The Reunion

by Suzanne Rossi

  The most logical place to find Dave was his room, but if he was there, he’d misconstrue her presence. Suzanne shrugged. She’d deal with that later.

  The elevator crept up to Dave’s room on the third floor. When she knocked, his door swung open.

  “Dave? You in here?”

  She walked into the room. The lights blazed in both the sleeping area and from the bath.

  “Dave?” she called again.

  Silence greeted her. He wasn’t here—or was he? It would be just his lame idea of a practical joke to hide, and then leap out trying to scare the crap out of her. Suzanne jerked open the closet door. Nothing. Just a couple of pairs of slacks and a few shirts.

  Out of curiosity, she wandered into the bathroom, and noticed powdery residue on a hand mirror lying on the counter. Dave had been busy. But wherever he was, it wasn’t here. She left, closing the door securely behind her.

  Now where? Would he have gone back to the ballroom to search for her? She re-entered the elevator and stopped to think before pushing the button. If Zach and Meghan had relayed her information to the sheriff, then maybe Dave was having a discussion with the authorities. She punched the lobby button and hurried past a group of seated people.

  But Dave was not in the ballroom. Suzanne estimated only about thirty people remained. Whirling, she headed to the bar again. Had he slipped in after she’d left?

  She paused on the threshold and scanned the room. Zach and Meghan were still at the same tables as when she’d left, but Dave hadn’t returned. She walked slowly back into the lobby. The seating area had several of her classmates grouped together, but no Dave.

  She’d hung out in the ladies room. Did guys do the same? Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, she walked with determination to the men’s room, pulled open the door, calling out, “Anybody in here?”

  Silence greeted the warning. She entered, and checked under the stalls. The place was empty.

  That left the car. Maybe he needed more coke or maybe he was so wasted, he’d fallen asleep in it.

  Suzanne hurried out of the front doors and angled toward the parking lot. She had no idea where Dave had parked the car. He’d dropped her and the luggage off first. Suzanne scanned the spaces for a cream-colored Mercedes, before finally spotting it in the third row not far from the garden entrance. She hurried toward it and knocked on the tinted windows.

  “Dave? Are you asleep? Come on, open up.”

  If he was in there, he was dead to the world. She shuddered at her choice of words and tugged at the door handles. Locked. Just to make sure, she pounded on the trunk lid.

  “Dave?”

  Okay, it was silly. Who the hell accidentally locked themselves in the trunk of their own car? Or even deliberately for that matter? Not even Dave could get that drunk or coked up.

  She walked slowly back to the hotel entrance. Her heart pounded, and a growing sense of dread crept over her. She halted outside the doors, fished in her purse for a cigarette, lit it with trembling fingers, and paced. Could he have gone back into the garden? Suzanne shuddered. She wasn’t about to investigate there.

  Primed for sex, it would be just like the miserable son of a bitch to hook up with another woman and disappear to her room. That was the only explanation.

  Goddamn him! I hope he gets some disease.

  Yet something in the back of her mind rejected this. Dave Coryell might be a slug, but the chances of him scoring in the short time she’d been gone from the bar were slim. Most of the patrons had been classmates, and few of those single women.

  Suzanne flipped her half-smoked cigarette into the bushes and walked inside where her gaze once again searched the lobby.

  Dammit, Dave. Where the hell are you?

  ****

  Suzanne was proving elusive. At the moment, she was stuck like glue to Meghan and Zach. Meghan doesn’t look happy about it either. Good. That might work to my advantage later.

  With the redheaded bitch occupied, I turned my attention to Dave Coryell. He was disgustingly drunk and pitching his investment company to just about everybody, including me. Jerk. I didn’t have that much against him really, but since he was best buddies with Eddie, Tami, and Suzanne, he had to die. Besides, he was in on all their antics years ago—the insults, the taunts, the whole poisonous atmosphere. I tensed remembering what I endured at their hands. I hated them all.

  As I mingled with the guests, my mind focused on how to dispatch Dave to practical joke heaven. Suzanne’s room seemed like the answer. I’d pilfered the key from her purse earlier intending to kill her there. Following who I thought was her into the garden had been an impulse.

  You have a plan. Stick to it. You’re logical and organized. Don’t give in to sudden change, even if it does seem opportunistic.

  But even the best laid plans go awry, so I pondered how to entice Dave to Suzanne’s room. Then it hit me. Why not slip Suzanne’s room key into his jacket pocket? He’d eventually find it. With the chaos of the evening, no one would remember who was where or for how long.

  Placing the key in his pocket was simple. He, Suzanne, and half the attendees crowded into the hotel bar. Everyone bumped shoulders and spilled drinks. Dave was so drunk he didn’t notice a thing.

  My greatest fear was he’d discover the key while Suzanne was still with him. But my luck held. Suzanne hurried out of the bar and headed for the mezzanine. Fifteen minutes later, Dave staggered out—alone.

  I requested a spare key from the desk clerk giving Suzanne’s room number, and then ran up the stairs. The fourth floor corridor was empty. I hustled to the room and set the stage.

  Her cosmetic bag was on the bathroom vanity. I rummaged through until finding a pair of manicure scissors, then returned to the bedroom, unplugged the lamp on the desk, and cut the cord fashioning it into a slip knot.

  To further darken the room, I shut the bathroom door until only the tiniest sliver of light showed. The faint illumination revealed only shapes.

  The wait was interminable. Where the hell was he? And what if Suzanne came back first? No matter. I’d take care of her instead. But what if they came back together?

  No, Suzanne had been angry at being left alone and flirted with Zach half the night. I laughed softly in the darkness. The only person other than me who wanted to kill Suzanne was Meghan.

  A bead of sweat trickled down my temple. What if someone came looking for me? What if my absence was a topic of conversation? What if…

  Stop it! No one’s going to come looking for you. Why should they? The sheriff doesn’t have any suspects yet. Now is not the time to lose your nerve. You planned this since the moment you heard about the reunion.

  Then someone inserted a key in the door lock. I knelt on the bed, the stun gun clutched in my hand. My heart pounded, but whether in fear or anticipation I didn’t know. All I knew was that whoever entered the room would die.

  The door crashed open. A man was briefly silhouetted in the entryway before he slammed it shut again. Dave Coryell had finally arrived.

  “Suzanne, where are you, you little devil?”

  He shed his coat and let it drop onto the floor.

  I sighed, pitched my voice higher, and whispered, “Here, Dave. Come and find me.”

  He moved forward, bumping against the desk. “Put on the light, baby. I can’t see shit.”

  “All in good time. I’m naked, Dave. Naked and waiting. I have a surprise for you.”

  “Oh, yeah? What?”

  “Come closer, and you’ll find out.”

  He lunged for the bed.

  I shoved the stun gun against his throat. The sizzling zap echoed in the room. He fought back, grabbing my arm. Surprise and fear rushed through me. That wasn’t supposed to happen! I pulled free, my breath hissing in and out like an angry snake. Another zap sounded and this time I held the button down. Dave, jerking and twitching, lost all coordination. He slid face down onto the floor. I laughed and bounded off the bed.

  This was more like it. I e
njoyed all the flopping. The great football player reminded me of a fish out of water. For kicks, I zapped him again on the back of his neck. Strange gurgling noises bubbled from his throat. Maybe he was strangling on all the booze he’d drank. The thought that the last thing he’d ever taste was the sour flavor of vomit gave me intense pleasure—almost as much as killing him. His life was about to end. I hoped he knew it.

  I hit him again briefly with the stun gun, straddled his back, and twining my fingers in his hair, pulled his head up. Time to finish him off. I slipped the cord over his head and tightened. As with Annabelle, I placed a knee on his back, pulling harder.

  He choked, but was unable to fight back. Something popped in his throat. He gagged. I envisioned his tongue forced out of his mouth. His arms, flopped up and down, but he was too weak to lift them in defense. I sniffed in disgust at the stench of feces and urine as he lost bodily functions.

  “Did you think you could get away with it? You’re all to blame.” I used my own voice in hopes he’d recognize it. “Now you’ll pay. Number four, rot in hell.”

  I put my last bit of strength into pulling one final time. Dave gasped, shuddered, and then lay still.

  Panting from excited exertion, I slowly rose on shaking legs, staggered back against the wall for a moment, and waited until my breathing and heart rate slowed before crossing the floor. I paused at the door. The hallway was empty and the path to the stairwell clear. I left Suzanne’s room and hurried to my escape route.

  A good kill, but God, I’m tired. I never expected killing to be so exhausting. I took a chance, but it worked. Maybe I should wait for Suzanne to show. Finding the two of them dead—together—would be a nice touch. No, leave now. Catch your breath, then go find the bitch. Find her and make her pay. Soon they’ll all be dead, and I can rest.

  I exited to the stairwell, the door closing with a dull thud.

  Chapter Ten

  Zach finished his classmate’s interrogations first and strolled from the bar into the lobby. People still wandered about even though it was after one o’clock. A group of classmates sat on the sofas and chairs arranged in the center of the lobby. Someone in the bar had mentioned talking with Marcella and her husband on the terrace. One of the women spotted Zach and waved him over. He recognized a couple of other familiar faces and decided to join them.

  “Good to see you,” Rudy Conrad said as Zach sat next to a man he didn’t know. “Do you know everybody?”

  “I know Marcella, Carol, and you.”

  “This is my wife, Liz.” Rudy gestured to a petite blonde next to him.

  A man in a brown suit reached for Zach’s hand. “I’m Stan Saunders, Marcie’s husband.”

  The third man also shook hands. “I’m Adam Quincy, Carol’s date.”

  “Nice to meet all of you. Sorry the reunion took such a terrible turn,” Zach commented.

  Everyone shifted in their seats and Zach wondered if he’d been too abrupt in bringing up the subject of murder. This group wasn’t swilling booze in the bar where no one had questioned why he’d been so curious. These people would. The end tables were strewn with coffee cups.

  Zach could handle business and binary codes, but this idle chit-chat disguised as info gathering was new to him.

  “Mind if I join you, too?” Meghan requested from behind him.

  He twisted in his seat and breathed a sigh of relief. Reinforcements had arrived.

  “Meghan, good to see you. You look great,” Marcie exclaimed. “How did you do it? I swear I gain weight on every diet I try.”

  Meghan laughed as Zach leapt to his feet. “Here take my seat.”

  She accepted the offer. “I looked in the mirror one day and decided it was time to either do something about my weight or have ‘Goodyear’ tattooed on my rear end. And since I have an aversion to needles, I chose the former.”

  Zach liked the self-deprecating humor. Showed Meghan was well-grounded emotionally and didn’t take herself too seriously.

  “Well, before you leave, please tell me the secret of your success. My ass could use it,” Marcy added.

  “And you, Zach, you’ve changed, too,” Carol said. “I’ll be honest; I didn’t recognize either of you.”

  “I saw the two of you dancing and wondered if the reunion had been crashed by a couple of freeloaders,” Rudy added with a chuckle.

  Meghan eyed the coffee cups scattered on the tables. “Where can a girl get some coffee?”

  “Complimentary over in the corner.” Stan indicated the direction with his chin.

  “I’ll go. Cream and sugar?” Zach confirmed. At her nod he left. Returning, he sat on the arm of the sofa next to Meghan.

  “So, what have you all been up to these past twenty years?” she asked.

  Zach eyed Meghan as she listened to the lives and times of her classmates, and then questioned them about the evening’s more gruesome event. “I was having a good time until Eileen found poor Annabelle,” she stated.

  “I still can’t believe it,” Marcie said with a shudder. “I saw Annabelle leave for the garden and never thought for a moment something sinister lurked.”

  “That’s right, you were on the terrace with us,” Meghan commented. “Did anyone follow her?”

  “Can’t say. I saw Dan Masterson run up the steps, but we were joking with Carl and Eileen and didn’t pay any attention to much else.”

  “I remember him,” Stan added sipping coffee from his cup. “He ran onto the terrace, stopped to smooth his hair, and then walked into the ballroom.”

  “I heard they caught some guy trying to break into cars in the parking lot. Maybe he wandered into the garden and attacked her,” Liz contributed. “Glad I didn’t decide to commune with nature, too.”

  “Did you see her leave?” Meghan queried.

  “I saw someone in a blue dress leave. A lot of people came and went, but I don’t know who.”

  “I saw Dan on the terrace, and I remember Betty Coleman and her husband walking down the steps. And Tom Ecklund,” Rudy told them.

  “Tom? He was in the garden?” Zach asked in a surprised voice.

  He glanced at Meghan who raised her eyebrows and shrugged. This was the first he’d heard of Tom Ecklund anywhere near the terrace before the body was found.

  “Yeah, but damned if I know when. Don’t recall seeing him come back.”

  “I don’t remember seeing much of anybody,” Carol said. “I stepped out on the terrace for a smoke and talked with Alicia Raines for a while. Suzanne came out with a couple of drinks and headed for the shadows at the far end. She ignored us. I figured she had a guy stashed over behind the potted plants. I thought I saw her leaving the terrace, too. Guess now it must have been Annabelle.”

  “That’s right,” her date replied. “I came out about that time. I remember somebody else going into the garden a few minutes later.”

  “Who?” Meghan and Zach spoke as one.

  “I have no idea. Just a figure. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. By the time I turned my head, whoever it was had disappeared.”

  “Too bad none of us paid any attention,” Meghan commented.

  “Why would we? The place was crowded, and we all had our own conversations going,” Zach answered in a bland tone. Conversation had been the last thing on their minds.

  He wasn’t sure where all this questioning was leading. So far, no one had seen much of anything that would help them find a killer.

  “Hi, is there room for one more?”

  Glory Ecklund stood at the edge of the group. She’d changed from the black dress into a pair of navy blue slacks and a matching long sleeved t-shirt. It wasn’t much of an improvement. The garments hung on her thin frame.

  “Of course not,” Zach said, rising. He felt sorry for her. She’d worked her rear end off for her husband’s reunion and Annabelle’s murder had destroyed it all. Poor Glory.

  Stan also stood. “Here take my seat. Can I get you a cup of coffee?”

  She dumped
her large purse on the floor and sank into the plump cushions. “Oh, no thanks.”

  “I thought you went up to bed,” Meghan murmured.

  “I did, but couldn’t sleep. Tom’s snoring like a buzz saw and the murder upset me, so I decided to come back down for a while. I sat on the terrace to think. Such a horrible end to what I hoped would be a memorable reunion.”

  “It was that all right,” Carol replied.

  “I meant memorable in a good way. I was on my way back upstairs when I saw you guys and came over.”

  “How are you feeling?” Meghan asked.

  “I’m fine. It was silly of me to faint like that, but first you said the body was Suzanne’s, and then when she popped out from behind the bushes, I just lost it. I guess it was the combination of the shock of another body, and the heat in the ballroom.”

  “Another body?” Meghan questioned.

  “In addition to Tami and Eddie, I mean.” She brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead and rearranged a pin in the knot of hair in her nape.

  “You should have cooled off on the terrace earlier,” Marcie suggested.

  “Actually, I did. Took a little walk in the garden, too.”

  “When was this?” Zach asked. Glory was in the garden, too? Seemed as if the entire class had taken a damned stroll. This interrogation wasn’t going well. There were too many people and a huge time frame.

  “Oh, I can’t remember. I was looking for Tom.” She shifted in her seat and flashed a smile before casting her eyes down. “I—I was kind of worried about him.”

  “Worried? Why?” Meghan wondered.

  “He’d had quite a bit to drink tonight. His diet sodas had a little additive—bourbon, I think. At any rate, I couldn’t find him for the longest time, so I went outside. I thought maybe he was sick or, well, passed out, somewhere. I noticed a few people on the terrace, but the garden attracted a lot of walkers.”

  “Do you remember who you saw?” Zach hoped his question didn’t sound like he was playing junior sheriff. So far, no one had brought the subject up as to why he and Meghan were asking.