Hello Mr. Duffy

137.

"Come in out of the cold, no need to be standing there in the doorway." The concierge was that level of upper class servant polite rudeness. Gilbert was put off on him immediately.

"What is this place?" Clarissa said it with a level of awe that had Gilbert be suspicious the building was affecting her.

"What is a pedestrian question, where or why is a more important one, but we'll get to that, first you must meet Mr. Duffy in his office and he must discuss our situation with you, come along." The concierge showed them to an elevator, and inside was an old timey looking elevator operator complete with a silly hat.

"To Mr. Duffy's office." The concierge informed the operator and he nodded, but did not speak himself. Gilbert was beyond questioning the weirdness, so when the elevator closed one second and opened to an office with no hallway in between he just accepted it.

"Mr. Dunkley do come in." Mr. Duffy looked like a shady used car salesman, from the tacky suit to the slicked back hair and unnaturally tanned skin. His every word was a sales pitch you didn't want.

"What is going on here Mr. Duffy."

"Do call me Quin, its short for Quinlin, and sit please." The chairs were big leather recliners, sitting in them Gilbert and Clarissa felt small.

"Mr. Duffy please."

"Fine, we're not ghosts, we're not demons, this place isn't in your head, it's a," His eyes went up in his head for a moment as if he was trying to find the right words, "A hostel of sorts for the dead who don't want to admit they are dead, originally the native americans had this land as sacred so as to not disturb the spirits on their journey, of course the white man had to throw a damn building on top of it, but we managed just fine."

"So you're a ghost."

"No I specifically said I'm not a ghost, I'm a caretaker of sorts, and I need your companies help, you deal with monsters correct?" Gilbert didn't like the way he phrased monsters.

"What kind of monster can harm ghosts?"

"That is the question I'd like for you to answer, bell hop!" Duffy signaled the elevator operator and shooed both Gilbert and Clarissa inside with himself. He nodded at the operator and the elevator arrived somewhere else, though when the doors opened it was on a black corridor that looked like a murder or a war had been fought there. Lighting fixtures, and even whole walls were damaged and  barely hanging on.

"What's going on here?"

"That Mr. Dunkley is what you are hired to find out." Gilbert didn't even notice he and Clarissa had been moved off the elevator until the door closed behind him and left him in Clarissa in the busted hallway.

"Well at least we're prepared right?" Gilbert looked at Clarissa sternly for a moment and smiled.

"Yeah at least we're prepared." As if in response something screamed in the darkness and the mood of happiness was instantly gone.