I push past her into her room and hold the note out to her.
“This was sitting on my floor when I got into my room,” I tell her.
She reads the note, then lifts her eyes to me.
“E.V.?” she asks.
“Emmanuel Vargas,” I explain. “The man we saw with Rosa and who I know I saw talking to Graciela.”
“What does it mean he didn't hire her?” she asks.
I shake my head, starting to pace again.
“I don't know. But he's trying to tell me something.”
“Are you going to wait until tomorrow to talk to him?” she asked.
“I don't want to. But if he is specifically saying to come tomorrow, there's a reason. We both saw him with Rosa, and now she's dead. I don't want to cause him any danger.”
I pace for another few seconds. “Damn it. What does he mean? He didn't hire her. I'm assuming he's talking about Rosa, but who is 'he'?” A thought snaps into my mind. “Alonso told me if I knew anybody who might want to work here, to get in touch with him. Maybe he handles all the hiring?”
“It's possible,” Bellamy nods.
“I have a feeling he's not going to tell me anything,” I say. “But Constance might. She gave me his card when I asked for his contact information. Maybe she knows who handles all the hiring around here.”
“I doubt she's still working this late,” Bellamy says. “You'll have to wait until morning to talk to her.”
“There has to be someone down there at the desk. Who else is going to take care of whatever the guests need?"
I can hear the bitterness in my own voice, and Bellamy lets out a breath. She knows she can't stop me.
The door opens before I can leave, and Eric comes in. His eyes widen in surprise when he sees me.
“Hey,” he says. “I didn't expect to see you in here.”
“Clearly,” I say, my eyes are dropping down to the key in his hands. “Just coming by to check on Bellamy?”
They exchange glances, but neither of them offers any information. I decide not to push it. There isn't time to listen to them dance around whatever they're avoiding telling me. Eventually they’ll tell me what's going on between them.
"How was your afternoon?" Bellamy interjects, quickly rerouting the conversation.
"Actually, it was a little strange," he says, coming further into the room.
His movement toward the small refrigerator to the side is familiar, and when he opens the door, I can't help but notice bottles of his favorite beer inside.
"What do you mean strange?" she asks.
Eric crosses the room and drops down onto one of the chairs in the seating area. He grabs a bottle opener from the table in front of him and cracks his bottle open.
"The guy I met at the bar, Luke, has been here a bunch of times. He acts like it's his own personal summer home. When he talked about it, he called it a spa, but that's not exactly what it was. When we got there, a guy brought us into a lounge area and gave us menus of the different services they offer. Facials, massages, hot shaves, that sort of thing. Luke told me he always gets a hot shave and a foot rub and likes to order a cigar to have during it. I figured it was vacation, so I'd go for it and told him I'd do the same thing. Then he asked if I wanted any kind of enhancement for my cigar."
"Enhancement?" I raise an eyebrow.
Eric takes a sip of his beer and nods.
"My same reaction. He said to tell them I was feeling tired and wanted to enjoy more of the resort's amenities, so I needed some energy. He wouldn't explain what he meant but just kept saying the resort makes sure every experience is the best it can be. We both got called back, and the woman who came in to do my foot rub asked if there was anything else I wanted. I asked about the enhancements, and she asked who recommended them. I told her Luke, and she asked if he told me what to ask for. I told her what he said about the energy, and she asked if he said anything else. I told her no, and she just offered me a couple of different types of cigars."
"That's it?" I ask.
Eric nods, and Bellamy looks at me questioningly.
"What's wrong with that?" she asks.
"Different brands of cigars are different in their flavor, but there aren't any designed to give you energy. They were offering Eric drugs."
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Then why didn't they say that?” Bellamy asks. “Why didn't they actually offer them to him?”
“Because he didn't say the right things?” I say. “She was probably looking for specific words. Eric didn’t know whatever code to ask for. Probably helps them to keep a wall of plausible deniability. Only people who know the right thing to ask for are given whatever… ‘enhancements’ they have on offer.”
“Everybody here knows Eric is in the FBI,” Bellamy points out. “Why in the hell would somebody offer an FBI agent drugs?”
“Luke checked in after the body was found,” Eric says. “He might not know. And if he does, it could be a test. Whoever is funneling the drugs into the resort could be testing the people working in the spa. They want to make sure that they are using the right words.”
"That's a risky game," Bellamy notes.
"I don't think it was a game," Eric tells us. "If they were going to test the staff, they'd choose literally anyone else."
"Could Luke have something to do with the resort other than just being a frequent flier guest?" I ask.
"What are you thinking?" Eric asks.
"You say he checked in after the murder happened, so he wasn't around to hear you are FBI. But just because he wasn't here doesn't mean he wouldn't hear about it. You said he comes here all the time. That's something I heard from Constance up at the front desk, too.
