Along Came A Needle: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page B

don't look down. Please, don't look down.
     
    “I'm not sending these people home. They paid for the experience and that's what we'll give them. If you don't like that, then maybe you should consider finding another job. I'm sure there are plenty of B & B's that are in desperate need of a mediocre cook and her staff of minions, who wouldn't know a green bean from a jelly bean, if you paid them. Oh, and by the way, I do pay them and you.” Chip threatened the cook. I was impressed. He had a point. The soup and leaves I'd been fed earlier weren't all that impressive. I could do better in my sleep, but since there was no chance that I'd be getting any sleep anytime soon, I don't suppose that mattered.
     
    I didn't see the others with Chip, the cook, or the other gentleman, but I could hear them gasp and giggle at Chip and the maid. They thought themselves immune, I supposed, but I wasn't naive enough to believe that if I listened to my protesting joints and stood up where I stood that I wouldn't have to incur Chip's wrath either.
     
    The group retreated to the room they'd walked out of, pulling the door shut behind them. That was my chance to get out and back upstairs before someone spotted me. If only, my knees would work with me and not against me, I'd have made it up the stairs in a flash, instead of the hours it seemed to be taking me to get back up the stairs.
     
    Once I finally reached the top of the stairs, I took a couple of deep breaths while I decided what my next move would be. Now, here I could have taken the easy route and gone back into my room, climbed into the big bed, and forced myself to sleep, but no one ever accused me of making things easier. Why should I turn over a new leaf now? I'd managed to survive this long, teetering on the edge of the things I should have done and the things that I did that ultimately led to more trouble, but sure were a lot of fun at the time. Call me crazy or call me curious, either way, I am my own person and wouldn't be true to myself if I didn't take the road less traveled.
     
    There was movement down the hallway. I lurched back, assuming that while I was gloating about my achievement to have remained unseen, that someone had made their way up the stairs.
     
    In the dark of night, all I could make out was that it was a tall, male figure. I had no idea who it was and couldn't tell what they were doing on this floor. All of the rooms were occupied, except for a door leading to Flynn's office, at the end of the hallway, between Jessica's room and a powder room.
     
    A glint of light illuminated the hallway as the door to Flynn's office quickly opened and just as quickly closed. My heart began to pound against my chest wall.
     
    “Who was that? Chip?” I whispered.
     
    Whoever it was didn't bother to turn any lights on once he entered the room. I tiptoed past Diana and Ruby's closed doors, pausing to listen for any unusual noises and touching the doorknobs to ensure that they'd locked their doors.
     
    Good. Stay asleep, girls. You don't need to see any of this.
     
    Through the office door, I didn't hear any noise at all. The person inside either knew I was outside the door or was sitting perfectly still. I felt like a voyeur. Maybe I was making something out of nothing. For all I knew, it could have been Chip mourning the loss of his friend. In that case, I was intruding.
     
    Think, Mercy, think. What do you want to do here?
     
    I took a glance down the hallway. Still no movement from anywhere. I assumed that Chip's guests must have left and it was just the staff and the guests that remained. I had no business snooping around, especially at this hour of the night. No one else should suffer because I decided to forgo sleep.
     
    It didn't take me more than a moment to make a decision that would probably save me a world of trouble and a potential lawsuit. Time for bed, Mercy.
     
    As I moved to step away, the floorboards underneath my feet squeaked. Like a domino