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So, where was he taking her to have this chat? They were heading out of a side door.
Cora followed, keeping a safe distance behind them. She had to find out where they were taking her. She was sure that exactly the same thing had happened to Heidi le Roux. She'd been approached, drawn in, and then slowly, life had changed.
And then – what had happened? Where was she now? Had she simply cut off communication with her family forever? Or had something worse befallen her, something darker?
Cora moved closer to the door that the man in the black mask and the woman in the emerald green dress had disappeared through. She waited for a moment and then quietly pushed it open. The room beyond was dimly lit, a sumptuous dining room with a table on which three candles in a candelabra burned. The man and the woman were sitting side by side, with their backs to Cora, and he was speaking to her in a low voice. Champagne glasses stood on the table.
Cora wondered if she could get close enough to hear what they were saying.
But, as she edged forward, making for an ornamental screen nearby that would provide some cover, a hand grabbed her arm from behind.
She spun around. Was this Gabe? She'd lost track of where he was.
But it wasn't Gabe.
Her heart sank as she saw who it was. It was the security guard who’d been working the entrance, the one with the list, who’d been checking tickets.
He closed his grip around her arm and gently but firmly pulled her away from the door.
"Madame, I did not see you come in. And I don’t see that you are wearing an armband,” he said.
Armbands? So that was their way of making sure that nobody snuck in. They had a second line of authentication in place that she hadn’t known about.
“Where is your ticket?” he asked, steering her away from the door. “For security reasons, we need to see your ticket. Are you a legitimate guest?" he asked, his voice now suspicious.
She needed to get away from this guard, or else she'd be forced to leave without gaining any information. Time for action, she thought. Stealth hadn’t gotten her very far.
She twisted her arm away from him sharply. She shoved him back so that he stumbled. And then, Cora ran back into the ballroom, hoping that she could use the crowds for camouflage for long enough to lose him. Then, she could find the exit route she'd used before and get out of the danger zone.
But running footsteps behind her told her she was too late. He was following, pushing his way through the crowds.
Cora quickened her pace, dodging between the dancers. She couldn't let him catch her, couldn't let him drag her out of the ballroom and away from any chance of uncovering the truth about this cult.
She slipped through the doorway she’d come in from, slammed it behind her, and then set off down the corridor.
She needed to take cover until she’d lost him, and the kitchens seemed like they might be a good place.
CHAPTER NINE
Cora ran down the gloomy corridor, with small lanterns placed along the walls providing the only light. She had to lose this guard, who’d worked out she wasn't a legitimate guest. If she got thrown out of this event without getting information, it would be a golden opportunity wasted. It had been very unlucky that he’d recognized her.
Of course, another option would be to make sure the guard couldn’t chase her any longer, to overpower him. That idea was appealing to her more and more as she left the crowds behind.
She pushed her mask back. It restricted her vision, and now, she needed to see where she was going and who was behind her.
And also in front of her.
She swore under her breath as she saw a figure loom in front of her.
They'd worked it out, and they were now in communication. They really didn’t want anyone here who wasn’t fully authorized and in possession of a ticket. Why were there such strict precautions in place?
The answer, to her, seemed to be that something had gone wrong. There was no other reason why there should be such a security presence here. She expected it at the cult’s headquarters, yes. But not at an event where the public had been invited. People were being screened, checked, monitored.
What had happened to make this necessary?
One thing was for sure; she wouldn't get the truth from the guards. She needed to get rid of them and spend longer here, finding it out.
There was nobody in the corridor now but herself and the two of them, so she was going to make a stand now. The time for running was over now, and it was time to fight.
