Chapter 9 #2
“About like you’d expect.” She took a couple of wobbly steps into the bedroom, sucking in deep breaths.
Why did this hit her so much harder than the last break-in at her own place?
Because she’d deluded herself into thinking she was safe here but she wasn’t safe anywhere.
No way was she sleeping in this room tonight or any night.
She clamped her teeth together and made for the door, only slowing her pace when she reached the kitchen.
Dylan had followed her, and once she sat down, he placed a cup of prepared chamomile tea in front of her. “Might make you feel better.”
She nodded and wrapped her hands around the mug. Her hands had turned to ice, as if the whole incident had literally chilled her bones.
He leaned against the counter and studied her. “The security guys will be knocking on the at door any minute now. I need to ask you some questions.” He paused, waiting for a reaction.
She gave none.
He pierced her with his stare “When was the last time you saw the scarf?”
She was frightened by the intensity of his glare. She would hate to be the crook he was questioning. His eyes were blank, though they seemed to see right through her.
She squeezed the mug tighter. “I remember I had it around my shoulders when we sat down.” She looked at him for confirmation, and he nodded.
“I took it off when we got our drinks and put it over the back of my chair. I left it there when I went around the room, interviewing people, and you went off to the bar.” She tried to bring up a mental image of her table.
“I think it was still there when I got back to the table right before someone came up to speak to me… But I can’t be sure. ”
He nodded once. “Who was with you at the table?”
“At that moment? No one, but people came and went the whole time.”
“Who stopped by your table?”
“Well, Mr. Clark, Mr. Jenkins, the Hunts, the Carpenters, Daniel Crow and his wife, the usual crowd that attends all the arts events in Bedford Hills. They came by to say hello, supposedly to Clark, but really to make sure I knew they were there. Lydia must have told them I was covering the event. Normally, they give me a brief wave and keep going, but tonight they all stopped by. They all want to be mentioned or have their pictures taken with one of the influencers. All in all, a dozen people must have stopped over to the table.” She looked at him.
“And that doesn’t include anyone who could’ve walked behind me and grabbed the scarf without me noticing. ”
“I saw you talking to the photographer.” Dylan played with the wrapper from the tea bag.
“Phil. That’s right. He was there briefly. I wonder if he noticed anything? He’s very observant. I’ll text him in the morning and ask.”
“OK. Did you go to the restroom or the bar?”
She closed her eyes, trying to remember. “I didn’t go to the bar. The waiter, Mark brought me a drink. He stayed and chatted with me a bit as well.” Her eyes flew open. “I guess you’d have to include the waiters, too.”
“Mark? Is he the tall skinny guy with dark hair?”
“Um yes. That sounds about right. Wait, is he the one you wanted to talk to the bartender about?”
“He’s a thief, but that doesn’t make him a stalker.” Dylan crumpled the wrapper into a ball. “Did you go to the restroom?”
“Yes, twice, but that was when Phil and I were walking around taking notes and pictures. My scarf was on the chair the whole time. Anyone could have grabbed it.”
He walked over to the living room and then came back with a notebook. He jotted a few notations on the page and then shut it and put it on the counter. He leaned against the island and stared at her.
She looked down as she took a sip of tea. Be calm. Anger was building in her chest now, hot and molten. She wanted to scream and rant, throw things, and rage about the injustice of it all, but she knew it wouldn’t get her anywhere.
“Oh. My. God,” she finally said. “You think I did this! You think I came back here to set up the whole thing. You think I did this to myself.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “The thought crossed my mind, right—”
“Seriously? Why? What possible reason would I have to make this up?” She shoved the mug away and leaped off the stool.
“None! That’s right, no reason whatsoever!
I am not crazy!” She paced angrily in front of Dylan.
“I have a stalker, and he followed me here.” She turned so she was facing him and pointed her finger at his chest. “You had one job, and it was to keep me safe this weekend.”
He stiffened and then straighten to his full height. His gaze was icy. “If you’d let me finish; what I was going to say was that the thought crossed my mind right up until I saw your reaction to the scarf. No one is that good an actress.”
Here he was believing in her, one of only two people to do so, and she was insulting him. Her shoulders drooped. She covered her face with her hands for a second and then dropped them. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.”
She moved closer so she was standing directly in front of him.
She rested a palm on his arm. “I… That is… The stress is getting to me. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.
I really am sorry. You’ve gone above and beyond, considering it’s Jenn’s wedding.
I just lost it for a minute, and you were the closest target.
” She ran out of things to say, and the silence grew around them.
Somehow her hand had shifted from his arm to his chest, and she could feel the steady rhythm of his heart under her hand. His scent floated around her, making her suddenly aware of the heat radiating from him. As she looked into his face, she saw his eyes darken.
His hand came up and captured hers, pushing it flat on his chest.
She bit her lip. She wanted so badly to kiss him.
It was crazy—this was not the right time at all—but she couldn’t help it. All reasonable thoughts left her head, and she desperately wanted to feel his lips on hers.
When his gaze dropped to her parted lips, she licked them in response. When his eyes darkened further, her breath caught She was suspended in time.
He was leaning down, his lips mere inches from hers, when a knock sounded at the door. She jumped and emitted a small scream.
“It’s okay. That’s security.”
Humiliation warmed her cheeks, heating them. What the hell was wrong with her?
Common sense told her this wasn’t the time to start anything.
And yet. And yet, she wanted to not only start something—she wanted to finish it.
It would’ve felt wonderful to get lost in Dylan’s strong arms for a while.
To drown herself in his touch so she didn’t have to face reality.
Although, judging from his speed backing away from her, his thoughts hadn’t traveled the same path; she wasn’t going to have that chance.
Dylan looked through the peephole to confirm it was hotel security and then opened the door.
Two people in the maroon and navy security uniforms entered and stood in the foyer.
A young guy probably in his early twenties and a woman who was appeared to be to forty.
Raleigh watched them from the doorway to the kitchen.
“Hotel security,” the woman announced. She was average height with light brown hair and intelligent eyes. Raleigh immediately sensed the woman knew what she was doing.
The man, boy really, stood next to his partner. He was tall and gangly. This had to be a summer job for him or he was just starting out. His blue eyes were filled with uncertainty and he trained his gaze on the woman, waiting to follow her lead.
“I’m Diana Cosgrove, Security Supervisor and this”—she gestured to the kid—“is Paul Lawson, one of my team. You reported a break in. Can you tell me what happened?”
Dylan introduced himself and Raleigh and then walked them through the sequence of events. Raleigh didn’t bother to add anything. After all, Dylan was doing a fine job and chances were good they would believe it more if it came from him especially since he mentioned he was a cop.
“Can we see the bedroom?” Cosgrove asked.
“Sure.” Dylan led them to the bedroom while Raleigh stayed in the kitchen. She wasn’t ready to go back there just yet. She propped her head in her hands. A few minutes later they were all back in the foyer. Raleigh stood up but stayed beside her stool in the kitchen.
“So anyone could have taken the scarf?” Cosgrove asked.
“Yes,” Dylan agreed. “The event was packed. We can’t even nail down a time because we were moving around all night.”
She turned to her partner. “Go to the control room and check the video of the party. See if there’s anything. Maybe we caught the guy grabbing the scarf. It’s doubtful but worth checking.” The kid nodded and then left.
Cosgrove turned back to Dylan. “We checked the cameras around this bungalow after you called but there were too many people who walked down the main pathway and, unfortunately, we don’t have any cameras covering the path to the front door.
I’ll be honest with you; we’re in the process of upgrading the cameras around the resort and the main lodge has been a priority. We just haven’t gotten over here yet.”
“I understand.”
“Ms. Ross, can we chat for just a second?”
Raleigh nodded and Cosgrove came into the kitchen. “Ms. Ross, first please let me apologize on behalf of myself and the hotel. We pride ourselves on our security but,” she grimaced, “we cannot be everywhere at once.”
Raleigh blinked. She didn’t know what she expected but it wasn’t an apology. However, her words made sense. A break-in happened at her hotel. Realistically, they should apologize and do so much more. “I… thank you. I appreciate the apology.”
Cosgrove gestured toward the stool next to Raleigh. “May I sit?”
“Please,” Raleigh nodded and sat back down.
“Dylan told me about your stalker, but I would like to hear it from you, if that would be okay.”
Raleigh shrugged but agreed. She spent the next ten minutes explaining everything to Cosgrove.
“Again, I want to apologize, Ms. Ross. You have been through hell. Stalkers are horrible and terrifying but please remember they are also human and can be caught. We can ask some of the guests who attended the party last night for their cell phone footage and see if they caught the guy stealing your scarf.”
“No!” Raleigh was on her feet instantly.
“I mean no. Please don’t do that. Lydia, that is Mrs. Harris would be furious.
” She licked her lips. “To be honest, she’ll fire me if her guests are disturbed like that.
It would go all over social media and the wedding would trend on social media for all the wrong reasons. So, please, please don’t do that.”
Cosgrove grimaced. “I am familiar with Mrs. Harris, and I hate to say it but you aren’t wrong about her reaction.
Unfortunately though, it does limit what we can do.
Paul is looking at the party footage right now but with all those people and from the description of the location of your table, I’m guessing we won’t have anything. ”
Raleigh sat back down. “I’m not surprised. My stalker seems to be able to get away with everything.”
Cosgrove stood up. “We will do our best to keep an eye on you and your cabin during your stay and if anything comes from the video or our investigation, I promise to let you know immediately. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything.
” She offered her hand to Raleigh and then to Dylan.
He walked her to the door. They chatted for another minute, almost too low for Raleigh to catch their words.
She leaned toward the hallway Dylan was telling her about Mark the thieving waiter. Then the door closed.
She sat back down. It was refreshing to have someone listen to her story and not think she was exaggerating or making it up, but she noticed Cosgrove didn’t say anything concrete about catching the person.
They would investigate and look at the video of the dinner but Raleigh didn’t hold out much hope.
It would be better if she faced the facts; her stalker was here. Now, what was she going to do about it?