Chapter Thirty-One
“Oh, dear,” Rose Ash said. She set down her gardening shears. “I was afraid you might come looking for me.”
“We just want to talk to you, Ms. Ash,” Alice said gently. “Please.”
When they had arrived a few minutes ago, she and Owen had been met with a Closed for the Season sign on the front door of the Hotel of Dreams. They had found Rose Ash puttering among the flourishing plants in the greenhouse behind the hotel.
There had been no hostility in her expression when she greeted them, just sad resignation.
“I understand.” Rose stripped off her gardening gloves.
“I’ve been dreading this meeting, but I knew you would probably come around sooner or later.
Let’s go into the kitchen. I’ll make tea.
There’s another storm coming in, so you won’t want to stay too long.
You’re welcome to spend the night at the hotel, of course.
It would be no trouble to make up a room.
But under the circumstances, I doubt that you’d feel comfortable staying here. ”
She led the way toward the door of the greenhouse. Alice glanced at Owen. He inclined his head in a small gesture of agreement. Cold anticipation flared in his eyes. She suppressed a groan. She knew that look. The hunter within was rising.
She was not at all enthusiastic about going back into the hotel, but Rose appeared to be willing to talk, and they were in desperate need of answers.
The exit from the Amber Palace had gone smoothly, thanks to Mr. Ridley and another large tip provided by Owen.
They had slipped out of the hotel via the hole-in-the-wall.
A sled provided by Vinnie the Broker had been waiting.
A note that read No Charge was on the bench seat.
The coordinates to an address on the outskirts of Illusion Town had been entered into the vehicle’s locator.
On the surface they had found a gleaming new Velocity.
Another note declaring No Charge was taped to the dashboard.
Owen and Sebastian had fallen in love with the sports car on sight.
“I take back anything negative I might have said about your shady connections,” Owen announced as he got behind the wheel of the Velocity.
“I do not have shady connections,” she said firmly. “I thought I made it clear that I have friends and grateful clients.”
“Whatever. Works for Sebastian and me. Isn’t that right, Sebastian?”
Sebastian had chortled enthusiastically.
During the trip they had discussed what little they knew about Rose Ash.
There was no record of a marriage, no record of any offspring, and no close relatives.
What Ash did have, according to Owen’s hasty research, was a degree in chemistry.
She had worked for a pharmaceutical firm for several years before retiring to Cape Midnight and reopening the Hotel of Dreams.
“Should have looked harder at her back at the start,” Owen said.
“I would remind you that the start of this thing was only three nights ago,” Alice said. “It’s not as if we haven’t been busy. Assuming we’re on the right track, how are we going to deal with Kelbrook? According to the media, he’s untouchable. He lives in a fortress.”
“There is only one thing that will draw him out of his compound.”
She caught her breath. “The promise of recovering the shares.”
“Yes.”
The weather had been excellent for most of the drive to the coast, but by the time they reached the hotel, ominous clouds had begun to pile up on the horizon. The ocean was now the color of mag-steel.
She started to follow Rose and Owen to the door of the greenhouse but paused when she discovered that Sebastian had disappeared.
She stopped and turned on her heel, surveying the long benches covered with pots, containers, and trays filled with flourishing plants.
“Sebastian, we’re leaving,” she said, raising her voice.
A muffled chortle came from a bank of herbs. Sebastian appeared. He dashed toward them. He had a green stem studded with delicate leaves and topped with a dainty yellow blossom in one paw.
“Sebastian,” Alice yelped. “You can’t pick flowers in here. This is not your greenhouse.” She turned to Rose. “I apologize. He doesn’t understand.”
Rose stopped at the door, smiling a little. “Please don’t worry about it. He found the bunny mint—it’s like catnip for dust bunnies. Naturally he couldn’t resist.”
“What effect does it have on them?” Alice asked, deeply uneasy.
“Don’t worry, it’s harmless,” Rose said.
“They don’t eat it. They just like to play with it.
The herb emits a mild radiation from the paranormal end of the spectrum that makes the leaves and the flowers sparkle to a dust bunny’s eyes.
Humans can’t detect the energy visually, but if you concentrate you can pick up a bit of the vibe.
Quite pleasant. Florists sometimes add it to bouquets for the background effect. ”
“I see,” Alice said.
Sebastian arrived at her feet. She picked him up. He waved the bunny mint at her with an air of triumph. Clearly he wasn’t worried. If anything, he appeared to be borderline euphoric. For some reason that made her even more concerned.
A sharp breeze struck as they left the greenhouse and crossed to the back door of the hotel.
The first currents of energy from the still-distant storm lifted the fine hair on the back of her neck.
Or maybe it was the vibe of the Hotel of Dreams that was responsible for the disturbing frisson.
She really hated the place. The thought of being forced to spend the night in it because of the weather was enough to give her nightmares.
They needed to get on the road before the storm made landfall.
Owen caught her eye when he held the door for her, silently asking if she was okay. Annoyed that she had allowed her anxiety to show, she squared her shoulders and assumed what she hoped was a serene, composed expression.
Night was still a couple hours off and the sun was shining brightly outside, but the interior of the hotel was drenched in gloom.
Rose stopped at the first door on the right and waved them into a surprisingly cheerful kitchen.
The walls were painted a warm yellow and the backsplash tiles were colorful.
A round table and a single chair were positioned near a window framed by bright floral curtains.
Containers of plants were artfully arranged on the windowsill, shelves, and countertops.
Rose picked up the kettle and went to the sink. “Regular tea or herbal?” she said.
“We’ll pass on the tea,” Owen said. He glanced out the window at the briskly blowing bushes. “That storm is moving quickly. We won’t be staying long.”
Alice was impressed with the smooth way he handled the offer of tea. Before they arrived, he had made it clear that under no circumstances were they to eat or drink anything prepared by Rose Ash.
“I understand,” Rose said. She gave him a wry, knowing smile. “But I do want you to know that I wasn’t planning to poison you.”
“The thought never occurred to me,” Owen lied politely. “But since you brought up the subject, we are here because we had a few questions about your background. You were a chemist who worked in the pharmaceutical industry, according to what little I found online.”
“It’s true I have several degrees in chemistry, but I’ve also got a psychic affinity for herbs and botanicals.
Back on the Old World they called people like me apothecaries.
You are wise to be cautious.” Rose gestured toward a swinging door on one side of the room.
“There are some spare folding chairs in the pantry. If you wouldn’t mind fetching a couple, Mr. March, we can all sit down for our little chat. ”
“Sure,” Owen said.
The alacrity with which he disappeared through the door told Alice that he was pleased with the opportunity to look around without having to ask permission.
“Please take the chair,” Rose said, waving at the only one at the table.
Reluctantly, but unable to think of anything else to do, Alice sat down. Sebastian blinked a few times and settled on her lap. He clutched the herb, evidently mesmerized by it. Without warning, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Okay, this was not normal behavior.
She waited until Rose’s back was turned to remove the bunny mint from one front paw. Surreptitiously she dropped it into a nearby pottery container that held a large fern. With luck, Sebastian wouldn’t remember the herb when he woke up.
Owen reappeared with two chairs. There was a little heat in his eyes. He and Rose sat down at the table. Rose visibly braced herself. She fixed Alice with a steadfast gaze.
“Let me begin by saying that I’m so very sorry for what happened to you on that terrible night ten months ago,” she said quietly.
“In my own defense, I believed I was doing the right thing. It wasn’t until I saw that video on the evening news that I realized I had been used by some very wicked people. ”
“Kelbrook’s crew is good at using people,” Owen said.
“I’m aware of that now.” Rose clasped her hands together on the table.
She did not take her gaze off Alice. “I know you can never forgive me, dear, but I swear I believed everything Mr. Twitchell told me. I had no reason to doubt that you were a very dangerous and unstable woman who had to be forcibly committed for your own good and the good of others. And before you ask, yes, he offered me a great deal of money if I agreed to cooperate.”
“But you didn’t take the payment, did you?” Owen asked.
Rose’s eyes widened. “How did you know that?” Then comprehension struck.
“I see. You were able to get into my bank records. No, I didn’t take the money.
I couldn’t, not after…after that young man was killed.
” She turned back to Alice. “It would have been wrong. But please believe me, until that video was released two days ago, I was convinced that you had driven your husband to his death. I thought you truly were a deranged woman who was capable of using her talent to commit murder.”
“Is that why you agreed to let Kelbrook and his fixer use your hotel for the second kidnapping attempt earlier this week?” Owen asked.
“Yes.” Rose exhaled heavily and blinked back tears.
“I thought I was doing the right thing. I was certain that you were an insane killer, Ms. Radstone. Twitchell said he would take care of everything. That all I had to do was disappear for a few days and when I returned, it would be as if nothing had happened here. He was right. Then I saw the video.”
“If you knew Alice was not responsible for the death of Travis Poole, why did you hire Sykes Security to grab her yesterday?” Owen asked.
He was relentless, Alice thought. She was starting to feel sorry for Rose, but Owen was leaning in, going for the jugular.
Rose stared at him, open-mouthed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do,” Owen said. “When you saw the video, you realized that Alice did not murder Poole because you recognized him in the video. He helped carry Alice out of the hotel room ten months ago. She was unconscious at the time. She couldn’t have murdered anyone.
You knew Kelbrook’s fixer had lied to you.
Used you. And yet after you learned the truth, you hired some rogue Guild men to kidnap Alice yourself. ”
“No,” Rose said, anguished tears streaming down her face.
Alice yanked a napkin out of the holder and handed it to her. “When you contacted Sykes, you signed yourself YourWorstNightmare. You meant it, didn’t you? But you weren’t thinking about me when you came up with that signature. You were targeting Kelbrook.”
“You don’t understand,” Rose sobbed.
“I think we do,” Owen said. “The goal was to grab Alice and use her to lure Kelbrook out of his fortress. You intended to hold her hostage and force him to come to you. Why?”
“I’m sorry,” Rose whispered. “I was desperate. I knew that unless I could draw Kelbrook here, I would never be able to get near him. You have to understand, Ms. Radstone, you were my last best hope for revenge.”
“I do understand,” Alice said. “There’s only one reason why a woman would go to such lengths. Travis Poole was your son, wasn’t he?”
“And Dunstan Kelbrook was his father,” Owen concluded.