Liam stood up. "I'm going to grab something from my room. I'm going to flip the door lock so I can get back in."
I nodded in understanding. He grabbed Moo as I turned back to Jess.
Orion extended a hand to Jess. "Can I see that?"
Jess passed it over and continued, "It isn't different from the issues I face as a female coach. People say all the best coaches are male, so they hire more male coaches. But I'll show them. I'm elbowing my way in there."
Orion flipped through the pamphlet, a grim look on his face. "I'm not pleased with Andersson, MacSights, Westmound-Andersson, and a few others of our companies being named as companies that do not support women. That's patently untrue. We have competitive contingency plans and often promote our female shooters on social media, advertising, and in print. The theme of this year's Westmound Summit was diversity, and I did a whole speech on reaching out to and expanding our female demographic."
The door to our room opened then bounced on the door lock behind me, meaning Liam had returned. I wanted to turn but wanted to make a point I had been contemplating since I got the pamphlet. "But is that enough? Sure, we are talking about diversity and the value of our female clients, but are we putting our money where our mouth is? Our payouts are competitive with the industry, but if the whole industry is short changing women then I'm not sure we deserve a pat on the back. What, Mary? Why are you making that face?"
I turned around as Moo nudged my shoulder and realized that Liam and his mother, owner of Westmound-Andersson Industries, was standing next to him, thoughtfully considering what I had said.
She tipped her head back a little. "You think we treat our female customers unfairly?"
I wanted the ground to open up underneath me. A sinking feeling in my chest made the food in my belly feel like lead. I never would have said anything if I had known she was there. She was not only my boss if you went high enough up the corporate structure, but she was also a role model, a career inspiration and Liam's mother. "I... I just meant..." I swallowed hard. "I was just playing devil's advocate. I certainly know that I have always been treated fairly..." I was so about to be fired.
Jess stared at me with wide eyes, the whites visible all the way around her irises. No one else in the room stirred as Elizabeth carefully stepped through the group and sat in a chair in the corner.
Her face was completely blank as she turned her eyes back to me. I imagined that I was a gazelle trapped in front of a lion as she spoke. "No, I would like to hear more."
I felt lightheaded as adrenaline pumped through me. I felt like I was five all over again, caught red-handed by my mom with a hand in the cookie jar. "I mean, it says in the pamphlet that various Westmound companies donated to increase the men's payout to one hundred thousand. Doesn't that mean that we are contributing to the pay inequality?"
Mary shook her head at me to stop.
Elizabeth tipped her head to the side slightly. "None of that money came from us directly. We allow the individual companies to choose how to spend their marketing dollars."
I was warming up to the discussion and threw caution to the wind. "But isn't there something Westmound-Andersson can do? In people's minds, the companies are all lumped together. If Andersson Archery does something like give a bunch of extra money to men only, then it reflects on all the companies. I hear it all the time. People use Westmound to refer to all the individual companies along with the part you, Orion and Liam work at."
Her face was still blank. The fact that she wasn't getting angry didn't negate the fact that I was in dangerous territory.
"But really, I'm no expert. We have similar problems in the tech industry."
She slowly replied, "You seem to have done rather well in that industry."
I blushed. "That's true. I had a lot of advantages, but I tried to make sure that my company wasn't part of the problem either." I realized that my comment could be taken as saying Westmound was part of the problem. "Not that I'm saying--"
She cut me off as she stood. "Of course not. We will discuss this later. Orion, we need to meet with you."
She left before I could say anything more. Liam handed me Moo's leash and gave me a tight smile.
The second he left, Mary burst out, "Why? Why would you say that? What's wrong with you?"
"I didn't know she was there, and once I started..." I buried my face in my hands and wished I could roll back time.
Jess got up and patted my back as she headed to the door that connected our rooms. "It'll be fine, though I think you might want to hold off on asking for a promotion, like, forever. I'm going to get ready for the opening ceremony."
I got up and flopped on the bed, throwing an arm over my face. Moo crawled up next to me and rested his head across my chest. "I'm going to lie here until everything is better."
Minx tapped my foot as she passed. "Sure, good luck with that."
***
A few hours later, I adjusted Moo's leash to keep him close by my side as Big Bobby, the man onstage, droned on about the majesty of the Casino Cup. The crowd stirred restlessly, people bumping into me and Moo on all sides. The room was tall but not wide enough for the people jammed in like sardines. I had never seen so many archers in one place, and I felt like I couldn't breathe deeply enough. As Big Bobby continued to wax lyrical about the importance of his contributions to the sport of archery, I tried to stifle a yawn.
I scanned the crowd to find Liam again. Liam was standing by Orion and Elizabeth near the front. According to Mary, all the sponsors of the tournament would be called onstage to receive a round of applause at the end of the event. I caught Liam's eye, as I had been doing this whole time, and smiled. He smiled back before returning his attention to the stage.
A door crashed open behind me, and I turned to look. A row of twenty women marched in carrying a banner. I assumed they were women from their height and breasts, but they all had masks on over their heads, obscuring their identity.
The banner stated in bold, black letters, "The playing field will be leveled."
I grabbed Mary's arm and turned her around. "Isn't that the slogan Loggin told us about?"
People around us were starting to whisper and turn. The women at the back started chanting, "We will not be ignored" then "Equal pay for equal place." Voices around us rose. Some were angry, while there were also some cheers around the room. The energy around me felt uneasy, and Moo started barking.
I whispered into Mary's ear, "We've got to get out of here." I weaved through the crowd toward a door with Mary at my side. The crowd surged, and as I fell through the door, I saw that the women with their masks were gone. Either unmasked or escaped.
Once I was in the hallway, I started running.
Mary caught up to me. "Why are you running?"
"I want Moo out of there. Crowds make him and me uneasy at the best of times."
"Fine, we're out of there. How about we just walk the rest of the way?"
We ducked around a corner and speed-walked our way to the elevators. I leaned up against the cool, granite tiles and tried to slow my panicked breathing. I let my head hang down as I braced my hands on my knees. I felt jittery from the adrenaline but, realizing that there was no danger around us now, I forced myself to relax. "What was that all about?"
She shrugged. "Probably the same group that's handing out the pamphlets."
An elevator door opened for us, and we had started to enter when Liam appeared at the door. His mouth set into as thin line as he snapped at me, "Give me Moo; I'll bring him up afterwards. Don't go anywhere."
I handed him the leash and Moo stepped out, then the doors slid shut.
"You're in trouble," Mary sing-songed while bouncing on her toes and smiling.
I grumbled a bit before replying. "And I can't even narrow down what he's mad about." There was the conversation with his mother, although he had smiled at me during the opening ceremony. Maybe he had been saving his frustrations up.
The elevator dinged open, and w
e headed to our room.
I stifled a yawn. "Why am I so tired?"
Mary walked down the hallway backward to face me while digging in her pockets until she found her room key to unlock the door. "It's an hour later at home, plus it was a long day. I'm tired as well. Since you're grounded, let's just go to bed early."
"I'm not grounded," I muttered but crossed the room to get out my pajamas and little baggy full of items for my nighttime ritual.
We puttered about the room, grabbing showers and putting on ultra-moisturizing lotion while I kept an ear open for Liam's knock.
"Di, can you hear me?" Mary called from the bathroom, where she had last been seen brushing her teeth.
"Yeah, what's up?" I was assembling my bow and set it on the stand to be ready for morning. I was anxious that I hadn't gotten a chance to practice, but Loggin said the lines were two hours long to get into the practice room, and that would have fit nowhere in our schedule.
She popped her head out of the bathroom, a white clay mask on her face. "I was thinking, what if the target wasn't just Mike Champ but the entire pro male division? That would make sense with Loggin almost being hit as well and the guys he was with getting drugged. So who has it out against that division?"
I rolled the idea around in my head. "That makes a lot of sense on one hand, but on the other it seems crazy. What would it accomplish?"
"The women that protested tonight were mad; maybe they just want to punish the men for getting all the money and glory?" The mask started to peel around her mouth as she talked. Bits fell off as if she was a zombie losing flakes of skin.
"That means that Loggin was right about being a target. Someone is trying to kill him."
She flapped her hands in the air. A chunk of facial mask fell off her cheek, showing white, chalky skin that for a split second looked like bone. "Or at least hurt him," she said.
There was a knock on the door. I looked through the peephole to see Liam impatiently waiting in the hallway. I had the opportunity to look at him unobserved, and it took my breath away that this man I had grown so close to was also so handsome. Right now, though, he was fuming in the hallway, waiting for me to open the door. He seemed taller, more muscular and intimidating than I remembered. I called to Mary over my shoulder. "Why don't you call him and warn him just a bit. Don't freak him out. He's pretty nervous already." I flipped the lock as I opened the door, and greeted Liam nervously. "Hey."
He handed me the leash. "Please don't do that again."
My heart fell. "I'm sorry about bringing up the money stuff in front of your mom. It wasn't--"
He cut me off. "I mean when you took off. Everything started to go crazy at the opening ceremony, people were pushing each other, some fell and got hurt. I looked up and you were gone. I thought... Next time, come find me."
His reaction at the elevator made more sense. He had been scared for me, not mad at me. "I'm sorry. I didn't..." I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "Next time, I'll come find you."
He nodded and pulled me into a hug, resting his chin on the top of my head.
Moo walked between us and lay down across our feet.
I smiled against his chest. "So you're not mad about the money thing? Does your mom hate me now?"
I felt him shaking his head back and forth. "She likes you fine."
"Promotions are probably out the window for a while," I muttered.
He tightened his grip on me, and I felt a rumbling chuckle in his chest. "We'll see."
Three people turned the corner and speed-walked down the hallway. It was Loggin and Jess, with Minx prancing in her heels to keep up. She stopped, ripped the shoes off her feet, and jogged to catch up.
Jess ripped her keycard out of her pocket. "I hate this dumb hotel. The line to get into the elevators is a mile long."
Minx leaned against the wall and pulled her foot up to rub her arch. "You two making out in the hallway?"
The door behind me popped open and Mary stuck her head out. "Oh good." She opened the door wide. "Come on in."
Minx put her shoes back on, and we moved out of the hallway into our room.
Mary turned around, her trusted notebook in hand. She loved lists. "Loggin, did you get my text message?"
Loggin pulled a phone from his pocket. "Uh, yes, just now. You want to talk? Well, here I am."
Mary picked up her notebook and flipped it open. "Di and I have given it some thought, and we think that Loggin's right to be worried for his safety. Our working theory is that someone is targeting the entire pro men's compound division."
"That's ridiculous." Minx took off her shoes and threw them through the open door into her room. "That would be mass murder."
Mary held up a hand. "We don't know what the goal is, but it might not be death. Could be to hurt them, punish them, possibly kill some, or just get them sick. And we aren't sure who would be behind it. But Becca said an unusually high number of people have pulled from the division." She turned to face Loggin. "You might consider doing that."
"No way. I need that money. I deserve it. You'll figure out who is behind this in time, and until then, you'll have my back. Right, Angels?" He glanced at me then turned to Minx and Mary.
I sucked air through my teeth. "I don't know, Loggin. I'm not sure what we can do--"
"Don't worry. I have a plan." Mary tapped her list. "We stick together. If Loggin isn't with one of us three, Minx, Di, or me, then he's with Liam, Orion or Jess. No drinking--it'll compromise your awareness of your surroundings. No drinking or eating anything that is not sealed or prepared by the restaurants. We have two cases of bottled water. Loggin is only allowed to drink that water at the tournament, and one of us will hold it at all other times. And that goes for the rest of us. And most importantly, no talking to anyone outside this room. No one. I mean that."
Jess threw her hands up in the air. "This is ridiculous. You're not James Bond, and we're not Charlie's Angels. I'm going to bed." She left, pulling the door between the rooms closed behind her with a decisive snick.
Mary pursed her lips. "You'd think she take a bit more stock in my opinion on these things."
Moo hopped up onto my bed and started circling the mattress as he prepared to lie down. It was the surest sign in my life that it was bedtime.
I sat on the edge of the bed and yawned. "I think she's happier pretending that none of this is happening. I need my sleep. Can you give us the rest of the instructions?"
"Yes. Loggin, we'll come to the door to get you at five thirty. Bring your equipment. You'll stay with us and hold Moo while we shoot, then we'll do the same for you."
He rubbed his forehead. "That's awfully early. Why don't I come down and meet you after I get up?"
Mary tossed her notebook onto the table, where it landed with a slap. "Oh, I see. You ask for our help to find the murderer but don't want our advice. Sure, just wander down when it's convenient. I'm sure you won't get shanked in the elevator or garroted in a bathroom."
Loggin's hand drifted up to his neck.
Liam slapped him on the back. "I'll come over with you at five thirty." He gave me a wink.
I smiled back at him.
Loggin stood up taller. "You will? Okay, I mean, what else do I need to do at that time anyways? Plus, with all these guys dropping out of the tournament, my odds just get better and better."
Minx stopped next to Loggin and gave him a play punch in the arm. "Maybe Loggin's the murderer and he's clearing the way for an easy victory."
While the rest of us laughed, Mary tapped a pen on her teeth. "Good point, Minx." She walked over to the table to scribble in her notebook.
Minx looked around in confusion. "Uh, I was just joking. You don't think Loggin could be the murderer, do you?" She took half a step away.
Mary shook her head. "No, but someone could be eliminating the competition, or at least big chunks of competition. Wait, maybe just certain kinds of competition. Liam, the guys that took off today, were they sponsored by Westmound c
ompanies?"
Liam nodded.
Loggin looked at Mary with wide eyes. "So were Mike Champ and the guys who were drugged. Could it be a rival company?"
I rolled my eyes. "Come on, that's silly."
Mary pointed her pen at me. "Someone is attacking people. That's a fact. Right now we are considering all the possible motives. Tomorrow everyone keep an ear open for anyone that is sick, hurt, or has any suspicious stories. After we're done shooting, I'll try to get a list of the shooters in the pro division so we can see who has and has not been messed with. See everyone at five thirty sharp."
Liam grabbed my hand before he left and squeezed.
CHAPTER FIVE
Breakfast rolled in my stomach. I had noticed that the food was swimming with butter and grease when we had eaten, and now it alternated between sitting like a lead weight and trying to make a run for it.
I swallowed hard and stared at the ugliest carpeting I had ever seen as I waited for the whistle to blow so we could head down to the target to score the arrows, return to the line, and start the next end. The rules for this tournament were mostly the same as the other indoor tournaments I trained for. We shot three arrows per end, with one group going to the line and shooting, then stepping back for the second line to shoot, then everyone going to the target, scoring the arrow with the four archers on the same target mat, then returning. The round consisted of ten ends of three arrows per end for thirty arrows and a possibility of three points max.
The main difference between this tournament and the one I'd shot a few weeks ago was how the group that went up and went second alternated. I was used to alternating who went first every end, while here the same group went first for five ends, then switched. It was a minor detail except that I had to pay constant attention to make sure I didn't miss my turn.
I checked my quiver, and the top slot was empty, meaning I had already shot, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I was shooting well, and I was holding it together by the skin of my teeth. I turned around and found Liam in the crowd. Moo was lying across four chairs with his head in Liam's lap as Liam talked to another archer. A steady group of people had come by to say hi to Liam and drop subtle hints about potential sponsorship.
Death in the Casino: Target Practice Mysteries 5 Page 5