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“Oh, this?” She held it out for Cassie. “It’s fake.”
“Fake?”
“Fake.” The detective laughed. “I’m suspended, remember? Bought it at a costume shop before I came here. Figured it’d come in handy.”
“What if someone calls your bluff?”
“I wasn’t about to use it on someone who knew better. Charlie wasn’t calling anyone’s bluff.”
“Fair enough.”
The elevator dinged, and the two got off, quickly finding the signs that pointed them to room 1075.
Rose’s room was far from the elevators, and Cassie wondered how much Bob had thought this plan through. If she was eight months pregnant, she wouldn’t be able to escape quickly. But maybe he’d been banking on the fact that she’d be able to hide under her maiden name.
Cassie saw Harris stiffen ahead of her. “What’s wrong?”
The detective didn’t answer. Pulling out her gun, she turned to Cassie, holding a finger to her lips.
Cassie looked around the other woman and noticed what had set her off. The door was wide open, and even from here, she could see someone had ransacked the place. Her stomach clenched in fear, and she prayed they weren’t too late.
26
“Stay here,” Harris hissed. She brought her gun up and pointed at the room. “Until I say it’s clear. Okay?”
Cassie couldn’t make a sound. Her heart pounded, and worst-case scenarios were running through her head like a flipbook. Had Aguilar’s men found Rose’s room? Would she be inside, injured or worse? What if they’d taken her? How had no one noticed the open door?
When Harris turned back to Cassie to confirm she’d been heard, Cassie nodded and watched as the detective entered the room. Harris was as quiet as a mouse, first clearing the bathroom on the left, then the small closet on the right. Both flinched when the hinge squeaked, but the detective had one eye on the rest of the room the entire time.
After ensuring no one was hiding behind the door either, Harris entered the larger area containing one queen-sized bed and a chair. She lifted the skirt on the bed, but even from the hallway, Cassie could see no one would be able to fit under there.
“Okay, it’s clear,” Harris called out.
Cassie took a tentative step inside. The bathroom light was on, which made it easier to see the mess someone had made. Towels were strewn across the floor, and the shower curtain had been half torn from the rod. Sample sizes of soap and shampoo had been knocked over, the contents spilling across the tile.
The rest of the room was worse. The comforter and sheets were in a pile on the floor, and the chair for the desk had been knocked over. Whoever had done this had also smashed the coffee pot against the wall. Pieces of plastic and glass littered the floor.
“There’s a bag over here.” Harris knelt. She still hadn’t put her gun away, but she kept it aimed at the floor. “Looks like they went through it, too. Just a bunch of clothes. They all look new.”
“Bob must’ve bought them for her. Or gave her money for them.”
“Bob?”
“Robert.” Cassie felt like she was in a haze. “Melissa kept calling him Bob. I think that’s what he goes by.”
“Oh.”
It was such an unimportant detail, but amid everything else, Cassie felt like Harris should know. Bob was missing, and now so was Rose. Aguilar’s men had tracked them to Chicago, trying to clean up the mess Randall had started. They were close enough to get to Harris and Cassie, too. She felt exposed. Vulnerable.
“Adelaide, I think we should leave.”
“Not yet.” Harris was sifting through the pile of sheets. “I want to make sure we’re not missing anything.”
Cassie swallowed her fear, feeling it settle in her stomach like a rock. “It looks like they were searching for something.”
“The flash drive, maybe? Or something else.” Harris stood up and looked around. “They must think Rose has something on Aguilar. This isn’t just about making sure she doesn’t know anything. This is about making sure she isn’t planning to tell anyone.”
“We have no idea where they could’ve taken her.” Cassie’s breaths were ragged. “She could be anywhere. She could already be—”
