Premeditated Mortar Read online

  “Do you know where the money came from?”

  “From the family of one of the patients.”

  “So one family paid for the entire facility to stay open?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s awfully generous. But I guess if the place was caring for their loved one, it was worth it to them.” He took a forkful of salad, and we both chewed silently for a moment. “So what can you tell me about the place itself?”

  “From one angle, your developer is right. You definitely have to see it to believe it. It’s massive. The architecture itself is spectacular. Classic Victorian style with a gothic edge. Very dark stone walls, tall towers, ironwork details. There are seven large buildings altogether, and they stretch across the entire hillside.” My enthusiasm grew as I talked about the place. “Oh, and there are gargoyles.”

  He grinned. “Cool.”

  “The property is beautiful, too. It’s situated on a huge piece of land that straddles the ridge at the top of Mount Clausen. The views are amazing.”

  Mount Clausen had been named after Herman Clausen, one of the founders of Lighthouse Cove. He was a prosperous dairy farmer who had been known as the Butterfat King for obvious reasons.

  Mac gazed at me. “Sounds like you’ve been up there.”

  “Of course.” I took a bite of steak and swallowed it before explaining. “My friends and I used to take field trips up there.”

  “For real? Field trips to the insane asylum?”

  I chuckled. “They weren’t really field trips, but we would occasionally drive up and look around. It’s beautiful really, but ever since it closed down, it’s just plain creepy. It used to be surrounded by a really high, thick concrete wall, but that was torn down. Now it’s surrounded by chain-link fencing.”

  He snorted. “Like that ever stopped anyone.”

  “Especially high school kids,” I agreed. “The exterior is still very impressive, but the inside is a horrific mess. The walls and ceilings are filthy, all the paint is peeling, and there are cracks everywhere. I’m sure there were animals living inside for years, and the ivy that grew on the brick walls managed to slip through the windows and started growing up the walls of the hallways and the rooms. It’s dark and forbidding. It kind of looks haunted.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Sounds pretty bad. What are the chances of this development project actually succeeding?”

  “Don’t get me wrong,” I rushed to add. “The chances are excellent. The creep factor is really just surface stuff. The development company recently went through and did an intense cleaning and disinfecting of the entire complex. But the individual leaseholders will be responsible for painting and refurbishing and remodeling their spaces, and that’ll be extensive. They’ll need a lot of landscaping work, too, of course. It’s like any big rehab job. Only in this case, it’s on a massive scale.”

  His eyes narrowed, but they still gleamed with humor. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re already involved in this?”

  “Because, of course I am.” I smiled and took another bite of steak. “You were back east all month so you didn’t hear the news, but Jane put in a bid for one wing of the old hospital and she won the contract.”

  He blinked. “Jane? You’re kidding me.”

  “Nope.” I grinned. Of all my girlfriends, I’d known Jane Hennessey the longest. We met in first grade and clicked as soon as we looked around and realized we were both taller than all of the boys in class. When you’re six years old, that’s a truly meaningful basis for friendship.

  A few years ago my construction crew and I had refurbished her grandmother’s huge Victorian mansion—formerly a brothel—and helped turn it into an elegant inn. A room at Hennessey House was now one of the most sought-after reservations on the northern coast.

  And now we hoped to accomplish that same feat up at the Gables.

  “What does she have in mind for the space?”

  “A hotel,” I whispered excitedly.

  He paused, then held his hands out. “Well, why not? Her Hennessey House has been a great success story.”

  “Exactly. My crew and I are starting work next week,” I continued. “We plan on turning the north wing of the Gables into a beautiful new Hennessey Hotel, complete with a restaurant, bar, and spa.”

  “Wow. I’m really happy to hear it.” He set down his wineglass and reached for my hand. I covered his with mine. “It makes me feel a lot better about my decision to invest in the project.”

  “I’m glad. Are you going to meet with the development people soon?”

  “Yeah. Rachel wants to give me a tour this Friday.”

  I swirled my wine, wondering how soon I could ask Jane more about Rachel. She would’ve gotten to know her pretty well while going through the leasing process. But Jane was at a hotel conference in San Francisco for a few days, so my questions would have to wait. “If you’d like to take a look at the place, I can drive you up there tomorrow. It might give you a better perspective before you meet with Rachel. A little sneak preview, if you know what I mean.”

  “You bet I do.”

  * * *

  * * *

  After dinner, both Robbie and Tiger clamored for Mac’s attention while I loaded the dishwasher and cleaned and straightened the kitchen.

  As Mac gave Robbie’s tummy a brisk rub, he asked, “What convinced Jane to take a chance on the Gables project?”

  I leaned against the counter and took another fortifying sip of wine. It wasn’t breaking any girlfriend rules to tell him the truth, was it? I wondered. After a deep sigh, I said, “You’ll find out sooner or later, but Jane’s mother was a patient at the Gables off and on for years.”

  “Oh wow. Babe, I had no idea. I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, me, too. Jane went through a rough time for a few years. She never knew when her mom might have another breakdown and disappear for a few months or a year.”

  “Did she ever go up there to visit her mom?”

  “She did, and I went with her a few times.”

  “Really?” He gazed up at me. “So you were actually inside the place? Back when it was a hospital?”

  “Yes. It was years ago, of course.” But it still brought a rush of melancholy memories, and I had to shake them off. “And then just a few weeks ago, after Jane got the deal, we went up there to survey the interiors and check out the amount of work we’ll need to do.”

  “Was it weird to go back inside?”

  “Oh, definitely. But I tried to ignore the vibes and concentrate on the building itself.” I sat at the table and pulled Tiger into my arms for a quick hug. “I’ve been doing a lot of research on the architecture and history of these institutions around the country and on the Gables in particular. It’s really helping me get a feel for what the original architects had in mind. And since it’s been designated a historical landmark, we’ll have to strictly abide by a bunch of construction and demolition rules we normally wouldn’t have to consider.”

  “It sounds like you’ve done your homework.”

  “I have. It’s fascinating. And I’m totally psyched at the possibility of turning something that was creepy and morbid into a beautiful new place for Jane to expand her hotel empire.”

  “If it’s as creepy as you say, maybe it’ll turn out to be haunted after all.”

  “Oh, don’t say haunted . . .” We’d had enough of that already, thanks.

  He grinned at that. “I know you’ll do an awesome job on the beautification, but I want to see it while it’s still creepy and morbid.”

  “I can make that happen,” I said, with a snap of my fingers.

  “Fantastic,” he said, and winked roguishly. “Creepy and morbid are my stock-in-trade.”

  Chapter Two

  The next morning I turned off the highway and drove up the hill for several hundred yards until I passed Big Hat
Rock—so named because the huge boulder resembled a forty-foot-tall solid rock top hat—and turned left onto a narrow, one-lane road. I pulled the truck over to the right as far as I could get without scraping the chain-link fence that bordered the tall, thick hedges.

  “You’ll have to get out on my side,” I said.

  “No problem.” Mac glanced around. “I still can’t see a thing.”

  “There used to be a thick concrete-block wall along here, but the developers who bought the property took it down and erected this temporary chain-link fence. These trees and hedges have always been here.”

  “No wonder you can’t see anything from the highway.”

  “Right. And it helps to have Big Hat Rock standing in the way, too.”

  “Guess so.” He stared up at the rock. “Aptly named.”

  For years, the bushes that bordered the Gables property had been wildly overgrown. But just recently the landscapers had begun the overwhelming job of trimming it all. Enough so that you could get a tiny peek at the place if you found the right spot between the hedges.

  “They plan to cut back most of the brush before it opens.”

  He nodded. “That’s good.”

  “Let’s get out and walk.”

  “Yeah.” Mac climbed down from the truck and walked to the other side of the road. He stretched up on his toes. “Hey, I can see the tops of the towers.” He stared for a moment. “Wow. They look like they belong on top of a medieval castle, not a hospital.”

  “The original designers were really into impressive architecture. They believed it was essential for the security and recovery of the patients.”

  “Interesting. So how do we get in there and see the rest of it?”

  “This way.”

  We walked farther down the road until I found the gate in the middle of the chain-link fence. “Here we go.”

  Mac frowned at the black lockbox attached to the gate. “That looks like a serious lock.”

  “It is.” I flipped open a panel and pressed in an elaborate key code. The gate swung open.

  He grinned. “Abracadabra.”

  “Magic.” I wiggled my fingers, then grinned back at him. “And Jane gave me the code.”

  We got through the gate and then pushed our way through the tumble of bushes and tree branches until we reached the edge of a wide green lawn.

  “Whoa,” Mac whispered reverently, taking in the overwhelming sight of the elegant yet long-dormant Gables. “You weren’t kidding, Shannon. This place is mind-blowing.”

  “Sort of takes your breath away, doesn’t it?”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  In the middle of the lawn, a large billboard had been erected that spelled out the plans for the space.

  Coming soon!

  THE GABLES!

  Luxury Shops * Galleries * Restaurants

  World-Class Hotel and Spa!

  Conference Center * Wedding Venue

  Park, Walking Trails, Bike Paths, Picnic Area!

  For information on leasing and investment opportunities, call

  The Gables Development Company.

  Two phone numbers were listed under the company name.

  “That’s a pretty ambitious agenda,” Mac said, staring up at the sign. “I guess once they’ve cut back the trees and brush, this billboard will be more visible as you drive up the road.”

  “That’s the plan,” I said. “Jane told me the developers signed the lease on the last available space just last week, so they’re hoping to make some headlines with their groundbreaking ceremony next week.”

  We walked a few yards more to get past the billboard so Mac could have an unobstructed view of the rows of buildings. For a few minutes we just stood and stared at the striking Victorian edifice before us.

  The Gables consisted of seven separate buildings in one long row across the top of the ridge. The main building—which I understood had once been the administration building and had housed a number of the permanent staff members—was in the center, and its tower stretched up several floors higher than the other buildings’ towers. Three identical buildings stood on either side of the central building. Each was set back about twenty feet from the one next to it, so the overall effect was meant to evoke the idea of birds in flight. At least in theory.

  All of the buildings were three stories tall but appeared much taller because each of the floors had twenty-foot ceilings. Each building had the same gothic-style tower that speared up into the sky above the rooftops. There were also multiple chimneys, an overabundance of dormers, and row upon row of gabled windows, all classically Victorian touches.

  And I knew that along with the fanciful bridges and arched breezeways, there were numerous underground tunnels, all connecting one building to the next.

  “And this whole complex is less than a quarter mile from the highway.”

  “Well, the rock and the wall and the trees have kept it well hidden for a long time.”

  “Yeah, but still, I can’t believe I’ve never seen it. Never even knew it was here.” Mac slowly shook his head. “Mind-blowing,” he muttered again.

  I was happy that the weather had cooperated with our field trip plans. The early spring day was already starting to warm up as the sun made its daily climb over the eastern hills. A light breeze ruffled the leaves in the surrounding trees. The air was clean and clear and the sky was bright blue, with tufts of white clouds scudding over the ocean.

  “Let’s take a walk,” Mac said finally. “I want to see more of it.”

  “Okay. And I can show you Building Seven, otherwise known as the future home of Hotel Hennessey.”

  We followed the dirt path for more than a hundred yards and as we strolled I pointed out some of the highlights of the buildings.

  “I know the exterior looks shabby, but the company’s going to power-wash it this weekend. They’re covering the cost of the outside upgrades so all the buildings will be uniform. The shutters will all be straightened and painted, and they’ve already started adding new windows and doors.”

  “That’s smart.”

  “And I think I told you that they’ve already cleaned up a lot of the interior. They had to. It was nasty.”

  “I can imagine. It was abandoned for years, right?”

  I pointed. “Those three buildings on the south end were closed down in the seventies and boarded up, so those will need some serious rehab work. These four buildings over here remained open until the very end, so they’ve only been abandoned for about twenty years.” I made a face. “But twenty years is plenty of time for rodents and reptiles and insects and plants to do a lot of interior damage.”

  He smiled at me. “You would know.”

  “Yeah. I’ve chased some of the creepiest animals out of the oddest places.”

  We walked for another few yards and Mac had to crane his neck to take in the entire length of the place. “I can see why they chose to name it the Gables.”

  I nodded. “It suits, doesn’t it?”

  There were literally dozens of gables across the long expanse, and following in the Victorian tradition, hardly any two were alike. Some were more steeply pitched than others; some had decorative moldings along the roof edges; some formed a fancy parapet or a low wall along the edge of the roof; many had dormer windows extending out from the exterior walls. It was quirky and beautiful at the same time. And then there were the gargoyles. Not exactly a Victorian touch, but gothic, for sure.

  “It’s huge,” he marveled again, and as we continued our walk, he began to take in the surrounding land. Eucalyptus trees formed a barrier along the northern edge of the property and there were ancient redwoods and pine trees lining the eastern ridge. To the west was an unobstructed view of the ocean and miles of coastline. “I can’t believe I never noticed this place when I was out on the water. How is that pos
sible?”

  “The view used to be entirely blocked by the wall and by all those trees and hedges. You couldn’t even see it from the water.”

  “Do you know how much of this land belongs to the Gables?”

  “Three hundred and twelve acres,” I said promptly, then grinned. “To be honest, I just read that number this morning. I wanted to get a little more information about the place before we came out here.”

  “That’s a substantial piece of land. What are they going to do with all of it?”

  “You saw the billboard, right?”

  “Yeah.” He frowned. “But my natural skepticism is bubbling up. Do you really think they can deliver?”

  “I do. At least, I hope so, especially for Jane’s sake. But I’m pretty optimistic. As I said, the entire place has been leased out so it’s already a success from that standpoint.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “That fact definitely makes it easier to attract investors.”

  “Doesn’t it?” I smiled at him. “And according to Jane, they’ve contracted a major landscaping company to come up from San Francisco to design a park with walking paths and a place to ride bikes, and they’re planning to add a pretty little stream that’ll meander through the property, along with fountains and little ponds and lots of flower gardens. She said they’ll have a couple of interesting bridges that will go over the stream and link up to the walking path. Jane promises it’ll be gorgeous.”

  “If Jane says so, I believe it.”

  I beamed at him. “And along the north side of her hotel they’ve plotted out a big vegetable garden that will supply her hotel restaurant as well as several food vendors that will be moving into the other buildings. And they’ll have fruit trees, too. Possibly an entire orchard.”

  He gazed around. “There’s plenty of room for that.”

  “According to Jane, there were gardens all over the property. They not only yielded lots of fresh produce for the kitchens but also provided some occupational therapy for the patients.”

  The wind picked up and I held my wavy mop of red hair back off my face. “And I know you’ll love this detail, even though it’s a sad note. The hospital had its own cemetery.” I glanced up to catch his reaction.