Chapter 5
Once Roger returned with Sean’s requested items, he instructed the hotel manager to round up the guests and staff and bring everyone to the dining room.
“Don’t tell them anything other than an announcement is being made regarding the power outage,” Sean said. “I don’t need panic to set in this early.”
“Sure, yes,” Roger said, and then he took a deep breath and walked away.
With Roger tending to his tasks, Sean returned to the Graysons’ room to question the parents. When he entered, Roman and Judy were in a heated discussion; both their faces were beet-red, and when they noticed Sean, they quickly downplayed the fight.
“Sorry, I should have knocked,” Sean said.
Judy quickly stood. “Did you find anything?”
“I’m going to address the rest of the guests and the staff after our conversation,” Sean said, and then he removed the notebook and pen from his pocket. “So, has anything stood out to you over the past twenty-four hours?”
“Not that we can recall,” Judy said, looking to her husband, who shook his head. “All of us were really excited for this vacation as a family. This was supposed to be a chance for us to reconnect.”
“Work has been hectic lately,” Roman said.
“Did you hear anything strange last night?” Sean asked.
“I took one of my sleeping pills last night,” Judy answered. “It knocks me out and keeps me that way until morning. I didn’t hear a thing.”
“Same,” Roman replied.
“There are a lot of places to vacation,” Sean said. “Why’d you choose The Bonnie?”
“The rose garden,” Judy said, smiling. “Karla loves flowers.”
Sean was familiar with the garden. It was one of the hotel’s selling points. It was an award-winning atrium with roses blooming year-round. It was stunning.
“Gardening is Karla’s favorite hobby,” Judy said.
“I don’t know where she got her green thumb, but she can make anything grow.
There was a particular breed of rose that is grown here that she was very excited to see.
” She closed her eyes, frowning as she tried to recall its name.
“The, um… Oh, gosh, we were talking about it last night?—”
“The Angel’s Kiss,” Roman said. “She wouldn’t stop talking about it on the drive up here.”
“Roger mentioned you already searched the atrium,” Sean said. “Is there anywhere else she wanted to go? Or see?”
“Just the wilderness,” Roman said. “We don’t have a lot of nature in Pittsburgh.”
“That’s where you live?” Sean asked.
Roman nodded.
“And what do you do for work, Mr. Grayson?” Sean asked.
“I own a holding company,” Roman said. “We buy and sell companies.”
Sean was vaguely familiar with the term, though he thought the phrase “buying and selling” was generous. He had seen companies from his town be bought out and sold for parts, leaving behind nothing but the unemployed.
“Any problems in your business that might translate to someone wanting to take your daughter?” Sean asked.
Roman shrugged. “Nothing more than usual. People might have taken some of our acquisitions personally, but it’s just business.”
Sean wasn’t sure if the people who lost their jobs would have felt the same way, but he kept that thought to himself. “I’d like to have a look around if that’s okay,” Sean said.
“Yes, of course,” Judy replied.
The presidential suite had two rooms, which could have explained how Karla had gone missing without the parents hearing her leave, or someone coming in. But Sean had checked the entrance, and there was no sign of forced entry.
But another thought occurred to Sean. If the power had gone out, the electronic key pads they used to access their room would have been disabled. Unless the door was manually locked, any guest or staff could have entered any room they wanted.
Either way, Karla had either left on her own, or someone had entered their room in secret. Sean was leaning toward the former.
Kids were smart, but they were also susceptible to charismatic adults. If Karla had spoken with someone beforehand, she could have been enticed to leave the room on her own.
“Does Karla have a phone?” Sean asked.
“No,” Judy answered. “And that rule was strictly enforced in our house. Karla hated me for it. All her friends had one, but I didn’t want her on the internet all the time.”
Sean nodded as he paced the room. Toys and stuffed animals littered the floor, and the girl’s suitcase sat in the corner, lid open, dresses, shirts, and pants spilling messily over the sides.
“Have you noticed anything missing from her room?” Sean asked.
“Her Beauty and the Beast backpack,” Judy answered. “I haven’t been able to find it.”
Sean removed the notebook and pen from his pocket and started compiling a list under Karla’s name. He scribbled B+B backpack missing in messy cursive. The missing backpack made Sean think Karla had left of her own accord.
Sean checked the closet, the bathroom, and the dresser drawers, but found nothing. He then approached the bed, checked underneath it, and lifted the mattress.
“If you think our daughter was hiding something from us, I don’t think that’s the case,” Judy said. “We have a very good mother-daughter relationship, and I think I would have known?—”
Sean had reached into the pillowcase and pulled out a small gold chain with a heart-shaped locket at the end of it. He held it up and examined it. “Have you seen your daughter wear this before?”
“No,” Judy said, her mouth slightly ajar. “I don’t know where she would have gotten that—Roman!” She turned. “Come in here!”
Roman stepped into the room, and when Sean showed him the locket, he confirmed he had not seen it before, either.
Sean looked at it closely and saw Karla’s name printed on it. When he opened the locket, he found it empty. He placed the locket in one of the plastic bags Roger had given him, then stuffed it into his pocket.
Finished with the Graysons’ suite, it was time to address the other guests and hotel staff. But first, Sean wanted to make a few things clear to the parents.
“I don’t mean to frighten you, but if someone did take your daughter, they’re most likely staying at this hotel,” Sean said. “Which means the less everyone knows about the investigation, the better.”
Roman and Judy nodded, but Roman was clearly annoyed. He didn’t strike Sean as the kind of person who was going to sit idly by during all of this, but Sean had dealt with these types of men before.
But whether Roman would cause a bigger problem remained to be seen, especially now that both understood they were likely going to be in the same room as the kidnapper in just a few moments.