Free Bats and Bling by Laina Turner Page B

looked back once and why would she. She’d have no reason to think someone would be following her. To be honest I was starting to feel a little foolish thinking that following her was going to tell me anything about who killed Veronica. I was just about to turn around and go back to Silk, after grabbing a coffee of course, when I saw Belle turn right into the Madison Hotel. I decided to follow her just a little bit longer. See what she was doing in the hotel. Probably meeting a friend for dinner or something completely innocent. I’d never eaten at the Madison but had heard great things about the food at their restaurant.
    She walked up to the hostess stand and I’m assuming told the hostess who she was meeting because the hostess grabbed a menu and started walking over to the right side of the room. I went up as close as I dared and could just barely see the table where the hostess motioned for Belle to sit down. There was already someone sitting there. Looked like a female but I couldn’t quite tell. Belle and the hostess were blocking my view. I took a couple more steps forward so I could get a better look and almost collided with a server carrying a tray full of drinks.
    “Sorry,” I whispered and he glared at me. I looked back to the table and gasped. The woman at the table was Raquel from the jewelry store. What was she doing having lunch with Belle. Were they friends? I wouldn’t have guessed it by the low opinion Raquel seemed to have of Veronica. I wished I could get close enough to hear what they were saying.
    “Can I help you,” a voice behind me made me jump and I turned around to see the hostess behind me with a not so friendly look on her face.
    I smiled and hoped Belle or Raquel didn’t choose this moment to look over and catch me standing here.
    “I thought I saw my friend come in here but I must have been mistaken. We all have our doppelgangers,” I said with a laugh, but the hostess didn’t crack a smile. She must not have a good sense of humor.
    “I’ll just leave now. I don’t want to be in anyone’s way.” I quickly walked toward the entrance and before exiting, turned to catch one last glimpse of the two. That was a mistake because at the same time, Raquel looked up and we locked eyes. I could tell she recognized me but she didn’t change her facial expression so maybe she didn’t think anything of it. She turned back to Belle and I made my way to the exit. I wanted a coffee and to get home. I needed to think about what I’d seen. Maybe it wasn’t anything. It just seemed odd to me that those two would be meeting.

Chapter 9
    Issue with sale of katysboutiqueshe has to go back home?
    I walked in the condo excited to tell Katy and Anna what I’d seen and have them help me figure out what it meant but one look at Katy’s face made me temporarily forget about that for a moment.
    “What’s wrong? Who was that on the phone?” I asked Katy who looked upset and had her cell phone in her hand. “Nothing happened to Dirt did it?”
    Dirt was Katy’s boyfriend and had recently been in trouble with the law. Though not because he was a criminal, but because he’d been in love with Katy. That was behind him now but I knew Katy still worried about him. We all did. His life had taken a much different path than what he’d expected and that wasn’t always easy for him to deal with.
    “It’s not that. He’s fine. But I have to go back.”
    Disappointment flooded me. I wouldn’t have made it these last few weeks without her and to lose her during this current crisis. Ugh. But that was selfish and I couldn’t be that way as much as I might want to. “Why?”
    “That was the lawyer handing the sale of the salon and there’s some kind of issue.”
    “And you can’t take care of it over the phone?”
    “No. He said it’d be easier if I came back.”
    “When do you have to leave?”
    Katy hesitated before answering me, which told me I wasn’t going to like the answer. I groaned.