Mills searched every corner of the room, including the mattress. The once tidy room was left in utter disarray, as if it had been ransacked.
"Come out, you monster!" He shone his flashlight beneath the bed and ground out the words through clenched teeth, but there was nothing under it except dust. Frustrated, he could only crawl back out and continue searching the room.
Just as he straightened up, his keys fell from his pocket. Attached to them was an extremely gaudy rabbit keychain.
That keychain had not originally belonged to David. When Tracy was little, she had loved reading a British picture book whose protagonist was a rabbit. The author had buried a jeweled rabbit ornament somewhere, with the clues hidden in the book.
The ornament was probably worth several thousand pounds, yet it had caused a sensation in Britain. People scrambled to buy the picture book said to contain the clues, and even Americans joined the treasure hunt.
Most people found nothing, but some spotted a business opportunity. They made identical cheap trinkets for suffering parents to placate their children with. The sapphire was replaced with blue tourmaline, and the platinum became zinc-plated metal. Its color had faded with age, but Tracy still loved it. According to her, rabbit feet brought good luck.
Mills picked it up and stroked the "sapphire."
Not long afterward, he heard a rustling sound coming from the closet. He looked in its direction, but saw nothing.
"Mr. Mills... Good heavens!" The waiter cried out at the sight of the room, which looked as though it had been looted by bandits.
"Shh."
Mills gestured for him to be quiet, then crept over.
He pressed his ear to the wall. The sound seemed to be coming from inside it, so he tapped on the wooden