Sally, who was diligently sweeping, stopped. If what Jimmy said was true, then she shouldn’t be focused on cleaning.
“Information Mrs. Carter would like…”
She had been in and out of Room 333, but she never encountered a ghost. If the ghost doesn’t show up, why not just call out to it? If I could earn a week’s worth of salary… She remembered what her colleague once said.
“Did you know? The name of the Ghost in Room 333 is Eddie.”
Stand in front of the mirror and say Eddie’s name three times. Then his ghost will appear and answers any question, even if it was about the future.
“Is he like Bloody Mary?” someone asked, but the colleague who brought up the topic of Eddie didn’t respond.
“What’s important is that Eddie sometimes appears with a knife or ax.”
Then you had to leave the room quickly. It was said Eddie’s ghost could kill you.
At the time, she scoffed, but now Sally took it seriously. She stopped cleaning and stared at the mirror on the wall. Should I give it a try?
It was obvious it wouldn’t work, but it didn’t matter. No one was watching, so she wouldn’t become a laughing stock. All she would lose is money. If something strange happens, then she could tell Mrs. Carter.
“Hm.”
When she approached the mirror, its frame covered in patterns of roses, Sally saw her reflection.
“…Eddie.”
She was a little embarrassed doing it, but Sally continued to say the ghost’s name. “Eddie! Eddie!”
She waited.
The mirror remained the same.
“Of course.” Sally sighed and then smiled. Before she turned around, however…
“Who… called me?”
Sally was horrified when she heard an inhuman sound reverberating from the ceiling.
She checked the mirror and almost felt like she was going insane. She took a closer look at the unclear shape that appeared like a man at first glance.
“…”
A bloodcurdling scream came out of Sally’s mouth.
…As if she had seen a person who had been buried in a tomb for years. The corpse waved its rotting hand.
“Aaaah!”
Sally Melbourne fainted. As soon as her body fell to the floor with a thud, the person in the mirror slowly began to look different.
“…Oh, I forgot to change my appearance.”
There was a young, handsome man with brown hair. Henry Jekyll Langham. With the face of “Jekyll”, he came out of the mirror and shook his head.
“I didn’t even need to do anything.”
Eddie’s knife fell from his hand.
***
That night.
A familiar person knocked on the door. He was a boy with a small face, soft skin, and slender build, all of which culminated in him giving off a good impression.
“Yesterday…”
Unlike lunchtime when he wore a hotel uniform, he wore a plain shirt and pants. Wearing that, he looked older than I thought…
“I am Jimmy Barry from the hospitality department. Please call me Jimmy, Mrs. Carter.”
“All right. You may call me Emily.” It was improper of me to answer like that. When the other person’s social status was lower than mine, it was common for people to feel uncomfortable with such requests.
But Jimmy grinned and nodded. “If that is your wish, Emily.”
That unsurprised reaction, sophisticated way of speaking, and use of vocabulary. I felt something was off, but I didn’t think much of it.
“What brings you here? Did you bring what I wanted?”
What I wanted. When asked if Miss Melbourne was ready to hand over the information, Jimmy nodded.
“She’s waiting at the door.”
“Then…”
“I think there’s one thing you should know.”
I straightened my posture and sat down. “What do you mean?”
“Miss Melbourne was in charge of cleaning Room 333 today. However…”
My eyes widened at the words that followed. “…She summoned Eddie’s ghost?”
The boy smiled as if he expected such a reaction. “Can we let Miss Melbourne in now?”
A few moments later.
After Jimmy left, a young woman in her early 20s entered the room. Her face was pale because she saw the ghost. Looking at her bow, I cut to the chase.
“Jimmy said you summoned Eddie.”
“…”
She looked at me slowly. Tears streamed down her freckled cheeks.
“I… I… It’s because I ignored the guidelines.”
“Those?”
“Rule 7.” She checked her surroundings as if afraid someone was watching. In a faint voice, she continued, “I shouldn’t have said that name. All for ten shillings…”
“…Miss Melbourne?”
“I called out to him. His face…”
She was in a cold sweat; she still appeared to be in shock. I handed her a warm cup of tea.
“Deep breaths. You can take your time talking.”
“…Ma’am.” She sipped her tea and stared at me. How long was she like that? She calmly began to recount her story.
…It was a remarkable experience. I wrote down everything from beginning to end. There was only one thing that bothered me.
“Was Mr. Henry there again today?”
Based on what she said, it seemed this wasn’t the first time he was in Room 333. He kept his employees out of the room but frequently went in there himself.
But there was something even stranger than that. Mr. Henry didn’t even remember going into Room 333 each time.
“It was the same today. He asked himself why he was there.”
Reflecting on her statement, I remembered what he once told me.
“I’ve always been haunted by evil spirits…”
It wasn’t a surprise as to what happened. Having inferred the truth to some extent, I took out ten shillings and asked, “Can you escort me to Room 333, Miss Melbourne?”
She gawked at the money but shook her head. “Starting today, all employees are forbidden from entering Room 333.”
“So suddenly…”
“It’s because of me. I fainted after seeing a ghost in the room.” Miss Melbourne lowered her head, ashamed of what had happened.
It was a matter of course. If it was an evil spirit related to the Book of Eibon, then it would be powerful.
She wouldn’t know. It was fortunate she lived this long and came back uninjured.
I nodded as if I didn’t know the real reason. “I see. I’m sorry that it can’t be helped. Thank you for telling me a good story.”
She immediately smiled when I handed her twenty shillings. “Oh, there’s no need to give so much…”
“Think of it as an expression of good faith.”
She thanked me a lot before standing up to leave the room. Before she closed the door, she turned around.
“Is this material to write your next novel?”
“Hm, maybe?”
“I’m a fan! I’ll be looking forward to it.”
She was pretty cute like that. Alone again, I remained seated and began to collect my thoughts. One thing was for certain: Room 333 was where a person could say the name Eddie three times in a row and summon him. The ghost can travel through the mirrors of each hotel room, and most importantly…
The owner of Langham Hotel, Henry, was being held hostage.
All that remains now was to enter Room 333 to investigate and obtain a testimony from “him”. Both were very difficult to achieve because of the restrictions imposed on Room 333, but I had the perfect plan.
“I can ask Mr. Henry.”
As I prepared to leave the room, I recalled an old memory. I picked up the business card given to me by the bellhop and checked it.
[Hospitality Services, Jimmy Barry]
Considering that Jimmy is James’s nickname…
“James Barry.”
When I said aloud his name, my sense of wonder grew even more. If I remember correctly, that boy… I didn’t know if he can be a good helper. I left the room and went to the hotel lobby. I was going to send a telegram asking Helena to conduct an investigation.
***
A few hours later, on the top floor of Langham Hotel.
“Please wait a moment, Mrs. Carter.”
I sat comfortably in an armchair in the waiting room as the secretary instructed. I was here to meet Mr. Graham Langham. As you might have guessed, the process of arriving here wasn’t that difficult.
Earlier, I found Mr. Henry who was staying in the adjacent room.
“Henry, wait a minute.”
I called him by his first name.
Blushing, the innocent, young man answered in a meek voice, “Yes, Miss Emily? If there is anything you need…”
“I’d like to ask for a favor.”
“As long as it’s within my capabilities…”
“It’s nothing much. May I meet with your uncle?”
Mr. Henry’s jaw dropped. “…”
The young man’s face turned red, but he also looked quite happy. He soon regained his composure. “He’s always busy, but he has free time if I ask. The reason you wish to see my uncle…”
This kind of conscientious person shouldn’t be given time to think. With a smile, I approached him. He tried to step back without realizing it.
I grabbed his arm and whispered into his ear, “It’s a secret, Henry.”
“…”
I could feel him tremble. When I put some distance between us, I saw the tips of his ears were red.
