A clear Heart

Chapter 8

I could not wait to hear what she had to say. For the sake of proof and to look believable I decided to bring a recorded for the conversation. I had the feeling that she was going to spill some nasty information. It was almost impossible top wait. My heart raced as my anxiety grew. I went over and over in my head what I would say to her when I arrived. I wanted my speech to be smooth and coherent, stuttering and fidgeting would only raise suspicion.

I walked into the hotel 15 min earlier so that I had time to take in my surrounding and find the girl that I had spoken to on the phone earlier. I approached the front desk where a short girl with a an average frame and blonde hair stood. She was wearing a white button up shirt that read "Hilton" and dark slacks secured with a black belt. Her make up was well done with vibrant red lipstick that seemed to bring out her feature. The shiny, golden name tag that read "Andrea" gave away her identity before the words had a chance to escape my mouth.

"Andrea?" I asked "My name is Jill we spoke on the phone earlier about Gerald."

She looked around making sure that there were no more customers that needed assistance in the lobby. My presence seemed to make her nervous somehow. "I have time now but if someone comes by I will have to take care of them as I'm the only one at the desk at this time." She warned

"That's fine, I'm sure that this will not take long." I replied

"Why are you doing a piece on Gerald? He's not famous and I can't think of anything of note that he has accomplished." She asked

"We are going a non-fiction book about Grey Enterprises. Gerald is a huge part of the success behind Grey Enterprises. So I'm looking to get a better understand of who he is as a person and employee." I lied

I could feel myself trying to hide my nervous embellishment. I made a plausible argument for my interview and I was hoping that she wouldn't question it. I still held my name tag for SIP just to in case she asked for identification. She tensed up as soon as I had made myself known. She looked around as though trying to make sure that there were no other eyes watching us as she drummed up the courage to spill her guts. I needed to make her as comfortable as possible. The more at ease she felt the more information I would get. I wanted the type of intel that was off the record. Andrea's reaction to my presence told me that she knew a lot more than she was letting on.

"I see," She sighed "What do you want to know?"

"Would you feel better if we spoke in private?" I asked widening my smile to seem more inviting.

"Yeah. Good Idea!" She agreed.

I followed her to a small 20's style red couch located in the far right corner of the lobby. Andrea sweeped her eyes across the empty lobby making sure that no one was in ear shot of the conversation that we were about to have.

"I'm not sure if I should be telling you this." She started

"Everything you say here is strictly confidential. You are a source and nothing more." I explained.

She breathed a deep sigh before starting "He started working here a few years ago as a manager of front end operations. His resume was almost perfect. We all thought that he was going to keep this hotel running smoothly but then..."

Her voice trailed off as she searched for the words to describe the situation. Her face scrunched in pain as she struggled to relive the memory. She choked back a few tears, her cheeks became red and hot. She drew attention back to her breathing which had started to quicken to the point of Hyperventilation.

"Did something bad happen?" I asked feeling her pain. I had always been an empathetic person. Her pain was great and I could feel myself breaking down myself.

"He was always a bit of a womanizer and a charismatic one at that. He was slightly older than most of us girls but still quite handsome. He quickly started to date my best friend Nancy." Andrea said slowly as she chocked back tears.

"Is Nancy ok?" I asked afraid of the answer I would soon get.

"She disappeared." Andrea cried "They dated steady and he seemed to make her happy. Then she stopped coming to work one day. I tried calling but her phone went to voicemail each time I did. Everyone was questioned but no one could figure out where she was. Gerald was the last person to see her alive. After that I felt sick every time I looked at him. "

"Did money go missing while he was managing the front desk?" I asked.

"No, at least not that I was aware of anyway." She answered, looking down at the ground between her feet.

"Do you know why he quit?" I asked. It had been on my mind since I had started looking through his file at Grey Enterprises.

"I think he quit because deep down we all knew he had something to do with her disappearance and he couldn't stand looking us all in the eyes when he came to work every day." She said while clenching her teeth.

"Did he appear angry or upset after Nancy disappeared?" I inquired

"If he was upset I couldn't see it. He mostly kept to himself after that. He spoke casually to some of the girls but no one wanted to be involved with him in case they were next." Andrea replied.

"Was Nancy's body ever found?" I asked

"No!," Andrea stated confidently "We are a tight knit group here. Any piece of new information about Nancy we shared with each other. I think it helped us cope with the loss."

"I can't even imagine how you must feel." I empathized "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"If your looking for someone to say positive things about Gerald I think you came to the wrong place. I never liked the guy. He always gave me the creeps." Andrea said

"I need the good, the bad and the ugly. There is more to someone than just their accomplishments." I stated.

"Well I hope that helps your book but I doubt it." She answered

The revolving door made a soft muffled sweeping sound as a customer pushed through the door and walked across the lobby to the front desk.

"Thank you for talking to me Andrea." I waved.

I couldn't wait to get out of the building and into the cold streets of Seattle. Andrea's story had hit my soul. I needed to know what happened to Nancy. I was a stubborn inquisitive type. Something that Christian had always loved about me. I wasn't going to stop till I knew the truth, no matter how deep I had to dig.

RING! RING!

I pulled my phone out of my purse to see who would call me at such a late hour.

CHRISTIAN

I almost jumped out of my shoes I was so excited. Without an ounce of hesitation I answered the call.

"Guess who's getting discharged tomorrow?" He asked excitedly.

"Your coming home?" I cried, replacing my sorrow with glee as I revelled in Christian's joy.

"Tomorrow right after the doctor sees me at 0900AM." He stated triumphantly.

"I can't wait." I exclaimed.

"I've missed sleeping next to you more than anything." Christian sighed

"The bed has been so cold without you, I need you next to me." I agreed.

"See you tomorrow." I said

"See you tomorrow." He echoed.

Finally my prayed had been answered.