The Haunting (11 page)

    “I already told you. Last night was a mistake. You were just another notch on my bed post, nothing more."    

    A single tear fell from Kelly's eye. She lifted her arm and swung her hand slapping him in the face.  "Go to hell!"    

     Jace rubbed his face where a red welt was starting to form. He didn't want to hurt her like that, but it was necessary to say the things he did so she would leave him alone. He made his way down the hallway and paused at the top of the staircase. He looked at Amber dangling by her neck and wondered how in the hell he was going to get her down. Each board creaked under his heavy frame as he descended one stair at a time.     

     Before heading to the basement he wanted to check on Scott and get an explanation from him. When he got to the bottom of the staircase he noticed the door to the study was ajar.
That fucking little shit!
" He swung the door open hitting the wall and making a hole in the sheetrock. "Scott!" Where the fuck are you?!"     

     The front door opened and the sound of footsteps followed. Jace turned and saw Alec Sanders standing in the hallway right under Amber. "Mr. Dalton, you know you really shouldn't shout."                                                                         

*********

     Kelly opened the door and ran towards the staircase. She was so angry she had totally forgotten about Amber hanging from the chandelier. The idea of passing under her to get to the living room gave her chills. One step at a time she made it into the main room and sat on the orange lounge chair in the corner. Beams of sunlight coming through the boarded windows filled the large room making it easy to see and get around.     

     She heard Jace's footsteps walking along the hardwood floor on the second floor, then on the stairs. She was not going to let him get the best of her. Crying in front of him was already showing her weakness. She wasn't going to do it again. There was a small piece of her that knew he was lying. You just don't fake those kind of moments. Or maybe he was such a master manipulator that she would have believed anything he said in all her vulnerability.    

     No. There was something he was hiding from her. Although he said it was a lapse in his better judgment, his eyes had told a different story.     

     Kelly heard Jace yell from the main hallway and jumped up in the chair. She ran across the living and into Alec Sanders. The unexpected surprise caused her to scream.     

     "What is all the fuss about?" Sanders began walking towards Kelly.     

     Kelly backed up with each step he took toward her. "What do you mean what's all the fuss about? Do you not see the body dangling over your head?"    

     "Why yes I do."    

     "Well, what the fuck are you going to do about it?"    

    "What would you like me to do about it?"    

     Kelly was furious.
How could this not bother him and why didn't he care when millions of people were watching them on national television
. "I would like for you to get some help for us. There are more people dead in this house. Now, get her down!"    

     Alec sauntered over to the wall near the doorway like he didn't have a care in the world. "I can do that for you. Let's see..." He reached up, pulled a thick rope with a large gold colored tassel on the end of it and yanked it down. "How's this?"     

     Amber's body plummeted to the ground and the chandelier crashed on top of her. Shattered crystals bounced all over the floor. Kelly covered her ears and screamed. Jace came running practically tackling Alec like a linebacker at a football game. His forearm was pressed to Sanders neck. "Are you fucking crazy?! That was a human being!"     

     Alec struggled to break free. "Get your fucking hands off me or you'll be sorry." He managed to slither out of Jace's hold. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at Jace then at Kelly. "The two of you get back or I'll kill you both."     

    Kelly held up her hands. "Wait, what are you doing? You can just shoot us and get away with it." She pointed to the camera in the living room. "Have you forgotten there are millions of people watching you right now?"     

     Alec moved towards them slowly. His laugh sinister. "You mean the cameras that aren't on."     

     "What do you mean they aren't on? You mean they never worked in the first place?" Kelly wasn't able to process what he was saying quickly enough.      

     "Oh no, they were broadcasting just fine until after dark. The audience even had a chance to see Mr. Dalton threaten Mr. Smith. You, Ms. Sloane were caught on tape arguing with Mr. Smith as well. You see when all was quiet I cut the cable lines outside the house. So, from then on, there was no video recording of anything that went on in this house."     

     Kelly glared at the producer. "So, you're saying there is no way of knowing who killed the people in this house. Is that what you're telling me?"     

     "This house is haunted Ms. Sloane. I thought I had made that quite clear to everyone before you signed up for the show. There are many supernatural phenomena that take place here." His sly smile gave Kelly chills up her spine. "These people were a case of unfortunate circumstances."     

     Kelly noticed Jace inching toward Sanders as she was trying to keep him occupied with more questions. "I don't believe you. There is no such thing as ghosts. Now tell us what us going on here!"   

     Alec saw how close Jace was to him and pointed the gun in his direction. "Move one more step and I will shoot you." He faced Kelly. "Okay, Ms. Sloane you got me."    

     A pair of footsteps tapped against the against the hardwood floor. The sound came from the kitchen and got closer and closer until Scott rounded the corner.    

     Sanders continued speaking making his way to stand next to Scott. "You see Ms. Sloane, in this world there are some, let's just say, less desirable people in this world and these people need to be taken care of accordingly. Take Flame here for example. He spends his days selling drugs, hurting, and killing others. And you, you Ms. Sloane pleasure married men when they should be home spending time with their families." His eyes became beady. His voice laced with anger. "How does it feel to fuck a married man knowing his wife and children are home waiting for his return? What kind of woman are you?"    

    Kelly lunged at Sanders, but he raised the gun to her head. "I don't have sex with married men. I am a....."    

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. You're an exotic dancer. Do you actually expect people to believe you take all your clothes off, dancing and teasing men without having sex with them? Get real Ms. Sloane. You are diluting yourself. You're nothing but a slut. A whore. And a disgusting excuse for a woman."      

    Jace interjected.  "Where the fuck were you Scott? I thought I locked you in the study."     

   Scott never made eye contact with Jace. His head was down. He looked afraid. Afraid to move or speak. Maybe he was afraid of Sanders. He was holding a gun.     

    "Well, Mr, Dalton I can explain that too. You see, I let Scott out this morning. Only because he did me a favor by letting me in last night."     

   Jace squinted. "What do you mean he let you in last night? You've been here in the house the whole time?"    

   "Oh yes. Scott here, let me in through the kitchen."     

    Kelly interrupted. "Wait! That was you I saw prowling around the house, wasn't it?"     

   "No. That must have been one of the technicians trying to fix the technical problems that caused the cameras to stop filming. I was already in the house, hiding in the dumbwaiter. Scott raised me up to the second floor where I had a little discussion with Felicia. It seems Felicia had seen me hiding in the shadows and threatened to tell everyone I was in the house. So, I made her an offer. I would supply her with some heroine in order to keep her quiet."     

    "You sick fuck!" Scott screamed but never looks up at any of them.    

     Sanders pointed the gun at him. "You shut up boy. Remember what happened to you the last time you crossed me."    

     Kelly was on the verge of tears. What kind of man does this to human beings? "You are a sick fuck! You overdosed her and she died. You killed her!"    

     "I didn't kill her. I merely gave her what she wanted."     

     Jace shook his head in disbelief. "So, you're telling me you killed Lance and Amber too?"     

     "Well, look who just woke up and joined the party. Yes, Mr. Dalton. I murdered them all. You know it was quite easy I might say. All of you were at each other's throats so I took full advantage of that. When the cameras are turned back on this morning one of you will be the winner and the rest will be dead. A sad horrible death caused by a case of paranormal activity. So, who’s it going to be? Who will be the last to be killed? You Mr. Dalton? You Ms.Sloane?"    

     Kelly pointed to Scott. "What about him? Aren't you going to kill him too?"    

     Sanders malicious laughter echoed throughout the house. "Don't be absurd. I'm not going to kill my own son. We'll just have to fake his death and get him a new identity again."     

     Scott glared at Sanders. "You're not my father!"     

     Alec bolted over to Scott and pressed the barrel of the gun against his head pushing him onto his knees. "I'm not going to say it again Junior. So, shut the fuck up or you will suffer the consequences."    

     Jace moved closer to Kelly then shifted in Scott's direction. "Scott, what do you mean he's not your father?"     

     Sanders clicked his tongue at Jace."Tsk, tsk, tsk. Mr. Dalton you don't pay much attention to details do you? Even when they are right there in front of you." Sanders continued. "You know you really should have paid more attention to that history lesson I gave in the studio yesterday. You see I’ve had Scott ever since he was a little boy."     

      Jace interjected. "What do you mean
had
?"     

     "You see Mr. Dalton, Scott here was playing around the ground of this house when he was just a boy. It so happens that he saw something he shouldn't have.  I was dragging the body of the landscaper at the time into the trunk of my car. Scott, well, his name wasn't Scott then, but I told him he would have to live with me or else I was going to kill his parents."     

     Kelly was bewildered. She was at an utter loss for words. "You mean you kidnapped him? Weren't his parents looking for him?"     

     "Of course they were, but it's very easy to disappear when you have money. We changed his name and had fake adoption papers made up and voila, instant son."     

     "Why? Why did you kill those other people?" Kelly's thoughts were whirling around in her head making her dizzy. Why would someone harm innocent people?    

    "That landscaper was a drunk who beat his wife. And those appraisers were crooks. They never had any intention of selling the items here in their auction. They were fakes. They all had to be dealt with. So, you see Ms. Sloane I was doing the world a favor by getting rid of them. Society doesn't need people like them walking around."     

    "But, wait. What about the couple who lived here? The Waverly's. Mrs. Waverly went insane because of what happened in this house." Kelly recalled the woman's name. "Um, Caroline." If this house isn't cursed or haunted what happened to her?"     

    "Oh Ms. Sloane, you are just as clueless as Mr. Dalton here. You my dear should have paid more attention to the story I was telling yesterday. If Mr. Dalton hadn't interrupted me, I would have told you about the Waverly's son. Well, John Waverly's son.  See, John Waverly had a son with his first wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth had committed suicide when their son was about say ten or eleven. John then remarried a woman named Caroline. Are we all following so far?"     

      Kelly nodded and was starting to feel weak in the knees. Her head was spinning listening to the story Alec was telling them. She continued to try and comprehend why it was important to go into detail about the couple. Why didn't he just come right out with it?     

     "Good. Shall I continue? Okay. Caroline was a wretched woman. A tramp. A whore. A home wrecker." Sanders became louder. Almost shouting every word that came out of his mouth like hateful daggers. "She was the reason why my mother killed herself. She was my father's secretary, she lured him into her clutches with her enchanting ways until he couldn't resist her any longer. He stayed out more and more until finally my mother found out about the affair. She was so heartbroken she killed herself that same night. I had to sit at the funeral watching the body of my lifeless mother as she was lowered into her grave. That bitch Caroline had the nerve to show up and offer her condolences to our family when it was her fault. My father moved that bitch in the very next day and I was going to make sure she paid for what she did to my family. I was the one who drove her insane. Slamming doors all day. Hiding in the walls whispering to her. Telling her to kill herself like the wife before her had. It took many years for it all to sink in enough to where she couldn't take it anymore and my father had to put her away in a mental institution. My father was depressed after that, he had a heart attack not long after. That bastard got exactly what he deserved for what he did to my mother.