Page 29 of Is Anyone Listening?
"At five in the morning? That's odd. I guess she could have had to make an early flight somewhere."
"Sure. Or maybe…"
"She was checking out early, never to be seen again," Tessa finished.
"No one saw Natalie leave the inn, except for Ellen, who said Natalie checked out at eight. Maybe that was a lie. Perhaps she also left before dawn."
Tessa thought about that. "It's a possibility, but you're jumping to a lot of conclusions, Cassidy."
"You're right. I have no proof of anything, but my gut says I'm on to something."
"Okay. But I'm not sure there's anything we should do about it. I doubt asking Ellen will get us anywhere. We can ask Sophie if she knows whether or not Anna checked out. But I didn't see her at breakfast today, so I'm not sure if she's working."
"I can look for her later. What time are you meeting Finn?"
"He's picking me up at eleven."
"How are you planning to get info out of him?" I asked, turning my attention toward her upcoming lunch.
"I'm going to charm him into thinking he's just telling me about his life, his family, his friends, the quirky characters that make up the town, that kind of thing. I'm hoping that there's a bar where we're going, so I can loosen him up with a few drinks."
"Don't get too loose. You need to keep your wits about you. We don't know anything about Finn. And he was in the military for a long time, which means he knows how to fight, how to?—"
"Don't say it," Tessa put up a hand. "Don't let your imagination get carried away."
"I just wish you were meeting him in town. I don't like the idea of him picking you up and taking you somewhere. It seems like a bad idea."
"Well, I can't bring you along on a date, which is how I pitched this thing. It's daytime. It's lunch. Nothing is going to happen. And if he expresses any concern about the missing women or Ellen, I'll confide in him, but I'm going to play that by ear."
"You need to let him do the talking, which is not always easy for you."
Tessa laughed. "You know me too well. But I hope you also know I can handle this."
"I do know that."
"What are you going to do while I'm gone?"
"First, I'm going to shower and get my head together. Then I'll go downstairs and talk to Ellen about the room search and the note."
"Really?" Tessa said. "What if she's the one who had our rooms searched?"
"Then I'll see how she reacts when I confront her." I grabbed the threatening note from my nightstand, where I'd left it. "If she isn't involved, then she needs to know what's going on. And if she is involved, I'm going to make it clear that we don't scare easily."
"That just might encourage her to do something worse."
Tessa had a point, but it was a risk I'd have to take.
Two hours later, Tessa was off on her date, and now I was headed downstairs. Moira was at the front desk. She told me that Ellen had gone into town. She offered her help, but I didn't want to talk to anyone but Ellen, so I said I'd catch up with Ellen when she got back.
Disappointed that I couldn't confront her about the note or the room search, I wandered into the living room. Dorothy Winters sat in a chair by the fireplace, her knitting needles clicking rhythmically, the scarf on her lap getting longer and wider.
"Good morning, dear," she said with a warm smile. "How are you today?"
"I'm fine. How about you?"
"Can't complain. Why don't you have a seat? It's nice here by the fire."
I settled into the chair across from her, watching her hands work the yarn. There was something hypnotic and soothing about the movement. But I couldn't sit here and do nothing. "Can I ask you something? About the inn?"
