Free Christy Barritt - Squeaky Clean 04 - Dirty Deeds by Christy Barritt Page A

might be on her phone. I couldn’t crack it, though.
    I sighed and stared at the numbers instead. There were three that repeated several times. One had to be Clint’s, the other Jackie’s mom, and the third … I wasn’t sure.
    I found the scrap of paper where Clint had jotted down his digits, and I compared it to my list. Interesting. I saw his number listed there twice.
    Twice?
    I’d expected him to try to call her uncountable times. Like, every five minutes or something.
    But, no, he’d tried to call at 6 and then again at 7.
    If I was worried about someone, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from calling as much as I could.
    Out of curiosity, I pulled my own phone out and dialed the other number. The phone rang and rang. No answer. No machine. No voicemail.
    Interesting.
    I dialed the third number. Before the first ring was finished, a woman answered. Breathless. Hopeful. Strained.
    I knew whose number this was.
    Mrs. Harrington’s.
    I mumbled that I had the wrong number, apologized, and hung up.
    So, whose number was this third one? Whoever it was had tried to call at 1:30—that would be before Jackie left—and then again at 2 and 2:30.
    Using my smartphone, I did a quick search on the area code. I blinked at what I saw. Healthy Springs.
    Someone local had tried to call Jackie. Or what if it was … someone here at the hotel?
    I gulped down the rest of my lunch, stuffed Jackie’s phone back in my pocket, threw away my trash, and hurried inside. I was going on a hunch and a prayer.
    I approached the concierge. “Excuse me, I’m trying to figure out who’s been trying to call me from extension,” I glanced at the paper in my purse, “1241. Do you have a list of extensions?”
    “I don’t even have to look that one up. That’s the extension of our courtesy phone.” She pointed to a lone phone nestling on an intricate shelf on the other side of the lobby.
    I tapped the marble-topped desk. “Excellent. Thank you.”
    The information wasn’t really excellent, though, because that courtesy phone number meant that anyone could have been trying to call Jackie.
     
    ***
     
    After I freshened up, I went back downstairs to meet Deanna. She waited for me in one of the chairs in the grand entryway. She said nothing when she saw me, and instead stood and nodded for me to follow. I quietly did just that. She was probably worried about getting in trouble because, in the short time since I’d known her, that was all she’d worried about. Finally, we turned off from the main hallway into a quieter one in the West Wing of the facility.
    I looked behind me. It was just us. No witnesses.
    “If anyone asks, you’re a friend,” she mumbled. “The management doesn’t exactly smile on the staff mingling with the patrons, if you know what I mean. It’s more like the peons mingling with royalty. It’s not supposed to happen.”
    “Understood.” I hurried to keep pace with her.
    “Did you find out the information?”
    “I did. Ajay is single. Definitely.”
    She let out a little squeal before quickly composing herself. “That makes my day. My week. My year!”
    “So, are you going to approach him now? What’s your grand plan?”
    Deanna gasped and threw a glance behind her. “Are you crazy? I could never do that. I’m not that kind of woman.”
    I didn’t even bother to ask what the point of finding out his status was then. Maybe she just needed the information to feed her crush. I’d done some crazy things under the influence of infatuation before. “Did you get any sleep? You were wide awake only five hours ago at breakfast when I saw you.”
    “I’ve learned to live on four hours.”
    I did a double take and quickened my steps. “Four hours? Are you crazy?”
    She shrugged and threw a long curl over her shoulder. “I’m used to it by now.” She stopped by a door and locked gazes with me. I half expected to need a retinal scan to get into the room. “In here.”
    I slipped inside. Floor to ceiling