Chapter 6 - A Door Marked Staff Only

Audrey led me away from the lobby at last. Not to Suite 904, but to a small conference room beside the service corridor. Mateo came with us. Lily slept on two upholstered chairs pushed together, her bunny tucked under her chin.

"The account is a technical issue," Audrey said, shutting the door. "There is no reason to escalate."

"Someone used a dead man's login to turn away his wife and daughter. That's a reason."

She sat down abruptly. "Mr. Vale told me the trust was under review. He said there were impostors contacting hotels."

"Did you verify that?"

"He showed me a memo."

"Show me."

Audrey opened her tablet, scrolled and then frowned. "It was here an hour ago."

"What did it say?"

"That all arrivals claiming affiliation with the Vance family were to be held pending identity checks."

"Did it mention me by name?"

"Yes."

I watched the color leave her face as she understood what she'd just admitted.

A soft knock interrupted us. Mateo opened the door to a young housekeeper holding a water bottle and a folded blanket.

"I heard there's a little girl," she said. "I thought she might be cold."

"Thank you," I told her.

"I'm Rosa. If you need anything, I'm on the ninth floor tonight."

Audrey snapped, "You're not assigned to this room."

Rosa went still. "I know. I just—"

"She helped a child," I said. "Don't punish her for it."

When Rosa left, she slipped something into my hand: a brass key tag labeled 904. On the reverse, scratched into the metal, were three words.

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CHECK THE WALL.

Audrey rubbed her thumb along the edge of her tablet. She was clearly frightened of Martin, and fear made her unkind in a particular, efficient way. I asked how many times operations had overridden a room assignment during the last six months. She claimed not to know. That was the second answer that alarmed me. A general manager who did not know how her staff used emergency restrictions was a manager without control of her property. Or a manager who preferred not to know. I told her the independent review would examine both possibilities. For once she did not interrupt. Through the glass I could see Lily asleep under the blanket, one small hand open beside her face. The whole argument felt absurd beside that hand.