Dark Guardian. Jan Hambright

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      “It’s my room!”

      He stepped back, motioning her inside.

      Olivia walked through the open door, almost running into another cop who was snapping pictures with a digital camera.

      “What happened?” she asked, staring at the interior of the hotel room she’d occupied for the last five days. Worry laced through her as she looked for her laptop in the upheaval.

       They got my laptop?

      “This is your room?” the officer asked, turning his attention on her.

      “Yeah.” Olivia swallowed, staring in disbelief at the chaos someone had inflicted on the place. The mattress was ripped open, stuffing scattered on the floor like puffy clouds. Dresser drawers were yanked out, her clothes tossed in every direction. One of the two lamps in the room lay smashed on the floor. The place was uninhabitable.

      “Did you have valuables, miss?”

      “Olivia Morgan.”

      “Miss Morgan.”

      “My laptop. Nothing else really matters.” Caution latched on to her nerves. She stepped to the window, pulled back the drapes and stared down into the parking lot.

      Whoever broke in knew she wasn’t in her room. Was she being followed?

      At the back entrance of the lot, she caught a glimpse of black, just in time to see Jack Trayborne’s Jaguar turn right out of the parking lot and jettison away.

      Anger sluiced in her veins, but she held her tongue. Was it possible he’d trashed her room and stolen her laptop? It did contain her research and the makings of her exposé about the Black’s Cove Clinic. Information that could eventually convict the Trayborne Foundation and the clinic for medical mistakes.

      “Any idea how they got in?”

      “We’re going to dust for prints, but because the window is fixed, we believe the perpetrator came in through the door.”

      “My laptop is a Mac. I have the serial number written down at home. I’ll have to phone it in to you after I leave.”

      “Anything else?”

      “No. I can probably salvage my clothes and personal items.”

      The officer scribbled on a police report. “Do you know of anyone who might have reason to break into your room?”

      Jack Trayborne. “No. I’ve been in town for less than a week. I don’t know anyone, really.”

      “Okay, Miss Morgan. We’ll do what we can to catch the perpetrator and recover your laptop. Do you have a cell phone number where we can reach you?”

      Olivia rattled off her number and turned toward the door. “I’m going to get another room. I’ll stop by later to collect my things.”

      The officer nodded and she stepped out into the hallway, striding past an officer questioning a hotel guest. The man appeared to be more agitated with each question the officer posed.

      “Excuse me.” Olivia moved past them only half listening to the exchange.

      “I’m not crazy. I know what I saw!” The exasperated man’s raised voice sliced into her nerves and tuned her hearing. Her steps faltered and she purposely slowed to a crawl, listening over her shoulder.

      “The door was wide open. I looked in and the damn mattress was sailing off the bed! There was no one in that room, Officer. No one at all.”

      Olivia stopped in front of the elevator, fighting a wave of anxiety that couldn’t be contained. He wasn’t crazy. She wasn’t crazy, even though she felt a little nuts when she replayed the odd things that went on last night at the clinic.

      The elevator chimed and the doors slid open. She stepped inside and pushed the button for the lobby. The doors glided closed and she tried to relax, but every muscle in her body had other ideas.

      What if she’d been followed here? Caution laced through her. Maybe she should change hotels. But what good would it do? Maybe she was better off staying put. The security in the hotel would be ramped up now that there had been a break-in.

      The elevator reached the lobby level, the doors opened and she walked to the front desk.

      “Hi.”

      A starched-looking woman in a white blouse and tailored blue jacket instantly smiled at her.

      “Miss Morgan. We’re so sorry about the break-in. We carry insurance. Perhaps you’d like to fill out a form for the replacement of any items that were stolen?”

      “Yeah. I’d like that. But right now, I need another room.”

      “I’ll see what’s available.” The woman moved to her computer.

      Olivia leaned on the counter, listening to the clack of the keys.

      “You’ve been booked into the Presidential Suite on the sixth floor.”

      She straightened. “Really. By whom?”

      “The owner, Miss Morgan.”

      “And who would that be?”

      “Jack Trayborne.”

      Anger sizzled in her veins and she nearly let out a growl.

      “That’s very nice of Mr. Trayborne.” She pasted a smile on her lips. Was Jack Trayborne aware of her mission in Black’s Cove? She certainly had to consider the possibility that she’d been found out. Maybe the receptionist at the Gazette had ratted her out and told him about her long hours in the dusty archives. Maybe he was the one who’d destroyed her room and taken her laptop to see how far she’d gotten?

      “He came as soon as the manager alerted him to what had happened. He’s extremely sorry your security was compromised and requests that you have carte blanche, beginning with the suite.”

      The phone call she’d seen him take in front of the coffee shop?

      A measure of resolve soothed her irate nerves. Was it a ploy to placate her with creature comforts? Or a genuine gesture? She couldn’t be sure. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll take another standard room, please.”

      The woman’s eyes widened. “Are you sure, Miss Morgan?”

      “Yes.” She couldn’t keep her foot from tapping against the thick carpet in front of the desk. She wouldn’t be put off the scent by his goodwill. She knew plenty of his type. Money didn’t buy character.

      “Here you are, room 304.” She handed her the key card. “If you change your mind, be sure to let us know.”

      Olivia took the key. “Thank you, but this will do.” She nodded and headed for the elevator, more determined than before to find out what Jack Trayborne was hiding at the Black’s Cove Clinic, a curiosity she planned to satisfy tonight СКАЧАТЬ