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I stopped through the bar as things wound down for the evening to check on how things were going with Wiley spending the week away to get to know his son.
I’d texted with Emily in the morning, letting her know that I’d be swamped until most of the conference attendees were gone, and she assured me it was no problem and promised we’d meet up later. I was getting ready to text her when I found her in the bar.
Monroe was behind the bar, Brainiac at her side, and my heart gave a quick stutter when I spotted Emily sitting at one end, a glass of wine and her laptop in front of her.
“Hey Ghost,” Monroe said, making a dramatic expression indicating Emily with her eyes as if I might not have noticed her there. Sometimes I thought the Kasper Ridge Resort gossip network was more effective than any emergency alert system could possibly be.
“What’s up?” Brainiac asked. “How’s the new baby?”
“He’s good,” I said, moving toward Emily at the end of the bar. The fading afternoon light from the high windows caught brighter strands in her dark hair. She looked beautiful. She glanced at me and gave a little wave and a smile, and I took the seat at her side, relishing the warm intimacy I felt there. “You guys have met Emily?”
“Not officially,” Brainiac said. He turned to Emily. “You’re the writer working on a story about the treasure?”
“I am,” Emily said. I half expected her to introduce herself formally, but she just added, “Nice to meet you.” Was it odd that I didn’t know her last name? I shrugged off the thought. Her room had been booked in her roommate’s name, and there’dbeen no real reason to ask her. Still, it felt strange to be so close to someone and realize you didn’t know their whole name.
“So, what have you guys figured out that we missed?” Monroe asked, leaning across the bar, her weight on her elbows.
“Emily suggested we go back to the map and see if there was anything there we didn’t catch before,” I told them.
“And?” Brainiac looked intrigued.
“The cross,” Emily said. “We thought it might relate to the photo Archie had, the one where Lola and Marvin are under the Kasper Ridge Worship arch in their wedding clothes?”
“Oh yeah,” Monroe said, looking between us.
“We found the arch about two miles south of town,” I told her. “And there was a symbol that led to another one carved into a tree. A number. 515 or 525 maybe. But we searched room 515 last night and didn’t find anything, so maybe we’re on the wrong path.”
“No other clues by the arch?” Brainiac asked.
“Well, Aubrey went into labor right then, so we got a little distracted,” I laughed.
“If nothing was in 515, I could help check out the other rooms,” Monroe offered.
I glanced at Emily, who pushed her laptop shut. “Sounds good to me,” she said.
“Yeah, okay. And we can check 505 and 535 if we need to, but it really looked like a one or a two.”
Emily pulled out her phone and laid it on the bar face-up, the photo she took of the marking enlarged for Brainiac and Monroe.
“Yeah, it does,” Brainiac agreed. “We might be able to sharpen this image if we throw it into an editor. Could you send it to me?”
“Sure,” Emily said, taking back the phone and texting the photo to him when he gave her his number.
“I’ll see what I can do when I head home tonight.”
“In the meantime, can we go search?” Monroe asked, her smile wide and bright. “I haven’t done treasure hunting stuff in forever.”
“Let’s go,” I said, sliding off my stool.
“Good luck,” Brainiac called as the three of us headed for the elevator. I’d thought I would keep a reasonable distance from Emily, given that we weren’t alone. I didn’t know if she’d be comfortable letting those around the resort in on what was developing between us. But she stepped close to my side and took my hand, throwing a smile at me over her shoulder as she found my eyes. Monroe made a little humming sound, but didn’t say a word. I caught her eye, and she raised an eyebrow and winked at me.
Monroe, Emily, and I tore apart room 525, and then headed to 505 and 535, finding nothing. We drew the line at actually disassembling the rooms—I didn’t want to pull down wallpaper or lift carpeting, but we did feel around for holes or hinges that might indicate hidden doors or things under the carpet that didn’t belong there. Disappointment made my chest feel heavier.
“Nothing,” Monroe said, blowing a strand of her blond hair from her face as we finished up the last room. “We looked in light fixtures, felt around all the shelves, got pretty personal with every inch of these rooms. I just don’t think there’s anything here.”
“How well did Marvin tend to hide stuff?” Emily asked.
“He hid stuff like he wanted it to be found,” I told her. “So it seems pretty clear we’re on the wrong track.” I realized I wanted to solve this thing—not just for me, but for Emily. I wanted to be part of her achieving her dream.
