A Room with a Roux

by Sarah Fox

  Chloe got up and returned to the loveseat. “I don’t know if I can sleep a single wink tonight, but I guess I should try.”

  “We’re going to be fine,” Brett said as I snuggled up against him.

  Despite his words, I could tell that he wasn’t entirely relaxed.

  I didn’t expect any of us to fall asleep, but I must have drifted off eventually, because I woke abruptly to the sound of a shrill scream.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chloe shot upright on the loveseat. “What was that? What’s happening?”

  Brett was already out of bed and heading for the door.

  “Wait!” I scrambled to get out from beneath the covers. “We have to stick together, remember?”

  Brett slowed down, although not by much. I thought I heard a noise out in the hall, but maybe it was just the sound of Brett shoving the chair away from the door. Chloe and I jumped up to join him. We were all fully dressed, not having brought any pajamas, so Brett wasted no more time. He yanked open the door and stepped out into the hallway. I peeked out from behind him. The hall was pitch black.

  A terrible, keening moan came from somewhere not too far off. The sound sent a shiver of fear down my spine.

  “We need the lanterns,” Brett said.

  I grabbed one, switching it on as I handed it to Brett. Chloe fetched the other, and we all cautiously made our way out into the hall.

  A door farther down the corridor opened. Ambrose poked his head out, holding a lantern of his own in one hand and putting on his glasses with the other.

  “What’s going on?” he asked when he saw us.

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out.” Brett headed toward the stairway.

  I grabbed Chloe’s hand and we followed after him.

  “What happened?” Zahra’s voice came from below us.

  When we were halfway down the stairs, Brett swore and then picked up his pace.

  Chloe and I hurried after him as my heart thumped hard in my chest.

  I didn’t see what had caused Brett to swear until I reached the bottom of the stairs, where he’d crouched down.

  Lily lay on her back at the base of the stairway. She let out a moan of pain that turned into a sob.

  Zahra and Rita rushed toward us from across the lobby. They were both wearing dressing gowns over pajamas. Brett was on his knees next to Lily, his lantern on the floor beside him.

  “Lily!” Ambrose had come down the stairs behind us.

  “Give her some space,” Brett cautioned as Ambrose made a grab for her hand.

  Ambrose halted and took a step back, his eyes wide behind his glasses.

  “What happened?” Brett asked Lily.

  “Someone pushed me down the stairs,” she choked out between sobs.

  I exchanged a wide-eyed glance with Chloe.

  Brett remained completely calm. “What hurts?”

  Lily’s face contorted with pain. “My ankle. The left one.”

  Rita hurried around the reception desk. “I’ll turn the lights on.”

  A second later we all blinked as light flooded the lobby.

  I moved a few feet away from Lily, taking Chloe with me. Rita and Zahra came over our way while Brett talked to Lily and assessed her condition, Ambrose hovering over them.

  “Brett has first-aid training,” I told the others. “Hopefully she’s not hurt too badly.”

  Rita clutched at her dressing gown. “The blizzard’s still going strong, and I doubt the tree’s been cleared from the highway. There’s no way an ambulance can get here if she needs one.”

  “Let’s hope it’s not that bad,” Zahra said. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Did she say someone pushed her?”

  “She definitely said that.” Chloe’s voice shook.

  I tucked my arm around hers. “Maybe she was mistaken?”

  What I was really thinking was maybe Lily had concocted another lie to deflect suspicion away from herself. If she wasn’t truly injured, that theory would have more credence in my mind.

  “Lie still for a minute,” Brett said to Lily before getting up and coming over to talk to the rest of us.

  Ambrose stayed by Lily’s side, crouching down and taking her hand in his.

  “There’s a good chance her ankle is broken,” Brett told us. “Fortunately, that seems to be the worst of her injuries, but she needs to go to the hospital.”

  “There’s no way that’s happening until the storm is over,” Rita said.

  Brett’s mouth formed a grim line. “That’s what I figured.” He glanced at Lily. “Let’s at least get her somewhere more comfortable.”

  Rita moved behind the reception desk. “I’ll call 911. An ambulance might not be able to get here now, but if they know we need one, they can send one as soon as possible.”

  As Rita pick up the phone, Brett returned to Lily’s side. He spoke quietly with her for a moment, and then helped her to sit up before gently scooping her up into his arms.

  “Where to?” I asked him.

  “Probably the couch in the lounge.”

  All of us except Rita headed that way. Zahra flicked on the overhead lights and then returned to the lobby, where Rita was on the phone.

  Brett set Lily on the couch and tucked a couple of cushions beneath her left foot. Ambrose pulled up a chair and sat next to Lily, holding her hand. She’d stopped crying, but her face was creased with pain.

  I took Brett’s arm and led him across the room, Chloe coming with us.

  “Is she really hurt?” I asked in a whisper. “Could she be faking it?”

  “I don’t think she’s faking it,” Brett said. “I’m pretty sure her ankle’s broken.”

  Chloe spoke so softly that I could barely hear her. “But if she’s not faking it, who pushed her down the stairs? And why?”

  I kept my voice equally low. “Maybe she threw herself down the stairs and didn’t mean to get hurt so badly?”

  Brett ran a hand down his face. “I have no idea what’s going on. All I know is that she needs to see a doctor.”

  Rita came into the lounge and everyone except Lily turned her way.

  “As we thought, an ambulance can’t get here,” Rita said.

  “I’ll be okay,” Lily said, closing her eyes.

  Rita held up a small bottle. “I brought some ibuprofen. Hopefully that will help with the pain.”

  Zahra appeared behind her. “And I’ve got a glass of water for you, Lily.”

  Lily opened her eyes as Zahra set the water on the coffee table. “Thank you.”

  Movement outside the back door startled me half a second before someone rapped on the glass.

  “It’s Harvey and Evie!” Zahra rushed over and unlocked the door.

  The new arrivals hurried inside with a blast of cold air and a swirl of snowflakes. Zahra quickly shut and locked the door behind them.

  “We saw the lights on,” Evie said, pulling a knitted hat from her head. “We wanted to make sure everything was all right.”

  Zahra explained what had happened.

  “Pushed?” Harvey said with a frown once Zahra had finished. “Are you sure?”

  Lily nodded, opening her eyes halfway as she did so.

  The rest of us looked at one another. I knew we were all wondering which one of us had given Lily the shove that sent her down the stairs. I doubted that anyone other than me, Brett, and Chloe knew there was a chance that Lily had thrown herself down the stairs, not intending to break any bones.

  “Who was upstairs when it happened?” Harvey asked.

  “Chloe, Marley, and I,” Brett said. “And Ambrose.”

  We all looked to the poet.

  “It wasn’t me!” Ambrose said, on the defensive. “How can we know for sure that someone else wasn’t up there too?”

 
“There is a back stairway,” Zahra said.

  Silence fell around us as we all eyed each other uneasily. I was glad when Brett broke the tense silence by speaking to Lily.

  “Would you be more comfortable upstairs?” he asked her.

  Her eyes shot open. “No!” She struggled to compose herself. “I mean, no, thank you. I…I don’t want to be alone.”

  Rita fingered the collar of her dressing gown. “Maybe we should all stay here together.”

  From the way she darted glances at each of us, I suspected she’d finally come to terms with the fact that Kevin’s killer could very well be among us.

  “Good idea,” Brett said. “Or at least in large groups.”

  I slipped my hand into his and he gave it a gentle squeeze.

  Lily reached for a blanket that was lying over the back of the couch. Ambrose helped her unfold it and tucked it around her.

  Zahra added more wood to the fire. “Is anyone else cold?”

  “A little,” Chloe said.

  “Me too,” I added.

  “Hot drinks and blankets,” Rita said. “That’s what we need if we’re all going to stay here in the lounge.”

  We all looked at each other for a moment.

  “There’s nine of us here,” I noted. “Let’s not split up into groups of less than three people.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement to that suggestion.

  “Zahra and I will get blankets.” Rita hesitated, glancing around as if wondering who should be the third person in their group.

  “I’ll go with you,” Chloe volunteered.

  “Are you sure?” I whispered to her.

  She nodded and whispered back, “I trust Zahra.”

  Brett’s hand tightened slightly around mine. I knew he wasn’t keen on letting Chloe out of his sight. I wasn’t either, but I did think she’d be okay in the company of both Rita and Zahra. Hopefully they wouldn’t be gone for more than a minute or two.

  Evie spoke up. “I’ll make some hot drinks. Harvey and Ambrose, will you help me?”

  Harvey didn’t hesitate to agree. Ambrose was clearly reluctant to leave Lily’s side, but after giving her hand a squeeze he got up and followed Evie and Harvey out of the lounge.

  That left me and Brett alone with Lily.

  This was my chance to get some answers out of her.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I sat in the chair that Ambrose had vacated, facing Lily.

  “How are you doing?” I asked as I tried to figure out how to pose my next questions.

  She toyed with the edge of the blanket that was covering her. “All right. My ankle hurts, but I’m glad that’s my only injury.”

  “So am I,” I said.

  Whether she was pushed or had thrown herself down the stairs, her injuries could have been far worse.

  “Do you remember anything about the person who pushed you?” I asked. “Did you see anything? Hear anything?”

  She shrugged. “Not much. When I reached the stairs, I heard the floor creak behind me. I started to turn around, but the push happened so fast. I remember seeing a shadowy figure at the top of the stairs as I was falling, but nothing more than that.”

  “Do you think it was a man? A woman?” Brett asked.

  Lily shook her head. “I really don’t know. It could have been anyone.” She shivered and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

  I asked my next question. “Why were you up at that hour?”

  “I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to sit down here by the fire. The wood fire is cozier than the gas one in my room.”

  I wasn’t sure if I believed that explanation or not, but I knew I couldn’t waste any more time. If I wanted to get to the heart of the matter, I needed to do it now.

  “A friend of mine is reading one of your books,” I said. “The one set on Mount Baker.”

  “Oh?” Lily wouldn’t meet my eyes and shifted under the blanket.

  She was nervous. I had no doubt about that.

  “She told me a bit about the book,” I continued. “Like how the body of the victim was buried in a snowbank.”

  Lily’s nervousness morphed into fear. I could see it in her eyes when she finally met my gaze.

  “So?” The single word came out as little more than a squeak.

  “It seems like an awfully big coincidence that the same thing happened to Kevin,” I said.

  Lily sat up and clutched the edge of the blanket. “I didn’t kill Kevin!”

  “Then how do you explain the similarities with your book?” Brett asked.

  I was grateful that he was supporting my quest for answers.

  “I don’t know!” Lily sounded close to tears. “I might not be super famous, but a lot of people have read my books.”

  “But you must have noticed the similarity right away,” I said.

  “I did,” she admitted. “And I told Sheriff Walczyk about it. I didn’t mention it to anyone else because I didn’t want you guys to suspect me. I know how it looks, but it really wasn’t me. What about the note?” she added desperately. “Remember that?”

  “The note you made yourself?”

  I didn’t know for sure that I was right about that, but I was hoping to flush out the truth.

  It worked.

  Lily’s eyes widened. “How did you…” She seemed to realize what she was admitting. “No…I…” She squeezed her eyes shut.

  “Why would you do that if not to deflect suspicion away from yourself?” I asked.

  Lily opened her eyes and wiped away an escaped tear. She winced with pain as she shifted on the couch. “I shouldn’t have done that.” She sounded weary now. “I regretted it as soon as I talked to the reporter in Wildwood Cove.”

  “Why did you do it?” Brett pressed.

  She sighed heavily and wiped away another tear. “Publicity.”

  I stared at her for a moment. “You made it look like a murderer was targeting you so you could sell more books?”

  “It’s not easy to make it as an author!” she said in her defense. “I thought it might stir up some interest in my books.” She sagged against the cushion behind her. “I know I shouldn’t have done it. It was stupid. But I swear that’s all there was to it. I didn’t kill Kevin and someone really did push me down the stairs.”

  She seemed sincere, but I didn’t know if I should believe her.

  “If what you told us is true, why would anyone push you down the stairs?” I asked.

  “Because I’ve been asking questions,” she said. “I love mysteries, obviously. I’ve written several now and I thought maybe I could figure this one out.”

  Her admission gave rise to several more questions that I wanted to ask her. Unfortunately, our time for a private chat had run out.

  I stood up as Rita, Zahra, and Chloe returned to the lounge, each of them with an armful of blankets. Evie, Harvey, and Ambrose appeared a moment later with an electric kettle full of hot water, a pot of coffee, mugs, spoons, hot chocolate powder, sugar, and cream, all set out on trays carried by the two men.

  Once everyone had a blanket and a hot drink in hand, we found ourselves places to sit. Chloe nudged an armchair closer to the cozy loveseat where Brett and I settled. He put his arm around me, and together with the hot drink and blanket, that helped to ward off the worst of the chill. It didn’t entirely banish my unease, though.

  If Lily was telling the truth—and maybe she was—then someone had tried to harm her, likely because she’d been trying to solve Kevin’s murder. If that someone knew that I’d been asking questions too, I could be a target as well. As much as I would have preferred being up in our room, I wanted to keep an eye on the others. As long as I knew where everyone was, I’d likely be safe, and Brett and Chloe would be too.

  Rita lit some candles around the room and shut off the el
ectric lights. We chatted quietly in small groups while Lily rested on the couch. She had her eyes closed, but I didn’t think she’d fallen asleep. I didn’t know if it was the pain from her ankle or her worries about her assailant keeping her awake. Maybe it was both.

  Time seemed to pass at an excruciatingly slow pace. At first I watched everyone by the light of the fire and candles, searching their faces for any sign of guilt, even as I pretended not to be studying them. After a while, it became more and more difficult to keep my eyes open, despite my worries about a killer being among us.

  I rested my head on Brett’s shoulder, and the sounds of the crackling fire and hushed voices faded farther away.

  I jolted awake sometime later. Everyone was where they’d been sitting earlier, except Evie, who now stood by the window. The fire was still burning brightly, but I didn’t know if that was because someone had added more wood to it or because I’d slept for only a few minutes.

  “The storm’s dying down,” Evie said.

  I wondered how she could see anything out the window, but then I realized there was the tiniest bit of bluish light outside.

  “The moon’s even poking through the clouds,” Evie added.

  It was still snowing, but I couldn’t hear any howling wind, and the snowflakes were falling straight to the ground rather than swirling in gusts and drifts.

  “How long was I asleep?” I asked Brett.

  He kissed the side of my head. “Almost two hours.”

  I rubbed my neck. Two hours of resting my head on his shoulder came at a price.

  “Did I miss anything?” I whispered.

  “No. It’s been quiet.”

  I glanced over at Chloe. She was curled up in the armchair, sleeping.

  Brett shifted forward on the loveseat. “I need to stretch my legs.”

  I got up at the same time as he did. “And I need to use the washroom.”

  Chloe stirred and opened her eyes. They widened as soon as she saw me and Brett on our feet.

  She sat up straight. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m heading for the washroom,” I replied.

  She got up quickly, all vestiges of sleepiness gone. “I’ll come with you.”