Page 37 of A Touch of Treachery
You are cordially invited to attend the annual Winterfest charity event at my Glittertop Resort.Special guests such as yourself will have the opportunity to bid on my Redburn formula, in addition to taking part in other festivities throughout the weekend.
Please arrive by 5 p.m.this evening for the kickoff event.Bring all the toys you want, but this invitation is limited to you and your plus-one.I’m just dying to see Desmond again.
Toodles for now,
Henrika
I sat there, completely dumbfounded, for the better part of a minute.Then my shock wore off, my eyes narrowed, and I read the invitation again—and again and again, parsing every single sentence, word, and syllable.
Henrika was telling meexactlywhere she was going to be.The spider was inviting the fly into her parlor, which meant it had to be a trap.But the longer I stared at the invitation, the more determined I was to crawl into Henrika’s web and strangle her with the strands.
My gaze slid over to the clock in the bottom-right corner of my monitor.Just after nine a.m.Henrika hadn’t given me much time to get to her resort.
Footsteps scuffed across the carpet, and a shadow fell over my body.I glanced up to find Joan Samson standing beside my desk.
“You need to come with me, Charlotte,” Joan said in a tense voice.“Right now.”
My stomach clenched with dread.“Why?”
Her lips pinched together into a tight line.“We received a message from Henrika Hyde.”
Stillclutchingtheinvitation,I grabbed the cream-colored envelope with my name, then followed Joan out of the level-three bullpen and into the elevator.
“What happened?”I asked.
Joan shook her head, making her long black hair swish around her shoulders.“I’m not entirely sure, but Henrika contacted someone at Section, and now it’s all hands on deck.Gia told me to bring you to the fifth-level conference room.That’s all I know.”
Truth, my inner voice whispered.Joan was in the dark, but I knew—Iknew—this had something to do with the invitation in my hand.What sick game was Henrika playing now?
The elevator stopped, and we hurried down the corridor and entered the level-five bullpen.The cleaners and liaisons sitting at their desks eyed me as I followed Joan down the center aisle.I looked past her, but Desmond wasn’t at his desk.Surely he would be involved in any meeting about Henrika.So where was he?
Joan stopped at her own desk and sorted through some folders.I awkwardly hovered beside her, all too aware of the eyes on me.Desperate for something else to focus on, I scanned her cubicle.
Just like my space on the third level, Joan’s was largely devoid of toys and knickknacks.Several mugs held a variety of expensive pens, but the only truly personal item was a picture on the corner of the desk.Curious, I picked up the silver frame.
In the photo, Joan was smiling wide, with one hand flung out at a beautiful sunset over some old ruins.The gorgeous image was drenched in color, from the hazy pink rays that streaked the sky to the dark gray of the stone ruins to the deep blue sea in the background.A bit of silver winked on Joan’s chest right over her heart, matching the glitter of her pale eyes.
“What a lovely photo.Where was it taken?”
Joan jerked back as though I had startled her, and she hesitated before answering.“Greece.On vacation.”
Truth, my inner voice whispered.
“How fun,” I murmured.
Joan’s fingers clenched around the folders in her hands.She obviously didn’t like me touching her stuff.Couldn’t blame her for that.I studied the photo another moment, committing it to memory, then set the frame down.
“Let’s go,” Joan said in a curt voice.
I followed her into the conference room in the back of the bullpen.Evelyn, Gia, and Diego were already sitting in the same spots as yesterday.Evelyn and Gia both had grim looks on their faces, and Diego swallowed hard as though he was about to be sick.
“What’s wrong?What’s happened?Where’s Desmond?”I asked, my voice growing louder and sharper with each question.
Evelyn shook her head, but she didn’t answer me.Gia’s face remained grim, and Diego shoved his black glasses farther up his nose.
Joan skirted around the table and took her usual seat next to Diego, leaving me to drop into the same chair as yesterday.
We sat in silence for the better part of two minutes.Then several sets of footsteps scuffed on the carpet, quickly growing closer and louder.Desmond entered the conference room and sat down beside me.
