voice was low.
“Because your grandmother was sick at the end.”
Claire glanced at the door.
“What does that have to do with a locked room?”
“She collected things. Papers. Accusations. Nonsense.”
Richard appeared behind Margaret.
His breathing was hard, as if he had been running.
“Not nonsense.”
Margaret turned.
“You shut your mouth.”
Richard flinched.
Claire noticed.
So did Ethan.
Then the power came back on.
The hall flooded with warm yellow light.
And everybody saw what Claire had not noticed in the dark.
The blue door was already open an inch.
May you like
A fresh shoe print marked the dust.
Someone had been inside minutes ago.
