Janet Nelson parked her vehicle on the slight incline near the entrance of Cedar Ridge Hills Museum. She turned the car off only to hear it continue to run before it coughed, chugged, burped, and made other colorful bodily function noises before it stopped with a sigh of relief.
The door made a piercing screech, objecting her to exit from the car. It continued its complaining until she slammed it shut.
You’re never going to make it…
She ignored the condescending voice and took a deep, cleansing breath.
The majestic manor sat on the crest of the hill. Seen from the cliffs and Lake Superior, it shared the summer sky. A faint ray of light appeared on the far horizon dispelling the darkness. The morning breeze cleared the dawn mist shrouding the distant boundary dividing heaven and earth.
It hinted at the secrets and mysteries within the haunted walls of the museum until they dissolved into each other. The ancient cliffs projected upwards, a hundred feet from the lake below.
Janet inhaled the comforting fresh air. The lake beyond the rock face was calm and motionless. The curling waves were gentle. The lake was never still, the massive expanse of Superior beckoned, pulling the tides to a distant shore. The unseen currents demanded obedience. The force of the great lake forever called the people of Locke Bay to its shores.
The museum was a vast and sprawling place. Its rooms were many, and its halls elaborate. It stretched from high towers to deep cellars.
Of all its many rooms, there was one built deep into the very foundation of its secrets. One room roused different emotions in different people; the ‘campfire’ rituals inspired stories revealing its secrets of transcendental travel. To others, it was simple curiosity.
To a handful, it was fear and desperation.
The great walls of Locke Manor weathered years of troubles and happiness.
Janet used to play manhunt among the deserted hallways, partying with her friends before the state’s purchase. The college students considered it an initiation of sorts, a rite of passage…to spend one night in the sanatorium section among the haunted halls of Locke Manor.
The warmth and radiance of the sun shining down on the great house couldn’t remove the woeful shadows clouding her days. They haunted her, just as the halls of the great manor were haunted by its past.
Somehow, all those wide-eyed, naïve dreams came crashing down around her. Janet was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and life served on a silver platter. However, no one could accuse her of being lazy. She was raised to work for what she wanted. Her parents were financially comfortable, not her. She had to make her own way.
Entitled was a dirty word in her family.
She’d married into a more affluent family, new money. Of course, it wasn’t unexpected. However, somewhere along the line, she’d lost the silver spoon, and dropped the silver platter until it shattered and broke into tiny little pieces.
She literally ran away from the comforts of wealth; and began her new life with a quarter in her pocket.
For her, it was the last straw. Lines became more important to him than the roof over their heads. He’d lost his temper when he found out she threw it in the trash. She touched her tongue to the tooth he broke.
She fell against the door and grabbed the closest thing. Janet had thrown the large formal lamp at him. When he ducked, it gave her a chance to get away from him. She ran from the house before he had a chance to grab her again.
Janet had found a quarter on the ground while walking to her friend’s house. She had nothing but the clothes on her back. She started her new life with absolutely nothing but that quarter.
She was forced into hiring a lawyer to pick up her and Aiden’s belongings, the ones he hadn’t destroyed.
Everything went up in smoke. Like the phoenix, her life was reborn.
She lost her job and dropped out of college. So much for her master’s degree.
You’ll never make it without me, princess.
Yeah, watch me.
She may have a broken-down car, a tiny apartment she shared with two other people, and was working in a small diner…but she’d be damned if she would go crawling back to him.
She even started dating a year ago. It was a freaking disaster, a huge mistake. Her divorce was pending. Even though there hadn’t been any physical relationship, X accused her of adultery. She hadn’t found a job to support herself, let alone their son.
When X refused to return Aiden on one of his visitation weekends, all hell broke loose.
She retained a small apartment with roommates. He had a large home, a bank account, possession of the vehicles, and an expensive lawyer. He’d accused her of doing all the things he’d done to her.
The X used it all against her.
You want your son back? Then come home and be a real wife.
Her divorce was finalized last month. He promised he would break her. He almost did. She’d lost the only thing that mattered, custody of her son. Shared parental responsibility, Janet had him 50% of the time, but Aiden lived with X.
He bragged about how he’d bought her lawyer.
Despair threatened her heart.
Two years passed since she walked away from a life of luxury, and she still had the quarter. It was a reminder that tomorrow was a promise of hope and second chances.
She stared at the door to the museum.
This job could be her redemption, a new beginning to change not only her life, but also the lives of others around her.
Janet knew what it was to live in darkness, to find a moment of reprieve, only to be plunged into obscurity again. She understood the undercurrents hidden behind superficial smiles.
When she’d first come to Locke Bay, Cedar Ridge Hills lured her to it. She was fascinated by the imposing manor house. It separated the boundaries of the mystery from the truth and the boundaries within the mind.
Janet took a deep breath before entering the Cedar Ridge Hills Museum. Her hands shook. She had no qualifications, no inkling of what she was getting into, nor did she have any idea of how much she should be asking for a wage.
All she knew was what George told her.
Sweet and wonderful George Greene was one of the docents at the museum. He’d chatted with her when business was slow at the diner, and they’d gotten to know each other. They’d been looking for a new tour guide, and according to George, she’d be perfect for the position.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, George. I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”
“Me either, but it appears our newest curator has exited the building.”
Her mouth dropped. “Another one? Three in the last month?”
He grunted. “Four.”
She frowned, disappointed. She hadn’t realized how much she hoped to get the position.
He locked the door behind her. “Come on. Let’s have some coffee.”
Following him, she rubbernecked her way down the hall toward the kitchen area.
“Don’t fret. Since I’m the one doing the hiring today, you have the job.”
“Really?”
“It’s all yours.”
“I’ll need to give a two-week notice. But I can work part-time until then.”
“Absolutely. We can start your training today if you’d like.”
