Murder Times Two

by Diana X Dunn

  Max shook his head. “I want my own doctor in here, someone who knows what they are doing.”

  Doctor Henderson frowned and opened his mouth, but Luke interrupted. “You are welcome to have your own doctor take a look if you’d prefer,” he said smoothly to Max, shooting the other man an apologetic look. “Every second that we have to wait, however, makes our investigation more difficult.”

  Max turned on him. “Do you think I care about your investigation?” he demanded. “My daughter is dead.”

  “I would hope that you’d like us to find out who killed her,” Luke said quietly.

  “She was murdered?” Max looked even more stunned. “I thought,” he paused, suddenly seeming unsure of what he did think. “I assumed that she’d overdosed on something,” he said eventually. “She was drinking and partying and I thought….” He trailed off.

  “That is, of course, one possibility,” Luke told him. “Our investigation will consider all of the possibilities. Coming so quickly after Chrystal’s murder, I would be more inclined toward foul play than accidental overdose, but maybe I have a suspicious mind.”

  Suzy’s mind was in the exact same place as Luke’s. As far as she was concerned, this was definitely murder. Now was not the time to voice her opinion, however.

  Randy had been unusually quiet throughout the whole ordeal. Now he moved forward and took Max’s arm. “Let’s go back to your suite and get away from all of this,” he suggested softly.

  Max pulled his arm away and looked for a moment like he might hit the other man. Suzy moved forward to stop the fight before it started, but Max was already regaining shaky control of himself.

  “Yeah,” he muttered to no one in particular. “I guess I should go and sit down or something.”

  Randy led him toward the door to the suite, ignoring everyone else in the room. Suzy touched Randy’s arm as they passed her. “If I can do anything,” she said softly.

  “Thanks,” Randy gave her a wan smile. “I’ll let you know.”

  Max was silent as they left the room. Luke followed them slowly, watching them as they made their way into Max’s suite further down the hall.

  “I’ll have to question them,” Luke said tiredly. “That won’t be enjoyable.”

  “You need to question Alex, too. That should be easier,” Suzy replied.

  “Yeah, I better go and do that now,” Luke shrugged. “I can’t do anything here while the experts are doing their thing.”

  They left the room together, and for a moment Suzy thought that Luke might invite her along to the interview with Alex, but she was disappointed. He walked her to her door instead.

  “Thanks for the help with Max,” he told her as she waved her key card in front of her security panel. “I’m going to be busy for the next several hours, but I’ll need to talk to you at some point. Did you actually speak to Genifer tonight?”

  Suzy frowned as she thought back over the evening. “I don’t think so,” she said finally. “First she was arguing with Max and then she was snuggled up with Peter. I don’t think I even went near her.”

  Luke banged his head lightly on her door. “Peter,” he groaned. “I forgot about him. I need him found and I need to talk to him right away.” He tapped a few things into his M-ped and then shoved it into a pocket.

  “I was hoping we could….” He didn’t finish, choosing instead to end the comment with action. He slipped his arms around Suzy and used one hand to lift her chin. Before she could react, he lowered his lips to hers. It was a good, thorough kiss and Suzy felt slightly light-headed when Luke finished it. “And on that note, I have to go and interview murder suspects,” he said bitterly.

  Suzy considered a dozen different replies before she settled on a simple good night. Luke looked like he had a lot more to say, but he merely nodded and then walked quickly back down the corridor. Suzy watched as he boarded an elevator and headed back down to the party.

  For a brief moment she considered going back down herself. She might get a chance to talk to some of Genifer’s friends and find out more about the dead woman. That sort of action, however, would definitely look suspicious to Luke and possibly to Max as well. Reluctantly she shut her door and crossed into her own living room. She pulled out her standard-issue M-ped and took another look at Genifer Hart’s profile. It was a pointless exercise, but she needed to try to distract herself.

  Chrystal’s murder had seemed almost impulsive. This one had taken a lot more planning. Shutting down Max’s security on The Mirage wouldn’t have been difficult for anyone with a basic knowledge of security systems. Shutting down the resort’s elevators, however, suggested a high level of sophisticated knowledge of more than just security systems, as well as access to some illegal control devices. Managing all of that with Luke and an extra group of security officers on duty at the party took planning and nerve.

  Either there were two different murderers or whoever had killed Chrystal was getting smarter and more dangerous. Suzy dismissed the idea of an accidental overdose without even considering it. Further, she doubted very much that there were two perpetrators within their small circle. Now she began to worry that there was more behind these murders than initially met the eye.

  After Alex’s wife’s murder she had been made aware of a criminal who was calling himself Rex. He was very skilled in controlling security systems, and he was quickly gaining a reputation for being ruthless and mercenary. She’d heard that he could be bought to do just about anything and she was starting to worry that he might be behind the two murders that had taken place. He could have done them for the money, or he could have had some other motive that she didn’t know about in his own evil agenda. Whatever the reason, if he was involved, she needed to worry about other potential victims.

  Twelve

  Suzy switched on the video screen and discovered that she could watch what was happening in the ballroom on it. Presumably the live feed was meant to entertain guests who hadn’t been invited to whatever special event was happening in the grand ballroom. Tonight, anyone watching would see a party disintegrating in a dramatic fashion.

  In one corner of the room, a couple of men from the hotel’s security team located Peter Palmer and escorted him out. A few moments later Luke walked in and spoke to one of the hotel staff. She couldn't hear what was being said, as the video feed didn't include audio, but it wasn't hard to figure out that he was ending the party.

  It was equally clear that many of the guests were deeply unhappy with that idea. Suzy watched as Luke kept shaking his head as angry and drunk guests hurled questions and comments at him. After a few minutes, he abruptly turned on his heel and left the room.

  A moment later, a team of police and security men and women began to line the guests up, preparing to question each of them before letting them return to their rooms. Suzy watched as Henry had a few quick words with an officer before being escorted out. That suggested that Luke was looking very closely at the suspects in Chrystal's murder investigation for this one as well. Suzy concurred. It was the only thing that made sense. She watched for a while longer, noting which guests were taken to speak with the police in what order.

  As the number of guests began to dwindle down, Suzy was surprised to spot Captain Grayson trying to look inconspicuous in the corner of the room. She hadn't seen him during the course of the evening, assuming that he had chosen to remain on The Mirage rather than attend the party.

  She watched as he spoke with an officer for a moment and then was escorted out of the ballroom. Presumably, he too was going to have a private chat with Luke. Suzy wondered again if she should have used her connections to get involved in the investigation. At least that would have allowed her to sit in on all of these interviews instead of being stuck on the sidelines.

  It didn’t seem long before the ballroom was empty of guests. Only a few minutes later a cleaning crew arrived and began the unenviable task of clearing up the mess that the revelers had created. Suzy watched as the fountain was turned
off and then drained, ready for disassembly. It felt sad, watching the party being cleared away by bored hotel staff. While she hadn’t liked Genifer, she felt inexplicably troubled by her death. After another minute, she switched the video screen off.

  Pacing back and forth across the floor, she thought about how much she’d always relied on her M-ped and regular contact with Michael and her agency. Cut off from all of that, she was struggling to figure out what to do. One quick conversation with Luke would fix the problem, but it would also destroy her cover and put Max on alert, which would make it more difficult for the person who would be sent to replace her. She frowned and paced slowly around her suite. There seemed nothing she could do but wait. A conversation with Luke would help, but she would settle for Alex.

  She sat back down on a couch and flipped the video screen back on. The ballroom link had disappeared and in its place was a video about all of the hotel’s amenities. Suzy clicked through all of the screen’s available options, watching bits of old movies, current video short series and some old comedy program about a bunch of stunning people living in old New York City. She allowed herself to watch mindlessly, letting the day’s events catch up with her.

  A knock on the door some time later startled her. She switched the video screen off and checked the security screen to see who was outside her door before she swung it open to welcome Luke.

  “You look exhausted,” she told the man in place of a proper greeting.

  Luke smiled humorlessly. “I am exhausted,” he admitted. “It’s been three hours since Genifer’s body was found and I feel like I’ve been running ever since.”

  “Come and sit down,” Suzy invited. “Would you like a drink?”

  “I would love some coffee,” Luke told her. “I need to stay awake.”

  Suzy pressed a few buttons on her kitchen drink dispenser, ordering up the strongest coffee it offered. “You know there are tablets for that,” she suggested as she handed the steaming drink to him.

  “I know,” Luke frowned as he took a sip. “I prefer to get my caffeine fix the old-fashioned way.”

  Suzy smiled at him. She had never developed a taste for coffee, but then she had always been careful to not develop a taste for anything. She could drink coffee if a particular identity called for it, but she would never take the risk of getting addicted to anything, even something as seemingly innocuous as coffee.

  Luke took another sip and then settled back on the couch. He closed his eyes for a second and then sighed. “That feels better,” he told Suzy. “Not great, but better.”

  Suzy settled on the couch next to him, close enough to be friendly, but not so close as to suggest intimacy. “Has it been awful?” she asked sympathetically.

  “Yeah, pretty much,” Luke shook his head.

  “So was it murder or just an accidental overdose?” Suzy tried to keep her tone conversational, so that Luke wouldn’t remember that he shouldn’t talk to her about such things.

  Luke chuckled. “You know I’m not supposed to tell you anything. I hope my trust in you isn’t totally misplaced.”

  “It isn’t,” Suzy assured him meaninglessly. She was pleased that he trusted her. She could only hope that it was because he was an excellent judge of character and had read her correctly. Talking about cases with suspects was a very bad habit for a law officer.

  “I can’t tell you everything that we discovered,” Luke told her, “but I will say that we are ninety-nine percent certain that it was murder.”

  Suzy nodded slowly. That didn’t surprise her at all.

  “Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the elevators that were disabled,” Luke continued. “The security cameras were all down for about half an hour as well.”

  Suzy nodded again. She had been expecting that. Someone was far too good at shutting down security systems.

  “Of course, it was noticed in the security booth, and officers were dispatched, but with the elevators down, they didn’t respond as quickly as they should have. No one notified me as to the breaches. Additionally, we had been briefed to ignore standard security on the penthouse level. Max didn’t want anyone interfering with his good time.” Luke shook his head as frustration sounded in his voice.

  “That sounds like Max,” Suzy said soothingly. “More worried about fun than safety and security. I’m sure he never thought anyone would be in any danger, least of all Genifer.”

  “Whatever he thought, he is now blaming me and my police and security teams for failing to protect her,” Luke said bitterly. “I suspect that by morning I will be out of a job.”

  Suzy frowned. She liked Luke and she thought he had a good chance of actually solving the two murders. She didn’t like the idea of someone else taking over. “I’ll talk to him,” she told Luke, patting his arm to reassure him.

  “I doubt it,” Luke shot back. “He and Randy are already packing their things. They’re heading back to The Mirage and will be sailing on Monday, whether the murders are solved or not.”

  Suzy thought for a moment. It was Saturday, well, early Sunday morning. That didn’t give Luke, or anyone else for that matter, much time to figure out what had happened. “That isn’t long,” she mused.

  “No, it isn’t,” Luke’s frown deepened. “Maybe he won’t bother to get me fired, he’ll just sail away.”

  Suzy shrugged. “What is happening with Genifer’s funeral?” she wondered aloud.

  “He is having the body shipped to New York, where Genifer had an apartment. Apparently there will be a service there and he’ll make a brief appearance, but he isn’t in any hurry for any of that. Of course, he has to wait for the autopsy, but that’s already underway and no one will be taking their time on this one.”

  “No, I guess not,” Suzy sighed. “I’m assuming the suspect list is the same for Genifer’s death as it was for Chrystal’s?”

  “Yes and no,” Luke answered. “You’re pretty much out of this one, because you were with me from the time Genifer left the room until Alex messaged you that he’d found the body. Other than that, just about everyone else was in and out of the party so much that they all have to be considered. By that I mean Peter, Henry, Marta, Captain Grayson, and Randy are all suspects. Max is also a possibility on this one, though not on Chrystal. And, of course, there are about a hundred people who could have killed Genifer, but couldn’t have killed Chrystal. There is a whole damn party full of potential suspects.”

  “But surely you think the same person killed them both?” Suzy asked.

  “What I think doesn’t come into it,” Luke answered. “We have to consider every possible solution, including that the murders are unrelated. Of course, if that is the case, the best suspect for Genifer’s death has to be your friend Alex.”

  Suzy shook her head. She had been expecting that, but she still didn’t like it. “He was stuck waiting for the elevator until after she was dead.”

  “We only have his word on that,” Luke told her. “We haven’t found anyone yet who remembers waiting with him for an elevator. The security cameras were all down. Of course, we haven’t been able to question every person in the hotel yet.”

  “And that doesn’t prove anything anyway,” Suzy interjected. “Do you always remember everyone who you were with in an elevator in the middle of a party?”

  “You’re quick to defend a man you just met today,” Luke said mildly.

  Suzy flushed. She had to be very careful here. Luke might trust her, but he was also a very clever detective. “Sorry,” she shrugged. “I like him, that’s all.”

  “Not too much, I hope,” Luke blurted it out and then flushed himself.

  “So what do you do now?” Suzy ignored the remark and tried to focus the conversation back on the investigation.

  “I don’t know,” Luke admitted. “I’m frustrated and fed up, really. Randy had a doctor in place for Max before I even got there. According to the doctor, Max is too upset to talk to the police. Randy answered a few questions, but not enough to be helpful, bef
ore he headed back to be with Max. All of the money and power are on their side. I can’t do anything more than ask politely for cooperation. I asked my boss about forcing them to stay for a few more days and was told, in no uncertain terms, that they sail on Monday no matter what.”

  Suzy shrugged. “So you have Sunday to solve the case,” she told him. “Maybe I can help.”

  A knock on the door startled them both. Suzy quickly checked the security screen by the door.

  “Alex,” she told the other man.

  “What does he want?” Luke demanded.

  “I’ve no idea,” Suzy sighed. “Shall I open the door and find out?”

  Luke hesitated for a moment before he nodded slowly

  Suzy swung the door open, giving Alex a frown to warn him that she wasn’t alone. “Hey, come on in,” she invited casually. “Luke was just having coffee. Would you like something?”

  Alex paused on the doorstep, looking indecisive.

  “Come on in,” Suzy repeated. “What can I get you to drink?”

  Alex shook his head. “I’m fine,” he told her. “I just wanted a change of scenery from my room.”

  Suzy nodded and got herself a glass of water from the kitchen. She sank onto a couch across from Luke and gestured for Alex to sit down as well. He plopped down in a chair at the end of the couch and frowned.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting serious questioning.” he remarked.

  “Not at all,” Luke told him. “Suzy isn’t actually a suspect for this murder. I just came up to bounce ideas off of her.”

  “Is that normal in a murder case?” Alex challenged. Suzy kept her face perfectly composed, although she wanted to scream. Alex wasn’t helping things by suggesting that Luke was overstepping boundaries with her.

  Luke just smiled. “No, but for this case it is proving very helpful,” he told Alex.

  “Really?” Alex replied. “In what way?”

  Luke chuckled, obviously determined not to let Alex upset him. “Suzy knows all of the key players well and can give me insights that I wouldn’t normally get. The world of the rich and famous is far beyond anything I’m used to dealing with.”