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.