“You think so?” Reina returned the sheets to the envelope.
“He wouldn’t be the first man to be intimidated by a smart, accomplished woman, and the midlife crisis seems to have hit him hard, too,” Ange mused. “I’d say, Rick has a bad case of the man-o-pause.”
“It must have been tough on the girl to write all this to you. Kudos to her, when you could easily use this to sabotage her relationship. Not that you’d ever do such a thing, but then she wouldn’t know you well enough to be sure,” Harper said.
“What does your instinct say? Is this for real or is she trying to butter you up, to keep on your good side for the sake of their business?” Reina asked.
I touched the envelope and waited for a physical response.
“Well? Does it give you the warm and fuzzies? Because she convinced me.” Ange took the letter opener and examined it. “Awesome craftmanship. See how the light is reflected on the glass handle and how the shade of blue changes?” She weighed it in both hands, giving me space to decide.
“I believe her too, all of it,” I declared.
“Good. Very flattering for you, by the way, but also for Rick, to have won over two smart women.” Ange traced every inch of the handle that up close resembled a stylized flower. “The question is, if Tim didn’t meet Skye or Candice in the motel room, what was he doing there?”
“Only one way to find out,” Reina said. “We’ll have to see for ourselves.”
“If we can verify when he stayed at theSweet Haven, and in which room. I could only narrow it down to two rooms that pulled me closer, and there’s no way to tell when Tim was a guest,” I mentioned.
Ange harrumphed at me. “Now you’re wanting to play devil’s advocate, after the reaction you had to the business card?”
“I was only pointing out my witchy powers also need facts to back them up.”
Reina and Harper shared a wink. “Didn’t we say to leave it to us? Come on, it’s our turn to shine,” Harper said. She opened a cupboard and took out a box, labeled “Halloween costumes”.
Chapter 23
Light shone through the window as we arrived at the motel reception. Long hair wigs in pink and purple and black witch hats with silver moons printed all over them, together with purple capes, had transformed us from a quartet of pleasant middle-aged women into a group that rightfully earned the moniker “Crazy Coven”.
We breezed into the office, where a young man in a tie-dye sweater and cargo pants played catch ball with a toy launcher. He put it aside when he saw us. “Welcome toSweet Haven, ladies.”
Ange showed him her dimples. “What a cute name and so fitting.”
“It’s a pretty neat set-up we’re having.” He appraised us without missing a beat. “You ladies interested in a bit of lore? We have a map that’ll take you to a sacred spring.” He took a paper map from a drawer.
I glimpsed other promotional material, including a foodie’s guide to Cannon Hill and a map to the historical homes and gardens of the county. The motel appeared to be well equipped to cater to a diverse clientele, should those people bother to come.
Somehow, I doubted that, with an almost empty parking lot and keys for nine of the dozen units dangling from their hooks on a board.
The desk and window were spotless, but a few traces of soil on the floor indicated that the cleaner wasn’t overzealous. If the same went for the inside of the units, it might make our sleuthing a lot easier. That is, if Tim had stayed here before his murder.
Reina opened the map and together with Ange, she studied the depicted trails through the woods.
“Do you have any openings for tonight?” Harper asked.
The young man pressed a few keys on the keyboard. “Let me see. How many rooms is it you’re after?”
“Can we see the set-up?” Harper moved close to the desk.
He turned the screen. “We have two family units in 1 and 2. The rest are all doubles.”
“Do they have a shower or a tub?” Ange chimed in.
“A shower. Plenty of hot water.”
I peered at the screen. It showed the layout. On the left though was a scroll down menu – including booking information.
I coughed twice, as a sign to Reina and Ange.
