Page 92 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope
"How long do we have?" Tony asked again.
Tamira looked smug. "Since there is no leak, he will keep looking until I release him from the thrall. We don't need to worry about him anymore."
The service elevator dinged softly, and all three of them froze, but it was just a maid with folded linens. She gave them a curious look but said nothing and tried to hurry past them with her cart of freshly laundered towels and bedding.
"Wait," Tamira commanded.
The maid stopped and turned. "Yes, my lady?"
"You didn't see anyone standing out here." Tamira waved a hand. "Carry on with your duties."
The girl continued on her way in a less hurried way now that she was oblivious to anyone watching her.
"We should have done this last night after dinner," Tony muttered. "Less traffic."
Tamira shook her head. "The lord usually doesn't leave after dinner. I'd rather do it when he's not here."
"Right." Tony rubbed his chin. "I don't want him around either. Areana might show us mercy, but he won't."
"The maid with the dishes should be coming out soon," Tamira said. "I just hope that she comes out with plenty of glasses covered with his fingerprints."
Last night, they had practiced in Tony and Tula's bathroom, which they had turned into a makeshift laboratory, with tape, powder, and various glasses they'd borrowed from the trolley of dirty dishes from the dining room. It had taken several tries until they managed to lift a full fingerprint and not just a fragment, but Tony's technique had worked exactly as he'd described, lifting prints from glass using tape and transferring them. They'd practiced until they could do it quickly, cleanly, and without smudging.
The back door of Areana's suite opened, and the maid emerged backward, pulling a trolley laden with the remains of breakfast. There were several crystal glasses, which would do them no good with all that etching, but also regular glasses that were perfect for collecting fingerprints.
"Excuse me," Tamira said.
The maid started, her hand lifting to her chest. "My lady? How can I help you?"
"You can't, but I can help you. We will take some of these dishes for you and deliver them to the kitchen, you will forget that you saw us and that we took anything."
Tamira lifted her hand and brushed the girl's arm, just a light touch, but Eluheed saw the maid's eyelids drooping. "Rest a little bit. You look pale."
The girl nodded and leaned against the wall while they wrapped the glasses they needed in cloth, and the men stuffed them in their pockets.
"You can go now," Tamira told the maid.
The girl entered the service elevator with her trolley, sans just a few simple glasses that no one would miss, and pressed the button for the main kitchen on level seven.
As soon as the elevator door closed, the three of them rushed into the stairwell.
"Wait," Tony hissed as they reached the landing on the second level. "Someone's coming."
When the footsteps receded, Tamira opened the door and peered out into the second-level corridor. "All clear."
They stepped outside and rushed toward Tony and Tula's room. The ladies were hopefully still in the dining room, eating their breakfast and wondering where Tula, Tamira, and their partners were.
They made it to the room without incident, and as Tula opened the door, the four of them immediately continued to the bathroom.
"Finally! I was starting to think something had gone wrong."
"The maid took a long time to come out," Eluheed said. "But we need to leave everything here and go to breakfast, or the otherswill get suspicious. If anyone asks, you felt nauseous, and we didn't want to leave you alone."
Tula nodded, although she was just as eager as they were to get on with the fingerprint transfer. "Let's get this over with."
They made their way to the dining room, where the other ladies were already halfway through the meal, and several heads turned as they entered.
"There you are," Sarah said. "We were beginning to wonder what happened to you."
