Chapter 20 Robin #3
“Let’s split up into groups. Girls, you look around together, and the three of us will go check on the bar set up, probably underwater in the garden.
” Wren says, taking the lead, giving me a small smile.
I don’t think anyone is going to be trashing rooms and belongings in broad daylight, but the house is quite vast, so I’m happy we’ll at least be in groups if anything else happens.
“I need to speak with Detective Starling about Bran and the weather situation. If it all clears up in the next day and the authorities clear up the flooding, I’m going to protest we all leave.” Merle sighs, looking defeated and tired whilst he stares out of the window.
Phoenix’s hand rises but defeatedly falls to his side, whilst he stares at the floor. “Okay, find us after? Please.”
“I’m going to leave the hotel, too.”
“W-What? Aren’t we meant to be figuring out the reopening and contacting guests?” He splutters, now stepping forward, but Merle doesn’t even bother to move his gaze from the rainy herb garden freshly planted.
“We can talk about it later, but I think it’s for the best, Phoenix.” Silence stretched before us.
The straw clinks again, but finally Lily places it on the coffee table and dusts off her skirt. “C’mon everyone, let the poor man mope.”
Letting out an annoyed sigh, Phin shoots his sister a warning look, but it twists into pure agony as he looks down at his boyfriend who still refuses to look up. “We’ll talk later.” He’s the first to leave the room, Lil next before Wren takes my hand and we follow out.
LIL and I managed to find Jay's clue completely by accident, hidden under the lid of the black baby grande piano in the music room. It had nothing to do with the clue we were figuring out, but hopefully that didn't mean we'd thrown the game off.
Wolfsheim couldn’t keep away from Mr. Gatz’s girl,
Neither could his dick.
Leaving the room with our arms linked, the animosity between us over Wren seems to have vanished thank god. Neither one of us brouched the subject, but our friendship seemed back to normal.
“Claythorne’s do what they want and that’s what Corbin lived by. Anyone in his way was simply collateral. Mavis isn’t a victim,” She taps the long strip of paper on her leg. “If she was sleeping with Jay too, that’s her mess to own and deal with.”
“I can’t wait to leave here.” I reply, exhausted already.
“Likewise, Darling. It feels like Nightingale won’t ever let us leave.” She waggles her fingers and widens her eyes, voice echoey like Elvira on a late-night special.
Smiling a little, I straighten the new clue ready to solve it, when a series of bangs come from outside the room; the front door slams closed. Voices rise, both deep and high.
Shivering and wet, Willow and Mavis stand there like drowned rats; the wooden door opening again so Cardinal can slip in.
His dark clothes are soaked to his muscular body.
I’ve seen him in running gear most mornings, but seeing how the material sticks to each sculpted ab makes my throat dry.
Willow’s expression could burn a small village to the ground, but it’s Mavis’s tears and fear that permeates the air and scares me.
We halt as we near them, the scent of wet air assaulting my nose, and I look at him as he stalks forwards to our small group.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Wearing his usual scowl, Cardinal opens his mouth to speak, but Mavis’ high-pitched voice pierces the air.
“Someone’s slashed all the tires and smashed some of the car windows.”
The blood moving around my body slows to a near stop, feeling like stabs of ice. “What?” I stutter, eyes pinballing.
“Most of the cars are completely wrecked, or at least damaged enough that we’re not going to be able to drive out of here.
” He confirms, his eyes falling down onto Willow’s shaking shoulders.
Looking around us, he walks over to the coat rack by the front door and grabs a garment at random.
Returning, he drapes it around her, running his hand through his soaked hair.
“I just walked down the drive to the gate, and it’s locked—bolted. ”
“Bolted? Like padlocked or just closed?” Lily stands beside me with her arms crossed.
“Like fucking five padlocks and someone’s welded the keyhole, as well as the gate’s actual latch too.”
I shake my head, unable to comprehend what he’s saying, whilst shouting erupts from upstairs, and heavy feet move down the staircase to our right.
“Phoenix, please stop and listen to me!” Merle shouts, a blonde mess of hair coming down the stairs first and then his large frame following as he grabs at his boyfriend's shoulders. “Please let me explain!”
Unworried about the sudden audience, he whirls around on him, holding a long strip of paper and thrusts it into his chest. “You said I was the one who ruined our relationship, but you’ve been fucking your clients this entire time.
” He cries, a sob being crushed between a groan as he turns away from him.
Our eyes meet, and I take a step in his direction, every instinct in my body telling me to curl around him and protect.
“It’s not like that. It was just one client!” He pleads, hands out in front of him like Phin is a wild animal that’s loose from his cage.
“So that makes it better? You weren’t fucking all your clients, just the one? Over and over—but I’m the one who ruined our relationship?”
“Baby, please, let’s just go upstairs and talk.”
“I’m not your fucking baby! This,” he points at the piece of paper, “says it’s been going on for years. So what’s the truth? Was it years ago, or are you lying to me?” He spits, whilst the sound of footsteps running down the stairs hits us again.
Wren appears and he pushes past Merle, Detective Starling emerges from the kitchen.
Grabbing Phin’s arms, he sees our group by the front door and hauls him towards us.
My hands reach again for my best friend and suddenly I have my arms around him, crushing him to me and looking over his shoulder.
He’s cold to touch and shaking, but a warm hand that I assume is Wren’s wraps around my waist.
“What is going on?” Starling demands, pushing Merle’s shoulder and holding him against the wall. He squirms to get to Phoenix, saying his name repeatedly whilst my best friend continues to cry into my shoulder. I’m at least a foot shorter than him.
“We found more of the secrets, like you wanted.” Wren nearly spits, his warmth leaving my waist as he points. “You’re fucking pathetic. How dare you treat him like that when you’ve been cheating on him.”
Jesus Christ.
Phin sobs more into me and I look around, thinking we should maybe take him to the lounge, which is just off the lobby, so he can have some privacy.
Starling raises a brow and his moustache moves. “Anything else?”
I look at Mavis, Lil beating me to the twisted punchline. “Mavis has been enjoying some—not so committed acts herself.”
She begins to shake, and fresh tears spill from her round eyes, body retreating backwards, and her drenched boots squeak on the floor.
Cardinal steps in front of both the girls by the door. “Someone’s slashed everyone’s tires and smashed some of the car windows. The hotel’s gates are also padlocked shut.” He looks at Merle. “Did you lock them?”
Stunned, he briefly stills, before trying to barge his hand off his body. “What—no? Why would we lock the gates?”
“Everyone calm down!” Detective Starling’s voice rises, wrenched sobs bleeding into the silence that follows.
Boots squeaked against tile, and Willow steps forward, cold mask in place, but her hands are trembling. “I don’t care if you have to call the fire department. I'm not staying here—you can’t keep us here.”
“Now, Darling, don’t you think you should dry off first?” Lily chimes.
“It’s fucking raining!” She screams, the cacophony blowing as everyone erupted into arguments.
Phin continued to sob into my chest. Merle thrashed against Detective Starling, who shouted up the stairs for back-up from Goldie.
He appeared seconds later, crashing his palms into his chest and helping to secure his body to the wall.
Mavis cries, Lily follows as Willow continues to scream at her for blindly living up her own ass.
My head ping-ponged back and forth, clutching Phin, whose body was growing heavier and heavier against my small frame.
Wren whispers to us both, stroking my waist and keeping his arm firmly wrapped around him to keep his weight off me.
I honestly feel like I’m experiencing an outer body experience, watching everyone be engulfed in hellfire. I say nothing, no one paying me a lick of attention, so I tuck myself into Phin as I always do.
“Enough!” Cardinal’s voice bellows, carrying around the entire hotel. The arguments immediately stop, Phin sniffs and manages to at least stand on his own feet as he peels himself from me. He’s shaking, but I run my palms down his cheeks, and he wiped his nose with the back of his hand.
“Gross,” I teased, getting a watery smile.
Merle continued to thrash against Goldie, but the energy is leaving the fight as he hangs his head in defeat. Checking he’s secure in his partner's hold, Starling pushes off the wall. With his arms stretched out, gesturing to us all, he walks in a slow circle.
“Everyone is going to stay calm and go back to their rooms now. Myself and DS Goldie will go check on the car situation and gates.”
“We want—” Willow starts, but Starling snapped his fingers in her face.
“Hey! Everyone’s going to shut the fuck up right now and do as I say.
We’ll check outside and you can all go to your rooms till we say otherwise.
You,” he points to me, “Miss Osbourne, will find the rest of the clues. Be quick, my patience is thin, and I want to wrap this up. We’ll make the necessary calls and see what we can do about the flooding, but the bridge is closed and the village isn’t accessible.
I’m going to give whoever did it time to fess up—who slashed the tires and locked the gate? ”
No one speaks, but all our eyes shoot to one another.
This doesn’t make sense; we all want to leave.
Whilst I thought Merle would make for the perfect murder suspect, this doesn’t make sense.
Two of his secrets have now been revealed, making him seem more like a target than the villain I pegged him for not even an hour ago.
My head is starting to swirl, and I sagged a little more into Wren, air not quite getting into my lungs like it should.
This is all so overwhelming. I look up into worried green eyes, and the concern there rackets me.
“Fine. When we catch which one of you did this, you’re going to be in a cell. Everyone, go to your rooms.” Starling scolds, flinging his arms down in a weird tantrum.
“You’re coming to my room.” Wren’s voice is gently next to my ear, hands wrapping around my upper body as he helps support my shaky limbs. It’s one thing to be stuck here because of the weather, but now we’re trapped.
His hand snakes out and takes Phins. “You too. Come to my room.” It feels right, the three of us protected away where we can figure everything out and look after one another.
Maybe I’ll take a long nap till the rain stops, anything is better than having to face what is turning into a Groundhog Day nightmare.