Page 6 of You Found Me
Jason held up the tablet so they could see the video that played on a loop. “We got a guy with flowers coming through the hall about thirty minutes ago, but he kept his head down. No clean shots. Got somebody running the ID list now but doubt it helps.”
“The ID was probably fake anyway,” Romi said. She picked up the envelope from the vanity and studied it. “The man with the flowers may simply be a delivery boy, not the author of the letter, though the timing is suspicious for it to be anyone else. This took planning and excellent timing. This speaks of someone fast and clever. A dangerous combination.”
“Agreed,” Jason said with a nod. “He came in here when we shifted coverage from the stage to the hallways. I’d say it took maybe five minutes for the team to get into position, tops. He never would have made it in otherwise. We don’t let delivery people through after a show starts.”
“His goal, it seems, was not to attack,” Romi said. “Not this time at any rate.”
“Can we track the florist?” Renic asked.
Piper peered at the flowers. “There’s no logo on the vase.”
“And no imprint on the envelope.” Romi handed the envelope and letter to Renic. “I doubt there are any prints on this paper. It is textured.”
“He talks like he knows her somehow,” Mattie said.
“Maybe they’ve met before?” Lizzie put her hand over Mattie’s. “Maybe it’s someone we all know?”
“Hello. Over here.” Della waved her hand to get their attention. Mattie and Lizzie glanced at her, but she could tell they didn’t really see her. “If you’re done overanalyzing things, I’d really love to get into something less smelly before the party.”
“Oh, I don’t think we should go,” Lizzie’s frantic tone caught Della’s attention. Lizzie was the calm one. She never panicked. Never. “If he snuck in here, what’s to stop him from doing something worse? How do we know he’s not waiting for her at that party, or back at the hotel? Or outside, right now?”
“Excellent point,” Romi said. “We should skip the party and change hotels, and do a security sweep at both places, in case he left traces.”
Jason nodded. “I can handle the sweeps.”
“No.” Della resisted the urge to stomp her foot. “We’renotskipping the party. We can’t. We’ve waited all year for this, and we have to say goodbye to the crew. We have to give them their bonus. Wecan’tmiss it.”
“They’ll still get their bonus, Della,” Piper said. “The party will go on, and the crew will have a good time. But she’s right.Weshouldn’t go. Or at least,youshouldn’t.”
“I amnot.”Her voice squeaked and she cleared her throat. “I’m not missing this party.” The idea of being left behind filled her with far more panic than a bunch of flowers and a strange note.
“Della.” Lizzie’s voice trembled. “He could do worse than leave a note next time. He could have a gun, or…” She claspedher hands on her stomach and sniffed. “I’m sorry. I know I’m being emotional. I’m…worried. I’m just…really worried.”
Renic moved behind the sofa and put a calming hand on Lizzie’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay. We’ll handle this. We’ll bring in extra security for all of you.”
Della frowned at her oldest sister. Something was definitely off. Her eyes were rimmed with red and she kept rubbing her stomach like she felt sick, and her reaction to all of this was over the top for someone who’d dealt with crazy fan crap since she was fourteen. “What’s going on with you? You don’t fall apart in a crisis. You usually wait until it’s over and then melt.”
Piper tilted her head, considering their oldest sister. “Yeah, you’ve been really weepy all week. What gives?”
“Is something wrong? Or…” Mattie’s lips formed a smalloas if she’d just solved a puzzle.
Renic and Lizzie exchanged glances. His tender concern for her morphed into something else. Something…twinkly.
“What? What’s going on?” Della looked to Mattie for an explanation.
Mattie slapped her hands over her mouth as if words might explode out.
Lizzie raised her eyebrows ever so slightly in an unspoken question. Renic raised one shoulder in an it’s-your-call half shrug.
Lizzie cleared her throat. She put one hand over Renic’s while the other rested possessively over her stomach. “Well, we were going to tell you at the party, but if we don’t go…I guess now’s the moment. I’m…we…”
Della had never heard her sister sound so unsure and nervous, or was it excitement that made her all breathy? Whatever Lizzie’s news was, it was big with a capitalB.Della’s stomach twisted with anticipation.
Lizzie looked up at Renic, and whatever she saw on his face seemed to steady her. “We’re going to have a baby.” Her voice went soft and squishy on the word baby. Lizzie looked from Renic to the rest of them, and a beaming smile transformed her face from worry to glowing excitement. “I’m pregnant.”
Della stared at her sister, stunned. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected to hear, but it wasn’t this.
She should have, she realized. Lizzie was the only mother Della had ever known, but raising a kid sister wasn’t the same thing as having a child of your own. They’d all expected Lizzie to be the first one to start a family someday.