I laid my arm on the counter, allowing Nancy to strap the cloth bracelet around my wrist. There was a large piece of metal wrapped in plastic in the center. As she fitted it to the circumference of my arm, my eyes were on Harold.
Sensing my inquisitive gaze, he looked up from the stack of papers in his hand. Towels piled on the counter. A robe rested in my hand after the bracelet was secured.
“Here are your towels and a new pair of slippers just in case you choose to wear them. Your rob–” Nancy explained.
“Where is she?”
Harold froze. I observed as he contemplated his next set of words. He’d chosen wisely. After a brief pause, he released the breath he’d been holding.
“Ending her soak.”
I didn’t respond. I waited for more. He’d given me her location. I wanted her destination. If she was ending one service then it meant she was headed to another.
“Headed to the massage pods,” he continued after a few seconds.
I left both towels, slippers, and robe on the counter and headed toward the double doors. On the other side, a digital board displayed a map of the entire spa. I zeroed in on the pods marked with a massage graphic and a large M.
One left.
Two rights.
The breezeway.
Another right.
One left.
I locked the directions in my cerebral cortex and followed them to a science. Still, they didn’t result in Royce. I stood in front of ten doors, all labeled with a number. Slow, calming sounds played on the speakers. They contradicted everything I felt at the moment.
“Can I help you, sir?”
“No,” I responded, continuing through the parlor.
Nancy’s spill about the entire spa being reserved quickly resurfaced. I twisted the knob of the first room.
Empty.
The second room.
Empty.
The third room.
Empty.
Growing impatient, I twisted the knob and entered the fourth room.
My heart settled in my chest. The music that had little to no effect suddenly began to transport me to another place.
There.
Royce was stretched out on a velvety-soft bed with her arms flattened beside her. I folded my arms across my chest, admiring the Glock her right hand was wrapped around. She was magical.
Far beyond belief.
Implausible.
Mind-blowing.
