Page 42 of Is Anyone Listening?
Seeing the strain in her eyes, I shook my head. "You need to rest today, Tessa. Give your brain and your body a chance to heal. If I need you to make calls later, I'll let you know."
Tessa gave me a weak smile. "Okay. I'm proud of you, Cassidy, but I'm also a little scared. I don't want you to feel pressure to stay."
"If I need to bail, I will. I'll see you later. Get some rest."
As I walked out of her room, I felt both determined and terrified. This was on me now. And I couldn't help but wonder if that had been the plan all along.
Chapter Eleven
I got back to the inn around eleven in the morning and headed upstairs. Tessa had given me her key so that I could pack up her room and bring her some things when I went back in the evening.
As I entered her room, I saw the usual amount of messiness. Tessa had a tendency to try on a few outfits every day before she decided what to wear, and, clearly, she'd made a few changes before she'd gone out with Finn yesterday. I didn't see any clean towels neatly folded on her bed, as there had been on mine the night before, but maybe that was because housekeeping had been told she'd gone to the hospital.
With a sigh, I grabbed her suitcase and started repacking her clothes, then her toiletries, finishing off with her laptop computer and chargers, as well as the podcast equipment. I had just taken the suitcase into the hall when Sophie came down the corridor, pushing a cleaning cart filled with towels and other supplies.
She stopped abruptly. "Cassidy. I just heard about Tessa. How is she?"
"She has a broken leg and a concussion, but she's going to be okay."
"Thank goodness. I couldn't believe she fell down the stairs."
"Neither could I."
"I guess you're moving her things? Ellen sent me up to clean her room."
"I have everything packed up. I just need to move it all across the hall."
"I can help."
"Thanks." I pushed the suitcase into my room and then went back to Tessa's room to grab the case with our recording equipment while Sophie picked up Tessa's tote bag and followed me into my room.
"I'm really sorry for Tessa," Sophie said as she put the bag down on the bed. "Will you be staying here on your own?"
"For a few days. There weren't any hotel rooms near the hospital, so I'll just go back and forth until she's ready to leave."
"Will she come back here, or will you both be going to New York?"
"I don't know the plan yet." As she hesitated, I said, "Is there a reason you're asking?"
"Just wondering if there's something going on here I should know about. Finn has wanted me to quit for a while, but this morning he told me about Tessa, and he said I should quit immediately. But Tessa just had an accidental fall, right?"
"I don't know, Sophie. The other night, a note was slipped under my door telling Tessa and me to leave. And now she's gone."
Her eyebrows shot up at my comment. "Are you serious? Who would do that?"
"Ellen said it was just teenagers pulling a prank. She wasn't concerned at all."
"I suppose that makes sense. There were some teenagers staying here the other day," Sophie said.
Despite her words, there was uncertainty in her eyes. "Does it really make sense?" I challenged. "After two other women have disappeared in the past year, both with connections to this inn."
"I don't know. I want to quit, but I only need two more paychecks to have enough money to get out of here. It seems stupid to leave now." She paused. "And if you're that concerned, why are you staying?"
"It's just easier to stay here for another day," I said, realizing that sounded like a poor excuse after I'd just challenged her.
"It's easier for me to finish out the month than quit now," Sophie said. "Besides, Cole isn't ready to go yet, either, so it makes sense for me to just keep working here."
"Are you and Cole a couple?"
