The Hotel – 21

"How did Vern get involved with the hotel?" I asked Edwin when Vern moved down the bar. "Is he also a friend of the Goodmans or Henry?"

"No. We knew each other from way back. God, that makes us sound old. I went to high school with him. His father owned the tavern in town and as soon as he was old enough, Vern started working there. When I decided to start the hotel I called to ask if he'd like to work for me as the bartender."

"I jumped at the chance to get out from under my father's thumb," Vern said with a laugh as he returned. "So here I am."

I'd finished my beer by then, much to my surprise. I usually manage to nurse one for at least an hour.

"Would you like another one?" Edwin asked. I was about to say no when Marsh, and the other men, minus Kirby, came into the lounge. They immediately gravitated to the bar, taking seats on either side of us.

"We decided it might be a good idea to drink until we're soused, to take our minds off of everything," Ramsey said before ordering a beer.

"We don't have to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow," Marsh added, after asking Vern for a whiskey and water. "So I, for one, plan on sleeping until noon."

"Where are Kirby and the girls?" I asked, nodding when Vern held up my empty glass.

"In the smaller lounge, watching a movie," Noah replied. He had a beer by then and Phil was holding what looked like a screwdriver—the drink, not a real one.

"To a great show, tomorrow," I said, holding up my fresh beer when Vern handed it to me.

We clicked glasses, or bottles in Noah and Ramsey's cases.

"Now we just have to hope the snow had stopped by morning," Phil said, "or we'll have an audience of hotel employees and no one else."

"Unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath that will happen," Edwin said. "When I came in from searching, half an hour ago, it was still coming down hard."

"Meaning any hope of finding Tessa is nil right now," Ramsey commented then apologized, saying, "Sorry, we weren't going to talk about that."

"It's all right," I replied. "It's the truth. Not that we like it."

"So, how about those Bears," Noah said.

We all looked at him in question, Phil asking, "There are bears around here, too?"

"The football team, silly man. I was trying to change the subject."

"Oh. Well…umm."

We laughed. None of us were football fans, with maybe the exception of Edwin and Vern. It turned out they weren't either, so Ramsey decided we should talk about movies we'd seen and liked, or hated. That killed the next hour, and my second beer, before the guys decided to head up to bed.

When I started to get up, Edwin put one hand on my arm. "You haven't had a chance to visit my part of the mansion."

I'd had just enough to drink that the idea of seeing it appealed to me on a very basic level. I should have declined, telling him I needed to get some sleep—but I didn't.