23. Sean
SEAN
Me: Where are you?
Lowri: In my suite typing notes from my interviews.
Me: Come on up. Let’s talk about what you learned. I have new info to share too.
Lowri: Sounds good. Do you have any snacks? I’m starving.
Me: I have plenty to fill you up.
Lowri: You’re such a comedian tonight. I need actual food.
Me: Couldn’t resist. Don’t worry. I’ll order snacks. We can’t have you losing your strength this early in the evening.
Lowri: You’re too much. Give me 10 minutes.
I was only half-joking. She’ll need her strength for the evening I’ve planned. Food is easy though. One of the advantages of living in a high-end hotel is the twenty-four-hour room service.
Order placed, I change into khakis. As I’m pulling on a knit shirt, I hear the elevator from Lowri’s suite open.
“Sean, where are you?” she asks as the doorbell rings.
“Lowri, that should be the food. Walter has the night off. Can you let them in? I’ll be out in a second.”
“No problem.”
When I emerge from my bedroom a couple of minutes later, Lowri is already moaning over a mouthful of truffle macaroni and cheese. She didn’t even bother to sit down. I knew she would enjoy comfort food.
Wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her back against me, I joke, “I’m the only one who should elicit those sounds from you.”
“You’re on a roll tonight with the teasing.” She laughs.
“I can’t help it when I’m around you. My mind wanders elsewhere.”
“So do your hands. Is it your mind or your cock that’s in charge?”
“Both. But I’ll be good and let you take in a little nourishment while we share what we’ve learned today. Then I have a surprise for you.”
“If I’ve seen it before, is it really a surprise?”
“Very funny. I’m referring to a real surprise. Now let’s talk about your interviews. How did they go?”
With the tragedy, we’ve quickly fallen into the “Tell me about your day” marriage routine. Surprisingly, my stress level is lower after talking with Lowri—never expected that.
After summarizing her meetings with Amelia, Kenny, Reese, and Ron, she asks, “How was your day?”
“Infuriating. Detective Fielder stopped by to tell me they aren’t sure Mr. Brentwood’s death was an accident.
Then as an aside, he mentioned that there had been several unexplained accidents during rehearsals for the show.
Unbelievably, that was the first time I’d heard about them.
My staff hadn’t mentioned a single one. Do you know how embarrassing that was, not to mention upsetting?
Hell, you just said the performers discussed the accidents with you today.
Why hadn’t one of my employees brought the incidents to my attention? ”
“You should have been told. I could understand not mentioning one or two minor incidents. However, if someone is burned on the stage, that should escalate to your level.”
“I’d expect to hear about that the day it happened.”
“Exactly. Do you remember the guy who limped off stage during the performance?”
“Yes. It looked like he sprained his ankle. Regrettably, dancers are always pulling muscles and twisting joints. I don’t expect to hear about those injuries unless it’s serious.”
“That’s not what happened to Reese. His aerial silk tore, causing him to fall.”
“No way. The rigging specialists are extremely diligent about inspecting the silks. The performers’ lives depend on them.”
“He swears the silk was fine when it was rigged.”
“You spoke with him?”
“Yes. He didn’t say it explicitly, but it’s clear he suspects sabotage.”
“We’ve never had these problems in prior shows. We have to figure out what’s happening.”
“What’s going on with the police investigation? Why do they think it wasn’t an accident?”
I share what Fielder told me and add, “Even in light of that conversation, it appears more likely than not that Mr. Brentwood’s death was unintentional.”
“True, but something still seems off to me.”
“What’s bothering you?”
“It’s a nagging feeling that I’m not connecting some facts together. Do you know if there is video from the night Mr. Brentwood died?”
“They usually record the shows, and the theater is filled with security cameras. What are you looking for?”
“I’m not sure. I’d like to watch the portions leading up to the two incidents to see if anything looks out of place.”
“I’ll let Daniel know tomorrow. He can set up the replays for you.”
“Would the cameras have recorded the accidents that occurred during rehearsals? If so, I’d like to see those as well. Those videos could help solve the mystery behind the injuries.”
“During a rehearsal, people are constantly moving, which would trigger the motion-activated cameras. We have some on stage and backstage that would have been recording during rehearsals. It depends on when the accidents happened as to whether we still have those video files. The IT team deletes them regularly to save disk space. If Rob can pinpoint when the incidents occurred, Daniel can have his team check.”
“Can you ask Rob now? Unless the police made IT save the videos, the files could be deleted at any time.”
“I’ll text him.”
“Also, I’ve been wondering how the audience member was selected. You said something about it being the person in a particular seat, didn’t you?”
“That’s correct.”
“Is it always the same seat? If so, is that seat available for anyone to purchase, or is it given to VIPs?”
“I’m sure that it depends on the night. Why?”
“I’m wondering whether Mr. Brentwood selected the seat not knowing he’d be invited on stage or was he given the ticket because he’s a VIP?”
“He’s not a VIP. I already checked. I don’t know how he ended up in that seat. I’ll look into that tomorrow. Now, it’s time for that surprise I promised. Should we walk or ride?”
“How far is it?”
“A block or two down the Strip.”
“Definitely walk. I’ve been cooped up forever. Breathing fresh air would be heavenly. First, I’ll pop downstairs to my room and change into lower-heeled shoes.”
“I didn’t know you owned any.”
“Don’t worry. They still have red soles.”
“I should have known. You’re always the pillar of fashion.”
“Look who’s talking. I rarely see you wearing anything other than a suit with French cuffs, perfectly arranged.”
“There’s nothing wrong with dressing for success. Let’s go find your walking shoes. Tomorrow you should have Jenny move the rest of your clothes up here.”
“We’ll see. By the way, is there any news on our annulment?”
“Apparently, Nevada treats annulments seriously. While you can get married easily, there are more hoops to jump through to untie the knot, but don’t worry.
My attorney will get it done. Let’s give him a little time.
The judges’ calendars are likely full, and annulments aren’t their top priority.
Who knows, it’s possible the judges take their time hoping couples will change their mind. ”
“No way. I know the process for marrying is faster than that for an annulment. This is still slow. I should talk to this attorney myself. Are you sure he knows what he’s doing?”
“I’m certain he’s got this under control. He knows we both want the marriage to end. He’ll take care of it. We need to be patient a little longer.”
“I swear if he doesn’t give us an update showing progress by next week, we’re both going to meet with him.”
“We’ll deal with that another day. Tonight let’s find you that fresh air and have fun. Does that work for you?”
“Absolutely.”
What was I thinking? I never walk down the Strip for security reasons.
As the owner of the Athena, the possibility of being kidnapped is a real threat.
But there’s no turning back now. I loved the smile on Lowri’s face when I offered a walk.
Grabbing my phone, I text security. They can assign someone to follow us.
It will be fine.