Chapter 11
“What?” Aunt Penny hopped to her feet. She joined me at the sauna door and pushed, but it still didn’t budge.
I tried not to panic, but my voice rose. “I thought they had safety precautions for saunas—like they didn’t have locks.”
“They do.” Hyperventilating, Aunt Penny stopped pushing, her face deeply flushed. “Oh, I’m getting dizzy.”
“Same, but we’re going to be fine.” I patted her shoulder, then frantically searched the room. “There, see, an emergency shutoff.”
I slammed my hand over the red button close to where Aunt Penny had sat moments earlier. The humming furnace stopped. But no air vents opened.
“Thank goodness.” She sat back on the bench. “But it’s still hot and we’re still stuck.”
“I’m sure it will cool quickly.” Or not, because cooling an insulated room took hours.
“Well, I’m praying.” Aunt Penny waved her hand in front of her red, sweaty face.
I tried to take a calming breath, but the hot air coated my throat. I rammed my shoulder into the sauna door, and it gave about an inch. “Oh, wow. Ouch. I thought I saw a shadow move by the window earlier. Why didn’t I trust my gut?”
“Darling, you don’t weigh enough. Help me up. We’ll do this together.” She reached out her hand for me to help her.
We flung our bodies at the door, and it flew open. Fresh air filled my lungs as we burst onto the pool deck. I laughed. “Maybe I’m letting my nerves get the best of me.”
“Maybe,” Aunt Penny said, pointing at the back side of the door. Someone had wedged a bright orange caution cone underneath the door. “Or maybe someone tried to trap us in there.”
Ice ran cold down my spine. What I assumed was the emergency vent opening had the pool net’s handle jammed against it.
“This was no accident.” We were in deep.
After showering and getting into our normal clothes, Aunt Penny and I made it back to the suite Charles and I shared.
I turned on the overhead lights as we entered. The rooms looked different after the sun had set. Instead of streams of sunlight, deep shadows and dark corners filled the space.
“I think I’ll make some tea for the both of us.” Aunt Penny set down her bag and kissed my cheek.
“Sounds perfect.” I nodded, closed the drapes, and checked to make sure the balcony door was locked.
Paranoia must have gotten the better of me, because I jumped at the sound of Aunt Penny putting a ceramic mug on the marble counter.
I dropped onto the royal-blue velvet sofa and took a slow, calming breath.
“You know the oddest thing about all of this?
Margery Blake. I can't think of what she might have in common with Armond. They're nothing alike.”
Lizzy’s earlier comment to watch out for thugs wasn’t so amusing anymore. I wanted to text her about everything, but that would only worry her—or make her feel obligated to come to the city and help.
“But they’ve got to be connected, right?” Aunt Penny carried in two teacups and joined me on the sofa.
“I assume so.” I sipped the sweet hot tea in front of me. “Doesn’t it seem probable?”
“Well, yes.” Aunt Penny’s unruly curls hung loose. Without her makeup, she looked younger, but weary.
“Someone also tried to kill us—or at least scare us. They deliberately wedged that caution cone under the door.” I didn’t mention the blocked vent. Aunt Penny hadn’t noticed, and I didn’t want to frighten her even more.
Aunt Penny rubbed her arms. “I know, dear. It’s too dark in here—creeps me out.”
I nodded. “Funny, that’s why I closed the drapes. I’m not fond of people being able to see through my windows at night. It’s spooky.”
She stood and circled the room, turning on the lamps. When she got to the polished wood and brass art déco sideboard, she paused. “There’s a note here with your name on it.”
“Maybe from Charles?” I stood and took the handwritten note, then slid the envelope open and pulled out a crisp card.
Dear Ms. Bennet,
I hope you enjoyed the sauna. If you and your prince charming want to survive the night, you both need to stop looking into things that aren’t your business.
I dropped the envelope and looked around the suite. Anyone could be hiding in here with all the bathrooms, closets, and the whole upstairs floor. “We need to get out of here.”
“Are you alright?” Aunt Penny’s voice made me jump as she looked over my shoulder at the card.
I shook my head and handed her the note.
“Oh, Jane. We should call the police.”
“I don’t know who or what we’re up against, though. If whoever left this note finds out I contacted the police, it puts us in danger.” I rubbed my temples and flopped down on the sofa. Of course, not contacting the police could also be a mistake. “I’m going to text Charles.”
Hey Charles, I have a big problem. Can you meet me in the lobby?
I stood to leave, but before we made it out the door, Charles came rushing down the spiral staircase from the suite’s second level. He stopped about halfway down. “Jane? Your text sounded urgent, so I…”
“You were here the whole time?” I asked.
“I was trying to do a bit of research on different employees—hoping for clues. This day’s been something else.” He continued down the stairs. “What’s going on? How was the spa?”
“It was lovely… until we got locked in the sauna.”
“You what?” Charles’s jaw tightened and his complexion paled. “How?”
“Someone jammed the door closed.” I bit my bottom lip. “Take a look at this.” I held out the note for Charles to read.
He took the note and read it over. “Where did you get this?”
“We found it on the sideboard.”
“Here in the suite? I haven’t shared the key cards with anyone.” He shuddered. “If someone is getting in and out of here, we’re not safe in the suite.”
“No, I don’t think we are.” I shook my head, and my knees weakened, so I braced myself against a doorframe.
“You two should come stay with me and Terrance for a bit. I don’t trust this hotel.” Aunt Penny wrung her hands together.
Charles paced back and forth. “We need to think about this.”
“If we leave, it might draw more attention. Isn’t there supposed to be a company dinner soon?” I asked.
Charles nodded. “I agree. If you’re okay with it, we’ll go to dinner together and act like nothing has happened. Then we can observe to see who acts strangely. But I think staying somewhere else for the night is a smart idea.”
“Aunt Penny, why don’t you head back to your apartment now?
If you don’t mind, can you take a small suitcase for Charles and I?
That way we can sneak out after dinner without making a scene.
” My fae ability often picked up on subtle or subconscious cues.
So I learned to trust my gut, and this seemed to be the right course of action.
“I’ll meet you back at my place. But Jane, though I’m not as nervous about things as your mother is, I’m going to need you to text me every so often.
Leaving you two on your own in a hotel with a potential murderer doesn’t sit well with me.
” She shook her head as she packed her things back up into her weekend bag.
“Don’t go anywhere alone and hurry back over right after dinner. ”
“We’ll be careful.”
“I’ll keep Jane safe,” said Charles as I hugged my aunt.
Haven Corp reserved a banquet hall for the evening.
Close to a hundred people filled the room.
The hotel catered an Indian-style buffet which filled the room with the tempting scents of chicken tikka masala, vindaloo, and buttery garlic naan.
We found seats near the same people we’d had lunch with.
Though we weren’t greeted the same way as before.
Kyle, Owen, Catalina, Lance, Ashley and a few others whose names I didn’t know sat together, picking at plates of food.
Owen and Catalina were talking, but when we sat down, he looked up at us. “Oh, hi. How are you holding up?”
“Not too well.” Charles frowned.
“Fair enough.” Owen slowly nodded.
“I’m under a lot of pressure right now,” Catalina sighed. “I’m hoping to salvage this event. But every time I turn around, someone else is talking about the incident.”
“I know it’s only been, what? Maybe six hours?
But I hope the police notified Armond’s family,” I said more loudly than I should have, watching for reactions from the group.
Ashley nodded as she twisted her fingers through her long necklace chain.
Owen shrugged. Catalina and Lance both looked neutral but uttered sympathetic agreements.
Kyle’s face glazed over like he hadn’t heard a word I’d said.
Against my better judgment, I used my phone to discreetly shoot photos of everyone as they reacted. Though everyone seemed normal considering the circumstances, looking over the images later may prove useful.
If I were going to risk my life and possibly Charles’s, I might as well try to solve this mystery.
Two people had already lost their lives, and we didn’t even know why.
“Do any of you wonder if Armond was mixed up in something? Maybe he and Margery Blake knew each other? I mean, I know they say an ex-boyfriend is a suspect in her death, but how likely is that if she just recently moved across the country?”
“Who knows?” Lance grumbled. “You know, he and I had a disagreement before he died. I don’t know why they suspect foul play—it might have been a heart attack.
I mean, he was pretty stressed—worked up about the funding for a few projects like your SaferLoc.
He said there was close to half a million dollars missing. But he had to have been imagining it.”
Charles raised his eyebrows. “Half a million, huh? I’ll need to check that out.”
“Doesn’t that seem odd in hindsight?” I asked Lance.
“Well, it’s not something to kill someone over.” Lance’s face reddened, and I glimpsed the angry expression he’d had in the images from Aunt Penny’s magical recording. “I mean, half a million is something these days, but it’s not everything.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.” I used my sweetest voice, trying not to stir the pot further.
“Half a million dollars?” Catalina asked. “It’s got to be an accounting error. With the size of some of our projects, it’s just a minor setback.”
“I’m surprised he said nothing to me about it.” Charles rubbed his temples.
“Some materials for our initial projects can be pretty pricey. Plus, if we have to outsource anything, there are contractors to be paid. It’s a lot to track,” Owen added.
“You know, maybe it was a heart attack. They have no reason to suspect anything else. I mean, it’s sad. But they’re probably making this into something it’s not. Do we know why they suspect murder?” Catalina took a hearty bite of salad.
“There’s Margery Blake’s death, which makes everything look more suspicious,” I pushed to see if anyone would respond. No one seemed to know about the needle injection in Armond’s neck.
“Margery’s death probably had nothing to do with anyone at Haven Corp.” Kyle looked exhausted and spoke to no one in particular.
“Did Armond have any health conditions you know of?” I asked. Kyle shrugged without looking at me, and Catalina shook her head.
“I don’t think so. But who knows?” Owen looked to Lance and Charles for answers.
“He seemed healthy,” Charles said.
“He stressed over more things than he should have,” Owen said. “Stress can be bad for you, you know. I think that can cause heart attacks. It’s not like someone shot him.”