From the Shadows (Buckhorn, Montana #2) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,20
much prior knowledge of her that made her even more uneasy—and made all of this feel more dangerous.
A murder reunion? Why would someone want to bring murder suspects from that summer back here? She stood in the middle of the room, feeling as lost as Finn had said he was. She’d left the drapes open on the windows facing town. The mountains beyond were a deep purple. Montana’s big sky only had a hint of pink as darkness began to descend. The room felt cold. She rubbed her bare arms, telling herself a hot bubble bath was what she needed.
But as she turned toward the bathroom, she caught a flash out of the corner of her eye. Her heart leaped to her throat, pulse taking off at a sprint. She had only an instant to stifle a scream before she realized that what she was seeing was only a white laundry bag hanging on a hook on the bathroom door.
Her pulse began to slow. She blamed Finn. Honestly, between him and the ghost stories and this stupid reunion, she was jumpier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers, as her grandmother used to say. Did Finn really believe that Megan’s spirit still walked these halls? Or was he just trying to scare her like all the boys she’d ever worked with here?
“Megan, if you’re here, I don’t care,” she said, her voice seeming unnaturally loud in the empty hotel room. “You made my life miserable when you were alive, and now you’re here to torment me? Guess what? I don’t care. This hotel is going to be rubble soon. Still want to hang around? Be my guest, but I’m out of here soon, and I won’t be looking back.”
“I hate to interrupt,” Finn said, startling her. She spun around. He stood in her doorway. Hadn’t she closed and locked it? Or had she been so anxious that she’d forgotten to close it properly, let alone bolt it? Finn now stood leaning against the doorjamb.
She felt her cheeks flare hot, his look daring her to lie. “I was just talking to Megan’s ghost.” As if he didn’t already know that.
He nodded and grinned. “She say anything interesting?”
“Not that I ever heard.” Just like when she was alive. “I was getting ready to take a bubble bath and call it a night. I guess I forgot to bolt the door.”
“It was open when I came out of my room. Could have been the breeze if you didn’t close it securely. My windows are open across the hall.” He handed her the note.
She read the neat printing. “‘Bring Casey’?” she inquired incredulously as she handed back the note.
“I rolled my eyes at that part as well, but it might be a good idea.” She looked at him as if he were joking. Before she could argue the point, he rushed on. “I thought you might like to go down with me. I’ve had a lot more time to think about this...reunion than you have. Doesn’t it make you wonder who’s behind it? Someone put this together to get all of us here. Why? What if the reunion is a ploy?”
“What are you saying?”
“That I believe the person behind this got us all here for a reason other than saying goodbye to Megan and the hotel. I’d like to know what it really is.”
She rolled her eyes. “Maybe whoever did this saw it as a way to get all the suspects together again. Maybe the person is trying to find Megan’s killer. Let’s see—who just spent months in this hotel looking for the answers? Oh, what a coincidence that you just happened to be here doing that very thing and got an invitation even though you weren’t part of the staff, weren’t even here when she was murdered.”
He held up both hands. “I know it looks suspicious, but I swear I had nothing to do with this. But think about it. If the person isn’t someone determined to unmask Megan’s killer, then—” he met her gaze “—it could be the killer has another score to settle. I think we need to figure out why we’re all here—and as quickly as possible.”
She flinched at his use of we.
“I know why I’m here, and it has nothing to do with the reunion or Megan’s murder.”
“The person who sent out the invitations knew you would be here,” he pointed out. “I doubt that was a coincidence.”