Westwick Witches Magical Mystery Box Set by Colleen Cross

Author:Colleen Cross [Cross, Colleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781988272566
Publisher: Slice Publishing

Chapter 22

I exited the elevator behind Mom and Aunt Pearl. As I stepped into the marble foyer, I paused. I needed a moment to collect my thoughts. Instead, I was confronted by the Capone-era couple in the oil painting. They seemed to stare straight at me. Now I realized that they were probably either Carla’s or Tommy’s parents. The woman’s intense blue eyes were just like Rocco’s and the man looked like Rocco’s twin, dressed in 1930s era clothing.

Our suite seemed more like a prison than a refuge, but it was too late to turn back. Like it or not, we were committed to helping Rocco.

My shoulders relaxed as I scanned the suite. Christophe was nowhere to be seen, but I expected him to arrive at any moment.

Chills ran down my spine. Whatever reasons Christophe had to stick around had to be sussed out. My nerves rattled at the thought of confronting him. It wasn’t what Rocco wanted, but I needed to know what was going on, and asking seemed to be the only option. We needed a plan, and we needed to act quickly.

Aunt Pearl collapsed on the sofa, tired but seemingly relaxed and unworried. Mom stumbled towards the patio doors, giggly after a few too many drinks at the funeral reception.

The suite’s air conditioning cooled me but did nothing to ease my frayed nerves. I headed straight upstairs, where I ditched my uncomfortable wool suit for shorts and a t-shirt. I hoisted my suitcase up onto the bed and shoved my belongings inside. I wanted to be packed and ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Of course, Christophe might never return, but the odds of that were slim. Manny wanted to get rid of Rocco, and any of Rocco’s confidantes were likely fair game too. We could be used as pawns, or worse. I had tried to convince Mom and Aunt Pearl of this on the way back to the hotel, but they dismissed my thoughts as ridiculous.

With or without Mom and Aunt Pearl, I was hell-bent on heading home. As far as I was concerned, Rocco was on his own. Only he could extricate himself from his chosen life of crime. I had serious reservations about leaving Mom and Aunt Pearl in the middle of a mob turf war, but I was powerless to stop them.

I flashed back to Rocco’s mention of his grandmother and her cause of death. Supposedly Carla had drowned, yet she had been discovered face up in the pool. That same detail had bothered me earlier, but only now did I realize why.

Drowning victims were normally face down. Drowning necessarily involved being immersed in water, or face down. A body naturally floated in the same position as at death, unless disturbed. Dead people didn’t move around unless there was a current or something else to move them.

Or somebody else.

It validated Rocco’s claim. It also alarmed me, since the one person with unauthorized access to Carla’s suite was due to return at any moment.

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