Chapter 57: Manor

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Manor

Chapter 57: Manor

Hearing Axel Vance agree to rent the rooms, Heather Miller visibly relaxed and released the breath she had been holding. The three friends behind her stepped forward as well, and the blonde girl smiled first. "I’m Nikki, and these are Kenny and Ryan. We’re all here with Heather."

Kenny gave Axel and Seth Brundle a short nod, though some caution remained in his eyes. Ryan stood beside Heather with his arms crossed and subtly shifted half a step closer to her while studying the unfamiliar men. It was obvious Heather’s group had driven to Texas on impulse after learning about the inheritance and had not exactly prepared for the cost of the trip.

The groceries they had just purchased probably represented a noticeable portion of what money they still had. That explained why Heather was willing to rent rooms to strangers while her friends remained uncertain about the arrangement. Axel’s group looked useful financially, but they were still three unknown men traveling in a box truck full of strange equipment.

"Thank God," Seth said cheerfully, stepping forward without any of their hesitation. "A real bed tonight." Years of arguing with research administrators had apparently stripped him of whatever social caution normal people possessed.

He extended a hand toward the group. "I’m Seth, and I’m a senior environmental consultant." Seth puffed out his chest slightly, clearly proud of how respectable the fake occupation sounded.

Unfortunately, the obvious improvisation made Heather’s friends more suspicious rather than less. Nikki glanced toward Heather while Kenny’s expression tightened again, and Ryan’s eyes shifted toward the cleaning-company truck. Axel could practically see them reconsidering whether bringing strangers back to the estate was such a good idea.

Before the awkward silence could deepen, the side door of Seth’s truck suddenly opened. Lionel Cosgrove stuck his head outside with messy hair and half-closed eyes. "Are you guys still talking? I already took another nap."

The ridiculous sight immediately softened the atmosphere. Kenny and Ryan looked at Lionel’s sleepy, harmless expression and seemed to reconsider their assessment of the group. Whatever Axel, Seth, and Lionel were, they did not exactly resemble an organized crew of dangerous criminals.

Kenny finally looked toward Seth. "So what’s an environmental consultant doing somewhere like Newt?" Seth’s face brightened as if somebody had just invited him to give a university lecture.

"You’d be surprised," Seth replied enthusiastically. "Places nobody wants to visit are usually where the interesting opportunities are. If everybody is already looking somewhere, then everything valuable has probably been found."

The young travelers actually began listening.

Seth continued, "You have to go where other people don’t bother going. That’s how you find something nobody else has." Axel could tell the explanation was becoming more elaborate by the second and immediately stepped in before Seth accidentally invented an entire fake corporation.

"Our travel budget isn’t huge," Axel said simply. "If the rooms are reasonably priced, there’s hot water, and we can sleep without folding ourselves into that truck again, we’re happy." Heather nodded quickly, clearly relieved to return to practical matters.

"Absolutely. We can work out the price when we get there." Heather motioned toward the parking lot and added, "Let’s go before it gets any later."

Everyone returned to their vehicles and left the gas station together. Once they were moving again, Lionel leaned back with a satisfied groan. "I can finally sleep in an actual bed. Another night in this truck and my back was going to snap."

Axel looked over his book. "You’re worried about breaking your back?" He smirked and added, "At this point, we’d probably just line everything up and put you back together."

Lionel stared at him.

"That is not comforting."

Seth, who had no idea how literal the joke actually was, assumed they were teasing and continued driving.

Not long afterward, Heather’s vehicle turned onto a private road leading toward a large estate. Tall trees opened around broad lawns, and an enormous mansion appeared in the distance behind them. Seth slowed the truck slightly as he stared through the windshield.

"Now that is a house," Seth said. "When my telepods work, I’m buying something exactly like this." Lionel immediately made a disgusted sound from the back.

"What would you even do with a place that big?" Lionel asked. "You’d spend your whole life cleaning rooms you never use. If you died in some hallway, nobody would find you until the neighbors started complaining about the smell."

Seth looked back at him.

"That got dark fast."

Lionel shrugged. Large houses had lost most of their charm after everything involving Vera.

The convoy finally stopped near the mansion entrance, and everyone climbed out. Heather hurried toward the front door first, but the moment she entered, a startled cry echoed through the house. Axel and the others immediately followed.

The interior looked as though somebody had searched it from top to bottom. Furniture had been knocked over, drawers hung open or lay on the floor, and personal belongings were scattered across the rooms. Several cabinets had clearly been emptied in a hurry.

"Oh my God," Heather whispered, covering her mouth. Ryan’s expression immediately hardened as he looked around the destruction. "That bastard Darryl."

Axel glanced toward Kenny. "Who’s Darryl?" Kenny rubbed a hand across his face and explained that they had picked up a hitchhiker on the road earlier that day.

"He came here with us," Kenny said. "When we went into town for food, he said he was tired and wanted to stay behind." Kenny looked toward another emptied drawer and cursed under his breath. "Looks like he stayed behind so he could rob the place."

Axel nodded slowly. The situation was obvious enough from their perspective: they had trusted a stranger, left him alone in a valuable inherited mansion, and returned to find everything ransacked. They had no way of knowing that Darryl had discovered something far worse than jewelry while searching the estate.

Heather stood in the middle of the ruined room with anger, embarrassment, and worry fighting across her face. Axel could tell the theft had hit the group harder than they wanted to admit. They had already been short on cash, and now their first day inside Heather’s inheritance had ended with somebody stealing from them.

More importantly, Axel, Seth, and Lionel were also strangers asking to stay overnight. The last thing Axel wanted was Heather’s group wondering whether three new guests planned to finish what Darryl had started. He reached over and tapped Seth’s shoulder.

"I’m paying for the rooms now."

Seth looked away from the overturned furniture and immediately understood. "Yeah, probably smart. Better not give them another reason to worry about strangers."

Axel walked toward Heather. "Can I talk to you for a second?" She turned sharply, still shaking with frustration.

"What?"

Axel ignored the irritated tone. "You guys clearly have enough problems right now, and we already agreed to rent the rooms. I’d rather pay you up front."

Heather blinked.

Some of the anger disappeared from her face immediately.

Axel pulled out a reasonable amount of cash and offered it to her. "That should cover the rooms. If you can include dinner, we’ll call it even."

Heather stared at the bills.

Then she looked at Axel.

Her eyes suddenly became wet.

For a few seconds, she said nothing at all before finally accepting the money and closing both hands around it. The amount was not enormous, but right now it clearly felt like far more than a simple room payment.

"Thank you," Heather said quietly.

The atmosphere inside the mansion improved almost immediately. Everyone spent the next hour putting furniture back in place, gathering scattered belongings, and clearing enough of the kitchen and living areas to make the estate usable. By the time they started preparing dinner, the robbery no longer felt quite as overwhelming.

While people moved between rooms, Nikki suddenly looked around. "Where’s Kenny?" She glanced toward Ryan and joked, "Did he find somewhere to hide so he wouldn’t have to help clean?"

Nobody answered.

Lionel, who had finished carrying most of the luggage and currently had nothing useful to do, stood up. "I’ll find him." He wandered through several nearby rooms, calling Kenny’s name without receiving a response.

The mansion was large enough that finding one missing person quickly became annoying. Lionel checked the hallway, another sitting room, and part of the kitchen before noticing a door leading downward. He scratched his head and opened it.

A staircase descended into darkness.

"Kenny?"

No answer came back.

Lionel switched on what little light he could find and carefully headed downstairs.

The basement looked nothing like the elegant rooms above. The walls were rougher, the lighting was poor, and old equipment occupied corners that clearly had not been renovated with the rest of the mansion. Lionel slowed as the atmosphere became noticeably colder and more oppressive.

His foot suddenly struck something metal.

A bowl skidded across the floor with a loud clang.

Lionel looked down at it.

"A dog bowl?"

He frowned and glanced around the dark space. "Who keeps a dog down here?"

Lionel raised his head.

A huge figure was standing directly in front of him.

Before Lionel could properly identify the man, a heavy cleaver swung downward.

The blade buried itself deep into Lionel’s shoulder.

The attacker froze.

Lionel did not scream.

Not even a proper stream of blood appeared around the embedded blade.

For several seconds, the basement remained completely silent.

Lionel looked down at the cleaver buried in his flesh.

Then he slowly raised his eyes toward the towering stranger in front of him.

His expression remained remarkably calm.

Lionel tilted his head.

"Texas has a pretty weird way of welcoming guests."

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