CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

Bedbugs.

The review Posey showed Marie from a highly reputable bed-and-breakfast review site claimed that the reviewer had stayed at June Manor (also known, the reviewer was quick to point out, as Ghostly Grounds). According to the review, they had not only been unable to sleep because of the creep factor of the place, but they had also gotten bedbugs during their stay. The review went on to make many more deplorable claims, but Marie found it hard to get past these first few bombs. At the very top, they were given a one-star (out of five) review.

“This stuff isn’t true, is it?” Rebeka asked.

“No, it’s not true,” Posey exclaimed. She pointed to a section near the middle and made a huffing noise. “Right there. It says

‘The food they served for dinner and breakfast was dry and tasteless. And even if it had been good, the portions were so small, there’s no way I would have had my fill.’

That right there is proof that this is a bogus entry! I mean really…dry and tasteless?”

“Bedbugs,” Marie said. “There’s no way.”

“We need to find out the real identity of who posted these lies,” Posey said. “You see they made up a cutesy username so no one would have a real name to go on. BandBQueen. Ha! BandBBitch is more like it!”

Marie jumped in surprise. She’d heard Posey get worked up before plenty of times, but she’d never heard her actually curse.

“Can I see this for a second?” Rebeka asked, reaching out for the phone.

Marie nodded, her mind trying to go back through the course of June Manor’s brief history as to any guests who had been upset or displeased. She’d had a few who had been lukewarm at best, but never one who had left so angry and upset that they’d leave such a review. She hated to jump so quickly on Posey’s conspiracy bandwagon, but she assumed the review was a fake. But who would do such a thing?

Rebeka tinkered with the phone for a bit, sitting down at the table. Marie watched her, trying to push past the negative—and likely fake—review to watch the young woman. She seemed incredibly smart but also humble. She was the sort that was quiet unless she was spoken to and was always bashful whenever she had a question or a suggestion. As Marie watched Rebeka checking out something on the phone, she noticed that the girl had a pink hair tie around her wrist. Marie found this odd, as she had never seen Rebeka wear her long blonde hair up before.

“Just one second,” Rebeka said, setting down Posey’s phone and getting out her own.

“What are you doing?” Marie asked.

“When I click the username on the review site, I’m only taken to a list of the user’s other reviews. By the way, there are none. The review for their supposed stay at June Manor is the only thing they’ve ever posted. But I’ve just created an account of my own. I’m wondering if it’s the sort of site where users with an account can see more information on other accounts.”

Marie looked to Posey and caught the impressed expression on her face. Posey caught Marie’s glance and shrugged. “Smart thinking,” she said.

Twenty seconds passed. The smell of cooking pecan rolls was starting to fill the place. Somewhere upstairs, someone was moving around—presumably Ms. DeVoss, because Atticus Winslow didn’t do much moving around.

“Boom,” Rebeka said rather proudly. “Here we go. A bit of information from our friend BandBQueen.”

Marie looked at the screen and became more and more certain the nasty one-star review was a fake. First of all, the account had been created just three days ago. And the location settings for the user were listed as Maine, USA. The name the username was registered to, though, was unfamiliar to Marie.

“Oh, that witch is going down,” Posey sneered.

Marie double-checked the name: K.S. Beachy. “That’s clearly a fake name, right?” Marie asked.

“Looks like it,” Rebeka said. She clicked around a bit more and was able to find the ability to contact the user K.S. Beachy. Again, they were shown K.S. Beachy was from Maine. There was also a listed email address and upon seeing it, Posey got very angry.

“Oh my God…the nerve of that woman,” Posey said.

“What woman?” Marie asked.

“Look at the email address. KStillson.”

“You know her?”

“Huh,” Posey said. She picked up her phone again and tapped a few times, scrolled a bit, and then handed it to Marie.

Marie found herself looking at a very familiar ad—an ad for another local bed-and-breakfast that had just opened up. She looked at the ad for Shoreline Oaks and wasn’t able to completely choke down the feeling of anger that swept through her.

Introducing the Newest Bed-and-Breakfast to Port Bliss

Shoreline Oaks

Coastal Comforts, Oceanfront Views, the Time of Your Life!

And unlike our competitors…no drama, no ghosts, no problem!

“Katie Stillson,” Posey said, “is the owner and proprietor of Shoreline Oaks.”

Rebeka gave a theatrical gasp and said: “Sabotage!”

“No, let’s not go th—”

“Oh, I think Rebeka is right,” Posey interrupted. “This is sabotage, plain and simple. Katie Stillson is trying to make her competition look bad. And in this case, that competition just happens to be us.”

A flicker of fury started to waver inside of Marie, but she remained as grounded as she could. “That’s a pretty strong accusation. How would we even start to combat something like this?”

“For starters, we can call her out—prove she’s lying,” Posey said. “It can’t be

that

hard. You can reference your guest list and show you never had anyone by that name stay here. And it would bury her if we showed what she’s doing.”

It

did

appeal to a small part of Marie. She could do the very things Posey was suggesting, putting all of her energy and determination behind it. And just like

that

, maybe she could knock out this little bit of nasty competition. And maybe that’s what she’d eventually choose to do. But for right now, she was simply too bogged down by the mysteries the secret room upstairs had revealed to her—mysteries about her mother, Aunt June, and maybe even the house itself. Besides, making accusations like that could be dangerous. They had to be absolutely certain, and she wasn’t sure if the little bit of information Rebeka and Posey uncovered was enough to accuse a woman of trying to sabotage June Manor.

She was about to say as much when her phone rang. It wasn’t even 7:30 in the morning yet, far too early for a business call. She checked the caller display screen and when she saw that it was Brendan, she did her best not to smile too wide in front of Posey.

“One second, ladies,” she said. “I need to take this.”

She excused herself, choosing to walk through the kitchen and out onto the back patio so Posey wouldn’t try to eavesdrop. She hadn’t told Posey about the two kisses she and Brendan had shared—partly because she wanted to keep it to herself for now and partly because she did not want to endure Posey’s relentless teasing.

She answered the call on the deck, looking out at the early morning surf. It came in gently, the crashing of the waves almost like music. With summer coming to its close, there was the slightest bit of a chill to the air. It was unexpectedly pleasant, making her smile even wider when she answered: “Good morning, Mr. Peck.”

“And good morning to you. Did I call too early?”

She wasn’t sure how to feel about the amount of happiness she felt at hearing his voice. It was a feeling she’d wrestled with the last few times they spoke, made even harder to ignore when the joy increased at the thought of seeing him again.

“Nope, not too early. What are

you

doing awake at such an hour?”

“I’ve got a meeting at nine.”

“Where are you, anyway?”

“New York. I’m meeting with a pretty big-time sponsor. That little YouTube show of mine might be getting bought up by a streaming platform. I’m not allowed to say who until all the paperwork is signed, though.”

“Oh, that’s exciting.”

“It is. We had preliminary talks yesterday, just so I could have some time to get my pitch in order. I

almost

called you last night, but wanted to sleep on a few things. There’s…well, there’s something I need to ask you.”

Genuinely confused, Marie pressed herself against the railing and looked out to the ocean. “What’s that?”

“Well, some of the execs know about some of the time I’ve spent out at June Manor—especially that first trip that went viral for a while.”

“Okay…”

“So, I’ve been asked if I would reach out to you. They wanted to know if I’d be interested in having my pilot episode take place at June Manor.”

She was excited at first, instantly thinking of how much business such a move could bring in for June Manor. The problem, of course, was that there was no longer a ghostly presence in the house.

“Well, it would make for a boring show, seeing as how there are no ghosts,” she said.

“Yes, I know that, too. Of course, I had to make something up on the spot. I told them that you were just really private about the place ever since it got famous for that little bit of time. However…they then hit me with another question. And that’s why I’m calling.”

“Okay, so what’s the question?”

“They wanted to know if you’d be my co-host.”