The Pied Piper Of Maddox [Eternal Flames Maddox 9]

CHAPTER 1 The hall was quiet, not a sound could be heard, not a creature was stirring, well, except for him. Miles made his way down the hallway being as quiet as a mouse. The few guests that the hotel had right now were all fast asleep and he didn’t want to wake anyone. Miles had woken up hungry himself and went right to the kitchen and was very happy when he opened the refrigerator to find a tray of deli meats that contained ham and swiss along with a few others that he wasn’t particularly fond of, and next to the tray sat a wonderful assortment of slices of cakes and pies. There were a few with different kinds of cheesecakes, and in the back sat a trifle, but it was the seven-layer chocolate cake that had really caught his eye. He pulled out the tray and the slice of cake, along with a loaf of rye bread and some mayo and put those on the counter, then he went back for the gallon of milk. He couldn’t have a ham and swiss on rye with mayo and a piece of chocolate cake without milk. That was just sacrilegious. Okay, maybe it wasn’t, but in his opinion it should be. After making his feast, Miles had put everything away, then sat at the steel counter that ran along the length of the kitchen where the chef created all his masterpieces, and ate his meal. Once done, he placed everything in the dishwasher and wiped the counter. With that done and his belly full, it was time for Miles to make his rounds. He loved the beautiful hotel with its lush gardens in the back that encompassed an intricate stone patio that surrounded a large built in pool and jacuzzi that was made of natural rocks and boulders instead of that fake concrete stuff. Plants had been placed strategically throughout the rock formations creating an almost tropical island feel to the area. At the far side of the pool was a large rock formation that created a waterfall that poured into the pool. Miles had been very pleased when he found out the waterfall was not only for aesthetic purposes, but was also how the pool was filtered. Every night after his meal he would go out to the pool and take a swim in the warm water, then relax for a half hour in the jacuzzi as he let the jets massage his muscles. Miles would rest his head on a towel he had balled up as a pillow and just look up at the stars. With all the lights of Maddox he didn’t see as many as he would back home, but he was very pleased that the people in charge of this town still kept it quaint and at night the streetlamps weren’t blaring. The town officials had put in old time lampposts up the main streets, which was enough to light the way, but kept the secondary streets darker and only placed lamps at intersections. This way the glow from the town lights wouldn’t hinder the residents from gazing at the majestic beauty above them. Yes, it still was not the same sky full of endless stars that he was used to, but it was close. After Miles’s time in the pools, then a stroll through the lovely gardens, he would make his way back into the hotel and sit at the bar as he watched some TV. He loved watching late night with all the old movies in black and white. He had just finished watching one of his favorites, “Bringing Up Baby” with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn and he was feeling a little peckish. A snack was in order. So Miles was now headed to the quaint little coffee shop that sat in the corner of the lobby where he could get a nice cup of green tea and a blueberry muffin. As he stepped out of the hallway, Miles froze when his gaze landed on the furniture spread around the lobby. “What have they done? I just rearranged all of this last night, why would they put it back? Don’t they know that the way I had it was so much better for everyone’s Chi?” He had studied Feng Shui and knew the design of the room he had chosen would allow for more positive energy to flow throughout the room. “First of all, that main sofa should be facing the entryway and that garish square, glass table should be thrown away, not brought out of the storage place I put it in last night. And where was the cute little round wooden table I placed there?” Miles looked around as he walked further into the lobby. He stopped in the center of the room and put his hands on his hips as he turned in a circle. “No, no, this will never do. This room is too cold. It should welcome the guests and make them instantly feel relaxed and at home. I guess I’ll have to start over.” Miles raised his arms out in front of him and spread his fingers, suddenly all the furniture rose up off the floor and began to move about the room. Pictures floated off walls and replaced themselves in other areas and plants moved to sit by windows and better light sources. After about five minutes, everything was now where Miles wanted it and he breathed a sigh of relief. “So much better. You can just feel the flow of energy now. All I have to do is replace those horrible glass tables with the wooden ones and it will be perfect. He snapped his fingers and all the glass tables disappeared and in their place sat beautiful round wooden tables. “Perfect. Now I can go enjoy my muffin and tea before anyone wakes up.” Miles strolled the last few feet to the coffee shop in the corner and walked through the locked glass door. * * * * Baxter rubbed his tired eyes with the backs of his hands and yawned as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Stepping out, he dropped his hand and turned the corner, then suddenly stopped as his eyes opened wide. Looking around the room, Baxter slowly entered the lobby of his hotel, then put both fists to his eyes and rubbed them again trying to make the dream go away, but when he looked again, the lobby was still there. “What the hell? Not again. I just fixed this yesterday. Who the heck keeps breaking in here to mess with my lobby?” “Talking to yourself again, boss,” Alice, the receptionist said from behind him. Baxter turned to face her to question if she had been the one to do all of this redecorating, but her next words stopped his question. “Who did you hire to do this? I love it. It makes the lobby feel more open, more relaxing, more inviting. It’s that Feng Shui stuff, right? Can I get their number, because I would love to have them come to my place and rearrange my apartment?” “I have no idea who did this. It’s the second morning in a row I have come down to find it this way. It happened once last week too,” Baxter replied in exasperation. Alice’s brows rose high on her forehead. “Really? You don’t even know who’s doing this? Damn, I never heard of someone breaking into a place to give it a makeover. Whoever they are, if you find them, I think you should thank them. Two of the guests already said they loved it and couldn’t wait to come back during ski season and even booked a week trip for January for six instead of just the two of them.” “Did Shawn already leave? I need to find out why he hasn’t noticed all of this. He is the damn night clerk after all,” Baxter bitched as he walked behind the desk to join her. “Yeah, he took off a few minutes ago. He said he loved what you did with it, but had no idea how you did it so quickly. Which I thought was odd. He said he locked the desk and went to the office to get his lunch and stopped in the bathroom, but had only been gone about five minutes and when he came back he found the lobby like this. I figured he was pulling my leg, or you told him not to say anything to anyone and wanted to do it yourself.” “Five minutes? Right. He was probably texting that guy he’s seeing and eating in my office and not paying attention. I really should fire him,” Baxter said as he tapped on the keyboard and looked at the computer monitor. “Oh you can’t fire Shawn. He’s a doll and he really needs this job, Baxter, you know that. He’s putting himself through college and taking care of his mother.” “Then he should have thought of that before he left my lobby unattended. I already let Freddy go yesterday, because it was during his watch last week, and the other night, when this happened.” “What are you looking for?” Alice asked. “I’m trying to bring up the camera footage of the lobby last night, but it looks like there was some kind of glitch for a few minutes. Look,” he said pointing at the monitor. Alice moved beside him and looked where he pointed. Baxter reversed the video feed, then turned it back on when he reached the point he wanted. Shawn sat behind the desk reading one of his college textbooks. He lifted his head and looked at the clock on the wall, then stood and stretched. After that he looked around the lobby and toward the front door. They watched as he slid his hand under the desk and hit the button that would lock the front doors. He then used his key and locked up the desk, then went into the door along the back wall where the manager's office was. A minute later, the image blurred and began to jump and skip. Baxter saw movement, like a shadow, in the hallway that led to the rear of the hotel where the gym, kitchen, conference rooms, and exit to the gardens and the pools were located. At that point the video feed went blank and then to snow. Baxter watched the timer countdown in the corner and exactly five minutes and ten seconds later, the video came back on, clear as day and the lobby was completely changed. Eleven seconds later, Shawn walked out of the office and froze as he looked around. Baxter watched as Shaw first checked the locks, then ran to the front door and made sure that was still locked, then he turned and looked around in confusion for a few minutes before returning to the reception desk and sitting back down and opening the lunch bag he had clutched in his hand. “Well s**t, unless Shawn suddenly became a genius and figured out how to mess with the time code on this thing, I don’t think he had anything to do with this, Baxter. He looks just as stunned and confused as you do. And you can see he did what he was supposed to and secured the building before he stepped out for a few minutes,” Alice said and patted him on the back. She was right. The video proved Shawn had nothing to do with it, but then how did someone do all of this in such a short amount of time? And who was doing it and why? Baxter closed up the file, then grabbed some paperwork off the desk and walked around. “I’m heading to my office. If anyone needs me, just call,” he said, then headed down the hallway. As he made his way toward his office, Baxter noticed some of the paintings on the walls had been either changed or replaced with others. Plants had been moved, furniture too, and he shook his head. He had no idea what the hell was going on, but he had to admit, even if only to himself, Alice was right, everything looked great and he loved it. It was a thousand times better than his decorator had done and she had charged him a small fortune. Baxter opened his office door and went to his desk, then sat as he placed the folder down and noticed a lemon poppyseed muffin sitting on a plate, covered with plastic wrap and a steaming cup of coffee sitting there. Again, he was at a loss for words. No one had ever brought him coffee or anything before. He was always one to go get things for himself. But this was a nice treat. He grabbed the cup and took a sip, then closed his eyes as the rich goodness coated his tongue and slid down his throat. Just the way he liked it, a little sugar with cream. Not milk, cream. Baxter opened the muffin and took a bite, then turned on his computer. Just then the phone rang. “Hello,” Baxter said as he picked up the receiver and placed it to his ear. “Hey, Bax, it’s Travis in the kitchen.” “Hey, Travis, thanks for the coffee and muffin this morning. It was a wonderful surprise.” “Um... what are you talking about? I don’t know anything about a coffee or muffin,” Travis replied. “Oh, I thought... never mind. So what can I do for you?” “Did you or Shawn come to eat in the kitchen last night?” “No. Not that I know of. Why?” Baxter asked as his stomach dropped and suddenly the small bite of muffin he had eaten began to feel like a lead weight. “I made up a deli tray for the Mayor and his guests for their meeting today in conference room one, along with a selection of cakes and pies and someone got into the locked fridge and took some ham, swiss, and a piece of cake. And I think they used the rye bread. It looks a little light like a few slices are missing.” “Again? This is what the seventh or eighth time this month someone has taken food out of that fridge. Are you sure you’re locking it?” Baxter asked. “I’m positive, boss. After the first two times, I even double check now to make sure. That thing was locked when I left last night,” Travis replied. Baxter sighed heavily. “Okay. I’ll call the refrigeration guy and have him come over to check to make sure the locking mechanism is working properly. In the meantime, do you need more supplies for Mayor Lawrence and his guests?” “I may need some more cold cuts. My supplier just delivered yesterday and I don’t think we can get him back today.” “Alright, I’ll send someone over to... you know what...? When is the meeting?” Baxter asked as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “They should be arriving around three and I was going to start serving at about three thirty,” Travis answered. “I’ll be going over to sports bar in The Cage for lunch today to meet with some friends. I’ll ask Jagger if his guy has any cuts they can lend us. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” “Thanks, Bax. I’ll see you later.”