what was in there. There appeared to be some cash, a couple pieces of jewelry, and a very small stack of folders.
The folders were what held Mark’s attention. Without a word Melinda handed them to him. He took them and returned to the chair by the desk. He carefully spread them out, glancing at the titles of each one. The names were meaningless to him, but if they’d been placed in a safe instead of a filing cabinet, chances were they were important.
He flipped through the first four and put them aside. Then he came to the last one. Unlike the others it was labeled with only a single letter: P.
His hands began to shake as he opened up the folder. The first thing he saw was a picture of Paul, staring back at him.
9
Jeremiah and Cindy finally made it back to their bungalow after dinner. Once Jeremiah had done one more cursory sweep for bugs they settled down at the table to compare notes.
“Did you see this?” Cindy asked, holding up one of the brochures she had collected earlier.
“What is it?”
“Apparently they have a two week retreat once a quarter for those trying to beat gambling addictions.”
“What’s so strange about that?”
“It’s just ironic, holding that kind of a retreat two miles down the road from a casino. I wonder how many people make a run for it?”
“I guess it depends on how serious they are about getting help. It does seem like an unnecessary temptation.”
“Yeah, weird,” Cindy said, dropping the brochure back onto the pile on the table.
“It’s going to be an interesting week,” Jeremiah commented.
“Yeah, maybe too interesting. I’m hoping we can get this solved so we can get out of here before we have to interact with some of those people again,” Cindy admitted.
“Like the psychologist?”
“Yes! What was up with that? Did you see if he had a problem with anyone else besides you?”
“To be honest I couldn’t tell. I was too busy focusing on each person we were talking to.”
“He was seriously weird and seriously creepy. Of all the staff he and the guy running it are my picks for villains,” Cindy said.
“They’re the obvious choices given their behavior, but the question would be why? What would they have to gain by kidnapping or killing a retreat attendee?”
“I have no idea,” Cindy said with a sigh.
“I think it’s fairly safe to rule out anyone actually attending the couples’ retreat unless we find out that someone was here for the other retreat as well.”
“It’s a good thing we can rule them out because otherwise there’d be just way too many suspects and people to point fingers at. Besides, some of them I wouldn’t want to have to spend more time around them investigating.”
“Like who?” Jeremiah asked.
Cindy rolled her eyes. “Jill and Kim for sure. I was so uncomfortable talking with them earlier. The two of them were busy obsessing over Dorothea and her pearl necklace. If that thing goes missing I know exactly where to look for it. I felt bad for their husbands. For something that’s supposed to be a couples’ retreat they gave zero focus to the men in their lives.”
“That’s okay, Jack and Levi were already plotting a prison break.”
“How so?”
“They were trying to figure out when they’d have a chance to sneak away and hit the casino just down the road.”
“Aha! Good thing they’re not at the gambling addiction clinic. Although, maybe they should be.”
“Apparently they’re both big poker fans.”
“I bet I could beat them,” she mused.
“You play?”
“Yes, no, sorta.”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“I grew up playing with my father and my grandfather.”
Jeremiah smiled. “I bet you took them for every penny.”
Cindy laughed. “We played with poker chips for bragging rights. Although if we had played for pennies I would have gotten them all.”
“I’d love to see you beat Levi and Jack. They seem to have pretty high estimations of their own
The folders were what held Mark’s attention. Without a word Melinda handed them to him. He took them and returned to the chair by the desk. He carefully spread them out, glancing at the titles of each one. The names were meaningless to him, but if they’d been placed in a safe instead of a filing cabinet, chances were they were important.
He flipped through the first four and put them aside. Then he came to the last one. Unlike the others it was labeled with only a single letter: P.
His hands began to shake as he opened up the folder. The first thing he saw was a picture of Paul, staring back at him.
9
Jeremiah and Cindy finally made it back to their bungalow after dinner. Once Jeremiah had done one more cursory sweep for bugs they settled down at the table to compare notes.
“Did you see this?” Cindy asked, holding up one of the brochures she had collected earlier.
“What is it?”
“Apparently they have a two week retreat once a quarter for those trying to beat gambling addictions.”
“What’s so strange about that?”
“It’s just ironic, holding that kind of a retreat two miles down the road from a casino. I wonder how many people make a run for it?”
“I guess it depends on how serious they are about getting help. It does seem like an unnecessary temptation.”
“Yeah, weird,” Cindy said, dropping the brochure back onto the pile on the table.
“It’s going to be an interesting week,” Jeremiah commented.
“Yeah, maybe too interesting. I’m hoping we can get this solved so we can get out of here before we have to interact with some of those people again,” Cindy admitted.
“Like the psychologist?”
“Yes! What was up with that? Did you see if he had a problem with anyone else besides you?”
“To be honest I couldn’t tell. I was too busy focusing on each person we were talking to.”
“He was seriously weird and seriously creepy. Of all the staff he and the guy running it are my picks for villains,” Cindy said.
“They’re the obvious choices given their behavior, but the question would be why? What would they have to gain by kidnapping or killing a retreat attendee?”
“I have no idea,” Cindy said with a sigh.
“I think it’s fairly safe to rule out anyone actually attending the couples’ retreat unless we find out that someone was here for the other retreat as well.”
“It’s a good thing we can rule them out because otherwise there’d be just way too many suspects and people to point fingers at. Besides, some of them I wouldn’t want to have to spend more time around them investigating.”
“Like who?” Jeremiah asked.
Cindy rolled her eyes. “Jill and Kim for sure. I was so uncomfortable talking with them earlier. The two of them were busy obsessing over Dorothea and her pearl necklace. If that thing goes missing I know exactly where to look for it. I felt bad for their husbands. For something that’s supposed to be a couples’ retreat they gave zero focus to the men in their lives.”
“That’s okay, Jack and Levi were already plotting a prison break.”
“How so?”
“They were trying to figure out when they’d have a chance to sneak away and hit the casino just down the road.”
“Aha! Good thing they’re not at the gambling addiction clinic. Although, maybe they should be.”
“Apparently they’re both big poker fans.”
“I bet I could beat them,” she mused.
“You play?”
“Yes, no, sorta.”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“I grew up playing with my father and my grandfather.”
Jeremiah smiled. “I bet you took them for every penny.”
Cindy laughed. “We played with poker chips for bragging rights. Although if we had played for pennies I would have gotten them all.”
“I’d love to see you beat Levi and Jack. They seem to have pretty high estimations of their own
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