WHO: Eva Marple WHEN: May 3, 2018. Midafternoon. WHERE: The Bellowes Inn SUMMARY: The master key goes missing for a few hours. WARNINGS: None
Breakfast was over, and Eva was trying to queue up some social media posts before she had to go pick up all the dirty towels for laundry. Of course, the Inn was getting much more exposure than usual thanks to the film production, but she still wanted to keep to her regular posting schedule. Maybe it was even more important than usual, really, since their social media pages were probably getting far more views than ever before.
Wait, no, that thought was too much pressure. It was too much pressure and she’d had too little sleep, and where was her cup of coffee? There. But it was empty. That wouldn’t do. Eva ducked back into the kitchen to refill it.
Armed with coffee, her work flowed, and her posts were ready in no time at all. A detail shot of the decor in one of the rooms, and a nice view of the Snoqualmie River. Done. Eva suppressed a yawn and downed the last bit of her coffee.
Time for towels.
Only, she didn’t see the master key on the desk where she could’ve sworn she left it.
She looked around -- left, right, behind, underneath -- but it didn’t turn up. She checked her pockets. Shit. This could be bad. She did not want to have to call Julián and tell him the key was missing, shit, shit, don’t panic. It had to be around here somewhere, right?
Well, the towels could wait. She’d… fold clean towels instead. She’d fold clean towels until she felt a bit calmer, and then she’d go around the Inn to check on any guests who were hanging around in the common areas -- and while she was at it, she’d retrace her steps from that morning, because if they key wasn’t on the desk, then surely it’d fallen out of her pocket. It would turn up somewhere.
It didn’t.
With a growing feeling of dread in her stomach, Eva headed back toward the front desk. She’d chatted with all the guests she could find out and about, and she’d been to all the places she was in the morning, and there was nothing else left to do. It was time to call Julián.
But when she sat down and reached for the phone, she saw -- the key. Sitting right there, exactly where she’d thought it was in the first place. Everything on the desk was neat and tidy, and she had no idea how she could’ve missed it.
The dread had lessened, but it didn’t fully dissipate. It didn’t make sense. Eva looked around, as if the answer to this mystery was hidden within the walls of the inn, but everything seemed as it should be.
There was nothing to do except to start the laundry service.