The drive was over an hour. Finally I saw the entrance sign of the place, a finish line with golden letters etched into a dark green piece of wood. It stood as the centerpiece of a landscaping circle, which split the entrance and exit of the complex.

Castle Hill Condominium

A string of cars had passed by one after another, blocking the way in. With the time it gave me to sit there, I pulled up the messages Cami had sent and scrolled back to the one about the office.

|Cami:

-The office building is on the hillside. Moira should be there, and she talks a LOT. Like NEVER shuts the hell up!

The incoming traffic had finally passed, and I made my way in and took one of the empty spots on the parking lot's edge. I stepped out and gripped the edge of my car door, a creak sounded out as I forced it to shut. Looking around, I observed the surrounding people.

Some people walked dogs, while screaming kids ran by dressed for the pool. Their parents fell behind, yelling for them to wait. Many courtyards were filled with people chatting at picnic tables and grills around the numerous brick buildings that occupied the area. Manicured grass completed the suburban dream imagery the property projected. If not for the sweltering heat radiating off the concrete beneath my feet, I would have taken in the scenery further.

They've really put work into making this place seem as if two brutal murders didn't happen here. I wonder if there's any people who lived here back then?

As I stood on the concrete, I grew increasingly aware of the heat that radiated off the asphalt. Despite being in the air-conditioned car for so long, the cool feeling it had left on my skin had already vanished.

"Goddamn heatwave," I said to myself before facing the white sided multistory building that was the management office. Upon reaching the stone steps, I took them two at a time until I reached a bulletin board.

Might as well see if there's anything useful in these papers.

Glancing over the sheets were reminders to curb your dog. How much it costs for an after hours lockout. A monthly newsletter for the condominium. Before I could read it, a low humming noise filled my ears. After some searching I found the source, the many fans that filled the office building's windows. My eyes relaxed as my teeth gritted and I let out a breath.

"Great, I'm gonna get air-fried in there." With my second complaint within a minute made, I approached the door. "Let's make this quick." Opening the door was like opening an oven. The hot air flowed out and past me, followed by the ringing and clacking of the bells inside of the door.

"Be with you in a minute," said a woman, standing in the cracked open door behind the front counter. She stepped through, passing out of sight into the room beyond the door.

"Ok, thank you!" With my acknowledgement made, I looked around the room when the heat of the room filled my thoughts. "Please be quick," I said as a prayer. A prayer that I lost faith in as the second minute of waiting in the sweltering room passed by ever so slowly.

I need a distraction.

I occupied an additional two minutes by reading and re-reading the sign for loading money onto a laundry card machine. I wondered how many years the machinery had sat there. Three more minutes passed looking at some framed newspaper articles and a plaque given by Mayor Thomas Castle to Matthew Castle. It was given for his continued dedication to developing the town, back in August of sixty-six.

Tonya's body was found about a month before the mayor gave his nephew this award. There wasn't much coverage after the initial articles on her death. They could have done a few ceremonies and other puff pieces to keep the news of Castle Hill Condominiums off the murder and focus on the positive... Or maybe it's just blatant nepotism.

With my reading break completed, I turned to the counter to see it was empty. My irritation grew as I felt sweat run down my forehead. Approaching the counter to get her attention, I noticed a small white square with a screen. It displayed an eighty-seven, and a note was taped above the switches on it.

The AC is out of order. Please do not touch!!!

-Moira

I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the thermostat.

|Vincent:

-It's been ten minutes and this lady running the office is taking her sweet time to come out here. Just need the damn keys before I drown in my sweat here.

I sent the message and stood in place while watching the cracked open door, hoping the older woman would be there, yet she never appeared. After more awkward standing in place, my phone beeped.

| Sammy:

-I told you not to sweat

-Can't you ever listen to me?

-Why are you in the office? I thought you had a condo to de-haunt?

-And a ghost to torture?

I hammered away at the keys and replied.

|Vincent:

-I don't know where unit 37 is! 

-I also need the keys to enter the building

 -We couldn't see the place in person only the inspector could go inside as the owner refused to let anyone else in!

-Oh and you better believe he's going to suffer!!

His response came near instantly.

| Sammy:

-You both bought a condo without going in it?

|Vincent:

-Yup.

A thumbs up appeared on my last message. 

No doubt it was a passive aggressive one.

|Sammy:

- Good for you, I need to get to Eunie's soon for our stream, don't forget to message us when it's all done, she'll worry if you forget.

|Vincent:

-I know! and Samara will hit me for it too.

The screen went dark, revealing my face in the black mirror of my phone. My skin glistened with sweat, my tank top sticking to me as I slowly cooked in the office.

Great, now I got to deal with this. I'll have to keep my distance from people for now.

Out of patience, I turned to face the door behind the counter. Before I could yell, the sound of footsteps approached. The door opened. An icy breeze came from the room the woman emerged from.

Oh, she had air conditioning in there? Must be nice. Whatever, stay calm and move quick.

The woman locked eyes with me and stood there a moment as if processing the situation. Her smile faded as her worry lines grew while she looked at me in all my sweat soaked glory.

"Oh, I'm so sorry you must have been roasting in here." She made her way to the counter. "I completely forgot you came in here. Sorry!" She then went back into the office, leaving me alone again until she emerged with a bottle of water in her hand. "Do you need any water? You look like you need some!" She set the bottle of water on the counter and waited for my answer.

She forgot I came in here? She acknowledged me entering! How dumb is this woman? Whatever, get the keys and go.

"I'm fine, could you-" Before I could finish, she spoke.

"Well, glad you're alright. How can I help you?" She looked at me for a moment, squinted, and opened her mouth again. "Wait... Do I know you?" She smiled while staring me down. "Are you Bev's kid?" Before I could answer, more ramblings escaped her mouth surrounded by fine lines and creases that deepened as her lips moved about only incensing me further.

"No, you're too short, and I think he's in jail? Is he out on bail?" Her talking seemed to focus on herself instead of me. "Was he the one who punched Dorothy over a parking space?" She hummed with her thought for a moment. "That was such a hard day cause the Randal family's dog got loose and run over by Jim Mchaffrey." The woman put a hand to the side of her mouth, leaning in and encroaching on my personal space while she spoke softly. "He drinks." For that moment, her attention was on me. "Be careful in the parking lots. People speed through them." The woman then looked away from me again and continued.

"Maybe it was Randy who punched Dorothy? Oh, that day was just awful when Dorthy fell onto the concrete. She broke her hip. An ambulance had to take her out of here. Oh, then came all the gossip, every time an ambulance comes into here, the rumors of a murder start right up, it's ridiculous. I have to deal with all that and all the people who come into here to ask me what happened." The lady cast another glance in my direction when I waved a hand at her, reminding her of my existence. "What were we talking about? Oh, wasn't it-" Her self-inflicted confusion continued as I tuned it out. She seemed to prattle on despite my lack of interest.

Shut the fuck up, as much as I want to bash your head into the counter till it's pulp, someone could walk in. What if it's Dorothy? Hasn't she suffered enough? Remember the rules, no close to home killings. Unless you have to.

"Nope, I haven't been to jail." My interruption silenced her. A chance to get the conversation back on track. "Could I ask you a question?" She looked at me, and as my lips moved, she again delayed me.

"Oh, I forgot. My name is Moira. I run this office in the afternoon. If you're ever here in the morning, you'll meet Jackie! What's your name, by the way?" Her face beamed as she stood there, creating a facade of a two-way conversation.

Noted, avoid this place in the afternoon. Also, a new rule for every time she's interrupted me, the more Alexander will suffer.

I stared skeptically at her. Despite every sign that I won't get a full answer out, I tried.

"Vincent Balcom, I closed on-" I was cut off again as she gasped.

"Oh!" She leaned to grab something from the counter and slid it forward. "You're Vincent. Kamille told me you would be coming. How has she been?" she asked, then surprised me as she went quiet, waiting for my answer.

"She's good. She's away on business and won't be back for a while, but I can shock her with what I got done when she returns," I said, surprised a complete statement got out without interruption. Her eyes crinkled, and smile widened at my answer as she nodded along.

"Have you talked to anyone here yet?" In an instant, the joy in her eyes died, along with her smile and cheery tone. Worry and fear took their place as she awaited an answer.

"Nope, you're the first person I met here." The answer I gave made her sigh in relief. "Is there something I should know?" I asked, as if I hadn't spent weeks researching the place. Her face tightened with unease.

"Well, you see." For the first time in our nearly one sided conversation, the woman was at a loss for words. "It's just... We live in a safe and highly sought community. When people feel safe, they get bored. So they make stuff up." Only the hum of the window fans remained as we stood in silence.

God, can you just say it's haunted? Let's stop dragging this out!

"Sorry, what are you trying to say?" I asked, as I made direct eye contact, only to watch her eyes dart away from me. She laughed while shifting behind the counter.

"Well, people claim it's haunted." She watched for my response. After an awkward period of silence, she spoke again. "But that's not true!" She paused, waiting for me to answer and watching me as if she knew I was fighting the urge to lunge at her.

"I don't believe in ghosts," I said, moving toward the counter and grabbing the folder. As I picked it up, my questions continued. "Can you tell me where my unit is? Also, where are the keys?" It was finally my turn to batter her with questions. She only watched me, seeming to need a minute to process everything I asked.

"Oh, so you're not superstitious? That's good." She chuckled awkwardly, while she reached for something under the counter. Finally, her hand came back into view with the set of keys I needed.

"No, I don't believe in that nonsense." With my lie restated, I took the keys.

Alright, let's get the info on the neighbors, then go!

"Level with me, Moira, am I going to be a spectacle to my new neighbors? How much do they gossip?" I stared her down to watch her eyes shift away from me again. Her fidgeting persisted, as if she was nervous about telling me anything about the people I would soon live around.

"Well, you'll only have one neighbor for now." She paused, then looked towards the window. "Also, your building is right across from the office," She pointed her hand to something outside. "Notice the twin birch trees over to the right?" I moved towards the window and spotted the trees she mentioned.

"Yeah," I said, finally having the location of my home and the target within.

"That's building Five." Putting her arm down, she turned back to me.

A dopey smile had formed on her face, her eyes softening and looking at me with desire. "Hey, what kind of cologne is that? It smells fantastic." I smiled, she asked a question I had gotten many times before.

Every time I break a sweat, for nearly three and a half years now. I'm still waiting for control over it, god I miss going to the gym and being outside in the summer without people getting weird around me.

"A knockoff of Chanel Bleu I got at the mall." It was the answer I always gave to this question.

I've been in here for too long, listening to her talking while the fans have probably been blowing it at her. Stupid pheromones, whatever let's play up the nervous boi act.

"Moira," I said her name bashfully. "Could you tell me about my new neighbors? Anything helps, and I'd really appreciate it." I turned my head to the side, looked down a bit, and raked my hair with my left hand. A slight blushed appeared on my face before I continued. "You seem to be a very knowledgeable woman and nothing seems to escape your eyes and ears here. It's... impressive." I raised my head up and locked eyes with her.

"I promise I'll keep it between just us." The nervousness in my voice had vanished, catching her off guard. I watched as her face took on a light red hue.

"Promise you won't say anything?" I gave an eager nod. "Your building only has four units. The downstairs ones are both empty. As for the unit across from you, there's Virginia and Harold. Virginia is such a pleasant woman." She smiled as she spoke of her.

She seemed to put emphasis on Virginia being pleasant. What's wrong with Harold?

"What about Harold?" This time her eyes didn't dart away, but looked at me head on with concern.

"He's not so pleasant. I was so happy when she left him, but she took him back a couple of weeks ago," She said as sadness overtook her.

"Why did she do that?" I asked, causing her eyes to widen as she pulled her hands inwards to her chest.

"We... We shouldn't talk about this." Moira tensed up as she watched me for a response.

"I won't say anything about this either." I stepped towards her, my lies completed with a heartwarming smile as I took her hands into mine.

She looked conflicted with herself, before finally asking a question.

"You promise me you won't bring it up with Virginia? She's still recovering from it." I gave a nod.

"Moira, I take my promises seriously." A reassuring smile followed, despite never making the promise she asked for. Moira nodded when her smile vanished and her expression darkened.

"Her mother, Greta, passed almost a month ago. She slipped and fell down the stairs in your building and died from the impact. Virginia found her." As she finished, I gave her a sympathetic look, though it didn't come from trying to comfort her but the prospect what a tragic death could bring me.

I might pick up an extra soul out of this. Either way, it's about time to devour a soul or two.

"That's awful. I won't say anything to her." I moved my hand over my cold, dead heart while she nodded. "It's been nice meeting you, Moira." A final lie for this interaction. "But I'm going to check out my condo. Have a good night." I heard her voice for a moment before I was out of the room and heard the door slam and the bells ring out through the door.