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It felt as though a sword had sliced through Amanda’s heart. She gave Audrey a look that meant, “come on,” and Audrey pressed her lips into a thin line.
“I’m going through every single memory in my head,” Amanda said. “From the moment we met each other to every single lunch, dinner, breakfast, sailing trip, road trip, and movie night we spent together. I’m thinking about this morning at three o’clock, when I saw his car lights beam through the night, and I genuinely thought, ‘Wow. I finally found someone who loves me for who I am.’”
Audrey remained quiet, her eyes glinting with tears.
“I mean, am I the biggest fool in the world?” Amanda sputtered, closing her eyes.
“No! You’re not.” Audrey wrapped her hand around Amanda’s wrist, as though she was afraid Amanda would float into outer space.
Amanda cleared her throat. “So, the reason Noah came to find you earlier was…”
“Because he’d lost the rings, yeah,” Audrey said. “But I didn’t want to tell you.”
“Because you thought I’d fly off the handle,” Amanda finished.
“I honestly figured Noah would find them by now. He’s not normally so forgetful,” Audrey explained.
Noah, who’d disappeared from the ballroom, returned, his face stricken because he’d just delivered the news that Sam was missing. Amanda thought that, next to her, he seemed the most likely to faint. Poor little guy.
“Have you seen Kelli, Noah?” Susan demanded, her voice strained.
Noah sputtered, and his gaze twitched right, then left. “She came to the groom’s suite about twenty minutes ago. She was looking for Sam.”
Amanda’s eyes widened. “She already knew Sam was missing? Before anyone else?”
“I mean, I don’t know. She seemed frantic,” Noah said.
Amanda bit her lower lip.
“Did Sam know the rings were missing?” Audrey asked.
Noah nodded. “After I’d been looking for over an hour, I finally broke down and told him. Because he’s the most patient guy in the world, he didn’t seem angry.”
“Maybe he ran off to look for the rings!” Audrey suggested, her face brightening.
“But that was ages ago,” Lola pointed out. “And this hotel is big, but it’s not that big.”
“We would have seen him by now,” Susan breathed.
Amanda’s stomach twisted into knots. It seemed there were thousands of pieces to this puzzle, yet none of them were coming together to create a full picture.
Suddenly, from up on the second-floor landing came the sound of Kelli’s stricken voice. Amanda raised her head so that she could just make out the top of Kelli’s head, alongside two police officers’ hats.
“My gosh,” Susan breathed. “What’s going on now?”
Another woman’s voice sailed over the landing, accusatory and sharp. “It seems to me that you don’t know the first thing about managing a hotel.”
To this, one of the officers said, firmly, “This is no time for insults. Ms. Montgomery has just explained to you the procedure moving forward. We will do everything in our power to find your belongings, Ms. Penelope.”
“I don’t suppose you’ve ever had a two-hundred-thousand-dollar necklace stolen, Officer?” the woman demanded. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever even seen a two-hundred-thousand-dollar necklace!”
“I haven’t, no,” the officer said. “But I imagine the insurance on something like that is pretty stellar.” It was clear he was making fun of her, which probably would only make matters worse.
“Why don’t you head downstairs and have a drink, Ms. Penelope?” Kelli tried to smooth things over. “Due to the wedding in the ballroom, our lounge is open, and we can offer you food and drink vouchers to get you through this terrible time.”
“Drink vouchers?” Ms. Penelope said the words as though they were poison in her mouth.
“Gosh. Remind me never to be a hotel manager,” Audrey muttered.
