Secret of the Staircase (The Virginia Mysteries Book 4) by Smith Steven K

Author:Smith, Steven K. [Smith, Steven K.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: MyBoys3 Press
Published: 2015-10-16T04:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

A few things happened at once after Mo announced that the alligator was missing. First, Anita fainted, her head falling smack into her mashed potatoes. For a change, Robert looked bewildered, like he didn’t know what to do. Sam bet that Mr. Wonderful didn’t have a lot of wild animals roaming about in his business. Mom was helping Anita get back into her chair while wiping the potatoes from her hair. Dad was talking to Anita’s parents, trying to explain what was happening. Everyone seemed to be talking at the same time.

The hotel manager ran into the room and began talking excitedly to Mo. His arms were waving and he was sweating. Sam wasn’t sure whose idea it was to allow Mr. Wonderful to bring the alligator into the hotel, but he bet they were regretting it right about now. The hotel manager grabbed Mo’s radio out of his hand, speaking quickly into it as he ran out of the room again.

Derek sat there with a wild grin on his face, watching everything unfold around him. Caitlin reached over and held Sam’s hand. He wasn’t sure if she did it because she was scared or because he looked scared.

Derek tugged on Sam’s arm and motioned him and Caitlin into the hallway. Sam finished off his remaining piece of steak with two big bites. Nathan just sat in his seat, staring at the commotion all around them like he was in a trance.

They walked through the Palm Court to the staircase and the entrance to the Grand Ballroom. Sam scanned the floor for any sign of the escaped reptile. This seemed like a bad idea. “I’m not going down there.”

Derek scoffed. “Chicken.”

Caitlin shook her head. “No, I’m with Sam. There’s no telling where it could have gone. Real alligators are dangerous.”

Sam’s attention drifted toward the middle of the room. The sheet was off of the alligator cage. The door was open. The alligator was really gone.

“Be careful, kids,” warned the hotel manager, brushing past them with three more uniformed staff. They poked around the edges of the room, looking behind couches and curtains.

“I’ll bet it’s long gone,” said Derek. “It got a taste of freedom and made a run for it.”

“Where do you think it would go?” asked Caitlin.

“Who knows?” Derek pointed toward the back entrance. “It could have gone outside, down into the sewers. It could be in the James River by now, halfway to the Chesapeake Bay.”

“Sure,” said Sam. Derek had an “active imagination,” as his teachers would say. But even without one, it was easy to be nervous. Sam thought back to when Mr. Haskins first showed them the picture of the alligator in the hotel. He remembered thinking that he would never go to a place where live alligators ran free. He glanced around him and gulped. Too late.

Mom and Dad, and the others from the rehearsal dinner, filed out of the restaurant and walked toward them.

Nathan pointed at Sam. “There he is!”

Sam touched his chest. “Me?”

“You went to the loo right before they noticed the alligator missing,” exclaimed Nathan.

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