SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Ten
Cadence knocked on the door to room one-seventeen.
“Just a minute,” a new yet familiar voice replied.
The door opened to reveal Leslie drinking a mug of coffee wearing a big, fluffy blanket draped over his shoulders, clutched closed with his non-mug-holding hand. Gary lay on one of the beds, chewing on a bone. The doggie bag sat crumpled on the nightstand.
“Cadence?”
“Hi, Leslie.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I work here. We work here.”
Cadence gestured to Dorian. He extended his hand.
“Dorian,” he said.
Leslie started to juggle the coffee mug and shift his blanket to reciprocate, but Dorian stopped him. They nodded instead.
“Please, come in. Sit.”
Cadence and Dorian sat on the bed across from Gary. He wagged his tail at the sight of them. Leslie settled into a chair at the foot of the bed.
“Do you ever put Bailey’s in your coffee? It sure helps warm your insides. Bless whoever left some here.”
Leslie sipped his mug. “It’s been a long, cold night and quite an interesting morning, wouldn’t you say?”
“Cadence said that she let you out of a freezer. What’s that all about?” Dorian asked.
“We went there, DeLeon’s, with Danny, the guy that rented this room, and Joey, another friend. That’s a whole story in itself. A book, really. Anyway, Gary and I get locked in the freezer by someone at the mansion, Cadence and . . . Mikey was it? They rescued us. Now we’re here and we still don’t know what happened to Danny and Joey.”
“Some lady came by this morning and said that the guy renting this room wasn’t coming back. She gave me his truck as payment for the room.”
Gary barked.
“Car. Danny insisted it was a car,” Leslie corrected.
Gary wagged his tail.
“Anyway,” Dorian continued, “the lady said he wasn’t coming back. She gave me the car. I sold the car to the sheriff. She’s sending a tow truck for it.”
“Something just isn’t right about any of this,” Leslie sighed, looking into his coffee. “What do you think, Gary?”
Gary barked, in agreement.
An idea lit up Cadence’s face.
“I start working there tomorrow. I will ask around and see if anyone saw your friends. Will you still be here tomorrow?”
“What do you think, Gary? Want to stick around for a day or so?” Leslie asked his canine companion.
Gary woofed a seemingly positive woof.
“I’ll get back to you tomorrow night.” Cadence turned to Dorian. “We should get going.”
Leslie escorted them to the door.
“Try not to worry about your friends. I’m sure they’re fine,” Cadence said as she and Dorian headed for the office.
A few steps past her car Cadence stopped abruptly.
“Hold on a sec!”
She trotted a few steps and retrieved a couple of items from the front seat. She held them out to Dorian as she approached.
“Your payment for taking my shift.”
Cadence handed him the marbled stone and feather.
“Cool!” Dorian exclaimed. “I love them. What are they?”
“Little trophies from today’s adventure. Let’s grab a cup of coffee and I’ll tell you all about them.”