by K. T. Tomb
Ella placed a dramatic hand at her throat and spoke in a mock southern accent. “Why, Mr. Colton! I do declare! I'm a married woman!”
Suddenly her smile dropped and Ella stumbled backwards, catching herself on the edge of the dresser behind her. Her face had gone ashen.
“Are you okay, Ella?” Charlie reached to try and steady her. He had seen these dizzy spells before. In fact, after last year’s trip to Belize for the Mayan temple excavation, she had gone for an MRI. The results had been inconclusive and she was sent home with a diagnosis of unexplained vertigo.
“I'm okay,” Ella said, but her voice had taken on the wispy tone he had heard the times before when she had these bouts of vertigo. “Probably just the combination of the heat and drinks from earlier.”
“Honey, I'm going to get you some medicine from the gift shop, okay?”
He steadied her arm and helped lower her into the chair.
“Charlie, I'm fine. I probably just need to eat something.”
Despite her protest, she rested her forehead on her arm and let him give her a glass of water. Charlie reached over to the bag and unzipped the inner pocket where they had packed the cash. He reached around for a minute or so.
“Um.”
Ella lifted her head.
“What's wrong?”
“The cash is missing. Did you put it in the safe?”
“No, what safe?” Ella replied.
“There's a safe in the closet. I mentioned it when we came in.”
“I didn't put it in there. I remember having it this morning. I put it back in the bag, right where you’re looking.”
Charlie got up and walked over to the closet. He punched in some numbers on the small keypad behind his dress shirts, opened the safe, only to find it empty. He returned to the bag and started taking items out one at a time, placing them carefully on the bed next to the suitcase. Ella watched him quietly. The money was gone.
“That was over a thousand dollars,” Charlie said.
His voice was even, but one of the muscles in his jaw showed an occasional twitch. Ella knew that meant he was truly upset.
“Oh, honey. Maybe we took it out and laid it down somewhere in the room.”
Ella tried to stand, but her balance betrayed her again and she landed back in the chair. Charlie glanced around at the immaculate suite, every surface clear.
“Ella,” he said. “We are both celebrated archaeologists, respected in our fields and known for our high intellect and detective work. Between the two of us, we aren't going to just lose a thousand dollars cash.”
Ella shrugged. “Okay. It didn't just disappear.”
“Maybe,” Charlie said, “someone came in and stole it.”
“That can't be, surely. Look, we still have our credit cards. The trip isn't ruined. Let's go to dinner and see if we can sort this out later.”
“I at least want to call the front desk,” Charlie said. “They should be notified in case this has happened to anyone else.”
Ella nodded and Charlie dialed the phone.
“I need to report some stolen money,” he said.
After he explained the situation, he hung up the phone.
“They're sending someone up right now. It should be a given that when one gives one’s money to stay at a premier, five-star hotel that the staff of said hotel is part of a trusted and honest business relationship.”
“You're right, honey,” Ella said. “We probably just should have put the money in the safe, like you said.”
Charlie began to pace the room. A moment later there was a knock at the door. Charlie was met by a young woman from the front desk, dressed in the hotel uniform; a blue jacket with the hotel emblem on the lapel. The name tag read 'Rachel'. She was accompanied by one of the hotel security guards, a young man of slight stature with a trim haircut, who seemed to be barely out of his teens.
“Are you the manager?” Charlie asked the young woman.
“No sir, but I can assure you I do have full authority to process a claim for lost or stolen items. My name is Rachel and this is Officer Paul.”
Charlie turned and exchanged a look with Ella, who suppressed a giggle into her hand.
“We will need to take a report if you don't mind,” the young woman said.
“Is Mitch Berger available? He's my uncle. Can someone call him?” Ella asked.
“I'm sorry; the tech department is gone for the day. He's not scheduled back until tomorrow.”
The young security guard spoke next.
“Can you tell when you last had the belongings?”
“This morning,” Ella said. “I got a little bit of cash out for the breakfast buffet. I saw it in the bag then. After that, we went to the pool area until a couple of hours ago.”
Rachel from the front desk took a note on her clipboard and exchanged a look with the security officer.
“Listen,” Charlie said, tension evident in his voice, “I'd really prefer if we could speak to a manager about all of this.”
“Once the hotel procedures have been completed, we will be happy to contact management at that time, sir,” said Rachel. “Our process involves filling out a report, conducting a search of the room to determine if there is any evidence, and then potential interviews with staff that had access to the room during the time of the alleged disappearance of the items. The form will be submitted to the head of security for a thorough internal investigation.”
Charlie and Ella exchanged another glance, communicating in a moment what they both thought: that the hotel staff was not taking the complaint seriously. Charlie waved his hand at the two for them to enter the room.
“Fine,” he said. “Do what you need to do. Look, my wife is ill. Are we required to be here for the investigation?”
“Perhaps you would like to have a complimentary beverage in the lobby bar,” the young lady said, producing a couple of drink vouchers for them.
“Then,” Charlie continued, his face a mask of anger, “I'd insist that we see a manager, as soon as possible.”
“Of course. Yes, sir. I'll see if he can be contacted after we have inspected the area and conducted an internal investigation of the premises.”
Ella placed a hand on Charlie's arm.
“When we get in touch with Mitch tomorrow, I'm sure he will help get this sorted out. There's really no reason to get upset at this point, Charlie. We have some time before the dinner begins. Help me up and we'll go to the lobby.”
He gave her a thin lipped smile, and supported her arm as she stood. She leaned on his shoulder as they walked into the hallway and toward the lobby. The ornate decorations as they walked through the hotel echoed the ancient artifacts that Charlie knew would be displayed within the museum that was being celebrated that evening. Ancient Mayan masks hung along the walls, glinting gold reflections on the floor and ceiling. Replicas, Charlie could only hope. He knew from his previous visit that it was not beyond the scope of the hotel owners to flaunt genuine antiquities as part of the décor. The sight of the masks added to his concern for his wife's vertigo and did little to alleviate his mood.
“Charlie, I really think if I just eat something, I'll be fine,” Ella said.
He steered her to the nearest seat along the bar of the lobby hotel. They sat down and he ordered them some glasses of water and an appetizer sampler for Ella. Across the expanse of the marble floor, Charlie noticed the other two front desk employees glance their way; two young men wearing crisp white shirts and black jackets with an emblem of the hotel emblazoned upon the right lapel. One leaned over and said something to the other, who then laughed. Ella nibbled on a potato skin and they waited. Charlie's ire grew with every passing minute.
Finally, outside the glass doors of the hotel front entrance, a young man driving a golf car pulled up onto the grassy patch and parked the vehicle. The young man wore white slacks, a red polo shirt and a pair of two-tone golf shoes. He removed his sunglasses, tucking them into the collar of his shirt and donning a p
air of spectacles as he entered the revolving doors. Upon spotting the couple, he headed toward them with a plastic smile on his face.
“Hi,” the young manager said, his hand extended. “Are you Charlie and Ella Colton?”
“Yes,” Charlie replied.
“I wanted to apologize for the delay. I was finishing up the back nine.”
He nudged Charlie's arm with a hearty chuckle.
“I'm sure you understand that, right? I hear that you have something missing from your room. Is that correct?”
“What we have missing,” Charlie began, “is over a thousand dollars in cash.”
“I trust the staff is conducting the investigation right now, of course. While that is going on, perhaps I could offer you some complimentary passes to the shark corridor.”
“We already have those,” Charlie said, his voice rising. “You know what? At this point, I think I would just like to go to the police. The manner in which the staff has responded to our complaint has ranged from nonsensical to just plain lazy. I'm not thrilled with the prospect of any kind of 'internal investigation' turning up any results. Now if you don't mind, I'd like the number of the local police department.”
“But sir...”
Charlie took a breath to reply, but Ella placed a hand on his arm. She turned to speak to the manager with a saccharine smile.
“Sir, is there a telephone I could use?”
Charlie noticed some of the color had returned to her cheeks.
“Right this way,” he directed her to a telephone at the end of the bar.
Picking up the line, Ella dialed the directory number.
“May I be connected to the nearest police precinct, please?”
Upon hearing these words, the manager turned to Charlie.
“I really recommend that you wait until our investigation is complete within the hotel. I didn't realize your wife would call the police. Can't you do something?”
Charlie shrugged, reaching into his pocket.
“I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Perhaps these drink vouchers will make up for it.”
Behind the men, Ella had taken down some information on a small notepad that the bartender had given her. She ripped off the top page, hung up the phone and said,
“Here we are, Charlie. I have the address to the police station.”
She then turned to the manager and said with obvious sarcasm, “Thank you so much for your assistance in this matter. Your prompt response has been quite helpful.”
Ella took Charlie's arm and without a backwards glance at the befuddled manager, the couple walked toward the revolving doors of the hotel lobby and hailed the nearest taxi.
The Honeymooners
is available at:
Amazon Kindle * Amazon UK * Amazon AU
About the Author:
K.T. Tomb enjoys traveling the world when not writing adventure thrillers. She lives in Portland, OR. Please find her at:
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