Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Lexi
Ginger didn’t bring us anything else and didn’t even snuggle against me as we watched the rest of the television thriller. She lay on the floor near the couch sadly, facing the television as if she was watching the show, too. It was crazy, but I felt like somehow I’d disappointed her.
I took a sip of my wine. The scene on television showed people in white coats bustling around a lab, glass walls gleaming under sterile light.
That’s when Ginger started growling—low, deep, unmistakable.
We all froze.
“Uh…” I said carefully. “Ginger?”
The growl rose a notch. She focused on the television, her hackles slightly raised.
Gray frowned. “What’s she looking at?”
“I don’t know, the television, I think,” Gwen leaned forward. “That’s weird.”
I glanced up at the screen. One of the scientists pushed a cart of equipment past a rack of glowing vials. Ginger barked, sharp and loud. Once, then twice.
Basia nearly spilled her ice cream. “Okay, that’s creepy.”
“Maybe she doesn’t like white coats,” Gray said. “Or doctors.”
“Or scientists,” I offered. I watched Ginger, unsettled. She was standing now, tail stiff, eyes fixed on the screen like she recognized something. “Ginger. Hey, girl, what is it?”
She growled again, a low, warning sound that made the hairs rise on my arms. Then, over the television hum, came a new sound.
The chime from the elevator.
We all jumped. Basia hit pause on the remote.
“Room service?” Gray asked, but we all shook our heads.
Bam, bam, bam.
Someone knocked on the door. Ginger faced the door, ears up, body tense, a low growl vibrating through her chest.
Gray stood first, all CIA cool. She headed for the door and we followed, huddling behind her.
The knocking came again. Louder this time.
Ginger’s growl deepened, a low, rumbling warning that vibrated through the marble floor.
Gray motioned for us to stay quiet, moving toward the door. She peered through the peephole and quietly flipped the dead bolt on the door, locking it. I sidled up next to her.
“Who is it?” I whispered.
“Not room service,” she said in a low voice. Her voice had gone flat, military, and serious. “Bald guy in a black raincoat. No uniform, no name tag.”
She let me peek through the peephole. He was as she described, but in black pants and a black turtleneck to go with the black raincoat. He seemed highly irritated and impatient as he shifted from foot to foot. Why? Was he hotel security? Had he discovered we had the dog?
“Great,” I muttered. “Just what we needed tonight. Another problem.”
The man knocked again. “Excuse me, ladies,” he called out. “I believe you found my dog earlier today.”
We all froze.
“How the heck—” Gwen started.
“Do not open that door,” I hissed. “How does he know we’re all ladies, and how did he get onto our floor?”
Gray nodded and then called out. “Who are you? And what do you want?”
The man continued speaking, his voice smooth and authoritative. “My name is Richard, and you have a dog that belongs to me and my company. We’ve been tracking her. She slipped her collar in the woods and ran away. She’s quite a valuable property to us and needs to be returned immediately.”
Basia stood, a protective hand over her stomach. “Property?”
Ginger snarled at his voice, bristling with her teeth bared. It was clear she did not like this guy.
“How did you get onto our floor?” Gray asked. “This is a private penthouse. You need our permission to come up here.”
“The hotel temporarily gave me a key card to retrieve my property. So, if you’ll just turn over the dog, I’ll be on my way. I know you have her in there, so please hand her over.”
Ginger snarled again and then barked once, sharp and furious.
Gray looked at me, and I shook my head. This felt all wrong.
Gray, apparently feeling the same way, squared her shoulders. “She’s not going anywhere until we see proof of ownership.”
“I have identification,” the man said. “Please open the door and I will show you. This is a sensitive matter.”
Ginger suddenly moved between us and the door, hackles raised, muscles tense and taut. She wasn’t afraid. She was ready to fight.
Gray looked at me again, lifting her arms, silently asking what to do.
I held up a hand. “First tell me how you found her here,” I called out.
“I told you, she’s chipped and registered.”
Ginger growled deeper, her fur bristling. She really did not like this guy.
“So, you followed a GPS signal to find her?” I asked.
“I did. So, please open the door and give me the dog.”
I paused for a moment. “No. Because you’re lying.”
The girls all looked at me in surprise. Even Ginger glanced up at me.
“I know you’re lying because microchips implanted in dogs today don’t have a GPS, and they can’t be used for real-time tracking.
If you were using a GPS device to track this dog, she’d have to have a collar or a vest on, since a GPS device requires a battery pack or a power source, as well as an active connection to a satellite.
Furthermore, conventional GPS would not be able to discriminate elevation, so even if you knew we were in the casino, you’d have no way of knowing what floor we were on.
Since she has none of that, and even if she did, it wouldn’t give you our precise room location, I’ll ask you again, how did you find the dog? ”
It was silent for a long moment before the man asked, “Who are you? Some kind of nerd?”
“You could say that.”
His voice hardened. “This conversation is ridiculous. She’s part of a company program that has special technology that allows me to track her. I’m not at liberty to explain more. Now, give me my dog.”
Gray had apparently had enough with his attitude.
“You heard her. She said no. We don’t know who you are, or how you got access to our penthouse, but we intend to have a vet confirm her ownership tomorrow.
If she’s chipped like you said and you pan out, they’ll reach out to you and you can collect your dog.
But until then, get off our floor. We aren’t opening the door, and you aren’t taking the dog anywhere tonight. ”
Silence again, and then he spoke softly, perhaps to try to defuse the situation.
“Look. I’ll be honest with you. The dog is involved in an important experiment, and my company needs me to bring her back tonight.
I might even be able to arrange a reward for you for returning her to us safely. Okay? It’s as simple as that.”
“What company?” Gray asked.
“I’m sorry, but that’s proprietary information. So, I do sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, ladies. Just let me take the dog off your hands and go home. Everyone will be happy.”
Ginger growled, baring her teeth. “Except for the dog,” I called out. “She doesn’t like you much.”
There was the sound of a sigh, then we could hear the door click as he used the key card to unlock the door. The door handle then rattled as he tried to get in. Thankfully, the dead bolt prevented that.
Basia gasped. “He’s trying to open the door!”
Ginger growled louder, her muscles bunching and tensing. I wondered what would happen to the guy if we set her loose on him. I didn’t plan to find out.
“You have exactly five seconds to get off our floor, buddy, or we’re calling security,” Gray said firmly. “You’re starting to piss me off.”
“I’ve already called hotel security,” Gwen yelled from across the room. “They’re on their way up.”
Silence stretched before the man spoke in an ominous tone. “You’re making a big mistake.” He gave a faint, irritated exhale, but didn’t speak further.
I pressed my eye to the peephole and watched as the man entered the elevator and then disappeared. I watched until the elevator stopped at the lobby before turning around, blowing out a deep breath, and pressing my back against the door.
“He’s gone,” I said.
“What the hell was that all about?” Basia demanded. “That was super shady.”
“You think?” Gwen said.
We all jumped as the chime sounded again, but when I checked the peephole, this time it was a man dressed in a hotel uniform and wearing a name tag.
He knocked on the door. “Hello, hotel security. You called?”
“Yes, thanks for coming,” I said, but didn’t open the door.
“Of course. I’m Glen. What can I do for you?”
“There was just an unauthorized man on our floor trying to get into our room,” I replied. “He said staff gave him a key to access our floor. How’s that possible?”
“That’s not possible, ma’am,” Glen said, shaking his head vigorously. “We don’t give out key cards to anyone but penthouse suite guests and hotel staff.”
“Well, there was a man just here trying to get into our room with a key card and he did not appear to be hotel staff, nor did he identify himself as such. Luckily, we were able to keep him out by dead-bolting the door from the inside.”
“I’m truly shocked this has happened, ma’am. I don’t even know what to say. What did he want?”
“He wanted to get into our suite,” I replied, leaving the part about Ginger out. “It took him several minutes before we were able to convince him to leave, primarily because we said security was on the way.”
“This is totally unacceptable,” Glen said. If he was acting, he was pretty good. “I’m terribly sorry. He didn’t get inside, you say?”
“No, we didn’t open the door, and the dead bolt held. We’re fine, but can you look into it, please?”
“Absolutely. This has never happened before on my watch. We’ll investigate this at once.
We’re deeply embarrassed this has happened.
On behalf of the entire hotel and the security staff, we apologize and promise it will never happen again.
We have cameras in many locations. We will ensure that this man will never again enter our hotel to threaten you.
Please describe him in detail, and if he is still on the premises, we will find him. ”
I provided a quick description of the man and Glen relayed it immediately to his staff over a radio. “Do you ladies need anything else?” he asked us.
“No, thank you,” I said. “We just want to feel safe here.”
“I understand completely, and I’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise.” Glen left promptly after that, and we all returned to the couch, where we collapsed in relief.
“Should I call the police, too?” Basia asked. “If they come, they’ll find Ginger and they might take her away and give her to that creep.”
“Not yet,” I said. “Let’s just try to figure out what’s going on here before we take that step.”
Ginger pressed against my leg, and I realized she was trembling. I knelt to pet her. “I know you didn’t like him, girl, but who was he? And who the heck are you?”