Whispering Springs

Dylan stepped out on the balcony. Twilight had deepened to nightfall and a few stars hung low on the horizon. He could see the glitter of the moon through the trees, but the leaves muted the illumination. He took out his cell phone and shone the beam across the floor and all along the rail, looking for any evidence left by the intruder. Then he straightened and gazed down the row of balconies. A curtain billowed next door.

He went back inside and latched the French doors. “You said the room next door is empty, correct?”

“Yes, why?”

“Wait here while I check something out. Don’t let anyone in while I’m gone.”

Blair shivered as her gaze darted to the bed. “What am I supposed to do with the doll?”

“Leave it. Don’t touch anything. I’ll take care of it when I get back.”

He left the suite and strode down the hallway to the next room, pressing his ear to the door before knocking. He couldn’t hear anything inside and the door was locked. He retraced his steps to Blair’s suite. When she let him in, he went back out to the balcony.

Blair trailed after him. “Dylan? What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out how someone got into your suite.” He climbed on top of the railing and then hoisted himself up to the roof. From his vantage, he had an expansive view of the property. Light from the downstairs windows and patios cast an anemic glow over the grounds, but the woods beyond lay in deep shadow. The night was so quiet he could hear the ripple of leaves and the gurgle of a creek beyond the trees. To his right, the escarpment was a jagged silhouette against the navy sky.

He scanned the cliffs and probed all along the tree line. If anyone was out there, they were well hidden by the night.

Lifting his face to the sky, he closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to calm a festering worry. Something was wrong. He could sense discord all around him, could hear it in the eerie saw of the breeze that blew through the pinions. In the whisper of water over rocks from the springs. Somewhere on the ridge a coyote howled, followed by a series of yips and barks that lifted the hair at the back of his neck. They sensed it, too, he thought. He wasn’t particularly insightful and definitely not clairvoyant, but he’d learned a long time ago not to second-guess his instincts.

The doll was a troublesome development. Nuanced and diabolical, Blair had said. Maybe they were both overthinking the situation, but Dylan couldn’t shake the notion that more was going on beneath the surface. That the threats to Blair and Tony Redding might be nothing more than a clever ruse to lure Dylan and the others to Whispering Springs. But why?

* * *

A FEW MINUTES LATER, Dylan hurried along the edge of the roof and dropped down onto the next balcony.

Parting the billowing curtains, he stepped inside. The layout and furnishings were similar to those of his room. King-size bed facing a large armoire with a flat-screen TV and bar. Desk and chair situated in front of the French doors. Bathroom and closet just off the entry. A quick search through the armoire drawers and closet yielded nothing. The room appeared spotless, bed neatly made, fresh towels in the bathroom. It was possible the cleaning staff had left the balcony doors open by mistake, but he kept going back to the flash of light he’d seen from the escarpment.

He went out into the hallway, glancing both ways before returning a second time to Blair’s suite. She answered his knock at once.

Before he could say anything, she leaned in to murmur, “Ava’s here.”

“Where?”

She pointed to the bedroom. “The door was open and she saw the doll. I couldn’t stop her from going in.”

He said nothing else as he moved out of the foyer and into the sitting room. Ava stood just beyond the bedroom doorway. She had her back to him, but she spun as soon as she heard him approach.

“Have you seen this?”

He took in her pale face and wide green eyes. “Yes, I’ve seen it.”

“What do you make of it? What kind of sick joke is someone trying to pull here?”

Before he could answer, Blair came into the room, keeping her distance from the bed. “It’s not a joke. It’s a warning effigy.”

Ava looked aghast. “A what?”

“Blair,” Dylan cautioned.

She gave a helpless shrug. “What’s the point of keeping her in the dark now? She’s already seen the doll. Besides, maybe she can help keep an eye out.”

“An eye out for what? For who?” Ava glanced from Blair to Dylan, her expression turning resolute and suspicious. “One of you had better start talking. And don’t give me any nonsense about scorpions and spiders. Just tell me the straight-up truth. What’s going on here?”

Dylan eyed Blair carefully. “It’s your call.”

She nodded before turning back to Ava. “Long story short, Tony is negotiating a merger for Redding Technologies. There’s been a lot of opposition within both companies and from outside competitors. That’s not unusual, but a couple of weeks ago, he started getting threatening phone calls at work. Then last week our house was broken into and someone left a message on the bathroom mirror.”

“What was the message?”

“‘Tell the truth.’”

“Tell the truth,” Ava repeated with a pensive frown. “And you think that message has something to do with the merger?”

“Coming after the phone calls, it seems a logical conclusion,” Dylan said.

Ava shot him a glance before turning back to the bed. She wore that look again, the one that told him she wasn’t about to accept anything at face value.

“Do you know what truth they’re talking about?” Ava asked.

“Tony doesn’t talk much about his business deals,” Blair hedged.

“Did you call the police?”

“No, because he doesn’t take the threats seriously. He thinks the opposition is trying to rattle him. If we go to the police, they’ll know they’re getting to him. It would weaken his bargaining power.”

“He’s playing a risky game with your safety,” Ava said as she moved around to the other side of the bed. She seemed to want to keep an eye on both of them while she examined the doll.

“I agree,” Blair said. “It is risky. That’s why I went behind my husband’s back and hired Dylan. To Tony and everyone else, he’s just another guest.”

Ava’s head came up. “What do you mean, you hired Dylan?”

He had remained silent for most of the exchange, preferring to let his client disclose as much or as little as she felt was warranted. But his gaze had remained on Ava, and now he saw a war of emotions on her face as she struggled to make sense of his deception.

“I work for a private security firm in Houston,” he explained. “You may have heard of it—the Blackthorn Agency.”

“Yes, I know of it.” Her tone sounded stilted. “For how long?”

“A little over a year.”

She shrugged, but her features hardened. “So much for being at loose ends.”

I can explain, he wanted to tell her, but instead he allowed her to draw her own conclusions.

“Please don’t say anything to the others,” Blair pleaded. “I asked everyone here so that we could catch up and have a good time. Maybe even mend some fences. We were once like family.”

“That was a long time ago,” Ava said, her cool gaze brushing Dylan’s before she looked away.

“And yet you’re here.” Blair’s smile turned hopeful. “Call me sentimental, but I still miss what we had. I still miss us. I thought if we could all get together just one more time, we could somehow recapture the magic. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking. Even so, I don’t want to cast a pall over our reunion.”

“I don’t like any of this,” Ava said. “I think you should go to the police regardless of what Tony says. It’s dangerous and irresponsible to do otherwise. I’ll keep quiet for now, but if anything else happens, all bets are off.” Her gaze dropped to the bed. “What are you going to do with this thing?”

Dylan moved around beside her. “I’ll handle everything in here. Why don’t you take Blair into the other room and fix her a drink? She still looks a little shaken.”

Ava nodded. “Good idea. Maybe I’ll fix one for myself while I’m at it.”

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