CHAPTER 19 FROM 'NIGHT MISTRESS OF PARADISE PALMS' BY AUTHOR, LORRAINE CAREY

CHAPTER 19

Taylor woke to the sounds of her husband’s groans as he stumbled toward the bathroom.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m feeling so dizzy and nauseous,” Mark mumbled.

“Then get back in bed.”

Taylor rose to assist Mark back into bed.

“You had a couple too many last night.”

“No... I had a bad nightmare. It was a woman—”

Taylor turned on the lamp next to the bed.

“You’re pale as a ghost.”

She felt his forehead.

“You’re burning up!”

She insisted he drink some water she fetched from the mini-fridge. He took a few sips then laid his head against the pillow closing his eyes.

“You’re not going to believe this, but someone was trying to suffocate me!”

Taylor looked at him in disbelief.

“No one was in here. I would have woken up. You know I’m a light sleeper.”

“I tell you! It was an apparition, like a ghost who climbed onto me and—”

“And what?”

“And attacked me! I can still feel the pressure on my chest.”

Mark rubbed his lower abdomen.

“Did she violate you?”

“In the worst way.” He closed his eyes.

“Why didn’t you scream or wake me?”

“I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed—even my mouth.”

Taylor insisted Mark had a reaction to one of the cocktails he had, or someone had possibly spiked his drink. She assessed her husband’s condition seeing he was a bit cooler but still pale and had a rapid heartbeat.

“Try to get some sleep, and I’ll make a call to the office in the morning. We’ll figure this out. Maybe they have a staff doctor on call here.”

“I don’t need a doctor. Whatever this is, has to do with this place. I can feel it—something evil about this inn. You know how sensitive I can be.”

Taylor had a hard time falling back to sleep. She turned out the lights but kept vigil on her husband. I pray to God no one set out to intentionally hurt this man. That bar seemed like a decent place—not sure what went on, but I’ll get to the bottom of this.

*****

Chris woke to the flashing lights coming from the Mel Meter that was set in the corner of the room by the front door. The red backlight was flashing at breakneck speed. He rose to take a look and found he was standing in a frigid spot. He shook from the chilled air surrounding him to read the temperature settings which were spiked way beyond a 2.0mg.

Tanner had woken as well to the flashing lights.

“What the hell?”

“And Hell it just may be, mate,” Chris sputtered. “We just had spirit move through here or it was out by the door.”

“We should have left the Spirit Box on,” Tanner added.

The chill in the air subsided as soon as Tanner approached Chris.

“We would have left the camera on, but we needed to charge it. Damn!”

The clock flashed 3:30a.m. Both men decided to get some sleep. The morning was going to be the start of further investigation out in the deep.

*****

Della was experiencing a restless night as well. She woke at 4a.m. and reached into her nightstand drawer to grab her bottle of Melatonin. It was right next to her vibrator. She downed a pill then lay on her side facing the window. Lightning flashed a little too close for comfort. Thunder boomed in the distance. Odd. No storms were predicted on the weather app. She had an urge to reach for her vibrator but knew it would only keep her up and she needed sleep.

*****

Taylor rose to find an empty spot in the bed next to her. She could see the bathroom light was on and assumed Mark was in there. She padded in to check on him, finding him assessing his condition in the mirror.

“Look at me! I look like I’ve been in a battle!”

The bags under his eyes and the pallor of his skin were indicative of something that he’d endured the night or day before. Taylor inspected the rest of his body for any marks or signs of an insect bite or rash.

“It’s now 9 a.m. and I’m assuming the office is open even for a Saturday. I’m calling to see if there’s a doctor on call.”

“I don’t need some hokey island doctor to check me out! What I need is to find out if I was drugged last night. You never know about these islands. And to think it was your idea to come here!” Mark shot back at Taylor.

“Listen, I know you’re not well, and I know you don’t mean what you just said. Now get into bed and I’ll make that call.”

*****

Trey was working the desk as Della always had a later start on Saturdays. He listened to Taylor spout off about Mark’s condition with great intent.

“I’ll call our owner, Della Marquez, and we will see what we can do.”

Before Trey made the call, he pulled out his notebook and jotted down all the details Taylor told him before they had managed to escape his mind. Too much was happening for him to miss.

Della was just getting out of the shower when Trey called.

“Damn it! Not again! What the fuck is wrong with these guests? Can’t anyone hold their liquor? I guess I’ll call Dr. Reed and see if he can come over. In the meantime, you go back to the bar and speak to Jiles, then the kitchen staff, and see what was served last night. I don’t need any more drama. It’s too fucking early!”

As luck would have it, Dr. Reed was on call. He answered on the second ring.

“You’ve really had your share of action there, Della. Maybe it’s time to have the inn go dry?”

“Never gonna happen. Anyway, can you be here this morning? This man is suggesting someone may have slipped him something in his drink. You know we’re not that kind of place.”

“Not to worry. I’ve got to check on a few patients at the hospital then I’ll be there around 11:00.”

Della phoned Trey to let him know the doctor would be there and to call the Colemans and let them know she’d be there as soon as possible.

She applied minimal makeup and threw on a simple white cotton dress and sandals. She had to stop in the lobby for a coffee or nothing would make sense to her. She was already in a bad mood after missing her early morning swim. She found Trey behind the computer.

“You know I don’t need a repeat of Justin Hendricks! I’m counting on you to make those checks on the bar and the kitchen staff so the Colemans can feel at ease.”

“I’m on it, Miss Della. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

“Good. I’ll expect a full report here by noon. Now enjoy your morning.”

Just as Della was headed out the door, Tanner and Chris were boarding the shuttle for what appeared to be an early morning dive. Della turned to watch them as she noticed they each had a GoPro camera with them mounted on their heads. She wondered just what all those other boxes were that they had brought with them. She’d give Claire a call after she met with the doctor, to have her do a bit of deep cleaning in suite 11.

**********

COMING SOON: On Monday 14th April, 2025 - Author biography for our team member, Dawn Treacher.