Caught in the Frame (16 page)

The elevator dinged and shuddered to a stop. Lila approached Antoine while the others hung back.

When asked if he had seen Baylee leave the castle that afternoon, Antoine shook his head emphatically. Not only had Baylee not been one of those in line for the daily shuttle into the village, she had not passed through the foyer or lobby area all day. All other exits led to walled enclosures and courtyards. Anyone leaving would have to pass Antoine or his night time counterpart, or exit through one of the fire exits, which would set off an alarm. No alarm meant Baylee was still in the castle.

Chapter 16

Silence enveloped the six people packed into the elevator like a bunch of nervous sardines; each mind wondering where Baylee could be. “Let’s order some room service and regroup. If we’re going to get to the bottom of this, we need sustenance and a plan.” Nate shot a questioning look at Lila, who he pegged as the most likely to object. She merely nodded in assent. At this point, she was more than happy to keep a trained police officer nearby, and sticking together seemed like the safest option.

Chloe’s head fell against Nate’s chest, the quiet thumping of his heart lulling her into a dreamlike state. A low rumble in her belly at Nate’s mention of food reminded her that she hadn’t eaten yet today. People disappearing out of thin air didn’t exactly whet the appetite. Breadsticks with legs, a smiling cartoon chicken cutlet, and a head of romaine lettuce wearing a sombrero danced across the backs of her eyelids. A sharp ding, signaling they had arrived on their floor broke Chloe from her trance.

“I miss real food. Want to cook. Miss my kitchen.” She murmured quietly to Nate, who couldn’t help nodding in agreement. Homesickness—an emotion that Chloe, having never stayed in one place long enough to consider it home—hit her hard in the face.
So this is what that feels like. Maybe I can click my heels together three times and forget about this whole mess.

Chloe’s key card was at the ready, and when she swiped to open the door, everyone filed in behind her. A strangled cry escaped her lips as she looked around the room. Clothing spilled out of open drawers; the bed was stripped, the mattress askew as if someone had searched beneath it; every piece of luggage overturned. Several lacy undergarments littered the floor, but embarrassment wasn’t a luxury Chloe could afford right now—her room had been ransacked.

Nate raised an arm, gently pushing everyone back into the hallway. “Dalton, stay here and guard the exits. I’ll clear the suites; make sure this son of a bitch isn’t still skulking around.” He looked around, pulled an umbrella from the stand inside the door, and made a couple of practice lunges with it. If the situation were different, Chloe might have giggled out loud at the sight of her hunky boyfriend brandishing an umbrella sword.

“Better than nothing.” Nate shrugged, then disappeared inside. After the longest three minutes of Chloe’s life, he emerged from the door to EV’s portion of the suite. “All clear. Whoever it was seemed to be focused on Chloe’s room, but EV’s was searched as well. Lila, the door to your room was locked, so I’m assuming it hasn’t been touched. I’ll call in security, and then you two need to check all of your belongings and see if anything is missing.”

Everyone followed Nate’s instructions; fear, anxiety, and concern coloring all six faces. Dalton followed EV into her room; Javier ordered Lila to wait while he checked theirs, just in case Nate was wrong about it not having been accessible. When they were alone, Nate pulled Chloe close and held on tight. “I’m not letting you out of my sight until I know you’re safe.”

“Mother will love that.” Chloe hid fear and uncertainty behind a wall of humor. It was a short wall, though, and easily breached. “I feel violated.” Nate squeezed her even tighter. Until this business with Baylee and the break in, Nate thought Chloe’s suspicion of Javier to be based on concern for Lila. Watching more critically now, he was sure the man had a stake in what was happening, and the time for withholding information was just about over.

A room away, Dalton said, “EV, This goes beyond catching Remy. Screw him; it’s not worth your safety. If he sees us together, that’s just too bad. He’s got something to do with this, I can feel it in my bones.” Dalton had waited until they were alone in EV’s room to pull her close, but there was no trace of hesitation in the action.

EV leaned into his embrace and spoke her mind. He had expected no less. “We can’t throw away all we’ve worked for over this. This isn’t the first room to be broken into, and nobody has gotten hurt so far. Let’s not overreact. If we blow our cover now, we’ll never find out why he’s terrorizing Ponderosa Pines. I want to put this to rest once and for all.”

Dalton sighed. Leave it to EV to put her own safety on the back burner. “Let’s talk to Nate and Chloe; figure out how we’re going to handle this.” Dalton would humor EV, but in the end, nothing—not even her iron will—would stop him from protecting her.

* * *

“You’ll understand, I went through proper channels on this. Hotel management is contacting the security staff. They’ll be able to analyze how the room was accessed, and they’ll review the video footage of the hallway outside. It’s all going to take some time. They requested that we check if anything was missing—as if that’s not the first thing any sane person would do in this situation. When I said we already had, and everything was accounted for, I got the impression that our priority level dropped significantly. Now that we’ve put in an official complaint, you can probably facilitate things on that front, Javier.” Nate explained, once everyone had reassembled in Chloe’s room. He ran his hands through his hair; it didn’t have the usual effect, given his new, shorter style.

“I’ll handle this; none of you need to worry. Several guests have complained about missing items lately, and in each case, the objects were found right away.” Javier paced around the room, lost in thought. “People misplace things all the time, but when they go to a hotel, the first assumption is that someone—usually the housekeeping staff—is stealing. Though, none of the reports lately have included an actual security breach, so maybe this has to do with Baylee’s disappearance.” Storm clouds gathered in his eyes before he schooled his features again.

“How could someone get in here without a key?” Nate asked.

“They would have to hack into the security mainframe, and either activate a new key card or remotely unlock the door. The second option would require more than one person; someone to hit the switch, and someone to open the door. Seems like an awful lot of trouble considering nothing is missing.” Javier explained. “Come to think of it, are we sure all the room keys are accounted for?”

EV searched her pockets, wallet, and the small backpack she most often carried instead of a handbag. Chloe’s key card was on the console table near the door, right where she had dropped it when they walked in. Lila and Javier were able to produce their own within moments. A strangled “damn it all” echoed from EV’s room, where she had retreated in search of the last key.

“It’s my fault.” She moaned. “It’s not in my bag, or any of my pockets. My key is missing.”

“When was the last time you know you had it?” Javier questioned.

“It’s been a couple of days.” Her face screwed up while she accessed her memory, “Maybe more. I haven’t left the room without Chloe by my side except for last night, and when we came back, I went in through the connecting door from Lila’s room. They got in with my key, and then it was easy to get to Chloe’s things. I’m so sorry.” She whispered.

A chorus of reassurances rang out as Dalton kneaded her shoulders in an attempt to soothe her nerves. Chloe noticed, even through the haze of worry in which she was currently mired, that EV did not shrug away from Dalton’s touch as she had in the past.

“They’re right; it’s not your fault. If someone wanted to get in here this badly, they would have found another way.” Javier reassured EV before turning his attention back to Lila. “Are you going to be okay, love?” He asked at her visible distress.

She didn’t answer. In fact, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything at all. Instead, she stood stock-still, hands clenched at her sides, white rage spreading through her entire body. The others watched as almost visible emotion roiled off her. Chloe shrank back, closed her eyes, and waited for the diatribe to begin.

“There will be hell to pay if this doesn’t get resolved in a timely manner! This is supposed to be the happiest time of my life, and it’s turning into a nightmare! You’re all distracted; my photographer—and friend—is missing; my family is being threatened; and I’ve got the wedding planner from Hades following me around like a tail, trying to satisfy my every desire! Now my suite has been broken into, my daughter’s room has been ransacked, and security is going to try to put me on the back burner? I. Don’t. Bloody. Think. So. I can’t handle worrying about all of you while also pulling off a spectacular event. This isn’t the time. Maybe we should postpone the wedding.”

She shot a helpless look at Javier, then continued to stomp around the room, stuffing articles of clothing back into drawers, straightening pillows, and muttering to herself. Nobody spoke, until finally, she collapsed into Chloe’s waiting arms. As Lila sobbed into her daughter’s shoulder, Chloe’s gaze met Javier’s. Concern and helplessness etched into the lines on his face; his eyes flicked over to the door, and Chloe nodded slightly. Lila needed to get some air; clear her head before going off on the hotel staff.

“That’s not an option. We’ll get this resolved, and then we’re getting married.” Javier’s voice hardened momentarily, then softened as he gazed at Lila’s contorted expression. “Come on, darling, let’s take a walk. Then we can go have a little chat with hotel management and take a look at that security footage. Whether they want me to or not.” He suggested. Lila kissed Chloe on the cheek, smiled weakly at the rest of the group, and followed him out the door without another word.

“Well, it’s not hard to see where you got your penchant for ranting, Chlo.” EV chuckled lightly, attempting to inject some humor into the room. Nate’s eyebrow twitched, and Chloe let a bubble of nervous laughter escape her lips.

Dalton was the first to speak what had been weighing on everyone’s minds. “Does it seem to you all like trouble just keeps popping up whenever Remy Vincent is involved? Or am I paranoid because I want to see the bastard behind bars, where he belongs?”

“I don’t think you’re wrong.” EV reassured him. “But we’ve been over and over this before, and can’t figure out what his motive would be. It’s a possibility, but if it
was
him, he clearly didn’t find what he was looking for. Nothing is missing, and everything we brought with us is in these rooms. What could he possibly be looking for?”

“Let’s get real, here. It’s obvious to me that Javier is to blame.” Chloe interjected. “My instincts are screaming that he’s hiding something. Isn’t it convenient that his and my mother’s suite wasn’t touched—and that he has intimate knowledge of what it would take to break in? Not to mention that he has access to the security footage? We know he has an accomplice; we heard him talking on the phone. This could be the break in he was talking about.”

“Why would he break into a suite that’s attached to his own room, and then take nothing? It makes no sense. He could have left the door unlocked and come in here any time, leaving no trace. Why would he steal EV’s room key? It didn’t sound like he was planning on stealing a key; it sounded like he was planning on screwing with the system to gain access that way. And what could he possibly want?” Nate asked. “If you think it through, you’ll agree.” He gave her a minute to consider and watched as she visibly calmed, then reconsidered.

Chloe looked at each of them in turn. “This isn’t a coincidence; it wasn’t random. This person was looking for something specific. I agree that Javier had access to our room without sneaking around, and I don’t think he would make his presence known. Plus, I saw his face when we walked in here; if he wasn’t truly surprised, he deserves an Oscar nod. But I’m still not convinced of his complete innocence. What better way to cover your tracks than by having your own suite broken into? Maybe it’s a distraction technique, so when the real theft happens security will assume it’s just another false alarm.”

Nate shook his head. “I’m not sure. We’re missing something. Maybe we’re looking at it from the wrong angle.”

“Well, I, for one, think we should take advantage of this opportunity. Javier and Lila are distracted, and Chloe isn’t going to let him off the hook until we’re sure about what he’s hiding. We have no access to Remy’s room, but we do have access to Javier’s. See where I’m going with this?” They all nodded agreement with EV’s suggestion.

“Let’s do it.”

Chapter 17

Dalton nudged open the door to the hallway and stayed close to listen in case Javier and Lila circled back to the suite unexpectedly, while EV, Nate, and Chloe picked carefully through Javier’s belongings. If he was, indeed, planning on ripping Lila off, maybe this was a preemptive strike designed to throw suspicion onto some unknown party.

“Nothing here, just clothes. This guy is seriously organized; even his underpants are perfectly folded. I’ve never seen such an OCD suitcase.” EV unzipped a garment bag next, discovering nothing but an exquisite suit accompanied by a perfectly accented tie and pocket square matching Lila’s designer wedding gown.

Chloe rifled through the bedside tables, but quickly abandoned the empty drawers; Javier hadn’t bothered to unpack. She checked the matching dresser with no luck.