Serious Moonlight(103)

Afraid it might be too late for us to find a way to rebuild trust.

I hoped it wasn’t.

That night I got up the courage to send him a text: Truth or Lie. Do you believe in third chances?

His response came several hours later: I believe anything’s possible.





“Everything is connected.”

—Officer Jim Chee, The Ghostway (1984)





32




* * *



Late the next afternoon, I took a ferry into the city. I’d been trying to call the daytime manager at work to see if she’d put me back on the work schedule after my emergency leave. I was a little worried Melinda would be miffed for making her shuffle everyone around to accommodate me—and more worried about what would happen when I told her my doctor wanted me to work in the day. But when I called, no one picked up the manager’s line. So I called the main guest line repeatedly but kept getting a busy signal.

Which was strange. It should go straight to the automated menu.

After several fruitless attempts, I wasn’t sure what to do. Then I got a text from Daniel:

The Cascadia is closed today for maintenance.

But u should go in anyway.

Maybe around 5:30.

Will u go? Y/N

I reread this several times. I had so many questions: Closed for maintenance? Why? Were guests still there? Employees? Was Daniel working? Did he want to talk? About us? Was he being terse because we weren’t speaking right now, or because he was about to break things off with me?

In the end I decided to send a simple reply: Yes.

He never responded, and that made me worry even more. I was also hopped up on my new medication, and it made me feel anxious and weird. But I figured it was better to go face whatever was going to happen than sit around wondering.

When I got to the Cascadia, the entrance was roped off, and a big sign in the front said that the hotel was temporarily closed for repairs and for guests with bookings to speak to the doorman. Only there was no one there. The van was gone too. I headed around to the employee entrance in the alley and had to squeeze past massive trucks and people in hazmat uniforms.

And the smell. Dear God, the smell . . .

Before I could swipe my badge to get inside the employee hallway, the back door swung open and Chuck’s blond head appeared. A surgical mask covered his mouth.

“Dopey,” he said brightly, pulling down his mask. “Weird to be here during the Hawk shift, huh?”

“I’ve been trying to call. What’s going on?”

“SARG happened. The animal rights group reported us to the city for the sewage leak in the garage. Think they sabotaged us too, because there’s shit coming up inside the hotel toilets. It’s an actual shit show on the fifth floor!”

“What?”

“City shut us down until it’s repaired. We’ve been busing people over to the Fairmont and comping their stays. Guests are pissed, the management is stressed, and no one’s in charge.”

I blinked at the hazmat team. “What about Octavia?”

“What about her? SARG didn’t take her, if that’s what you’re thinking. I think they’re just trying to make us look bad. Roxanne says they’ve been trying to get the city to vote on making public aquariums illegal.”

“When will all this be fixed?” I asked, holding my hand over my nose.

“They say to call in tomorrow and prepare to come in then, in case it gets finished tonight. But the cleanup crew says that’s a crock of shit. See what I did there?”

“Who’s the manager on duty?”

“Roxanne’s in the parking garage right now. So, Tina? I think. She’s crying in the manager’s office, so I’d avoid her at all costs. Oh, and if you hadn’t heard, Melinda went into labor last night, so she probably had her kid. Hard to find out because everything’s in chaos.”

“I see that.”

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket while Chuck called out to someone in the alley. The screen showed a new text from Daniel: Are you at the hotel yet? I typed a quick response: Just arrived. His reply came a few seconds later: Find Chuck.

I stared at my phone. Find Chuck? Why? No further replies clarified the message.

“Hey,” I said. “I’m supposed to talk to you, I think?”

Chuck turned around, gave me a blank stare, then smacked himself on his forehead. “Duh, almost forgot. Daniel left something for you in locker twenty-seven.”

“In the employee area?” I asked, my heart thumping madly. “Is he here somewhere?”

Chuck shook his head. “Nah. He was driving the van earlier today, helping the midshift driver haul guests and luggage. I think he’s gone now. Oh, and I’m supposed to tell you to hurry before it closes.”

“Before what closes?” I said. “The hotel? Isn’t it already closed?”

He shrugged. “No idea. That’s what he said. I’m just the messenger.”

With my pulse speeding, I murmured a quick thanks, and as I slipped inside the hotel’s back door, I paused and called back into the alley, “By the way, don’t call me Dopey again.”

Chuck blinked at me and opened his mouth, but he couldn’t quite manage an immediate retort. And I didn’t give him a chance to think of one. I just let the door shut behind me and made my way inside the hotel.