Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller

Author:Diana Biller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

* * *

Maria stood in the alley doorway with the police officer she’d seized from the police station down the street, staring at four surprised expressions. Well, three surprised expressions (Hannah, Mac, and Josephine), and one vaguely interested one (Emilie).

“There was an incident,” Maria said, pulling the police officer toward the basement door. “I’ll explain later.”

“Maria Theresa Wallner,” her grandmother said. “Stop right there. Explain.”

Maria stopped, shifting her weight impatiently from one foot to another. “The man who attacked me tried again,” she said. “But it’s all right!” she continued in a rush, upon seeing Josephine’s murderous expression. “I knocked him out.”

Hannah made a distressed sound, her hand flying to her mouth. “Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m fine,” Maria said. “I just need to—”

“I’ll call a doctor,” Mac said, standing. “You should sit down.”

“I’m perfectly unharmed,” she said, beginning to understand where Eli’s impatience with doctors came from.

After all, if I saw a doctor every time someone attacked me I’d never have time for anything else.

I really need to start getting attacked less.

“But Eli is with him, and I need to get this police offi—”

“Where is he?”

“The basement,” Maria told her grandmother, who was surveying the police officer with annoyance. He was young, barely in his twenties, but he’d been the first one she’d seen. He blanched under Josephine’s scrutiny.

Maria’s grandmother turned her eyes to her granddaughter. Maria resisted the urge to hide.

“You should have come to me first,” Josephine said.

Yes, Maria thought, but I didn’t want to deal with disposing of a body on top of everything else.

“Sorry,” she said. Josephine narrowed her eyes like she’d heard the rest.

“Well, I suppose we’d better go see him,” Josephine said, standing. Hannah and Mac hurried to join her. Emilie had left the conversation several moments prior, her attention returning to the composition in front of her.

“If this is a family matter—” the police officer started, taking a step back.

“It is,” Josephine said.

“It is not,” Maria replied, taking a firm hold of the officer’s sleeve and tugging. “Whoever is coming, let’s go. Eli’s been waiting long enough.”

The five of them tromped down the basement stairs.

And found Eli engaged in a standoff with an unknown man standing in the doorway.

“Police,” the young officer cried. Well, cried was overdoing it. Said, possibly. Certainly he at least squeaked it.

The man in the doorway turned, and Maria froze. “You,” she gasped.

It was the same man who had interrupted her and Eli in the ballroom, right before the almost-kiss. She glanced at Eli, and saw the same recognition in his hard expression.

“Grandmother, that’s the man I saw,” she said, pointing at him. “In the ballroom. He shouldn’t have been there, he had no reason—”

“Hello, Josephine,” the man said, a small, almost wry smile flickering on his face.

Josephine took a quick, audible breath, and placed her hand on top of Maria’s arm, pushing it down.

“What are you doing—”

“Send the police officer away, Maria,” Josephine said, quietly.

“But—”

“Send him away.” And the command in her eyes was underlined by something like … fear, so Maria obeyed.

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