Page 104 of Missing White Woman

“Sorry,” I said finally. “It’s just been a day.”

“I bet. Are you still in town or did you finally get back to Baltimore?”

She didn’t bring up the break-in and I sure as hell wasn’t going to either. “Still here,” I said. “Leaving today.”

I needed to see what was on that drive.

“Glad I caught you, then,” she said. “I wanted to send you something. I called Kristine to get her address, but she said you weren’t staying there anymore. She didn’t know where you were. I had to beg her to give me your number. Hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s not the worst thing she’s done to me,” I said.

“Where are you staying? So I can have someone deliver my gift.”

It was a sweet offer but not one I wanted. “It’s fine,” I said. “You don’t need to send me something.”

“But I want to. I need to. It’s part thank-you, part apology.”

A friendly voice wasn’t the only thing I hadn’t heard in a long time. An apology was right up there on the list. And although I’d expected it from Adore first and foremost, I would take this one too.

“Hyatt House.”

“And you’re leaving when?”

I quickly checked the alarm clock. “Couple hours.”

“I better hurry up, then. Please text if you leave early.”

Again, I could hear the smile in her voice, so I smiled too. “I will.”

* * *

I was surprised when my room’s landline rang even though I’d been waiting for it for over an hour. I’d been staring at the clock, anxious to get home.

The voice was deep and male. “Hello. You have a visitor.”

Billie’s surprise. “Thanks. They can leave it up there.”

When the voice spoke again, it was muffled and not speaking to me. I didn’t bother to try to make out the words. Just waited until they came back to the phone. “They’re insisting on dropping it off.”

Maybe they wanted a tip. “Okay,” I said. “You can send them down.”

I went to check my handbag to see if I had a spare five dollars. I hadn’t packed yet so my empty luggage waited by the door, underneath the entry table, where I’d plopped my handbag and my room’s key card. It wouldn’t take long, though. I wasn’t a good packer on my most stress-free day, so I’d just shove everything inside, including the bag of Muddy Buddies. I hadn’t even taken the drive out.

A quick search in my handbag turned up a couple stray bills. Not much since I also had to tip housekeeping, but fingers crossed it would do. I wasn’t even sure what Billie was sending. If it wasn’t travel friendly, I’d have to take a pic for a thank-you text, then leave it.

My room was close enough to the elevator to hear the ding when the doors opened. Pressing my eye against the peephole, I waited until the world’s biggest floral bouquet came into view.

The flowers were so gorgeous that I wished I could take them with me.

They got closer. Closer. Closer. My hand gripped the door handle, waiting for the appropriate time to open it and shove the few dollars I’d scrounged up at the unseen person holding their hands out before I closed it again.

I had the door open when the bouquet was about five feet away, a smile plastered on my face.

“Surprise.” The bouquet spoke, its voice familiar.

“Billie?” I said.

Her perfectly made-up head peaked out from the side. “In the flesh!”