I stepped all the way inside and was transported into a tropical rainforest paradise. I always considered myself to have an excellent imagination; it was nothing compared to the designers of this spa. Where I had been expecting flat tile floors and a large garden tub with jets, possibly sleek shiny tiles on the walls, I found smooth, round river rock with light tan grout. Elephant ears, bird of paradise, ferns, umbrella plants, jasmine, and hibiscus surrounded me. I even saw at least five palm trees. I couldn’t name half of the plants and trees that enveloped this room if I tried.
The ceiling was painted a dusky blue, Tiki torch lanterns lit up a stepping stone path further into the room, not that it was truly dark in here. I could hear the surge of bubbling water but couldn’t yet see it. Faintly in the background, there was even a soundtrack of rustling leaves, chirping insects, and the occasional bird songs. It was truly magnificent.
Padding barefoot down the stepping stone trail, I discovered the jacuzzi tucked just enough behind two of the palms to remain concealed until the last second. When I finally stumbled upon it, the designers had successfully created a jaw-dropping awe factor. I stood transfixed. My eyes raked up the side of the ashy black rock to the lip of the volcano in front of me where, raised about three feet off the ground, the bubbling water waited, steam curling from the top and rising slowly toward the ceiling.
Oh. My. Gosh. I was giddy with anticipation. I found the discreetly concealed steps and made my way to the jacuzzi. Empty! Looks like it was my lucky day. A relaxing soak, alone, in the tropical pool heated by a “volcano”. Twenty minutes might not be enough.
Dipping my toes into the steamy water, I debated whether to get acclimated to the heat or just get in and get it over with. Finding it to be less than lobster-boiling temperature, thank goodness, I decided to climb in right away.
Resting my legs on the long bench seat, I sank lower down until my chin dipped the water with my head resting on the edge of the tub. Now this, this was the life. I wondered how Sam was enjoying the steam room. I also wondered what exactly a steam room would be like; it was going to be another first for me. Finally, I shut my thoughts down and just listened to the peaceful serenade of the forest; relished the feel of the jets massaging my back, neck. and feet.
Minutes passed. At some point later, I thought I heard the faint click of the door. “Sam?” I called out.
Nothing. Checking the small egg timer by my towel I saw there were still eight minutes left. I must have been mistaken, I decided. Shrugging my shoulders, I settled back into the water without giving another thought to the noise.
Sweat was rolling down my forehead by the time my jacuzzi session was over. “Whew!” I said to the steamy air. Carefully making my way down from the volcano pool, I took the time to dry off and was wrapping the towel around me when I heard the door open, for sure this time. The sound was followed by an immediate shriek that sent chills down my body, “Eeeeekkk!”
I took off down the path at lightning speed, swiping foliage out of my face.
“Sam, what…” I began but she cut me off waving and pointing on the stones between us.
“Snakes! Eeeee snaaaakessss!” Her squeal morphed into a cry.
Sure enough, two long, green snakes were coming right toward me on the path. Samantha was lucky she hadn’t stepped on them coming in the door. They certainly weren’t there when I came in.
“Piper, what do we do? I can’t, I just can’t! Oh yuck!” Sam was terrified of snakes, not to mention completely grossed out by them. She flattened herself against the door, standing on her toes trying to be as far from the slithery creatures as possible.
Lucky for us, I wasn’t as frozen by them as she was. I also knew that most variations of the green snakes were non-poisonous, with the exception of the green mamba and I was seriously praying a green mamba hadn’t found a way here from Africa. Armed with that knowledge, I yanked the nearest thing, a bird of paradise, out of its pot and tossed the dirt to the side. Cautiously, I stepped toward the snakes. Sam was squealing and jumping up and down, but my friend could have run out the door and left me; the fact that she didn’t spoke volumes.
Slamming the pot down over the snakes, I let out a shaky breath. “Let’s get out of here.”
Just as we opened the door, Margarite and Jill were approaching. “Sorry we are late,” Jill said.
“There was a commotion in the suite,” Margarite added, wringing her hands together. I bet she had never been late in her life.
“What kind of commotion?” I crossed my arms.
“Gladys thought she heard someone, but there was nobody there,” Jill explained.
Sam and I shot each other a look. Well, Gladys’s presence might be accounted for, but was it a distraction to keep someone away from the jacuzzi room longer?
Sam, still fairly shaken up, pointed to the jacuzzi room and snapped. “Well, we had a little commotion of our own. Perhaps someone can explain to me just when snakes were added to the jacuzzi room? The new rainforest theme was great but I don’t think it was necessary to add creatures as well.”
Margarite’s eyes grew round.
“Snakes?” Jill furrowed her brow. “What do you mean snakes?”
“Two of them,” I told her. “Alive.”
Margarite passed out in a heap on the floor.
“Oh!” Jill knelt, waving air toward Margarite’s face.
“I’ll get Broussard,” Sam jogged down to the hallway, turning right at the wide corridor. She was back in moments with Broussard who lifted Margarite and carried her away. “I will send a temporary assistant,” he added over his shoulder.
“You can just send them to my room,” Sam told him. Turning to me, she apologized, “I’m sorry to bail but I just can’t go in there wondering if there might be more of those…yuck… those snakes.” She trembled just talking about it.
“It’s fine. Hey, I can come with you back to the suite, no big deal,” I assured her.
“No Piper. I would feel horrible. Please, go on in the steam room; I want you to experience everything while you’re here.”
“Fine,” I reluctantly agreed, “but Jill is going to see that you make it to the room okay. No arguments.”
Sam opened her mouth, presumably to protest, but Jill nodded at me and said, “Absolutely. Come now Miss Samantha, I’ll happily walk back with you. Piper,” she added to me, “I’ll be back to collect you in twenty minutes. Your honey scrub should already be inside.”
I watched until they disappeared down the hallway and then turned to the steam room. I’d been standing there in my bikini the whole time, evidently having lost my towel in the chaos with the snakes, so I pulled open the door handle and went right in.
The heat nearly knocked me over by the time I reached the bench across the room. I struggled to draw a breath, not expecting the thick, heavy steam to be quite so overpowering. I sank to the bench and felt the small porcelain bowl next to me. Figuring if I were going to do this, I might as well do it all, I smeared the cream up and down my legs. It was still cool in comparison to the hot steam so I applied it everywhere, from my forehead down my neck, behind my shoulders, over my chest and stomach. I was running low by the time I reached my arms.
The drops of sweat I shed in the jacuzzi were nothing; I was dripping water like a leaky faucet. My goodness, twenty minutes of this and I would lose eight pounds of water weight. I leaned my head back to minimize the sweat running in rivulets into my eyes. My breaths grew harsher and I realized I was really struggling to breathe. I sat up straight and became light-headed.
Just as I was about to give up and leave, I saw a silhouette on the other side of the glass door. Oh good, I thought, lying my head on my knees, Jill must be here to get me.
I stood, heading to the door but instead of someone opening it, I saw the figure disappear. Odd. Arriving at the door, I turned the handle. Nothing happened. I wiggled it but the door didn’t budge. I sank to the floor, hot and weak; so thirsty.
I’m not sure
how long I slumped in the floor; I’m certain it couldn’t have been much longer when a scraping noise alerted me and then the door opened and I crawled out.
“Oh!” a startled Jill jumped backward. Then pulling herself together she helped me to my feet and steered me into a shower at the end of the hall. Turning on barely lukewarm water, she pushed me inside. It worked. The water cooled my skin and cleared the fog from my brain. I shut the stream of water off and inhaled blessed cool air, in and out, deeply over and over again.
“I’m so sorry, are you okay?” Jill asked.
“I am now,” I told her as she handed me a towel to wrap around my bathing suit. “I couldn’t get out,” I said.
“Yes, I saw, it seems the coat rack fell off the wall and was blocking the door. I’ll see to it that someone checks all of the others and tightens them up.”
“Did you come by a few minutes ago and then leave?” I asked her.
“No, I just arrived and found the coat rack blocking the door.”
“Someone else was there. I saw someone through the glass, I think they tried to lock me in.”
“What? Are you certain it wasn’t the heat?”
“I’m sure I saw someone.”
“Let’s get you into some dry clothes. I’m sure we will figure it out.”
I allowed her to lead me down the myriad of hallways back to our suites. “I’ll send someone for your clothes in the locker room,” Jill promised. “Right now, I think you should lie down.”
I could tell by her furtive glances that she was afraid I too might pass out at any moment. I was also fairly certain she didn’t believe me, but I knew I saw someone at the door right before I tried opening it. Just like I was now thinking someone had put those snakes in the jacuzzi room when I heard the click of the door the first time.
Gladys was in the sitting room when we arrived, reading a book in the window seat. “Samantha went to have a nap,” she told me. “My goodness,” she yelped, “you’re so pale. Are you okay?”
At that moment Sam’s door opened and she came out yawning. “I thought I heard voices. How was the steam room, Piper?” she asked.
“I’m going to leave you here with your friends,” Jill said. “Please consider resting before lunch.”
“What happened? Oh my gosh, were there more snakes?” Sam asked as the door shut behind Jill.
“No. Someone locked me in the steam room, Sam.” My stomach lurched. Saying it out loud made it worse. Who would do that?
“What?” she made me tell her the whole story. “You know, I think I will go lay down for a few minutes,” I said when I was done. “Jill should be bringing my other clothes, or sending someone with them.”
My eyes were already drooping, so I stripped off my wet clothes huddled into the covers and closed my eyes.
SEVEN
The nap helped, and I felt refreshed after ten or fifteen minutes. Sam came in to wake me, handing me a bag she said had been returned from the locker. I pulled my cargo pants back on that I had worn most of the morning, hoping lunch was more casual than dinner.
Sam, Gladys and I agreed that perhaps Jill was right and the heat made me think someone was in the hall by the steam room when really there was no one.
Since we could see a portion of the back garden from the windows in our suite, where late lunch should be currently, we rebelled against the personal assistant protocol and made the short trip outside on our own. Besides, Sam knew the way from being party to previous events held here by her mother.
Of all the menus in this place, still, none were of food. There were no menus to be found for lunch at least; instead, a buffet was set out on trestle tables with bright white table runners which were set up around the entire perimeter of the garden.
The garden itself was gorgeous. Palms, banana trees, enormous oleander, hibiscus – every conceivable tropical plant had been planted to maximum advantage resulting in a breathtaking paradise that was nestled at the side of the spa’s dining room exit. I was relieved to see the buffet was filled with real food, not those horrid little hors d’oeuvres; tables nearly buckled under the weight of sandwiches, roasted chicken, several salad options, hummus, nuts, potato salad, even a chip and dip section.
Most importantly, there was a table devoted to desserts. Tarts, cookie bars, a dark chocolate fondue fountain, banana pudding, petit fours, bonbons. I may have whimpered aloud judging by the looks I was getting from my friends as well as the table of ladies near my elbow. Dessert was just what I needed to fully recover from my steam room ordeal.
Sam, Gladys, and I each snagged a square, plastic gold plate and loaded them down. Many of the round tables being used for seating were full, but we did find one at the edge of the garden near the path to the beach with only two women seated at it.
“Pardon. May we join you?” Sam asked as we approached.
One lady, an elderly woman with a shock of short white hair, inclined her head towards the empty chairs. “Why of course, please do.”
“Thank you so much,” I told them sincerely. I mean, I would have eaten sitting in the grass but at this fancy place, I assumed that type of behavior would get us removed.
“I’m Gladys, these young ladies are my friends, Samantha and Piper,” Gladys took the chair closest to the white-haired lady.
“Please, you can call me Sam,” Sam added with a smile.
Smiling in return, the older lady continued the introductions, “Pleasure to meet you three. I’m Eloise and this is my daughter Belle.”
Belle, who looked to be maybe eighteen or nineteen years old, shyly waved her fingers at us before hiding her face behind a goblet of lemonade. Lemonade! “Excuse me,” I asked, “where did you find lemonade? I didn’t see the drinks and that looks like heaven.”
“Oh! Well, they were behind the fountain, just there,” Belle pointed across the garden to a large marble fountain of angels. I could just see corners of white tablecloth poking out from behind it.
“Great! Thanks, Belle. Gladys, what can I get you to drink?”
“A water will be fine, Piper.”
“Wait, I’ll come too,” Sam folded her napkin and placed it neatly next to her plate. I looked at my wadded-up napkin in my chair smirking to myself; Sam would hate it if I told her that her mother’s lady lessons were more evident than she realized.
There was a short line at the drink table so we fell in step to the slow-moving rhythm. My stomach grumbled. Maybe I should have brought some of those chips with me over here, I thought to myself glancing over my shoulder. As I did, I saw a figure disappear behind one of the many palms and leaned to see around it.
“What are you staring at? Your food isn’t going anywhere now move, you’re holding up the line,” Sam chastised.
“I could have sworn I just saw someone familiar,” I told her, “but I didn’t catch a good look.”
Sam glanced back but by now the figure was long gone.
“Who do you think you saw? There are probably twenty-five other people out here Piper.”
“Never mind, you’re right, it doesn’t matter.”
Throat clearing and whispers behind hands made it clear we were getting on the nerves of those in line behind us. Stepping quickly forward, I picked up two glasses of ice, placing one under the water and one under the lemonade jars and pushing the spigots for each.
Making our way back to the table, Sam greeted several people. Her mother’s cousin Maisy, her old friend from grade school Rachael, and others who I didn’t know.
“Are you sure you aren’t campaigning to be the next mayor?” I teased as we drew near our chairs.
“Very funny, Piper.” Sam glared.
Handing Gladys her water, I sat down and dug into the roast chicken on my plate. I was feeling absolutely famished and the chicken did not disappoint, moist, tender, and extremely well-seasoned with light barbecue spices. In fact, everything I ate was delicious, only serving to build my anticipation for the desserts. Finally, unable to stand it any longe
r, I pushed my plate with the last helpings of potato salad aside and pulled my dessert plate to me.
Now, what to try first? The rocky road brownie bite, vanilla bean sugar cookie, blueberry tart, or carrot cake petit four?
“Piper! Earth to Piper,” Sam caught my attention.
“Yes,” I looked up to see the entire table looking at me. Whoops, I guess I may be a little too into my dessert because it looked like I had tuned out everyone else.
“Gladys was just asking if she might taste your blueberry tart,” Sam nodded over at Gladys who was smiling with a slight twinkle in her eye.
“Oh, er, yes. Of course,” spinning the plate so the tart rested closer to Gladys, I expected her to cut off a bite. Imagine my surprise when the tart was scooped up and placed on her plate whole.
“Piper you’re a doll,” she said. “I love blueberries.” Turning to Eloise she kept right on talking, thankfully missing the dropped-jaw look I was sporting.
Somewhat sarcastically I asked, “Would anyone else like anything?” And darn if Belle didn’t look wistfully at my vanilla bean sugar cookie. Noting the severe lack of anything but salad on the plates she and her mother had eaten, I took pity on her. Sensing she was too shy to ask, I held the plate out to her, “Here Belle, why don’t you try this cookie. Obviously, I have plenty of desserts, who needs three anyway.”
Sam discreetly covered her laugh with a cough into her napkin. She knew I would gladly have eaten three whole plates just as easily as three tiny desserts.
Belle glanced at her mother, still busy discussing the good old days with Gladys, and quickly took the beautiful cookie which was covered in powdered sugar lace. “Thank you, Piper.”
The carrot cake was perfect and the rocky road brownie had me seriously considering whether or not I could fit the whole platter in my purse to sneak back to my suite; unfortunately, I hadn’t carried a purse to lunch so the point was moot. “Drat,” I muttered.
“What?” Sam asked.
“Nothing.”
With lunch over it was time to find the room for pedicures. Not surprisingly, our assistants were waiting for us right inside the doorway when we returned to the building from the garden.
Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery Box Set Page 5