Ghost at Stallion's Gate

by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox

Shannon Delaney Series, Vol. 4

In book 4, Shannon Delaney gets caught up in a web of deception, intrigue and a ghostly haunting as she delves into a cold-case mystery from Hollywood’s glamorous decade of the 1920s: Good grief, it was as if the sound was immediately behind me. I turned and was shocked to see that what was making the odd noise was all too apparent and far too close for comfort. And it was looking down at me.

I looked around for a place to run to. I dashed a few steps to the side and the room’s atmosphere shifted, causing a rift in the ground. I tripped over my own two feet, crashing to my knees. The thing was hanging over me. I dared to glance up, discovering that all the color in the room had faded away into a sepia world.

“Grab hold,” it commanded.

ISBN 978-1-61386-030-4 Mystery / Romance / Paranormal / Ghosts

CHAPTER 1

Stanley Coover’s home was his castle, literally. All three stories of fourteen bedrooms, ten bathrooms, two grand halls, one reception room, a billiard room, a game room, dancing parlor, gentlemen’s smoking room, ladies parlor, plus a kitchen and servants quarters at the very east end, adjacent to, but separated from the horse stables. Add to this floor plan a solarium off the library and a covered patio off the back gallery that ran the full 120 feet of the back of the home. Yes, indeed, Stanley Coover built a Tudor styled mansion the likes of which I had not laid eyes on since window shopping on the Internet, and coming across the Tudor estate of a billionaire technology guru. That estate had recently sold for a sum beyond the imagination of ordinary people. I sighed out loud. The crunching sound of footsteps on the gravel drive caused me to turn around. Zach was here.

“Hey Shannon.” He gave me a hug and then kissed my cheek. “This is some place, huh?”

We gazed up at the mansion, lost in its grandeur.

“This place looks to be in fantastic condition. What is it you are hired to do here?” I asked.

“It is in great shape, but not completely up to earthquake code. I’ll be working on some internal retrofitting to bring it up to earthquake code. Luckily, I won’t need to do anything to the exterior.”

One look at the extensive plaster and halved timber exterior told me why he was counting his blessings for not having to touch it. “How long will the retrofitting take?” I asked.

He studied the home and then looked down at some plans he had on his clipboard, he flipped through a few pages.

“Should be finished in three weeks, four at the most. And before the job is complete, the Pasadena Conservancy must have it inspected and receive a final approval before they’ll pay me. It won’t be easy, but the retrofitting that needs to be done is straightforward. And, I’m not working on the stables, at least not for now.”

“Is that because they’re no longer in use?” I asked.

“Yeah, and until the powers that be at the Pasadena Conservancy decide what they want to do with the stables, there’s no need to renovate them.”

“I guess that’s why I was told not to mention the stables in the publicity brochure. According to what I’ve learned, the Pasadena Conservancy plans to advertise and promote this mansion as a rental location for the film industry to use as a set for movies and television.”

“Yeah, it would make a great set for a mystery or horror film, considering its history, a Hollywood movie company could save money by using the ghosts that haunt this place.” He laughed, but I was not amused.

“What do you mean? Is this mansion haunted?” I asked.

ISBN 978-1-61386-030-4