Strawberry Sprinkled Swirl Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 49

by Gillard, Susan

  “Yes,” Caroline started. “But Norton Worthers had the second key for his room. At least we gave it to him.”

  Heather looked at Ryan, and he nodded. She understood the code. They had found the room key while searching the crime scene.

  “So only someone who had one of these two keys could have entered the room,” Heather said. “Unless Norton Worthers let them in himself.”

  “I guess so,” Caroline said. “But I had this set of keys on me all the time.”

  She took her ring of hotel keys out of her pocket and shook them for emphasis.

  “Had you ever met Mr. Worthers before he arrived for this lecture?’ Heather asked.

  “Briefly. My first job was at this building, and Mr. Worthers was the owner. It was a few owners back. Mr. Worthers sold the building when he started getting into different types of real estate. To be honest, he wasn’t around very much when I was there. And the owner after him went out of business, and I left. But Mr. Worthers felt nostalgic about the place. That was why he agreed to be my first speaker. I guess I was a bit nostalgic about it too. That’s why I wanted to buy it too.”

  “Did it bother you that Mr. Worthers left and the business went under?” Heather asked.

  “It was pretty sad, but I was leaving to go to school anyway. So timing-wise it worked out for me.”

  “So you didn’t blame him for leaving and letting things fall apart?” Heather prodded.

  “No,” Caroline said. “I didn’t think of it like that. Why are you asking me these things? Am I suspect?”

  “We have to follow all leads,” Heather said.

  Ryan nodded and thanked Caroline for answering their questions. Then the trio left her to worry about more things.

  “Could she have done it?” Amy asked the other two. “It seems silly to me to invite some private investigators to your event if you were going to kill somebody.”

  “She might not have known your other career when she was ordering the donuts,” Ryan said.

  “That’s true,” Heather agreed. “And she did have the keys to the crime scene on her the whole time.”

  Chapter 6

  “George Copper?”

  “That’s my name,” the man said, looking at them from behind the boiler. He smiled and came closer to them. “How can I help?”

  He wiped his hands on a cloth but refrained from offering to shake because of some slight dirt still on them. He was an older man but still looked fit and healthy. His natural state was to have a toothy grin on his face, but some concern had crept onto his brow.

  “I’m Detective Shepherd with the Hillside Police. This is Heather Shepherd and Amy Givens. They’re private investigators who consult on cases with us.”

  “You’re here about the man who died. Was he killed?”

  “Yes, he was. Would you mind answering a few questions?”

  “Not at all,” George Copper said. “I’m not sure I know anything, but I’ll tell you what I know.”

  Ryan wanted to double check that what Caroline Humly had told them about the keys and began his line of questioning with, “You’re the handyman around here. Do you have a set of keys for the rooms?”

  “I’ve worked as the handyman here for a long time. Under several different owners with their own systems. Right now all the rooms only have two keys. Ms. Humly keeps one set on a ring that she carries around with her. The other ones are at the front desk. We can borrow one if we need to do work in a room. Or a guest takes it when they check into their room.”

  “Do you know if Mr. Worthers had his key?”

  “That’s the rich guy that was killed? I think he had his key because he checked in. Everyone was excited about it. However, I don’t know for certain. Dylan Grover at the front desk would know more about that.”

  “Didn’t you know Mr. Worthers?” Heather asked. “He used to own the hotel. Did you work here then?”

  “I hadn’t made the connection, but yes. I did work here when he was in charge. I had forgotten. He didn’t recognize me when he came in, and I guess I didn’t recognize him either.”

  “He is a recognizable guy,” Amy said. “He’s famous around here.”

  “I guess I knew the name and not the face,” George said. “Maybe my eyes aren’t what they used to be either.”

  “What do you remember of Norton Worthers when he was your boss?” Heather asked.

  “He was rather cocky. I remember that. He was hands on for the first year of running the place. Then he let me take care of a lot of the behind the scenes running of the hotel as he became busier. Eventually, he just up and left. Didn’t bring any of us with him like he said he might. Then he let someone buy it who didn’t know what they were doing. The hotel went out of business. Took a while for another buyer to take a chance on the place. But they were good enough to keep me on when they opened up again. Then it became a bit of a tradition. The passing of George Copper from one owner to the next.”

  “Caroline must be lucky to have you if you know so much about the building,” Heather said.

  “I do know a lot about it. It’s a second home to me here.”

  “You might be able to help us determine how someone could have entered Norton Worthers’s room,” Heather said. “Is there a way to enter it without a key?”

  “The guest could let you in, of course. If he were willing to do that.”

  “Are there any unusual ways that someone could enter the room?” Ryan asked. “Through the ventilation?”

  “Or,” Amy said. “Are there any secret passages? This is an old building.”

  “Nothing so exciting,” George Copper said. “The building is pretty straightforward. No secret passages. The window can’t be opened, so it would have to be broken in order to go through that way. And it would have to be a small person to fit through there. No, I don’t think there’s any way into the room beside the door.”

  “I’m not sure if that simplifies or complicates things,” Amy muttered.

  “I hope that was some help,” George said.

  “Yes,” Ryan said. “We appreciate your knowledge of the building. Though it looks like this room is just a room.”

  “Just one more question,” Heather said. “From what you’ve seen of the guests and staff, would anyone have a reason to hurt Mr. Worthers?”

  “The only staff person I know who met Worthers before was Ms. Humly, but she was rather young when she worked for him. I don’t think there were any hard feelings,” George Copper said. “I don’t know much about the guests. I only really talk to them when there’s a problem with a room.”

  “Thank you for your help, Mr. Copper,” Heather said.

  “We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions,” Ryan added.

  They left the room, thinking about what they just heard.

  “I agree with George Copper that there’s no secret passageway,” Heather said. “But…”

  “But you’d like to get another look at the crime scene?’ Ryan asked. “Me too.”

  Chapter 7

  Heather and Amy examined the door to A10 in more detail as they waited for Ryan to rejoin them. He went to retrieve the key to the room from Caroline Humly. He was going to hold it until the case was solved so that only the police would have access to the room.

  “I can’t believe Worthers had the whole hallway to himself,” Amy said. “Benefits of being rich. Or maybe a detriment in this case.”

  Heather nodded. “He wanted privacy, but that ended up being how the killer could get away without being seen.”

  “Right. If there were more people in the hall, the killer would have to be very careful with their timing. They’d have to be careful not to run into anyone in the hall. There always seems to be someone looking for an ice machine in the hall.”

  “And there’s a chance that someone could have heard a commotion,” Heather said. “But with Mr. Worthers’s by himself, the killer had more time to work.”

  “You think it was premeditated?”

>   “It’s tough to tell right now. If Mr. Worthers let someone inside, then the guest could have gotten angry and grabbed the closest thing available. He picked up the pillow and committed murder. Then he staged it to look like Mr. Worthers was asleep,” Heather said recapping one scenario.

  “Or?”

  “Or the killer found a way to break into the room, probably by taking one of the keys. Then he snuck in while Mr. Worthers was asleep and smothered him. He planned the kill, but knew the pillows would be in the room.”

  Heather sighed. They had too many suspects, too many ways the murder could have taken place, and too few keys. She hoped seeing the room again might shed some light on the puzzle.

  “I wish Ryan would hurry up,” Heather said. “I’d like to see inside again.”

  “What? You can’t learn anything else from this door?” Amy asked. She knocked on it to the tune of Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits. “It is very sturdy. I don’t think anyone could break through it. Unless they could also walk through walls. In which case, we’ll never catch them.”

  “The police didn’t find any evidence of the lock being picked, and I agree with them. It doesn’t look like the lock was tampered with,” Heather said.

  “What else?” Amy asked. “It says A10 on the door. It’s on tight, so no one changed the numbers to mess with us. There’s that peephole in the door so Mr. Worthers could have seen who outside before he opened the door.”

  Heather examined the door some more to see if there was anything she missed. She was recapping what they had already discovered. “The hinges look like they have been oiled recently. That could have made the door swing open quietly. That could have helped the killer sneak up on the victim.”

  Ryan joined them and held up the key. He didn’t keep them waiting long. He unlocked the door, and they entered.

  “Is there anything here that we didn’t notice the first time we looked?” Ryan asked.

  “Well,” Heather said. “I think George Copper was right about the window. It can’t be opened and would be hard to fit through.”

  “I’m not seeing any ventilation shafts that could be entered through.”

  “And no secret passages,” Amy confirmed. “I even pushed down all the books to test it.”

  “So it really looks like the killer had to come in through the door,” Heather said.

  She frowned. She felt like she was missing something, and she hated that feeling. What didn't she see in the room?

  “Do we have the time of death yet?” Heather asked.

  “The autopsy hasn’t been completed yet, so the best guess the medical examiner could give was between one and four a.m.,” Ryan answered.

  “That’s a tough time to establish an alibi,” Heather said. “Most people would be asleep.”

  “That’s true,” Ryan said. “There’s a chance our victim was too.”

  “I think it’s likely he was asleep,” Amy said. “Besides the fact that that’s the middle of the night, he was going to give a speech the next day. He probably would have wanted some rest before that.”

  “Do you think he would have opened the door to someone knocking on it in the middle of the night?” Ryan asked.

  Heather shrugged. “I could see that going either way. It’s a balance of curiosity and fear.”

  “If Norton Worthers knew anyone here, maybe he arranged a meeting. He could have told someone to come meet him in the middle of the night. For a late night business deal. Or a date.”

  “That is definitely possible,” Ryan said. “Though whoever it was, they had to be strong enough to hold the pillow to the victim’s face as he struggled.”

  “And if he didn’t let them in, then the killer had a key,” Amy said.

  “We’re sure that Mr. Worthers had his key?” Heather asked.

  “The key in this room is the one that opens this door. Norton Worthers needed the key in order to open the door, so he could get inside,” Ryan said. “So it makes sense that he would have used the key and then kept it inside with him.”

  “And Caroline said the other key was with her,” Heather said.

  “So one key was in the room, and the other was with the owner whose business could be hurt by a murder in her hotel?” Heather said. “Great. If it wasn’t Caroline—“

  “Which we’re not one hundred percent sure that it wasn’t her,” Ryan said.

  “How did the killer get the key?”

  They thought about it and couldn’t come up with an answer. They would have to think about this in another way.

  “I think we need to talk to some of the guests,” said Heather.

  Chapter 8

  “I don’t understand why we’re suspects. We didn’t know the man.”

  “We have to question everyone,” Heather said. “If you were staying at the hotel, you had the opportunity to commit the crime.”

  She and Ames were questioning the couple from the conference room with the gold watches. The gold wristed guests were Rachel Wright and Mike Delon, two of the guests who had made reservations after Norton Worthers’s lecture had been announced.

  “I think it’s fun to be accused of murder,” Mike said.

  “You would,” Rachel shot back.

  “Well, how often does this happen? I think it’s a novel experience,” Mike said. He was a heavyset man with very straight hair.

  Rachel was thin with hair as curly as can be. She had a very unhappy look on her face. “We try to go to a business brunch, and we get interrogated,” she said, crossing her arms.

  “What made you decide to come to this Business Breakfast?” Heather asked.

  Amy had the tablet all set to take notes on but was waiting for the guests to stop complaining and give some relevant information.

  “We thought it would be fun to go on a business trip and mingle with some new people,” Rachel said.

  “How do you two know each other?” Amy asked.

  “We’re colleagues,” Mike said.

  “Coworkers,” said Rachel.

  “But we’re friendly,” said Mike.

  “You might say we’re friends,” Rachel said. “But more so we work together.”

  “You also travel together?” Amy asked.

  “Well, to business functions,” Rachel said.

  “Or,” Mike said. “To events that we still think could be beneficial to our working relationship.”

  “Yes,” Rachel agreed. “Like this one.”

  “We thought this could be an excellent talk and that we could learn a lot. Things that we could bring to work with us.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So you came here to hear Norton Worthers talk?” Heather asked.

  “Well, we came to see a speaker,” Rachel said.

  “We just heard about the Business Breakfast and thought it sounded like a fun trip,” Mike said.

  “We were both looking to get away for a few days,” Rachel said, a little too casually.

  “It just so happened that our schedules happened to line up,” Mike said, equally as casually.

  “So we decided to travel together as colleagues.”

  “Coworkers.”

  “But still friendly.”

  Amy raised an eyebrow, and Heather had to struggle to get keeps hers neutral. The gold watch duo was really pushing this “only work friends” angle, but she knew that they had adjoining rooms.

  “So you decided to travel together as friendly colleagues and coworkers?” Heather said.

  “Yes,” Rachel agreed. “That is all we are.”

  “Our company has a strict no-dating-policy between its employees.”

  “And we would never go against company policy. Never.”

  “When did you decide to take this trip?” Heather asked.

  “It was rather impromptu,” Rachel said.

  “We wanted to get away, but still do something meaningful for our jobs,” Mike added.

  Heather had to clarify. “So Mr. Worthers speaking did not affect your decision t
o come here?”

  “No,” Rachel said. “We weren’t overly interested in who the speaker was.”

  “She means that we thought anyone would have some insight to provide for us,” Mike said. “If they were chosen as a speaker, we were sure that they would have some helpful tips to provide for us.”

  “It is always interesting to hear different points of view,” Rachel nodded.