Page 9 of Ghost Hunters 2

Dino scoffed. “Luck is a myth too.”

“Dang, you are no fun, Dino.” Grabbing the other flashlight, she turned to the pantry area.

He laughed.

When they got there the hutch had been pushed back to hide the stairwell to the basement again.

Jillian glanced at Dino.

He shrugged. “Nope. I didn’t do it.” He tried the button and when he pushed at the hutch it didn’t move. “What the hell?” He glanced at Jillian and tried again.

When it didn’t move the second time, Jillian stepped up and helped him. Pushing with all their might, they managed to push the hutch a few inches.

“Damn, what the hell is going on here?” Dino asked in confusion. “It wasn’t this hard to open before.”

Jillian leaned against the hutch. “The place is haunted, Dino That is what...I think this George guy didn’t know we found the way below before.”

“I still don’t know what’s going on here but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let this George asshole or whoever he is get away with this shit,” Dino vowed. “He’d better run if he hurt Gramps.”

“First, we have to get down the steps to see what’s really there,” Jillian told him.

They turned to push at it again and again until they had the hutch moved back far enough for them to slip through.

Dino found an old piece of wood just beyond the door and used it to brace the door open. Then he turned his flashlight on. The light cut through the total pitch surrounding them and showed them the steps leading down into the darkness.

When they reached the bottom step they found a wooden floor, not a dirt floor. Jillian moved her flashlight around and found a modern light switch on the wall. “Wow, I did not expect that.” She reached out to flip the switch and the darkness was gone as the lights came on.

“What the hell?” Dino whispered in surprise as he gazed around the room they found themselves in.

Chapter Five

Jillian looked around too and she could see this part of the basement was set up to hold a good quantity of wine bottles. Several tables were also here. Add in the fireplace in one of the corners and it all made the room appear cozy. She snapped her fingers and concluded, “I think I know what this is. In the letter from the realtor, they mentioned the girl’s father had a wine cellar added to the Inn.”

“Then maybe there was another entrance to get down here,” Dino surmised. “I don’t think the hutch entrance has been used since this place was a plantation. So where do we start looking? We need to find Gramps.”

Jillian began tapping the walls and calling out Matthew’s name.

Dino took the other side of the room and did the same.

Jillian’s tapping found a hollow sound behind some bookshelves and she called Dino over to the wall, “Oh, wow. I think that Mel Brooks' guy heard about this place.” She shook her head. “It’s a false bookshelf, Dino.”

Dino came over and snorted a bit. “Damn.” He studied the wall for a moment then ran his fingers along the shelves. He had to move some books but eventually he found the hidden button. When he clicked it, the wall opened and led to another room.

“Better than a candlestick,” Jillian joked.

This room reeked of spoiled fruit and had a yeasty aroma. As soon as they walked in, they could feel the temperature was about 20 degrees cooler.

Jillian checked the wall just inside the door and found the light switch. Snapping the light on, they found themselves in a brewery of sorts.

The walls were lined with bottles neatly housed on wine racks that went from floor to ceiling. In one corner there were boxes stacked three and four high that looked like they had never been open. On the side of the boxes someone had written ‘wine bottles.’ There were a few tables in that room.

“Wow, carboys,” Jillian said.

“Carboys?” Dino asked. “I do not see cars or boys here.”

She laughed. “No, carboys are rigid, large-volume containers. Typically, they hold like three to sixteen gallons for holding, transporting, or fermenting liquids. Like for brewing wine.”

“How do you know all that?” he asked her while looking curious.