The Inn Between Read online

  Aides glanced thoughtfully from Kara’s face to Quinn’s. “Ah, yes,” he said. “You came late last night. Car trouble…”

  “The car was fine last night,” said Kara. “It apparently broke down this morning. Did you see my parents? Are they back?”

  Aides wiped a bead of sweat from under his cap. “Nearest garage is miles away. Only one mechanic. My best guess: they won’t be back for a while.” He smiled his creepy Inn Between smile.

  “How about my brother? Have you seen him?”

  “Sorry,” said Aides, shaking his head. “Can’t help you there.” He placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder as if to stop her from leaving. “You best stay inside. It’s hotter than a skillet full of scorpions out here.”

  Aides was right about that. It was like a furnace out there. Quinn glanced again at the gravel road. Even if a person wanted to run away, even if they tried, they’d die quickly of exposure or dehydration if they got lost.

  Aides shut the door, leaving Quinn and Kara trapped in the coolness of the lobby. Quinn turned just as the family she had seen at breakfast walked by.

  “It’s so hot,” said the mother, fanning herself. “I’m burning up.”

  She took her daughter by the hand. The little girl held her rag doll. She glanced at Quinn for a moment, and Quinn saw something in the girl’s dark brown eyes—a strange reflection like a flickering of yellow and orange. Then the girl turned, skipping alongside her mother and father, up the stairs toward the pool.

  “I’m going to check the restaurant,” said Kara.

  Suddenly, Quinn had an idea. “You check the restaurant. I’ll keep an eye on the elevator.”

  Kara nodded, then headed toward the French doors.

  The fancy bars of the elevator were shut and there was no grinding noise. Quinn hit the button and waited, but nothing happened. She searched beyond the metal, craning her neck to see up the dark shaft that tunneled through the walls of the hotel like a prehistoric worm. She could see why Josh was so fascinated. Quinn shifted side to side, hoping the elevator would arrive quickly so she could check out the upper floors, but nothing stirred. Not a sign of Sharon, the elevator-pilot.

  “He wasn’t there,” said Kara, approaching from behind.

  “No sign of him here either,” sighed Quinn. She covered the button with her back. She didn’t want Kara to know she had planned on ditching her a second time. “Do you think he went back to the pool?”

  They raced up the stairs and searched the upper lobby, the gift shop, and the pool deck. It was still hotter than Hades outside, but the sun was setting, which made the heat bearable. They searched the cabanas and called for Josh in the washroom, but there was no sign of him. Even the kiosk employee said he hadn’t seen him.

  “You don’t suppose”—Kara paused, as though she couldn’t bring herself to speak the words, then swallowed hard—“something’s happened?”

  “I-I dunno.” Quinn’s eyes flashed from the mirrored surface of the pool, up the sides of the hotel, and then back along the deck. Yes. She definitely thought something had happened. “Let’s go back to the room and make a plan.”

  “A plan?” said Kara.

  “To find everyone,” was what she said to Kara. To get out of this place, was what she was thinking.

  They arrived in front of the room and Kara took out the key. Something Persephone had said popped into Quinn’s mind and she realized something about the number. “Our room number is 0708.”

  “So?” said Kara.

  “We arrived here on the eighth of July,” said Quinn, “0708.”

  Kara looked at the key in her hand. She looked back at the embossed brass plate on the door.

  A soft cry echoed through the hall.

  15

  “EMMA,” WHISPERED QUINN, HER EYES FRANTIC AND WIDE.

  “What?” Kara sighed. “Not again.”

  “Listen! Can’t you hear her? She’s here. She needs my help.”

  Quinn was about to dash in the direction of the sound when Kara grabbed hold of her arms and held tight.

  “We need to focus on finding Josh and my parents. Emma’s not here. Your mind is playing tricks.”

  “Emma is here. Why can’t you believe me?”

  Kara’s eyes were fixed on Quinn. She had a strange, almost frightened look. “Emma is gone, Quinn.”

  The sobbing grew louder. It rippled through the hall. Then silence. Then it began again. It sounded just like Emma.

  Quinn struggled to break free from Kara’s grasp. “I saw her. In the window. She’s here. I swear!”

  “Think about what you’re saying,” said Kara. “It makes no sense.”

  “Nothing makes sense!” shouted Quinn, pulling herself free. “How can someone be there one moment and then gone the next? What sense does that make?”

  Hot tears welled in Quinn’s eyes. Tears of anger and frustration. She swiped at them. “Listen, Kara. Someone took Emma. What if they brought her here? What if they’re holding her captive? I need to find her. Before it’s too late.”

  “You have to stop this, Quinn. You have to stop thinking you see Emma everywhere. Hear her everywhere. Smell her everywhere.”

  “If it were Josh, wouldn’t you want to know? What if he’s the one crying? Don’t you want to be sure?”

  Quinn had hit a nerve. Something in Kara shifted.

  “Okay,” said Kara softly. “Let’s make sure.”

  Quinn wiped her face with her arm and hugged Kara. Together they raced down the winding hallway, following all the twists and turns. They came across several intersections and each time paused to listen. Between the two of them, they figured out which direction the sound was coming from.

  Finally, they ended up at the far end of a hall, in front of a room. The number was 0707. The number made no sense unless Quinn’s theory was right. Whoever was in the room had arrived a day before them.

  The door was shut, but beyond it the crying was clear. It was definitely a kid. Quinn pounded on the door. “Emma? Emma—is that you? Open up!”

  The crying stopped. It didn’t start up again.

  “Are you sure this is the right room?” Kara said, staring down the long line of dark doors.

  “Positive,” said Quinn. She knocked again loudly. “Emma, open the door.”

  No response.

  “Josh, is that you?” tried Kara. “Open up right now.”

  Silence.

  Quinn took a deep breath. “Emma. Please. We’ll stay here until you open the door. Or … or we’ll call the front desk. We’ll get a maid to open it for us. We’ll bring the whole staff here if we have to.”

  Quinn heard a faint shuffling from the other side of the door, a rattle of a chain as it dropped into place, a click and a turn, and the door opened a crack, not enough to pull the chain tight. A pale blue eye stared out, looking her up and down.

  Quinn’s heart plummeted into her boots. It wasn’t Emma. Or Josh, for that matter. Their eyes weren’t blue.

  The door opened a little more, revealing a round face and a thatch of blond hair, and Quinn took a step back. She knew this face. She’d seen it before. Her mind scrambled to recall.

  “Wh-who are you?” said the boy. “What do you want?”

  “I know you,” breathed Quinn. “You’re the boy—”

  But before she could finish her thought, a dark shadow filled the far end of the hallway. Even in the dim light, she recognized the silhouette. It was the tall man with the ball cap.

  “Let us in!” she said, her voice tight and trembling. She grabbed Kara’s arm and pulled her close.

  The boy startled. He was about to shut the door but Quinn stuck her hand into the gap. She yelped as he pushed against the heavy door.

  “What are you doing?” asked Kara, trying to free Quinn’s hand.

  The man with the ball cap was walking toward them. “You!” he growled.

  “Let us in!” begged Quinn. “Please.”

  Perhaps it was the way she said it—her voice
thick and pleading—because the pressure on her arm eased and the boy stared out again.

  “Please,” she repeated. “We won’t hurt you.”

  The man was halfway down the long hall. Soon he’d be on them.

  “Quinn,” said Kara. But Quinn pointed to the man and for the first time Kara saw him—his disheveled hair, his wild eyes glaring at them.

  “You’ve got to let us in,” said Quinn, her mind stumbling for a shred of something—anything that might help. Then it came to her. “If you help us, we’ll help you find your brother.”

  The chain rattled and dropped. The door swung open, and the boy stepped aside. Quinn and Kara practically fell in. Quinn slammed the door behind her just as the man reached the threshold. She clicked the dead bolt and fumbled for the chain. It dropped into place and she backed up until she felt the wall at her back. Both Kara and the boy trembled beside her.

  “I’m scared,” he said.

  Quinn put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Let me in,” said the man. His voice was gruff, as though crushed by years of smoking.

  Quinn pulled Kara and the boy close. She huddled with them at the far end of the room, under the window, holding her breath.

  A loud thump against the door made her jump. It was followed by three more thuds.

  “Open up,” the man grunted.

  The boy searched Quinn’s face as if to say, Who is that? He whimpered softly. Quinn frowned, cupped a hand to his mouth, and shook her head fiercely.

  Kara gaped at Quinn. She didn’t need to ask the questions; Quinn knew what she was thinking.

  “Open the door,” he demanded.

  Kara and the boy looked at Quinn for a response, only she had none to give. She put a finger to her lips. They had to stay silent. So long as he couldn’t get in, they were safe.

  Quinn sank to a sitting position. The others did the same. They sat quietly, side by side, under the windowsill, listening to the man pace back and forth, demanding they open the door. All the while Quinn’s mind scrambled for a way out.

  Low, guttural hissing drifted in from outside. Probably vultures. Sweat prickled through Quinn’s skin. She shook off the feeling. Too bad they couldn’t fly out the window like a great big ugly redheaded bird.

  The window. Of course. Quinn motioned for the others.

  Slowly, she peeled back the curtains. Twilight splashed the sands. The sun was fading fast. Soon darkness would smother the landscape.

  Quinn unlocked the hinges and carefully lifted the wooden frame. Heat rushed into the room, along with the heavy scent of creosote that smelled like rain. The hissing of the birds grew louder.

  Quinn stuck her head out. Her heart sank. Though they were on the first floor, there was a dip in the grading. A thin ledge of rock, only about a foot and a half wide, ran the side of the hotel. Beyond the rocky ledge there was a steep drop.

  Quinn craned her neck farther. Her gaze ran the length of the ledge along the side of the building. They weren’t far from where the grading changed. If they could make it to the corner, they’d be on level ground. They could do it if they kept their backs against the wall. If they were careful. If they didn’t slip. Quinn put one leg up on the windowsill.

  “You’re crazy,” hissed Kara, grabbing her arm.

  The pounding on the door was harder now, more frantic. Heavy steps paced the hallway. Breath rasping in and out. “Let me in!”

  Quinn shrugged Kara off. “We have to get out of here. It’s the only way.” She held on to the frame and hoisted her other leg up and out the window. “I’ll go first. The boy goes next. You have to help him.”

  Slowly, Quinn stepped onto the ledge, not putting her full weight down until she was sure it was safe to do so. With one hand still gripping under the window frame, she eased herself over, her back flat against the hot wall. From there, she made the mistake of looking down. It was at least a thirty-foot drop. And with sharp rocks and cacti below, it wouldn’t be a pleasant landing. Her heart beat fast and hard. She swallowed a lump the size of a baseball.

  “Come on,” she said, holding a hand out for the boy, who had stuck his head out the window and was staring wide-eyed at the cliff.

  “Don’t look down,” said Quinn. “Look at me.”

  She managed a weak smile, thrusting her hand farther out toward him. Slowly, he got up onto the windowsill and with Kara’s help he was standing on the ledge beside Quinn, gripping her hand tightly in his sweaty palm.

  They inched farther along the ledge to make room for Kara, who was already halfway out the window. She grasped the boy’s trembling hand, and together they formed a human chain with Quinn leading the way.

  Keeping one hand flat against the hotel wall, Quinn felt her way along the bricks. It was hot. Beads of sweat gathered under her T-shirt and trickled in a thin line down her back.

  She wouldn’t allow herself to look down; she kept her eyes trained on the distant horizon, on the rolling sandy hills, and on the vultures, circling and wheeling in the sky like black smoke in the wind. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, but she forced herself to take steady, calm steps, drawing the others along, inch by inch, toward safety.

  They were halfway when the vultures suddenly stopped circling. One by one, they dropped, forming a single line, flying low and at great speed. They were heading straight for the ledge, squawking and hissing. Quinn thought about the vulture she’d seen by the roadside near Norm’s, digging its beak into the carcass, plucking out an eyeball.

  “Quicker,” she yelped, gripping the boy’s hand tightly, nearly pulling him off balance. He gasped and they stopped, finding their footing.

  Quinn willed her feet to take steady, wide strides, as the birds drew closer, flapping their powerful wings, swooping lower, preparing to dive. The birds were less than ten feet away when Quinn’s hand felt the corner of the building. She ducked around it just in time, pulling the boy with her. They fell to the ground as the birds flew past, flapping wildly, soaring off into the distance.

  When the sky was clear, Quinn heaved a sigh of relief. Then she noticed Kara wasn’t with them.

  She sprang to her feet and dove around the side of the building. “Kara!” she yelled, not seeing her on the ledge.

  “There she is!” gasped the boy, pointing a trembling finger.

  Kara was sitting at the bottom of the steep incline. She had slipped off the rocky ledge, dropping about eight feet.

  “You okay?” called Quinn.

  Kara winced as she got to her feet. “I landed on my knee.”

  “Go that way,” said Quinn, pointing to where the dip wasn’t so steep.

  Kara limped along until Quinn could reach her. She pulled Kara to level ground, slipping her arm under her shoulders.

  “Those birds,” said Kara. “They tried to attack us.”

  Quinn nodded. “They weren’t the only ones.”

  “Who was that man?” asked Kara as they made their way back toward the front entrance of the hotel. “And why was he after us?”

  “Let’s get back inside, before he realizes we’re not in that room anymore,” said Quinn. “I promise I’ll tell you everything.”

  Kara stopped. “I’m not moving an inch. Not until you tell me who that man was.” Then she pointed at the boy. “And how do you know this guy? And his brother.”

  “Yeah,” said the boy. “How do you know me?”

  Quinn let go of Kara. She looked at the boy, then at her friend. “I don’t know that man. I have no idea why he’s after us.”

  “But you know something,” insisted Kara.

  Quinn nodded. “Last night, when we got to the hotel, you left the lobby. I stayed back.”

  “Because of the old man in pajamas,” said Kara.

  “Pajamas?” said the boy.

  Quinn ignored him. “Before I left the lobby, that crazy man with the ball cap came bursting into the hotel. He stared at me like he knew me or something. It’s like he’s been after us ever since.”

  There
was a long pause, as though Kara was trying to process this information. Then she added, “Okay. So he’s some crazy guy who thinks he knows you. But what about this kid?” she said, pointing to the boy. “How do you know him?”

  “I saw his picture in the newspaper,” Quinn explained. “It said he was missing. There were two boys. Brothers.”

  “What newspaper?” asked Kara.

  “In the diner. The one Norm—I mean Not-Norm—was reading.”

  The boy looked surprised. “I’m in the newspaper? Really? Are they searching for me? Who’s Norm?”

  “There is no Norm,” said Quinn.

  He looked confused.

  “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” said Kara, sounding more hurt than angry. “We tell each other everything.”

  “I’d planned on telling you. Eventually. Once we were all safely in the minivan.”

  “Hey,” the boy interrupted. “What about my brother? You said you’d help me find him.”

  “We will,” said Quinn. “I promise. But first we need to get inside. Back to our room.”

  “She’s right,” said Kara. “Let’s go. That man doesn’t know where our room is. We’ll be safe there.”

  “My name’s Quinn,” she said to the boy. “And this is Kara.”

  “I’m Joe,” said the boy. “Glad to meet you.”

  16

  “WELCOME BACK to Inn Between,” said Aides, holding the great door open wide.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said Quinn. “You’ve been expecting us.”

  Joe clung to Quinn’s side as they crossed the lobby. There was no sign of the man with the ball cap. Persephone was busy with another guest. They slipped into the hall, making their way back to the room.

  “Here we are,” said Kara, trying to sound cheerful. She dug into her pocket and pulled out the key. Thankfully she hadn’t lost it. She opened the door—no one there.

  Joe looked around. “Your room is different.”