Page 34 of The Summer Inn on Plum Island
“I beg your pardon?” Dawn’s frown deepened.
“When I was coming back to your suite earlier, I kept thinking I saw the wall move,” Liam told her. “I thought I was going crazy.” He pointed to the mirror. “And then I saw it disappear into the mirror.”
“It went through the mirror?” Dawn gaped at him.
“Nope,” Liam shook his head. “It went through the secret mirror door.” He frowned again as he spotted a few drops of blood. He kneeled and looked at it. “And Unless phantoms can bleed,” he pointed to the carpet, “I’d say we’re dealing with a human who knows how to disguise themselves like a wall.”
CHAPTER 7
“We’re going to have to call the police,” Liam told Dawn, pulling Hicks from the room so as not to disturb any more evidence.
Dawn followed him, and Ritz cuddled into her body’s warmth. “But if we call the police, you know they’re going to go into the tunnels and take everything in that room.”
“Dawn, we have to report this,” Liam stated. “The police will take the blood sample from the carpet and go into the tunnels.” He ran a hand through his hair. “While I know we wanted to solve this, and researching the hotel’s history is great, I also need whatever this is to come to an end. It’s causing a negative impact on my hotel.”
“I know,” Dawn said, feeling bad because all she wanted was to get into that tunnel, grab those old journals, and find out what was in that smaller closet. “Hear me out.” She put Ritz into Hicks’s bed. “We go into the tunnels. If the police want to know why, we say we were chasing the person disguised as a wall that slipped into it.” She gave him an appealing smile. “It’s a natural instinct for someone to chase a person that’s broken into their home. Then, we can quickly grab what journals and things we can. Tell the police we found them in that room. I’ll even take photos of how they were positioned in the room.”
“You’ve got this all figured out rather quickly.” Liam’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Were you planning on sneaking down there on your own?”
“What?” Dawn looked at him innocently. “No!” She shook her head emphatically. “Geez, I’d never go into dark, scary tunnels on my own.”
“But you wouldn’t be on your own because you’d have Hicks.” Liam wasn’t buying her innocent look.
Dawn sighed. “Okay,” she said. “I was going to ask Carl to come with me and Hicks.” She held up her hand to stop him from saying anything as she continued to explain. “You’re so tired and have had such a busy day. I didn’t want to put more pressure on you.” She watched him intently. “I really want to find my journal, watch, and Lila’s locket.”
“Dawn, we’re supposed to be in this together,” Liam reminded her. “I need to be able to trust that you’re not going to do something crazy like you’ve just laid out to me.”
“If we go to the tunnels now, I won’t have to,” Dawn told him.
Liam stared at her for a few seconds before sighing resignedly. “Fine,” he said. “But we do this right this time. I have some more powerful flashlights I’ll go grab. You call Carl as it’s not a bad idea to have someone like him with us.” He looked at Hicks. “And we’ll take Hicks as our early warning device.”
“Great!” Dawn smiled happily and impulsively bounced into his arms, pulling his face towards her.
Dawn’s lips met Liam’s in a moment fueled by a cocktail of adrenaline and excitement at the adventure ahead. It was a spontaneous act that caught them both off guard. As she stepped back, her eyes wide with a mix of surprise at her own boldness and curiosity about his reaction, the air between them crackled with new, unspoken tension.
Liam looked stunned for a heartbeat. He looked into her eyes, his initial surprise softening into a tentative smile. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards as he processed the sudden intimacy by injecting some humor.
“That’s one way to seal a plan,” he murmured, the warmth in his voice smoothing over the tension that had started to suffocate the room.
Dawn’s cheeks flushed a deep shade of red, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. “I… I don’t know what came over me,” she stammered, trying to laugh it off, though her gaze lingered on his lips for a fraction too long. “Sorry, it was the heat of the moment’s excitement.”
“I can’t say I minded it.” His voice was low and husky as his eyes searched hers before he cleared his throat. “I should go get the flashlights so we can get this done as quickly as possible and then call the police.”
“Right, the tunnels.” Dawn quickly shifted back to the task at hand, grateful for the distraction from her racing thoughts. “I’ll go find Carl while you’re getting the flashlights.” She shoved her slightly trembling hands into her pockets, hoping Liam didn’t see how affected she’d been by her spontaneous kiss.
“Take Hicks with you,” Liam suggested as she left the room.
Dawn stood staring at the closed door for a few minutes. She gave herself a mental shake and forced the thoughts of the feel of Liam’s lips on hers from her mind. Dawn glanced at Hicks.
“Come on, boy. Let’s go get us a bodyguard,” she said to the excited dog as she put his harness and leash on.
Hicks started to bark toward the kitchenette. Dawn looked up to see that Ritz was now on the kitchen counter near her little harness and leash.
“Oh, so you want to come too?” Dawn walked to the kitchenette and looked at the little harness. “This is so cute.” She figured out how to put it on the surprisingly cooperative iguana. “There you go.”
Dawn picked Ritz up and grabbed Hicks’s leash. She slid her room card key into her pocket and made her way to the elevator. Luckily, it was pretty late, so there was hardly anyone around. Dawn made her way down to Carl’s room. The walk down to Carl’s and Liam leaving to get the flashlights gave her enough time to collect their thoughts and get her crazy, wayward emotions under control.
By the time Dawn knocked on Carl’s door, she had convinced herself she’d gotten her thoughts and growing feelings for Liam under control.
