Page 19 of Jane's Story
I picked up the pen and the watch, trying to pour as much magic as I could into them. At first, they fizzled, tickling my palms.
I nudged Aunt Penny with my elbow. “Am I doingsomething wrong?”
“No, no.” She shrugged me off as smoky streams of gold, viridian, and blue light burst from the items. The blue and gold swirled together to form a screen of sorts, and dark green shadows took shape, moving across it like characters in an old black and white movie.
The lights flickered, and Armond’s form appeared, pacing back and forth in front of us. He drooped his shoulders and held his palms to his face, shaking his head. The projection produced no sound.
Kyle, the dark-haired engineer, stepped onto the scene holding what looked like blueprints. They looked over some papers together, and Kyle wiped some sweat from his brow, then went to open the balcony doors. The two women from lunch, Catalina and Ashley, appeared next. Catalina looked around the room and scribbled something onto her clipboard. Ashley said something to Armond, who handed her a file from the desk. Then their forms disappeared into swirls of smoke.
The green mist moved across the screen, again taking the shape of Armond at the desk. This time, Mr. Hedwer and David, the concierge, walked together across the smoky stage. The manager looked at his watch andfrowned. Then he delivered an envelope to Armond before they continued beyond our view.
Within a moment, Lance entered the scene. His hands were on his hips, and he appeared to be shouting at someone. Armond stood up from his desk, shaking his head and raising his hands as if to tell Lance he had no answer for him. Lance puffed out his chest and strode toward Armond. But they moved beyond our view.
Next to me, Charles started. “Oh, no.”
“Is that all?” I whispered to Aunt Penny.
“No, no. Not until all the mist clears.” She patted my shoulder as she’d done when I was a child. “Patience.”
I took a slow breath, sending as much power as I could through my hands.
A few more people came into view. Armond returned, still very much alive, and got back to work at his desk. A housekeeper marched by carrying a pile of folded white towels, and a porter followed her with a package wrapped in paper. The blond engineer, Owen, emerged with an envelope and set it on a table before disappearing.
“Do we know what time thishappened?” I asked.
Aunt Penny squinted at the clock on the misty screen. “If I’m reading that correctly, the manager left the room at about 2:00.”
Charles rubbed his chin and furrowed his brow. “That must be close to the time he died. But we don’t know exactly.”
“There’s more still,” Aunt Penny said. A middle-aged housekeeper marched through the stage of smoke a few more times. She carried on with her normal routine. Lance appeared once more, much calmer, and nodded politely to the housekeeper. Armond ripped open one of the packages on his desk and pulled out a manual. He turned the book over in his hands. Then he turned his head sharply and looked toward the staircase, stood, and went in that direction.
“It looks like he heard something upstairs, or maybe someone called his name? Ugh, summoned to his death.” I shuddered. Unfortunately, the magic didn’t show us anything beyond the bottom half of the staircase.
The stage cleared of people, but the smoke remained. Then, Charles and I appeared on the screen, smiling. I stood in one place, obviously waiting, glancing around the room, and headed into the office. Charles walkedoffstage, followed by a flurry of paramedics and officers. The smoke in the room dissipated, and I put the pen and watch down.
Aunt Penny turned on the lights, and Charles and I made eye contact.
“Well, that was something.” Charles blinked. “I’m not sure what to make of it.”
“It definitely was. Thanks for helping, Aunt Penny. Do you think Lance may be guilty? I don’t know how to explain to the police, though.” My head hurt, and I rubbed my temples. “It’s not like they admit potions as evidence here—we’re not in Austen Heights.”
Charles crossed the room and opened the blinds. “I can’t think of any reason why Lance would want Armond dead.”
Maybe if I knew them better, I could have made more of a judgement call. So I had to agree with Charles. “I’m not, either. But just in case, we need to be cautious. He may be dangerous.”
“He shouldn’t be a problem in a crowded room. Though it appears he may be the guilty party.” Aunt Penny chewed on her lip and looked to the side. “But lookscan be deceiving.”
“True.” Charles flopped down on the sofa and rested his elbows on his knees. “I don’t see him doing that, you know?”
Charles always saw the best in people, even when he shouldn’t. But I didn’t want to point it out, because I’d been guilty of the same thing far more than I liked to admit. I didn’t want to undermine his opinion, even though I disagreed. “You know him better than we do.”
His gaze turned downward. “I don’t feel like Haven Corporation, or I, am doing a great job keeping people safe.”
“Well, no one can predict these thing,” I cleared my throat, not wanting to guilt him. “There were a few other people in the suite. Is that a normal number of people in and out of your suite?”
He continued his vacant stare. “Yes. As you saw, the suite had a couple of bedrooms and plenty of workspaces. Most of my team has a keycard, and we get deliveries and things all day.”
“I wish we could narrow things down,” I sighed.
