Templeton Manor Book 2 of The Reflections Trilogy

CHAPTER 10. IDENTITY

I help the others push the bookcase back against the wall and Jace pulls the lever to lock it back in place. We briefly discuss the items we brought back up with us from our treasure hunt and then go our separate ways.

After much discussion, Jace and I were able to convince the others, aka Tiffany, that we should be the ones to try to break into the tablet. We're all really anxious to see who it belongs to, especially me. We all agreed it would be best not to tell Aunt Rose about what we had found down there. She would only worry and probably wouldn't allow us to go exploring anymore. Since we were meeting the others for dinner later, we were hoping we could hack into it and share our findings with them tonight.

The minute we walked away from the others, Jace and I couldn't wait to discuss the mask.

"So I don't think it's a coincidence that a Scream mask was in that stuff we found down there, Jace. Somebody has been trying to scare me with it, so somebody must know."

I'm afraid to tell him that my first thought was Blake. He would probably think I'm crazy, so I decide to keep that to myself and just tell him about all the times I saw the man in that mask around the hotel.

"But Joy, nobody else knows about that Halloween night except for us. You never told anyone, did you?"

"Umm, well, I did tell Blake about it once when we were drunk and talking about all the crazy stuff we did when we were kids."

"Ok, well, he's gone now, so that just leaves you and me then. I think it's just a coincidence and whoever that stuff belongs to just happens to like that movie is all. I mean, it was a very popular movie back in the day. Why do you think I chose it that night on Halloween?"

"You have to admit that this is all pretty crazy, Jace. We found evidence that someone has been staying down in the creepy old cellar of a haunted house and you don't think there's anything odd about that?"

"I think it's probably some homeless person that wandered into the library and happened to find that switch just like we did and decided it was cheaper than paying for a room."

He chuckles, continuing to try to downplay it so I won't worry, I guess. After he pushes the button for the 3rd floor, he leans over and kisses me on my cheek.

"Hey, don't worry, Joy. We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise." I grin and give him a flirty smile and pat him on the shoulder as we get on the elevator together.

As we're walking down the hallway to my room, I can't shake the feeling that it is Blake, and he faked his death. I decide at that moment I can't break it off with Adam just yet. I need his help as well as his protection, so I'm going to have to figure out a way to not mess things up with Jace in the process. The last thing I want to do is ruin my chances with him.

"Well Hello Walter! How are you doing, sir?"

I look up and see Jace waving, and he's yelling down to an elderly gentleman. I've seen him around the hotel a few times but never knew his name. He looks to be in his nineties and is very hard of hearing. I've tried talking to him a few times, but he just yells at me to leave him alone. He walks very slowly behind his walker and if you try to help him at all, he hits at you. He must wear poor fitting adult diapers too because he sometimes leaves a trail behind him, if you know what I mean. Aunt Rose has sent Tiffany and me on clean up duty a time or two. Tiffany bitches every single time and has even promised to kick him out as soon as she takes over running the hotel.

Jace has such a big heart, and as I watch him talk to Walter, it makes me smile. He's a good guy and I've always known that about him. He and Tiffany are complete polar opposites, and it's hard to imagine that they're even related. I decide it's time to show Jace that Tiffany hasn't rubbed off on me at all and that I have a soft side just like him.