I tapped the top, middle and bottom. No luck.
By this time, my heart was thundering. As long as you maintain your dignity, that’s the main thing, I told myself. I hammered on the door. No response. I banged my fists and kicked. Silence.
To hell with dignity. “Let me out!” I hollered at the top of my lungs.
When that didn’t work, I went back to banging. I added kicking to the mix. Suddenly the door flew open, and I tumbled out and landed on my knees on the marble floor. Let’s just say I prefer softer materials.
“Jeez Louise, Miz Silk! I’m really glad I heard you yelling! You could have been in there forever.”
I picked myself up. “Thank you, Josey. The door was stuck.”
“Miz Silk. It wasn’t stuck. It was—”
“Let me wash my hands and get out of here. I feel like a fool. Not able to open the door, how ridiculous is that?”
“No, it was—”
“Let’s go. I don’t even want to talk about it.”
“Miz Silk! You have to listen to me!” Josey’s freckles stood out in sharp relief against her pale face. Her cornflower blue eyes bulged.
“What?”
“You weren’t stuck in there. Someone barred you in.”
“Oh, Josey, don’t try to make me feel better. I know what happened.”
“No, you don’t, Miz Silk, or you wouldn’t be saying that. Just look at this!” She pointed.
I followed her gesture. “What am I supposed to look at?”
“This chair.”
I blinked. It was an attractive chair, but that’s all I could say about it.
“It was blocking your door.”
“But how...”
“Miz Silk, someone put it there.”
“I don’t see how that could be. It’s not very heavy.”
Josey made a soft expression of exasperation. “It was stuck under the knob like this. See?” She grabbed the chair with its thin metal back and tilted it so it fit under the knob.
I stared.
“Now do you believe me? I don’t know how you didn’t see it.”
“I’m sorry, Josey. I was in a panic. Who expects a chair blocking their door? Who would do such a thing?”
She stared back at me. “Well, it has to be one of the ladies who came out of here, doesn’t it?”
“A couple of women left when I first got here. But they were gone before I even went into the stall.”
“I saw them. One of them is a dog walking client of mine. She’s here to talk about a catering contract. She wouldn’t pull a mean trick like that. A blonde lady went in right after you, just as they were coming out. She left before you did. That makes sense.”
“I don’t know. I can’t understand why anyone would do such a thing in the first place.”
“She was out of there like a bat out of hell. I didn’t get a look at her. I was talking to my client about her catering business. Hey, maybe she’s someone you used to know. She could be really mad about something you did in the past.”
“I can’t imagine what.”
“Or she could be just a bit crazy. Or doing something on a dare. Although I didn’t think adults pulled that kind of stunt. Miz Silk? Are you listening? You have a kind of faraway look in your eyes.”
“Hmm? Oh, right. Did you happen to notice what kind of shoes this woman was wearing?”
“Oh, sure. High-heeled sandals, really high. She was used to them, too. She didn’t even teeter. Do you think that’s a skill a person could learn?”
I shook my head to clear the image of Josey striding around in spike heels. “I never have,” I said. “For what that’s worth.”
“I know that, Miz Silk. But I was just wondering how come some people can do it and look so natural.”
“It’s a mystery. What about the other two women? What kind of shoes were they wearing?”
“One had those clunky sandals, and the other one had leather walking shoes. How come you’re asking?”
“I definitely heard the click of high heels on the marble floor just outside the door of my stall. I didn’t think too much about it. Just figured someone was checking to see if it was vacant. Now it’s obvious she must have been pushing the chair up against the door. For whatever crazy reason.”
“She can’t be that far away, Miz Silk. It’s only been a couple of minutes.”
“Do you think it might have been Anabel Huffington-Chabot?”
“Oh, wow, Miz Silk. I really wasn’t paying attention.” Josey radiated guilt. “I was talking to my client and kind of keeping an eye out in case Marietta or Rafaël showed up.”
Obviously Josey had not been quite as impressed with Anabel as I had been. I said, “Don’t worry about it.”
“Never mind, Miz Silk. Let’s go find Harriet.”
“But Brady said we couldn’t have access without... Josey, come back.”
I had no choice but to chase after her down the long corridor where we’d last seen Harriet. No one spotted us. It wasn’t long before we recognized a shrill voice.
Josey managed to get ahead of me, and before I could stop her, she’d pushed open the swinging doors and barged into the huge kitchen area at the rear of the facility. I’d never seen a kitchen like it. For starters, it was forty feet long, with acres of stainless work surface and a twelve burner stove. Cameras had been set up to face the vast granite-topped island that occupied the centre of the room. Here and there were boxes of groceries and supplies. I could see what Brady meant. A large flowering azalea with a Bonne Chance! Good Luck! card sticking out of it sat next to two large green tins of high-end imported extra-virgin olive oil sporting the logo of CeeCeeCuisine. Next to them, I spotted a jumbo jug of my favourite maple syrup from the local sugar bush. Oh yes, and stubby little Harriet had the hapless Brady backed up against the stainless steel double-door refrigerator.
“Wow,” Josey said.
“Hello,” I said.
Harriet was in mid-shriek. “You can’t pull this kind of stunt! We have contractual agreements. We will pull the plug.”
Brady managed to squeak out a plea, “I’m on your side, remember. You have to talk to Anabel. She’s the one making the decisions about the site.”
“If
