Chapter 8 - The Secondary Hallway

The brass poker felt heavy and clumsy in my hand, a poor tool against trained perimeter security, but necessity has a way of sharpening the reflexes. I didn't wait for the taller guard to finish his warning. I feinted left, drawing his weight toward the wall, then drove the heavy brass handle hard into his midsection. He folded with a sharp gasp, colliding with the second guard just as he lunged forward.

I didn't stop to watch them recover. I vaulted over their entangled bodies and sprinted down the secondary hallway, the runner carpet muffling my footsteps against the polished oak floorboards.

The third-floor landing was dead silent, save for the muffled thumping of bass from the ballroom far below. The heavy mahogany door of the bridal dressing suite stood slightly ajar, a narrow sliver of white light cutting across the dark hallway. I drew the encrypted smartphone from my pocket with my left hand, keeping my thumb hovering over Dante's direct line, and pushed the door open with my shoulder.

The room was empty. The vanity mirrors reflected the warm glow of wall sconces, and Genevieve's glittering gold evening gown hung draped over a velvet mannequin by the wardrobe. On the mahogany dressing table, resting beside an open velvet jewelry tray, sat the small silver lockbox. The lid was thrown back. It was completely empty.

My breath caught. I stepped inside, my boots clicking sharply against the floorboards. I checked the interior lining of the box; the cut velvet was warm to the touch. Someone had cleared it out within the last sixty seconds.

A floorboard creaked behind me in the adjoining antechamber.

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I spun around, raising my hand, but the doorway was already empty. On the polished glass top of the vanity, a single item had been left behind: Genevieve's secondary burner phone, its screen glowing softly with an active text message thread. I stepped closer, my heart hammering against my ribs, and read the newest incoming message from an unsaved local prefix.

*The package is secured at the diner on Route 9. Meet me before midnight or the clerk talks.*