Crispin signed his name with a flourish.
He handed the piece of paper to Si and said, "Give this to whoever you have provoked and tell him that I am not at all happy about the situation. Let him understand that he must put right the trouble he has caused and apologize to you immediately. Otherwise, he will have to deal with the consequences."
He spoke with utter confidence. "That's it. You may go now."
Si hadn't expected things to go so smoothly, so he was very relieved. "Thank you, Crispin," he blurted. "I'm very grateful."
Crispin's writing was a scrawl, but his meaning was unequivocal. Si held the sheet of paper in his hand as gently as if it was a baby. He nodded to Crispin and then turned to leave.
***
Back at the clinic, Debbie called Alex's phone, and he answered it.
"Alex, have you forgotten that Birchwood House has an event for our associates today?" Debbie asked. "We're holding it in the courtyard at Number Seven? It's happening this morning. Where are you? Please come over now and join us. We're ready to get going, but we need you to be here."
"No worries," he said. "Just wait a minute, and then I'll be right with you." Putting down the phone, he called out to Donny, who was waiting outside. "Come on, Donny; I'm going to be in trouble if we don't get going!"
At eleven-thirty in the morning, Alex arrived outside the hotel.
Besides Donny, he had also brought Celeste with him. Donny waited outside while Alex entered the hotel with Celeste.
It was a boutique hotel with an elegant courtyard. Alex went through the corridor and came to a big red gate, which led to the large and attractive courtyard, which now held over three hundred guests.
Debbie was hosting the event, thanking all those who had bought properties on the Birchwood House estate or who were their business partners. Debbie naturally wanted to impress their guests and encourage them to keep doing business with her and Alex.
When Alex arrived, Debbie was standing by the gate to greet the guests. She looked highly professional with her hair curled, her face discreetly made up, and sparkling earrings. Her entire outfit was elegant, and she looked beautiful.
Alex looked at the assembled guests. There were few people he knew by sight. Jessop hadn't come, but hopefully, Rufus would be there for Debbie.
"Sir! Please stop!" Alex was preparing to go in when a sharp voice called to him.
"What?" Alex stopped and looked at the woman approaching him from the opposite direction.
He had never seen this woman before. She was about twenty years old and wearing a smart suit.
"Do you have your invitation with you, sir?" the woman asked, distrust thick in her voice. "I think you might be in the wrong place. Do you know what party it is that's going on inside? If you can't show me your invitation, then I will be forced to get the security guards to escort you off the premises."
Birchwood House's function was a prestigious event, and Alex and Celeste were not dressed up like the other guests. Alex, however, was unperturbed.
"What's your name? Why are you stopping us?" Alex asked.
"I'm Lisa Woodley, the assistant to the owner of Number Seven," she said, tilting her head to look at him. "This is an important function, and it's my job to ensure that everything runs smoothly. That includes ensuring there are no uninvited guests."
Alex and Celeste looked at each other.
Alex asked, "Who is your boss? What's his name?"
Alex had heard of Number Seven before, but he didn't know who the owner was. But he had a wide range of contacts, so he was sure he could find out about him.
"The owner?" Lisa laughed. "You really don't know who that is? That's hilarious! I can't believe there's anyone in Baltimore who doesn't know who owns Number Seven."
Celeste was angry. "What? We can't ask a simple question without you being rude to us?"
Alex signaled for her to be quiet.
Lisa pointed upwards with one finger. Alex looked up at the hotel sign above him and saw a picture of Si Roper's smiling face above some writing.
This development worried Alex. He felt that everything was too coincidental, and now he was on Si's territory. Si was a big man in the entertainment industry, so Alex hadn't expected him to get involved in the hospitality industry. He stood and stared at the board, puzzling over the unexpected turn of events.
Lisa was now getting cross. "Why don't you go? Do you want me to call security? Did you seriously not know who owns this hotel? And anyway, what does it matter who owns it? If you're not invited, then you need to leave."
As she was overseeing the event for the hotel, Lisa had been responsible for sending out all the invitation cards, and she felt certain that no one as scruffy looking as Alex and Celeste would have been on the guest list.
Two of the hotel's receptionists had come out to see what was going on. They were both laughing quietly, and their eyes were full of contempt as they looked at Alex and Celeste; they assumed that they had been caught trying to sneak into the hotel.
Alex looked directly at Lisa and said, "I heard that the owner of this hotel was bad for Cassidy Pike's health."
"What? Si is bad for Cassidy?" Lisa's eyes widened. "What are you suggesting?"
Lisa's too-shocked expression told Alex a lot.
"Hah!" Lisa recovered her poise. "I get it now. You've come here to cause trouble for Si because of Cassidy. I've seen her try to act; she thinks she's great, and she really isn't. Has she got you two to do her dirty work? Is that what this is?"
She snorted. "We dealt with her last night, so she shouldn't be looking to cause trouble today."
Alex frowned and said, "Tell me exactly what happened."
He had a powerful urge to teach Lisa a lesson. He wanted to know if she had been involved in Cassidy's accident. Cassidy and Debbie were friends, so Alex decided it was time to get the truth. If Lisa was responsible in any way, then he would never let the matter drop.
"Tell me what you know, Lisa," Alex said again. "I want to know everything about what happened to Cassidy."
Lisa sneered at him. "You want the truth? I told Cassidy she was a terrible actress, and I enjoyed upsetting her. Was that what you wanted to hear? Si was fed up with her bad acting ruining the film, so he wanted her to know how awful she is."
Alex clenched his jaw, and then he spat out more questions. "Why were you interfering in Si's entertainment business? Aren't you in charge of the hotel?"
While he was speaking, Lisa turned to call over several guards. Si's guards were all carefully selected and trained. They eyed up Alex confidently, ready to deal with him and Celeste, who they thought would be easy targets.
Alex's eyes became cold, like ice.
"Why are you still here?" Lisa laughed, thinking she had the upper hand now. "You look quite cute when you're angry," she said to him. "I am in charge here, and you can see that I have plenty of support from these lovely gentlemen behind me. I don't have to answer your questions, but you do have to leave."
Alex turned to Celeste and said casually, "Celeste, haven't you got our invitation? Please take it out."
Celeste came forward and opened the bag she was carrying. She pulled out a white card and waved it in Lisa's face, allowing the edge of the card to catch Lisa's nose as she did so.
Celeste moved a bit closer and slapped Lisa's right cheek twice with the invitation. The guards all stepped forward, but Celeste was able to side-step and get out of their reach. As she did, Lisa swung at the space where Celeste had just been standing, catching her heel as she did so. She lost her balance and fell into an undignified sprawl on the floor.
She got up from the ground, shouting, "What the hell? How dare you? Get out now!"
Alex swallowed a laugh and said to Celeste, "Go on, she clearly didn't see the invitation properly. Give her a closer look!"