Page 37 of Phoenix Rising

“Oh no. I am so sorry. Let me call our head of security. I’ll have him meet you by the registration desk.”

“Thank you.”

A minute later, a mountain of a man appeared in a blue uniform with a badge embroidered with the words Aguas Tranquilas Resort and Spa Security on the upper left chest. He was a doppelgänger for Terry Crews, massive muscles and all.

“Mr. Green?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Terrence Hammond, but you can call me Terry.”

The guy’s name was Terry, and he looked like the celebrity. Coincidence? Reese did a doubletake to make sure he wasn’t the real deal. Reese was relatively positive he wasn’t. He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Ms. Housman told me you are with the FBI.”

“I am.”

“Your room was broken into?”

“Yes. I want to look at your security tapes.”

“Sure. Follow me.”

Audria appeared and gave a slight shake of her head, indicating the SUV hadn’t been breached. Audria’s office had acquired it, so their names didn’t appear on any rental contract. Unless someone watched them drive in and park, there was no way to know it was their vehicle.

Reese placed a hand on Audria’s back and led her down the hallway behind the guard. They entered a room filled with computer equipment and screens monitoring corridors, the lobby, and the parking area.

Terry turned to him. “Before I show you anything, I need to see your badge.”

“I left it in—”

“Here.”

Audria handed it to him. He opened it and presented it to Terry. “This is my girlfriend, Audria Giroux.” He caught a flash of surprise on her face as she displayed her COBRA Securities credentials. She was his, whether she realized it or not.

Terry studied both, looking from the badge to their faces. “Ms. Houseman said your name was Green.”

“We’re undercover,” Reese explained, “and we’d like to keep it that way while we search for a missing friend. We are not here on official business.”

Terry handed their IDs back to them. “You think the break-in has something to do with it?”

“We have no reason to believe it does.” Reese wasn’t about to give details of their investigation, such as it was. Right now, everyone was on his suspect list.

Terry nodded and dropped into the chair in front of the largest monitor. “What’s your room number?”

Reese recited it, and Terry tapped the keys. “What time?”

“After six p.m.”

An image of their hallway materialized on the screen. Terry fast-forwarded, stopping only when someone walked into view. The time on the tape revealed it to be approximately an hour ago, and the screen suddenly went blank.

Terry jerked upright in his chair. “What the hell?” He held the forward button until the hallway appeared again. The outage lasted about fifteen minutes.

“Do you oversee the monitors?” Reese asked.

“I do.”

Audria fisted her hands on her hips. “You didn’t notice the black screens?”

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