Close to Destiny (A Magical Love Story)

Chapter 61

May 26, early morning

I sat at the desk in my hotel room, flipped open my laptop, and for the first time in a year, started writing something other than an entry in my journal. The article about the hotel, Destiny and the mysterious parties spewed forth with such ease it was as if someone else was dictating everything to my fingers as they flew rapidly over the keyboard. I left a few spaces here and there for quotes I still had to gather.

Then I read my work. I was sure Liz and our readers would be pleased, but to me, the narrative seemed superficial compared with what I had been experiencing since January.

Still, did I have much of a choice? This was supposed to be a factual, yet buoyant, travel article, sparked up with a few sentences about the mysterious laughter trickling down the halls from time to time. Period. It wasn't meant to be an investigative piece, combining tragedy, fantasy and mysticism. That's your personal story, an internal voice said so quickly I couldn't tell if it was someone else's or my own.

I held my head in my hands. Would I make it after leaving The Grand East Hotel, memories of Destiny and all she had brought to my life? Would my attention turn back to that grating anxiety chipping away at my mind? Would the only relief be control over everything that landed on my plate?

I took a deep breath and shook my head as if to rid it of the worries that lingered in dusty corners of my brain. No. I couldn't let it happen. I didn't feel as if it could happen, as a matter of fact. The old worries didn't concern me any more.

Had Destiny been right all along? The anxiety and suicide coming from the wounds of another lifetime? The idea continued to leave me perplexed, but as each day passed, I couldn't help but come one step closer to believing her. Accepting the story of Jonathan and Victoria had been the catharsis that freed me.

A thump against the door jarred me from my thoughts. The morning paper. I retrieved it and flipped through as I did on most days—not interested in most of the articles, yet afraid of missing something crucial if I didn't at least glance at each page.

The words "Grand East" were the only ones to catch my eye as I scanned to the bottom of the society section. The police had publicly identified Audrey Moss as the woman who died several nights ago at The Grand East Hotel. She was 30 years old and from the Moss family of Kensington. Her death was found to be an accident, according to police. And that was it. A meager paragraph and the story of Audrey Moss was signed, sealed and delivered.

I still didn't think it was as simple as that, but I had to admit I didn't have much of a way of proving otherwise. Just because Audrey was Destiny's best friend didn't mean her death was anything more than an accident. I shook my head and tossed the newspaper aside.

I couldn't help bringing the article about Audrey with me when I met Blanche for lunch a few days before her departure for Japan. We met at the hotel's most casual restaurant and chose one of the empty booths in the back. Only after we had ordered two bowls of chicken soup did I broach the subject.

"Did you see this?" I unfolded the newspaper in front of her.

"I thought you didn't want to talk about it," she said coyly while stirring circles in the steaming liquid.

"Well, I changed my mind."

"You don't have to get testy."

Blanche took a sip and then winced.

"See, that's what happens when it's too hot."

"Katherine, what age are you anyway?" Blanche rolled her eyes at what she likely deemed my immaturity.

"It's not a murder. At least, that's what the police have decided."

"Yes, I saw the article," Blanche said, again rolling her eyes, but this time at the police department's idiocy rather than mine.

"What do you think?" I asked. "It seems weird to me. I mean, it's not like I have any proof, but an accidental death seems impossible. Even if she collapsed, she wouldn't have fallen over that high barrier."

"Well, if you want to know what a lot of my colleagues at the firm think is strange..." She stirred her soup again and sipped it tentatively.

"Go on..."

"Audrey Moss owned a considerable stake in the hotel, and was set to inherit Destiny's share. Destiny willed almost everything to her closest friend. The afternoon preceding the accident, Audrey made a bid for the majority share in the hotel. And her offer was above the asking price."

"Are you serious?" My heart skipped a beat. "How do they know all of that?"

"The other day one of our attorneys lunched with a friend who's working on the case. Of course, the real estate agent was ready to jump on the offer. But when he went back to the attorney acting for the owner, well, the attorney said he wasn't sure if the stake was still for sale. The owner was having doubts. The real estate agent kept pushing to sell, but in the end..."

"What? I don't get it. Didn't they seem hurried to sell and then suddenly it's over?"

"Who knows what goes through people's minds, Kat. The owner has the right to keep his or her share in the hotel or sell it if he or she sees fit. It just seems like quite an odd coincidence that this woman made an offer for the place that day."

"Too odd." I forced myself to swallow several spoonfuls of noodles under my sister's watchful gaze.

"I hope you're not getting any crazy ideas."

"What do you mean?"

"You shouldn't be getting involved in this, Katherine."

"Don't be ridiculous. Why would I even consider it?" I half-hid my lying face behind the thick blue napkin.

My sister wasn't being ridiculous. She knew me too well.

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