Diadem Manor

Chapter One: The Manor

There was definitely something odd about the online ad, but they were usually written by sad retirees. She never expected much out of them. This one spent most of its ad-space talking about some dead guy-not even recently dead, mind you. But half a century ago. She was an empathetic person, don't get her wrong, but she wanted to know the real details: were there beautiful, designer clothes available? Or was she going to walk into yet another china doll museum?

Jenna squinted and scrolled down the page until finally she caught sight of the listed categories. Not bad.

Her eyes slid to the clock. 9:35AM. The estate sale was open from 10AM - 3PM, and usually all of the really good stuff was gone right at the start. That tended to happen a lot-incredible items going on sale while she was stuck playing coffee mule for Rod, her supervisor.

But, Rod was away for the morning. And she needed a new blouse-her six-month review was tomorrow; looking confident helped her stay confident. She could already imagine a beautiful chiffon or lace detailing around the collar.

Jenna looked around quickly, scanning the room. Felicia was answering phones, looking irritated. Simon, Rod's partner, was in his office completely absorbed. No one looked like they were going to need a latte anytime soon. And hey, these things didn't ever take that long. She would be in and out. She'd slip right back into her little "open concept" cubicle without Rod, or anyone, noticing a thing.

That was all it took to convince her. Just like that, she was jotting down the address for the mansion that would house, hopefully, everything she needed.

She arrived at a towering building almost an hour later. Diadem Hill was outside the very edge of the city, a small detail she hadn't realized until it was too late. But one thing was for sure, whoever owned this place must have been ridiculously wealthy. The manor would have better been described as a castle. Although it was very clear no one had lived there for ages-vines and moss covered almost every surface-it still stood regally on the hill.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" an older woman had snuck up on her, and Jenna almost jumped in surprise. Beautiful or not, these ancient, abandoned buildings always freaked her out.

"Oh yeah," she mustered a smile, heels clicking on the concrete as they walked up the steps. "Gorgeous."

The manor greeted them with creaky hinges. The older woman pushed open the double wooden doors, and immediately the two of them were enveloped in a cloud of dust.

"We only just gained control of the property," the woman explained. "Took fifty years, can you imagine?"

Jenna had zoned out a bit, but her attention was pulled back at the woman's comment. Her brown eyes narrowed in frustration. "Fifty years?" She wondered how musty the more delicate items like chiffon blouses would be after fifty years.

"Oh yes. But don't be concerned. I'm certain you'll find what you're looking for. I'm Mal, by the way. I'll be taking care of the sale if you need anything." Mal smiled, a bit too widely for Jenna's liking.

Because they had only just gained control of the property, there was no electricity. Mal flung open the thick curtains in order to retrieve at least a little sunlight, and as the drapes slid apart, another cloud of dust attacked Jenna's lungs.

"Er-so, why didn't you guys-uh-maybe clean up a bit before the estate sale?" Jenna asked as politely as she could, sending Mal the best smile she could manage in her annoyance.

Mal laughed. "Oh, it's not worth it! This place was dazzling fifty, even thirty, years ago. But it isn't desirable anymore. No one has put an offer to lease or rent it out in all of that time. Oh no. Fixing it up just isn't an option. We'll be tearing the whole thing down."

Jenna almost choked-well, more than she already was-in surprise. "What?" Sure, it was creepy, but Jenna felt a little put out that such a beautiful, historic building was being smashed to bits. "That's awful!"

Sensing her blame, Mal smiled. "Oh, I agree. But we can't help it, can we? Since all of those rumours of it being haunted circled around decades ago, no one has wanted to come near here. And the city has decided to finally foreclose and teardown."

Haunted? Jenna's eyes widened. That would explain why no one was pushing their way to the china sets and armoire. Estate sales, especially for buildings this stunning, usually meant a lot of racing, shoving and, as Jenna had experienced many times first hand, elbowing.

Mal laughed again. "Oh, poor thing! Didn't you read the ad? Erich's whole story was in there. We decided to publish it as a kind of last hurrah for old Diadem Manor, you know?"

Jenna vaguely remembered the long paragraph about that dead guy that she thought she didn't care about. "Uh-I kind of glanced over it. Do you mind, maybe, rehashing the highlights for me?" she asked hopefully.

Mal seemed receptive and was about to start talking when a clatter came from the room right next to the entrance hall. "And so it begins," Mal winked. "Excuse me, will you? I should really check on that. Sometimes a few ghost story enthusiasts try to break in-" and then Jenna was alone.

She tried to remember the story she read in the paper, but her eyes had glazed over at the tiny font. "Okay, getting out of here," she muttered, quickly turning around to head out.

But with the sun now spilling through the tall bay windows, the inside of the manor didn't look as threatening as before. Sure, ghostly white sheets still covered most of the furniture, but Jenna caught sight of a few beautiful pieces here and there. For one, she was stunned by a delicate, ornate looking mirror hanging next to her. It looked antique, with bulging emeralds along the frame, but in a way that was classic instead of tacky. Looking at it, Jenna had a feeling that if she stuck this out, Diadem Manor might be the breakthrough she'd been looking for.

Maybe it was a trick of her eye, but as Jenna walked back inside the den, she thought she saw a shadow flicker in the mirror's glass. She spun around, hoping to catch whatever it was slinking around behind her, but there was nothing around except dusty furniture.

"It's probably just Mal," she said to no one, her voice echoing in the empty cavernous manor.

Another clatter made her jump, but Jenna wouldn't have been surprised if it was a rat or two skirting around, startled by the light. She tried not to think of other possibilities as her feet quietly stepped onto a Persian rug.

Jenna started walking across the den to the grand spiral staircase just ahead. She had been to enough estate sales to know where the master bedroom usually was-upstairs, a few doors down the hallway. Far enough away from the huge halls and dining rooms for some privacy. Hopefully old Erich Diadem had a stylish wife... or mistress, Jenna thought to herself.

In fact, as her fingers found the railing and she began to climb the elaborate staircase, feeling a little bit like royalty as she did, Jenna couldn't help but start imagining what the lady of the house's life might have been like all of those years ago.

Surely, she spent most of her time hosting giant parties and entertaining important guests. And Jenna could only imagine the outfits-sparkling gowns and elegant broaches.

Jenna hid a smile, rolling her eyes at herself. Mrs. Diadem probably never had to wait in line at an overcrowded Starbucks for anyone.

A creak in the staircase startled her, and she rushed to the top. At least it was still sunny. Sunny manors couldn't be haunted, could they?

Could they?