into the small space. The elevator chimed once just past us, the doors slid open, and then a moment later, they closed.
I poked my head out again, and then stepped all the way into the hallway once I knew that he was gone.
“The coast is clear,” I told Maddy.
She came out and joined me, and then we both looked up and down the hallway together. “Any idea where he was standing when he was talking to our mysterious stranger?” Maddy asked me.
I shook my head. “I don’t have a clue. It could have been any one of these rooms. We didn’t have much visibility past our own room.”
Maddy frowned. “I didn’t care for his tone of voice, and I can’t imagine the recipient liked it any better. Luigi clearly threatened someone here. We just don’t know who it was.”
“We’re just going to have to start knocking on doors and see who answers,” I said.
“I’m not saying that you’re wrong, but I’m just curious about something before you knock on the first door. What excuse are we going to use?”
I thought about it for a moment, and then said, “We’ve got the perfect icebreaker, really. We can talk about the competition.”
She shrugged. “It’s not great, but it’s still probably better than anything I can come up with.”
“Wow, stop it. Your extreme praise is going to make me blush.”
“Just start knocking on doors, Sis, okay?”
I nodded, and approached the first door we hadn’t been able to see. After three attempts, no one answered, and I was ready to give up on them.
“Wow, our plan needs some work,” my sister said dryly.
“Maddy, not everyone is going to be in their room this time of day. Consider this a positive new bit of information. Whoever is in this room couldn’t be our candidate.”
She frowned. “Sorry, but I don’t know that I can agree with that, Eleanor. What if they heard our knocking but decided not to answer? We can’t just prowl the hallways hoping and waiting for someone to come out of their room. I can’t imagine someone not calling security if they see us lurking around the corridors like a pair of criminals.”
“You’ve got a point, but I’m still not willing to give up. Let’s at least try a few more rooms, okay?”
“I’ve got your back. Knock on,” she said with a shrug.
We actually had more luck with the next door. After knocking twice, the door was opened by Jack Acre. From his tousled hair and his exposed shirttail, it was clear that he’d been taking a nap. “Can I help you two?” he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and trying to wake up.
“Sorry, we didn’t mean to disturb you,” I said.
He had the presence of mind to look embarrassed about being caught napping. “I don’t ordinarily nod off in the middle of the day, but the boss insisted that I get my rest. As his second in command, if he’s at the office, that means I have to be there too, even if the ‘office’ in question is the auditorium downstairs. You must have had some reason to knock on my door. What can I do for you?”
I hadn’t really thought about someone not an active part of the competition answering their door. I was fumbling for something to say when Maddy spoke up. “Are we meeting before the competition again for every round, or do we just show up when it’s time from now on?”
He flinched a second, but then he explained, “You have to be there at five on the nose. That’s when everyone else is getting there, and anyone who isn’t on that stage is disqualified immediately from the competition. You read the notes, right?”
“Parts of it were a little fuzzy,” I said, though that wasn’t really true.
“I told Luigi to let me handle drafting it, but he insisted that Frank do it. Now if you’ll both excuse me, I might be able to catch another half hour of sleep before I have to go downstairs for the next stage.”
After he closed his door, Maddy frowned at me and said, “We’re not doing too well so far, are we?”
“We can’t let
I poked my head out again, and then stepped all the way into the hallway once I knew that he was gone.
“The coast is clear,” I told Maddy.
She came out and joined me, and then we both looked up and down the hallway together. “Any idea where he was standing when he was talking to our mysterious stranger?” Maddy asked me.
I shook my head. “I don’t have a clue. It could have been any one of these rooms. We didn’t have much visibility past our own room.”
Maddy frowned. “I didn’t care for his tone of voice, and I can’t imagine the recipient liked it any better. Luigi clearly threatened someone here. We just don’t know who it was.”
“We’re just going to have to start knocking on doors and see who answers,” I said.
“I’m not saying that you’re wrong, but I’m just curious about something before you knock on the first door. What excuse are we going to use?”
I thought about it for a moment, and then said, “We’ve got the perfect icebreaker, really. We can talk about the competition.”
She shrugged. “It’s not great, but it’s still probably better than anything I can come up with.”
“Wow, stop it. Your extreme praise is going to make me blush.”
“Just start knocking on doors, Sis, okay?”
I nodded, and approached the first door we hadn’t been able to see. After three attempts, no one answered, and I was ready to give up on them.
“Wow, our plan needs some work,” my sister said dryly.
“Maddy, not everyone is going to be in their room this time of day. Consider this a positive new bit of information. Whoever is in this room couldn’t be our candidate.”
She frowned. “Sorry, but I don’t know that I can agree with that, Eleanor. What if they heard our knocking but decided not to answer? We can’t just prowl the hallways hoping and waiting for someone to come out of their room. I can’t imagine someone not calling security if they see us lurking around the corridors like a pair of criminals.”
“You’ve got a point, but I’m still not willing to give up. Let’s at least try a few more rooms, okay?”
“I’ve got your back. Knock on,” she said with a shrug.
We actually had more luck with the next door. After knocking twice, the door was opened by Jack Acre. From his tousled hair and his exposed shirttail, it was clear that he’d been taking a nap. “Can I help you two?” he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and trying to wake up.
“Sorry, we didn’t mean to disturb you,” I said.
He had the presence of mind to look embarrassed about being caught napping. “I don’t ordinarily nod off in the middle of the day, but the boss insisted that I get my rest. As his second in command, if he’s at the office, that means I have to be there too, even if the ‘office’ in question is the auditorium downstairs. You must have had some reason to knock on my door. What can I do for you?”
I hadn’t really thought about someone not an active part of the competition answering their door. I was fumbling for something to say when Maddy spoke up. “Are we meeting before the competition again for every round, or do we just show up when it’s time from now on?”
He flinched a second, but then he explained, “You have to be there at five on the nose. That’s when everyone else is getting there, and anyone who isn’t on that stage is disqualified immediately from the competition. You read the notes, right?”
“Parts of it were a little fuzzy,” I said, though that wasn’t really true.
“I told Luigi to let me handle drafting it, but he insisted that Frank do it. Now if you’ll both excuse me, I might be able to catch another half hour of sleep before I have to go downstairs for the next stage.”
After he closed his door, Maddy frowned at me and said, “We’re not doing too well so far, are we?”
“We can’t let
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