Time Spell by T.A. Foster Read Free Book Online Page B

how much time I had before he was out of sight.
    On the other side of the stairwell door, I pulled my arms in across my chest, hopped from the railing, and spun into a quick descent. An invisible cyclone whirled around me, while each floor whisked past my head as I plunged to the first level of the stairwell. I steadied my landing as the floor whirled into view. I touched my toes softly on the concrete passage. I tipped my head up to see how far I had jumped, grateful I didn’t have a fear of heights.
    I pushed the stairwell door open enough to squeeze through and exit into the lobby. I recognized the bellmen trio.
    “Man, did you see Mr. Chadsworth run out the front door? I’ve never seen him so mad.” One of the bellmen poked another near the front desk.
    “Oh yeah, I heard he was off to see you-know-who.” He gave a double wink to his buddy, who was loading suitcases on the buckling valet cart.
    Great, Holden had been through here a second ago and was headed to see Simone. But where was she? I barely knew my way around the Starlight, let alone 1968 Vegas. I had no idea where she lived.
    Then I saw the office sign on the other side of the reception desk. From what I had gathered, Holden was probably the owner of the Starlight and more than likely had an office for his regular business transactions and for running the casino.
    I dashed across the lobby and followed the arrows pointing toward the office. There was a row of individual office doors and a waiting area with a reception desk complete with typewriter and phone. Behind the desk on the wall, Holden Chadsworth was written on a gold nameplate.
    The casino, restaurants, bars, and hotel were now in full nighttime swing, and the little office was devoid of worker bees. I tried the handle. It was locked.
    “Open.” I pointed my witchy finger and turned the handle.
    Inside was a meticulous office. Leather chairs anchored by a full-size bar and bookcase were positioned under a sprawling painting of Las Vegas. I stared at the canvas for a minute before remembering my mission in Holden’s office—find Simone’s address.
    Holden’s desk was a massive mahogany structure. I could see what little bits of his personality I knew seeping through the objects in this room.
    I tried the top drawer, locked. I tried the side drawers, locked and locked. Again, using my Open Spell I pointed at all of the drawers. Where would an organized man keep his mistresses contact information? There was a leather-bound calendar littered with birthdays and business lunch meeting scribbles, a contract for The Temptations’ upcoming concert series, and a letter to Elvis for an inquiry to have him play at the Starlight. I rummaged through a few more folders and pulled out a thick file marked VonRue Diamonds .
    I was curious. I had seen the marquee for the diamond tour advertised in the lobby and I had never heard of them. How could I have missed knowing about the largest diamond collection in the world—a girl who loves sparkly things above all knows the best jewelry collections.
    My last trip to England prompted more than one return trip to see the crown jewels, and I couldn’t stop staring at the French Duchess Collection at the Louvre in Paris. I flipped open the folder for a peek, and I caught my breath when I read what was on the first page.
     
VonRue Diamond Collection
3000 diamond collection
Total Value: $500,000,000
Owner: Helen VonRue Chadsworth
Collateral: Starlight Resort and Casino
Signed: Holden W. Chadsworth
     
    What was going on? Helen owned the VonRue collection, and Holden had put the diamonds up for collateral for the Starlight? There was no way the Starlight was worth half a billion dollars in 1968. This was getting much more involved than I had realized. I pulled my phone from my pocket and took a quick snapshot of the contract. I needed to absorb this information and figure out how the puzzle pieces fit together, but first I needed to find Simone.
    My witchy senses were