Chapter 25
Sean quickly shoved the earring into the bag and stuffed it into his pocket as he followed Roger out of the atrium.
They chased the screams to the front lobby, where they saw the receptionist, Emily, covering her mouth as she retreated to the desk and pointed a trembling hand toward the front doors.
Sean followed the receptionist’s gesture and immediately saw what had frightened her.
The rug near the doors was wet, and if not for the spots of white on it, he wouldn’t have noticed the discoloration of the fabric. It was red.
Blood red.
Sean approached the front door, mindful of the gathering crowd. He ordered everyone to keep back, but while he could stop the guests from getting close, he couldn’t stop their whispers.
Once Sean got closer to the door, he saw that, through the glass, the snow was red slush, and some of it had seeped through the bottom crack.
Sean immediately thought of the blood he’d found on the roof, and how some of it had reached the roof’s edge.
Judy Grayson sobbed, and then the missing bride’s sister gasped, both women realizing the same thing Sean had already understood: there was a body in the snow. But whether it was Karla the girl, or Karla the bride, remained to be seen.
Roger walked over and examined the red slush on the floor. “Jesus. What the hell happened?”
Sean pressed his hand against the glass. It was cold. But it was also warming up outside as the day stretched on. The snow was starting to melt, and whatever was on the other side of that glass door was, too.
Sean pulled Roger aside, away from the prying eyes and ears in the lobby, near the atrium’s entrance. “I need you to grab the shovel we used on the roof,” Sean said. “And any smaller tools. Maybe some large ladles from the kitchen.”
Roger was still staring at the doors, fixated on the blood. “There’s a body outside, isn’t there?”
“Hey,” Sean said, forcing Roger to look at him. “Did you hear what I told you?”
Roger blinked, then nodded. “Uh, shovel, ladles, anything we can use to move the snow.”
“Yes, go,” Sean said.
Roger went to gather the tools, and Sean glanced at the gathering crowd. They were all thinking the same thing, but Sean didn’t want their imaginations running wild.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Sean said, raising his voice and quieting the growing chatter of the group. “I’m going to ask all of you to return to your rooms and stay there until further notice.”
“I’m not leaving until I know what’s on the other side of that door,” Roman Grayson said.
“Me neither.” Ben, the groom, stepped forward, joining Mr. Grayson’s rebellion.
“I understand that you’re eager for answers,” Sean said. “So am I. But I need space to work, and it’s going to take time to move through all that snow.”
Sean didn’t know what he would find buried on the other side of that door. But he didn’t want Karla’s parents, or the bride’s family and friends, to see what lay on the other side.
Between the blood on the roof and the red slush near the front entrance, one thing was clear to him, though. Sean would be recovering a body. Whose body, though, was the question everyone wanted answered.