Disclaimer The Inkblot is a production of the Creative Writing Program at Green Hope High School. It is intended as a forum for students to share original work, including poetry, drama, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Students often choose to write about issues and subjects that are personally meaningful to them, and potentially challenging for readers. Students may even adopt a fictional persona/perspective for the purposes of artistic exploration and expression. The views and feelings expressed in this collection do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of school administrators, teachers, or students.
Authors’ Note These excerpts we chose to include are samples of larger projects that we are creating. Every other week, we will choose something to upload to The Inkblot, expanding each of our mini-series. This is the second piece in the Grace’s Hotel series. (To see the first piece, along with Lesbian Nights, see The Inkblot: Part 1) Grace’s Hotel is a combination of excerpts taken from Haley’s independent writing project, a mystery novel. Each selection will focus on one specific person, the victim of the case, the investigator, or a suspect. This week, Lesbian Nights will not be continued, however it will appear in the next in the next issue.
We hope you enjoy!
Haley Newton (and Kristin Schmidt)
Last time on Grace’s Hotel… After a troublesome night, Grace Burnette arrives at Grace’s Hotel, an oddly coincidental name. She is exhausted after driving for a long time in attempting to reach someone, and when her car finally gives out in the midst of a storm, she gives in and gets a room.
Grace’s Hotel: Part 2
Nathan “Nathan!” His mother, Maggie, calls from the front desk. Nathan is in the records room, filing papers. “Has anyone checked on our guest in room 203? They were supposed to check out yesterday.” “Not that I know of. I’ll go check.” With a sigh, he stands and goes up the stairs to the second room on the left. He knocks once, then again. “Grace Burnette? Front desk, open up, please.” Still, nothing happens. Nathan tries the doorknob, which swings open with a bit of force. It was unlocked. It is still early in the morning, too dark to see much without the lights on. Nathan feels around the wallpaper with his hand, looking for the lightswitch. His fingers finally grasp it, and the light reveals a horrid sight. The blood blends in with the red color palette of the room, making it hard to know where the furniture and flooring ended, and the crime scene began. Nathan looks panicked, and not knowing what else to do, he sits down next to the corpse and stares. A million thoughts run through his head, too many to focus on just one. He tries, but the effort makes him immobile. He considers screaming for help, but decides to think it over first. What is he supposed to do with the body? It was a mess, ruining the carpet. Would the hotel be liable? He tries to figure out what he is going to do, and continues to stare at the body and think. This is how his mother finds him, an hour later. Her screams have awoken the surrounding tenants, who gather to stare at the body. “Nathan, what happened?” His mother asks despairingly. Nathan is training to become an investigator, and has been interning at a nearby detective’s agency for the past few months, when he isn’t working at the family hotel. Nate shakes his head, unsure.
While everyone is focused on the corpse sprawled on the floor, they miss a small head of dark, curly hair slipping into the room. Only when the tiny girl of about eight years old makes it to the center of the bystanders does someone take notice. “Charli! Get out.” Her brother whispers into her ear, before their mother takes notice. “Natey, why is she sleeping on the ground?” The little girl whispers back. Nathan gently pushes her back out of the door, away from the commotion. She has a stricken look on her face, as though she figured out what happened. “Is she… dead? What happened?” Charlotte whispers. Her look of horror breaks Nate’s heart, and he knows what he should do. He just has to devise a way to do it… His little sister stares up at him with beautiful, innocent, chocolate-colored eyes, and his mind fills with conviction. For Charlotte. “I don’t know, Char, but I’ll find out. I will find out who killed Grace Burnette.”
On his way out of the hotel lobby with his sister, Charli, Nate bumps into someone. “Sorry, mate, my bad.” The man mutters, then keeps walking. “Wait, it was my fault, I’m sorry. You alright?” Nate asks, seeing his entrance. In order to investigate the case, someone must hire his office. He recognizes the man from the scene of the crime, who cried over her body. “No. Did you hear about Grace Burnette? Of course you heard, you found the body. She was… my girlfriend. Kind of. It’s a long, complicated story. Just can’t believe she’s dead, mate, you know?” Nathan nodded solemnly. The man had an accent, most likely either English or Australian. Nate had a hard time telling the two apart. “I’m so sorry to hear. Any idea who would have done this to her?” “A few. It could be any number of people, honestly. Hell, I’m probably considered a suspect with motive right now.” He pauses, running a hand down his face, then letting out a short, exasperated laugh. “I’m Marcus Fray.”
“Nathan Raylee. Look, man, I work for Brookstone Investigative Services, and this is the kind of stuff we deal with. We can solve the crimes quicker and more effectively than the local cops, we have more resources than they do to handle this sort of thing. In a town this small, their job is mostly traffic tickets. We don’t charge a lot, either. If you want all of this over quickly and efficiently, just give us a call.” Nate hands over a card with the business name and his number. The man nods slowly, then shakes Nate’s hand. “Thanks. Nice meet you, Nathan.” Nate smiles, then continues on his way. Several Days Later At Brookstone Investigative Services, Nathan talks with the receptionist, Liza, about getting Grace’s case files. Since it hasn’t been claimed yet, Liza is in the process of getting it out of the back. Charli is running around the office, with a look of amazement on her face. “Natey, this place is so cool! Can I work here?” She asks excitedly. Charlotte has a thing for mysteries; She can solve detective novels like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys within the first chapter, sometimes even just by looking at the cover. She truly had a knack for solving things, and Nate didn’t doubt that she would be a terrific asset to the Agency some day. However, nine year olds couldn’t get jobs, unfortunately. “Char, not yet. But…” He considers for a moment, then asks her. “Would you like to be my assistant on this case?” Her round face lights up when she is asked this, and she agrees immediately. “Can you call me Nancy?!” Nathan laughs and nods. “Come on, Nancy Drew, we have work to do.”
A few hours later, Nathan sits at his desk, compiling a list of suspects, one of the first things he always does to solve a case. The guest log is sprawled in front of him, and he is going through who stayed in Grace’s Hotel while Grace Burnette was there. Fifteen guests had been in and out while Grace stayed there. Grace had also received some visitors, whose names were also on the list. In total, nineteen people. Charli sits on the floor near Nathan, coloring in a coloring book. “What was the murder weapon?” Charlotte asks casually, as though she is speaking of the weather. Nate nearly chokes on the sip of coffee he has just taken.
“Charli!” He laughs, shaking his head. The little girl just shrugs, and continues to color the horse in the book. Nathan runs a hand through his hair, and debates telling her. “It was a baseball bat.” “Interesting. COD?” She asks, meaning the cause of death. “Char. You really need to stop watching Criminal Minds with me,” Nate laughs once more, then tells her. “Blunt force trauma to the head, and excessive bleeding on the brain. Pretty brutal.” “Who are your suspects?” Charlotte asked, using a brown crayon to color a rabbit in the corner. Nate skims over his list, then tells her, “Pretty much anybody who was in the hotel when or just before she died. We have an approximate time of death, so anybody who was in the guest book during that time window. I want to schedule meetings with some of the suspects to question them further, though.” Nathan begins trying to find the phone numbers. One possible number comes up, and he dials it hopefully. The phone picks up after ringing only twice. “Whaddaya want?” A drunken voice slurs through the speaker, and Nate is reminded of his father for a moment, before answering. “Is this Dustin Kent?” Nate asks hesitantly. “So what if it is?” He yells back. “Do you know Grace Burnette?” “You… You know Gracie?” The voice is softer and sounds slightly more intelligent than it had a few moments prior. “I’m actually investigating her murder. Can we schedule a time to sit down and discuss?” “Uh, discuss what?” Dustin sounds confused. “Discuss her death. Are you available any time this week?” On the other line, a heavy glass is put down on the counter of a local bar. Dustin takes a deep breath. “I don’t see what there is to discuss. She’s dead. But yeah, we can make that work.”
After setting up a time and place to meet and hanging up the phone, Nathan sees that Charlotte has moved on to a new picture--one of a girl with long blonde hair and a red dress. Flowers surround the girl, lilies and roses, even some daisies. She hangs it in the middle of Nathan’s investigative board, which has various things written on index cards, such as the time of death, murder weapon, and a few names. Nathan eyes the new addition, nodding in approval. The picture of Grace completes the picture for now, and makes the investigation seem more real and tangible. To be Continued‌
By: Haley Newton
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