Hoping she will follow me without me having to say anything, I dart across the brick path and into the shadows between two of the other cabins. We press against the side of the building and inch around the back and into the space between the next two. This allows me to lean around and peer between the spots on the side of the porch to where the two men are.
I expected them to come down the path back in the direction where we walked up. Instead, they turn in the other direction. The housekeeper who came out of the cabin first walks behind them, none of them seeming to care that the other one never came out of the cabin she entered. They walk past the last two cabins visible along the path, then turn a corner that brings them deeper into the low-hanging trees.
I wait for a few seconds, then run back to the area behind the cabins. It's open without any fences or other barriers to divide the land into yards or private space. That makes it easy to run behind them, but it also means at any second someone could come out of one of the back doors and see us.
If it gets us any closer to getting our questions answered, the risk is worth it.
The row of cabins goes further than I thought it would. The size of the dorm building makes it look as if it could house quite a number of people, so I didn't think they would need many cabins. But as we continue along the row, we find more than a dozen more cabins dotted along the curved path. At the end of the row, the last cabin sits right up against the darkening rainforest growth.
Bellamy and I carefully move between the two cabins to go out onto the path, looking around to make sure no one notices we're there. With the apparent size of the staff, it's entirely possible anyone who did happen to see us wouldn't be able to immediately tell we didn't work there. But I don't want to take that chance.
The path is empty in front of us. Faint pools of light from small lights in the path illuminate our way. It gives us just enough visibility to see what's ahead of us and make our way down the path without tripping. But it’s dark, and there are shadows, and the wind is moving in off the shore. I can smell the ocean air.
The path continues to curve around in a lazy oval until several yards ahead the trees open out, and I see the glint of the dorm building in the moonlight.
Bellamy and I step into the shadows again and ease closer. The two men and the woman aren't visible anymore, but when we get close to the end of the path, I see a large black van parked close to the side of the building. The back hatch is open, but there's no one near it.
"I want to see what's inside," I tell her.
"Emma, no. Someone is going to see you."
"Not if I move fast enough. And if they do, I'll just tell them I'm lost. They've believed everything else I've fed to them."
I take off toward the van and hear Bellamy mutter a profanity behind me before she runs to catch up with me. We get to the van and crouch down behind it, staying there for a few beats until we're confident no one has seen us. Moving around to the back, I peer around into the inside.
"Empty," I curse under my breath, then look at Bellamy. "No seats, nothing."
"A delivery?" Bellamy asks. "This late?"
I shake my head slowly, shrugging.
"I don't know."
A door on the side of the building opens. We scurry back behind the van before diving out of view into the shadows. I hear two men's voices.
"How many?"
"Five."
"That's too many. It will be noticed."
"No. I have that covered. It's what they want."
"What about the special request?" a woman's voice surprises me.
"Got it."
"Perfect."
"Come on," I whisper to Bellamy, tugging on her arm. "We need to get out of here."
We run down the path until we get to the cabins, and then follow the same route we took behind the buildings. I feel like I don't take a breath until we're beyond the wooden fence of the village and past the ‘Staff Only’ sign.
"What the hell is going on in there?" Bellamy asks.
"I'm not sure, but I don't think it's advertised in the resort brochure."
"Did you recognize the voices?"
"No," I shake my head. "The men who carried our luggage didn't say anything to me, so I don't know if that was them. I'm assuming it was, but I can't be sure. That woman's voice, though. I feel like I've heard it. She wasn't talking loudly enough for me to be sure, but it sounded almost familiar. Maybe one of the guests."
"Why would a resort guest be in there with them?" she asks.
"I don't know."
We walk in silence until we get back to the guest building.
"What are you doing now?" Bellamy asks.
"Going up to my room. I need to try to get all this straight in my head. I'll give you a call in the morning."
"Okay."
We part ways in the hall, and I head to my room. When I step inside, I notice a piece of folded paper on the floor, like it was slipped under the door. It's folded in half hastily, and the printing looks like one of the menus delivered every morning. But when I pick it up, I see writing inside.
‘He didn't hire her. Room #502. Tomorrow. E.V.’
As soon as I read the note, I burst out of my room and rush to Bellamy's. Her eyes are wide when she answers my series of rapid-fire knocks.
“What's
