‘I got it from her room,’ Maria finally whispered, her eyes now on the table. ‘Please do not tell on me, Ms Burnette. I cannot lose my job.’
With that, tears began sliding from her eyes and falling onto the table. Fernando reached over and put a comforting arm around her, giving me a look that said something along the lines of ‘you’d better not tell a soul’. I got the message loud and clear, and nodded briefly at him to show that I had. Satisfied, he turned his attention to the sobbing girl.
Ellie and I looked at each other. We’d need to show this to the police, that was for sure, but first I wanted to do some checking on my own. What Emmy had said flipped this entire thing on its ugly head, and I needed to see for myself if what she’d alleged was true. Call it a death wish, call it the Saddler gene for curiosity, call it whatever you will: I had a burning need to know the truth.
‘Maria,’ I began gently, reaching over to pat her hand. ‘It’s OK. I won’t tell anyone where this came from. Promise.’ Unless I have to, I added silently, mentally crossing my fingers for good measure.
She looked up at me, her large brown eyes rimmed in red, lashes clumped together with tears. ‘Oh, gracias, Ms Burnette. Thank you. I know that I shouldn’t have gone in there, but …’ A fresh wave of sobs began to shake her thin shoulders, and she leaned into Fernando for support.
I looked at Ellie, trying to bombard her with my best ESP attempt. Actually, I’d never tried anything like that before, so any attempt was my best. And by the way Ellie stared back at me, she had no earthly idea what I was trying to transmit to her. Dang. I’d just have to say it out loud.
‘Uh, Ellie, dear cuz. I think we need to check out the concierge desk, make sure that all’s quiet on the Western Front.’ My little shot at humor fell flat on its face. Ellie simply looked at me as though I’d lost the last of my marbles, and Maria kept crying, a little quieter now. Only Fernando seemed to have gotten my drift. He nodded at me.
‘I will take Maria back to the kitchen, Ms Burnette,’ he offered. ‘She will be safe with me.’ Tugging gently on Maria’s arm, Fernando lifted her to her feet and they left the dining room together, Fernando’s arm protectively holding her close.
Unlike Ellie, I certainly don’t lay any claim to reading the future or anything, but I didn’t need a crystal ball to tell me which way the wind was blowing in that scenario. At least someone would be happy. And Maria certainly deserved some happiness in her life.
Ellie and I walked back to the main lobby, taking the scenic route behind the Palmetto and across the large grassy lawn that encircled the resort like a green shawl. All was quiet on the Western Front, and I breathed a deep sigh of relief; I was just plain tired of dealing with drama every day.
Of course, that thought set off the built-in guilt alarm that my mother had honed at an early age. This ‘so-called’ drama was the result of three murders, and probably not high on the victims’ lists of ‘Things to Do While at the Miramar.’ If I wasn’t careful, I’d become as cavalier as Stan West.
The concierge desk, tucked back from the main portion of the lobby, provided some privacy and was as good a place as any to go over Emmy’s letter before I had to make the call to Detective Baird (as if that would be a chore). I still couldn’t quite get my head around her words, but she must’ve known what she was talking about. What really troubled me was that she could sense danger enough to cause her to write her thoughts down, and with my name on the envelope, this was a recent development. I shivered. Who at the Miramar could hate enough to kill three seemingly unrelated folks?
Emmy’s information could have come from the day’s headlines. Someone – or a group of someones – had been using the Miramar as a meeting place, somewhere to pass on faked identity cards and to collect the money when they sold. My guess was that Emmy had seen something she shouldn’t have and was frightened enough to write it down. She hadn’t actually mentioned any names, but her suspicions did make sense; with San Blanco being as close to the international border as it was, it made a perfect rendezvous for this type of business.
Ellie was silent, a small miracle as far as I was concerned, but I could see that she was mulling over the letter quite seriously. I was tempted to shout ‘Boo!’ as I used to do when we were younger, but that probably would have been a bad idea: Ellie loves to get revenge. Besides, our first gaggle of guests had arrived, and I needed to put on my Professional Concierge face.
Once the hubbub had died down and all had been given maps and directions to the area’s attractions, Ellie and I sat back in our chairs in recovery mode. This was a bigger deal than I had suspected. I suppose it was because Emmy made it appear effortless. But another group was on its way and there were brochures to fold and more copies of area maps to be made. ‘And time,’ I said to Ellie, ‘is a-wastin’.’
Leaving Ellie to guard the fort, I made my way to the back office area that housed hotel information such as room bookings and staff rosters, as well as an industrial-size copy machine and other typical office supplies. I quickly ran copies of the map that we handed out to guests, staring at the wall above without actually seeing anything. My mind was still trying to get a handle on the newest wrinkle at the Miramar, and I knew I needed to put in a call to the police department. That thought made my heartbeat pick up the pace. At least I had that to look forward to, I told myself with a smile. And maybe I’d get to hand Emmy’s letter directly to Detective Baird.
I was deep in a world of my own, picturing Detective Baird cracking the case wide open because of the letter, and me the proud recipient of a commendation – and a kiss from the grateful detective – when the door behind me slowly opened. As I turned around to see who it was, the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. The door slammed shut and I could hear the sound of footsteps pounding down the corridor.
As I groped my way blindly across the office, feeling for the light switch, I had an awful thought: this was not an accident. Someone – maybe even the Miramar Murderer – had known I was in there. Why follow me? Was it to do with Emmy’s letter? Anyway, if the message they’d tried to deliver was to keep my nose out, it had been received, very loud and very clear.
I all but fell into my chair behind the concierge’s desk, the copies I’d just made sliding from my grasp and spilling across the floor. Ellie took one look at me and came around the desk to hug me, her hair a perfumed curtain over my face. I told her what had just happened, speaking through jaws that felt like they’d been wired shut. In a word, I was stunned. Not since Edmond had locked me in a closet, leaving me to scream and cry and pound on the door for five minutes before Aunt Amie had come to my rescue, had I felt like this. My stomach was in knots and the idea of even touching a cookie, much less eating one, made me feel like losing my cookies, in a manner of speaking.
I leaned into Ellie’s embrace, willing my tense muscles and nerves to relax. Apparently Edmond’s idea of a childhood joke had messed with my psyche a bit more than I’d realized.
‘I think,’ I began, looking up at Ellie, ‘we need to call Detective Baird now. As in RIGHT NOW. I am not going to have something like that happen again, to me or to anyone else. Not to mention that next time it might be sayonara for yours truly.’ I shuddered. That was definitely not on my job description.
‘What I want to know is who had the bright idea to do that in the first place?’ Ellie’s question echoed my sentiments exactly. Who would even know that I had an inkling of what might be going on at the Miramar?
I opened the top desk drawer, fishing around until I found the card that Detective Baird had handed me that first night. I’d only kept it because I thought he was a cutie, and not because I intended to use it. That went to show how little I could predict the future.
I stopped short, my fingers frozen in mid-search. Predicting the future might just be the way to go with this one, and I just happened to have my own human crystal ball sitting right next to me. It couldn’t hurt, and it might even help. Detective Baird, dimpled smile and all,
would just have to wait a bit longer.
Chapter Thirteen
I sat back in my desk chair, eyeing my cousin. She must have had her radar going full force because she looked up at me, her own eyes narrowing in suspicion.
‘Nope, AJ. Uh uh. No how, no way. I don’t want to know anything else.’ Ellie spoke adamantly, her hair flying around her shoulders as she shook her head.
‘Aw, come on, cuz,’ I cajoled, using the sweet voice that made my father melt and got me whatever I wanted (not that I’m proud of this or anything). ‘You know you like messing with those cards. Tell me what you saw when you did that reading earlier. Or maybe do another little reading, just for me? Who knows? You might even solve this whole mess!’
Ellie loves flattery. Being known as the one who caught a killer would ice the cake for her. I could already visualize her trying to negotiate a TV show.
‘Oh, all right,’ she said, feigning disgust. ‘But just this one time, AJ,’ she added in a warning tone. ‘This place gives me the creeps and I’m not too sure if I even want to know what’s going on here or not.’
I hugged her. Ellie was nothing if not predictable. Before she could change her mind, I gave her a push, trundling her off to the suite in the hope that a quiet setting would help her concentrate. Not that I was a believer or anything, but if she was truly able read the future in the cards, I didn’t want her to be distracted one iota.
The second bunch of guests kept me hopping for a good half hour. I practically had to give a speech about the local attractions, which was funny, considering how new I was to the area. I know how to fake it, though, and managed to project a confidence I wasn’t really feeling. My mind had slipped its tether and scampered down the hall towards my room. I was antsy, waiting for Ellie to reappear, and I was happy to see the last of the guests exit the front door.
When an hour had come and gone, and there was still no sign of Ellie, I began to get edgy. With everything that had already happened, including my little adventure in the dark, I couldn’t shake the notion that something – or someone – was keeping her from returning.
I stood looking out at the sweeping views beyond the resort, uneasily chewing a thumbnail and debating whether or not to go and look for Ellie. Common sense told me I could just call her cell, but still I hesitated. My imagination had kicked into overdrive and created all sorts of scenarios. What if she were hiding in the closet or under the bed and her ring tone gave her away? I couldn’t take the chance. I’d just have to go there myself and see what was what.
I have no idea what possessed me to go to my suite alone, but I did. Call it stupidity or blissful ignorance: I suppose I wanted to prove that nothing was amiss, that Ellie would be seated at my little kitchen table, concentrating on getting the cards’ message.
The door was closed – no big surprise there. Ellie is always cautious about security when she goes to any big city. I jiggled the doorknob, but the automatic locking mechanism held firm. I had just lifted my hand to knock when I stopped short: I had to listen closely, but I could definitely hear the unmistakable sound of someone quietly moaning.
If you’ve ever found yourself in a ‘situation’, as my mother would say, complete with pounding heart and sweaty palms, then you’ll know exactly how I was feeling at that moment. Unfortunately, I am one of those folks who tend to freeze when confronted with any type of emergency, and I couldn’t get my mind to conjugate a single thought (at least not one that made any sense). I was like an ice sculpture, frozen in place and unable to move.
‘Miss? Are you OK?’ I turned my head to see the young girl who had brought our room service to us standing at the end of the corridor, a look of concern on her face.
‘Call Security,’ I managed to croak, backing away from the door. I grabbed for the wall just as my knees buckled.
It felt like an hour but I’m sure it was only minutes before I could hear the thump of running feet heading in my direction. In short order, three security guards had opened my door and had stepped inside, cautiously surveying the room. I felt a momentary sense of dread; what if Ellie wasn’t even in there, that I’d imagined it all and panicked for nothing?
When I saw what had happened to Ellie, I wished with all my heart that it had been a false alarm.
The Miramar doesn’t have a medical facility, per se, but we do have a first-aid station down near the entrance to the beach. It sees mostly sunburns, heat exhaustion, dehydration; things that didn’t require an immediate emergency room visit. I was fairly certain, though, that they had never treated injuries like those Ellie had: eyes completely swollen shut from repeated blows to her face, marks on her throat that were rapidly becoming bruises, and cuts at the edge of her mouth where the gag had been pulled mercilessly taut. She looked like a casualty of war or the victim of a car accident, and I was unable to catch my tears in time when they finally let me see her.
‘Oh, my God! Ellie, I am so, so sorry.’ I pressed my cheek to her head, careful to keep my touch light, even though I wanted to wrap my arms around her and hug her as tightly as I could.
‘’s OK,’ she managed to mumble, not able to open her mouth very wide. To my amazement, she tried to smile.
Talk about strong – my cousin was one tough cookie. I almost felt sorry for the person who had done this to her; he – or she – had better watch their backs. Ellie Saddler was on their trail.
‘We’ve got to stop meeting like this,’ said a familiar voice behind me.
I straightened up and turned to look into eyes the color of the Pacific Ocean on a sunny day: bright, clear, and blue. For once, though, I didn’t fall under his spell. In fact, something akin to fury, to rage, began to stir in my mind, and the tears of sorrow threatened to become tears of anger. Where had he been when we needed him?
‘Detective. How nice to see you.’ It would be difficult to miss the sarcastic undertone of my words, but he seemed oblivious. Maybe they taught all police officers how to grow thick skins in the academy. Either that, or else he had deliberately chosen not to get my drift.
‘I need just a minute or two with her then you can come back in, OK?’ His kind words almost undid my resolve to be angry. Before I could experience a total collapse, though, I bolted from the room. I needed to preserve what dignity I still had.
I could hear the wail of sirens as paramedics pulled in at the Miramar’s front entrance. Even though the first-aid station wasn’t within eyeshot of the resort, I imagined I could see the guests, faces glued to the windows, watching with unabated curiosity. It made me so mad that I almost hoofed it back to the resort to give them all a piece of my mind. I thought better of it, though, since any piece of my mind probably wouldn’t be worth the time or effort. I was still reeling from the viciousness of Ellie’s attack and I found that I was having trouble keeping my thoughts harnessed.
‘She’ll be OK, so don’t worry, AJ.’ Detective Baird had managed to walk up behind me without a sound, and naturally I jumped sky high.
‘And she gave me a pretty good description of who it was.” He gave a short laugh. ‘She’s pretty spunky. Told me she managed to scare them off by waving Tarot cards at them.’
Oh sure, I thought cynically. We’ve got some superstitious burglars on the loose. Aloud, I said, ‘You make it sound like she tripped while walking on the beach,’ I took a deep breath, trying to calm my heart that had thrown itself in panic against my ribs. ‘Ellie, in case you hadn’t noticed, was attacked by someone who wasn’t out to make friends, not someone looking for a card reading.’
‘I know,’ he replied quietly. He stretched out a hand to touch my shoulder, then seemed to think better of it. I was in full-blown prickle mode and it showed.
Mercifully, the paramedics’ arrival saved me from making a complete dope of myself. I had enough to worry about without adding ‘village idiot’ to my résumé, especially in front of Detective Baird.
He gave me one last look then turned to lead them into the first-aid station. I hesitated, wanting
to be with Ellie but not wanting to see her in pain. I was a chicken and I knew it, but I also know my limits. If I passed out now, I’d be no good to either one of us, and I was honor-bound and determined to make someone pay.
Ellie’s departure for the local emergency room left me feeling bereft and awkward, as though I was the new kid on the block and didn’t know quite what to do with my time. Of course, I knew that I probably should have gone straight back to the concierge’s desk, but found I had no desire to be within ten feet of the place. As far as I was concerned, Stan West could do the job himself. I was fed up. I made up my mind on the spot: as soon as Ellie could travel, we were out of here.
Chapter Fourteen
Thankfully, Ellie was discharged from the hospital within a few hours. Nothing was broken – certainly not her spunky attitude – and with a few days of rest, the attending doctor assured us, all the cuts and bruises would heal. Of course, Detective Baird had gone with her in the ambulance, playing the kindness card, but I was still upset. I know blaming him for the attack was pure nonsense, but he was an easy target.
True to my word, I gave my notice to Stan West, whose face went from resort tan to blanched pale in a matter of seconds. I knew him well enough by now to recognize the symptoms for what they were: he was far more concerned about having to cover the concierge station than he was for his employees’ wellbeing. Whatever. If he pushed me enough, he’d find out exactly what he could do with his precious resort.
I was in the middle of packing my belongings, Ellie snoozing on the couch, when someone knocked on the door. The sound instantly awakened her and sent my heart thumping nearly out of my chest, but I managed to rearrange my face from ‘scared to death’ to ‘it’s only the door’ so that Ellie wouldn’t be further traumatized. I was feeling mighty responsible for her, despite the fact that she’d come here on her own accord.
Murder at the Miramar (Augusta Burnette Series) Page 8