Deadly Fate (Krewe of Hunters #19)(56)

“We moved her to the concierge level—easier for a cop to stay up there and guard the hall,” Haskell said. “I’ll put you in the elevator to the top. You need a key.”

Up on the concierge level, Haskell nodded to the police officer on duty, who nodded back and acknowledged Thor, Jackson and Clara.

“She’s in her room?” Haskell asked.

The officer nodded and Haskell tapped at the door.

“Who is it?” came a scared voice.

“It’s Arnold Haskell, Miss Blaine. I’m with some people from the FBI. You can check your peephole.”

“It’s Thor Erikson, Misty. We spoke before,” Thor said.

Apparently, Misty trusted no one. “Show me your badge!” she said.

He pulled his badge from his pocket and put it up to the peephole. A moment later, the door opened.

Misty Blaine and little Emmy Vincenzo, Marc Kimball’s assistant, seemed very much alike, in Thor’s opinion. They worked—and had worked—for people who cowed them. They were hesitant, ready to shrink into the shadows.

Misty was a plain woman, medium in height and size. She moved with her shoulders slumped and her eyes darted nervously about.

“Who are they?” she demanded suspiciously, looking at Jackson and Clara.

“I’m Clara Avery,” Clara offered quickly. She had an innate ability with people; she stepped forward and reached for the other woman’s hand. “I was on the island. I’m so, so sorry.”

Misty nodded, nervously pumping Clara’s hand. “Horrible, horrible, I can’t believe... They gave me something to sleep. I still couldn’t sleep.”

“I understand,” Clara said, and turned to Jackson. “This is Jackson Crow. He’s with the FBI, too. These men are going to find out what happened. But they need your help.”

“I—I’ve spoken to them. I don’t know... I said good-night to Natalie when we came up. We were on a different floor...all of us had rooms here. But the others...they were going out to the island. It was just Natalie and me in the hotel after they were gone. She wasn’t afraid... She didn’t know anyone here. I don’t know how he got in. We didn’t talk to anyone but each other, I don’t think. Oh, I don’t know, I don’t know!” she said. “I just went to bed. I woke up, and Natalie... Natalie was...oh!” She started to shake, big tears welling in her eyes.

“You’re sure that Natalie didn’t speak to anyone, tell anyone that they could come up?” Jackson asked her.

Misty shook her head. “Natalie was all about Wickedly Weird. She was married once—so I heard. I guess she scared him away. She’s very intense. Oh! She was very intense. She would call me at three in the morning sometimes. She really loved Vacation USA best. But when she had an idea for Gotcha, she would call at any hour of the day or night and tell me about it, and she’d be so excited.” She paused, shaking her head. “‘Did she have any enemies?’ That’s what they asked me! Of course, there were people who didn’t like her. But just because someone doesn’t like you doesn’t mean that they’d do something like this! And the people she deals with aren’t here in Alaska. And this was...sick! If someone is mad at you, maybe they’d smack you or at worst shoot you or...” Her voice trailed and she just stared at them, stricken.

“Misty, did you notice anyone paying special attention to her or any of you? Think about it, will you?” Thor asked gently.

“Special attention?” Misty said, perplexed. “I mean, everyone here was super nice to her, even when she was a little bit short. I mean, I guess a lot of people think that reality TV is cool, you know? Alaska—Seward!—was going to be on Vacation USA.”

“Anyone besides the hotel people,” Jackson said.

“You’re observant, Misty. I’ll bet that’s why you’re great at your job,” Clara said. “Did you get into a conversation with anyone else, say, on the street, or anything like that?”

“Anyone who looked at you strangely,” Thor said patiently.

She looked at him and shook her head, but then began to frown. “I only remember the man...the man in the chair!”

“What about the man in the chair?” Thor asked.

“She kind of brushed by him. I just thought he was kind of funny looking,” Misty said. “We were hurrying toward the elevator—the place had suddenly filled with people and she wanted to get up and away from the crowd. And she brushed by his knees. She kind of absently apologized or said ‘Excuse me,’ or something like that. He looked at her for a moment and said, ‘Not at all. No worries.’ He was polite... It just seemed to take him a minute to talk.” Her eyes suddenly became huge. “You mean it could have been him?” she demanded.

“Misty, we don’t know anything yet. We’re going to keep investigating,” Thor told her.

She nodded again. Her eyes filled with tears. “Both of them! Natalie and Amelia. I can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it. My mother warned me that people might not always like getting gotten, but I never imagined...”

“Misty, we think that this is just a very sick and cruel human being,” Thor said. “And nothing would have changed what he wanted to do. Normal people just change the channel. Thank you—you’ve been a tremendous help. Lock us out.”