Free Time Spell by T.A. Foster

fastened.
    “Of course, Ms. Chadsworth.” He smiled at the willowy woman. “We’ll take care of all of your belongings and meet you at the airport.”
    Henry was a short, middle-aged man with a tint of gray hair creeping above his ears and an array of wrinkles around his eyes.
    Helen leaned to whisper in Henry’s ear; she was considerably taller than he was. I couldn’t hear the exchange, so I stepped closer to listen. There it was again. She looked in my direction, right at me. I stepped against the wall, barely avoiding a collision with a hatbox. I glanced at my arms to make sure they were still shimmering from the Fade Spell . Everything about her stare unnerved me. My skin grew cold.
    She turned her attention to Henry, and whispered, “Make sure my driver doesn’t mention my last stop to anyone before I go.”
    Henry acknowledged the secret request by nodding and stepped back to let Helen enter the elevator. “Of course, ma’am.”
    The workers continued the packing, stacking, and moving of Helen’s belongings while the elevator carried her to the lobby floor. The doors closed before I could slip between them and follow her. I didn’t want her out of my sight. I exited through the side stairwell and launched myself into the staircase. I needed to reach the first level before Helen left the building.
    I rushed to the lobby just in time to see her glide through the Starlight’s grand lobby, nodding her head at guests and smiling at the desk clerks. Her white dress dazzled in the sun as she pulled the brim of her hat closer to her face to shield her delicate skin from the intense rays. The driver crossed in front of her to open the car door. She climbed in and the car sped away from the Starlight.
    I had never run so fast as I hurdled toward the first clearing I could find. The sidewalks were littered with tourists. Finding a spot where I wouldn’t hit someone on my ascent was difficult. I settled on flowerbed, and propelled upward.
    From the sky, I tracked Helen’s car to the Diamond Towers. The Cadillac turned into the parking garage. I followed the car as it careened through the garage, knowing she would stop at the lowest level. Right on target, the car slowed and parked in front of the secret elevator.
    Helen stepped out, buzzed the elevator, and waited. The elevator car was too small to attempt a ride with her, and if I tried to call the elevator for a second trip, it would certainly arouse suspicion. Confident Helen would arrive in the closet, I sprinted to the Diamond Towers’ lobby in the hopes I could enter the suite through Simone’s foyer.
     

     
    Simone’s suite felt warm in the morning sun. It was in opposition to everything else I was feeling. The light bounced off framed marquee posters of Simone lining the walls. I hadn’t taken the time to notice them on my first visit. Simone in a black bathing suit winked, with one hand on her hip, in the first poster. In another, she was holding a martini glass as if to say “cheers.” The last photograph in the trio showed Simone lounging on the top of a baby grand piano in a high-cut red dress, probably the dress I had seen Holden rip to tatters last night.
    I followed the sounds of glass clinking into the next room to discover the two women smiling. They sipped glasses of bubbly champagne.
    “Oh heavens, Simone, what happened to your mirror? That looks dreadful!” Helen crossed the room to take a closer look at Simone’s vanity. “Are you all right? Did Holden hurt you last night? You said everything was smooth as silk.”
    Simone gave a girlish giggle. “Well, I had to have one last go at him, before, you know…”
    “Really, Simone, are you that crass that you’d screw my husband on the last night?”
    Helen was visibly annoyed. She straightened her up-do with the palms of her hand, and set the champagne glass down on the vanity to turn and face Simone.
    “I didn’t have a lot of options to keep him occupied. We didn’t really talk