Dead and Dusted by Lily Webb (reader novel .TXT) 📕

Though I couldn’t make out what they were saying, I distinctly heard Blair, Mayor Nash, and Zadie exchanging words, and none of them sounded thrilled with the others. So much for getting everyone to their rooms.

After taking a few breaths to prep myself, I knocked on the door. “Blair? It’s Selena,” I called and the conversation inside died instantly. Blair’s boots clicked across the floor inside and the door popped open, revealing Blair’s flustered face.

“Hi, Selena. Everything okay?”

“Not really. How are things going in there?” I asked, leaning around her to peek inside. Mayor Nash paced the small room with his chin gripped tightly in one hand, and Zadie sat on the table against the wall and staring at the ceiling.

“You might as well come in. Maybe you can help me talk some sense into them,” Blair said and ushered me in before taking a cautious glance around the foyer and hurriedly closing the door. Mayor Nash halted and fixated on me, while Zadie took one glance at me and rolled her eyes.

“I don’t care how many people you trot out playing the same old lines, I’m not staying here,” Zadie said. “I’m not about to be the next one to get dusted in a place like this. Talk about a tragic death.”

Mayor Nash whirled on her. “Now’s really not the time for that kind of humor.”

Zadie shot him a withering look. “I wasn’t being funny.”

“I understand your concern, Ms. Chamberlain, but I also need you to understand that this is a very fraught situation. For the sake of the evidence, we can’t afford to let anyone leave right now,” Blair said.

“That’s absurd and you know it! Why haven’t you called the police yet? I’d be happy to do it for you if it means getting to leave.”

“I’ve told you: Mr. Marth’s security team has asked us not to yet.”

Zadie scoffed. “Yes, and they’re clearly so competent that we should continue listening to them. They let their boss die on their watch, remember?”

“The cops aren’t coming, but the feds are,” I said, and all three of them jerked their heads in my direction.

“What?!” they shouted in unison.

“Brady just told me. Apparently, he has a contact at the FBI, someone he trusts, and they’re coming first thing in the morning to investigate.”

“Oh, for Lilith’s sake!” Blair shouted and threw her hands in the air. “This is a nightmare that never ends!”

Mayor Nash’s expression softened, however, as he thought it through. “Actually, this might be a good thing. The bureau has a lot of resources the local cops don’t, and they’re much better at keeping a lid on their investigations. It’s interesting though that Brady can just dial up an agent.”

“When you work security for the richest and most powerful guy in town, maybe it’s not such a surprise,” I said, and Nash smiled.

“Ah, yes, the lifestyles of the rich and famous,” he quipped, and I couldn’t help snickering. “But in all seriousness, this makes me feel a lot better.”

“When has a visit from the bureau ever made you feel good?” Zadie asked him, and Nash shrugged.

“They don’t happen often, and I’d prefer to never have to deal with them, but that’s not the way the wand waves sometimes.”

“So, what then? We’re supposed to just camp out here overnight and wait for the fairy to tell us what they’ve found at some point tomorrow? I have a business to run! You can’t keep me sequestered here.”

“Quit being so dramatic, Zadie,” Nash said. “Like it or not, we’re all stuck in this mess. I think Blair’s right. The less we move around and stir things up, the quicker we can actually leave, especially now that the bureau has gotten involved in some capacity. Besides, you already agreed to be here all weekend, so the plan hasn’t really changed, has it?” he asked, and for the first time since she arrived, Zadie didn’t seem to have anything to say. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest, rolled her eyes, and let out the longest, most passive aggressive sigh possible because she knew she’d lost the argument. “So, now what?” Nash asked Blair and me.

Blair wrestled mentally with herself for a moment. “Well, I suppose we try to move through the day as normally as possible. We usually serve lunch, but with all the commotion, I don’t think that will happen today.”

“After that immaculate breakfast service, I think we’ll all survive,” Nash said, then cringed at his choice of words. “Sorry. Bad phrasing.”

“Where’s everyone else?” I asked Blair, breaking the awkward silence that’d settled over the room.

“Kiki’s in the kitchen helping Emile get ready for dinner later, and I asked Jadis and Thorn to show Evie, Kade, and the armada of Leland’s security to their rooms. They’re probably going to be busy with that for quite a while longer.”

That reminded me of something. “Speaking of, we didn’t leave a letter under the door for Leland, did we?”

Blair’s brows squished together. “Not to my knowledge. That’s not something we typically do unless the guest gets a message delivered during their stay. Why?”

I hesitated, feeling Nash's and Zadie’s eyes boring into me. “Evie told me she found a letter for Mr. Marth on the floor when she took his briefcase to his room. She said it looked like someone slipped it under the door.”

“You mean the same letter…?”

“That Brady found in the restroom? Yeah,” I answered, and the color drained from Blair’s face.

“That’s highly disturbing.”

“I thought the same thing. Blair, we have to see what that letter says!”

“Absolutely not! The restroom is a crime scene, Selena, and that letter is key evidence. I don’t want you going anywhere near there, do you understand me?”

“Blair’s right,” Nash chimed in. “Besides, I’m reasonably sure we’ll know what the letter says sometime tomorrow if the agent from the bureau is worth their wings.”

“Yeah, maybe — assuming the agent can or will tell us,” I said, though I wasn’t sure we had the luxury of waiting. Still, I didn’t dare say