In the earpiece, I hear Devon say, “Good to start. Be careful.” He got inside the building yesterday to hack into their system and is now working it from a van parked at the curb. He’ll have one eye on me and the other on the hotel’s security feed. The plan is to freeze the camera when an area I need to move through is empty, then he’ll unfreeze it after I’ve passed through. I’ll work my way through the hotel in stops and starts, invisible to the cameras above me.
The cleaning carts are pushed off to the side, where they wait for the graveyard shift to restock them, since all the rooms were cleaned hours ago. I grab the closest cart, shoving my black duffel into the space left for dirty linens, and call for an elevator.
“Elevator is empty. I’ll wait for the hall to clear before I open the doors.”
“Copy,” I say.
The doors open and I push the cart inside, pressing the button for the fifth floor. When the elevator doors open, I move the cart out into the hall.
“Hold there,” Devon says. “Amy has just gotten off the main elevator and is making her way to her room. We need her on that camera, so I’m not cutting it until she’s inside.”
I check my watch. “What’s taking her so long? She should have already made it in.”
My gaze bounces from one end of the hall to the other, praying no one decides to come out of their room right now. I don’t want one single person mentioning the presence of a maid with a cart on this floor at this time of day.
“She’s at her door. On her fifth try getting the key card in the slot.”
“Good grief,” I mumble.
“Okay, she’s inside. You are good to go.”
And I’m off, pushing the cart down the corridor then turning toward Amy’s room when I get to the main hall.
Skidding to a stop in front of her door, I rap on the door and yell, “Housekeeping!”
It’s less than a minute before Amy opens the door. I don’t give her a chance to say anything, I just shove the cart through the door, backing her up with it, then let the door swing shut behind me.
Chapter 23
Present Day
I arrive at the Westin hotel in downtown Atlanta right on time. Rachel is waiting for me in the lobby, although I can tell she isn’t happy I’ve cut it so close.
Since I was a no-show for the reservation made for me at the Candler Hotel, and I blew past the deadline set for me at the bank, I had to time my arrival just right.
“I wasn’t sure you were going to make it,” she says as I approach.
I spot the figure standing a few feet behind her. “I gave you my word I’d be here,” I tell her.
“Can I talk to you?” Ryan asks as he moves closer to us.
Rachel says, “He called me and said you ditched him.” I don’t miss the tone or the raised eyebrow, but I ignore it.
I look at Rachel. “Our appointment starts in a few minutes, right?”
Rachel glances at her watch then motions for me to follow her to the elevator. “Ryan, let us get through this and then we’ll figure the rest out, okay?”
She thinks we’re having a simple lovers’ quarrel. I don’t correct her.
Ryan drops down in a chair in the lobby and watches us until the elevator doors close.
When we reach our floor, I push Ryan from my mind and focus on the task ahead of me.
“How’d you pull this off?” I ask Rachel. I’m honestly amazed she was able to move the meeting from the police station to one of the meeting rooms at this hotel. She’s good, I have to give her that.
“We were unaware there was a warrant out, and we traveled all this way to answer their questions. We’re here in good faith to put an end to this misunderstanding, so a visit to the police station was asking for too much.”
I’m glad she’s on my side for this but having seen the video I know the police received, they probably went along with her request so they don’t spook me and risk me not showing.
“Remember,” she says as we march down a hall where the meeting rooms are located. “Do not answer anything unless I give you permission. Do not offer anything extra.”
I nod while she studies me. We’re stopped outside of a door labeled Room 3.
“I was also going to tell you not to let your feelings show, but you have that down pat.”
This actually gets a little smile out of me because God if she only knew.
She pushes open the door and I follow her inside. I was expecting a long table and chairs setup but this is cozier. It’s a small room with a couch and two oversize chairs grouped around a coffee table next to a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows with an incredible view of the Atlanta skyline. “The key here is that we’re cooperating and have nothing to hide,” she says moving toward the center of the room. She registers my surprise at the room and adds, “I liked the optics. How can anything bad happen in such a warm, inviting space?”