A Sneeze to Die For

by Teresa Trent

  “I see. So, you have absolutely no record of a reservation from this guest in your system?”

  “None at all. We’re totally booked up and couldn’t have rented him a room if we had wanted to.”

  “And are you sure he didn’t come to your hotel and visit another guest?”

  “No. This was the first we’d ever seen of him. He came here from out of town and as far as we know, doesn’t know anybody here.”

  There was a clicking on a keyboard on the other side of the phone. “I’m going to have to put you on hold.” Elevator music came gently into her ear.

  A couple of local men in black leather vests emboldened with a serpent on the back sauntered into the lobby. Nora recognized them from Hades Alley, the local biker bar where she had applied for a job before she was hired at the Tunie. Could it be they were here to indulge their love of kitty cats and cozy mysteries? It seemed improbable, but cat lovers were everywhere and could be little old ladies with parakeets or burly guys with prison tats.

  “Can I help you?” Nora asked.

  One of the men looked up, startled. It was unusual they hadn’t come directly to the front desk.

  “No. We just came to enjoy your restaurant. We hear an old drinking buddy of ours runs it now.”

  With a full house, having traffic off the street for the restaurant would be even tougher for Wiley and his staff to accommodate. They hadn’t thought to close off the restaurant this evening.

  “Do you know Wiley?”

  “Know him? We’ve picked his ass up off the floor more than a few times. Although, we haven’t seen much of him lately. I guess finally getting to run his own restaurant went to his head,” the barrel-chested man said.

  The other biker who was much thinner than his friend punched him in the arm. “Don’t you know man? Old Wiley got the cure. He’s healed.” The two men started laughing loudly.

  “I don’t know if this is a good night to visit. We have a convention in the hotel and it might be hard to find a table.”

  “Not a problem. We just want to go in a get a little of the atmosphere. We were thinking of bringing some of our friends here.” That information should have thrilled Nora as a business owner, but it didn’t. It was obvious to Nora they were both thinking on the fly. Nobody cared about atmosphere in a hotel restaurant.

  “Okay. We’re just setting up for our convention’s keynote speaker tonight, but I’m sure that the wait staff wouldn’t mind if you go in and have a look around. Have you been to the Tunie before?”

  The bigger man snuffled. “Hell, yeah. Everybody’s been to the Tunie.” With that, they turned and went into the dining room. It was curious, if they had been to the Tunie before, why would they want to look at it now? Most of the town viewed the Tunie’s changes at the guest reunion when the hotel reopened. Still though, Nora could not recall two gentlemen as rough as this engaging in the festivities.

  Whatever these guys were up to, she didn’t have time to think about it. Now that the reviews were going to be taken down, she could tell Miss Martin-Ortega that the negative ratings were simply a malicious action and that the room rate would remain the same. The Tunie would come out in the black now, and she could tell Marty about all of it and maybe they share a laugh.

  The elevator music stopped and the voice on the other side returned. “Very interesting. I just looked up your hotel. The first thing that stands out to me is we only allow one review per customer, and somehow a person with the same IP address was able to post ten reviews, all of them negative. This is expressly against our policy here at Rate My Hotel. I can delete all of them for you if you would like.”

  The woman on the phone asked Nora like maybe it was a choice she would want to consider before taking such a drastic action.

  Nora responded without another second. “I would like that very much. When will they be coming down?”

  “I’ll be deleting them right now, but it still takes about twenty-four hours for the reviews to work their way out of our system. I apologize for the time lag, but that’s the best we can do. Is there anything else I can help you with today at Rate My Hotel?”

  “Nope,” Nora answered triumphantly, “you’ve helped us more than you can know.”

  As Nora hung up the phone, the two bikers came back out of the dining room walking at a fast pace toward the lobby door. Nora shouted to them as they rushed out onto the street. “Is that all you needed?”

  “That ought to do it,” the barrel-chested biker said with a grin as the lobby door closed.

  The smell of the fried chicken was rising from the kitchen, so she headed over to check on Wiley and ask him what the two men wanted. Everything needed to be ready as the guests began to come down in the next half hour. Dominic had returned from his break, so Nora made her way across the carpet from the quiet dining room to the noisy cacophony of the chaotic kitchen.

  “Wiley? What else goes in the potato salad?” Caesar asked.

  “I told you the recipe is right up on the board. Read the recipe and don’t bother me.”

  Wiley’s face was beet red and his hair was plastered to his balding head.

  “Everything okay in here Uncle Wiley?”

  “Fine.” He directed Nora,” Grab those rolled silverware napkins and start putting them out on the tables.”

  “Sure. Hey, what did those two guys want?”

  “What two guys?”

  “Two old drinking buddies of yours just stopped in. You didn’t speak with them?”

  “Darlin, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now get the silverware on the tables.” Nora went to get the tub of wrapped silverware when a large gentleman in a white button down short sleeved shirt walked in carrying a clip board. His face was not familiar, so Nora knew he wasn’t a part of Wiley’s staff.

  “Can I help you?” Maybe it was a guest looking to see if dinner was about to be served, Nora thought.

  “You certainly can. My name is Don Jansen and I’m from the health department. We received a call that it might be a good idea to do a spot check on your facility today.”

  Wiley came forward, drying his hands on a dish towel. “Hey, Mr. Jansen. A spot check? I didn’t think you fellas did that kind of thing.”

  “Normally, we don’t but we received a phone call that there is a possible mishandling of food at this location and that you are feeding a large crowd.”

  Wiley’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Somebody called and said we’re mishandling food?”

  “Yes. You don’t mind an impromptu inspection, do you, Wiley? A new kitchen like this, there can’t be anything too wrong with it.”

  “I suppose not. Go ahead and look around. We’re awful busy because we have a convention in town.”

  “I’ll stay out of your way. I should be out of here in ten minutes.”

  As Mr. Jansen started walking around the kitchen, looking under counters and running his finger along the cutting boards, Nora whispered into Wiley’s ear. “Is this strange?”

  “Very strange.”

  Nora looked at her watch. The guests would be down any minute.

  Chapter 13

  W

  As Nora escorted the health department inspector from the kitchen, he turned back to her as he inserted his pen into his metal clipboard case. “Okay. I need to go write up my report. This shouldn’t take too much longer.” He gave her a quick salute and headed into the dining room.

  “That didn’t seem that bad,” Nora said.

  “Yeah. It took a lot longer when I was working for Jumbo Jim. He doesn’t keep his kitchen as clean as I do.”

  Their eyes followed Don Jansen as he made his way through the chairs and tables in the dining room. He stopped suddenly and crouched down.

  Nora whispered to Wiley. “What’s he doing? Taking a knee after a good inspection?”

  Wiley
’s eyebrows rose and put a hand on his chin. “Don’t rightly know. It can’t be so good he’s thanking his creator.”

  The health inspector took his pen out and fidgeted with something on the carpet. “What could be out there? He’s already inspected the kitchen.”

  Wiley shook his head in confusion. “The dining room would be a part of his checklist, but ours is spotless.”

  The health inspector pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of the carpet. Had one of the wait staff spilled something today? Nora had longed to put new flooring into the dining room, but it just wasn’t in the budget. The carpet that was there had been put in in the eighties and keeping it up was a full-time job. Still though, the carpets had been cleaned last week.

  Wiley’s hand went to his chin as he bit his lower lip. “That really can’t be good. He’s documenting evidence.”

  Nora drew in a breath trying to keep herself calm. She had just taken care of the negative reviews, and now they had a spot inspection by the health department? It was like they were doomed to fail no matter what she did.

  “I’d better get back to the desk. Guests are going to start coming down for dinner. Are you okay in here?”

  “We’re ready to go. We need to put this health department guy in the back of our minds for now. Time to make the most of today like they teach you in AA. It’s show time.”

  Nora liked Uncle Wiley’s attitude. Staying positive was the key. She passed the area where the health department inspector had been taking a picture, but there wasn’t any kind of stain on the floor. Maybe he liked the color of the carpet so much he wanted to use it in his own home.

  Evangeline Cartwright had entered the lobby and stood at the counter chatting with Max.

  “There you are. I just wanted to tell you what a lovely room I have.” Evangeline smile was warm and welcoming. It was a relief after all the stress Nora had been facing.

  Finally, something was going right. Someone had something good to say. Not just any someone either, but the keynote speaker for their first official conference at the Tunie Hotel. Tonight, Evangeline had changed to a soft maroon dress with a necklace that mixed maroon and black beads that playfully sparkled about her neck.

  “Are you ready for this evening?”

  “I believe so. I’ve done this type of thing a couple of times before and even have a stump speech if you can believe it,” she assured Nora. Her glanced straight to the door. “My friend Doug said that he would meet me in the lobby. I thought he’d be here by now. I didn’t want to tell him my room number. I think he’s a wonderful man, but I didn’t think it was very appropriate.”

  How cute, Nora thought. Even at their age, they were observing a days-gone-by polite behavior between single men and women. Evangeline had just met her long-time fan, and they were both up in years. The tinted glass of the lobby door opened letting light into the lobby. Instead of it being Evangeline’s gentleman caller, Izzy Franklin marched another manila envelope she held tightly to her breast. In an obvious attempt at dressing for the evening, she had added a black blazer to her frumpy looking plaid skirt. Her eyes took on a glow when they landed on Evangeline Cartwright standing at the counter.

  “Wonderful,” Izzy sang out in her nasally voice. “I was hoping I would get to see you before tonight.”

  “Here I am,” Evangeline said with a welcoming smile and then she pointed to Izzy’s possession. “May I deduce that you are holding a new copy of your manuscript?”

  “Ah, always the amateur sleuth. This manuscript is brand spanking new fresh off the copy machine at the library.”

  “That must’ve taken a lot of dimes,” Max muttered under his breath.

  Izzy glared at Nora. “Yes, it did, and it was an unnecessary expense. One thing I’ve learned from this experience is that when I have something as valuable as a manuscript that contains my heart and soul poured out on the pages, I will always deliver it personally and NEVER depend on others.”

  “Come, come now. Izzy,” Evangeline said. “I heard Nora was stuck in the elevator. A frightening experience to be sure. You couldn’t ask her to crawl out of the shaft holding your manuscript. I’m just pleased that you could deliver a copy of it to me so quickly.”

  Izzy relented just a bit at Evangeline’s advice. “I suppose. How long do you think it will be before you get a chance to read it?”

  Evangeline was a successful author and was probably busy with work of her own. Taking the time out to read the novel of an aspiring writer could be a chore. Still though, she continued to handle the situation with charm and grace.

  “I can’t really say, but I absolutely promise to get to it and get back to you. Did you put your email address on the envelope?”

  “Yes, Miss Cartwright. It’s right there. I’ll anxiously await your critique of the manuscript. Now I don’t want you to go easy on me. Don’t do me any favors. Let me know what needs fixing.”

  Max strolled over to the dining room. Normally at this point he would take a swing by the snack display, but Nora noticed he kept on walking.

  “What, no candy bar?” Nora asked.

  Max patted his stomach. “On a diet. Good for my health.” Max’s stomach emitted a hollow sound like a hungry bear growling after a long winter’s nap.

  The lobby door opened again as sunlight streamed in from the street. Doug Lindstrom had changed out of his usual sweater vest into a navy-blue suit with a red tie. He looked dashing, Nora thought. What had he looked like as a young man? “Am I late?”

  “Right on time,” Evangeline said as she walked over and slipped her hand through his arm.

  More and more guests started coming into the lobby and Evangeline and Doug excused themselves to find their places in the banquet room.

  The extra wait staff that consisted of Little Dudley from Dudley’s brew and a few of his friends stood at the doors and politely seated the incoming Meow Meetup members.

  “Looking stellar tonight my lady,” Little Dudley said in his surfer dude way of speaking. The ladies he was seating were tickled at his over the top descriptions.

  Marty walked with a cane into the lobby in a sparkling silver pant suit that highlighted her silvery gray hair.

  “You look beautiful,” Max said.

  “Do I? This is one of my leftovers from my real estate days.”

  “Well, it certainly works for you. Now are you sure that ankle is ready for this evening?” Max said.

  “Yes, I’m fine. I really appreciate the gossip magazines you brought me. I think I’m completely caught up on all the Hollywood starlets and their troubles. “ She gazed at Max and there was a warmth to her voice. “I’ll take your advice and not push it.” She turned her gaze to Nora. “How is everything going? Have you had any problems today? Thank goodness, I had you and Max to take care of everything. I just knew that whatever came up you could handle it. Right, guys?”

  How much of the truth was Nora willing to share with her new partner? Her answer was quick. “No problem. Everything is going fine. Just fine.”

  “Wonderful. I knew I could rely on you.”

  There was a squawk from the next room as Camille Martin-Ortega began testing the borrowed sound system Max had set up for the Meow Meetup. Her short blond curls bobbed as she kept repeating the annoying standard mic-check word, “testing … testing.” Once the crowd was seated, Mrs. Martin-Ortega announced Evangeline Cartwright, and things began progressing smoothly. Nora let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Maybe she really could pull this off.

  Sasha LeClaire slunk down the stairs in a black satin slip dress that hit just above-the-knee and clung to her athletic body. Her hair was artfully pinned up with a few cascading strands framing her face. Most of the crowd had already assembled in the banquet room and upon seeing Sasha, Marty whispered and gestured to the doorway, “Oh, Miss Cartwright is just about to s
peak. You can probably still sneak in.”

  Izzy was seated next to the door and was waiting for her mentor to speak. Sasha drew near to the banquet room, close enough for Izzy to hear her.

  “No matter. I’m going to get an interview from her anyway, and frankly my magazine is more about the cat lover than the droll books they read. I mean, seriously, who can consider what she writes anything close to literature? Have you seen her titles? The Cat and the Man on the Train, The Cat and the Woman Who Sang? Not exactly Hemingway.”

  Izzy sat up straight now pulling her eyes from the front to Sasha. The evil looks she’d been giving Nora for losing her manuscript had now found a new home with Sasha. Izzy rose from her chair and stamped into the lobby. Her cheeks puffed out and her face had taken a deep red tinge.

  “How dare you say such mean things about Evangeline. She is the best writer in the whole damn library, and you’ll regret saying that.”

  Marty stepped forward to Izzy. “It’s so wonderful to have Miss Cartwright’s fans here. Izzy, why don’t you go and enjoy some of that delicious fried chicken? It ought to be out any minute.” Giving one final scowl to Sasha, Izzy returned to the banquet room.

  “My, my. Some people are really uptight around here. Of course, when your entire social life is built around cats and books …” Sasha said in her slow practiced tone.

  Izzy didn’t hear Sasha’s last comment because the applause for Evangeline had drowned her out. As Evangeline started speaking, Nora kept checking on the computer to see if any of the one-star reviews had disappeared even though she knew it could take up to twenty-four hours. Working on the definition of “within” twenty-four hours, Nora hoped it was really a much shorter amount of time it took to delete the reviews, so she kept refreshing the screen. Unfortunately, they kept coming back each time. Just as Nora was worried she’d be giving a discount, Evangeline started talking about the hotel.

  “And I’m sure you are all bowled over by getting to stay at the historic Tunie hotel. When I found out I was coming to Texas, I was fascinated that we would be a part of the great history of this state. The Tunie hotel has been here through oil boom and bust. They handled the wildcatters and now they have the wonderful members of the Meow Meetup. Not so wild, but definitely cat lovers. Let’s have a big round of applause for our wonderful hosts at the Tunie.” The crowd responded enthusiastically. Camille Martin-Ortega’s lips thinned, and her hands barely moved.