‘fatality.’ So we have to be extremely careful and extremely secretive about how we proceed.”
She nodded, though at this point, she wasn’t sure what she might be agreeing with.
Phillip said, “If you’re serious about staying here, about helping, then you will do whatever you have to do to make sure the resort runs smoothly. We don’t threaten the hunting grounds, we don’t threaten their people. Until we have a better understanding what and who we’re up against, we can’t afford to goad them into making a correction.”
That much, she did understand. Thomas had been telling her all along to do the job. Do the job, nothing more. Keep the clients happy and the business profitable.
She’d had no idea what was at stake.
The rest of that night was something of a blur. She did remember Helen taking her through tunnels, exiting the spot nearest the staff cabins and walking her the rest of the way. With one last order to be safe, Helen left her to get settled in. The staff cabin was a confining step down from the townhouse but at least help was much closer to hand if anything happened.
First thing in the morning, Beverly called to pass on a message from Kara.
“Don’t keep her waiting,” Beverly ordered. “There’s thirty people taking part in the Parlor Game, and they all have to go through wardrobe.”
Max dropped by a short while later with bad news. Jerod had been unable to locate either Derek or Ridley. The two had disappeared. Thomas was chasing down leads—with help; Wade had been sufficiently rattled to involve the FBI proper immediately this time.
That explained, she thought, why Wade hadn’t called this morning to see if she’d learned anything about Thomas. The rest of the day, she heard nothing from Phillip or Helen, either.
Thomas texted her three times. The first one said no new developments. The second text—about tables and pizza and passenger seats and being forcibly stripped in a hallway—made her blush. His third message said he’d see her at the Parlor Game.
The hours dragged until the cleaning started. So full up on nervous energy, she had to vent it somewhere and the cabin took the brunt. While she scrubbed and dusted and organized, her mind could not keep away from those tunnels. Flashes of imagined horrors, of medical experiments and moaning victims, and the monsters who were so detached from basic human decency that they could do such things, kept battering away at her. She tried to offset it with remembered sensations from Thomas. Josh, too, but then she would remember Derek and Ridley were missing, and she would be back to square one again.
The chaos of wardrobe came as a relief. Pregame preparations were in full swing, with staff and client alike being carefully made up and dressed. When it was Amanda’s turn to be transformed into the dark-side Veronica Lake again, Kara kept making eye contact in the mirror, giving her little meaningful looks.
“What?” Amanda finally asked.
“Do you know what’s going on? Did they tell you why they substituted Jerod and Marla in for Derek and Ridley?”
Amanda fought to maintain her composure. Word must not be out, yet. No one knew Derek and Ridley were missing, and now Jerod and Marla would have to take their places in the Parlor Game.
But what to tell Kara? “Yes, I do know. Can I tell you afterward?”
Kara frowned at her. “Why can’t you tell me now?”
“Sorry. Later is the best I can do.”
She carried Kara’s suspicious look all the way across the quad to the Isle of Wight . Every building in the resort was full up of people participating in various events but this place, the people taking part in the Parlor Game, seemed to be the elite.
This time, dressed in black-orchid silk, and dripping in gold and gems, Amanda felt more at home in the exclusive venue. The tables had been moved to the perimeter of the central, oval-shaped dining area. All the action would take place in the fifteen private rooms
She nodded, though at this point, she wasn’t sure what she might be agreeing with.
Phillip said, “If you’re serious about staying here, about helping, then you will do whatever you have to do to make sure the resort runs smoothly. We don’t threaten the hunting grounds, we don’t threaten their people. Until we have a better understanding what and who we’re up against, we can’t afford to goad them into making a correction.”
That much, she did understand. Thomas had been telling her all along to do the job. Do the job, nothing more. Keep the clients happy and the business profitable.
She’d had no idea what was at stake.
The rest of that night was something of a blur. She did remember Helen taking her through tunnels, exiting the spot nearest the staff cabins and walking her the rest of the way. With one last order to be safe, Helen left her to get settled in. The staff cabin was a confining step down from the townhouse but at least help was much closer to hand if anything happened.
First thing in the morning, Beverly called to pass on a message from Kara.
“Don’t keep her waiting,” Beverly ordered. “There’s thirty people taking part in the Parlor Game, and they all have to go through wardrobe.”
Max dropped by a short while later with bad news. Jerod had been unable to locate either Derek or Ridley. The two had disappeared. Thomas was chasing down leads—with help; Wade had been sufficiently rattled to involve the FBI proper immediately this time.
That explained, she thought, why Wade hadn’t called this morning to see if she’d learned anything about Thomas. The rest of the day, she heard nothing from Phillip or Helen, either.
Thomas texted her three times. The first one said no new developments. The second text—about tables and pizza and passenger seats and being forcibly stripped in a hallway—made her blush. His third message said he’d see her at the Parlor Game.
The hours dragged until the cleaning started. So full up on nervous energy, she had to vent it somewhere and the cabin took the brunt. While she scrubbed and dusted and organized, her mind could not keep away from those tunnels. Flashes of imagined horrors, of medical experiments and moaning victims, and the monsters who were so detached from basic human decency that they could do such things, kept battering away at her. She tried to offset it with remembered sensations from Thomas. Josh, too, but then she would remember Derek and Ridley were missing, and she would be back to square one again.
The chaos of wardrobe came as a relief. Pregame preparations were in full swing, with staff and client alike being carefully made up and dressed. When it was Amanda’s turn to be transformed into the dark-side Veronica Lake again, Kara kept making eye contact in the mirror, giving her little meaningful looks.
“What?” Amanda finally asked.
“Do you know what’s going on? Did they tell you why they substituted Jerod and Marla in for Derek and Ridley?”
Amanda fought to maintain her composure. Word must not be out, yet. No one knew Derek and Ridley were missing, and now Jerod and Marla would have to take their places in the Parlor Game.
But what to tell Kara? “Yes, I do know. Can I tell you afterward?”
Kara frowned at her. “Why can’t you tell me now?”
“Sorry. Later is the best I can do.”
She carried Kara’s suspicious look all the way across the quad to the Isle of Wight . Every building in the resort was full up of people participating in various events but this place, the people taking part in the Parlor Game, seemed to be the elite.
This time, dressed in black-orchid silk, and dripping in gold and gems, Amanda felt more at home in the exclusive venue. The tables had been moved to the perimeter of the central, oval-shaped dining area. All the action would take place in the fifteen private rooms
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