The Monsters of the Mind

Part 14

I had grabbed my purse and my jacket from my room, preparing to head out. Earlier in the day, I worked my way through the first and second floors, trying to find maybe something in one of the other rooms that may be connected to the spirit of Harvey Hall. 

All I knew about him was that, one, he was a relative - a distant cousin - to Jimmy's father, a man who he had never met but had helped raise his son regardless. Two, he was a stand-in father after Jimmy's had died - teaching him how to play cricket, telling stories to him, and just giving him that father-son experience that every little boy needed. And three, he knew the real truth behind Jimmy's lies about Dr. Bose and did everything he could, not only to help Dr. Bose, but to help Jimmy as well.
But what happened to Harvey that would cause his death to be sudden and mysterious.

'It may have been his death that caused the rumors in the first place,' my mind supplied.

"I have no doubt about that," I grumbled.

Regardless, I couldn't find anything on either floor that would tie to Harvey or his history. I had hoped that I would find maybe something that had belonged to him - a pair of cuffs, a wallet, a cricket ball - but nothing showed. The only thing I did find was a spare set of keys to the staircase doors in one of the rooms.

If I wanted to get onto the third floor without anyone noticing, these would definitely come in handy. I decided to wait on trying to get up to the third floor until later, my stomach was growling like mad from lack of food and I still needed to get a ride into town.

The lift stopped at the ground floor, the doors opening as I exited.

"I do appreciate this, Mr. Hall," an unfamiliar voice spoke, echoing in the emptiness of the hotel, "There just weren't any rooms in town and this place was my last resort."

"Not at all, Mrs. Cesari," Jimmy's voice had a sort of edge to it, as if he was hoping not to have any more guests in his hotel except for me, "Please enjoy your stay."

I came around the corner as the woman, who I assumed was the new guest, came past me.

She was dressed in a very expensive fur coat and carrying a large heavy-looking suitcase and a large black purse. Her heels clipped the ground as she walked, heading toward the lift.

"Bloody blighter," Jimmy growled, not noticing my approach, "Some people don't know what's good for them."

"Jimmy?" I approached, making him jump slightly, "Is everything alright?"

"Of course, Kylie," the proprietor adjusted in black and grey patterned vest, "Just... people like that don't understand that sometimes business can't bend over backwards for them."

"Don't tell me, let me guess - she wanted the nicest and biggest suite you had as well as room service among other things, right?"

Jimmy shook his head, a look of disbelief on his face, "I wonder about you sometimes, Kylie."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I worked in the service setting before, Mr. Hall. I think I have a pretty good idea about what's going on in some people's heads."

Jimmy laughed, making me chuckle.

Once we calmed down a bit, I explained I was heading out.

"Did you want me to bring anything back for you, by any chance?" I asked, repeating my offer from earlier.

"Actually a plate of fried fish and chips with a side of tartar doesn't sound too bad about now," Jimmy answered, after thinking for a moment, "I'm not sure if any of the diners in town will make it the same way mum used to, but it's worth a shot."