Chapter 2: The Mysterious Offer
Crystal was a twenty-two year old interior designer. Her job was good, and she had a nice income, but she often felt like there was more she could be doing with her life. Crystal lived in a small house in New Orleans in Louisiana. She loved the city – its décor and architecture were what inspired her to become a decorator in the first place.
But lately things weren't going that great for Crystal. She'd been losing clients, and her business was slowly deteriorating. What she needed was something to get her name out there again – a designing job for a celebrity or a really expensive house. Crystal had starting putting her name in the paper, which seemed like a low point for her, but it was still a good way to get work.
One day, a few weeks after placing the ad, Crystal got a letter in the mail. It was in an old yellow envelope with no return address, and her name and address were written on it in calligraphy. She carefully opened the letter, not wanting to damage the work, and read the letter.
Dear Ms. Rhock,
We recently saw your add in the newspaper, and are wondering if you would consider redecorating our lovely estate for us. It is a large mansion, many years old, and we have decided that it needs to be livened up. Money is no object, and are quite interested in your work. If you are interested, please stop at the house tomorrow evening at six o'clock.
"A mansion?" Crystal said, copying down the address information, "That could certainly get me into the big leagues." She finished reading.
We look forward to meeting you; but we do ask that you take caution in deciding whether or not to come. There have been…disturbances…around our area that we are not proud of, but with your help, they should quickly be removed.
Dying to meet you,
Master Gracey
Crystal re-read the letter, and decided that she would go. Whatever these 'disturbances' were, she could handle them. They were probably just rodents or something.
The next day, Crystal pulled up to the mansion's gate. It was large, and made of green iron; Crystal could already tell that this house was big on detail. As she got out of her car to enter, the gates slowly opened on their own.
"Great! Automatic gates equal lots of dough," She said to herself cheerily as she walked to the front door.
The mansion itself was an amazing sight. Four two story white columns were at the front, and green arches lined the porch, for decoration and to hold up the second story balcony. An old weathervane on the very tip of the roof creaked slightly as the wind shifted.
The house was white, and looked in fairly good condition; the wood wasn't browning or anything. However, the same could not be said for the rest of the front yard. Crystal knocked on the door, made sure her blouse and skirt looked presentable, and took one last look at the front lawn. There were many dead trees in it, and the ground was barren. She made a mental note to tell the 'Master' of the house to get it fixed.
All of a sudden, she heard a creaking noise, and realized that one of the large white front doors was slowly opening. She peeked her head in, and saw that the inside was fairly dark.
"Hello?" She called, thinking that someone had opened the front door. She walked inside and looked at foyer she was in. It was lit with a few candles hanging on the wall, and there wasn't really much else to look at. The wallpaper was peeling, and the few things that were in this room were covered in dust. Crystal heard another creaking noise behind her, and turned. The door closed shut, on its own.
"Welcome," said a voice. Crystal whirled around. Standing a few feet in front of her was a man who was obviously not there a few seconds ago. He was wearing a black pressed suit, and he had trimmed black hair and sideburns. His bright blue eyes seemed to be piercing right through Crystal.
"Wait-" Crystal said, furling her brow. She spun to look at the door, then back at the man. "How did you-"
"I've come to discover that this house holds many secrets, Ms. Rhock. Some of them, passageways," The man said with a small smile on his face. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gracey. George Gracey."
