by Cindy Bell
“Okay,” Ally agreed.
Ally parked the van in the same spot that Luke had parked in earlier. Then they made their way to the same back door. Charlotte held onto the chocolate box. Ally checked to see if the path was clear then held open the door for her grandmother. As they walked down the hall, Charlotte stuck right by her side.
“Remember, if anything goes wrong, you run, and I’ll distract.”
“Nothing is going to go wrong, Mee-Maw. Not as long as we’re careful.”
“How are we even going to find out what room he was staying in?” Charlotte paused at the end of the hall. Ally tilted her head towards a group of people that were gathered together at the front desk.
“Let’s see if they mention it, otherwise we’ll see if we can find the door with the police tape on.”
Ally walked towards the front desk at a casual pace. She did her best to look as if she belonged there. She stopped a few steps away from the group which was a mixture of people in the hotel’s uniform, and people in plain clothes.
“I can’t believe he’s dead.” A man that she recognized as the valet that took her car and returned it, shook his head. “The lady gave me a nice tip and everything. I never would have thought she would do something like this. I guess you never can tell. I should have suspected something when she wanted to park her own car.” He shuddered. “I can’t believe I was in the same car as a dead body.”
“Hey, that dead body is Dustin.” A maid spoke up. “We should show some respect. This wasn’t just some event that happened. This was a member of our staff. I feel terrible for Dustin. I warned him that he should have let things go with Denise.”
“Please, Denise didn’t have anything to do with this,” Lisa said. “That much I know for sure. She’s never been anything but nice to me.”
“You didn’t break her heart.” Another member of staff shook his head. “Maybe she wanted to get a little revenge.”
“Or maybe Dustin thought he was going to get a reunion with her. Either way, it’s pretty clear that she had to be involved. Why would some random person just murder Dustin?”
“We don’t know that much about his past. It could have been someone that had nothing to do with the hotel.” The valet winced. “What I think is that once we have access we need to make sure that room 312 gets a good scrub down.”
“Sure, I bet you’d like to help with that?” The maid raised an eyebrow. “The last thing I want to do is go in that room.”
“All of you need to get back to work.” A man walked towards the group from the other side. Ally almost didn’t notice him as she was so caught up in the conversation. She backed up a little as he paused in front of the group. “We’re not here to chit chat. What happened was horrible, but we still have a hotel to run. If any of you have a problem with that, you’re welcome to leave. But don’t expect your jobs to be here when you come back.”
“Ben, don’t you think that’s a little harsh? I mean, we might need time to grieve.” The woman from behind the front desk frowned.
“Kylie, you’re welcome to grieve all you want, but it’s not going to be here, and not on my dollar. All of you back to your posts.”
“What if the police want to speak to us again?” The valet looked a little nervous.
“Don’t worry about them, Tim. I’ll handle the police from now on. Go on.”
Ally backed away before the group dispersed. She didn’t want Ben, who she assumed was the manager to see her. She wondered if he would even still want to come out to the shop after what had happened. When she returned to Charlotte she whispered in her ear.
“Room 312.”
“Who was that guy that walked up to the group?” Charlotte asked softly.
“I think it must be the manager. I didn’t have a chance to meet him this morning, but I guess he got called in after all this happened. Let’s see if we can find an elevator that’s not in the lobby.”
“I think I saw one when we were coming in, near the kitchen. Back here.” Charlotte led Ally back towards the kitchen area. Ally wondered if the two glasses that were found in Dustin’s room were really from Denise and Dustin. Was she lying about meeting him? Or did he have a drink with someone else? Just as they were about to pass the kitchen, Ally heard a voice call out.
“Make sure you get those strawberries up to 217, I told them they would be there in ten minutes. I wrote it on the list. Check the list!”
The person sounded pretty aggravated, but Ally didn’t care about that, her focus was on what he had said. The list. If someone had wine sent up to room 312, then wouldn’t it be on that list? She glanced over at her grandmother.
“Wait just a minute, I want to see if I can get into the kitchen.”
“I can create a diversion?” Charlotte smiled.
“Perfect.”
“You stay in the corner there. I’ll draw them out through the other door. Then slip in and slip out. I’ll try to distract as long as I can.”
“Okay.” Ally met her grandmother’s eyes. “Be careful.”
Ally waited in the corner as her grandmother had instructed. Charlotte walked further down the hall to the open second door that led into the kitchen. She paused right beside it, and let out a yell. Ally was startled by just how loud her grandmother could be. She didn’t hesitate to slip inside the kitchen though. Just as she slipped in she caught sight of the kitchen staff rushing out to the hallway. Ally had to think fast. She assumed that the list might be by the phone. But would it still have orders from the night before on it? She wasn’t sure. She did find a notepad by the phone, but it was blank. Her heart dropped. Her idea was worthless. But as the commotion continued outside of the kitchen she decided to look in one other place. The refrigerator. It was where she would keep a list.
When she walked up to the large, stainless steel refrigerator she saw there was a big piece of paper on it that was attached to the refrigerator with a magnet. The paper had dates sectioned off, including the day before. Ally read over the list quickly. There were people that requested everything from whipped cream to caviar, and several requests for wine. She ran her finger down the wine requests and found several room numbers. However, room 312 was not one of them. In fact room 312 hadn’t placed any orders that were recorded on the list the day before. Ally heard a pronounced burp from outside in the hall.
“Oh dear, excuse me, I’m so sorry. It must have been indigestion. Here I thought I was having a heart attack,” Charlotte said. “Thank you so much for coming to my aid.”
“No problem, ma’am. Are you sure you don’t want us to call an ambulance?”
“No, please, I’m embarrassed enough. I just had a little too much good food on my vacation.”
Ally stepped out into the hall as the kitchen staff returned to the kitchen. She couldn’t help but grin at her grandmother’s subtle bow.
“Nice. A burp and everything?” Ally laughed quietly.
“I take acting very seriously. Did you find anything?”
“No. No orders at all from room 312. If Dustin had wine with someone, it doesn’t seem like the wine came from his room. Unless of course he picked it up himself.”
“That’s all right, it’s one more piece of the puzzle to figure out. Let’s get up to the room and see if there is anything to find there.”
“Let’s take the elevator.” Ally walked over to it and pushed the button. The doors slid open and a man brushed past her. She could see the angry grimace on his face. He held an envelope in one hand and his keys in the other. Ally shivered a little as she stepped into the elevator. Just when the doors began to slide shut, Ally caught sight of Ben, the manager of the hotel, and the man that had brushed past her. They stopped in the middle of the lobby.
“Thanks for nothing.” The man held up an envelope and then stormed towards the door. The elevator doors closed all the way before Ally could see Ben’s reaction.
“That was interesting.” Ally nudged Charlotte with her elbow. “I wonder what it was abou
t?”
“Not sure. We’ll have to try to find out.” The elevator doors opened again on the third floor. Ally led the way down the hall.
“This is the room,” Ally said as she paused outside room 312.
“I’m surprised it doesn’t have crime scene tape across it. Maybe the manager requested that it didn’t so as to create less of a scene for the other guests,” Charlotte said as she reached out and tried the knob. “It’s locked.”
“Great. We can’t go through the window, it’s on the third floor. How are we going to get in?” Ally’s attention was drawn by the sound of the elevator doors. Ally waved her grandmother up against the wall. “I wonder if they will give us a discount for all of this.” Ally met her grandmother’s eyes.
“I’m not sure. I would think that they might. After all, this was a very unpleasant experience,” Charlotte said following Ally’s lead.
The two continued their conversation as a couple walked past them. The man used a key to open one of the doors further up the hall. Once they were inside the room Ally smiled.
“I know how we’re going to get in. We’ll get the key,” Ally said.
“How?”
“They’re behind the front desk.” Ally smiled.
“I doubt the key for the room is behind the desk. We need a master key. Most of the staff would have one.”
“I saw Dustin give a staff member a master key and she put it behind the front desk. Maybe the key for room 312 or a master key is behind the front desk. They might be easy to access. The only problem is that I can’t be the one to access it.”
“I can do it, Ally.” Charlotte smiled with confidence.
“Are you sure? It might get hectic if you get caught.”
“Don’t worry, I can handle it.” They walked towards the elevator.
“What are you going to do?” Ally asked as the doors opened.
“Ally, please stop. You do realize that you get your snooping skills from me, don’t you?” They got in the elevator and went down to the ground floor.
“Yes.” Ally smiled. The elevator doors slid open.
“You stay out of sight, I’ll get the key,” Charlotte said.
“Okay. But I’ll be watching.”
“That’s good. You can take notes.” Charlotte smiled mischievously as she turned to walk over to the front desk. Ally ducked into a short corridor beside the elevator and watched as her grandmother paused at the front counter. She leaned on it and looked around as if she might be lost. When Kylie turned to look at her, she smiled widely.
“How can I help you?”
“Well, I’m afraid I’ve misplaced my key.” She sighed. “I know, I know, I shouldn’t lose things so easily, but it was here and then it was gone. In fact I think I might have left it at the front desk.”
“What room are you in ma’am?”
“I’m in room 203, no 301, oh dear. Wait just a minute.” She tapped her finger on the counter.
“Ma’am, if you could just tell me your name then I could look up which room you’re in.”
“Oh no, I need to remember this. Just give me a second.” Charlotte looked thoughtful.
“Let’s see what keys are loose back here. 315?” She picked up a key.
“Oh yes, that’s it!” Charlotte reached for the key. Kylie handed it to her. The moment Charlotte had it in her hand she let it slip out of her grasp. “Oh dear, here I go again.” She reached behind the counter for the key that Kylie did not pick up. She hoped it was a master key or the one to Dustin’s room.
“I’ll get it, I’ll get it.” Kylie tried to shoo her hand out from behind the counter, but Charlotte already had the key in her hand.
“There we are, thank you so much, dear. I appreciate it.”
“Anything you need.” Kylie nodded at her, then looked back at her computer. Ally grinned at Charlotte as she walked back towards her with the key in hand.
“I think this might get us in.” She held it up in the air. “But we have to hurry. You never know when she might notice that it’s missing. Catch the elevator.” She pointed to the doors that were about to close. Ally sprinted down the hall to catch it, then held the doors for her grandmother. Charlotte stepped into the elevator.
Ally nodded. “Let’s make this quick and neat. No one has to know we were ever there.” Ally hit the button for the third floor.
“No one, like Luke?”
“I don’t have to answer to Luke.”
“No you don’t have to, but the way he looks at you, I think he’s on the hook.”
“On the hook?”
“Ally, he cares about you and what happens to you. That’s not something you want to take for granted.”
“Maybe not, but right now, I’m more concerned with staying out of jail, and hopefully getting Denise out of jail, too.” The elevator doors slid open. Ally stepped out into an empty hallway. Charlotte followed after her. Ally watched for any doors that might swing open as she walked. She didn’t want to be surprised by the sudden appearance of someone. When she reached the door she took out the gloves from her pocket and put them on, then she took the key from her grandmother and slid it into the door. When the door opened Ally sighed with relief and stepped inside.
“I’ll stay out here in case I see anyone coming. You can tell me what you see.”
Ally looked over the room. It was identical to the one she had stayed in, aside from the bed being stripped and the drawers hanging open. The police had done a thorough search. But they might have overlooked something. Ally looked at the table where she assumed the wine glasses would have been. She looked under the mattress, in the bottom of the closet. She even checked under the sink in the small bathroom. There wasn’t a trace of any evidence. She grimaced as she wondered whether all of this had been for nothing.
She walked back into the bedroom. She knelt down and took one more look around. Something on the floor hidden in the small gap under the bed caught her eye. It was glimmering. She bent down and held her breath. She looked closer and saw that it was a small diamond earring. She didn’t want to touch it in case it was evidence so she pulled out her phone and took a photo of it. She put her phone into her pocket and slowly stood up. If she could figure out who wore the earring she might be able to figure out who the murderer was or at least who had drinks with Dustin. It appeared that drinks might have turned into something more. Which again pointed at Denise, as they might have rekindled their relationship. Ally turned to step out of the room and heard her grandmother’s voice in the hallway.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I must be at the wrong door. This is a crime scene? I had no idea. But could you help me find my room? At my age I get a little confused, you know. Would you please?”
Ally held her breath as she looked for a place to hide.
“Sorry ma’am, I don’t have time right now. I’m sure if you go down to the lobby and ask for help they will help you.”
“Sure. But that’s so far. I’m sure that you could…”
“Ma’am, I could call down to the lobby to have someone come up if you like, but I am going to need you to clear the area while I secure the room.”
Ally closed her eyes. There was nowhere to hide. The closet was too small. The bed was too close to the ground to hide underneath it. Even if she could get out the window, it was too high up to risk it. She did the only thing she could think of, she went into the bathroom and stepped into the bathtub. She pulled the curtain closed. A moment later she heard the door open. Her heart pounded. This was it. She was going to be caught returning to the scene of the crime. How would that look to a jury? How would it look to Luke, who expected her to be at the cottage? She gritted her teeth and tried to think of a good excuse for when she got caught. Just as she planned out a good insanity defense, a loud siren began to ring through the room. Her eyes widened. It was a fire alarm.
“Oh seriously? I just started!” The man in the room groaned. She heard him walk to the door. Then she heard the door close behind him. Ally was
sure that Charlotte must have been the one to pull the fire alarm. She hurried out into the room. She opened the door just a crack and peeked out into the hall. People emptied their rooms and filled the corridor as they shuffled towards the stairwell. Ally stepped out and blended right in with them. She noticed a woman come out from the room across the hall. She looked at Ally. Ally looked back at her. The exchange felt tense, but Ally had no idea why. Did the woman see Ally step out of the crime scene? Ally turned and hurried down the hall. Charlotte greeted her in the lobby.
“Did you do what I think you did?” Ally raised an eyebrow.
“Never mind that. What had to be done, was done. Now let’s get out of here, fast.”
“Yes, let’s…” Ally glanced back over her shoulder once, and noticed Ben in the middle of the lobby. He looked in her direction, but appeared to look past her at the group of people that exited the hotel. Ally tried not to worry as she and her grandmother walked around to the back of the hotel.
“Did you find anything in the room?”
“Yes, actually I did. I’m not sure that it will mean anything, but I found a diamond earring under the bed. It could have been there from another guest, but it could also be from whoever had a glass of wine with Dustin.”
“It’s a good start. What did you do with it?”
“I left it there and took a photo of it with my phone.”
“Good thinking, if you took it, it couldn’t be used as evidence.”
“That’s what I thought. I just hope it doesn’t go missing before the murderer is caught.”
“Good point.”
Ally’s phone began to ring. She was almost to the parking lot of the grocery store when she checked to see who it was. Her heart lurched when she saw that it was Luke.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?”
“Uh.” Ally glanced at her grandmother. “Out, for a walk.”
“Then you should be able to get right back to the cottage?”
“Uh.” She opened the door to the van. “I think it might be a few minutes.”
“Where are you?” Luke repeated.