Chapter 14
Later that evening, before she left for the day, Erin went to check on Molly Cooke, whom she’d upgraded to a gorgeous beachside hacienda with one of the loveliest coastal views in the resort in the hope of easing her discomfort upon arrival.
She was about halfway up when the elevator stopped.
Erin stared straight ahead as the double doors opened and outside, as if summoned by her lack of consideration, stood Mack.
They stared at each other in complete silence. She could tell he was even contemplating letting the elevator go and getting the next. Did he want to avoid her that badly?
‘Just get in. I promise I won’t say another word to you about the resort.’
He looked at her sceptically.
‘I swear.’
Mack stepped inside and faced the door in silence.
Erin didn’t mean to stare, though she often seemed to when it came to this guy, but she couldn’t help but notice that he seemed tense too.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his jaw flex slightly and for a fleeting moment, thought she’d caught him glancing toward her too.
Fix this. Grant’s words from earlier echoed in her mind.
Be honest with him. Apologise, she ordered herself.
The elevator chimed at the floor she needed, and Erin gave Mack a half grin as she stepped out into the corridor.
Now’s the time. Do it.
She turned to look at him, inwardly cringing.
‘You were right. I was focusing on all the wrong stuff,’ she confessed with a sigh.
‘I’m very sorry. I can get a little … intense when it comes to my work, I know that.
It’s kind of my life.’ She took a rushed breath.
‘I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t hold my wrongdoing against the resort though,’ she managed to slip in, as the doors once again started to close over.
Mack looked back at her but said nothing. Then he was gone.
‘Well, I tried,’ Erin muttered, shaking her head in frustration, as she resumed walking in the direction of the Hacienda Suite.
She knocked lightly on the door and it opened almost immediately.
‘Evening, Molly, checking if everything’s …’ The remainder of Erin’s sentence trailed off and she stopped short as she saw inside.
If she’d been surprised by the other woman’s swift response in opening the door, she was even more shocked by the state of the room. Drawers and closet doors hung open, the bedsheets were undone, and even some of the artwork was hanging askew on the walls.
What the heck …
‘Oh my gosh, I’m so, so sorry,’ she apologised, wide-eyed, passing Molly to go inside and immediately feeling the beginnings of a headache at this latest disaster.
Wanda and her staff obviously hadn’t yet reached this room.
‘According to the system, the suite was ready for occupation,’ she assured their new guest. ‘Must be some mistake …’
‘No, the room was perfect, it’s my fault … I was … looking for something,’ Molly admitted timidly, closing the door behind her.
Yet Erin noted that her suitcase was still standing nearby, unopened. Now she was completely perplexed. What could Molly have lost in the short time she was here if she hadn’t yet unpacked? And why were all the curtains closed when it wasn’t yet dark?
‘I don’t understand …’ This, taken with the fall in the lobby, was very disconcerting, and more than a little weird.
After checking her in earlier, Erin had made it her business to gather some more background information. She’d asked around and, according to the staff, Molly’s mother Eugenie Cooke wasn’t merely a long-time returning patron, but a St Lucia native and original investor in The Palms Hotel.
The woman had recently died of cancer and this trip it seemed was one of Eugenie’s final gifts to her daughter before her passing.
Maternal love was almost a foreign concept to Erin.
Her own mother had abandoned her and her dad when she was only five years old.
They hadn’t seen her since, and Erin doubted anyone who would have walked out on a child about to start school was the type to plan grand deathbed farewell gestures like sending her off to a luxurious resort to grieve.
So it was strange, but she kind of envied Molly on some subconscious level for being blessed with something she herself had longed for her entire life, even if that was lost to them both now.
‘May I sit?’ Erin asked, and when Molly nodded, she duly took a seat across from the mussed-up bed. Even though the sheets were all untucked and curtains closed, the bed clearly hadn’t been used to sleep in, and the mattress looked as if it had been upended and fallen back in the wrong place.
As if, like Molly had said, she’d been trying to locate something she’d lost.
‘I have to say, I’m a little concerned. Is everything OK? More to the point, are you OK after your fall earlier? Or is there something else going on? I’m here to help, remember.’
Molly didn’t answer but she looked torn.
Instead, she began to twirl a strand of long dark hair around her finger as her gaze shifted to and fro.
The woman looked so anxious that Erin was almost tempted to put a comforting hand on her arm, but she worried that might be too familiar and inappropriate.
‘I know that things are difficult for you right now,’ Erin continued, ‘after your mum and everything. While I didn’t know her, it seems she was very beloved and well thought of here so I’m sure it must be so hard being back in The Palms without her.’
‘It’s not … I mean this is actually my first time here. I’ve never even been to St Lucia before.’ She swallowed nervously when Erin looked surprised. ‘It’s, well … I’m terrified of flying.’
The poor thing was so cripplingly shy that it seemed to Erin she was terrified of everything. Which merely made her want to help Molly all the more.
‘Well, I’m sure your mum wanted you to come for good reason. Most likely to help you through this very tough time, heal your heart maybe? It’s her homeland and a beautiful island, so peaceful, here especially.’ She waved an arm towards the curtains concealing the magnificent scenery outside.
‘I … don’t think so really.’
The reply was so forlorn it reminded Erin of the hurt she’d once felt all those years ago.
While it was such a long time ago and she’d only been a little girl, she still remembered it so well.
She didn’t want to blithely tell Molly she was sorry for her mother’s passing.
She remembered how at the time everyone had apologised for her mother leaving and assured her that everything would be OK, but none of that helped.
It only made Erin feel worse – as if it could ever be OK that the woman who was supposed to have loved her unconditionally had abandoned her.
‘OK, so I don’t know precisely what you’re feeling right now but …
I have felt something … similar,’ she admitted, and Molly looked up, intrigued.
‘When I was five my mother left, and she never came back. People told me they were sorry and some even swore she’d return, but they were wrong.
She wasn’t there and she never would be again.
’ Looking at Molly she saw a hint of recognition, kinship even.
‘It will get better with time,’ she assured her.
‘You just have to keep living every moment until it does.’
At this, the other woman looked up. ‘What did you say?’
‘That it’ll get better – eventually. Obviously not right now, but …’
‘No, the bit about living every moment.’ Tears appeared in Molly’s eyes now. ‘That’s something Mom used to say too.’
Erin smiled. ‘Well, then she gave very good advice. But please, Molly, let me help you. There are lots of things to do here and wonderful places to see, and while I’m not going to suggest you go zip-lining or anything like that, I could recommend …’
‘Thank you, but I meant it when I said that’s not really why I’m here.
I mean, yes, I’m sure Mom wanted me to see her homeland, of course, but she didn’t arrange this, only for me to spend my time here mourning her, or distract me from her passing.
’ She sighed and then looked closely at Erin as if again weighing up whether to confide in her. ‘She needs my help.’
Erin frowned in confusion as Molly stood up and walked over to the bedside table, where a piece of paper lay folded. ‘You said you’ve only just started working here?’ she asked.
‘Yes, this week. Why?’
Molly offered her the piece of paper. ‘Then maybe I can trust you,’ she said, biting her lip. ‘And I think I definitely need help from someone. Read it.’
‘What is it?’ Erin asked distractedly, turning her attention to the handwritten words, her eyes widening at the latter paragraphs in particular.
The Palms Hotel, which as you know has always been my beloved happy place, is under threat
… I fear that with so many of us fading away, including myself now too, time is running out. And given the recent loss of one of our staunchest supporters on the island, resistance will surely crumble even further.
… And since I can no longer travel there myself to help, or more importantly, alert our beloved friends and staff at The Palms to stay vigilant for potential interlopers, it’s up to you to do so in my stead.
To this end, I’ve ensured a reservation for you in my usual suite during the week leading up to the party …
Erin looked up, shocked. She couldn’t even begin to get her head around the old woman’s belief that someone was actively plotting against the resort to secure it for redevelopment, though that was troubling for sure.
What really stood out to her was the line she’d just read, though at least now she understood why the room was in such a state.
To be safe, I won’t tell you where the deposit box key is hidden; though once you’ve checked into the room, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to it figure out …
But Molly finding her mother’s secret hiding place would, of course, be impossible.
Because this wasn’t Eugenie Cooke’s usual suite.