According to Victor, Brock got pulled into an emergency business call. He had instructed Victor to serve dinner without him. They were all seated at a long wood dining room table. The only light in the room was the chandelier above the table. They could see to eat, but Lexi couldn’t make out their surroundings.
The first appetizer was a Caesar salad. The main course was duck a l’orange. Lexi never had duck before. She liked it, but it was a heavy dish.
Victor had disappeared into the kitchen to get dessert. While Victor was gone, Connor stressed again that the place was really haunted. No one paid attention to him. The guests chatted away until Victor came back into the room pushing a food cart.
“My goodness,” Jennifer said. “It looks like we are getting a special treat for dessert.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Victor said and stopped the cart near the head of the table. “I’ve worked all day on this, so I hope you enjoy it.”
All the guests waited with baited breath for Victor to uncover the dish. The chandelier lights flickered as Victor removed the stainless steel cover to reveal Brock’s head on the platter. His face was pale and his eyes were open and still.
“Brock!” Blake shouted with shock.
Jennifer and Lindsay screamed with terror.
Troy, Nicole, and Barry jumped out of their seats.
“Shit!” Jeffrey swore loudly as he dropped his wine glass on the table.
Connor had a look of horror on his face.
Lexi rolled her eyes and calmly leaned back in her chair. “Relax!” she yelled above the terrified guests. “He’s fine.”
“What!” Jeffrey exclaimed.
“He did the same trick at a Halloween party when we were in high school,” Lexi said with a tiresome tone.
A low chuckle came from the cart.
Everyone looked over to see Brock grinning at them.
“Brock….when I catch my breath….I’m going to kill you,” Nicole stuttered.
Brock roared his laugher as he stood up, revealing that the cart was a cut away. The white tablecloth hung around his shoulders. The silver platter was hugged around his neck like a collar. “Hey, Barry, help me out of this thing.”
Barry shook his head from side to side and reached for the platter.
Victor stood proud and tall with a smirk on his face.
“How old are you? Really?” Jennifer asked in a high-pitched tone with her hand on her chest.
Barry unhooked the silver platter from around Brock’s neck and gave it to Victor.
“Yeah, Brock,” Blake said with annoyance. “Have you ever heard of the boy who cried wolf?”
Brock pulled the table cloth over his head. “Nice to see you too, Father,” he said in a teasing tone. Brock sat down at the head of the table.
Lexi sipped her wine as she looked at Blake. His cheeks were red. He was really angry. Then again, if Lexi’s sister pulled a stunt like that and she didn’t know it was a trick she would be pissed, too.
“Did you guys enjoy dinner?” Brock asked like nothing happened.
Everyone just stared at him.
“Yes,” Lexi said in an attempt to ease the tension. “The duck was fabulous.”
“Thank you, Ms. Brown,” Victor said.
“Now, it’s time for the real game,” Brock announced.
“Oh goody,” Connor said snidely.
“Don’t be like that, Connor,” Brock said. “You could be richer than rich by Sunday.”
“What do you mean?” Connor asked.
“The original owner of this house, Jasper Mosley, had millions of dollars’ worth of gold coins,” Brock said. “Before he died, he hid them on this property.”
“Yeah, right,” Nicole said with suspicion.
“He’s telling the truth, Miss Clouse,” Victor said. “Mr. and Mrs. Mosley collected the coins throughout their lifetime. Mr. Mosley was always afraid that the American dollar would fail and gold would be the new medium of exchange. So, he slowly bought gold.”
“Have you ever seen the coins yourself?” Blake asked.
“Yes, once,” Victor said. “It was over twenty-eight years ago. He kept them in a small chest.”
“In a small chest?” Jennifer repeated. “That doesn’t sound like it would be millions of dollars’ worth.”
“Ma’am, I saw the collection almost thirty years ago. During those years, the Mosleys continued to buy gold. It has to be a large collection by now,” Victor said.
“That’s right,” Brock said. “This is a treasure hunt weekend. You have until Sunday afternoon to find the gold. And you know what they say, finders keepers.”
“Wait a minute,” Troy said. “This is your property. It would be yours.”
Brock waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Thanks to my grandfather, I got plenty of money, now. The way I see it, I’m giving my closest friends a gift. Well, one of you, anyway.”
“This is a crock,” Lexi said. “This is another one of your tricks. Rich or not, why would you pass up a chance to be richer?”
Victor poured wine into a glass in front of Brock.
“Not the case, Lexi. Now, whoever finds the gold, I wouldn’t refuse a ten percent cut as a consulting fee,” Brock said with a big grin. “Plus, it is a fun way for you guys to explore the house without me taking you on a boring house tour.” Brock stood up and picked up his wine glass. “The hunt begins now.”
The lights went out.
Two ladies let out squeaks.
The men grumbled.
“Oh, good grief,” Lexi mumbled in the dark.
After dinner, everyone had gone to their separate corners. Lindsay and Nicole thought the game was fun and decided to team up to look around the house before going to bed. Troy and Barry went to the smoking room with Brock to smoke cigars.Lexi decided to go to the den. She needed more alcohol if she was going to get through this corny weekend. The door was cracked open. She heard people talking.“Why don’t we just leave?” Jennifer whined.“What are you, a party pooper?” Jeffrey said in a teasing tone.“You’re damn straight,” Jennifer answered seriously.“I’m with Jennifer,” Conner said. “This place is haunted.”“You’re still crying that same tune?” Jeffrey said. “I’m sure it was just a breeze from a vent.”“I know a light breeze when I feel it,” Conner said with an indignant tone. “And that wasn&rs
He smiled as he unzipped the back of her light brown dress. Lexi reached for his tie and slowly loosened it. They kissed each other. This time, Lexi opened her mouth, and Brock wasted no time dipping his tongue inside.Brock pulled the sleeves down on her dress as he ravaged her mouth. She moaned against his lips. He tore his mouth away and kissed her neck. His fingers slipped under her bra straps, and then pulled them down. Brock kissed his way down her shoulder. As he did, his hands reached behind her and unhooked her bra. Lexi exhaled with relief from being freed from the snug binding.Brock stood up straight and aggressively pushed down her dress and bra. Lexi pulled her hands out of the sleeves. He watched her with heavy lids as she let the dress and her bra fall on the wood planked floor. She pushed her black panties down to join the pile of clothes, and stood before him in nothing but tan high heels and brown thigh highs.Lexi reached for the top button o
Brock zipped the back of Lexi’s dress for her. He kissed her on the cheek from behind, making her smile. He really was a sweet guy. He always was. She hoped that what they just did wouldn’t ruin their friendship. Good friends were hard to find. Especially now, that she had money in her pocket. Before Lexi decided to hit the road as a travel blogger, people that she and her family hadn’t heard from in years came out of the woodwork. They knew those folks were looking for a handout. That’s why she was so careful about telling people that her family had won the lottery. Luckily, the Brown women aren’t fools. Lexi and her sister, Mercedes, had changed their cellphone numbers. Their mother had her landline changed. Their mother was old-school; she never thought of using a cellphone.The thought reminded her about what she wanted to talk to Brock about. “Brock, did you tell Jeffrey that my family won the lottery?”Brock was slowly bu
It was 10 a.m. Friday morning, and Lexi couldn’t find her cellphone. She thought she had left it on the nightstand last night before she went downstairs for dinner.When she came back upstairs last night, she couldn’t find it. Lexi thought she might have left it in her purse instead on the nightstand. She emptied her purse on the bed. It wasn’t there.“That’s odd. Where the hell did I put it?” she asked herself. It wasn’t unusual for Lexi to misplace things sometimes, but she couldn’t imagine where else she could have put it.There was a knock on her door.“Come in,” she said.The door opened. It was Jeffrey. “Hey, Lexi, sorry to disturb you, but do you mind if I borrow your cellphone? I want to check in with the office and I can’t seem to find mine.”Lexi’s eyebrows arched up. “Really? I can’t find mine either. It’s one hell of a coin
Victor and Lexi just made it back inside the mansion before it started to pour. They quietly walked through the kitchen, and then to the dining room. They walked to the foyer. “May I take your coat, Ms. Brown,” he asked. “Oh no. I got it,” Lexi said. They took off their coats and hats. Victor opened the closet door to put away their things. They walked out of the foyer. Thunder roared outside with the rain. Several flashes of lightning shined through the windows. “So, Victor, what’s on the dinner menu this evening?&rdq
Jennifer and Jeffrey requested that their dinner be served in their room. Jeffrey told the others that Jennifer was so upset about what happened to Lindsay that she was too afraid to leave the room. It was a partial truth. Jennifer was petrified, but she wanted to be alone with her husband so they could discuss their next move. “We should leave,” Jennifer said seriously. “We can’t leave even if we wanted to,” Jeffrey said seriously. “There’s practically a hurricane outside.” “It’s just a bad storm,” Jennifer countered. “We only have to drive twenty-five miles. It’s a better option than staying here and getting attacked for
The thunder and lightning had subsided and the rain had let up. However, the wind was blowing hard. According to the weatherman on the radio, the break from the storm wasn’t going to last long. It was going to storm on and off for the next two days. Brock, Troy, Blake, Barry, Lexi, and Nicole were having after-dinner drinks in the receiving room. Lindsay, Jennifer, and Jeffrey had dinner upstairs in their rooms. Lindsay was feeling better, but as a precaution, she stayed in bed. Victor had just gone upstairs to check on everyone. Troy and Barry had wanted to call Connor, but they couldn’t find their cellphones. They had confronted Brock about it. Brock had sworn up and down that he didn’t have them. So, they had tried to call Connor from the landline pho
Ten minutes later, everyone was in the foyer putting on their coats. Victor was going to stay. He had said that he hadn’t abandoned his post during the worst of times since he’s been employed at the Mosley Mansion. Brock wasn’t having it.“You’re being foolish,” Brock said. “If you stay here alone, you’re going to get killed. You’re coming with us.”“Sir-,” Victor began.“That’s an order, solider,” Brock said sternly.Barry handed Victor his trench coat and paperboy hat. “You may as well put these on, dude. We’re not leaving without you.”“You’re not betraying anything by coming with us,” Lexi assured the butler. “I’m sure Mr. Mosley won’t mind you leaving the house when your life is in danger.”“She’s right,” Blake said as he adjusted the dark plaid scarf around the collar of