Invitation to Murder

by Beth Prentice

  "But…" I stuttered.

  Rachel still had the ability to make me lose my train of thought. That was her tactic. Yell at people so that they retreat, and then she gets what she wants. Well, I was past that.

  "Sorry, Rachel, but I'd really like to have a look around." Plus, I wanted to know whom she had in there.

  "Go away, Alex," she yelled, closing the door in my face. I heard the lock tumble.

  Sighing, I placed my ear to the door and listened. Once my heartbeat slowed enough so that the only sound of it was in my chest and not in my ears, I could hear Rachel.

  Her voice was too low for me to work out what she was saying or whom she was with. I figured she wasn't on the phone, as I still had no cell service, so she wouldn't either. So what she was doing? I'm sure it had nothing to do with coordinating tonight's event.

  She'd been acting strange all evening, but then, strange was pretty normal for Rachel. Should I be concerned about her? I had no reason to be. Maybe she'd removed the cables and handsets to stop people contacting the outside world. But then they all had cell phones, so what good would that have done?

  I pulled my phone from my bag and checked my signal again. It flickered between one bar and none but mostly on none. If I tried to use it to make a call, I wouldn't even get it to connect.

  I sighed and pushed it into the pocket of my jeans. Then I thought about the radiation so close to my body, pulled it out, and pushed it back into my bag.

  Turning, I was about to move to the next office, making a mental note to talk to Sam about her, when I heard a cough coming from behind the boardroom door. And my guess was, it belonged to a man.

  I quickly turned back and put my ear to the door—that secret part of me that loved office gossip excited. I strained to listen, but all I got was silence. Damn.

  Curiosity got the better of me. I really wanted to see if the door would open, but did I dare? No. After hearing what Matt and Sam said she got up to with WTN employees in her spare time, I could only imagine what she was doing in there. That was definitely not something I wanted to see. I'd loved to have known who she was doing it with, though.

  I smiled and turned to the next office off the hallway—Bernie's. Wes's earlier warning about not being in there rang in my ears, but this was necessary, right? I turned the handle and pushed on the door. Flicking on the light switch, I looked around the room. Everything seemed just the way it had been earlier this evening. Yet something screamed at me. Something wasn't right in this picture.

  I entered the room and took a slow look around. The cabinets gleamed with their polished mahogany. The desk was still tidy, the chair pushed under it. The pictures on the wall were the same. So what was wrong? Probably nothing other than my tired brain causing my imagination to run wild.

  I moved to Bernie's desk and opened the one and only drawer. It was very tidy, and it only took a second to realize it didn't hold a phone cable or radio handset. I checked the cupboards with the same result.

  Spinning back, ready to give up and move to the next room, I took a moment to look at Bernie's desktop, thinking of how Matt had said the computer history had been wiped.

  I moved to the computer and wiggled the mouse. The screen sprang to life, asking me for a password. Guilt swamped me as I remembered telling the boys off for doing this exact same thing. I snatched my fingers away from the keyboard and used them to rub my face. Tiredness made me do stupid things, things I would have never normally done.

  I quickly straightened the keyboard and mouse, ready to make a quick exit, and then I noticed it. I saw what was wrong with this picture. The photo of Bernie's family, the one in the ugly crystal frame, was missing.

  Where could it have gone? Who had taken it? I thought of Wes. He'd been in here. Maybe he'd taken it. Maybe Bernie had caught him, and they'd had a fight.

  My imagination took off at a million miles an hour, thinking of all the scenarios that could have happened. In the end, I only gave myself a bigger headache, so I pushed the chair back in and added it to my list of things to talk to Sam about. Providing he was still comfortable enough talking to me.

  I closed Bernie's door and made my way into the hallway. I'd found nothing really useful, but my fingers were crossed that Sam had found what we were looking for.

  I looked into the next office off the hall, expecting to see him, but instead, I found it empty. The lightning still flashed, making the night feel creepier than normal, but the rain had eased to a light patter against the window behind me, so I figured the storm was on the move.

  I turned, ready to move down the hall in search of Sam, then let out a small squeal as a large, hard body blocked my way. I guess I found him.

  "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he said, taking a step backward.

  "Oh, that's okay. What did you find?"

  "Nothing."

  "Crap. I was hoping you'd found them. Like, you know, cables, handsets, Wes, Jake…Stuart. Maybe then we could have some fun."

  "Yeah, I guess we just keep looking."

  We turned and moved back toward reception, the distance between Sam and me much larger than before. A door behind us slammed shut, and Rachel stormed her way down the hallway, almost knocking me over as she passed me. Obviously, her meeting hadn't had a happy ending. Sam looked after her.

  "What was that about?" he asked.

  I quickly filled him in on my earlier interaction with Rachel.

  "Hmmm," he said when I finished telling him my story. "There's only one door out of the boardroom, so whoever was in there with her will still be there. Do you want to go and check it out?" he asked me, a wicked glint in his eye.

  He loved office gossip as much as I did. "Is that a silly question or what?" I replied, smiling.

  We retraced our steps and made our way back to the boardroom. I thought the door would be locked, but it wasn't. Sam opened it silently and stepped inside, flicking the lights on as he moved.

  I followed him in, expecting to see Rachel's companion sitting in the dark. Only the room was empty. Well, that was strange.

  Sam raised his eyebrows then moved around the room, checking in all the cupboards. I moved to check all the windows. Whoever had been in here with Rachel had left somehow. However, I found all windows closed, and Sam found all the cupboards empty. Well, empty of a person anyway.

  "Are you sure she was talking to someone?" he asked.

  "Yep."

  "Maybe she was talking on the phone."

  "I definitely heard a man cough."

  I sat my bottom on the windowsill and wondered what Rachel had been up to.

  "Sam, this windowsill is wet," I said as the moisture soaked into my jeans. "I guess whoever was in here jumped out of it."

  Sam moved to me and felt around the sill. Nodding his head, he said, "Well, I guess we'll never know what was going on in here."

  "We've got a pretty good idea."

  "Yeah, but who was she with, though?"

  I thought about that for a second. "It could be anyone. Rachel obviously isn't picky."

  Sam chuckled. "Come on. There's nothing in here for us to see. Let's check the storerooms."

  I followed Sam as he led the way back toward reception. Passing the floor-to-ceiling glass window, I noticed the lost dog Baxter running up to the door. Even though the rain had slowed to a fine mist, he was soaked from head to toe and shivering. I moved to the door to let him in.

  "Rachel's going to kill you if you let him back in," said Sam.

  "Look at him. He's cold and scared. I can't leave him out there."

  I opened the door, and in ran Baxter, rubbing his wet body against the leg of my jeans. It was my turn to shiver. Sam smiled.

  "What's in his mouth?" he asked, crouching down to take a closer look. He tried to get whatever it was away from Baxter, but Baxter seemed a little attached. I heard Sam sigh as Baxter growled his warning. Sam gave up and stood back up.

  I stroked Baxter's head, hoping to alleviate any anxiety that he would be fe
eling. He stopped growling at Sam and looked up at me, his eyes huge. My heart melted as he dropped his winnings at my feet.

  "Awwww, that's so adorable," I said, kneeling down to his height. I picked up what he'd dropped and had a closer look at it. It was some sort of fabric, and it looked familiar.

  "I think that's part of Wes's shirt," said Sam, his forehead creasing.

  Suddenly, I didn't think it was so adorable. I squealed and dropped the fabric, making Baxter jump in fright. Then I felt bad as he cowered down in front of me.

  "Oh no, it's okay, Baxter. I'm not angry at you," I said reassuringly as I patted his head. It didn't take long for him to look bright-eyed once again.

  "I wonder where he got it?" asked Sam.

  "Are you sure it's Wes's?"

  "How many people tonight wore yellow hibiscus flowers on their clothing?"

  Not many. Only one, in fact.

  I looked down at Baxter, who was now looking up at me adoringly. His shivering had stopped, but he'd left a big puddle of water on the floor. At least, I hoped it was water. My eyes hadn't been on him the whole time he'd been standing there, but boy dogs didn't squat, did they? So it had to be water, right?

  "Where did you get this, Bax?" I asked him. Sam laughed beside me. "What?" I asked.

  "He can't exactly tell you, can he?"

  Humph. "I guess not."

  Baxter stood up and ran to the door. Part of me didn't want to let him back out into the dark night, but the other part of me wondered if he either wanted to empty his bladder or if he might find his way home now that the storm was passing.

  Either way, he didn't belong to me, so I felt the only option I had was to let him out again. Baxter ran past my legs and outside, disappearing into the dark night. My heart squeezed, hoping he would be all right. No need to worry though, a second later he reappeared and stopped in front of me, barking. He then turned and ran away from me again.

  Was this some sort of game he wanted to play?

  "I think he wants you to follow him," said Sam, stepping close behind me for the first time in the last half hour. I felt the warmth of his body, even though he wasn't touching me.

  "Really?"

  Baxter reappeared. Woof.

  "Come on," said Sam, moving past me. "Grab an umbrella from the stand over there. Tiffany always keeps them there for any important visitors."

  "You get important visitors up here now?" I asked skeptically.

  Sam flashed a smile. "Nah, mostly she uses them herself when she wants to go out to the lunch van on the rare occasion it shows up."

  I smiled and grabbed the bright yellow umbrella from the pot near the door. Sam waited for me and then lifted his camera back onto his shoulder, using its light to show the way.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  It was hard keeping up with Baxter. I figured he could see better in the dark than we could. Sam's light gave us a path to follow, but the path was only so wide, which meant I tripped over every little thing.

  In hindsight, I should have grabbed two umbrellas. As I was the shorter of the two of us, it was quite a stretch for me to hold it high enough to clear Sam's head. Hence the many curse words he mumbled along the way.

  I heard Baxter's barks as he ran into the darkness, the rain pattering on the umbrella, my feet wet as I failed to negotiate the puddles in my high-heeled pumps.

  We made our way away from the building and the security of light toward the helipad out the back of the old house. The helipad sat on the edge of the mountain overlooking Westport. The drop off the edge wasn't severe at first, but from memory, you wouldn't be able to walk too far down the slope before it got dangerous. From there it was a very big fall, if the many large trees on the way didn't stop you.

  My stomach flipped with anxiety. Why would Baxter bring us here? I hoped it was just a game he liked to play, but the fact that he'd been carrying a piece of fabric that was the exact match to Wes's shirt had me thinking the worst.

  Thankfully, Sam stopped as we got closer to the edge. Baxter ran ahead down the first part of the slope into the long grass. The lightning still flashed in the distance, giving me the occasional glimpse of where Baxter had disappeared to.

  "Stay here, and hold the camera, please," said Sam, turning off the light, lifting the camera from his shoulder, and handing it to me.

  As the house blocked the main building and any light it may have cast, and the clouds blocked the moon, darkness surrounded us. I heard Sam's breathing as he stood close.

  "What are you doing?" My own breathing kicked up a notch.

  "I'm going to where Baxter has gone. He seems pretty intent on showing us something."

  "But it's pitch black."

  "I'll use the flashlight on my phone."

  "Okay, but Sam," I said, reaching and grabbing his arm, "be careful."

  I felt Sam smile as he leaned closer and gave me a feather-light kiss on the top of my head. "I will." He flipped the phone flashlight on and stepped away from me toward the long grass.

  I shivered as his light faded, and he moved after Baxter. I pulled my phone from my bag and switched my flashlight on. I didn't want to be left alone in the dark. I didn't know how far Sam got down the hill, but it felt like an eternity he was gone. His camera was heavy in my arms as I cradled it, attempting to keep it dry from the light rain as I balanced the umbrella in the same hand.

  My intuition buzzed again as the feeling that someone was watching me ran over my skin. I spun around, shining the light in every direction to see if anyone was there. However, my phone wasn't the greatest light, only shining a few feet into the dark, revealing no one.

  I shivered again, figuring I had an overactive imagination, when I heard the distinct snap of a branch breaking as someone stood on it. And the noise came from behind me.

  I spun fast on my heel again. "Hello! Who's there?" I called, my voice shaking as fear crept in. "Hello!"

  My ears strained as my eyes grew wide, taking in anything my senses could grab hold of. Logic told me it couldn't be Sam. He'd gone in the opposite direction.

  I looked down at the news camera and wondered how to switch the light on. There were quite a few buttons I could see in my limited light, but I had absolutely no idea which one I needed. I took a deep, calming breath and told myself the noise was probably just a kangaroo hopping through the bush. Even though I didn't really want to come face to face with one of those either. A male roo could be huge.

  "Sam," I called again.

  "I'm here," his voice said from behind me.

  I screamed and jumped, almost dropping his camera in the process. My heart beat hard against my ribs as I spun around to face him. I'd been so preoccupied with what was in the bush, I hadn't even heard him sneak up behind me. Shit.

  "God, you scared me," I said, dropping my phone as Sam reached out to take his camera from me. "What did you find? Where's Baxter?"

  I needed my heart rate to slow down before I had a heart attack, but until I had answers, it probably wouldn't happen.

  "Baxter stayed behind. Alex, listen to me." He sounded serious. God, that couldn't be good. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I need you to go into the station, and find help."

  "What? Why? What did you find? Never mind… Don't tell me. I don't want to know. Actually, yes, I do. What was it?" Okay, I knew I was babbling, but I couldn't seem to stop it.

  "Alex," said Sam, taking hold of my shoulder. "I need you to do as I asked. Okay?"

  I took a deep breath. "Okay. Did you find Wes?" I asked, quietly. The light from my phone shone up from the ground, illuminating Sam. In the glow, he looked eerily pale.

  "Yes," he replied. "Yes, but I need you to go and get help. I'm going to stay here so you know exactly where to come back to. Okay. Can you do that?"

  I felt the uncontrollable shaking start the second I heard he'd found Wes. "Is he…?" I couldn't bring myself to say the word.

  Sam used his free arm to pull me in close. My knees were shaking so hard I was unsure they w
ould hold me up.

  I felt his kiss on top of my head as he replied, "He's dead. I'm sorry, Alex."

  I heard his words, but my mind just wasn't keeping up. Tears pricked my lashes as Sam held me tight. He moved and cradled my face with his hand. "I need you to go and get some help. We need to get him out of there. Can you do that? Can you get me some help, please?" He looked down at me, eerie shadows dancing across his face. My stomach clenched, and I wondered if I was going to throw up, but then I looked up at Sam and knew he needed me. And I needed to get some help.

  "Yes. Yes. I'm okay. I'll find whoever I can."

  "Good. Tell whoever you can find to meet me here on the helipad."

  I bent to pick up my phone and sprinted for the main building. Thunder rumbled in the distance as my heart pounded in my chest, and my tears fell down my cheeks. Tonight was supposed to be fun, yet this was the second time I was running for help, thinking someone had died.

  Only this time it was real.

  * * *

  I found Georgie in the studio, sitting quietly with her mum. Other than the two of them, the studio was empty. I tripped in my hurry to get to her. Tears stung my eyes. I desperately tried to hold them in, but panic made it difficult.

  Before tonight, I'd never been in a situation anything like this. I'd never had to tell anyone I'd helped find a dead body. And even though I hadn't seen Wes for a long time, my heart ached for him and his family.

  Sam hadn't explained what had happened to Wes, so I was going with maybe he'd walked too close to the edge of the mountain and slipped. It would have been easy for him to hit his head as he fell.

  "G…Georgie," I stuttered, my lips trembling and my hands shaking.

  "Oh God, Alex. What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

  She was close. I felt the trembling move from my hands into the rest of my body.

  Georgie stood and helped me sit in the chair next to the one she'd vacated. She sat and put her arm around my shoulder. Her warmth was comforting, and for a selfish moment, I wanted to stay in close and allow the sobbing to take over. But that wouldn't help Sam. And right now, he needed me.