Powdered Murder

"Hello?" Eli said. "Yeah. Yeah. Hold on." He set the phone down. "Hey, Essie!"

"What?"

"Some chick named Taryn wants to know where the spare key is to the equipment closet."

"I've told her this a million times," I muttered. "Tell her it's in my office. Bottom drawer on the left."

"Got it." Eli repeated my instructions into the phone as I opened the back door leading into the staff parking lot.

The wind brushed across my cheeks and snowflakes rested on my nose. The snow was starting to pick up and the sky was turning light gray. I walked along the shoveled path along the outer rim of the hotel. I pulled my hands out of my pockets and rubbed them together for warmth. The back door zipped open. I stopped and rolled my eyes, hearing Eli's voice calling my name again.

"Wait a second," he shouted. I took a few steps away from the wall of the hotel and stood there waiting as icy water droplets thumped my head from icicles hanging right above me.

"Let me guess," I said. "Taryn can't find the key and she needs me to go up there and look for her?"

"Uh…" Eli shrugged and nodded, seeing the frustration on my face. "She said she's in your office and she can't find it."

"Fine," I sighed. I took a deep breath, taking one last look over my shoulder. No sign of the black BMW or the mystery tourist journalist and possible stalker John Slagger.

The moment I stepped back towards the building again a loud thwack boomed right next to me. I let out a scream as snow burst upwards from thing that had fallen. My blood pumped vigorously through my body as a surge of adrenaline pulsed through me. My torso felt like it was on fire. I shook my head to get rid of the a

"Essie!" Eli yelled.

"I'm okay," I replied, out of breath. I looked down at the icy parking lot and saw a chunk of ice cracked into pieces. A forty five pound barbell plate had plunged from an upstairs window and landed in the spot where I was once standing. I looked up wanting to see a malicious face, but the sky was clear. I forced myself to look again.

No one was looking down at me.

There was no sign of any movement in the upstairs windows. I gulped and looked back at Eli. He raced towards me and stared down at the weight with a bewildered look on his face. He kicked it and looked up.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I assured him.

"Just think," he said quietly. "If I didn't call you back inside…"

"Who knows what might have happened." Still shaking, I followed Eli inside. Whoever wanted to silence me must have been pretty desperate. Dropping a weight on someone's head at precisely the right moment was a shot in the dark unless the killer had done this sort of thing before. Please don't tell me we're dealing with a seasoned criminal here.

"Is Taryn still on the phone?" I asked him. He rushed to the receiver and listened.

"Taryn?" Eli nodded. "She's still waiting.

"Tell her I'll be right there."

Before Eli hung up I ran through the staff hallway and all the way to the stairwell. My body was so adrenalized from the shock that I needed to wear myself out before I could calm down. I ran up the stairs two at a time. My breathing quickened, but I didn't let it stop me. I climbed higher and higher determined to put this mystery to rest once and for all. I didn't know who tried to kill me, but I did know that I'd tangled myself in a deadly web that I didn't want to be in. I didn't feel in control anymore, and that unsteady feeling was begi

When I reached the upper level where the fitness studio was I burst through the doors and stopped in the empty hallway. My office was across from the private gym where I trained clients. I jogged towards the gym with clenched fists.

It was empty.

I checked every barbell and every set of weighted plates. One set was missing a forty-five pounder.

I gulped, glancing out the window at the spot below where I'd been standing moments ago. It would have been easy to open the window and through something down. If chance hadn't have been on my side today, it probably would have worked.

I caught my breath before I walked casually over to my office. I caught a glimpse of Taryn in her green trainer polo and matching sneakers. She was sitting at my desk strumming her fingers on the surface as she waited on the phone. She grunted, hung up, and dialed again. This time someone answered.

"She's coming right?" Taryn said. She shook her head. "That's not fu

"I'm here," I said, stepping into the office. Taryn acted like her usual self. Firm and impatient when it came to business.

"Good." She stood up. "I was hoping Eli caught you in time. I can't find that stupid key and I have Mrs. Larado coming in twenty minutes with two of her friends."

"If it's not in the drawer, I must have left it in my purse," I responded, observing her movements. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"Yeah, why?" She folded her arms and noticed that I was out of breath. "Is everything okay?

"So you didn't see anybody in the gym just now?"

"No." A look of concern crossed her face. "Is someone in there? I didn't hear anything."

"Someone was I think," I replied. And they tried to kill me.

"Oh, sorry about that boss."

Taryn called me boss when she thought she was in trouble. I took a deep breath and tilted my head towards the exit. I walked cautiously back to the staircase letting her follow me. She jogged down the stairs next to me like nothing was wrong.

"This morning was pretty busy so I threw my purse in a locker and forgot all about the key," I commented, breaking the silence.

"That stupid Eli kid said something about you being scared for your life. He's always stirring up trouble."

"Well, he wasn't far off," I replied.

"Huh?"

The two of us came to the bottom of the staircase. Taryn stopped as I opened the door and headed down the staff hallway. I walked so fast that she had a hard time keeping up with me. I concentrated on getting to my destination. My cheeks were warm and my head was starting to hurt.

I turned the corner and stepped into the staff lounge where the lockers were. Eli was standing with his arms crossed talking to Patrick. My heart jumped. Patrick's eyes went wide when he saw me. He had a grave look of concern on his face. His eyes studied the length of my body as if making sure I truly was all in one piece.

"Essie," he gasped. "Are you okay?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I saw him coming in from finishing a run and I told him what happened," Eli admitted.

"What's going on?" Taryn whispered. "Don't tell me the little twerp was telling the truth." She waited for me to reassure her it was all a prank, but I folded my arms and thought carefully about what to do next. Should I quit or should I stay? "Oh no, it is true," Taryn muttered.

"That's it," Patrick stated. His cheeks were rosy from the cold. "I'm going to tell Lila that we have to cancel the wedding. I can't have any more people getting hurt like this."

"Patrick," I blurted out. "You don't have to do that. I'll just … just tell Lila that I'm sorry."

"No," he argued. "I'm not going to sit back and watch history repeat itself." He stepped forward and grabbed my arm. My chest fluttered as I watched his hand squeeze my bicep. "Come on, we're going to the police station to report this."