CHAPTER 9
The hallway was quiet and empty. A mounting wind continued to batter the hotel, the old walls, floors and ceilings shifting, groaning against its assault. I watched the end of the hallway a moment, unable to see the stairs to the third floor from where I stood, but sensing them, picturing them in my mind, laced with shadows and echoing the strange sounds of whatever moved around up there.
As I reached the head of the staircase I was met by the aroma of cooked foods. The array of smells were delicious, and until then I hadn’t realized how famished I was. All I’d eaten since that morning was a few bites of donut.
I descended the stairs and crossed the lobby. No one was around in either the meeting or the living rooms, though a fire roared in the fireplace.
Following my nose, I
