Once upon a Murder

3. Bluetooth speakers and cancelled meetings

Sandrine heaved a sigh of relief when she reached the hotel. She had been fortunate enough to catch the bus just in time.
She walked into the hotel lobby only to be accosted by two burly, ginormous men in suits,each with a Bluetooth speaker in one ear and a gun holster in their belt.

"Who are you? This hotel is closed for public use. You must come with us." One of the men (who was taller than six feet) said.

To say that Sandrine was scared would be an understatement. She was terrified.

She managed to blurt out intelligently, "But, I'm here to meet Evangeline Waters. My friend had won a contest for that."

The other man asked her, "Are you Ms. Evans by any chance ?"

Sandrine, eagerly nodded, "Yes, that's me."
The man continued, "Can I see some ID, ma'am? You know, for security purposes."

Sandrine handed over her university identity card after a brief search.

The man who was holding her, let her go, while saying, "I apologise for the inconvenience."

Sandrine just shrugged and said, "Eh, it's no biggie. By the way, Ms. Evans is my Aunt. Sandrine at your service."

Winking an eye, she added, " Can you gentlemen guide me to the conference room?"

The taller man smirked and pointed  towards a long corridor, "It's at the end of this corridor, the last door on the left. Do you need help or are you fine?"

Sandrine couldn't help but laugh. After she had caught her breath, she said, "Sorry, but you won't get anywhere with  your knight in shining armour trick. You're not my type. I'm more into the brainy than brawny. But thank you for asking."

She then started walking down the corridor with a spring in her step. She was going to meet her favourite author. She had waited for this moment since she read Evangeline's first book, The Homecoming of Mrs. Minns. She was hooked from the second she read the back cover.

Bursting to the seams with excitement, she entered the long banquet hall. Andrew, ever punctual, was already seated at one of the tables, dressed in a plain white shirt and black trousers along with a small scattered crowd. A few people had gathered there for Evangeline Waters' book reading. Andrew gave Sandrine a wave but stopped short. He took in her entire appearance with his mouth open.
Snapping her fingers, Sandrine said, "Shut your mouth. You'll catch flies."

Andrew quickly did so, and defensively said, "I was just surprised to see you in something other than your typical shirt and jeans. Clearly, that went straight to your head. Never mind that. We're supposed to wait here till Ms. Evangeline comes down. She'll be meeting us before her book reading."

Evangeline immediately gave a wide smile showing all her teeth. "That's brilliant ! I can't wait."

She was shaking a disturbing amount with excitement.

Andrew just looked at her, amused. He was pretty much used to her borderline crazy fangirling. She was like this about her favourite movie series, television series and her favourite band.

The cracking of a loudspeaker interrupted his train of thought. He leaned back in his chair, and listened keenly.

Sandrine finally settled down a bit in her seat.
The loudspeaker crackled again , " We are very sorry to inform you that Ms. Waters has taken ill. The book reading will be postponed indefinitely. We apologise for the inconvenience. Thank you."

A very audible sigh was heard from Sandrine.
"No freaking way. I got dressed up for this. I'm not leaving without meeting her", she muttered under her breath, so only Andrew could hear.

He heard alright, and barely stifled a chuckle.
He also noticed a twinkle in her eye.

He said, raising his voice, " No. No. No. Whatever you're thinking of, forget it. I'm not getting into trouble just because of your foolproof plans which always fail. No, don't do that. Don't give me your puppy eyes. Aaaargh. Fine. I'll do it. But if we get into trouble, you're taking the blame."

Sandrine said, smilingly, "Oh Drew, it won't come to that. You can be dead sure of that."

All Sandrine could think of later was the irony in her words.

{****}

A/N: Hello from the other side.....
I hope everyone is doing very well. Here comes the next part.

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Also, please give me your reviews, good or bad (but please keep your swearing down to a minimum, I'm still young and innocent. 😇)

Until next time.
Ciao.