by Diane Darcy
She shot him an impatient glance and removed her hand from his.
“Oh, did I say that out loud?” He laughed, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.
One thing she’d say for the guy, he was persistent. But, he also seemed willing to let her set the limits on their budding relationship.
Anyway, when he looked at her the way he did, something inside of her heart region just seemed to melt.
She finally gave a shrug, and decided to just go with it.
If it wasn’t working out, if she felt she wasn’t able to help, she could simply leave.
Chapter 5
William was just relieved he had Lena back again.
Almost two days had felt like an eternity, and if he’d known it would only take a mystery to lure her in again, he’d have created one himself.
Or, maybe not. If she found out, she might disappear forever, and then where would he be?
He parked his car under the porte-cochère at The Hemlock and then hurried around to help Lena.
She was already halfway out by the time he reached her, and he offered his hand, biting back an admonition to wait for him.
They headed into The Hemlock, and as they passed the lobby and the check-in desk, he heard his name called.
The manager, Sophia Darrow, raised a hand, and he wrapped an arm around Lena’s shoulders and tugged her in that direction. “Sophia, you remember my friend, Lena?”
Sophia’s eyes narrowed, no doubt because she knew good and well Lena was his soulmate. He hadn’t exactly kept it quiet, now, had he? He would shout it from the rooftops if he thought it would convince Lena.
Sophia extended her hand. “It’s nice to see you again so soon.”
Lena shook her hand. “It’s nice to see you again, as well.”
Sophia turned her attention to William. “I’m going to need you to control the Stansberrys. They’ve been calling down to the front desk every twenty minutes or so, and getting more and more demanding. Is there anything you can do about that?”
“We’re on our way upstairs tae meet with them right now.”
“I’m going to need you to take care of this quickly, are we clear? And I want it kept quiet.”
“O’ course.” Taking Lena’s hand, he drew her away, and they headed to the elevators. He got on the phone to Alastair to find out if there was any new information.
Alastair answered on the second ring just as they entered the elevator and he pushed the button for the twenty-fourth floor. “What have ye got?”
“Tis as if she just disappeared into thin air. We’re still checking film, but o’ course that takes forever. But after she went downstairs and got lost in the crowd, we don’t know what happened tae her. We didn’t see her leave by any of the exits around the same time frame, so we just don’t know.”
“I’m going tae the Stansberry’s room. Have ye naught tae offer me?”
“We sent the witches up, they charged us an arm and a leg, by the way, and they could no’ detect any spells, charms, or beguilements.”
“That’s something anyway. I have Lena with me, and we’ll see if she comes up with anything.”
She shot him a startled look, and shook her head vehemently.
“I’ll let ye know.”
The minute he was off the phone, Lena elbowed him in the ribs. “Who were you talking to? There’s no reason to think I’m going to come up with anything. Why would you say that?”
“Tis naught, sweetling.” When the doors opened, they exited the elevator and a few minutes later stopped in front of a door.
He knocked, then winked at her. “Ye might no’ believe in yerself, but I certainly do.”
Throwing her hands in the air, she walked away a couple of steps, then when the door opened, turned back, her game face firmly in place.
Lord, he already loved this woman.
Chapter 6
They were going to have another murder on their hands soon, because she was going to kill William the moment she got him alone.
“Mr. and Mrs. Stansberry, how are ye holding up?” As if William’s question lit a fuse, Mr. Stansberry exploded on impact.
“How do you think?” The big, stocky man threw his hands up, paced back into the room, and then came back again. “My daughter has been missing for over eighteen hours now, and as far as I can see, nothing has been done to rectify the situation!”
“Mr. Stansberry —”
“I’ve been calling down to security for you. I’ve been calling down to the front desk. Nobody knew where you were. And instead of showing back up here with my daughter in hand, you’ve brought another witch!”
Lena glanced down at her outfit. She’d planned to go to work on Fremont Street at some point today, and as they were going to The Hemlock Hotel, she’d seen no reason to change her clothes.
Mrs. Stansberry, a sturdy-looking brunette, started to sob softly.
William held up a placating hand. “Mr. Stansberry —”
“I feel like none of you are taking this seriously because of the footage of Addison leaving the room on her own! You don’t know she wasn’t coerced out of here! You don’t know what happened! Why isn’t she answering her phone?”
“Enough!” William barked the word, causing Mr. Stansberry to take a step back.
“Her phone records show no recent activity, and we’re trying to track down a blocked number from last night. We should have access tae her updated phone records within the hour. Perhaps that will tell us what we need tae know. In the meantime, you need tae stand down, stay out of our way, and let us handle the situation.”
“If my daughter ends up dead —”
“Aye?” William had gone steely-eyed, and the other man took a step backward.
Lena would have done the same.
“She’d just better not, that’s all I have to say about it.”
“I’ve brought a psychic with me tae check out yer daughter’s room. If we may proceed?”
Mr. Stansberry swept out a hand to encompass the suite. “By all means.” His tone was sarcastic.
William headed straight through the living area to one of the bedrooms, and Lena followed.
He opened the door and escorted Lena inside, and then pointedly shut the door in Mr. Stansberry’s face.
They heard grumbling on the other side of the door for a few moments before it went silent.
“Sorry, lass. In the circumstances I suppose tis tae be expected.”
She waved a hand in the air. “No big deal.” She glanced around the room. “I understand they’re upset. Is this how she left it?”
He nodded. “Aye, it looks like it’s been ransacked, but upon careful consideration, I believe the girl probably did most of this herself.”
“You’re still leaning toward a runaway?”
He shrugged. “Time will tell.”
With a slight shake of her head, Lena glanced around the room, went into the en suite bathroom, and looked around at the cosmetics and skin care bottles spread over the counter. She backed out a moment later. “I don’t know what you’re expecting me to find —”
There was a slight glow in the corner, underneath a blanket that had fallen to the floor.
Lena walked over and flipped the blanket back, only to discover a notepad, doing that glowing green thing again. “Would you look at this?” She held up the paper-filled square.
William looked blank. “What?”
The small notebook had a logo, The Hemlock Hotel, emblazoned across the top. The cream-colored paper looked expensive and classy.
“It’s just a blank notepad, lass.”
There was something about it, and she knew it, didn’t she? She had a moment of doubt, until she remembered Carter and the car accident.
She turned the notepad over, and back, then flipped through the pages.
“Lass?”
She could see faint impressions on the first page. “This is probably dumb, but could you find me a pencil? I’d like to try shading the front page of the note
pad to see if we can make out any words.”
“O’ course.” He didn’t even hesitate, which she appreciated very much. He made a call, and she continued to poke around the room while she waited, but nothing else came to her.
After one of his men came in with a pencil she sat down at the desk and held the pencil sideways to shade the page ever so lightly.
Heat prickled her skin as she flushed with embarrassment. She felt like she was about to make a fool of herself, not only in front of William, but his coworker.
But, that didn’t turn out to be the case, because words actually did start to appear on the page. “It looks like a boy’s name. Noah,” she said out loud, and then continued shading the page until a phone number was revealed.
She glanced up at William, to see a huge smile on his face. He looked proud as he glanced at the other man, and then back to her again. “Well done, lass.”
He took the paper and dialed the number on his phone. “I’m looking for Noah.”
Because it was so quiet in the room, Lena could hear the response. “You’ve got him.”
“I’m searching for Addison Stansberry.” William held the phone away from his ear. “He hung up.”
Real worry for the girl rose within her. “What do you think? Has she run off with a boy? Or become wrapped up in something bad?”
“Tis hard tae say.” He quickly tapped out a text message and sent it.
“What was that?”
He read the message to her.
“This is security at The Hemlock Hotel. Ye can call me back, and we’ll discuss this. Or, ye can try and hide, I’ll find ye, and ye’ll be sorry ye made me hunt ye down.”
Yikes!
The phone vibrated and William quickly answered.
Again, Lena could hear the conversation. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to hang up. My finger slipped. This is Noah.”
Sure, his finger slipped. But she couldn’t blame the guy; she’d have been intimidated by that message as well.
“What do ye know about the whereabouts of Addison Stansberry?”
“How would I know anything about her?”
“She’s missing.”
“Oh, jeez. Look, I met the girl at the swimming pool yesterday. She’s the one who came on to me. You gotta believe that.”
“Oh, I do. That doesn’t change the fact that I need tae know where she is.”
“I don’t know!” Noah sounded panicked. “She came over, acting like we were boyfriend and girlfriend or something after only meeting her once. And then the next thing I know, she’s gone. I don’t know where she went.”
“What is yer last name?” William asked.
A long pause. “Duffy.”
“Well, Noah Duffy, I’m going tae need yer address. We’ll be coming by tae have a talk. Ye’d best be there.”
“Oh, jeez! I can’t believe this! I didn’t even like her!”
“Address please.”
After a bit more drama on the other end, Noah finally gave them an address.
“Ye’re no’ tae go anywhere. We’ll be there in twenty-five minutes.”
“Fine.” The kid had a petulant edge to his tone.
William hung up.
He held out a hand to Lena. “Shall we?”
She grinned, having fun once more. “Let’s.”
Chapter 7
It took about five minutes to extricate themselves from Mr. and Mrs. Stansberry, as well as multiple assurances that they were doing all they could to return with their daughter.
About ten minutes later, they were back in William’s car, heading south toward the freeway.
“Just so you know, I’m planning to work at the caravan at some point today,” Lena said.
“What time?”
She shrugged. “By four or five, I guess.”
“I can pay ye for your help with the investigation … .” He left the offer floating in the air between them.
She chuckled. “Not going to happen.”
“Stubborn,” he said under his breath.
She smiled sweetly. “You have no idea.”
He grinned at her. “But I’m anxious tae learn.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t glad to be here, though.”
His look of happiness only made him all the more attractive.
She glanced away, flipping the sun visor down. “I thought I overheard Noah saying something about Addison Stansberry coming on too hard and too fast for him. Did you catch that?”
“Aye, I caught it.”
“I hope she didn’t do anything stupid.”
Noah’s house was in a middle-income neighborhood in a subdivision and soon they were pulling up to a stucco home with terra cotta roof tiles. By the time they started climbing the porch stairs, a young man had thrown the door open. He had a nice tan, was lean, and brooding, and sported a movie star-type face. The sort of face a teenage girl would fall for in a heartbeat.
“Noah Duffy?” William asked.
“Yeah?”
Lena figured the boy was naturally petulant most of the time. Something else that might appeal to a young teenage girl. Especially a sheltered one.
Lena was twenty-five years old herself, had always been protected, but never sheltered. Though Addison wasn’t that much younger, the six years between them made the difference between child and woman. Lena’s general impression was that Addison seemed immature, even for her age.
“We have a few questions. Can we come in?” William asked.
Rather than respond, Noah just left the door open and padded into the house with its vaulted ceilings. They followed and Noah threw himself down onto a plush armchair, and with a wave of his hand, indicated the sofa.
Lena sat, William chose to stand.
Noah looked at Lena. “Don’t I know you?”
She shook her head.
“Yeah. You’re that gypsy on Fremont Street.” He gave her an admiring look. “I’ve seen you there before.”
Surprise made her smile. “Really?”
“From the beginning,” William interrupted, his tone hard. “Tell us everything about yer interactions with Addison Stansberry. Before ye begin, I think ye should know I’m aware that she was in this house.”
The boy scowled at him. “I never said she wasn’t.”
“All right, begin.”
Another scowl, and the boy threw up his hand.
“I don’t know where she is, all I know is she seemed cool at first, you know? Sometimes my friends and I will pay to swim at one of the local pools, it’s a good way to meet girls, you know?”
“I’m aware.”
“Anyway, Addison, she seemed cool, and she gave me her phone number.”
“Then what happened?”
“Her parents apparently didn’t like us hanging out with her, and the whole family ended up leaving. I called her later, but I blocked my number, you know? Just in case. I didn’t want her father finding out, and getting into it.”
“But ye gave yer number tae her too, did ye no’?”
“How did you know that?”
“She wrote it down in her room.”
Noah scowled. “Stupid cow, dragging me into this. This doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
“What doesnae, exactly, Mr. Duffy?”
“We decided to meet up, you know? After her parents went to bed.”
“Who is we, exactly?”
“Me, my brother, my friend.”
“What are their names?”
For a moment, Noah’s jaw jutted, and he looked as though he wouldn’t give up the names, but he finally let out a breath. “Ethan Trask and Logan Duffy.”
“So, where did ye meet up?”
“We picked her up outside the back gate at The Hemlock.”
“Is that so?”
Lena studied William’s face, but it was impassive, and she didn’t know why that seemed to strike a chord with him.
“Continue.”
“The three of us were waiting for her, and she
got in the car. We drove out here. My parents are in California for a wedding, so we were just gonna have some drinks, some fun, watch a movie.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. She liked me, but she was kind of irritating, you know? My brother liked her more than I did. It all just went south.”
“Did ye hurt the girl?”
“No! She just got mad and left.”
“Did ye try tae find her?”
“Why would I? I just figured she got a taxi or something.”
“And what about Logan and Ethan? Did they stay here with ye, or did they follow her?”
“Why don’t you ask them?”
“I am asking ye, Noah.” His tone was menacing all of a sudden, and Lena felt the hair rise on the back of her neck.
Apparently, Noah had the same reaction, because his eyes widened, and he swallowed. “Yeah. Logan was worried about her, so he followed. Ethan stayed with me and watched TV.”
“Where’s Logan?”
“He’s at work.”
“And where does he work?”
Noah hesitated, looking down. He was picking at a spot on his jeans, when William asked once again, “Where does Logan work?”
Noah closed his eyes. “He’s gonna kill me if he gets wrapped up in this. He’s at work, and he could get in trouble if you go by.”
“Tell me now, lad, or it’ll go the worse for ye.”
“Can’t you just look him up or something? That way I can say I didn’t tell you anything.”
A sound, almost a growl came out of William’s throat, and he took a threatening step toward Noah.
Noah lifted his legs up onto the chair and wrapped his arms around them. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you. He works at The Luxor in a booth, selling phones and phone accessories. It’s right down the hall as you head into Mandalay Bay.”
William stopped, but looked no less threatening. “What time does he get off work?”
“Five o’clock.”
“All right. Thank ye for your help. Keep yerself available. I’ll contact ye if I have any more questions. If ye warn yer brother I’m looking for him, ye’ll have me tae contend with.”
William held his hand out to Lena, and she grasped it, and he escorted her out the front door.
