The Safe Harbor

By Renna Olsen

Maurice DuMonde and his partner in evil and debauchery, Tobias Finch, have been dead for over a hundred years but the events of one fateful night inside their opulent hotel and bar, The Safe Harbor, still resonate throughout the small town of Riverside, Oregon. Maurice and Tobias, determined to cheat death using the occult arts and a blasphemous grimoire, are discovered in the act of sacrificing a child in a profane rite. A vengeful mob of townsfolk hang the depraved Maurice from the trapdoor behind his bar and consider the events of that night over and best forgotten.
When Annie Olsen, a down-on-her-luck bartender in West Texas, is contacted as the sole surviving heir who inherits The Safe Harbor, she realizes this is a perfect opportunity to leave her cheating boyfriend and make a fresh start. Along with her best friend Lee McDonald, Annie packs her meager belongings and journeys to Oregon to reopen the long deserted but well preserved hotel and bar.
But something besides Annie and her friends is still living in the old building and it’s not friendly. Frightened but undaunted, the comrades set out to solve the mystery of the malevolent presence that haunts the Safe Harbor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Renna Olsen
• Release date: Jan 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311409119

Renna Olsen

The Litzophreniacs3 is a trio of authors and family members collaboratively writing primarily science fiction, horror and paranormal thrillers. With mother Nancy, son Eric and daughter Anne, the Litzos as we like to call ourselves, have finished multiple books and are working on new projects. We write under the pen name Renna Olsen.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Annie lay in bed and watched dust motes swirl through the West Texas sunshine intruding through her poorly drawn curtains. She knew that sleep was not going to revisit her so she sighed then heaved herself out from under the covers, slipped on her bunny slippers, and headed for her tiny bathroom. She studied herself in the bathroom mirror and jutted her chin forward. It almost made her little double chin disappear and if she sucked in her cheeks, her round, full face narrowed. She fluffed her frizzled hair in disgust, while fleeting visions of returning to slowly torture the gum-smacking hairdresser who had fried it with the stylist's own curling iron, flitted across her mind. Some days it's just not worth it to even crawl out of bed, she muttered.

Another long night of working at The Alibi and putting up with rude, obnoxious drunks had put her in a bad mood. A quick glance at her watch told her that she still had another six hours until her shift started again. Thank God, it was Lee's day off. Maybe she could get her friend to go shopping with her before work.

The brassy ring of her cheap phone intruded into Annie's day. I have enough to worry about right now, she fretted, her hand hesitating over the receiver. She didn't recognize the phone number on the caller ID. Damn bill collectors, she muttered. Well, she thought, I might as well answer and think up a big lie for them. They'll just keep calling otherwise. She punched the answer button. Hello, she sighed heavily into the phone.

Annie Olsen? a deep voice on the other end of the line inquired. After Annie's confirmation, the caller continued. My name is Robert Campion. I'm an attorney with Campion, Edwards and Chandler in Odessa. I have received some documents here that I need you to come in and review.

What now? Someone suing me? she grumped.

A rude snort echoed in her ear. No, Miss Olsen, not as far as I know, anyway. This is actually good news for you. At least I assume it will be. You've inherited some property in Riverside, Oregon.

What? Property? You have to be kidding. Who would leave me anything?

Actually, you've been located as the only remaining relative to an old gentleman who passed away. He's left you a hotel. But I think it would be better if we discussed this here in the office. Could you possibly come in?

Annie's mind was spinning as fast as the dust outside her West Texas home. She started babbling. You bet I'll come in. Oregon, huh? I heard everyone there has webbed feet. But who cares about that? Give me your address and I'll be right there. Can I bring a friend with me?

If you wish, Miss. It's your business and you can bring anyone you like.

As soon as she took down the address from the attorney and hung up, Annie dialed her friend Lee McDonald to tell her the news. She and Lee had shared every escapade since they were barely big enough to crawl. There was no way she could withhold information this important from her best friend.

Lee. Pick up the phone. Pick up the phone, dammit! This is really important!

Annie, is that you? Ever dubious of Annie's emergency calls, Lee nevertheless could not resist.

You bet your sweet ass it is, Annie retorted. We're in the money now, girlfriend. Get yourself all dolled up. I'll be there to get you in about 15 minutes.

Annie, what...? Lee found herself talking to a dial tone. Heaving a tension-releasing sigh, Lee muttered, What now? and hurried for her make-up, knowing that Annie was as good as her word when it came to dragging her out of the house.

The doorbell rang just as Lee finished putting on her face and teasing her short red hair. She hurried along the hallway, adjusting her clothes as she ran, and opened the door to a red-faced Annie, out of wind and hanging on to the doorframe.

My God, girl, you're going to give yourself a heart attack. What's this all about?

Annie took a deep breath and told her friend, Lee, I swear you're not going to believe this but an attorney just called me and told me that some old guy died and left me a hotel in Oregon! We have to get over there right now and sign the papers. Hurry up. I don't want anyone to change their mind. Damn, Lee. This is our chance out of this armpit town.

But Annie, what about Butch?

Fuck Butch. That's what about Butch. That shithead doesn't care about me as much as he does that truck of his or his current fling - whoever that might be. I mean it, Lee. I'm going and you're going with me! With that said, Annie rushed down the steps and jumped into her old Pontiac.

Lee hurried after her and the two of them drove the thirty miles into Odessa, talking a hundred miles an hour, the old car almost keeping up with their chatter.

Can you believe it, Annie said. Somebody actually left me something. I thought that only happened in movies.

Annie, I hate to say this, but if someone actually left you some money, you'll never get rid of Butch.

Bet me, Annie replied. He'll be going hunting in a few weeks. I just won't tell him what happened and then while he's gone, we'll pack up and get out of town.

This is a big step we're thinking about, Lee cautioned. So let's not get hasty. We don't even know any of the details yet.

Lee, we've lived in this shitty little town all our lives. My mom and dad have been dead since I was 14 and I've been on my own ever since. I was afraid I was going to die of hard work and depression just like they did, running my car off the road in a dead drunk. And you haven't seen your dad since he took off when you were two. Your mom died just last year, and now there's nothing to hold us here.

Well, I still have my cousins. Lee paused. Now that I think about it, you're right. It would be nice not to have them with their hands out every payday, Lee said.

Let's at least see what this is all about and then make a decision, Annie reasoned. If it turns out that we don't want to go up there, we can always sell the place and take the money to get a fresh start in Austin, like we dreamed about.

As they neared town, the two tried to compose themselves. It wouldn't do not to act like the rich women they just knew they were. Annie pulled the old car up in front of a squat, glass fronted building. The women took turns checking their makeup in the rearview mirror before leaving the car then headed up a short flight of stairs and through the front doors.

After a few false turns, they found the correct suite of offices. The two stood before the closed door and its shiny gold plaque and grinned at each other. Annie took a deep breath, pushed the door open and saw a business-like young woman sitting at a desk.

At the sound of their entrance, she raised her carefully groomed head of big blond hair and flashed a practiced smile. Miss Olsen? the receptionist asked. Please come right in. Mr. Campion is expecting you.

She ushered them into the inner sanctum where they were left standing nervously in front of a silver-haired man writing behind a huge gleaming mahogany desk. He finally glanced up at Annie and Lee and then stood up, held out a well-tanned hand and introduced himself.

The two were nervous as the attorney asked them to be seated and pulled a folder towards him. "Well, Miss Olsen, it seems that you've inherited a substantial piece of property in...let me see...ah, yes, Riverside, Oregon. The old man who left it also left a letter to be opened only by the person who inherited his estate. According to his instructions, the envelope remains sealed. Perhaps you would like to read it at your leisure.

There's a large volume of information about the property, which includes an old hotel that is part of the will. I'll just pass that along to you. Then if you would sign these papers, our business is concluded.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, but the will, itself, is actually very simple. In the event no one could be found to inherit the property, the building was to be torn down and in the event someone was found, they were to receive the property and that letter you hold in your hands. I wish you the best of luck with your new enterprise."

Annie stared at the attorney for a moment, torn between being intimidated by his obvious attempt to get rid of them with his brusque manner and her curiosity. The curiosity won out. Without taking his not-too-subtle hint to leave, Annie stayed in her seat.

She took a deep breath and asked him. But who is this old man? I mean, what relationship am I to him and how did they find me?

Campion sighed, realizing that this meeting might take a bit more of his time than he had wanted to expend on it. But he decided he might as well answer her questions since he could probably do that in the same time frame it would take to brush her off.

Well, from what I understand, Campion explained, his name was Thomas Finch. You are apparently the last relative remaining on his mother's side. Your grandmother was a cousin or second cousin of his. I'm not really sure of the exact relationship. I believe the state of Oregon made some sort of search for any existing relatives and traced you down here.

With a shaky hand Annie signed the papers Campion placed in front of her. He then abruptly stood up and held out his hand. Annie shook it, noting the large gold watch on his wrist that glinted in the overhead lights. She was amazed at the short amount of time it had taken to become a real property owner. This is it, she thought. This is really it. I'm going to be rich enough to wear things like that, too. God, I can hardly wait.

Chapter 2

I still can't believe I let you talk me into this, Annie. I swear to God, every time I let you convince me to do something like this, I wind up regretting it.

Annie hitched her ample bottom around on the car seat and looked sideways at her friend. Now dammit, Lee. Don't tell me that you're not enjoying yourself right now. Here we are, heading down the great freeway of life, finally doing something just for us, and taking charge of our own destiny for the first time in our miserable 31 years.

Freeway of life, all right, Lee snorted. Don't you mean I-5? And if Oregon looks anything like California, I want out right now. We might as well have stayed in West Texas. At least there wasn't all this traffic.

Hey, you remember what that travel brochure I got for us said, 'The Great Northwest'. Come on; don't give up on me. Hell, we haven't even gotten there yet and you're already complaining. But then what's new?

You know Annie, sometimes I wonder why we ever stayed best friends. You are entirely too bossy. And what choice do I have right now, anyway. We sold everything we had just to get a start up there. And that damn letter, what about the letter? A warning no less. I swear I must be crazy.

You're crazy all right, Annie grinned. But not about this. What else did we have in our lives? I had that worthless Butch and you haven't had a date in what...eight years. Ever since that fool you were in love with went to prison. Damn Lee, our biological clocks are running down and we need to start living.

Annie reached across to grab her drink. We're going to be rich, I just know it. And the first thing I'm going to do is join one of those weight loss clinics and get some diet pills and become fashionably skinny. Then I'm going to get me a guy who'll treat me right. Maybe even have some kids. But for right now, dive in that sack and see what we have to eat.

Lee reached behind her into the crammed back seat and found a brown shopping bag. Digging into it, she said, You're avoiding the issue, Annie. And you have been ever since you opened that damn letter. I want to talk about it and I want to talk about it now. That old guy sounded pretty serious to me. He said that no one should open that hotel under any circumstances.

Annie started thinking furiously. Lee was notorious for getting the heebie-jeebies. Her picture was probably under scared shitless in the dictionary. Listen Lee, you're worrying over nothing. Remember, now, the attorney said he was over eighty when he died. The old guy probably had Alzheimer's or something. You’ve gotta admit, he was pretty evasive. All he really said in that letter was to never re-open The Safe Harbor. And after all, according to what he had written, his sister and her husband disappeared the night before they opened the place, so maybe he was keeping it like a shrine or something.

Handing Annie a store-wrapped sandwich, Lee helped herself to one and said, "I know what you're doing. You're trying to calm me down. But you know how I am when I get these feelings. Not to mention the fact that the people who owned that place disappeared. I'd like to know where they were last seen. Was it in that hotel?"

Lee shuddered, and couldn't stop herself from asking, for the hundredth time, Shit, Annie, what are we going to do if this doesn't work out?

Heaving another deep-felt sigh, Annie tried again to pacify Lee. "Well, if it doesn't work out, we'll just have to go back to being bartenders again. After all, we have a trade we can take anywhere we go. But Lee, that's the beauty of this whole thing, we know what we have to do already.

Those papers included with the will that described the hotel said that there was an old lounge downstairs. You know as well as I do that we are perfectly capable of opening that up and making a killing. Running a bar is the one thing we do best. Then we can slowly restore the upstairs rooms, one at a time, and rent them out. There isn't any reason on earth for it not to work.

Come on, Lee. Look at it in a positive way. Would you rather spend the rest of your life slinging drinks at The Alibi or finally work for yourself and enjoy those profits instead of putting up with another butt-grabbing yokel like Delbert?"

Lee laughed. You know, you sure do have a way with words. You're right; of course, I do want to make a go of this. It's just that feeling I keep getting. Like something isn’t quite right.

Now don't forget, Annie said, that letter from Riverside also said that the place was on a historical buildings register and the local do-gooders have some sort of fund for fixing the place up. We'll get to use that, too. It's a whole new start for us. Maybe the only one we'll ever get in our lives. And don't forget that you're a full partner in this, too. We've been through too many bad times together not to share the good ones. Now turn that Marty Robbins CD up and relax.

Okay, Lee replied. 947 miles to go. This better be worth it, Annie or you'll never hear the end of it.

Annie indulged in another deep sigh and told her friend, Like I said before, what's new?

Chapter 3

The light that filtered through the cracks in the boarded-up windows slowly began to fade. Darkness had started coming earlier in the late summer months. Inside the old building, black shapes were forming. Maybe it was just a trick of the imagination, or maybe not. Shadows crawled leisurely up the dusty walls.

A spider hung suspended from its web in the corner. Subtle vibrations sent it rushing along its silken skein to see what new victim it had trapped. Too late it realized that it was the intended victim. An unseen something snatched it from its web and held it suspended in the air - something that seemed to be made from the shadows themselves.

As it struggled to escape, the spider looked for an enemy to bite, trying desperately to free itself. It could see the floor below, but no matter where else it looked, it could not see anything but a darker shadow in the night, holding it up. It flailed its legs furiously until one of them was abruptly wrenched from its body. Twisting in agony, it tried even harder to free itself. But it was to no avail for there was nothing for it to clutch, nothing to bite, and nothing to fight.

Then, slowly, another leg was ripped off and then another and another. Still it lived; pain coursing through its body as it sensed the approach of death. It was cold, so cold. The dusty air around the arachnid chilled rapidly.

As the spider's will to live gave out, something took a tiny bite out of its central body, almost a delicate nibble. Another bite and the spider fell to the floor amidst its dismembered legs. As it landed, a low moan began, sweeping through the old hotel. The timbers echoed with the evil voice, as it celebrated the end of another life.

Chapter 4

"Wake up, Lee. Drag that skinny ass out of bed. It's time to go check out our new hotel. Our hotel, I repeat."

Annie was wrapping a bandanna around her frizzy black hair, preparing to take her new world by storm. Lee slowly cracked an eye open, and asked her friend, Are you nuts? It's only 6:00 in the morning. Shit, we didn't even blow into this burg till almost midnight.

Composing her face into an unusually solemn expression, Annie said, "You know what, Lee. I couldn't sleep last night I was so excited. I know we agreed to wait until this morning to look at the hotel, but I couldn't wait. I went downtown and found the hotel after you fell asleep last night. I just had to see it. You won't believe how big it is. I was shocked.

Thank God we aren't any strangers to hard work. It's going to take a while for us to clean that place up. Especially, since it hasn't been open since the '50's. But I'm worried we won't have enough money to keep staying in this motel and fix ours up, too. We may have to move in there and work on it as we go."

First of all, thanks for waiting for me, Lee complained. And I'll reserve judgment on living in the damn thing until I see it.

It'll be fun, Annie said. We'll pretend we're camping out. You know how much you like to camp. And this time we won't have to worry about those Texas snakes. There can't be anything in there more to worry about than a few spiders and maybe a rat or two. We can handle that. We'll set a few traps and bring a big can of Raid.

The eternal optimist, Lee groaned.

The two finished dressing and headed out the door. Annie's old green Pontiac was parked outside and they climbed in. I'm not going anywhere until you feed me, Lee said.

My thoughts exactly, Annie replied.

As they drove slowly through the town, looking for a place to eat, Lee said, Have you noticed how many churches there are in this place? There must be one on every corner. I've counted 14 already and there are only 6,000 people in the whole town. And it's raining. I told you we were going to get moldy up here.

Ignoring her best friend's comments, Annie recalled her trip to see the old hotel last night while her friend was sleeping. God, I hope I haven't made a mistake here, she thought. Lee has been through so much. I just want everything to work out for us. Please God, make everything right and don't let Lee get one of those damn 'feelings' of hers. I'll never get her into the place.

Her thoughts wandered back to the past. Well, I guess she has the right to those feelings. They've saved her ass more than once from that dog she lived with. But then again, how psychic do you have to be to know someone is going to beat the shit out of you when he comes in the door mean-ass drunk.

A voice intruded into her ruminations. Annie, I said there's a place open over there. Lee was pointing to a little cafe on the left side of the street. Riverside Cafe. Now there's an original name if I ever heard one.

I don't care how original it is right now. I could eat the ass-end out of a dead skunk I'm so hungry, Annie said.

That’s disgusting, Lee said primly.

The two pulled into the parking lot of a small glass-fronted cafe, typical of every small town in America.

Lee looked around her. Hey, we really must be in the Great Northwest. From the looks of the parking lot, we must have discovered where the rednecks feed. Check out all the pick-up trucks. I feel like I never left home.

Be nice now, Annie retorted. Those red-necks are going to be our bread and butter for a while. Smile pretty now.

Tell you what, Annie. I'll smile pretty and you stick out those big boobs of yours. We can't miss, Lee laughed.

Annie scanned the room as the two women entered. Red checked cloths covered the tables, two of which were occupied. A small counter held five men, all busy shoveling their breakfasts down. Charming manners, she thought. Then a loud voice intruded.

Ooo la la. Check out the ladies.

Aww, leave 'em alone, Billy, said a big blond. He was young, somewhere in his mid-twenties, and must have stood close to six feet five. Just sitting he towered over the others at his table.

Billy couldn't leave it be. But George, maybe they want me. Hey girls, do you want me?

Like I want a heart attack, Annie shot back at him.

All the men in the restaurant turned towards Billy and laughed. Think she just told you, buddy.

Better put it back in your pants, Billy. Ain't getting no action there, another man, small and dark-skinned said. Going to have to go steady with mother thumb and her four daughters again tonight.

Lee just shook her head and headed for an empty table. Men. They're all the same, she said, glancing back over her shoulder. They must all be loggers or something, Annie. Check out those outfits they have on.

Annie looked back at the men and noticed that they were all dressed the same, blue jeans cut off and ragged at mid-calf, gray striped shirts, red suspenders and old-man, elastic-sided, slip-on brown leather shoes. They look like a bunch of clones. But with all these guys in here, the food must be good. Right now that's all I care about.

After ordering their breakfasts from a pretty, sad-faced young girl, the women began planning their day. First thing we have to do, Lee said, is actually go into the damn building. You said all the windows are boarded up. Maybe we should pull the boards off first so we can see exactly what we're up against. God, Annie. I can't believe we came all this way and don't even know if the place is fit to be lived in.

Now don't start on that crap again, Lee. I mean it. At least see the damn thing first before you give up, Annie snapped at her. I told you that attorney said it's still as sound as a dollar. Well, forget that part. I'm sure he meant it was as sound as a dollar used to be.

The women's breakfasts arrived and they started eating. Halfway through the meal they both looked up at the sound of a chair being pulled out from their table.

Now girls, I hope we didn't get off to a bad start. It was Billy, adjusting his large gut so he could settle into the chair. Let me buy your breakfast for you to make up for any offense I may have caused.

Why, thank you, Annie said, ignoring the dirty look that Lee was giving her. We're from Texas and we just got into town last night. We're the new owners of The Safe Harbor and we're going to open it up for business again. My name is Annie and this is my friend, Lee. Maybe you and your friends will stop in to see us.

The Safe Harbor? No shit, Billy said. "Hey guys, these girls are going to open up The Safe Harbor again. It's about time someone did. That place has