Crime and Parchment by Daphne Silver

Author:Daphne Silver [Daphne Silver]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Level Best Books
Published: 2023-10-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Stopping for fast food wasn’t my favorite choice, but I needed something quick and easy. Plus, the closest options were out near where the hotels were. Honestly, hotel was too nice of a word for the place where Rory had been staying. When I first drove up to it, I thought the place was abandoned. Half of the parking lot lights were out, and there were just a few turned on around and inside the long, squat two-story building. The place looked like it dated back at least sixty years and probably hadn’t been painted often since it was constructed. A sign saying “OTEL” was the only identification for the place. I hoped that the place was at least cheap.

I climbed up to the second floor and followed the exterior hallway down to Rory’s room. His room had some signs saying KEEP OUT. I assumed they were left there by the police. However, I didn’t come out here to not at least peek inside. I attempted looking through a window, but the blinds were too far down for me to see anything.

“Hey! Hey!” An older woman appeared at her doorstep. She looked like she was in her seventies. She had long silvery hair and enormous silver hoop earrings. She wore a tight black shirt with dark jeans and the largest silver belt buckle I’d ever seen, encrusted with turquoise. She wasn’t wearing boots, though, but five-inch black heels. I hoped to be as stylish as her one day.

“Excuse me?”

“You need to leave that guy alone.” She placed her hands on her hips and leaned back against her door jamb. She seemed far too upscale for this place.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve had enough of you coming back and forth all hours of the day and night. And then all those police come thundering through.” She switched to crossing her arms across her chest. I spotted a few tattoos peeking out from under her arms.

“I think you have me confused with someone else. I haven’t been here before. Ever.”

The woman looked uncertain. “Hang on.” She disappeared inside and reappeared moments later wearing glasses. I liked their bright teal frame. “Okay, okay, I see now. You do look different from that other woman.”

“How?” I asked, hoping to keep her talking.

“Well, you both have short hair, but hers was spikier. And I think it might have been purple. Or blue. She was taller than you, and excuse me for saying, but a bit younger too.” She had to be describing Tess. More and more, it appeared that she and Rory were involved somehow. Were they dating? Or was it something else? Obviously, they had made some sort of connection with the O’Doyle diary. Whose idea had it been to give the diary to Orson Bradford?

“Did you know the man who was staying here well?” I asked.

She considered my question for a few beats and said, “He hadn’t been here all that long. I’ve been coming here for decades. See, guys like him come and go.

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