Annabelle Archer BoxSet, page 93
part #1 of Annabelle Archer Series
I pressed my lips together. I knew there was some truth in what Richard said. I did have a hard time seeing a problem and not fixing it. I guessed it was all the years of being responsible for solving problems on the fly that had made me an incorrigible Miss Fix It.
“So what do you suggest?” I looked ahead to where the rest of the group stood under the peak-roofed rectangular gazebo at the end of the bridge, and I picked up my pace. “We pretend that Brianna and that blogger chick, Kerry, aren’t going to write another damaging post about the resort?”
“What’s the alternative?” Richard asked, matching his pace to mine. “We knock them off?”
“Who are we knocking off?” Kate asked, lolling her head back in Buster’s arms. “Someone good, I hope.”
“We’re not knocking off anyone,” I said, more for Stuart’s benefit since his eyes had widened. “It was a joke.”
He laughed, but didn’t sound convinced. “Right this way to the grotto.”
We descended the short series of stairs and followed a path toward the woods.
Kate craned her neck over Buster’s thick arm to look back at us. “It was Brianna, right? I mean, who else is there worthy of getting knocked off?”
I put a finger to my lips. “Not so loud. We were just talking about how to stop her from trashing the resort. Richard’s the one who suggested we off her.”
Richard shot me a look. “This is how rumors get started, and I end up in jail.”
I patted his arm. “I would never let you end up in jail.”
“What makes you think you wouldn’t have the adjoining cell?” Richard arched an eyebrow at me.
“No one needs to go to jail,” Kate said. “All we need to do to keep Brianna and Kerry from posting is prove they’re wrong.”
I snapped my fingers. “We debunk the story that they overheard us talking about, and there is no story.”
“How do we debunk it?” Buster asked, shifting Kate’s weight in his arms.
“We need to see the inside of the room next to Annabelle’s,” Kate said.
I hesitated. Breaking and entering was not how I’d intended to spend my weekend away.
“Come on, Annabelle,” Kate said. “We’ve done it before. What’s the difference?”
I remembered the time Kate and I had snuck into a hotel room at the Hay-Adams hotel and ended up cowering in a closet. “But then we were trying to track down a killer.”
“And this would be trying to keep a hotel’s reputation from being destroyed.” Kate nodded her head at Stuart, who was walking ahead of us toward a clearing in front of a stone wall with a waterfall spilling over the top. “Not to mention everyone’s jobs. After everything Stuart has done for us, do you really want to be part of the reason his career gets tanked?”
“Low blow,” I whispered to her. Kate knew my kryptonite as well as all of my friends.
Mack leaned in. “There’s only one problem with this plan.”
“The fact that it’s illegal?” Richard grumbled.
Stuart turned around and swept his arms open wide. “The grotto.”
We all nodded and muttered appreciatively as we took in the picturesque ceremony site. I could easily imagine a bride and groom exchanging vows in front of the rustic stone wall as the waterfall flowed behind them.
“So, Annabelle.” Mack lowered his gravelly voice. “What if we end up proving that the resort is haunted?”
9
“Can someone please explain to me why I’m here instead of getting wrapped in mud like Buster and Mack?” Richard perched on the edge of the tufted ottoman at the foot of my bed while Hermès darted around the room, sniffing all the furniture.
The room had been made up since I’d left it in the morning, so all the fluffy pillows were arranged symmetrically against the dark wood headboard, and the pale blue angora throw lay neatly folded at the foot of the bed. I could still detect a hint of the lemongrass shower gel I’d used earlier, although the terrycloth robe I’d worn and left draped across the bed had been rehung on the hook in the bathroom.
“For one, our spa appointments aren’t until later.” I held up one finger. “And two, this is the perfect time to inspect the vacant room next door.”
Fern raised his head from where he lay stretched out on the upholstered chaise lounge in the corner. “But it’s broad daylight. And very bright daylight, I might add.”
“Would you prefer to creep around a potentially haunted room in the dark?” I asked.
“No need to get testy, darling.” He readjusted his sunglasses and dropped his head back on the chair.
“What’s your plan for getting inside the room?” Kate asked as she padded from one end of my room to the other in the hotel slippers, her own impractical shoes abandoned by the door.
I jerked my head in the direction of the French doors leading to the terrace as Hermès jumped up onto the bed to sit next to me, his tiny tail thumping against the duvet cover. “I thought we could try to get in through the connected porch.”
Kate nodded. “Not bad. The doors leading to the porch aren’t controlled by computerized locks.”
“But they’re still locked unless someone inside the room leaves them open,” Richard reminded us. “Have you acquired some new lock-picking skills I’m not aware of?”
I let out a breath as I rubbed the top of Hermès’s head. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
I stood up and walked to the doors leading onto the long porch that ran the length of the hotel wing, opening them both wide. Although the air had warmed since we’d been on the outside portion of the tour, it retained a hint of the morning’s crispness.
“Why don’t I act as lookout?” Fern said, not moving from the chair.
Richard raised his eyes heavenward. “Doesn’t that mean you actually need to look out? As in, have your eyes open?”
“Traditionally, yes.” Fern rolled his head to face the open doors. “But my other senses are very heightened. I should be able to sense danger approaching.”
“How comforting.” Richard swatted at him as he passed. “But we already have someone with acute senses.”
“Who?” Fern raised his head.
Richard pointed to the little Yorkie who had jumped off the bed and sat next to Fern’s chair looking up, his pink tongue hanging out of his mouth.
Fern winked at Hermès, who yipped. “Then we’ll work as a team. Like Batman and Robin. Although it would be better if we had capes. I’ll bet he’d look fabulous in a cape.”
“No capes,” Richard said.
I put a finger to my lips as I walked the short distance on the porch from my room to the one next door. Richard and Kate followed me to the closest pair of glass doors. The curtains were drawn on the inside, leaving only a sliver opened.
I looked down the length of the long porch and didn’t spot anyone outside. Since it was the middle of the day, I suspected most guests were busy taking advantage of the hotel’s pool, spa, or golf course while the housekeeping staff cleaned the rooms. I had the advantage of being in a room at the far end of the hall where the maids had started their morning.
“No one in sight.” Richard glanced nervously around us as Hermès scampered around our feet. “Let’s get this over with before I remember what a bad idea it is.”
“The coast is clear,” Fern called out in a stage whisper from inside my room.
I reached out and pressed down the elongated door lever, trying to make as little noise as possible. “It’s locked.”
Kate cupped her hands around her eyes and pressed them to the glass. “I can’t see much, but it looks like Stuart was right. The carpet has been ripped up and the furniture is covered in drop cloths.”
“That’s not a surprise,” Richard said. “It’s not like Stuart had any reason to lie to us.”
“So if there definitely weren’t any guests in the room last night, someone must have been in the room making noises on purpose,” I said.
Kate dropped her hands from the glass doors and straightened back up. “Setting aside the obvious possibility that the room is haunted.”
“Yes,” I said, exchanging a look with Richard. “Setting that aside.”
“Now that we’ve taken yet another step down the path to a life of crime, can we please give up and go to the spa?” Richard asked.
I looked at the locked doors. “I just wish we could get inside and see if whoever was in the room last night left a clue.”
“But how?” Kate asked.
I dug in the front pocket of my pants and pulled out my hotel card key. “I’ve always wanted to give this a try.” I bent over and jimmied the card into the space between the two doors, trying to trigger the locking mechanism to open. Hermès began to growl softly.
Richard put a hand over his eyes. “I am not seeing this.”
I wiggled the card, but the lock held. I jammed it further between the doors, and it slipped from my fingers and disappeared into the room. “Crap.”
Fern’s head appeared from around the door to my room. “Danger, Will Robinson. Danger,” he whispered.
I stood up as the doors to the room on the other side of the unoccupied one opened, and Brianna stepped out onto the porch followed by Kerry. I instinctively backed up, but not fast enough. Hermès yipped at the appearance of the two women but didn’t run up to them like he usually did when encountering new people.
Brianna turned and her eyes widened, then narrowed. “What are you doing out here?”
“Hi, everyone,” Kerry said, clearly more pleased to see us than her friend. I guessed Brianna hadn’t filled her in on our unspoken feud.
“That’s your room?” I asked, ignoring her question.
Brianna took a step in our direction. “Yes. Is that yours?” She pointed to the doors we stood huddled around.
“Annabelle has the suite on the end,” Kate said, waving vaguely toward the open French doors. “We were taking a walk down the porch.”
Brianna flinched at the word suite but recovered her haughty expression. “A walk?”
“Clearly we’d just started when you threw open your doors and startled us,” Kate said.
I had to admire the vigor with which she stuck with her story. She was such a convincing liar, I almost believed her.
“Sorry,” Brianna said, clearly insincere.
“Well, that was probably enough of a walk.” Richard glanced at the Cartier watch he always wore. “We have spa appointments to keep, and I don’t want to wear out Hermès. He has very short legs.”
Kate gave Brianna the same finger wave she’d given us that morning. “Ta-ta for now.”
We hurried back into my room, Hermès bringing up the rear, and pulled the glass doors closed behind us. The only consolation I had in losing my card key was that the front desk had given me two to start with.
“I heard them giggling in the hall then they went into a nearby room,” Fern said, his sunglasses off and his hand pressed against his heart. “I tried to warn you in case they came outside.”
“Do you think Brianna knew what we were doing?” Kate asked.
I shook my head. “Even if she thinks we were acting odd, she didn’t see a thing.”
“Thank heavens for that,” Richard said. “But that was too close for comfort.”
I sank down on the edge of the bed. “Does anyone else think it’s strange that Brianna and Kerry have a room on the other side of the empty room where all the strange noises were coming from?”
“That does mean that if you heard noises last night, they probably did, as well,” Richard said. “Which is not good news for the management hoping to keep the rumors of poltergeists under wraps.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Which tells me that somebody assigned these rooms on purpose so that the ghost rumors would get out. And fast.”
Kate made a face. “It also means you’re only one room away from Botox Barbie.”
I groaned. “You’re right. That may be worse than a devious plot or a poltergeist.”
10
“Where did you get those cucumber slices?” I stared down at Richard as he lay in an oversized celadon chair with his head back and two green discs covering his eyes. He wore a white terrycloth robe and had a cream-colored chenille throw draped across his feet.
He didn’t sit up or take the cucumber slices off his eyes to look at me. “Shhhhh. This is supposed to be the spa’s relaxation lounge. That means no talking, Annabelle.” He waved a hand vaguely to his right. “The cucumber slices were over at the flavored-water station.”
“The ones floating in the pitchers? Those are supposed to flavor the water, not reduce your eye bags,” I whispered, taking the chair next to him and pulling a throw over to cover my feet.
A cucumber slice slipped off his eye, and he gave me a one-eyed glare before replacing it. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that or that you implied I have bags under my eyes.”
We’d staked out the center of the airy lounge where all the celadon green chairs were chaise lounges and came with extra cushions and soft throws. A fireplace was lit at the far end of the room, and French doors in the middle led outside to a terrace. The faint scent of eucalyptus hung in the air while soft piano music played in the background. I felt more relaxed just being in the relaxation lounge.
“I’m a human noodle,” Fern said as he staggered into the lounge from the spa treatment area. The dark hair that he usually wore pulled tightly into a ponytail hung loose around his face.
I sniffed as he walked past me and sank into a chair. “Well, you smell like maple syrup.”
He swung his slippered feet onto his chair. “I got the sugar maple glow treatment, so they scrubbed me with maple sugar then slathered me with maple butter.” He lifted his arm to his nose. “I do smell delicious. Is anyone else suddenly hungry for pancakes?”
A woman opened the door to the treatment area. “Richard Gerard?”
Richard sat up, the cucumbers sliding from his face and plopping in his lap. He dropped the cucumbers on the side table next to his chair as he stood. “Time for my thermal mud wrap.”
Richard passed by Kate as he walked to the spa treatment rooms. She raised a glass of lemon-infused water at him and took his chair next to me.
“What took you so long?” I asked.
“I couldn’t bring myself to get out of the hot tub.”
I noticed that her face was flushed pink and wisps of blond hair curled at her temples. “Don’t you mean the Bedford baths?”
“Right.” She smiled and let her head flop back against the chair. “Whatever they want to call it, count me a fan.”
“Did you try the scrub?” a voice asked from the fireplace area.
Kate and I both twisted in our chairs and saw Kerry smiling at us from one of the tufted white chairs. She had her dark shoulder-length hair pulled back with a white terrycloth headband. I scanned the rest of the room but didn’t see Brianna.
“There’s a scrub?” Kate asked.
Kerry nodded. “In the shower. It’s really good.”
Kate made to stand like she was headed back to try the shower scrub, but I pulled her back down.
“Is Brianna here with you?” I asked the blogger. I knew I was being direct, but I really didn’t want my spa experience ruined by another run-in with our nemesis.
“She’s getting a facial,” Kerry said. “Do you mind if I join you?”
Kate’s eyes flicked to mine, but I couldn’t bring myself to be outwardly rude, so I sighed and gestured to the lounge chair next to Fern. “Of course not.”
Kerry jumped up and hurried over to us, bringing her own chenille throw with her. She sat down and tucked her feet up under her legs. “I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot when we met before. I know I’m really new, but I’ve heard a lot of great things about Wedding Belles.”
“Not from Brianna, I’m sure,” Kate said.
Kerry blushed, and her eyes fell to her lap. I gave Kate a look; she shrugged and gave me an innocent look back.
“Don’t worry about all the gossip,” I said. “Most people in the wedding industry are pretty friendly, and most of us get along with each other.”
Kerry smiled. “Thanks.”
I readjusted the blanket around my feet. “This isn’t your first visit to Bedford, is it?”
“I’ve been before.”
I waited for her to elaborate, but she didn’t. “Is it better the second time when you know the lay of the land?”
She shrugged. “At first I was disappointed about our room assignment. I called ahead to request room 217, but they didn’t honor the request.”
“What’s in 217?” Kate asked.
“According to the staff I talked to on my last visit, a gentleman ghost.”
Fern’s eyes popped open. “In room 217?”
Kerry seemed pleased to have an interested audience. “The housekeeping staff all know about him. He’s harmless and pretty friendly.”
“So why did you post about the hotel being haunted by poltergeists?” I asked.
Kerry’s eyes darted around the room. “I have it on good authority that there are some new spirits in the hotel who aren’t so cheerful.”
“On whose authority?” I asked. It sounded like she hadn’t had any personal experience with the so-called evil spirits she reported on and was going off the claims of a third party.
She pressed her lips together. “I can’t say. But my source is reliable.”
I couldn’t help feeling a flash of irritation that this girl would put people’s jobs in jeopardy by posting something about which she had no actual evidence.
“But you haven’t encountered any ghosts yourself?” I asked.
“Not until last night. Brianna and I heard all sorts of moaning coming from the room next to us, but when we asked, we found out that the room is unoccupied.”
“You don’t say?” I muttered.
“You must have heard the noises if you’re on the other side of the room.” Kerry leaned over and lowered her voice. “According to my source, the room isn’t closed for repairs like the hotel is claiming; it’s closed because it’s haunted.”
