Auf'd (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book Two)

Chapter 9

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Belinda and Victoria had a plan to deal with the key card situation. Not necessarily a terrific plan, in Belinda's eyes, but it was more than she'd had that morning. She could surprise Sawyer that evening, like Victoria suggested, and try and charm information out of him and maybe find out who he was actually hoping would show up at his room late at night.

Maybe.

But after dark, as they stood in front of the pale yellow inn that was a single-family home back in the day (the 1700s, according to the plaque on the front), Belinda's confidence vibe fizzled. Sawyer may have acted like a charming manwhore, but she'd seen evidence there was something less cheerful beneath the surface, and it worried her. From her perspective, Sawyer had no motive to kill April. But did that mean he was innocent?

And if he and Brooke had a thing going, was all of Sawyer's flirting just a front? Belinda couldn't come up with a solid reason why they would hide their relationship. Unless, again, it had to do with Sawyer's image. But would openly having a girlfriend really hurt him that much?

"So I told Dan I was meeting you for second dinner since you're having an awful week and needed a break." Victoria and Belinda lingered by the white fence on the narrow and uneven sidewalk. "It sounded perfectly logical because I'm a hobbit now and eat like ten times a day."

"What did he say?"

She frowned. "He told me to call if we got into trouble."

Lights glowed in the restaurant in the front. Now that Belinda was there and in her Sexy Outfit, she was starting to think this wasn't a brilliant idea.

"There are people inside and it's a small inn," Victoria offered, seeing Belinda's face start to contort from anxiety. "Just scream really, really loud and someone will hear you. And I can call Dan." She smiled.

"Okay. I've got this." Belinda turned and strutted toward the inn's back door, key card in hand, which she'd successfully dug out of Bennett's kitchen junk drawer when he wasn't home.

Once inside, she realized she had no idea where room twelve was, but like Victoria said, it was a small building. Room twelve couldn't be far. So she hiked up the first set of stairs without success and started for set two when she heard footsteps hurrying toward her. Belinda spun around, searching for a place to hide, and fast-walked around the staircase and into the shadows just as Brooke jogged down. She disappeared around the first set in a hurry, her fists clenched. A spat with Sawyer?

Belinda ran (in the relative sense of the word) up the stairs. She had to get this over with. Now. Before she lost all her confidence. Or saw someone she knew.

She came to room twelve, took a couple deep breaths, and slid the card into the slot. Nothing. Belinda tried again. Still nothing but red lights. Frazzled, she attempted again, and finally just pressed down on the handle quietly, but it was definitely locked. She rolled her eyes. All that for nothing! But she wasn't just turning around in defeat. Not when she'd gotten that far. Belinda knocked.

After seconds of complete silence, Belinda started to think Sawyer was either gone or in bed, when the handle tilted and the door slipped open. She took another deep breath to steady her unraveling nerves. She was Sexy Outfit Belinda tonight. She could play Sawyer's game. She absolutely could.

The door opened wide and Belinda lifted her gaze to a taut belly button, climbed up a sixteen pack supporting steel pecs, and finally (she swore her eyes could only move in slow motion) found a face with a well-cut jaw line and...gray eyes.