Chapter Nineteen
Nineteen
She came out of the trance on a wave of energy, aware that the room lights were on. Luke was standing directly in front of her.
Casually he closed one hand over her shoulder. She remembered she was wearing her regular black-and-crystal frames, not the mirrored sunglasses. But Luke seemed oblivious to whatever he saw in her eyes. He was very focused now, but not on her.
She took a clarifying breath and forced herself to concentrate. It wasn’t easy, but the exhilarating rush was already fading.
He took his attention off the sculpture long enough to give her a quick, searching glance. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She felt the heat rising in her cheeks.
Luke was the only person outside Bea and Chloe who knew just how rattled she was when she came out of a trance.
It made for a certain awkwardness. She did not like the idea that she might look weak—especially not in front of a Wells.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She raised her chin. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He took his hand off her shoulder. “The fact that we’re in the same room that Deke and Bea checked in to can’t be a coincidence.”
“I agree, but I didn’t see any evidence of violence in this room, so if something happened to them it must have happened elsewhere. Maybe someone grabbed them. I’ll bet the front-desk clerk was in on the plot.”
“I doubt it. The kid behind the desk is about eighteen. This is a part-time job. He’s a small-town boy who can’t wait to get to the big city.
Trust me, he is not a member of a criminal conspiracy.
No one would be dumb enough to invite him into a criminal conspiracy, because the first thing he would do is announce it on social media. ”
She narrowed her eyes in an assessing look. “What makes you so sure?”
“His high school ring told me he’s a graduating senior.
He kept checking his cell phone even though there’s no service here because it’s a habit.
He had a set of earbuds stashed behind the counter and I overheard him telling the attendant who met us at the entrance that he knows someone in Phoenix whose folks will be out of town for the weekend. Evidently there’s going to be a party.”
“You noticed all that while we were checking in?”
“I told you, I’m good at connecting dots.”
“Impressive. Well, here we are in the same room that Deke and Bea checked in to. As you say, that can’t be a coincidence.
” Adrenaline splashed through her. Not the ice fever shivers—this was the rush that came with knowing they were making progress.
“Someone knows who we are. They want to keep an eye on us.”
“Probably.”
She frowned. “Are you always this indecisive?”
“When I don’t have enough information, yes.”
“We can’t just hang out here and wait for someone to drug us and haul us away in a couple of laundry carts.”
Luke raised his brows. “You came up with that scenario just now? Including the bit with the laundry carts?”
“Isn’t that how the bad guys who arrived with room service get rid of dead bodies in the movies?”
“You have a very interesting imagination. But your theory has some plausibility, so, just to be on the safe side, we won’t order room service.”
“The inn doesn’t offer room service.”
“Problem solved. We need data, so for now we’re going to stick to the schedule.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
She raised both hands in surrender. “You’re the one who’s gotten us this far, so I guess you know what you’re doing.”
“Thank you for that vote of confidence.”
She shot him a severe look, crossed to the bed, and picked up the printed program they had been given when they checked in.
“First up is dinner,” she said. “The only restaurant is the one here in the hotel.” She glanced at Luke. “Are we going to risk it?”
“Yes. I’m hungry. It’s either the restaurant or a couple of protein bars and some of Bruce’s kibble. I don’t know how he’ll feel about that.”
“You’re not worried that someone will try to poison us in the restaurant?”
“No. Too complicated, too much chance of something going wrong. If anyone tries to drug us it will be here in the suite.”
She winced. “So we don’t eat any chocolates we might find on the pillow tonight.”
“There won’t be any chocolates,” Luke said. “It’s a small inn with minimal staff. No turndown service. And no one else will pop in uninvited while we’re gone, because Bruce will be here.”
“Good point.” She turned back to the program. “The welcome reception starts at eight. It will be followed by the grand opening of the Maze, ‘a gallery dedicated to the Art of Light.’ Evening attire is requested.” She looked up. “I don’t suppose you have a black blazer in that duffel bag?”
“Of course I have a black jacket in there. CIA assassins never leave home without one. There’s a dress code for the profession.”
“How did you know—?”
“That you think I might be an assassin? Deke mentioned that the Harpers were in the habit of making certain assumptions about his career path and mine. Now I know where he got that inside info.”
She groaned. “From my aunt.”
“Evidently.”
She switched her attention to the sculpture. “What about that mirrored tile you found in the doughnut?”
“It may be nothing. We need to eat. It’s been a long day. After dinner comes the reception and the gallery tour. I’ll deal with the doughnut tonight.”