“Maybe you should lay off drinking right now. I know you might feel like you need it, but you’re not acting like yourself.” I’m worried that he’s going to dismiss my worry or wave me off, but instead he lets out a loud exhale and squeezes shoulder.
“I’m not drinking anything. Wren told me I should stop and I did, my mind hasn’t felt this clear in a long time. The anxiety medication is helping to…numb things. I don’t think I’d be able to breathe right now without it.” He bites his bottom lip hard, his voice comes out hoarse. “He was such an arsehole wasn’t he, buthe was still my brother. I just need to separate him from what's happened right now, then fix myself once it’s all over.”
I’m incredibly unhappy that he’s relying heavily on prescriptions to function. “You know if you need anything, I’m your Frodo right? Be there for the journey in a heartbeat.” I uncross my arms to wipe a lone tear that escapes down his cheek.
“Frodo is nothing without his Samwise.”
“Damn fucking straight.” I answer, smiling as we embrace. I really do consider telling him about Merle's debt there and then, but something niggles at me to figure it out first. One of my closest friends would not have committed murder, but like both detectives had said, it had to be someone here.
“I am happy for you and Wren, you know. I mean, he's basically going to steal you away from me, but maybe it's not a bad thing.” Phin says out of left field, knocking my axis a little. He's smiling down at me, but I'm confused at the little sadness I see.
“Phin, he's not stealing me.”
“Who wants red? I went all the way down to the wine cellar for this bad boy, so please tell me you’re open to getting your wine on Rob.” Lily’s voice carries from the dining room, cutting our conversation short, so we let each other go and head back into the house. Before leaving I snatch up a glass of champagne from the table because I’m really not a red wine kind of girl.
RETURNING to the dining table, Lil closes the doors to the house one handed as she holds up a vintage red in victory. With a slight sway in her hips she turns the volume dial on the record player up, her smile wobbly from a mix of too much alcohol and a floodgate of emotions she keeps flicking between. Whilst Phoenix’s brain has told him to survive and distract, Lil is fighting through waves of either sadness, denial or outburstsof anger that seem to be getting worse the longer we stay in the hotel. We still haven't spoken about our argument in the woods, she’d already spilled into hard denial by the time she was doing my makeup. Me? I think I've totally checked out that my ex boyfriend is dead. I can figure out whichever emotions I feel once we're all back living in reality.
Everyone is lounging around the dining table in small groups, and the last to join us is Starling, who must have gone back outside for another cigarette, because he smells of wet grass and has dark splatters along his shoulders. From behind us he closes the bifold doors to outside, muttering about the stupid drapes getting in the way.
I drop into the saved seat next to Wren, so Phin strolls around the table and sits next to his sister at the far end of the table, patting her crossed knee and helping himself to the water jug. She pouts, uncorking the wine bottle and starts to offer it around the table. Mavis, who is next to her, takes a glass, Willow declines and Cardinal makes a meaningless grunt that she must take as a no. Bran is sitting to the left of his brother on our side of the table and leaning forward, there’s a couple of empty seats. I didn’t care for Goldie’s reappearance, I’d much rather both detectives called it a night and left us. Jay wasn’t next to Bran as I had expected him to be, the larger than life drummer quiet as he spoke in a hushed tone with Merle. His eyes flickered to his girlfriends across the table, who’s taking a large sip of her wine and complimenting the flavours.
“Wine Rob?” Lily asks, bending over the table to pour me a glass anyway without waiting for my reply. She all but barges her brother out of the way to lean forward, Starling takes full advantage and checks out her ass. The track changes and even its sweet melody can’t seem to dispense whatever tension builds in the room. I thank her for the wine I didn’t want, her lip twitching at Wren’s non existent wine glass.
With a tight smile he raises his glass of water. “I don’t drink alcohol. But thanks anyway.”
Discarding the bottle onto the table without pouring herself a glass, she beams at Starling. “Isn’t this so fun having an actual detective here with us for dinner.”
He doesn’t look humble in the slightest as he sits forward, hands in his pockets still and shoots her a smirk. “Off duty.”
Wren scoffs. “Can you be? Someone was murdered in the hotel and you’re keeping us here, insinuating it was one of us. Are you even legally allowed to chill with us?” His arm lays on the back of my chair and my cheeks heat like they always do at his public claims on me. I’m a little shocked by his blunt outburst, but when I see his gaze briefly flicker to Willow who watches him like a hawk, he’s probably compressing a lot of anger right now. Despite seeing him connect his fist into Corbin’s face, I don’t see him being a man who is regularly violent. I worry actually that he keeps a lot of his feelings in, taking on too much to help others and not himself. A real case of white knight syndrome I don’t think he knows he’s battling.
Starling's jaw tick as he tracks Wren’s arm along my chair, analysing the distance between our bodies. “We have everything handled Mr Hastings. No one has to worry. We’re just making enquiries at this stage and I’m sure when we get the all clear, everyone can go home soon. We even have a development on your phones.”
The room hushes, hanging off his every word.
“Turns out Miss Claythorne had just misplaced them. Forgot probably due to her distress, but we've already sent them to the station. We thank you all for your cooperation.” I don't like the way he smiles under his mustache, and apparently neither does anyone else.
“You took our phones without our consent?” Cardinal temper hasn’t dampened after all.
“Your cooperation is appreciated in the investigation.” He retorts.
“Can you legally do that? I have people that no doubt will be trying to get in touch.Work. It's important our manager can get in touch with Wren and I.” Bran hands are firmly placed on the table in front of him, but he barely bats an eyelid.
Merle is going to be diplomatic as always as he stands, but even he looks uncomfortable.
Lil dismisses the entire thing, waving her hand in the air. “It's absolutely fine, Detective. None of us have anything to hide, I'm sure you'll give them back before our stay at Nightingale ends. Enough of this serious talk. Let's have some drinks and play games, shall we?”
The table is a mixture of agreement and disgruntled moans, most of those from the guys at the end of the table. Bran doesn’t resemble his cheerful self and his brother looks so tired, leaving the table to pour more glasses of champagne from the bar cart. Jay isn't back from the wine cellar which is unusual, but I've been so preoccupied turning over what he possibly could want to tell me later.
“Is there anything you need help with? I could maybe help tomorrow with meals or we could work on any of the opening preparations?” I say as Merle returns to dish out flutes of bubbly.
He sighs, patting my hand deflated. “The hotel was meant to open today Rob and they took our work laptops too,” he says in a lower tone. “I was able to give them the guests information from my books, but how bad does that look on Nightingale house, our first week. Thank you though. Helping with meals for everyone would be great.”
I still can’t find it in my heart to bring up the debts he owed Corbin, not whilst he looks so stressed about the hotel. If they don’t open soon, I can’t imagine when they’ll start to see profit or what this means if the man who he owes such a large amount to,is dead. Keeping such a devastating secret from Phin, not only as his boyfriend but as a business partner, is a motive for murder—even if my brain screams for me not to believe it.
Thinking over the connection between Cardinal and Willow, I wonder if anyone else here is connected in ways they don’t even know yet. My own secret is still a mystery, my assumptions pointless. The man had known me since birth, yes only paying attention to me as an adult, but still he knew the dark parts of my past that haunted my sleep.
Lily claps her hands, bringing me out of my spiral thoughts about Mum, a pack of custom cards resting in front of her on the table and she has a wild glint in her pale eyes. “So we had planned to play a round of truth or dare this weekend. It fitted with the theme of the party and my brother even provided the prompt cards.” She shakes the pack in her hand and my eyebrows shoot up. So not only did he create an elaborate scavenger hunt for our secrets, but he also had planned to put us through a game where we’d relinquish our truths? The theme was blinding. I can’t believe Lily or the guys never said anything, but by the way Merle stiffens next to me, he clearly didn’t know. For a very organised man, our stay had spiralled out of control.
