Well, it definitely wasn’t now. She was right. There was no sign of the necklace in the entire room. It could easily have blended with the red pillows on the bed, but they took the whole bed apart, unmaking it and looking inside pillowcases and under the mattress before remaking it.
“We’ll report it to the hotel,” Sam said. “Maybe it got, I don’t know, accidentally caught on a towel and dropped into a housekeeping cart. Maybe it snagged on your sleeve and fell out in the lobby, and someone’s already found it and turned it in.”
“Or maybe Maggie took it.”
“She didn’t take it, Charlie. I don’t want to hear you saying that, especially not to her. We’re going to find it.”
But inside his chest, for the first time, a tiny snake of doubt squirmed.
MAGGIE
In the employee dorm,Maggie slept restlessly and woke when the rest of the early shift began to mobilize. This morning, for a change, she was pressed into service to help with housekeeping, as they were short-staffed due to the departure of the housekeeper whose bed she had slept in last night.
It was Christmas Eve, and the hotel was preparing for a big winter storm forecasted to begin in early afternoon and last through the night. Hester had ordered some extra deliveries from anyone who was willing to deliver at this time of year on short notice, to see them through in case the roads were impassible for a couple of days. Hester, as usual, was everywhere, a dynamo of focused energy, filling in wherever any of her staff needed an extra hand.
“I have to tell you, Maggie,” Hester said as she and Maggie loaded sheets into the industrial-sized washing machine in the hotel’s laundry. “I had some doubts about this arrangement, but you’ve been great, hardworking and cheerful, always willing to lend a hand. After the holiday, I’ll be happy to consider the slate wiped clean between us. You’d be welcome back as a guest anytime.”
Maggie looked down, embarrassed. “I know I have a lot to make up for. I really appreciate you giving me the chance to do this.”
“I’d have been running myself ragged without the extra help. By the way, I don’t suppose you might be looking for a more permanent job.”
Maggie laughed. “Not this far out of town, I’m afraid. But really—thank you.”
This buoyant mood got her through the morning, from dealing with a clog in one of the room sinks to a delivery mix-up that involved having to try to find a place in the freezer for twenty giant boxes of frozen cod fillets. She glanced around for Sam and his daughter whenever she could find a spare moment, but spare moments were a scarce commodity. She kept replaying their kiss in her head, the softness of Sam’s lips and the way his mouth had opened against hers and the feeling of his hand at the base of her spine.
She wanted desperately to do it again, and she feared doing it again, because if she started, she didn’t know if she’d be able to stop before they went a lot further.
We’re probably lucky we were interrupted, or we would have ended up having the hottest and dampest sex of our lives.
But it didn’t sound bad. In fact, with Sam, it sounded amazing. Her knees wobbled, and with a massive effort of will, she returned her attention to the kitchen inventory she was currently helping with.
By the time her shift ended, she was tired, footsore, and ready for a sit-down break and food, but she was also on top of the world. Everything had to be fine with Sam, she told herself. And she was looking forward to the storm. From inside the lodge, warmth and comfortable, watching snow fall on the Christmas lights outside the giant windows was going to be magical.
She might even bid on something from the charity auction to give Sam and Charlie. She didn’t have a lot of money to spend, but she planned to do a little bidding anyway. According to the accompanying signs, the winners would be revealed tonight so the loot could be distributed among the winning guests, to enjoy as a holiday plus. Maybe she would get them a nice basket of chocolates, or the “pamper yourself” package with warming lotion, soft socks, and scented candles.
Thinking about this brought the mood-dampening reminder that they were no closer to finding out who had taken the items. Maggie guessed from her conversation with Hester that she was no longer under suspicion, however. Since the security camera was installed, there had been no new thefts. Maybe it would turn out that there was a perfectly innocuous explanation.
And in the meantime, Maggie was looking forward to a lovely, peaceful Christmas.
Then everything fell apart.
“Maggie?” Hester said, approaching her as Maggie was scribbling bids on a couple of pieces of paper. “Can I see you in the office for a minute?”
Maggie laid the pencil down and turned around. “Yes, of course.”
Hester’s mood was considerably changed from earlier. Far from her previous friendliness, she was now cool, polite, and professional. As Maggie followed her through the lobby, she told herself that people around them weren’t staring; it was only her paranoia.
Did something else go missing? What’s wrong?
She entered Hester’s small office a couple of steps behind, then stopped at the sight of Sam, sitting in front of Hester’s cluttered desk. He rose quickly to his feet and nodded to both the women. Maggie gave him a warm smile. His return smile was friendly but reserved, as if they hadn’t just been kissing in the sauna yesterday, and Maggie fought back a wave of sinking dismay.
Something’s been stolen, and they think I did it.
“Where’s your daughter?” Hester asked Sam.
“I don’t know. I think she’s still looking for it. I looked around, but I couldn’t find her.”
Maggie’s sinking stomach swooped and sank further.
