Page 12 of Jane's Story
The main floor consisted of a grand foyer with a black and white chessboard floor. A glass entry table boasting a vase of fresh flowers stood against the wall beneath a gold-framed mirror. The powder room with its own chandelier was located just beyond the entry, followed by an art déco-style living room, and a full kitchen. A garden-themed hot tub and wicker furniture sat outside on a rooftop patio. I may have squeaked. This was far more space than I needed, and I still needed to see the second floor.
I scaled the wrought-iron spiral staircase leading to two spacious bedrooms upstairs. Each room was a mixture of fluffy white featherbeds, shiny marble bathrooms, and private balconies looking out over the city. It would have been perfect if I had had someone to share it with. So I snapped a dozen or so photos to share with my family.
I chose the bedroom with the writing desk, and I gave myself a few minutes to breathe and take in my surroundings. If Lizzy could see this, she'd have a heart attack. After organizing my bags, I pulled out my laptop to review the photos from the launch. As expected, they were highly satisfactory, and those of Charles were mostly perfect. Though I couldn’t help but chuckle at the few where hiseyes were closed—I guess he was a normal guy after all. Almost, anyway.
I sent a quick text to Lizzy:
So your “gut feeling” seems more like a covert operation. Not sure what to think. You knew Charles would be here.
Well, you know. Forgiveness is easier than permission.
Sure… but watch out for karma. Maybe I’ll have to arrange a surprise set up for you. Love you.
Haha! I still think you’re going to have an amazing trip.
Lizzy must have known I couldn't be mad at her even if I tried.
I tucked myself into the writing desk and did another internet search for Margery Blake. So far, the search results listed few details about the murder, but someone posted an obituary. Kyle was right. She’d only recently moved to New York from California. The obituary listed her parents, a brother, and a sister as hersurvivors. Despite being close to forty, she had no husband or partner, no children. In my little gray notebook etched with pink and gold flowers, I added a page for Margery Blake.
Her professional profile revealed a pretty woman with shoulder-length brown hair and large dark eyes. She’d posted many of her professional photographs of architecture, tourist spots, nature scenes, high-end weddings, and political or business events, but didn’t have a huge following. The adjective that popped into my mind to describe her waslonely.
“We haven’t forgotten you, Margery,” I whispered, touching my laptop screen. “I’m sorry this happened.”
A door in my suite slammed shut, and I jumped out of my skin.
“Hello,” I called. Even though it wasn’t unusual to hear doors in a hotel, my heart still raced. Just in case, I grabbed a heavy paperweight and treaded through my bedroom door and down the hallway. I checked the neighboring bedroom, the bathrooms, and descended the spiral staircase, expecting to find an innocent housekeeper. But the entire place was empty, and the deadbolt still secured the main door. The slamming door had to be from the neighboring suite.
Laughing at myself, I returned to my bedroom, gave up my internet search, closed my laptop, grabbed my camera bag, and set off for the lobby. But before I made it to the elevator, I found Charles standing in the hallway outside my suite. He paced back and forth, muttering to himself.
I caught, “…but the cylinders don’t match…” before he looked up and saw me.
“New invention?” I asked.
“Yes, guess it’s pretty obvious how my brain works?” He smiled and scratched his head. Mild embarrassment flavored his mood. If I had the chance to reply freely, I would’ve told him no, I had no idea what he was thinking, and it was making me crazy. But he kept speaking. “I’d like a few photos of the prototype if Armond doesn’t have you working on something.”
“I’m getting the impression that the product launch was all he needed me for. So I’ll take anything else you’ve got—I need to justify staying in this fancy suite you booked.” I held up my camera bag.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. My room is the one next to yours. I have the prototype inside. Do you mind?” He led me several yards down the hallway and used a keycard toopen a suite door.
“I didn’t realize we were neighbors. Does everyone at Haven Corp have a suite?” Though I didn’t see how that could be possible.
“Uh, no. I’m sharing this one with a few of the guys: Armond, Owen, and Lance. He was the guy on stage before me. I guess Kyle and most of the others wanted private rooms.”
The two-story suite was twice the size of mine. A marble and white kitchen, a mid-century modern living room, an office area sequestered off by glass paneling, and a set of stairs which probably led to a few bedrooms spanned the area. A cool breeze and the sound of traffic filled the air, likely because the nearby balcony doors were cracked open. I rubbed my arms, wishing I’d brought a sweater.
“Chilly,” I muttered.
“Hmm, looks like someone wanted the patio doors open. Maybe you can set up your camera in the office, and I’ll go grab the prototype.” Charles scurried past me and up the marble stairs.
I let myself into the well-lit office to scope out the space, dreaming of what it might be like to come here with him as his wife with children of our own, unpacking ourluggage and ordering hot chocolate before taking in the sights in New York City.
Oh,Jane, you’re getting way ahead of yourself.I needed a reality check.
I closed the glass office door behind me to block off the cool breeze and checked out the angles of the room with a variety of lenses in the lighting. For a few minutes, I focused on my work. But Charles still hadn’t returned.
He might have needed to use the restroom. So I waited a bit longer. After several more minutes passed, alarms sounded in my mind.
“Charles?” I didn’t yell but tried to magnify my soft voice as I exited the office. No answer. This wasn’t like him. I pulled out my phone and got it ready to call 911. “Charles, are you okay?”
