Pet Friendly (12 page)

CHAPTER 18

E
mma walked into her office and shut the door feeling angrier and more hurt than she'd thought possible. Angry at Clifton for giving a guest's key to a stranger just to prove he was right about Todd, and hurt because Todd had let her believe she still meant something to him. She collapsed in her chair and stared at the desk, as heedless of her surroundings as a blind man.

She had been blind, Emma told herself. Blinded by her loneliness, blinded by longing and desire and a foolish belief that she knew anything about Todd Dwyer. Why had he come there in the first place? Was seeing her again just a way for Todd to tie up loose ends before he settled down? Archie's running away when he did had certainly been convenient. What better way to convince Emma to let down her guard than for her old sweetheart to show up looking for his little lost dog? She closed her eyes and a tear crept down her cheek.

It was Clifton's comment that Gwendolyn Ashworth was Todd's “sugar mama” that hurt the most. The idea that he might be a kept man simply didn't fit with the Todd Dwyer she'd thought she knew. In spite of her disappointment, Emma refused to believe that the boy she once loved had changed so completely. Emma decided to do some detective work. She turned to her computer and typed in the name “Gwendolyn Ashworth.” If the woman in Todd's room was who and what Clifton claimed, then Google would tell her.

But as the search results came up, Emma's heart sank. Gwendolyn Ashworth was not only rich; she and her wealthy parents, Tyler and “Tippi” Ashworth, were well known in Seattle's social circles. Emma clicked on a link to the Flash + Talk section of
Seattle
magazine and found an article about a charity dinner supporting the local art museum, accompanied by a full-color photo of Gwendolyn Ashworth. Smiling for the camera, draped in jewels, she was clutching the arm of a tuxedo-clad man who looked very much like Todd.

No, Emma corrected herself, a man who
was
Todd. She felt sick.

Clifton was right. As unlikely as it seemed, Todd had caught the fancy of a rich girl and used that connection to work his way into the city's social scene. She felt bile rise in her throat and swallowed hard as she studied the man in the photo. Even as the proof of his dishonesty was staring her in the face, she refused to believe it.

Emma scrolled down the page, looking for the caption. The letters on the screen swam as she saw Todd's name. Seeing it in black and white felt like a stab wound to her heart. But it was the rest of the caption that left her reeling, so stunned she had to grab the desk to keep from falling out of her chair.

“
Gwendolyn Ashworth arrives at the reception,
” the caption read, “
accompanied by Mr. Todd Dwyer, Silicon Forest's newest multimillionaire.
”

Emma didn't know how long she'd been staring at the screen when she heard the knock at her door. She quickly shut down her computer and wiped her hands down her face, hoping to rid it of any traces of the shock she'd just been given.

“Come in.”

The door opened and her housekeeper, Lupita, poked her head inside.

“Sorry to bother you,” she said. “I need the key to the cottage.”

“Oh! Sorry, Lupe. I forgot it was wash day.”

Having the housekeepers take care of her dirty linens was one of the perks of being the inn's manager, but it necessitated their having a key and Jake had just changed the lock on her front door. Emma fished the shiny new key out of her top drawer.

“I didn't strip the bed yet.”

“That's all right,” Lupita said. “I'll take care of it.”

When the door closed, Emma went back to her computer and did another search. Not for Gwendolyn Ashworth this time, but for Todd Dwyer. The results were staggering.

According to Wikipedia, Todd wasn't just rich; he was some kind of computer genius. He'd also written a game app for smart phones called Pop Up Pups, which was making millions more for a man who “eschewed publicity” and “guarded his privacy like a monk.”

Emma clicked back to the picture of Todd and Gwendolyn. He didn't look like any monk she'd ever heard of.

She turned off the computer and sat back, thinking about everything he'd told her in light of this new information. When Todd had said he was “between jobs” and “working part-time at home” she assumed he was unemployed, or nearly so. He hadn't been lying, exactly, but he'd certainly been evasive. And what about not having any clothes to wear and driving a broken-down old Jeep? If the folks at Wikipedia were right, Todd should have been wearing
GQ
duds and driving a fancy car. Maybe that Ferrari in the parking lot was actually his. Once again, Emma found herself wondering what it was that had brought Todd to the inn.

There was another knock on the door. Lupita, she thought, returning Emma's key.

“Come in, Lupe,” she said. “Thank you for—”

It was Todd. Showered and changed, wearing a cashmere sweater and wool slacks, he looked less like a construction worker and more like the successful Internet entrepreneur that he was.

He stepped into the room and closed the door.

“I'd say you're welcome, but I'm not sure what I'm being thanked for.”

“Please leave,” she said, feeling her face grow hot.

“In a minute,” Todd told her. “I have something to tell you first.”

“I already know about your fiancée, if that's what you're going to tell me.”

The look on Todd's face was so pained that for an instant, Emma almost felt sorry for him.

“I'll get to that in a moment,” he said. “First, I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have tried to tell you how to run your business this morning. I'm sorry.”

“Yeah, well, I guess it just proves what an idiot I am,” she said. “I don't even know good advice when I hear it.”

Todd shook his head. “Whether it was good advice or not, it wasn't what you needed. You poured your heart out to a friend and got treated like a business student. I should have told you at the time that I was wrong, but I was upset. I needed some time to cool off.”

In spite of herself, Emma could feel her resistance weakening. Todd seemed sincere, and the fact was, he hadn't told her anything back at the cottage that she didn't already know. If Gwendolyn hadn't shown up when she did, Emma might have been apologizing to him.

But Gwendolyn had shown up, and Todd's apology was nothing more than a feint to keep Emma from discovering the real reason he'd come to the Spirit Inn.

Of course,
she thought, her anger reviving. Why hadn't she thought of it before?

“The thing about Gwen is, she's not really my fiancée,” Todd said. “I'd been planning to propose to her this weekend, but I changed my mind.”

Emma smirked. “And you let her keep the ring? Wow, that's some consolation prize.”

He looked at her fiercely. “This isn't easy for me. I came here as a friend to try to explain what's been going on.”

She stood and leaned across her desk.

“No, you've been lying to me since you got here, and now that I've got an inkling of what's really going on, you're trying to throw me off the scent.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, come on. I may be slow, but I'm not stupid.”

Emma smirked again. Now that she understood what was happening, it was almost funny to see how easily she'd been fooled.

“You came up to the inn and checked out the property under the guise of looking for your lost dog. Then you stayed the night so you could survey the inn, all the while doing your best to discover what my financial position is.”

Todd looked stunned.

“I wasn't checking anything out; I was looking for Archie.”

“So you say.”

“I do say! Furthermore, I didn't ask to stay the night;
you
offered me a room.”

“For
free,
” she said, laughing at her own naïveté. “I should have made you pay for it.”

“I was going to.” He looked away and said more softly, “I'm still going to.”

“Don't bother,” Emma snapped. “And tell Miss Ashworth not to get her heart set on this place, either. There are plenty of other banks out there. I'm not selling out to you or anybody else.”

“What?”

“Oh, please. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. The only reason you came in here was to try to keep me from figuring out why Gwendolyn showed up all of a sudden. How long after you knew about my loan did it take you to call and tell her to come take a look at this place? You wouldn't be the first rich guy to make me an offer for it, you know. I'll bet you figured I'd let you have it for cheap, too, us being old friends and all.”

Todd's face darkened. When he spoke again, his lips were tight.

“You're insane if you think I came here with an eye to buying this place. I told you the first night I got here, and it's the truth: Archie ran away and led me here. As far as Gwen goes, our so-called engagement is a misunderstanding. I have no intention of marrying her.

“What's really disappointing, though, is that you seem angry with me for being successful,” he continued. “You're not the only one who had it tough as a kid, you know. Yes, I've been lucky, but I've worked hard, too, and I gave up a lot to get where I am.”

“Like what?” she said. “You've got your fancy girlfriend and your sports car and more money than most people ever dream of. Name one thing you've given up to get where you are. Just
one.
”

Todd swallowed and looked at her steadily.

“You,” he said. “I gave you up, and I'm sorry.”

For just a moment, Emma could picture Todd—a fatherless boy with the care of his whole family resting on his shoulders—and her heart went out to him. Maybe he hadn't had a choice, she thought. Maybe he did regret cutting her off the way he did.

Then Emma remembered how she'd waited at the post office, day after day, hoping to hear from the boy who'd sworn he loved her and promised to write. It wasn't just a summertime crush. Emma had seen Todd's love as proof that she was more than an addict's kid or a burden for her grandmother to bear; she was someone special, someone worth thinking about even when she was miles away. It would have been easier if Todd had just said he didn't care, Emma thought. Not writing had meant she wasn't even worth the price of a stamp.

“Maybe so,” she said. “But you can't have me back just because it's convenient.”

CHAPTER 19

G
wen was outside the restaurant when Todd returned, standing with a group of people who were listening to a man Todd had seen several times since his arrival. He was tall and angular, with a shock of white hair, a beak of a nose, and a birdlike strut, and his presence at the inn was as ubiquitous as the Van Vandevanders'.

As Todd joined the group, Gwen gave him a buss on the cheek and the man ceased pontificating long enough for her to introduce him to the others. Todd smiled amiably and accepted a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. After his tardy arrival, he'd been expecting a chillier reception.

“Dr. Richards has just been telling us about his theory,” Gwen said, indicating the white-haired man.

Todd took a sip of his drink. “About what?”

“The origin of the unexplained phenomena here at the inn,” Richards said.

“He's been working on it for
ages.
” Gwen's look was avid. “It's very interesting.”

For Todd, whose years of visits to the Spirit Inn had yielded nothing in the way of supernatural encounters, the idea that the inn might be haunted was ludicrous. He found it impossible not to roll his eyes.

“I see you're here with a skeptic, Gwen.”

“What's wrong with being a skeptic?” Todd said.

“Nothing.” The man gave him a simpering smile. “But there's a difference between skepticism and willful denial.”

“Dr. Richards is an expert on psychic phenomena,” Gwen said. “He's a
scientist.
”

He should probably just back down and let Richards have his fun, Todd thought, but he couldn't. Not just because he knew there was no scientific basis for any “theory” the man might have, but also because the whole idea of the inn's being haunted was destroying Emma's business and maybe even her future. As long as people still believed that the inn was haunted, it would never be the place she dreamed it could be.

“All right,” he said. “Convince me. Tell me what your theory is.”

“I'd be happy to.” Richards looked around. “If the others here will bear with me.”

When there were no objections, Todd smiled grimly.

“I'm all ears.”

Dr. Richards's chest swelled with self-importance. The man was clearly in his element.

“This hotel was built by two men—business partners—who originally planned to provide lodging for the miners who passed through on their way home from the gold fields. Not as fanciful as striking a vein of ore, but a good living for an honest man.

“The first partner was happy with their arrangement, but the second was impatient to make his fortune and began robbing the lodgers as they slept, replacing the gold in their saddlebags with worthless pyrite. When the first partner discovered this, he confronted his partner and the two men fought, leaving the honest man badly wounded.

“As it happened, the hotel had been so busy that additional rooms were being added to the original structure. The greedy partner dragged the honest partner, still alive, into an unfinished portion of the hotel and completed the walls around him, leaving him to his fate.”

Gwen shuddered. “That's awful.”

“Immurement, as it's called, effectively buries a victim alive. Various cultures have used it for centuries as punishment, and it survives in some of the more primitive corners of the globe even today. If I'm right, immurement explains many of the world's ghost sightings, its victims still tied in death to the places where they were trapped in life.”

As the others murmured to one another, Todd shook his head. Trapped inside a wall? Was this guy kidding?

Another member of the group piped up.

“I've heard of that. It's like ‘The Cask of Amantillado.' ”

Richards nodded. “Poe's story about a man being trapped alive behind a brick wall was probably based upon stories he'd heard about immurements in English castles. Thornton Abbey in Lincolnshire, perhaps.”

“So what happened to the other partner?” the man asked.

Gwen nodded. “Did they ever find the man in the wall?”

“Well,” Richards said, “that's where it gets interesting. As to the first, he fled and was killed by a miner who, having discovered he'd been robbed and guessing who the perpetrator was, had been on his way back to settle the score. However, when the cheated man searched his victim's possessions, he found that the dishonest man, too, had only pyrite in his saddlebags.”

“So what happened to the gold?”

“No one knows. Some believe he'd hidden it elsewhere; some say he'd spent it all.”

Gwen was rapt. “And what do you think?”

The good doctor smiled.

“I believe that the honest partner, upon discovering what the other had done, decided to teach his partner a lesson by replacing the gold he'd stolen with pyrite, just as that man's victims' gold had been.”

“So he was a thief, too.”

“Or perhaps he intended to give the gold back to its rightful owners. It remains a mystery.”

“You mean they didn't find the gold with his body?”

“I'm afraid that neither gold nor body was ever found. The hotel fell into disrepair and was sold to satisfy tax liens. The owners couldn't keep a work crew on-site long enough to effect the needed repairs and it remained unoccupied for years. My understanding is that it was only fully restored about twenty years ago.”

In spite of himself, Todd had been briefly caught up in the man's story, but his mention of when the inn was restored brought him back to reality. According to Richards, the restoration had been completed about the same time that Todd and his family had started coming there. Interesting, he thought, that no one had ever mentioned the place being haunted back then.

“You mean no one's ever looked for the partner or the gold?” Gwen asked.

Richards shook his head.

“Some feared that to do so might invite the wrath of the dead man's spirit.”

Todd pursed his lips. There were no ghosts; there'd been no treasure; none of what he'd heard was real. It was just a tale that someone had made up for their own purposes. Did Emma know that? Or had she been taken in just like the ghost hunters?

“That's an interesting story,” he said, “but you have to admit it's pretty far-fetched. Without any evidence to back it up, I'm afraid I remain a skeptic.”

“I thought you might,” Richards said. “Nevertheless, many of us here are inclined to believe it.”

“And why is that?”

“Because,” the man said, rapping a knuckle against the ornate wallpaper, “some of these walls are hollow.”

 

“I don't know why you had to be so rude to Dr. Richards,” Gwen hissed as the two of them looked over their menus. “I thought his story was very interesting.”

“I wasn't being rude,” Todd said. “I'm just not as gullible as the rest of the Kool-Aid drinkers around here.”

Her lips tightened. “I suppose you're including me in that group.”

Todd paused a moment to collect his thoughts. In the last forty-eight hours, he'd had to deal with a series of surprising and emotionally wrenching incidents, most of which had been precipitated by Gwen. He was finding it hard not to lose his temper.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean to be insulting, but my family stayed here lots of times when I was a kid and my parents knew the owner pretty well. She never said anything about the place being haunted.”

“You never told me that. Sort of a strange coincidence, you just happening to show up here.”

He frowned. “I didn't just ‘show up' here. Archie ran away and I followed him.”

“Hmm,” she said, returning her attention to the menu. “So you knew the manager back then?”

Todd was looking over the wine list. He hadn't made up his mind about the entrée, but he'd need some alcohol if he was going to get through this meal.

“Yes,” he said. “She was very nice. Her granddaughter owns the place now.”

“Was that your little girlfriend?”

He looked up. “Who told you about her?”

“Your mother.”

Todd felt his lips tighten.
So Ma did tell her about Emma.

“Oh, don't worry,” Gwen said, seeing the look on his face. “This was months ago, back when you and I first got serious. Your mother told me she was glad you'd finally fallen in love again. Apparently, she'd been feeling guilty all these years for keeping the two of you apart.”

She gave him a simpering smile.

“So when I got your message, I thought maybe I should get up here and make sure you weren't having any second thoughts.”

Todd sat back. No wonder Gwen had hightailed it up there in her father's Ferrari. Having finally gotten the ring she wanted, she'd been anxious to protect her investment.

“I'm not sure I would have called Emma my girlfriend,” he said. “She and Claire and I had some good times here as kids. She's been keeping Archie for me while I'm here.”

“Well, when you see her again, maybe you could introduce us.”

When the waiter had taken their orders, Gwen looked around.

“This is a nice place.”

“It is,” Todd said, glad to be changing the subject. “I'm glad I changed my clothes, too.”

“Did you notice who the chef de cuisine is?”

“No. Does it matter?”

Gwen gave him a disdainful look.

“Of course it
matters,
especially considering the man is a felon. He used to be a celebrity until he got caught dealing drugs out of his flagship restaurant. It was a huge scandal. Honestly, I can't believe he's out of jail already.”

Todd shook his head. “Must not be the same guy.”

“Of course it is,” she said. “There was a picture of him in the back of the menu. I never forget a face.”

He vaguely recalled seeing the picture of Jean-Paul when he was flipping through the menu, but the name hadn't rung a bell. Besides, what difference did it make? If it had been that much of a scandal, Emma would already know about it. Then again, a drug habit could be very expensive.

Todd was just wondering whether her chef's situation had anything to do with Emma's financial difficulties when the calm of the restaurant was shattered by an ear-piercing scream.