Page 21 of The Getaway

“So . . . someone could have seen,” Gemma said.

They all looked at her.

“I mean, did you . . . sorry, I just . . . Did you go back to a room or something or did you . . .” She turned an unnatural shade of red and pressed her lips together. “I’ll stop talking.”

Juliet chewed on her lower lip. “I guess it’s possible someone saw.”

“Where were you?” Suzy asked.

“In a coat closet. At the W Hotel.”

“Juliet!” Marley blurted.

“In my defense, I seriously doubt we were the first people to ever have sex in there,” Juliet replied.

Now it was Marley’s turn to sit down. “Holy crap. I can’t believe this is happening. Was anyone else there that we know?”

Someone who might have written the notes? she thought.

“I mean, I obviously knew most of the people there,” Juliet said, turning her palms up. “It was my fundraiser. I set the guest list.”

“But was anyone there that is also here?” Suzy demanded.

Juliet looked completely confused. She kept tugging on the finger with the missing nail.

“The notes! Someone who could have written the notes!?” Suzy shouted. Wintour lost it again, barking like mad, and Suzy picked her up to quiet her.

“Oh, no. No! I don’t know,” Juliet said with a childish pout.

“What are these notes you keep talking about?” Gemma asked.

Suzy groaned, and Marley looked up at her. There was a tingling sensation all up and down her spine. Should they tell Gemma? They didn’t know anything about the woman other than that she had influencer twin daughters, she read books for a living, and her husband had atrocious taste in alcoholic beverages. Where had these people even come from, and why were they here?

Finally, Suzy shrugged, like, She’s already heard a lot. Marley, for her part, couldn’t seem to muster up the energy to find a way out of explaining.

“We all got notes when we arrived. In our rooms. On little blue stationary cards,” Marley explained, watching Gemma closely.

“Not me,” Gemma said, blinking.

“You didn’t?” Suzy asked. “What about Greg?”

“Grant,” Gemma corrected. “He didn’t either. And I don’t think the girls did.”

Marley and Suzy locked eyes. This was an interesting development. Why would they all have gotten one except for the newbies? It had to mean something, but what? Maybe it was because they didn’t know Lily or hadn’t been a part of the previous Hamptons weeks. Or maybe it was because they were staying out in the guesthouse. Had that always been the plan? If the family had been moved last minute, it was possible their notes were sitting untouched in one of the other guest rooms.

Something creaked in the hallway, and they all froze. Then Gemma turned and whipped the door open. Trevor stood there. He didn’t look surprised or caught, exactly, but he did quickly rearrange his expression back into its usual cool aloofness.

“Were you eavesdropping?” Suzy demanded.

“No, of course not. Hazel sent me up here to see if you needed anything.”

Marley bristled at his calling Hazel by her first name. Lily always had her employees call them Mr. and Mrs. Foster.

“Actually, yeah, I could use some tampons,” Gemma said flatly. “Think you could gather a few of those up for me?”

Trevor balked, but Gemma raised an eyebrow at him. “I . . . guess?” he said.

“Good.” Gemma closed the door in his face.