Chapter 7 Where Are The Photos

Right across the room, Casper was narrowing his onyx eyes. The fact that the door to the wardrobe had been pushed slightly ajar did not escape him. His face darkened as he thought about each and every possibility of what had just happened. Then, he tried to brush aside the woman on him as he looked to go forward and investigate. Anais, too, was scared stiff. She immediately held his shoulder and tried to stall him. “Where are you going, Mr. Beaumont? I...” “You! Out of my way!” Casper was in a positively cantankerous mood as he straight up shoved the woman off of himself. Perhaps she had been terrorized by the man’s reaction as she immediately took to her heels and scrambled out of the suite. Upon witnessing that, Eleanor turned ashen-faced. She reflexively retreated deeper into the wardrobe. But obviously, there was only so much room within that enclosed space for her to maneuver. Soon, her back hit the wall. Her body tensed as the footsteps outside drew closer. In a split-second decision, Eleanor quickly uploaded whatever shots she had taken before she deleted the originals saved on her equipment. As soon as she did, the wardrobe door yanked open abruptly, and the light from outside fell upon her. She lifted her head only to find herself staring directly into the man’s wrathful glare. As if his face could get any more dour than before, the diminutive woman felt the temperature around her dip as he loomed over her and snuffed out the light behind him with his massive frame. Her trepidation was then, oddly enough, overtaken by a sense of familiarity. Huh? Why does his voice sound so familiar? Without wasting any time, Casper said, “Hand it over.” That brought the woman back around. She tried hard to suppress her nerves. “I... I just got in, so I haven’t actually taken anything...” As she cautiously passed her camera along, her lips trembled ever so slightly when she spoke, “You’ve already had my gear, so can I go now?” Since she had uploaded all the photos, all that was left of the camera was an empty shell. Thus, it would not really matter if the man took it from her. Her perturbation ultimately got the better of her. Without waiting for him to respond, she tried to push past him and bolt for the exit. Only that the man was quicker. His arms lashed around her in an instant. “Ahh!” Eleanor crashed face-first into his rock-hard chest. Her body was chilly after being marinated in the air conditioning for some time. At that instant, he suddenly felt a peculiar sensation when their skin made contact. It would appear that his drink had indeed been spiked. Apart from Anais, he could think of no one else who would have done this. Curse that woman! He concluded that this other woman staking out in the wardrobe with a camera must surely be her accomplice. With that, Casper seized and wrenched her around by the wrist. “Where are the photos?” Even though he had found nothing on the camera’s storage, he was not convinced that she could have hidden here for so long without having done anything. He was adamant in the belief that she must have backed them up somewhere. “There is nothing, Sir. I really haven’t taken any...” The woman shrunk as she rattled on, desperate to avert his chilling gaze. “I... I really just got in. There aren’t any photos!” Because of their proximity, Eleanor could sense that the man might be beside himself. “One last chance. Where are they?” The frightened woman shut her lids tightly as she tried to look away. “I-I don’t have anything...” The moment she said that, the veins on Casper’s forehead raised and pulsed.