Resume Of Romance

Chapter 57

Chapter 57

The water from the fountain is now tinged with red splashes over the decorative edges wetting the floor around it. One of the guest shrieks after feeling it hit her skin staining her champaign colored dress. She turns around to see why she's being splashed only to let out a horrified scream as her gaze lands on the floating body in the fountain. Guests in the hotel and still at the fundraiser gather around trying to find out what happened. Security and police are already pushing them back not wanting them to see the body or contaminate the crime scene any further. Jackson's men have cornered the place off awaiting the arrival of the ambulance called.

Not sure what's going on, Richard forces his way out of the banquet hall just as the Senators and Congressmen in the room are made to stay inside for protective reasons.

Out in the hallway he rushes toward the group of people surrounding the fountain. Dread fills his heart as he looks frantically through the crowd for his sons. Reaching the front he walks through the wet floor trying to get as close as he can to the fountain. Leland is standing nearby while Sander is in a conversation with one of the detectives on the scene. Richard approaches Leland, the stricken look on his face causes the younger man to grab his shoulder and shake it. "It's not Jayson or Chace." Leland assures him and points.

Looking up the escalator Richard catches a glimpse of his boys with Jackson as a group of EMT's rush past him on their way to the fountain. Pushing forward, he wants to get a closer to see if he knows the body in the fountain that is being fished out. Holding his breath he prays it's not someone he knows.

The body is out of the fountain and carefully laid on the floor by the combination of police and EMT's. The face can't be recognized it's full of blood from a head wound. The body looks broken having hit the jagged and decorative rocks that line the wall during the fall. A tarp is laid over his nonmoving form.

Richard looks up the escalator. His boys and the other men are at the top, he can see a part of a woman's head her hair is dark and long. Getting anxious again he realizes he doesn't see Margo, Rylie or her sister. Making his way over to Sander talking to the detective he tries to find out as much information as he can.

"Jackson steps off the escalator with his gun drawn. Taking a few steps forward he's totally unprepared for the sight before him. Five women stand passively around within a foot of each other. Rylie and Monique are standing the closest to one another. Their bodies are rigid, their eyes void and filled with their own individual horrific thoughts, both women have experienced death before but not like this, never anything like what just happened on the veranda.

Margo has her arms protectively wrapped around her, her eyes glisten with unshed tears she is the furthest away from the railing her lips are pressed in a thin line as if she's forcing herself not to speak. Ivana has her eyes shifted down staring at something. Jackson follows her line of vision seeing a man's shoe near the bannister railing where the body went over it. The top half of a shattered wine bottle sits not far from the shoe. Shards of glass from the bottle litter the carpet with a few pieces sprinkling the floor in front of Sharna and Rylie. Sharna looks straight ahead. Her eyes are lifeless, she's trying desperately to control her breathing.

Jackson's glance lingers on Monique the longest. Her face is poker like. She avoids looking him directly in the eyes. Chace and Jayson come off of the escalator behind him calling out Rylie and Margo's names at the same time. Mason makes his presence felt when he voices out loud what he's thinking. "Oh my god, that's Gavin down there isn't it?"