Except now it wasn’t.
The curtains draped over it drifted in the breeze leaked through the tiniest of gaps between the bottom sash and the sill.
“I know you’re in here,” I said, slowly. “And I’m not afraid.”
Who are you kidding?
Kyle had always had too much power over my emotions. It had taken a lot for me to break free and allow my suspicions to arise during our marriage.
I removed my phone from my pocket, switched on the flashlight, and aimed it into the room, scanning the dark corners, under the table of supplies and behind the incubator. Nothing. The space was empty.
I unlatched the door and entered, wary as a mouse under a cat’s nose.
Regardless, I moved swiftly to the window, closed and latched it.
When I turned around, the space was as empty as it had been seconds ago, but I lifted my phone and scanned the room with the flashlight again. A glimmer of… something on top of the incubator drew me closer.
My steps faltered, but I forced myself to keep going until I was directly in front of it.
It was a rose gold wedding band.
I lifted it from the top of the incubator, a mixture of terror and hysterical laughter bubbling in my throat. The engraving along the inside of the band told me what I’d feared since the minute I’d laid eyes on it.
I’ll love you forever. C.M.
It was Kyle’s wedding band. The one I’d slipped onto his finger on the day of our wedding. The engraving I’d chosen specifically for him.
My palm closed around the ring, hiding it from view.
He had been here, all right. And he was toying with me.
Don’t let him get under your skin.
A hand landed on my shoulder, and I shrugged it off, dropping into a spinning kick as I’d done with my Gamma the other day.
“Whoa! Charlie, wait!” Brian tripped backward to stop me from knocking him over. He held up his palms.
It took me a second to fully register that it was him and not Kyle. I straightened. “What are you doing in here?” I asked.
“Hostile much?” Brian frowned at me. “As I recall, I wasn’t the one breaking the rules.”
“Brian, what is it?” The ring was still tucked against my palm. I could tell him about it now, tell him that Kyle had left it for me, but would he believe me? Shoot, would Grant come rushing in and chase Kyle off?
You have to tell them. You can’t endanger yourself like this.
I opened my mouth to do exactly that.
“Detective Crowley’s here,” Brian said, before I could tell him about the ring. “He wants to talk to you about your interview with Dr. Briggs. Cats out of the bag, Charlie. I think you’re in trouble this time.”
“Since when am I not in trouble?” I asked.
13
“Clearly, we have a bigger issue on our hands than Detective Crowley’s ire,” Gamma said, her sharp gaze directed at Brian. “Wouldn’t you say that’s the case, Brian?”
Whenever my grandmother spoke directly to him, he came over shy. She was the most decorated spy in NSIB history, after all, and Brian loved the agency and his job. He was often torn between wanting to report her for her secret weapon’s stash and showing her respect.
“It complicates things.”
“But you admit Grandpa will have to see sense now,” Gamma pressed on.
We sat at one of the tables in the dining room, the cozy atmosphere completed by an electric fire in the fireplace. The same ambience with none of the heat. A necessity in Gossip when it was hot, but you needed a little comfort.
The table we sat at bore its usual glossy sheen, but we had removed the small vase of flowers in the middle and replaced it with Kyle Turner’s wedding ring.
“It feels like we’re at the Council of Elrond,” I said.
“You read far too many fantasy novels, Charlotte.” Gamma patted me on the arm but kept her hawk-eyed gaze on Smulder.
He hadn’t given her a response to her last comment. “What did Detective Crowley say to you?”
“That we ought not to stick our noses where they don’t belong.” Gamma didn’t usually entertain changes of subject. “We’re not in trouble for it, so don’t get too excited. I know you’d love nothing more than to lock Charlie in this inn again.”
“Only to keep her safe. It’s not malicious.”
“Did I say it was malicious? Don’t get ahead of yourself, Brian,” Gamma replied calmly. “We have a serious matter to deal with. The death of Jordan Ames has caused a withdrawal of Grandpa, and that has left a vacuum of control. Charlotte’s old friend has paid her a visit but hasn’t acted on his true purpose.”
His true purpose being to kill me, of course.
“We need to figure out why. And we need to inform Grandpa of this occurrence.”
“What difference will it make?” I asked. “He’ll put everyone in place again, right?”
“He can’t.” That had come from Smulder. “Not yet. Detective Crowley hasn’t finished examining the crime scene. Apparently, there’s been some issue with processing the crime scene. Red tape. And as long as it’s a crime scene, we can’t risk being seen here.”
“Why?” Gamma challenged. “Charlotte’s friend clearly knows Grandpa’s friends are present. Why else would he suddenly make an appearance? He knows they’ve left the inn unguarded.”
“I’ll tell him,” Smulder said, at last. “But I can’t make any promises.”
“Great.” I flapped my hands. “Exactly what I wanted. Another month indoors. Honestly, just let Grandpa’s friends go on vacation or something. The sooner I face my friend in person, the better.”
“Irrational,” Gamma said, “but equally true.”
“I’ll talk to him.” Smulder grunted it out. “But I need to take the ring.”
“By all means.” I waved a hand. “I don’t want that thing anywhere near me.” It gave me
