The Beast House

white bra was in the bathroom waste basket. A black one might show through the sweater.

“What the hell,” she muttered.

With Nora at the same table, who would be looking at her anyway?

Abe, that’s who.

She felt a rather pleasant, nervous tremor. It stayed with her as she stepped into her heels, put a few necessities into a clutch purse—including her room key—and approached the connecting door.

“Nora?” she called. “Left yet?”

“Five minutes ago,” came the answering voice, followed by a guffaw. “Want to come through? My side’s already open.”

Tyler pulled open her door. The room was a twin of her own. Nora was seated at the dressing table, changing her earrings. “I’m just about set,” she said. She had on the same green gown she had worn to last night’s banquet. With her low neckline and spaghetti straps, she looked considerably more formal than Tyler.

“Going to a prom?” Tyler asked.

Nora eyed her, grinning. “My, don’t you look preppy. Going to a frat dance?”

“Call me Muffin.”

“I just figured I might as well give the boys something to look at.”

“Where’s Jack going to pin your corsage?”

“To my boobie, darling.” Finished with her earrings, she took a white, cable-knit shawl off the bed, wrapped it around her shoulders, and picked up a purse that matched her gown. “Shall we be off?”

Outside, the breeze was mild. The sun felt much warmer than Tyler had expected. It hung above the distant treetops, blazing into her eyes. She lowered her head and watched her shoes move over the courtyard’s asphalt. “What time is it?” she asked.

“About five thirty. The tail end of the Happy Hour.”

“I hope Abe and Jack are the patient type.”

“We’re well worth waiting for.”

“Right.” She hesitated. “I’ve been thinking.”

“What?”

“I’m not sure about all this business…looking for Dan, digging up the past. Maybe it’d be better to call it off.”

“Getting the jitters?”

“I’ve had the jitters all along. But nothing’s been going right, you know? It’s almost as if I’m not meant to find him.”

“Meant? That’s a cop-out.”

“And if I do find him, and if he’s not married or something, who’s to say we’re still…I don’t know, the same people? I know I’m not. He’s probably changed, too.”

“No harm in giving it a shot.”

“Isn’t there? I don’t know.”

Nora frowned at her, looking concerned. “What is it?”

“I just…it didn’t seem like such a bad idea, last night. But after everything today…” She shook her head. “I have this kind of sick feeling about it.”

“Just nerves.”

“No, it’s more than that. I have this feeling that if I do find Dan, I’m going to be very sorry. I’m going to wish I hadn’t.”

They crossed the entry drive to a shaded walkway.

“It has been one hell of a day,” Nora agreed. “I can’t blame you for feeling a bit down. But maybe you’ll feel different in the morning.”

“Maybe,” Tyler said.

Nora pulled open one of the double doors, and they entered the restaurant. The hostess’s desk, with a goose-neck lamp shining down on the reservation list, was deserted. No one was seated in the dining area to the right, but the tables were set. A woman in an ankle-length dress was bent over one, lighting the chimney candle of its centrepiece. From the left came the sounds of quiet conversation and clinking glass.

They stepped past the desk, past the partition behind it, and entered the cocktail lounge. Several people were seated at the bar: a lone man joking with the bartender, a middle-aged redhead with her hand on the thigh of the man beside her, a husky gray-haired man sitting with a blond fellow. Tyler turned her eyes to the tables. She spotted Abe and Jack in a corner booth, and Jack waved. “They’re over…”

“That’s Gorman Hardy,” Nora said. She was leaning sideways as if to get a better look at someone down the bar.

“The one with the other guy?”

“That ‘other guy’ is Brian Blake.”

Tyler could only see the back of the older man, but the blond one was talking, head turned enough to show the side of his face. “You might be right,” she said.

“Of course I’m right. Let’s go over and say hi.”

“Must we?”

“He’s not such an asshole.”

“I never said he was.”

“Effete, arrogant, and slimy—same difference. Come on, don’t abandon me.”

“What the hell.”

Nora waved at Abe and Jack, then lifted a forefinger to signal they would be over in a minute. Tyler, smiling toward Abe, shrugged and shook her head like an unwilling accomplice. She followed Nora down the bar.

The younger man looked over his shoulder as they approached. He was indeed Brian Blake, whose ghastly experiences had been the subject of Hardy’s bestseller. He didn’t appear to recognize either Tyler or Nora, but then, his eyes had barely settled on their faces before sliding down to check out the rest. Apparently pleased by what he found, he bestowed a smile.

Hardy swiveled himself sideways. “Ladies?”

“Mr. Hardy,” Nora said. “We met you at the NLA.”

For just an instant, he looked wary. He covered it quickly with a smile. “Oh, yes. Certainly.” His gaze shifted from Nora to Tyler. “We spoke briefly at the cocktail party, I believe.”

“I didn’t have the pleasure,” Blake said.

“I’m Nora Branson. This is Tyler Morgan.”

“Pleased to meet you,” he said, and shook hands with both of them. “I didn’t attend the party, but I suppose you caught my talk.”

“It was fascinating,” Nora said. “Horrifying.”

“Thank you.”

“You almost made a believer out of me.”

He looked amused. “Almost?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever quite believe in ghosties till one goes bump into me.”

“Touche,” said Hardy. He laughed and picked up his martini. “I suppose you were also skeptical of the book. You did read the book?”

“I don’t know anyone who hasn’t.”

“Neither do I, my dear, neither do I.”

“Could we buy you ladies a drink?” Blake asked.

“No, thank you,” Tyler said. “We’re with some others. In fact, we shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

Nora snapped her fingers. “You’re the Mercedes, I’ll bet. We’re neighbors.”

“In that case, perhaps we’ll be seeing you again.”

“Are you just passing through, or…” Her eyes suddenly widened. “You’re here for Beast House! You’re going to do a book on it. That’s the ‘secret project’ you referred to at the party.”

“Oh, no,” Hardy said. “Not at all. We’re on our way up to Portland for another speaking engagement.”

“We do plan to take a look at the place,” Blake added.

“Of course. We could hardly pass through this area without stopping in for the famous Beast House