Page 44 of Todd
The massage appointment arrived with its usual promise of relaxation and rejuvenation, but Sadie approached the treatment room with heightened awareness after yesterday’s conversation with Melinda. The familiar amber lighting and cascade of water sounds felt more sinister now, knowing thatthe therapeutic environment was being used to administer unauthorized medications.
Tasha greeted her with the same ethereal serenity that characterized all the spa’s therapists, but Sadie noticed immediately that today’s oil selection differed from previous sessions. Instead of the standard lavender and eucalyptus blend, an array of small glass vials lined the treatment table, each filled with a different-colored liquid that caught the golden light like precious stones.
As Tasha began working the oils into her skin, she said, “Today we’re using our specialized neuro-enhancement blend.” Her voice carried that hypnotic quality common to all Serenity Dunes staff. “Dr. Patel has formulated this specifically for guests requiring deeper cognitive restoration.”
Neuro-enhancement.The clinical terminology sent ice through Sadie’s veins. This wasn’t just massage therapy but was drug delivery disguised as a luxury treatment.
She forced herself to remain relaxed despite the horror of knowing she might be induced with some kind of drug. The therapist’s skilled hands moved with practiced efficiency, but now every touch felt violating.
At the end of the session, Tasha stepped outside the cubicle to retrieve additional supplies, leaving Sadie alone with the evidence of their deception. Without hesitation, she rolled slightly toward the treatment table, her fingers closing around two small vials from the array. The glass was warm from the ambient lighting, and she could see swirls of different colored oils.
The vials disappeared into the folds of her robe, and she shifted the other bottles around to make the missing ones not obvious. Tasha returned, and her serene expression never wavered. Did she notice the missing vials? Sadie’s pulsehammered against her throat, but she maintained her facade of blissful relaxation while Tasha escorted her out.
The late afternoon stretched before her with agonizing slowness as Sadie searched for any sign of Melinda’s presence. She checked the yoga pavilion, the meditation gardens, the library, and even the pool.
At dinner, the guests who had taken the outing were back with words of praise for the restorative adventure. But Melinda wasn’t present, causing Sadie’s stomach to clench with anxiety. As evening approached, desperation drove her to attempt direct contact. She navigated the corridors of the guest room section, her memory guiding her to the location where she’d seen Melinda emerge two nights ago.
The door stood partially open, warm light spilling into the hallway like an invitation. But instead of Melinda’s worried face, Sadie found herself staring at a housekeeper methodically stripping linens from the bed.
“Excuse me,” Sadie said, stepping into the doorway with carefully modulated surprise. “I was looking for my friend Melinda. I thought this was her room.”
The housekeeper, a middle-aged Latina woman whose name tag read “Nina,” looked up from her work with sharp eyes. “No guest is here now,” she replied in accented English. “Room is being prepared for a new arrival.”
Sadie’s gaze swept the space that should have contained Melinda’s belongings, looking for clothes, toiletries, and the personal items that made a temporary space feel inhabited. Instead, she found only the sterile perfection of a room awaiting its next occupant.
“But she was here yesterday,” Sadie pressed, genuine confusion coloring her voice. “Melinda Tork? Auburn hair, about my height? She mentioned feeling unwell after her massage.”
Nina’s expression shuttered, the wariness of moments before replaced by the careful blankness of someone who’d been instructed to avoid certain topics. “I clean many rooms. Guests come and go. Sometimes people leave early if… just leave early.”
The explanation felt hollow, delivered with the same rehearsed quality Sadie had noticed in other staff responses throughout the day. But Nina’s hands trembled slightly as she folded the sheets, and her eyes refused to meet Sadie’s directly.
“Did she leave this morning?” Sadie asked gently, recognizing a frightened woman when she saw one. “With the excursion group, perhaps?”
“I think... yes, maybe she decided to leave early. Sometimes guests are not happy with the program.” Nina’s voice carried a note of pleading, as if begging Sadie not to ask questions she couldn’t safely answer.
The fear in the housekeeper’s demeanor sent alarm bells clanging through Sadie’s mind. Nina probably didn’t know why Melinda left early but had been instructed not to speak to the guests.
What did they do to Melinda? And am I next?
The massage oil vials felt heavy in her pocket, evidence of the experimental treatments being waged against Serenity Dunes’s unsuspecting guests. But they might also be the key to exposing Dr. Selinski’s operation, if she could survive long enough to get them analyzed.
As darkness settled over the desert facility, Sadie realized with clarity that her mission had evolved into something deeper. Somewhere in this carefully controlled environment, a woman had vanished.Did Melinda meet the same fate as Natalia? And have I painted a target on my back by asking too many questions?
“Well, I’ll see you around.” Sadie backed toward the hallway with a casual smile that felt like plastic on her face.
Nina nodded quickly, relief evident as Sadie turned to leave.
As she walked back toward her own quarters, Sadie’s mind raced through increasingly dark possibilities. Melinda’s sudden disappearance, her belongings removed, staff offering contradictory explanations—all signs pointing toward a scenario that made her stomach clench with dread.
The door to her room clicked shut behind Sadie, and she immediately moved to retrieve her secure phone. As she initiated the encrypted connection, her hands trembled slightly from the adrenaline crash that followed hours of maintaining perfect composure while her world tilted with heavy thoughts.
Todd answered before the first ring finished, his voice pouring through the speaker like a lifeline thrown to a drowning woman. “Sadie, how are you?”
His words had rushed out with desperate urgency, and warmth flooded through her chest as she realized he’d asked about her well-being first before the mission status or operational updates. The simple prioritization spoke volumes about where his heart lay, even in the midst of a complex investigation.
While luxury surrounded her in this marble-appointed prison of Egyptian cotton sheets, rainfall shower, and amenities that cost more than most people’s monthly salaries, she could picture Todd’s stark accommodations with painful clarity. He’d spent days and nights in a bare-bones desert hotel room, probably surviving on vending machine coffee and takeout food, his entire world reduced to a laptop screen and the desperate hope that her voice would come through safely each evening.
“I’m okay,” she said, allowing genuine warmth to color her voice despite the circumstances. “But I have to tell you something. Melinda’s gone. At least, that’s what I was told.”
