I hadn’t thought to offer an explanation, but this was as good as any, so I said, “Actually it is research for a book.”
He questioned me no more. Instead we ironed out the details and came up with a plan. Stowe was really into the idea of helping me, and his enthusiasm made the prospect of the whole endeavor kind of…fun.
I was to wait in the car, lie low. Stowe would then “rent” one of the rooms for an hour. After about five minutes, he’d storm back into the office. The plan was for him to complain something wasn’t working right, which shouldn’t be hard to believe at that rundown dump. The desk clerk would then go with Stowe to the room, giving me a window of opportunity to sneak into the office. And, hopefully, my accomplice could keep the clerk back in the room long enough for me to find the correct ledger. Simple enough, right?
An hour later we turned into the gravel drive at the seedy motel. We’d taken Stowe’s nondescript rental car, since the clerk had seen my car the time I was there. I looked over at Stowe as he pulled into a spot across from the office, in a corner of the empty lot. He was wearing dark jeans, a tan sweater, and a burnished brown leather jacket. “You look too clean cut for Fowler’s,” I told him.
He cut the engine. “Maddy, I’m sure they get all kinds out here. Don’t worry, my clothes will make my disgruntled guest guise all the more convincing.” He did have a point.
“What are you going to say is wrong with the room he gives you?” I asked.
Stowe considered, rubbing his jaw in thought. “I don’t know, maybe no hot water. That’s always a good one.”
He seemed so…at ease.
I shifted in my seat, eyeing him curiously. “Hmm, it’s almost like you’ve done stuff like this before, Stowe.”
“What?” His green eyes sparkled as he tried to feign a serious mien. “Come out to Fowler’s to provide a distraction so my lovely neighbor can sneak around in the office? Nope, first time.”
I couldn’t help but laugh a little. The guy may have had secrets of his own, but he was helping me and making it amusing while he did.
“You know what I mean,” I said. “It’s like you have experience in doing something…” I searched for right word that wouldn’t sound offensive…
…And Stowe said, “Sneaky? Maybe a little criminal?”
My head jerked up; I tried to read his expression, but it was getting dark. His face was in the shadows. “You aren’t really in Harbour Falls for work, are you?”
He leaned his head back against the rest. “Maddy—”
I waved a hand and turned my head. “Just forget it. I have no right to ask, especially when you drove us all the way out here to do me a favor.”
We dropped the subject right there and then, but things grew quiet in the car. “We’d better get started,” I said softly.
“You remember the plan?” he asked as he opened the driver’s side door.
“I wait here until I see you heading back to the room with the clerk.”
“You got it,” Stowe said, with a quick pat to my shoulder.
He was almost out the door, but I stopped him with a touch to his elbow. “Hey, be careful.”
He snickered, like my words were…cute. “Aww, that’s a sweet sentiment. But there’s no need to worry about me or anything. I’ll make sure everything goes smoothly, don’t worry.”
Okay, Mr. Confidence, I thought. But I said “thank you” nonetheless. And then he was gone.
In the side-view mirror, I watched as Stowe walked across the lot and went into the office. I had a good view of most everything behind me, but I worried that meant the desk clerk may be able to see me as well. I was already scrunched down in the passenger seat, but I slid down a few more inches.
Several minutes passed, and at last Stowe emerged from the motel office. He glanced my way, gave me a barely perceptible “thumbs-up,” and then proceeded around to the back of the motel.
It would be bizarre if he was given room number eleven, I thought. But even if he had been given that room it was irrelevant; Stowe had no idea number eleven held any significance. And there was no point in dwelling on it. My job was to watch for him to return to the office while he played the role of an irate guest.
Some time passed, and then Stowe reemerged from the back. He came around to the front and stomped into the office. Stowe played intimidating well, and I had no doubt he’d be able to get the desk clerk out of the office. Sure enough, three minutes later, the creepy old clerk (looking quite put out) and Stowe came out and disappeared around the side of the building.
Showtime.
I opened the passenger door, hurried across the parking lot, and slipped unseen into the office. In the background a clock ticked loudly, reminding me that I needed to be quick. Once I was behind the counter, I rushed to the bookcases and ran my index finger along the dusty spines of the ledgers until I found one dated from nine years ago.
I yanked the ledger from the shelf and blew off the dust. There was a desk next to the bookcase, and I set the ledger on it. A banker’s lamp on the desk was turned on, so I angled the green shade until light fell onto the ledger. I opened the book to the middle, but the entries were all from July. I paged backward until I found the section for May and flipped to the fifth, heart pounding.
There it was… Check-in date: May 5
