Dear?| James Patrick March

Chapter Nine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Breanna's P.O.V~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up to my door opening. I sleepily looked up and saw Liz. I soon realized that my head was pounding and my stomach felt queasy.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. Mr. March told me that you had a rough night," she said, bringing over tea and a bottle of aspirin.

"Thank you. You're a life saver," I said.

"I also have a note from him. Would you like me to read it?" She asked.

"No, that's fine. I'm sorry to bother you," I said, grabbing my head.

"It's no problem. When you're here for as long as I have been, you're always looking for something new to do," she said.

"Why don't you leave?" I asked.

"It's not that I don't enjoy it, it's just that I'm always looking for things to do," she began. She looked around and then looked back at me. "I've even picked up knitting," she whispered.

I smiled. "That's lovely," I said. Lovely? Am I spending too much time with James?

"I agree. Now, I'll let you get dressed and ready. And in case you're looking for something to do, I'll be at the bar," she said.

I smiled. "I'll keep that in mind," I said.

"Good. Now don't forget to read that note. He said it was urgent. See you soon," she said with a quick wave. I nodded and waved back. She left as quickly as she arrived.

I reached over to the tea and took a big sip, then I took some aspirin. I looked over to the note and picked it up.

It read:

Dear Breanna,

Good morning! I hope you are feeling better than how you were feeling last night. Though it came to an abrupt end, I had a wonderful evening and I hope that you did as well. I am writing to inform you that I will not be around this evening because I have a very important errand to attend to and it cannot be ignored. Also, I will not be around tonight because I am having dinner with (as you know her) The Countess. I hope you understand.

From your murdering partner, James.

I laughed at his sign off, but quickly turned to confusion. Was I drunk last night? What errand is he attending to? How big does the errand have to be in order for him to not see me at all? Is it really that important? Why can't it be ignored?

And most importantly, who is The Countess?

These thoughts ran through my mind as I got dressed. I walked to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and brush my Hermione- like hair. When I was done, I started walking to the bar.

When I got there, I saw Liz, Sally, and the receptionist.

"Hey ladies," I greeted, sitting down at the bar.

Sally got up. "I'll see you guys later," she said.

"No wait. Please. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I would appreciate it if you gave me another chance," I said, holding on to her hand.

She looked me in the eyes. "Fine. But only if you show me how to use Snapchat," she said.

"Of course," I said. She handed me her phone.

"So. Iris. Have you seen the Countess' outfit today?" Liz asked.

"Oh. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I don't think we've ever met," I said, looking at Iris.

"Oh. Uh, hello," She said with a shy smile.

"I'm Breanna,"  I began.

"Iris," she said with a smile.

We were quiet for a minute.

"Who's The Countess?" I asked.

The looked around at each other. "She 'owns' the hotel. She was married to Mr. March," Iris began before she dropped her voice to a whisper. "But it was really only for money. Sure they loved each other for little while, but The Countess' real love disappeared. And it's said that they were both in a polyamorous relationship," She explained.

"Wow. That's... crazy-" I began.

"Don't forget my deal," Sally said.

"Jeez. Sorry," I said. They continued to make conversation.

"Okay so you tap on the app, and it brings you to a camera. If you flip the camera on yourself, you can put these filters on yourself, which changes your face. Go ahead try it," I explained to Sally. She grabbed her phone and started giggling at her face with the filters. "And then you can add friends and send them pictures or send them texts. Here. My snap is..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~James' P.O.V~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The girl screamed. "It's no use. Nobody can hear you, my darling," I said, putting my hand over her mouth. She started crying. "Don't cry, you're not going to die.... yet," I said, smiling. She started screaming again.

I just laughed. I heard footsteps coming down to the basement. I looked over to see Elizabeth.

"James, darling. I've had- who is this?" She asked interestedly, walking over and taking a piece of hair out of the girl's eye.

"Nothing more than a distraction," I answered.

"Why haven't you killed her? Didn't she arrive this morning?" She asked.

"I've told you. I'm keeping some people for Breanna," I said.

"You seem very fond of her," she said.

"Of Breanna? No no. I'm just... trying to continue my legacy," I said.

"Hm. Well, I have places to be, so why don't we have dinner now?" She asked.

"Well I have to prepare tools for Breanna..." I trailed off.

"James," she said with a warning tone.

"Alright, my dear. Let's go have dinner," I said, linking her arm to mine. I turn off the light in the basement and turn around to face the tied up girl in front of me.

"Good night, Colleen," I said. She screamed and then I closed the door.