Page 15 of Spark
He shook his head. “No, butyoudo, right?”
She nodded, turning in a slow circle, trying to figure out where the sense of a lurking presence was coming from.
Ariela had mentioned seeing something in the bathroom mirror.
Sophie looked at the closed door to the bathroom, and swallowed hard. She really,reallydidn’t want to go in there, but she knew she had to.
She was steeling herself to take the first step, when from the corridor outside the room, she heard Ariela exclaim, “Uncle Eddy! What areyoudoing here?”
Chapter Five
“Iwas just gonna ask you the same thing,” a rasping voice replied.
“Oh!” Ariela said in an artificially bright tone. “I was, ah, just showing Chris Langlais’ friend Sophie this room.”
“Why?” demanded Eddy. “Don't tell me that it's about that crazy ghost story?”
Before Ariela could reply, Eddy Ornelas turned and filled the doorway leading to the corridor.
The Bearpaw Springs Resort owner was a powerfully built older man with medium brown skin and iron-gray hair in a buzz cut. He had the high cheekbones and aquiline nose of an ancient Mayan warrior. He was clean-shaven and wore a nicely fitted dark suit and a green silk tie in the same shade as Ariela's clothes.
Sophie fought hard not to flinch as his dark eyes passed over her. He radiated the same kind of predatory intensity that she’d seen her shifter friends exhibit on occasion.
His gaze rested on Chris, who stood next to her. “Chris, what’s the meaning of this? Why did you bring your friend here?”
“We’re not doing anything wrong,” Chris said, sounding defensive. “She’s, uh, writing a story about this historic resort.”
Mr. Ornelas sighed wearily. “Of course. The murder.”
His gaze returned to Sophie. “Your name is Sophie?”
Bearpaw Ridge was a small place, so she’d seen him around town before but this was the first time they’d ever actually spoken.
She nodded, her palms suddenly sweaty under the intensity of those black eyes.
“Yes. I’m—I’m Sophie Markidis. It’s, uh, nice to meet you, Mr. Ornelas. I—I live over at the Grizzly Creek Ranch,” she stammered. “And like Chris said, I’m, uh, writing about this hotel’s history.” It was hard to marshal her thoughts as her usual discomfort about talking to strangers—especially ones as intimidating as this man—buzzed around in her head and made her heart pound. “It could be good publicity?”
What she’d intended as a definitive statement came out as a hesitant-sounding question.
For the thousandth time, she wished she had her mom’s confidence, or even better, Grandma Elle's self-assurance. Sophie was willing to believe that nothing ever intimidatedher.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Mr. Ornelas said. “Look, Sophie, I can’t stop you from writing about my hotel, but I’d take it as a personal favor if you didn’t mention any of that nonsense about ghosts and hauntings. And if you didn’t try to visit this room again.”
He shot Ariela a dark look. She just smiled and shrugged.
“But this placeishaunted!” Chris protested. “Everyone who works here knows it! And Javier almost got killed by something strange last night!”
Sophie winced. Not that she didn’t appreciate Chris coming to her defense, but she sensed that this was entirely the wrong approach to take with Mr. Ornelas.
“No, Dr. Nika thinks that Javier may have had an allergic reaction to something that caused his throat to swell shut," Mr. Ornelas replied, harshly. "She’s recommending that he carry an EpiPen from now on,” He scowled at both Chris and Sophie. “And you can pass that along to anyone else who asks about Javier. The very last thing I need ismorerumors floating around this place. It’s already difficult enough to hire enough staff during tourist season!”
He stepped back and curtly gestured them out of the room.
Sophie hesitated. She could still sense unfriendly scrutiny coming from somewhere in here. The unnatural chill was seeping into her bones now, and her teeth were beginning to chatter.
I really need to see the bathroom, she thought, and couldn’t help the shudder that began at the base of her spine and radiated outwards through her body.
“Now, if you’ve seen enough in thisperfectly normalroom?” Mr. Ornelas prompted them sarcastically.
