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Wondering if Norma Rose’s room was similar, Ty paused, his eyes on one particular window.
“There is nothing out of place here,” Norma Rose said.
“Check the closet,” he said, gesturing in that direction while he approached the window, where an edge of the sheer net panel between two pink drapes was hitched up. Spreading the drapes apart showed that the edge of the white center panel was caught in the seam between the top and bottom windows, something anyone pulling down the window from the inside would have noticed. But what if it had been closed from the outside?
The window was only open a couple of inches, leaving enough room to let in the breeze, but not for someone to climb out. A screen covered the outside, too, but that could easily be removed by twisting the little wing nuts that held the frames in place. It would be simple to remove and replace from the outside.
A gasp made him turn around. “What did you find?”
“It’s what I didn’t find,” Norma Rose said.
He crossed the room to peer in the closet. It was neat and orderly, with dresses, too many to count, hung on hangers and more shoes than Sears and Roebuck sold in their catalog lining the floor.
“There are shoes missing, and dresses.” Norma Rose hurried across the room and opened the top drawer of a tall white dresser. “And underclothes.”
“How can you tell?” He bit his lip, regretting his words. A woman would notice things like that, which is why he’d wanted her to search.
“Because Ginger just purchased the missing items the other day. A purple two-piece suit and a red-and-white polka-dot dress, both with matching shoes.” She crossed the room to where a standing coatrack held several purses. “Two purses—no, three—are missing, too.” Moving to the closet again, she nodded. “Her red pleated dress is gone, too, and—”
Ty held up a hand. “Suffice to say clothes are missing.”
She spun around, heading for the door. “We have to call the sheriff.”
Reaching the door first, Ty stopped her. “Is there any chance one of your other sisters might have Ginger’s missing things?”
“No. Though they try, Ginger is shorter than Josie or Twyla, and her skirts are much too shor— Never mind.” She shook her head. “She wouldn’t have loaned brand-new clothes to anyone.”
He bit back a grin. In other words, Norma Rose wouldn’t have let the other girls wear Ginger’s things. “Okay,” he said. “Then we have a pretty good idea that she wasn’t kidnapped.”
“How do we know that?”
“Do you honestly think kidnappers would have let her pack first?”
Her blush must have stung, because she spun around so he wouldn’t see it. “Then we have to call the sheriff,” she repeated.
“Let’s see what else we can find first,” he said. “Give us a bit more to tell him.”
“But she might—”
“Whether we call the sheriff now, or an hour from now, isn’t going to make that much difference,” he said. “Except draw attention that neither your father, nor the resort, needs right now.”
He’d hit a nerve, that was evident by the way she stiffened. She sighed and turned to face him. “You’re right.”
Ty couldn’t withhold a chuckle. She frowned. “That,” he said, trying to stop another chuckle, “had to hurt.”
With brows knitted together so tightly that wrinkles formed, she asked, “What?”
“You, telling me I’m right.” He let out a low whistle. “That had to hurt.” Leaning left and right as if examining her, he added, “Are you bleeding?”
Her face scrunched before she let out a puff of air and a full grin appeared. “No, I’m not bleeding.” She patted her cheeks, as if that would remove the pink hue. “Now stop fooling around. This is serious.”
“You’re right,” he said. “This is serious.”
Ty glanced around the room one more time, making sure he hadn’t missed anything. “Kidnappers would have left a note, too.” Taking Norma Rose’s hand, he tugged her to the doorway. “Let’s go see if we can figure out how she climbed out the window.”
She’d taken a step, but now stopped, looking across the room. “How do you know she climbed out the window?”
“The curtain’s caught in it.”
“No, it’s not.”
He swiveled around and pulled her in that direction. At the window, he pulled back the drapes and pointed to where the sheer panel was caught in the corner between the upper and lower glass panes. “See. If someone on the inside had pulled it closed, they’d have noticed this. But someone attempting to close it from the outside, especially while it was dark, wouldn’t have.”
“Ginger may have climbed out the window,” she said thoughtfully, “but I can’t imagine she’d have replaced the screen.”
He shrugged. “If she didn’t want anyone to notice, she might have. Or, she might have had an accomplice.”
Norma Rose turned slowly, giving him the once-over with a steady gaze that made his pulse quicken.
“Perhaps you are a private investigator.”
“Perhaps,” he repeated and lifted a brow.
She spun around. “We need to speak with Reyes.”
“One of the gardeners?” he asked, following her out of the room.
“Yes.”
“Why?” he questioned as they strolled down the hallway. “Were they...friendly?” He searched for the right word, not wanting to offend her when he was gaining ground.
“No,” she answered, glancing his way. “Not in the way you’re referring to. Ginger wasn’t much into forming crushes on anyone. But Reyes would rope the moon for her if she asked.”
He grinned. “You’d make a good private eye, too.”
“It’s called being a parent,” she answered.
“You aren’t a parent.”
Her laugh held a hint of bitterness. “I’ve been more or less raising my sisters since my mother died.”
“That’s a lot to take on.” He’d been in charge of his younger brother, Harry, while his parents ran their store, and had always watched the clock for the moment they’d arrive home and relieve him of his duties. Sometimes he wished he’d appreciated those days more, for they were long gone now.
“Not always,” she said. “In many ways, taking care of the girls prepared me for running the resort.” Another sigh escaped her. “And running the resort has given me insight into overseeing the girls, especially as they grow older. Besides, family is the most important thing anyone has.”
His throat went thick at that, and he had to change the subject, although talking burned. “Where will we find Reyes?”
“Let’s try the main beach. I asked him to rake the swimming area.”
This time they took the front staircase that swept elegantly above the ballroom and then along the wall, giving guests direct access to the parties below. After crossing the large room, they went out the doors onto the long, wide balcony that overlooked the lake.
A hill covered with thick, low-cut grass, lined with various flower beds and hosting a fountain that splayed water into a circular cement pool, sloped all the way to the lake. Several boathouses and docks lined the shore on the left, whereas on the right there was a sandy spread of beach and red-and-white striped buoys floated in the water, tied together to create a safe swimming area.
“There’s Reyes,” Norma Rose said.
A man who was several feet out in the water pulled on a loop of rope that disappeared beneath the shimmering blue ripples.
Ty took Norma Rose’s elbow as they started down the long set of steps leading from the balcony, and was a bit surprised when she didn’t attempt to pull away. She waited until they reached the ground before doing that. He grinned, not insulted in the least.
Her mind clearly was on a mission. His was, too; it just took him a moment to remember it.
Upon arriving at the fine sand, she slipped off her shoes and carried them in one hand while moving closer to the water.
After sinking into the sand, which instantly filled his shoes, Ty pulled his shoes off, too.
She noticed and grinned, before turning to the man in the water. “Reyes!”
The man nodded and started walking their way, still pulling on the rope. As the water became shallower, what looked like an old bed spring appeared, covered with weeds. There was a large pile of wet slop lying on the sand, too.
“He’s raking weeds out of the water?” Ty asked, a bit perplexed.
“Yes,” Norma Rose answered. “They need to be maintained.” She added, “Our guests expect the best, and we strive to give it to them.”
In Ty’s eyes, raking weeds out of the water took things a bit far. “Weeds are part of swimming, you get used to them,” he said. That’s what he and Harry had done.
“Not here,” she said.
“No wonder you had nude swimmers here last night.” He figured people had been swimming nude for years, but lately, it had become a rave. Whole groups of partygoers would jump in pools, lakes or the cold ocean back home. It seemed any available body of water would do. He assumed the amount of booze they consumed helped keep folks warm.
