CHAPTER 1 WILLOW The ghost would have been a head taller than the girl if the ghost had a head at all Instead the ghost had a stump It was right between her shoulders marking the spot where her neck used to be The stump was framed by several lacy shirt collars that were so stiff with dried blood they stuck up at weird angles The ghost’s long skirts billowed as she silently floated up behind the girl The sharp spurs on her leather riding boots dangled in midair as the apparition slowly stretched out her arms The girl was busy straightening a display of brochures on the mantel while balancing a stack of towels on her hip She didn’t see the ghost
The ghostly woman rose even higher into the air Her long coat blew back in an unseen wind She leaned closer to the girl The ghost’s milky-white fingers were inches from the girl’s light brown curls when the tip of one of her spurs caught on the handle of a basket of firewood The ghost careened into an end table which wobbled dangerously It didn’t fall over but the brass candelabra and two picture frames on top of it went crashing to the floor Molly the girl said without turning around Haven’t we talked about you going headless in the lobby Sorry Willow Molly said Her boots floated back down to the ground Willow Ivan had never been able to work out how Molly the Hotel Ivan’s resident Headless Horsewoman was able to talk when she was not always in possession of a mouth Or a tongue Or vocal cords Somehow she managed Pity the same couldn’t be said for her eyesight Molly knelt down and felt around blindly When she found the candelabra she set it back on top of the table Two of its three candles had snapped in half and Willow made a mental note to replace them later After she put away the towels and signed for the linen delivery and fixed the toilet in room eight No maybe before she fixed the toilet The lobby needed to look nice Willow kicked the broken candle halves under the couch then picked up the two picture frames unbroken luckily and set them back on the table I’m sorry Molly said again I can go Don’t be silly Willow said holding her breath as Molly’s skirts swayed perilously close to a shelf full of breakable knickknacks Just be careful OK Sure thing Molly agreed feeling her way around the coffee table What I really need is
To find your head Willow suggested hopefully looking around It can’t be far Last time it was in the pantry wasn’t it Or maybe the dining room someone to mope with Molly finished She collapsed onto the overstuffed red sofa and patted the cushion next to her What do you say Willow sucked in a breath So you’ve heard then About Anna Yes dear We’ve all heard From Dad He said he was going to call a meeting No dear I heard it from Pierce I don’t think there was a meeting Willow frowned Last night after years of Fading Anna Winthrop the Hotel Ivan’s housekeeper had finally progressed to the final phase of the ghost death cycle and Moved On Willow had been up with her all night trying to make her transition as peaceful as possible Her dad had promised to speak with the staff about Anna’s passing first thing in the morning He must have forgotten And now it seemed there was no point Towels Linens Candles Toilet Anna’s been Fading for as long as I can remember but I never thought she’d actually just be gone Willow said wistfully She had her Last Gasp around midnight she dusted the entire first floor and cleaned every dish in the hotel After that she just sort of disappeared Did you know that when she was alive she used to work in the castle of King Henry VIII Yeah Molly said skeptically and Willow got the feeling that wherever her head was her eyes were rolling That’s what she always said You don’t believe it Let’s just say she wouldn’t be the first ghost to try and make her life sound more interesting than it actually was Now that she’s gone who will do the housekeeping
