Claiming Her Innocence ~Completed~

|02|

Kelsey

I gasped as the car came to a stop in front of a huge manor.

"This is it?" I asked, disbelievingly, taking in the solid stone walls and giant fountain in front. In Arizona, water is scarce so most people landscape using cacti and other desert plants. A fountain is a luxury that you don't see around here often, especially one that looked to be about ten feet tall, the water tinkling merrily in the glow of the sunset.

"This is it," said Amber with a knowing smile, putting on the brakes. "What did I tell you? It's some rich guy who's having a party at his place. All this water is probably nothing to him," she said wryly, gesturing at the fountain. I followed her up the gravel walk.

"But how did you get an invitation?" I whispered under my breath, grabbing her elbow. "Because this is really fancy."

But my friend didn't hear me because we were already at the top of the steps leading to the house. A massive, burly bouncer stood before the door, with music and bright lights blaring out behind him. "Ladies," he growled, eyeing our skimpy outfits with a raised eyebrow. "Are you on the list?"

"Um, maybe," said Amber flirtatiously, twirling a lock of blonde hair around her finger. "Um, we're Amber and Kelsey? We're friends of the host," she said hastily.

The bouncer looked at her skeptically before looking down at his clipboard. His eyes scanned the page, narrowing as they went over the fine print. My heart sunk. There was no way we were on there. Amber had probably just heard of this party through the grapevine, and we were party crashers of the worst sort.

But unbelievably, a buzzing sound came through the bouncer's earpiece and he jerked up, nodding to some unseen voice.

"Of course," he said to the air, still not making eye contact with us. "Will do." And then turning our way, he rumbled, "Go right ahead."

I gaped at Amber as she nodded and swept through the massive double doors with a queenly air.

"See?" she said in a whisper. "Just act like what you're doing, and they'll let you in. Confidence is everything," she said with a sly grin.

But I wasn't so sure because instead of some wild party with bright lights and a disco ball, the interior of the house was empty. It was immaculately done up inside with a crystal chandelier in the foyer and what looked like priceless artwork hung up on the walls. But instead of throngs of people, a woman dressed in a suit greeted us.

"Hello," she said musically, nodding slightly. Her hair was pulled into a smooth bun, and her make-up was flawless. "I'm Patricia, your guide for tonight. Welcome to The Manor."

"Thank you," said Amber with a smile. "If you could just show us where the party is, we'll head that way on our own."

Patricia smiled again.

"I'm sorry, but it's my job to escort guests to the party. The Manor is enormous and it's easy to get lost here. May I take your purses? You did say your names were Kelsey and Amber, right?"

Amber was about to say something but I stepped in quickly.

"Um, no thank you," was my quick reply. "I'd like to keep my purse with me if that's okay with you. It has my medication in it."

Of course, there was no medication in the small clutch. Nothing would fit in there besides my keys and a lip gloss. But at the same time, I didn't want to hand over anything to a total stranger, and shot a warning look at Amber.

"Oh right, we want to keep our purses," she said with a small, exasperated huff. "Is that okay with you?"

Patricia nodded.