a suite. So, we should be able to share it with no problem. Worst-case scenario, there’s a bedroom that you can have, and a living room with a pull-out couch where I’ll sleep.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Of course,” I said. “It’s no big deal. As long as you’re okay with it.”
She shrugged, the expression on her face like she couldn’t think of any argument. “I’m fine with it.”
“Good,” I said, starting to feel like things might be getting better. At least slightly.
We got to the hotel, and I went to the registration desk to check us in. The clerk handed us two key cards, and I brought a luggage cart out to the car to load up all of our bags. We rode the elevator up to the top floor and went to the room at the very end of the hall.
“I think I know why this was the last room available,” Amanda said.
I laughed. “What? You don’t usually stay in the Siberia section when you check into a hotel?”
“Not usually.”
We finally got into the room and dropped off our bags. Calling the room a suite was generous on the part of the marketing department. I was accustomed to traveling for work and staying in suites that rivaled small apartments. They usually offered a full bedroom and bathroom, a living room, another bathroom, and sometimes a kitchen and dining area.
This room was exactly what I thought it was going to be when I gave Amanda the worst-case scenario. A small room with a fold-out couch, a door, and a small bedroom with the bathroom. That might pose some interesting complications, but I was sure we could figure it out.
As soon as she got into the bedroom, Amanda set her bags on the bed and started unpacking. It didn’t surprise me that she was one of those people who had to fully settle into a hotel as soon as she got there. Organization was a way of life for her. She probably wouldn’t have been able to cope if she didn’t have her clothes in the drawer and closet, and her toothbrush beside the sink.
When she finished, I started to ask if she was hungry after her trip and suggest we go to get something to eat, but before I could, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen, then answered, walking back out of the room.
“Hey, Jordan,” I said. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just wanted to let you know what was happening. I’ve been following Danny around for the last few hours to see what he was up to,” Jordan said.
“Did you find out anything?” I asked.
“I just watched him meet up with some guy behind a building. They talked for a few seconds. They were too far away and were talking too quietly for me to hear what they were saying, but I saw Danny pay the guy a big wad of cash,” he said.
“Holy shit,” I said.
“I know,” Jordan replied.
“It can’t be a coincidence. He has to have had something to do with the bar. That’s what he was doing. Paying off the arsonist,” I said.
“I mean, that’s definitely what it looked like. We just have to figure out how to prove it. That’s the thing. We can’t just call the police and say we know it was this guy because he’s an asshole and we saw him give money to another guy. They’re not going to go for that,” Jordan said. “We have to find out something about him that will prove he was involved.”
“Let me look into it,” I said. “I’ll find out everything I can about him and let you know.”
I got off the phone and pulled out my computer. I spent the next hour digging into Danny and trying to find out anything I could about him. I was sure it would be easy to find some sort of dirt about the man.
From the very first time I met him, Danny had struck me as shady and not trustworthy. It wasn’t just that he was gruff and unpleasant. There were plenty of people like that. There was just something about him that put me on edge. I didn’t put it past him for a second to do anything he could to sabotage his competition.
But I couldn’t find anything. The full hour of scouring every corner of the internet I could think of still left me empty-handed. Finally, I forced myself to stop and push away from the computer. Rubbing my eyes