The Hotel - 20

"May I buy you a drink?" Edwin asked as I was walking to the elevator after dinner. "You look like you could use one."

"No kidding. Sure, why not." I chuckled. "It's not as if it's going to cost you anything."

"I don't get the liquor for free," he replied, huffing. Then he laughed. "Don't I wish?"

We went into the cocktail lounge, which was empty at the moment with the exception of Vern behind the bar.

"This is so frustrating," I said, taking a seat on one of the stools. "I look at them, wondering if one of them is guilty of murder."

"Maybe I could—" Edwin was interrupted by Vern asking what we'd like to drink. I don't know why, and I was probably wrong, but I had the feeling Vern had done that to keep Edwin from finishing his sentence. Whether he had or not, it broke our concentration because when I ordered a draw, Edwin tried to convince me to try something stronger. "It will help you relax," he said.

"Probably too much," I replied.

"Why is that a problem?"

"I don't like losing control."

Edwin nodded. "I remember, now. You did say one beer was your limit."

I chuckled. "I don't think I quantified how many, though that's usually the case."

By the time Vern set my beer and Edwin's whiskey in front of us I decided I wanted to shelve any talk about Tessa and all that involved. Instead, I asked Edwin if he'd always lived here, "Meaning the mansion."

"No. I grew up hundreds of miles north of here. The place belonged to my great-uncle. When he died I was his only surviving relation so it passed on to me." He took a sip of his drink, smiled wryly, and said, "Moving here was the last thing I wanted to do, until I saw it. If you can fall in love with a building, I did."

"Of course you can and I can see why you did. It's spectacular—the mansion and the surroundings."

"I agree. I moved in and set to work refurbishing it with the help of a couple of men from town. Henry and his brother, to be precise. They're sort of jacks-of-all-trades. It wasn't until we got started that I realized quite how huge it was. I said something about it to Henry…" He chortled. "Several times, actually. It was his idea to turn it into a quality hotel for people who wanted to get away from the city life for a weekend or a week, but weren't interested in a ski resort. He introduced me to Logan, whose wife was friends with Felicia. The rest is history."

"And you'll be here until the day you die."

"I will, which hopefully is well in the future."

I looked at him, trying to determine his age. "At least fifty years, if not more," I said.

"Given that I'm only thirty, I hope so."

I caught Vern smiling knowingly at Edwin's reply and wondered what that was about. If I hadn't known Vern was straight I might have thought he and Edwin had something going on between them.

The Hotel - 19

The mood was somber when the rehearsal was over and everyone had changed out of their costumes. There was none of the normal elation because it had gone well—which it had.

Instead—with the exception of Phil and Noah, who must have decided they had no reason to worry about each other, given that women were not their thing—everyone else seemed to want to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the other members of the troupe. Even Jenn and Kirby had headed upstairs separately.

"This isn't good," Edwin said when I ran into him in the entry hall. "They're acting as if we think one of them killed Tessa." He smiled grimly. "Which we do, at this point."

"I know." I sighed. "We have to find her and hope she's alive, although I suspect the chances she is are slim, given the weather."

"My men are still out there," he said. "They've gone around the lake twice already, and have done a preliminary search of the forest despite the storm."

"They'd have to stumble over her."

"They're good at what they do, Austin. If she's out there, they will find her."

I had a sudden thought, surprised that it hadn't occurred to me before now. "What if she ran into a wolf?"

"That's very unlikely. Wolves keep their distance from humans unless they feel threatened."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it."

He smiled. "I have lived here long enough to know what I'm talking about." He started toward the stairs then turned, asking, "Do you think everyone will come down for dinner?"

"I don't think they have much choice, since you don't offer room service."

"We could this evening, if you decide it would be wiser. The maids are still here, because of weather. They could take orders then deliver the food to the rooms."

I thought for a moment before shaking my head. "All that would accomplish is to make everyone even more aware there could be a killer in the group. We're a team. We have to act like one."

I began to wonder if I'd made the right decision when people began trickling into the dining room half an hour later. Rather than taking seats at the communal table we'd been using, they chose smaller tables, sitting alone with the exception of Phil and Noah. Even though I wasn't too surprised, it pissed me off and I let them know it.

"I have something to say and I want you to listen." When they looked at me I continued. "We've been together as a group for several years. We're friends as well as co-workers. Yes, the idea one of us might, and I'm stressing might be responsible for Tessa's disappearance, is upsetting. I get that. Pulling apart is not going to solve the problem. We need each other, now more than ever."

I looked at them, one at a time. "Tessa was no angel, we all know that, but then none of us are. We've had our differences over the years but we've always resolved them. Stop acting like one of us could be a deranged killer. Unless, of course," I added, "you have a valid reason to suspect someone."

I saw Ramsey open his mouth as if to reply before he shook his head. I had the feeling he'd wanted to say something about overhearing the argument between Jenn and Tessa, and had thought better of it. Everyone else remained silent.

Then Marsh stood, coming over to the communal table. A moment later, Ramsey and Caitlin joined him, followed by Phil and Noah. Jenn glanced at Kirby, who was sitting two tables away from her. He hesitated before standing. Going to her, he held out his hand. She took it and together they joined us.

"All for one, and one for all," Noah said, getting smiles or brief laughs in reply.

I gave a silent sigh of relief. Yes, they were still tense, but we were back together again as a team—for now at least.

The Hotel – 18

Logan returned, saying to Edwin, "The boots I use when I shovel snow are missing. They were there with the rest of them yesterday."

"I guess that answers that question," Edwin replied. "It wasn't a lost hunter or a thief."

That did not sit well with me; or with anyone else in the troupe from the wary expressions on their faces as they looked at each other.

"I don't believe any of the guys would have lured her out of the hotel," Caitlin said adamantly.

"If they wanted a private assignation with her…" Ramsey said.

"Come on," Caitlin protested, "Would you go off with someone when there are plenty of places here, like the rooms on the second floor, if you didn't want to be seen?"

"Which are all locked, right?" Ramsey looked at Edwin.

"They aren't. If you remember, Ramsey, Austin had to ask me for the keys to your rooms when I first took you upstairs," Felicia said. I hadn't been aware she was there until just then.

I clapped my hands to get everyone's attention. "Let's finish rehearsing. We'll leave it up to Edwin and his people to see if they can figure out where Tessa and whomever she was with went after leaving here last night."

"We'll try," Edwin replied, "but as Henry pointed out, we can't promise we'll learn anything more than we know at the moment."

As we walked to the ballroom I wondered who Tessa might have gone off with. Kirby was the obvious one, but why would he lure her outside, or go with her if she asked him to? Having overheard their argument, I could see Jenn coming up with an excuse to get Tessa to leave the hotel with her so she could have a very private discussion with her about keeping her hands off Kirby. But if so, what happened after that? Jenn was here and Tessa wasn't. I suppose the same goes for whoever it was who left with Tessa. What did they do to her, if anything? I knew one answer, but I couldn't believe that any member of the troupe would kill her, no matter the provocation.

As far as the men went, Ramsey was right. There were plenty of places inside the hotel where one of them could have taken Tessa for an assignation. Or she could have taken them when it came down to it, if she decided to change course and go after Marsh or Ramsey, who were both straight, to prove she could have any man she wanted and thus thumb her nose at Kirby. That held true for Vern as well, although he said she'd left his suite before he could make his move and Edwin seemed to believe him.

Guardian Angels – Ambivalent - 26

Mike hurried into the kitchen while Evan joined Paddy at the window, asking him, "Watching for Mr. Keefe?"

Paddy nodded. "Sort of. Not that he'd walk right up even if he does know Mike lives here."

"Could you sense it if he was in the neighborhood?" Evan asked, keeping his voice low.

"I should be able to, since he's a danger to Mike. If I didn't it would be time to turn in my wings."

"You could do that?" Evan asked in surprise. 

Paddy chucked. "Not really. This is a forever thing."

Evan nodded, glancing toward the kitchen. "You like him, don't you?"

Hedging his bets, Paddy replied, "He's a nice young man."

"Paddy, I've been watching you watching him when he wasn't aware of it. The look on your face… Well if I had to describe it, it would be one of yearning." He smiled a bit when Paddy shook his head. "You won't do anything about it. Probably because you think you can't, given what you are. That, in my opinion, would be stupid. Or more, it would be if he has any feelings for you."

Paddy snorted softly. "He sees me as a friend and a protector, nothing more."

"You're certain? You've… probed?"

"No I haven't! I wouldn't. That would be unethical at best and a total invasion of his privacy."

Evan grinned. "Then maybe I should do a little probing of my own, verbally."

"Don't you dare! Let it be, Evan. Nothing good could come of it. He's young. He's got his whole life ahead of him. Even if he does"—Paddy spread his hands—"have feelings for me as you put it, he deserves better. He should find a nice young man his own age, fall in love and go from there." Sighing, he added, "I have nothing to offer him. Hell, when this assignment is over I'll never see him again."

"Those are the rules you live by?" Evan asked in dismay.

"Yes. We're only around for our charges, when they need us to keep them safe or to push them in the right direction when they go way off course. Then we're gone and they're none the wiser that we were even around."

"Not true. You and Dom let us know who and what you are. And you're dealing with us now, too."

"Special case," Paddy replied tightly. "With Mike… Yeah, I'm visible to him because he needs me to be if I'm going to protect him. But he has no idea that I'm more than just someone who was around at the right time, in the right place, and offered my help. And that, my friend, is how it's going to stay."

Evan shook his head. "I think you're wrong but I'll stay out of it."

"Thank you. Now, shall we go see if dinner is ready?"

The Hotel – 17

We finished the first act rehearsal just before noon and broke for lunch, with everyone in costume since there was no reason to take the time to change into their street clothes. We were almost finished eating when Edwin came into the dining room with Logan and one of his searchers right behind him.

"I have some news, about Tessa and the weather," Edwin said, which immediately caught our attention. "She did leave the hotel, although I can't say exactly when. Henry—" he nodded to the searcher, "—believes she wasn't alone. He found two partial pairs of footprints leading from one of the windows down to the lake. The problem is they won't do us much good because it's started to snow."

All of us, almost as one, looked toward the dining room windows.

"Damn," Noah said. "That's not a light, early season snow."

He was right. It was coming down heavily.

"There goes our show," Ramsey said. "Who'd come up here in weather like this?"

Edwin smiled wryly. "You might be surprised. If it ends by morning the town's plowing crew will clear the road for us."

"You bet we will," Henry said. His voice was deep, which wasn't too surprising for a man his size. He was a good six feet plus and very muscular.

"Is there any way to tell who was with her and where they went?" Kirby asked, then answered his own question. "Probably not, with the weather and no really clear footprints."

"I'm afraid you're correct," Edwin replied, casting a glance at Henry, who nodded in agreement.

"If I'd found them earlier," Henry said. "But I didn't. The snow is making it difficult to find any clue to where she's gone."

"Could you tell if it was a man or a woman with her?" I asked.

"My guess would be a man, from the size and the deeper imprint they made in the mud compared to hers."

"Unless whoever it was took a pair of the boots we keep by the back door in the pantry. That could make the footprints larger than their normal ones would be," Edwin said. "Logan, would you go check to see if any are missing."

Logan left, at which point Kirby asked if we would be finishing the rehearsal as planned.

"Definitely," I replied. "While I hate the idea one of us could be involved in Tessa's disappearance, we still have a show to put on."

"One of us?" Jenn seemed shocked by my words. "It has to be some stranger who found the open window and snuck in. Maybe Tessa saw them and…umm…wanted to know who they were and…" She chewed her lip.

"Highly unlikely," Edwin said. "Who would be wandering around here late at night?"

"I don't know," she replied. "A hunter who got lost? Some sneak thief or transient who thought there might be something worth stealing?"

"Come on, Jenn, get real," Phil said, shaking his head. "Who would come all this distance on the off chance they could pick up some loot? We're miles from anywhere, if you don't count the town."

"Which is barely a blip on the map," Noah pointed out. "Not to demean where you live, Henry, but it is."

Henry smiled. "I know. That's why I like it. We're well away from civilization."

The Hotel – 16

"Do you honestly think she's alive and hiding somewhere?" Marsh asked me.

"I don't know!" I replied in frustration. "If she is hiding, I'm going to kick her out of the troupe, the sooner the better."

"I would if I were you. It will mean canceling the next few performances, including the one here, but we don't need someone like her trying to make things miserable for everyone else."

"Exactly." I paced, wondering how Tessa could be so uncaring that she'd jeopardize everything we did and the reason we were here, just to get her revenge on Jenn and Kirby, because I was fairly certain that's what she was doing.

Slowly, the cast came back into the ballroom, costumed and in makeup. Poor Caitlin looked terrified, which was unfortunate because if worst came to worst she would have to step in to do Tessa's role for real tomorrow night. I had decided on the spur of the moment we would not cancel the performance, no matter what. If she had to carry the script with her, the way she was at the moment, so be it. At least she was familiar with the basics from watching earlier rehearsals before we came up here. I would make an announcement before we began the actual performance to let the audience know we'd had to replace Tessa, but not why.

The first act rehearsal went about as I expected. Everyone immersed themselves in their roles and did a good job, including Caitlin once she'd calmed down. Tessa's costume was big on her, but I knew she could, and would, take care of the problem by the time the show opened.

I was aware, halfway through the morning, that we had company watching from the back of the ballroom. It was Edwin, accompanied by two men. Both of them had eyes that seemed to miss nothing that was happening, which let me know they must be the searchers he'd talked about. I went over and he introduced them before sending them on their way, telling them it was imperative they find Tessa, wherever she was.

"They will," he assured me. "They know what they're doing. They'll begin outside because I'm very certain Tessa's nowhere in here. "

"Are you? I'm not, since you said there was no way she could have left."

"I said I turned on the security. That doesn't mean she couldn't have left before I did, or found an open window."

"In this weather? Who'd leave one open?"

"Tessa, if she planned all this ahead of time."

I frowned. "The system wouldn't have alerted you that one of them was open?"

"No. Unfortunately it's not that sophisticated. We're far enough up in the mountains that I decided we were safe and didn't need all the fancy bells-and-whistles. The system is mainly to alert us if a guest decides to go wandering too late at night." His mouth tightened. "Some people are stupid that way, especially if they've had one too many drinks."

"Makes me glad I don't run a hotel," I replied, smiling briefly.

"With any luck, if she did find a way out of here, there will be footprints because it rained soon after midnight. If so, my men will be able to track her."

"I hope so. If she snuck out, I'm going to be, okay I already am very pissed and she'll know it the next time I talk to her." With that said, I went back to watching the rehearsal.

The Hotel – 15

After Edwin left the room, I divvied us up to search for Tessa—Kirby and Jenn, me with Caitlin, Noah and Phil, Marsh and Ramsey. With Caitlin by my side, we went to the ballroom. It was immediately apparent that Tessa wasn't there, so we searched the dressing rooms and the bathroom between them. Nothing; and no sign Tessa had been there since we'd left after yesterday afternoon's rehearsal.

The same held true for everyone else, they said when we reconvened. "The cocktail lounge is vacant, of course, and so is the smaller lounge," Noah reported.

"What about the kitchen area?" I asked Marsh and Ramsey.

"The cook was not happy we were there, but she let us check the walk-in fridges," Ramsey replied. "She told us she'd been in and out of the pantry and would have seen Tessa, even if she was trying to hide, or had passed out or whatever."

"She even let me look under the pantry shelves, when I pushed the issue," Marsh added grimly. "No body, dead or alive."

"Do you think she's dead?" Jenn asked in dismay.

Marsh shrugged. "We can't dismiss the possibility, I'm afraid. I don't see her playing hide-and-seek with us."

"She's not that crazy," Kirby said.

Edwin joined us at that point, saying that Logan and Vern had done a thorough search of the hotel basement and found nothing to indicate Tessa had been down there. "Either on her own, or because someone forced her to go with them," he said.

"Who would do that?" Caitlin said, looking horrified.

"As Marsh said," I replied, "we can't dismiss the idea someone might have killed her for whatever reason." I resisted looking at Jenn, who was the only person in the troupe that might have wanted her dead—that I knew of.

"I'm going to call a couple of friends of mine who are trained searchers," Edwin told us at that point. "I'll give them free rein to go through the entire building as well as searching the area around it."

"You said you locked up and set the security last night," I pointed out. "How could she have left without your knowing?"

"I doubt she could have," Edwin replied, giving me a brief smile. "But it would be stupid to reject the possibility, right?"

"True."

He left, at which point I suggested we trying rehearsing, even though Tessa, who played Lucy, wouldn't be there. "Caitlin, you can stand in for her, if you don't mind."

"What if…?" Caitlin frowned.

"She doesn't return? We'll deal with that if it happens. Despite what we've been saying, I don’t think she's dead. She's either playing a vicious game for some reason—" I glanced at Jenn and Kirby, "—or she found some way to leave the hotel and is either lost or halfway back to the city by now."

Everyone looked dubious at the 'lost' idea, but nodded before we went into the ballroom. From there, the actors, including a very reluctant Caitlin, went to get into costume.

The Hotel -14

When I got to the entry hall I saw Felicia at the reception desk. "Can you call your bartender for me?"

"Sure. Why?"

"One of our women, Tessa, hasn't come down for breakfast and she's not in her room. The last time I saw her, she and the bartender were chatting each other up, so…"

Felicia grinned. "I'm not surprised. Vern thinks he's a lady's man." She picked up the house phone and called him. It was obvious from what she said to him that he was alone, which she confirmed as soon as she hung up. "He says he invited her to his suite for a nightcap, and she accepted, but that's as far as it went. She left about half an hour later, saying she had to be up early this morning because of rehearsals."

"Okay. Thanks for checking." I returned to the dining room to be greeted by inquiring expressions from everyone. I told them what Vern had said.

"So somewhere between leaving him and getting to her room she what? Changed her mind and took a walk, or something?" Phil asked.

"She must have gone to her room because the door was unlocked," Caitlin pointed out. "Even if it was only to get a jacket, she would have locked up when she left."

"Felicia told me one of you is missing," Edwin said with concern as he came into the room.

My first thought was he looked damned sexy, as he was wearing jeans and a turtleneck that fit him like a glove. I immediately shelved that as inappropriate at best at the moment. "Yes," I replied. "Tessa, one of our actresses. She's not in her room and her bed hasn't been slept in, according to Caitlin."

"That's worrisome." He smiled briefly. "Felicia said she checked with Vern and she was there but left. I locked the outside doors around midnight or a bit later, as always."

"Do you have a security system?" Marsh asked.

"Of course, and I armed it," Edwin replied. "It didn't go off."

"Then she's got to be somewhere in here," Phil said.

Edwin smiled dryly. "That would be the logical conclusion."

"Is Vern certain she left your half of the hotel?" I asked him.

"Give me a second and I'll find out." Edwin took out his phone, turning away as he called Vern. A moment later he hung up, telling us, "He escorted her to the door between our suites and the hotel proper, and locked it afterward."

"We need to look for her," Kirby said, beating me to the punch as he got to his feet. "We can split up in pairs. Maybe she decided to explore and fell down the basement stairs, or something."

Edwin nodded. "I'll send Logan to check the basement and have the maids look into all the guestrooms on the second floor, just in case she decided to see what they're like and…who knows, pulled a Goldilocks on us." That brought a brief laugh from a couple of the guys.

Guardian Angels – Ambivalent - 25

Paddy had been right about one thing. Nothing happened the next day as far as seeing or dealing with Mr. Keefe was concerned. Detective Massey did assign an officer to be at the shelter while Mike was there, but only for the day as the man had another case he needed to work starting the following morning.

Paddy and Mike spent their time at the shelter doing what they, well Mike, always did. Paddy helped out at the admission counter when needed and otherwise spent time in the recreation area getting to know some of the teens. He found their reasons for being on the streets interesting, and in many cases very disheartening. People should have to have a license to be parents, with classes, just as they do if they want to drive.

On their way to the shelter, they had stopped at Vic's office to drop off the key to Mike's apartment so that Evan could work on adding more security. It wasn't until they were on their way back to the apartment at the end of their shift at the shelter that they realized they might not be able to get in. Paddy called Vic to tell him that, only to be told in return that Evan was waiting for them.

"He's not as dumb as you seem to think," Vic said, laughing. "You on the other hand…"

"Yeah, yeah," Paddy muttered, hanging up.

When they got up to Mike's place, Evan greeted them at the door. After giving Mike his keys, he explained the security box and asked Mike what series of numbers he wanted to use. "And not your birthday, or Social Security number, or anything like that," he cautioned.

After thinking for a moment, and doing some counting on his fingers, Mike told him, "12, 1, 15, 3, and 8."

"Okay, but you'll need to punch them in as single digits," Evan pointed out, "since the numbers on the pad go from one through zero, like on a phone."

Mike nodded. "I think I can handle that."

As Evan programmed them in he said, "What do they stand for, if you don't mind my asking?"

Mike glanced at Paddy and smiled. "Laoch, which I hope I spelled right."

It took Paddy a minute to figure it out before he replied, "You did." When Evan cocked and eyebrow in question, he explained what laoch meant.

"That fits," Evan said, smiling. Puzzled, Mike asked how he knew that. "From what Vic told me about him," Evan replied without batting an eye.

::Good catch.:: Paddy told Evan, mentally.

"I'm not as dumb as I look. You on the other hand…"

"Yeah, yeah. What's with you two. That's twice in less than half an hour."

Evan just grinned before taking Mike around to show him what other security measures he'd installed. When they were finished, Mike thanked Evan profusely then asked if he'd like to stay for supper. "It's stew, which won't take long to heat up."

"From a can?" Evan asked warily.

"Oh no. Homemade and in the freezer."

"In that case, I'd love to."

The Hotel - 13

I looked out the window as soon as I got up at eight-thirty Thursday morning. What I saw, overcast skies that hid the view of the mountain peaks across the lake, worried me. I hoped it didn't presage snow. Not that there would be much of it, if Edwin was correct, but it might put off people who planned on coming to the hotel to see our show Friday night. One thing I did notice, the ground was damp. I wondered if it had rained last night after I'd gone to bed.  

 

I showered and got dressed, then went downstairs to the dining room.

"The sleeper awakens," Ramsey said with a grin when I walked in.

"I have," I replied, checking to see who else was there. The only ones missing were Tessa and Marsh. He showed up a couple of minutes later, while I was filling my plate with eggs and sausage at the serving credenza.

"We'll begin rehearsing, in costumes and makeup, at ten," I announced. "Barring any complications, we'll break for lunch and do the second act this afternoon."

"Will we rehearse again tomorrow?" Phil asked.

"Not as far as I'm concerned," I told him. "You have your parts down cold. Consider today a combined dress and tech rehearsal to work out any problems."

"Like with my lighting," Marsh said.

Noah cocked his head in question. "It worked yesterday. Why would that change today?"

"I'm a perfectionist," Marsh replied, earning him a couple of "No kidding" comments from the others.

I was halfway through my breakfast when I realized something. "Where's Tessa? Has anyone seen her this morning?"

"Probably sleeping in until the last second," Jenn replied somewhat snidely. She was sitting with Kirby and they seemed to be back to their usual selves, which was a relief as far as I was concerned.

"I'll go check and wake her up if she is," Caitlin said before leaving the dining room. She was back five minutes later, looking worried. "She's not in her room and her bed hasn't been slept in."

"How did you get in to find that out?" I asked.

"Her door was unlocked."

"That's not like her," Noah commented. "She's big on having her privacy."

I agreed. Soon after she joined the troupe she was bemoaning not making as much money as she'd expected, even though she also had a part-time job. I'd suggested she should consider getting a roommate to share the expenses on her apartment. "No way, no how," she'd replied adamantly. "People are too nosy." Then she'd smiled, adding, "I'll grin and bear it and put off buying that wide-screen TV I've been looking at, for now. Privacy is more important." A strange thing for an actress to say, I'd thought, but it was what it was.

"Maybe she hooked up with the bartender and they're still at his place," Jenn smiled maliciously.

"Since he lives here, just like most of the others, I don't think that would keep her from showing up for breakfast," I said. "She knows we're rehearsing today. I will check, however."

The Hotel - 12

Raucous laughter coming from the table where Caitlin and most of the men had settled caught my attention. Noah and Phil had apparently decided not to go exploring after all because they were there, along with Ramsey and Marsh. Jenn and Kirby were nowhere to be seen, and Tessa was seated by herself at the far end of the bar. I wondered if she'd finally come to the realization that she had no chance with Kirby and decided to flirt with the bartender, who seemed to be entranced by whatever she was saying at the moment.

Seeing Ramsey had me asking Edwin, "What do you do about food when the storms hit?"

"We have two very large walk-in refrigerators, a matching freezer, and a huge pantry."

"Nice to know, if it starts to snow before morning."

Edwin chuckled. "Don't worry, we won't let you starve. Besides, as I told you earlier, even if it does it won't be enough to worry about. It's too early in the season."

I hoped he wasn't tempting fate, saying that.

"How did you get involved in what you're doing?" he asked, so I told him, starting with my majoring in scene design in college and on from there. By the time I finished talking his ear off, most of the troupe had left the lounge, other than Phil and Noah who were holding hands as they talked quietly to each other.

"True romance?" Edwin asked, seeing them, too.

"Working on it, I think."

"And the young woman…Jenn?" I nodded so he continued. "Her and Kirby?"

"If you asking how involved they are, I'll bet my last dollar they take the final step while we're here and end up in bed."

"What about you? Do you have someone? Maybe that cute Caitlin?"

"Nope. We're good friends, but then I am with everyone in the troupe. It would be very difficult if I wasn't—if we weren't. Friends, that is."

He smiled. "I understood what you meant. If you don't mind my making a very presumptive statement, my guess is you're gay."

"Based on what?"

Edwin shrugged. "A feeling, nothing more." Then he grinned. "If you weren't leaving in a couple of days, I might try to test my theory."

"Well, that answered that question," I replied, trying not to laugh. "We are, though."

"If you weren't…?"

"I'm not into one night stands." I looked dead at him. "I want to know the guy first, to know if he's worth my getting into a relationship with him. I'm not looking to settle down in a vine-covered cottage, like in some romance novel, but I don't want to invest time in him without getting something back other than sex."

"That makes sense. Slow and easy, the way Jenn and Kirby seem to be taking it from what you said."

"Exactly." I stood. "On that note, I'm heading to bed. We have a long day tomorrow, making certain everything is up to par for our performance Friday night."

"It was nice talking with you," Edwin replied. "If I was a bit nosy, I'm sorry. It's the way I am."

"No problem. Anyone who's in entertainment is used to it." I bid him goodnight and went up to my room.

My dreams were interesting to say the least. Some featured me and Edwin doing intriguing things together, and I mean in bed. Others involved wolves—watching them, following them, and terrifyingly seeing them turn into humans, one of whom resembled Edwin. Did I think that was possible? Of course not—when I was awake. My dreams seemed to disagree, which when I thought about it surprised me. The first time I'd met him I'd thought he'd make a great Dracula. Now, I was seeing him as an extremely sexy werewolf, which probably wouldn't have happened if we hadn't seen that wolf the first night we were here. My imagination running wild I figured, when I woke up from that dream.

Eventually I fell back to sleep, without any more dreams that I remember.

The Hotel - 11

Everyone was at dinner, and with the exception of Tessa—and Jenn and Kirby who looked as if they'd had an unresolved argument and wanted to be anywhere but together at the table—we were relaxed as we ate. We talked about everything from what show we should do next, to politics—we're all fairly liberal so that was more of a bitch session than a serious discussion—to the fact it was suddenly much colder outside and wondering if that meant it could snow sometime before we left.

"If it does, and I had my skis," Phil said.

"You'd end up breaking a leg," Noah replied. "I don't see Harker hobbling around on crutches. Now if you were playing Renfield instead of me…"

That got laughs from everyone, of course, even Tessa who had been very quiet up to that point, watching Kirby when she thought no one was looking.  

After dinner, some of us went to the cocktail lounge. Quite honestly I wasn't the least surprised to see Edwin there. He was seated at the end of the bar, talking to the bartender. He saw me and smiled, gesturing for me to join him.

"Do you live here?" I asked after ordering a beer.

"I do. We all do. In case you haven't noticed, what you've seen of the hotel so far only encompasses two-thirds of the mansion. The rest is our quarters, although the young women who work here have families in town. When the weather permits, which is at least half the year, they return home every evening. Otherwise, there are two suites set aside for them."

"Maybe I should start working for you," I quipped. "Free room and board."

He replied, sounding serious, "I'm certain I could find something for you to do that wouldn't bore you to death."

"Um, thanks but no thanks. I like my job, as stressful as it can be at times. It's, excuse the mundane expression, fulfilling."

"I'm sure it is."

"You don't get cabin fever when you're snowed in?"

"Not at all. I don't know if you've checked out the smaller lounge, but we have enough movies there to entertain us well into the next century. No television reception or WiFi connections when the snow gets bad but we manage to survive without them." He chuckled. "Felicia and I are avid hikers, even when the weather sucks, which gets us out of here."

His saying that answered one question for me. Whatever the reason was that he appeared to be interested in me, it wasn't because he was gay. Or maybe…?

"Felicia's husband is a Marine. He's been overseas for the last year so it's nice to have her company when I feel the need to stretch my legs."

I almost asked him if he got lonely, living here with only her, the bartender, and the Goodmans for company. But I didn't. For all I knew he had someone in his life we hadn't met so far.

Guardian Angels – Ambivalent - 24

If he hadn't let his hair down… Mike stared at the sink full of dirty dishes but he was seeing Paddy, his long red hair hanging to his waist, imagining him bare-chested as he charged into battle with only his sword and shield and his courage to protect him.

Shaking his head, he brought his mind back to what he was doing, which was washing dishes. Not half as interesting as what I could be doing if I just had the nerve to say something. But I don't, and I won't, though it could be just what I need to take my mind off of Mr. Keefe and…and everything. But that would just be using Paddy which wouldn't be fair to him. I mean it wouldn't be…would it? I like him, but not like that. I don't think.

He put the last dish in the drainer and realized he'd washed them all by instinct while his mind had been elsewhere. Then he shivered. It's what's going on that makes him interesting. Nothing more. I'm scared, he's here, he's kind and… Mike sighed. And damned sexy with his hair down like that. I wonder if he really does have a warrior's body. But I'm not going to try to find out.

He jumped when he heard Paddy say, "Daydreaming?" and turned to look at him. He'd pulled his hair back into its clasp and now stood, framed in the archway, with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, I guess," Mike replied. Damned sexy now, too. Okay, enough!  "More like I'm half asleep I think."

"Then let's get to bed. We could have an interesting day ahead of us. Or two or three, depending on how soon Keefe makes his move."

"You think it could take that long?" Mike asked, following Paddy into the living room.

"Hard to tell. He has to come up with a safe way to get at you."

Mike winced. "So I'll be looking over my shoulder until he does."

Paddy chuckled. "If you do, you'll see me, since I have your back as they say."

"Not funny," Mike grumbled. But he did smile. "All right. I'll see you in the morning."

"That you will," Paddy agreed as he headed toward the guest bedroom. "That you will."  

The Hotel - 10

Felicia returned to the reservations desk and I took that as my cue to leave. The elevator was on the third floor according to the light above the door, so I decided to take the stairs instead.

I was about to step into the hallway when I heard someone talking. It was Jenn and she sounded upset so I stayed where I was.

"I don't care," she was saying. "He's not interested in you, so quit trying to…"

"He would be, if it wasn't for you," Tessa replied. "He used to be, before you stepped in and took him away from me."

"That's not true," Jenn retorted. "He told me he saw you as a friend and nothing more."

"He was lying." There was a brief pause before Tessa said mockingly, "Ask him about the night he and I went to a club and then he took me home and to bed."

There was a pregnant pause. "I don't believe you!"

"Ask him," Tessa retorted.

I heard footsteps approaching and ducked deeper into the shadows at the top of the stairs just in time to see Tessa walk by, a self-satisfied smile on her face. A door closed seconds later and I knew Jenn had gone into her room—or Kirby's.

"Well, that was unpleasant," I said under my breath. I hoped Tessa would regret her words and apologize to Jenn. Otherwise things could get really strained between them, which would make the rest of our time here unpleasant. As far as I knew, Tessa and Kirby had never been more than casual friends, just as Jenn had said. He'd certainly never acted as if there was something going on with Tessa, although there were a couple of times when I'd thought she wanted there to be, especially after Jenn entered the picture.

I remembered a quote by someone that said jealousy was love and hate at the same time. In Tessa's case it was probably true. She thought she loved Kirby, and it sure sounded like she hated Jenn.

"Problems?" Ramsey asked, coming out of his room as I was walking by.

I shook my head. "Nothing I can do anything about."

He laughed. "Meaning yes, and you're damned if you'll tell me."

"That, too."

"I bet I know what, though. Tessa, right? I heard her talking to Jenn just now. If that's it, you're right. There's not a damned thing any of us can do but hope she comes to her senses. Anyway, I'm going to check out the smaller lounge. Felicia said there are books and a bunch of movies on DVD for the use of the guests. Want to join me?"

"Sure, why not. I'm not in the mood for exploring the great outdoors at the moment."

"Me neither. I might get lost and miss dinner." He laughed uproariously at what was the perpetual joke about his eating habits.

We did as he'd suggested, and we didn't miss dinner.

The Hotel - 9

The rest of the morning went as well as could be expected given the circumstances. The screen worked, once we figured out what to do with it when it wasn't hiding the bed. In the end, there was an easy solution. In the black-out between scenes I would remove it, or set it up, as the situation warranted.

"You'd better dress in dark clothes," Caitlin suggested.

"Will do," I said, glad I'd brought along a black shirt and slacks.

We ate lunch around one, our choice of turkey sandwiches or burgers. Most of us opted for the burgers, which came with bacon, tomato, and lettuce, topped with spicy mayo.

Afterward, we ran through the second act. Then I told everyone they were free to do whatever they wanted until dinnertime. Several of them headed straight to the elevator, with Phil suggesting to Noah that they explore the area around the hotel. "But not across the lake. I'm not into a close encounter with a wolf." Noah laughed and agreed.

I wanted to thank Felicia, again, for all her assistance. When I got to the reservation desk she wasn't there, but Edwin was.

"Giving her a break?" I asked when he looked up from the computer.

"Yep. She deserves a few minutes to herself."

"No kidding. We've been running her ragged, I'm afraid."

"Believe me; compared to some of our guests, you're easy to work with."

"You'll have a full house come Friday?"

He nodded. "We're booked up for the weekend, which is normal. People getting away from the city for a while."

"Can't say I blame them, and this is the perfect setting."

Edwin chuckled. "I agree, but then I own the place."

"May I ask why you decided to have us perform this weekend, instead of having what I presume is your normal band?"

"It's good publicity and might draw some people who've never been here before." He gave me a long, searching look. "As I think I told you when I hired you, I saw one of your shows, six months ago, and was impressed."

"You did," I replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the intensity of his gaze. "I should get moving and leave you to whatever you were doing."

He smiled wryly. "Something very boring. Checking the reservations for the Thanksgiving weekend and praying we don't get six feet of snow."

"I'm surprised you stay open once winter hits."

"We have an arrangement with the guys who clear the streets in town to plow our road as well. When it gets so bad the road is covered again before they finish, we close for however long is necessary." He glanced out the front windows, frowning.

I looked, too, and saw why. It was only four in the afternoon but already getting dark. Going to the window I looked up at the sky. It was filled with gray clouds. Turning back to him, I asked, "Is it going to snow this early in the year?"

"It's been known to. Not hard, thank God. Usually just a skiff to let us know winter is definitely around the corner."

"Good." I grinned. "It would be nice to have an audience for our show."

"You will, I promise."