Drew Nance Book 2: "The Hidden Staircase" by Bobbie J. Cabot Chapter Thirteen: The Mansion and The Ghost Lights / Callie's Shirt and Drew's Romper

---

 

After dinner, there was an "impromptu" party, and the floor started filling up with dancers. In deference to the guests, which were mostly older folks like Aunt Arlene, the hotel band started playing watered down 80s dance songs, and Aunt Arlene was swept away by a well-dressed middle-aged gentleman, and they proceeded to disco their way though Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Rick Astley, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson songs.

The three friends found themselves alone, with no one asking them to dance. In truth, most of the boys their age were a little intimidated by them, and the older folks who weren't and decided to ask them were intercepted by hotel staff - they were old hands at managing DOMs. So, instead of hanging around, the three decided to walk around the hotel grounds instead. (In Callie's mind, she felt disappointed because she didn't get an opportunity to ask Drew to dance.)

- - - - -

The hotel gardens were beautiful, and provided a wonderful backdrop to the gentle waves and the moonlit beach.

"So beautiful," Callie said and sighed, keeping her arm around Drew's waist while Drew had her arm around Callie's shoulders and held Iola hand-in-hand.

"Yes, Hawaii really is pretty," agreed Drew, although Callie was looking at her instead of the beach.

Iola giggle knowingly. She steered them towards the beach and they started walking. They paused to take off their shoes.

"Look," Iola said, and pointed to some of the people on the beach. Even this late at night, there were still some guests who insisted on swimming. And some of them weren't wearing anything.

"Those folks must feel cold," Callie giggled.

"Maybe," Drew commented, smiling, "but I doubt they care."

Iola saw something in the sand and let Drew's hand go to pick it up.

"Look what I found!" Iola said, waving something she saw in the sand. It turned out to be a puka shell. She also found two more. She said if they found enough, they could make necklaces, like the kind those puka girls or the VSCO girls like to wear on the Internet. They looked but they couldn't find any more. Drew asked for the three shells, and she put them in her purse.

"It's for a surprise," she said.

They chatted while walking on the beach, stopping often to look at the beach or the surf lapping at the edge of the shore.

After almost half an hour of walking at the boundary of sand and surf, and enjoying the cool-warm Hawaiian breeze and the picturesque sandy beach bathed in bright moonlight and starlight (their eyes had adjusted by then), they noticed that they had walked quite a distance from the hotel's beach area. Callie estimated they were about a mile and a half from the hotel grounds.

"Oh, no," she said, and pointed towards the direction of the hotel. "Look at how far we've gone."

But Drew was looking elsewhere.

"No," she said, looking elsewhere. "Look at that!" She pointed to a large mansion that stood on a small hill or promontory above the beach, about eighty feet above the sand and surf.

From what they could see in the moonlight, it looked like a beautiful two-story mansion in what Drew knew to be in the Mediterranean style, with tile roofs, arches and lots of concrete or stone surfaces. She also knew that the style was called the pueblo style, making it feel like an old Castillan or Spanish house, but the beach setting seemed to suit the house.

As they were looking, a bright glow started to emanate from the bottom of the hill below, exactly at the water line, and directly below the house.

"Ohmigod!" Callie exclaimed. "What is that!"

As as they looked on, they saw the light separate into three distinct lights, and the three lights started to float over the water and glided away from the beach. After maybe twenty or thirty seconds of bobbing over the water, and moving away from land, the three lights suddenly disappeared.

"Ohmigod," Callie said again. "I'm scared, Drew! Let's get back to the hotel!"

Drew, still looking towards the house and the now-gone lights, nodded slowly. "Yeah," she said. "Let's."

And the three walked briskly back to the hotel.

- - - - -

Instead of taking their time this time, they were back at the hotel in ten minutes. The three were puffing a bit, but otherwise they felt relieved they were back among familiar places and things.

They waved at a passing waiter and snagged three tall glasses of what the waiter said was called Four Seasons.

Callie finished hers off in ten seconds flat, and got another one. Iola and Drew looked at her a moment, and then burst out laughing.

"Screw you guys!" Callie said, breathing hard, but she couldn't stay mad. She giggled after a bit.

"That was real scary!" Callie said when she finally caught her breath. "What do you think it was?"

"Ghosts?" Iola asked, and shivered.

"There's no such things as ghosts, Iola," Drew said.

"Then what was it?" Iola challenged.

Drew shrugged. "I don't know, but it's not ghosts. Maybe we can check out that house tomorrow."

"No way am I going back!" Callie said.

Drew made a patting gesture. "Okay, okay. We won't go back."

"Good!"

"So!" Aunt Arlene appeared suddenly. "Where have you girls been?" (In truth, she actually already knew - the app that Drew's father installed on her smartphone allowed her to locate the girls in an instant, provided there was a signal. And she had been pacing the three for a while now.)

"We were just walking along the beach, Aunt Arlene," Callie said.

"Met any interesting boys?" Aunt Arlene teased.

"You know, Aunt Arlene," Callie said, "it's a little weird - no boys tonight. I don't understand it."

Aunt Arlene chuckled. "It's not surprising - look around you, my dear - almost all the people here are my age or older, and the ones nearer your age are decidedly on the, ummm, geekier side of the spectrum."

"Come again, Aunt Arlene?" Iola asked.

"What I'm saying," Aunt Arlene said, "is that the kids are intimidated of you."

"Huh?"

"When we start going around the island and other places, you'll find a larger selection of kids. Around here, the kids are children of the guests, so not exactly, ummm, the adventurous kind. My dear, you are three very pretty girls. Imagine how the boys around here feel."

Iola giggled. "Are you sure, Aunt Arlene?"

"Stop fishing for compliments, Iola. Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, how about you, hmmm?" Drew asked, cheekily. "Where's your dance partner, Aunt Arlene?"

"Well, he was okay. But his wife suddenly showed up."

"Awww..."

So..." Aunt Arlene put her arms through iola's and Drew's, "What else do you want to do tonight?"

- - - - -

As usual, the girls decided to stay up late to chat, except they decided to do it at the balcony with the beautiful moonlit waves and palm fronds swaying in the breeze, sipping non-alcoholic drinks they had brought up from the bar.

Aunt Arlene stayed up with them, too, but she didn't chat much - she and Drew spent much of their time going through the net, and in a few hours, between the two of them, they had made up an updated itinerary that was more to the girls' liking.

At around one, they decided to call it a night - they were still a little tired from the trip after all. Aunt Arlene said good night, and retired to their room while the three stayed in Iola's and Drew's room.

Drew got a change of clothes and went into the bathroom. When she had changed for bed, she also made sure that she was... well camouflaged - she had picked a full-panty gaff and adjusted herself carefully down there. Given that she was going to be sleeping with the girls, she knew she needed to make sure she was well protected. But when she went back to her friends, they were already in bed sleeping.

Drew grinned as she looked at her two best friends innocently sleeping. She set her smartphone to ring about half an hour before sunrise, and put in the headphones so it wouldn't wake up her friends with the alarm. She hung up her clothes in the closet and, so as not to wake them, carefully found some space on the bed beside Callie.

As soon as she settled in, Callie turned and put her arm around her waist. Drew sighed in resignation, and closed her eyes to try and get some sleep. Callie, playing possum, wasn't really asleep. She smiled and snuggled in closer to Drew.

- - - - -

It was about five minutes after sunrise, and Drew was back on the beach. She was tracing their steps from last night, and could see the mansion again on the top of its bluff.

She was wearing the cardigan sweater she wore on the trip out to Hawaii to cover up against the cool morning breeze, given she was already wearing her outfit for the day, which wasn't really designed for an early morning walk - it was sleeveless, backless and kept her legs bare. But with the cardigan, she was feeling feeling warm enough. Her outfit posed some problems, actually - given it was backless, she had to figure out, belatedly, how to put on a bra and not ruin the look of the outfit. But she figured something out by using a bra strap extension.

In the light of the morning Hawaiian sun, the mansion looked very run-down, but it no doubt used to be a splendid-looking house during its time.

Stopping and looking through the binoculars Drew had brought from home, it looked deserted: the driveway in front of it was overgrown with weeds, and there was a big hole on the second floor's roof.

But there were signs of visitors: some of the shrubbery at the edge of the bluff were flattened, and there were food wrappers, paper cups, and empty beer and soda cans in evidence. She wondered who would visit such a derelict house in such a remote, almost inaccessible place: there seemed to be no path or driveway going up from street level to the mansion's driveway, though clearly there used to be - there was a driveway after all.

But Drew was actually more intrigued by Iola's ghost lights from last night, and they seemed to have been coming from the bottom of the promontory. Looking through the binocs, she couldn't make out anything - just lots of weather-worn rocks and the bluff wall itself. She looked at her watch. By her estimate, she had a little under an hour before she needs to be back at the hotel, so she needed to hurry things along.

Jogging on the sand wasn't so bad, and she made good time. Pretty soon, she was at the base of the bluff.

She sighed - nothing to see, really. She did note that the surf didn't clean away the seaweed, as it got stuck among the rocks - rocks that seemed to have been cleared away from the rest of this stretch of beach. But she did note that there was a small portion that was fairly clear of rocks, and therefore no seaweed. She made her way to that spot.

When she got to that spot, she couldn't see anything. She looked around and there was nothing of note, but when she looked to the bluff's wall, there was a wrought-iron gate there. She rushed to the gate and noted that it was rusted and worn away by seawater, salt and spray. Clearly, it wasn't just the usual iron as, despite its obvious age, it was still there. Perhaps it was galvanized steel or or something. It was still standing, and still functional by the looks of it: she shook it and the hinges seemed intact and working. She also noted that there was a brand-new, fresh and un-corroded chain near the gate's lock, with a fresh, brand-new padlock attached to the chain. She saw the word "YALE" printed on it, and in smaller letters on the other side, it said "weatherproof padlock Y220/51."

"Well, if it is a Yale padlock..." she mused aloud.

She knew how to pick locks, including padlocks, and one of the types of padlocks she knew how to pick were Yale padlocks. She patted her pockets and looked though her purse, but she had nothing appropriate she could use to pick the lock with.

Drew peered through the gate's bars and saw steps hewn on, and through, the rock. The steps were going up, presumably to the mansion up top. The light was a little dim so she couldn't make out much else.

"A hidden staircase," Drew whispered. There were even iron handrails bolted to the sides of the rock walls. "A hidden staircase," she repeated, "... made from the rock of the bluff itself."

She looked at the discolored bottom steps - about fifteen of the bottom-most steps - and she concluded the tides probably reached that part of the staircase regularly while the rest of the steps were fairly untouched.

"So... whoever put this padlock here..." she fingered the marine padlock, "were probably the ones who shone the light..."

She looked around and couldn't find anything else unusual. She had nothing else she could do, and knew she had to go back and get something to pick the lock with, see where the stairs went, or, failing that, go to the house topside and check it out.

She looked at her watch again. She had to get back, coz the girls would be waking up and getting ready to meet Polly at eight.

She started jogging back to the hotel.

- - - - -

Cassie woke up, feeling refreshed and relaxed. For a moment, she was a little disoriented, not knowing where she was, but slowly, she recognized where she was. She was alone in bed, but she heard the shower running. Presumably, Iola or Drew was taking a shower already.

She looked at the clock on the wall and noted the time. It was seven o-clock. And they were supposed to meet Polly at eight.

"Oh, no," she cried. "I'm running late!"

As soon as Iola stepped out of the bathroom, Callie zoomed in. "We're running late!" she cried, and Iola giggled.

"Typical Callie," Iola giggled, and continued rubbing her heir.

In any case, they were ready in twenty minutes - a record for Callie. But they were confused - Drew wasn't around. Aunt Arlene wasn't worried, though - based on her little phone app, she knew Drew was in the hotel, presumably having breakfast downstairs. So the they all hurried down, and they found Drew having breakfast with Polly.

"Hello, sleepyheads!" Polly said. "Drew's been here for a while already!" The two bussed the girls.

As usual, Drew was wearing another drop-dead gorgeous outfit (she had doffed the cardigan since the restaurant was well-heated) - this time, she was wearing what looked like a white romper covered by faint yellow flowers. It featured an open back, ruffled detailing on the straps both over the shoulder and going down the sides, two front pockets on where the shorts would be, and she wore a pair of white beach sneakers, which looked like regular tennis sneakers except for the thick soles - not as ridiculously high as platforms but with at least an inch and a half.

Not that the three weren't wearing sexy beach attire themselves, but were pretty conventional - short-sleeved blouses over beach shorts and sandals. Callie, who had been following Drew's fashion lead for a while now, had changed up her outfit a bit - she especially picked out this top, with its long tails, allowing her to knot it near her bellybutton.

Aunt Arlene was looking at Drew disapprovingly.

"Ummm... what's wrong, Aunt Arlene," Drew said worriedly.

"You're not wearing a bra, Drew," Aunt Arlene said sternly. "Your dad won't like that."

"But I am!"

Aunt Arlene shook her head. "I don't think so." She gestured towards her back.

"I really am, Aunt Arlene!" Drew tried to keep it her voice down so that she wouldn't cause a scene.

And then Iola went around Drew and cupped her breasts.

"Eeek!" Drew squeaked. She almost slapped Iola, but was able to stop herself.

"Yep, she's wearing one, Aunt Arlene," Iola giggled. Drew slapped Iola's hands away.

"But... how?" Aunt Arlene gestured to Drew's back again.

Drew leaned forward and whispered in Aunt Arlene's ear. Arlene whispered back and they had a short conversation that way. All the others could make out were the words "bra strap extensions."

"Okay, Drew," Aunt Arlene sighed after their little tête-à-tête. "You get a pass now, but next time, you let me know. Okay?"

Drew nodded. "Okay..."

When they all sat down, Polly gestured to some of the waitresses, and they came over and started dishing out food.

"Well, now that we're all okay," Polly said, "let's have some food. I took the liberty of selecting breakfast this morning." She gestured to the plates in front of them. "These are Hawaiian-style breakfast banh mi, filled with pickled vegetables, pate, tons of cilantro, and one perfectly crispy fried egg. You'll definitely need extra napkins," Polly giggled.

"If you don't care for this, you're welcome to try something else from the buffet. I suggest you try the malasadas - they're chewy, yeast doughnuts, and we've got an assortment of them with different fillings and toppings of all sorts, and they're all covered with cinnamon sugar."

"Mmm!" Aunt Arlene enthused, and dug in (they were all following Polly's lead of using a knife and a fork).

They discussed their plans for the day, and it seemed Polly intended for them to spend the day in Oahu, visiting several interesting sites, which included the USS Arizona Memorial, and checking out the submarine, the USS Bowfin, and the USS Missouri - one of the battleships that survived the Japanese attack in World War 2. In the afternoon, they would ve heading into Chinatown to have a look around the shops, markets and museums, and maybe in the evening, have dinner at The Pig and the Lady, and do a little bit of barhopping - "barhopping lite," Polly said, and winked towards Aunt Arlene.

"Sounds good," Aunt Arlene said, and looked to the girls. "What do you kids think?"

"Sounds okay," Iola sniffed superciliously. "A good and easy start." Callie bopped her on top of the head.

"Owww!" Iola said. "What was that for?"

"What that means, Polly," Drew said, "is that I think that's great."

"Okay then," Polly grinned and rubbed her hands in anticipation. "Let me get things started and get our reservations and things done." She stood up and went to, presumably, the front desk.

In less than half an hour, they were on their way.

- - - to be continued - - -

 

click here to read my old Working Girl Blogs, click here to read all of my blogs, click here to read my stories in BCTS, and click here to see my profile & know more about me.