The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 425

The door to 2901 was slightly ajar, and Nathan pushed it open.

"The layout is completely different from the room downstairs."

"Unless she walked in glued to her phone, she would have realized it wasn't her room the second she crossed the threshold," Nathan noted.

Nora hadn't seen Maisie's room yet, but she hummed in agreement. "Let's check the window."

Though the interior furnishings differed, the building's windows all faced the same direction.

They quickly crossed the room. While Nathan leaned out to inspect the sill, Nora immediately examined the heavy drapes hanging beside the glass.

"I've got something here!"

"Found a trace!"

Their voices rang out in unison.

Wasting no time, Nathan pulled out his phone to make a call, while Nora contacted Julia Ryland.

A short while later, a swarm of officers and Forensics Division personnel flooded back into the hotel.

Manager Lawson had thought dealing with two detectives was nerve-wracking enough.

Seeing another massive squad march through his lobby made his soul leave his body.

He was completely numb.

"Am I cursed?"

Just how brutal was this case that the cops kept arriving in droves?

"Manager Lawson."

Before he could finish his silent lament, an officer ran over to fetch him upstairs.

Swallowing his despair, Lawson hurried up the stairs behind the officer.

When he realized they were on the 29th floor, he froze.

"Officer, wasn't Maisie Shaw staying on the 28th floor?"

The officer replied, "We found traces left by the victim in 2901. We've confirmed she fell from this room."

Her makeup bag was tossed casually on the coffee table alongside some open bags of chips and a stone-cold iced coffee.

Nora checked the timestamp on the coffee cup. It had been ordered exactly one hour before the fatal fall.

That meant shortly before she died, Maisie had been relaxed enough to order a drink and sit down to do her makeup. Then, suddenly, she plunged to her death.

Nora crouched by the mirror, resting her hand on the edge of the coffee table.

Her fingers brushed against something rough. Pausing, she ducked her head under the table and spotted a deep, jagged scratch in the wood.

It was incredibly fresh.

She mentally reviewed her findings—there had been wood particles of a similar color lodged under Maisie's fingernails.

Nora immediately dialed the Forensics Division.

"Nora, I was just about to call you," Julia said.

"We ran the debris from the victim's fingernails. Besides curtain fibers and a bit of grit, we also found microscopic wood shavings."