Chapter Twenty-Two

There were six people in the upstairs room of the mountain chalet while the rest of the party bustled along downstairs unknowing of the treachery above. John Tice sat in a chair in the corner, his head in his hands. Tracy and Mr. Hayes sat next to one another on a love seat with their hands held tightly together. Greg, the security chief, and James, Mr. Hayes' personal assistant, argued about what should be done, while Jenna sat with her hands zip-tied to a chair.

The vial had been small, small enough to fit in Jenna's heel compartment. Greg's men had whisked it away to be analyzed, but Greg had smelled the hidden compartment it came from. "Smell the almond smell? Cyanide. You would have been dead before you hit the ground if you’d drank it."

At first, John had fought the men to try to get his daughter released, but had relented when they said that they hadn’t called the cops yet. He was obviously a powerful man, but he knew when to quit. Something about him made Tracy uneasy, as if h