Chapter 26

XXXXXXX

"According to the map we get off on the next exit," Sam said as she traced out their route to Walla Walla Inn Downtown, the hotel where Brenda Reynolds was staying.

"Alright," Danny replied as he clicked on the blinker to change lanes.

She closed the Thomas Guide and let it rest on her lap. She glanced around the quaint town with its aged brick buildings that were renovated into posh shops and trendy coffee bars to cater to the affluent tourists that traveled to their town in order to patronize the local vineyards. It had been raining a steady drizzle from the moment they landed so everything around them looked clean and wet. Martin always mentioned how much he loved living in nearby Seattle because there was always something fun to do outdoors. Every now and then he would talk about how much he would like to take her and the kids on a family vacation here.

She shifted in her seat, feeling more uncomfortable from the way she left things with Martin than from the rental car seat. She slumped down and rested her elbow on the car door, propping her head up with her fist as she recalled getting ready to catch her flight earlier that morning.

XXX

She crept around the darkened bedroom trying to get dressed without waking Martin or the kids. She knew that Martin was going to have his hands full in the morning so she wanted him to get as much sleep as possible. She entered the bathroom and closed the door before clicking on the light. She had showered the night before so all she had to do was get dressed and apply her makeup. She pulled her hair back into a stylish ponytail and did a quick check in the mirror. Satisfied, she reached over and grabbed a post-it pad she kept in a cabinet and scribbled a quick note to Martin reminding him that Grace needed to take a snack to school. She wished she had remembered sooner so she could have bought something in advance but between her and Martin's schedule's she was lucky she remembered at all. So she stuck the note to the mirror before tossing her toiletries into the cosmetic bag and shutting off the light before heading back into the bedroom.

She walked across the room to put the bag into her suitcase. She crammed it into a side pocket and zipped it up. She rolled the suitcase to the door and did a quick mental check to see if there was anything she might have forgotten. Satisfied she had everything she scooted the suitcase out the door before stopping to look at Martin as he lay slumbering in the soft morning light. She stood there watching him for a beat, wondering how it was possible to love someone so much even when they managed to annoy you at the same time. She contemplated waking him up just to say goodbye but after a bit of thought she decided to let him sleep, besides after their argument last night she wasn't sure if they would just pick up where they left off and start fighting again.

She reached down to pick-up the bag but suddenly stopped short, thinking that if something were to happen to her or Martin she would hate having left without so much as even a goodbye kiss. So she stepped around the bed and knelt down next to him. She could see his eyes moving around under his lids, he was deep in REM sleep as his chest rose and fell with every breath. Moving carefully she leaned over him and pressed her lips softly to his. She moved back and whispered, "I love you."

"Love you too," he mumbled softly before rolling over onto his side.

She remained still, thinking that he was awake but after a few seconds she saw that he was still breathing evenly and fast asleep. She smiled to herself, knowing that even in his sleep he loved her enough to tell her so. She considering waking him up so she could say goodbye properly but decided there would be time for that later. This was enough.

So she tiptoed out of the room shutting the door behind her. She stopped in Grace's room first and smiled at her daughter who was hanging off of half the bed. Milo looked up at her from where he lay on his dog pillow at the foot of Grace's bed. Satisfied that Sam was not a threat to his favorite girl, he lowered his head back on to his paws and fell back asleep. She carefully maneuvered Grace's limbs back into the bed without waking her and kissed her on the forehead. Next she stopped by Nate's room and had to stifle a giggle at seeing him as he slept with a big smile on his face. He was curled up into a fetal position with his legs tucked in close to his chest. He was such a happy sleeper and she often wished she could see what he dreamed about because it seemed to always put a smile on his face. She adjusted the blanket back over his shoulders and kissed him on his forehead before waking out, gently closing the door behind her.

She moved down the hall when her cell phone vibrated in her coat pocket. She pulled it out and saw that was a text from Danny that he was downstairs in the cab to take them to the airport. So she grabbed her suitcase and walked out of the house, locking the door behind her.

XXX

She had called Martin's cell when they landed but it went straight to voicemail so she left a message telling him that her flight landed safely and she would call again later that night. She thought about calling his office but quickly decided against it. She wanted to talk to him but after their fight she wasn't sure how to communicate what she was really feeling so it would be best to just give them both a little bit of time to cool off.

"What was the name of the hotel again?" Danny asked as he looked out the windshield reading the names of various hotels that lined the busy street.

"Walla Walla Inn," she replied as she spotted the hotel nestled among various shops. It was a small two story brick building that stood along a tree lined street.

Danny parked the car just outside the main entrance. They entered the lobby of the hotel and headed straight for the front desk. Standing behind the counter stood a tall, stocky man with a crew cut and a slight hump on his back. He smiled widely as they approached and Sam noticed that he had a big gap between his two front teeth. "Hello, welcome to Walla Walla Inn, do you have a reservation?"

Her eyes darted to his nametag that read, "Geoffrey." She pulled out her badge and said, "We're special agents Samantha Spade and Danny Taylor. We need to ask you some questions about a guest you have staying here by the name of Brenda Reynolds."

Geoffrey's smile faded and with a serious expression he replied, "Um, I don't know if I can talk to you. We aren't supposed to give out information on our guests. You know, discretion and privacy and all that."

"We already know that she is staying here because there was a charge on her credit card. All we need is her room number," Danny interjected.

Geoffrey hesitated before nodding and clicking a few keys on his computer. He shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Ms. Reynolds checked out yesterday."

Sam sighed and shared a frustrated look with Danny before asking, "Did she leave a forwarding address or anything like that?"

"No, sorry," he replied.

"It would be really helpful if you could give us a copy of her room bill," she said with a smile.

Geoffrey smiled back and said, "Sure." He clicked his mouse and a moment later handed her the sheet of paper. "Here you go."

"Thanks," she took the sheet of paper and she and Danny stepped away so they could look it over in privacy. "Let's see, a three night stay, a few things from the honor bar and room service yesterday morning."

"That's just before she checked out," Danny commented as he pointed to the line item. "And that's an awfully large bill for room service for one."

Sam smiled coyly and said, "Yeah, either Brenda is a big eater or she wasn't dining alone."

He snatched the paper from her hands and walked back to the front desk. "Can you tell us what Ms. Reynolds ordered yesterday morning for breakfast?"

Geoffrey typed in a few keys and said, "A pot of coffee, a carafe of orange juice, eggs benedict and a Denver omelet."

Danny pointed to the security camera. "Is there security surveillance on all the floors?"

"No, I'm afraid not. We don't have much need for the one we have as it is."

"We're going to need the tapes from the last four days and we are going to want to talk to whoever delivered Ms. Reynolds breakfast yesterday morning."

"That would be me," Geoffrey replied.

"How convenient," Danny commented before asking, "Did you happen to see if she was dining with anyone?"

"I didn't see anyone else," Geoffrey replied before lowering his voice and adding, "But then again, the bedroom door was closed."

"Alright, thanks," Danny said before turning to face Sam. "Okay, so now what?"

Sam stepped forward and said to Geoffrey, "Well, as long as we are waiting we are going to need two rooms." The clerk starting working up the bill so she turned to look at Danny and said, "Hey, we need a place to stay and we are already here. Besides, the Budget Lodge is outside of town."

He laughed. "Okay, but if Jack gives us any grief about how much this place costs I am going to blame you."

"Fair enough," she replied.

"I'll get our bags while you finish checking us in," he said before turning around and walking outside.

Sam gave the clerk the bureau credit card and he slid over the two room keys asking, "I can send the DVRs from the security camera up to Agent Taylor's room as soon as I can get them. Would that be alright?"

She accepted the card keys and said, "That would be great. Thanks."

She turned around and spotted Danny walking back inside carrying each of their bags. She met him halfway and took her bag from him. She handed him his key and said, "You are in room 202 and I am in room 206." He pocketed his key and she added, "The clerk is going to send the footage from the desk up to your room in a little while." Danny nodded his head and they started up the staircase to their rooms. "How about I meet you in about a half-hour?"

"Sounds good," he replied as they reached the second floor. He stopped in front of his door and said, "See you in a few."

He entered his room and she continued down the hall to her own suite. She unlocked the door and was immediately surprised at how posh the accommodations were for such an old building. The room was decorated very contemporary and hip. It had resembled a yuppie style apartment back in New York with its small living area, kitchenette and the bedroom off to the side.

Sam dropped her bags by the front door and wandered around the room before finally settling on the foot of the bed. The bed was soft and welcoming so she fell back onto the comfy mattress and spread her arms out, sighing contentedly. After hours of being on a plane and then in a rental car it felt wonderful. She could feel her entire body sinking into the clean white linens as she enjoyed the blessed quiet. Here in the hotel room there were no small fingers under the door asking her what she was doing, no one demanding her attention or her time. It was just quiet.

She rolled onto her side and looked out the hotel window. The sky was dull gray and slow drizzling rain was pelting on the city below. As she looked out she found her thoughts drifting toward Brenda Reynolds. She wondered what brought the missing woman across the country to this small town. Was she running away from something or running towards something…or someone?

She couldn't help but compare herself to Brenda. A career driven woman who decided to get married and have kids only to sometimes feel like she was being pulled in opposite directions. She understood how hard it can be to shift priorities, to put others needs before yourself but still feel like the sacrifice was to have your own identity slowly be stripped away. While she could never in million years imagine doing what Brenda did there was a little bit of her that understood the motivation to do it. It was a scary thing to admit, even if it was only to herself.

She lay there thinking when she decided it was time to get back to work, so with a heavy sigh she stood up and headed to Danny's room.

True to his word, the clerk sent up the DVRs up and it only took a few minutes to locate Brenda Reynolds.

"Wait, slow it down," she said as she spotted Brenda in a tight fitting dress as she descended the stairs. The women looked carefree as she glanced around the lobby before quickly exiting the hotel.

Danny hit rewind and they watched the scene again. "Wherever she was going she sure was in a hurry."

"Yeah," she replied before snagging remote from Danny. "I'm just going to fast forward and see if we have her on tape when she came back."

Danny gave her an annoyed look and said, "I do know how to work a remote you know. You didn't have to take it from me."

She tilted her head back and forth. "Sorry, I like doing it myself."

He huffed and said, "I guess I know who wears the pants in your marriage."

She glanced at him quickly out of the corner of her eye but remained silent. Finally, around 10:39 pm, Brenda returned to the hotel, only this time she wasn't alone. She was embracing an older man wearing a corduroy blazer with short graying hair. Sam pressed the 'Pause' button to try and get a better look at the man.

"Looks like Brenda didn't waste any time," he commented next to her.

"Yeah," she replied with her eyes on the screen. "Now we just have to figure out who that guy is." She switched the tape to the following morning but from the angle of the camera they only caught the man's backside as Brenda walked to the front desk to check out. "Well, we can send these back to the office but I don't they are going to get a better look at who the guy is than we can."

"You're probably right. So I say we check out the nearby restaurants," he replied as he stood up to stretch. "It looks like she met him for a dinner date and in a town this size I'm pretty sure someone remembers seeing them."

He walked across the room and grabbed his jacket. She stood up to follow him out saying, "Okay, let's go."

They asked Geoffrey to give them a list of possible places that Brenda may have gone to eat and with a large amount of luck they struck gold on their first attempt at the local restaurant, 26brix.

"Yeah, she came in last night," Keiko, the hostess, said as she held Brenda's photo. The hostess was a small petite woman with alabaster skin and silky long black hair. She had a soft voice that immediately put people at ease. She handed the photograph back to Sam. "She met Shane Hamblin in the bar and then they had dinner."

"So you know the man she was with?" Sam asked as she took the photo. She was doing her best to suppress her surprise that not only they found the place she ate but could identify the man she met.

Keiko nodded. "Yes, he is one of our regulars. He owns Hamblin Vineyard." She walked across the foyer and grabbed a flyer from the table and handed it to Danny. The flyer was for a tour of Hamblin Winery, complete with directions and times open for business. "They make the best Pinot in the north west."

"Thank you," Danny replied as he flipped through the flyer before pocketing it. He looked around the small elegant eatery and smiled at Sam. "So what do you say, want to be my date for dinner?"

She laughed and shook her head. "Considering you are the only person I know in this town I'm going to say yes."

He gave her a flirty smirk and looked over at Keiko, "Can we have a table for two please?"