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Billy shrugged, unmoved and apparently unsurprised by my outburst.“If it upsets you, give us a bad review. It’s no skin off my back. It’s only Madame Blue you’ll be hurting, since she’s the owner and all.”

“You said we’d have to pay for the damages,” I reminded him, the rage continuing to build.

He clicked his tongue in disagreement.“I said that to keep my job. I knew that old biddy would be listening.”

“If you hate her so much, why do you work here?”

“Hard to beat a job that includes room and board in this economy. Now, after you.” He pushed the door open to reveal a room that barely contained the lone queen-sized bed. A tall dresser stood in the corner, and a folding TV tray had been topped with a lamp and doily as some kind of makeshift nightstand. Otherwise, that was it.

“You’re kidding me. This is barely more than a closet!” I protested as Bill set our bags by the dresser, taking up almost half of the unoccupied floor space.

“At least the garden is nice,” Charles said once the porter had left us to our own devices.

“Most of it, anyway,” I shot back, remembering the foul patch of greenery I’d stumbled upon the night before. “Oh, I didn’t show you what I found last night.” I set Charlene on the new bed, then pulled out my phone and thumbed through the camera roll.

“Here,” I said, shoving the screen toward him. “I found this around the back when I was searching for Charlene’s mother last night. It smelled terrible.”

His face lit with amusement.“Like a skunk?”

“Yeah, actually. How did you—?”

“That’s skunk cabbage. Doesn’t make much sense to have it in a garden that’s as well maintained as this one. Then again, given the condition of the stairs, maybe the garden isn’t as well maintained as we once thought.”

“What is going on with this place? It’s nothing like my mom described, and I doubt it’s anything like she remembers. Almost as if everything that could go wrong has.”

“Shhh, you’ll jinx it,” Charles said with a playful wink. Well, at least I had the best possible company for my week in hell.

10

I fed the kitten inside our downsized room while Charles grabbed a quick shower in the first-floor communal bathroom. When he returned, claiming to feel much better, we both got dressed so we could head outside to further investigate the gardens.

“I couldn’t find a place that delivers this far out,” I revealed as Charles pulled on his shoes. “So let’s eat some of the snacks you brought last night and then we can go to town for an early lunch after we’ve spent a few hours searching.”

“Fair enough. I’ll grab the snacks,” he offered without complaint.

“I’ll grab Charlene.” She’d wasted no time in sandwiching herself between the mattress and pillow of the new bed.

After a brisk walk across the property, Charles and I settled ourselves at an iron bistro table that stood flanked by two ornate chairs.

“Doritos and beef jerky for breakfast,” I quipped, eagerly digging into the snack food. “Living the high life.”

“Only the best for my wifey,” Charles teased, crunching into a bright orange tortilla chip. “And if you’re really good, I’ll share my Oreos with you.”

“Can’t refuse an offer like that,” I joked right back.

The two us ate in companionable silence as the three of us kept our eyes and ears peeled for Charlene’s missing mother.

“Do you hear that?” I asked after a short while had passed.

Charles straightened in his seat.“What? A cat?”

I strained to hear more clearly but was met with little more than a stream of hushed whispers from across the garden.“I’m not sure. There’s multiple voices. They’re quiet, though. I can’t hear what they’re saying.”

“Well, let’s go find out.” Charles stood and brushed his hands together to rid them of the flavor dust.

I sucked each of my fingers clean, then we headed back toward the yellow roses that had so enchanted me the previous afternoon.

“Do you hear them? The voices?” I asked, glancing around but still not finding the speakers.

He shook his head.“Must be an animal. You know I’m useless when it comes to that.”

“You’re not useless,” I insisted before glancing to the kitten in my arms for aid. “Do you hear anyone, Charlene?”

“No, sorry,” she mewed sadly. Huh, that was weird.

“Hello?” I called hesitantly as we continued toward the yellow roses.

Finally the words started to make sense.“And that’s another thing. I know the lights went out, but if they couldn’t see, they should have stayed put. Someone trampled the flower beds out back. They almost stomped right on the queen. The queen!”

“Humans, they’re the worst. Almost as bad as that pesky skunk,” a second mystery speaker agreed.

“Hear, hear!” several voices chimed at once.

“Hello?” I tried again. “Who’s there?”

“What are those two humans doing so close to our hive? Should we sting them?” one of the soft voices ground out.

“Please don’t sting me,” I cried, now understanding without a doubt whose conversation I was overhearing. “I’m a friend to all creatures. Including bees.”

“Is she talking to us? No human has ever done that before.” A confused buzzing followed.