Dreaming in Jade

By Douglas Ziemke

Kevin Daniels' latest job takes him to the ancient city of Macau, where renovation of The Marshall, an old hotel nestled in the historic part of the Asian city, will soon begin. When the hotel begins to reveal its strange secrets, Kevin struggles to understand its meaning while trying to keep the project on track. After receiving a strange gift from an old man,and with the return of his business partner from a failed venture, Kevin succumbs to the connection between past and present until he’s pushed to confront the darkest secrets of the hotel and a terror that he never imagined.

Dreaming In Jade is this first book of The Marshall Hotel series, a compelling, mysterious, and absorbing read spanning generations of an old hotel set in the ancient city of Macau.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Douglas Ziemke
• Release date: Dec 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370257126

Douglas Ziemke

Douglas Ziemke is an author and IT consultant who has worked in technology since 1997. He holds a Bachelors degree in Telecommunications from Michigan State University and has worked in video and television production, web development, IT security, project management, and international consulting throughout his career. After 14 years with IBM, he worked in China as a senior consultant for technology companies in the telecommunications and education industries. Ziemke speaks introductory Chinese (Mandarin) and teaches English part time.

Book preview

Dreaming In Jade

Book One of The Marshall Hotel Series

By Douglas E Ziemke

Copyright 2017 Douglas E Ziemke

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Cover artwork design Copyright 2017 by Grace M Ziemke

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Kevin Daniels watched the elevator doors open and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it empty. He stepped in and punched the ground floor button. Although he was high up on the eighteenth, there were still two floors above him and the small elevator cars could still be packed at this time of the morning. This empty car was a minor victory in what was already proving to be a shitty day. He pushed the close button a couple of times, checking his watch. He was late and the breakfast area was probably already crowded. He'd be lucky to get a seat in the non-smoking section.

He stared blankly at the numbered button panel as his mind recalled the email he'd just read in his room. He’d been thinking about the day ahead but after reading the e-mail, there was something new to occupy his crowded thoughts: David Meyers. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd thought of that asshole. His one-time business partner, one-time friend, had suddenly wedged back into his life.

Kevin looked at the glowing elevator panel flashing through the floor numbers. The email actually wasn't from Meyers himself, but his lawyer. It was a breach of contract notice and he knew it was really just a way for Meyers to poke him in the eye. Kevin doubted there was a lot of teeth behind it. His first thought was to file a harassment complaint through his own lawyer, but that was a gut reaction and he needed time to think about his response. The note brought his old pissed-off feelings to light again.

Kevin put his laptop bag down, leaned his head against the glass elevator wall, and stared mindlessly at the button panel again. The Marshall Hotel logo was etched in the brass plate next to the panel. It was one of the oldest hotels in Macau, and although he was a guest, the hotel was also the target of his company's latest renovations contract. As the lead program manager of the renovations, Kevin had mixed feelings about the old twenty story building. It had its quirks and inefficiencies, but it also had a western charm about it that was rare in this part of the world.

As he stared at the panel and thought about the email, Kevin laughed again that there were no buttons with the number four on them. The floors were marked from L to twenty, but no fourth floor, no fourteenth, all the way up.

Superstitions ran high in Macau, just like other parts of China, and the number four was a big one; top of the Bad Luck List.

Of course there actually is a fourth floor. And a fourteenth. Who are they fooling?

The numbers blinked fifteen and suddenly the elevator gave a short, violent bump. There was a brief feeling of falling, as if the car started to drop and then catch itself. Kevin caught his breath, feeling an icy spike of fear as the drop made him suddenly lose his balance. The elevator stopped and the display panel that had just shown fifteen went blank.

He waited, realizing he'd stopped breathing. The ground floor button was no longer lit, so he pushed it again. What now? he said out loud.

The elevator gave another slight bump and a deep groaning sound emanated from somewhere deep in the old hotel. It sounded of ancient, rusted gears. An oily, stale air breathed in from the vents. He reached to push the alarm when the sound stopped and the car continued on its way.

Oh, Marshall, now you be a good hotel, Kevin said aloud, patting the glass-paneled wall. I know you're not the piece of crap hotel everybody says you are. His panicky feeling had subsided.

When Kevin got to the office, Jane was already there. She was the senior architect on his team, and Kevin liked to call her The Marine. 'Because you're always the first one in and the last one to leave', he told her one day. Jane was a sharp and talented young architect. While only a few years out of school, she already had the instinct and business sense of someone much more senior. She was born in Taiwan, her father Canadian and mother native Taiwanese.

At first she didn’t understand the Marine reference and he had to explain the basics of US military and the role of Marines before she finally got it. Sort of. A little awkward, but she knew he was simply trying to make a joke.. Will he learn to stop making reference to American culture when most of the team was from somewhere else?

Jane was studying the latest renderings that were rolled out on the big conference room table and she looked up as Kevin dropped his bag on his seat. Although Chinese-born, Jane lived and studied in Vancouver through college and her English was excellent. She often helped Kevin on translations when needed.

Morning, Kevin

Are those the new drawings? Kevin got his laptop out and powered it on.

Yeah. And they look pretty good. They finally fixed the power grid sections and the heating and air condition.

You know, of all the renovations we're planning for the hotel, I think having central heating and air is the biggest improvement. He paused and then added, Oh, and new elevators.

Jane took her coffee and walked over to Kevin's chair. "I like the new portico and outdoor