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gown with a plunging neckline. She nestled a starburst brooch at the base of her cleavage. Her olive skin was radiant in the purple, and from her smile, I could tell she knew it. Once she clasped the last shimmering bracelet around her slender wrist, she reached for a black leather bag. It was flat and looked empty. She clutched the handle, folded it in half, and slid it under her arm. Simone must have heard about the fierce desert winds tonight, because she wrapped a half fur, half velvet cape around the tops of her shoulders and headed for the door.
    Ugh! I had to decide if I should follow her or stay in the suite and do some snooping. I needed to find out what had happened to Holden. He wasn’t here, he didn’t walk out the front door of the suite, and from what surveying I had done, there was no other way out. Hesitantly, I decided to let Simone leave, hoping I could find her downstairs later or at least plant myself and wait for her return tonight.
    Once the door locked behind her and the click clack sounds of her high heels faded, I walked room to room.
    “Reveal! Reveal! Reveal!” I pointed to the center of each room.
    The small glittery particles of the Reveal Spell began to form throughout the suite. The kitchen was dark and glitter free, so I moved over to the living room. A small loop around Simone’s French phone began to swirl, but nothing else. I moved on to the bedroom and bathroom where I knew I would have to untangle Simone’s trail.
    “Reveal!”
    The vanity countertop, the shower, her dressing table, and the bed glowed yellowy-orange as I had predicted. I looked at the closet where a cloud of reveal dust hung in the air. The double doors were closed, but there was a particle trail wide enough to account for maybe three people.
    I opened the doors and waved the Reveal Spell again. One by one the shimmery particles formed; first around the entrance, then across a scattered line of Simone’s shoes, and then along the back of the closet, swirling around a collection of long coats. Some of the designer coats still had tags on the sleeves and looked like they were on display in a boutique. Situated above were rows of hatboxes, shopping bags, and several stacks of gloves. Miniature buttons poked out from the sides, revealing more dangling price tags. I pushed the lavish and extravagant coats aside to discover they were guarding two wooden paneled elevator doors and a small elevator button. The glitter trail clouded and stopped at the doors.
    Now I knew how Holden Chadsworth had left Simone’s suite. What I didn’t know was how and with whom.
    One at a time the luminescence of the Reveal Spell particles fell to the floor, and the only light in the closet was coming from Simone’s vanity torchieres. My inner girl told me to leave Simone’s suite, leave 1968, and drop this story, but the witchy tingle told me to push that button and see where the secret elevator of Holden Chadsworth’s mistress led. It seemed likely that Holden had used this elevator to visit Simone in secret and to avoid the prying eyes of the Diamond Towers’ staff or other guests.
    I needed to know where the elevator took Holden. I pushed the button and waited for the elevator to arrive, hoping it would unlock the mystery of Holden’s departure.
    Like a lift I’d seen in an old British movie, the lower part of the elevator walls was paneled with dark wood and the top half was wrapped in heavy metal lattice. I knew the Reveal Spell wouldn’t help any further. The little cabin would fill with the orange essence in a cloud and hover during the short ride.
    I examined the inside of the door. There was only one wooden pull knob. This was obviously a one-way ride to Simone’s closet with no other stops on the way. I gave a quick tug on the knob, and the elevator car lurched and then descended. Her suite was on the seventh floor, but I counted off eight levels as the car’s gears registered each floor with a heavy click as it passed