by Cindy Bell
“Ally? What are you doing?” Charlotte asked. “I doubt that we’ll find another dead body if we leave the van with the valet.”
“Probably not, but this way we can see where the car was parked.” She noticed the parking lot entrance off to the right of the hotel. She drove down the driveway to the parking lot which was in the basement of the hotel. There were several cars parked in it. She took the next empty slot. When she parked she looked over the surroundings of the parking lot. There were a few doors that faced the parking lot, and what looked like a chute.
“What do you think this is?” Ally walked up to it and rapped on the side with her knuckles. Charlotte narrowed her eyes. She leaned close to the opening.
“I think it’s a laundry chute. They probably send out their bedding and towels to a service. The truck pulls up here and it gets loaded through the chute,” Charlotte said.
Ally tilted her head and peered up inside the chute. “It looks pretty big.”
“Big enough for a body?” Charlotte asked.
“It would explain how he got into my trunk and why he was wrapped in Denise’s jacket. Whoever did it could have backed the car right up to the chute. Terrible.”
“Yes, but I think you’re right. If this was how Dustin’s body was moved then we know that whoever did it, had access to the laundry, and the valet keys. I think we’re definitely looking at an inside job here.”
“We’d better get inside before the valet notices us looking around. Who knows who is involved?” Ally gritted her teeth. “Anyone could be watching.”
Charlotte shivered and nodded. Ally held the door for her grandmother. Once Charlotte was inside Ally stepped in behind her. Guests dotted the lobby. Ally noticed Kylie at the front desk. As she walked towards the front desk she also noticed that there were a few people watching her. The staff had likely been informed of her potential involvement. Luckily, right beside her, Charlotte carried the boxes of chocolates.
“Good morning.” Ally smiled.
“Good morning.” Kylie nodded at her. Ally took note of the heavy circles under her eyes. If she had to guess, she would say that Kylie hadn’t slept at all the night before. In fact, she had likely been crying.
“I’ve been to see Denise this morning,” Ally said.
Charlotte set the boxes of samples on the counter. She opened the box on top. “We brought chocolates!”
“Wait, what?” Kylie met Ally’s eyes. “You went to see Denise in jail?”
“Yes. I wanted to get her side of things.”
“Oh.” Kylie frowned. “Is she okay?”
“She is, for now. But we’re going to have to move fast if we want to help her.” Ally pushed the box towards her. “I need to talk to the staff. Kitchen, valet, laundry, maids, anyone who was here when Dustin was killed.”
“I don’t know.” Kylie glanced around the lobby. “Ben has been on a rampage. I don’t think he would be too happy about the two of you wandering through here.”
“Denise told me that you and her are friends and you would try to help me clear her name. Is that true?” Ally raised an eyebrow and studied the woman’s face. Kylie lowered her eyes.
“It’s true. I know that Denise didn’t do this. Dustin was a good man, he didn’t deserve this. I just don’t know how I can help.”
“You can help by giving us access and introducing us to a few of the staff so we can ask some questions.” Charlotte leaned across the desk some. “Denise is very important to me, and I want her home safe as soon as possible.”
“I want the same thing. I guess we can find a way to make this work,” Kylie said.
“The focus is off me right now,” Ally said. “I think with Denise in custody, the detective on the case is satisfied. If Ben asks what we’re doing here, you can tell him that we’re distributing more samples. As far as I am concerned we are still trying to convince him to order the chocolates for the hotel. Does that sound okay to you?”
“Yes, that sounds perfect. He hasn’t said anything about not going with your shop. Still, it’s important to keep in mind that rumors have been flying around the hotel, some of the staff may not be so willing to talk. Where do you want to start?”
Ally straightened up. “In the kitchen. I want to figure out who had drinks with Dustin before he died. Denise said that it wasn’t her, and I believe her. I already know that Dustin didn’t order the wine, so we need to pin down who brought that wine into his room. They were hotel wine glasses, so the wine had to be ordered from the kitchen.”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ll call the chef and try to convince him to let the staff talk to you and I’ll do my best to keep Ben away from the kitchen. But I can’t risk losing my job, not even to protect Denise. Okay?” She met Ally’s eyes.
“I understand. We’ll be careful.”
Ally and Charlotte took one of the boxes of chocolates and headed down the side hall towards the kitchen.
“I hope the staff don’t recognize me from when I acted as a diversion,” Charlotte said. “If they do I’ll just have to do a little more acting.” She smiled.
The smell of freshly chopped onions greeted Ally as she stepped into the kitchen. Charlotte followed right behind her. A few of the staff members turned to look at Ally.
As they walked in a man with a thick chest and thick brown hair under his chef’s hat eyed Ally.
“We brought samples.” Charlotte displayed the assortment of chocolates in the box. “Want to try some?” The moment he saw the chocolates his entire demeanor changed. The staff didn’t seem to recognize Charlotte from the indigestion incident.
“Sure.” He grinned.
As he and the others enjoyed their chocolates Ally decided it was time to ask him some questions.
“I have a couple of questions if you don’t mind.” Ally smiled.
“Okay, Kylie said you might have a few. I will do what I can to help. I like Denise,” he said.
“Thank you,” Ally said. “How many guests order wine on an average night?”
“Oh, I’d say at least fifty percent of the guests. It’s complimentary with the room, so most don’t pass up the opportunity.”
Ally cringed. If there were that many glasses of wine delivered to that many rooms then how would she narrow down who brought the wine into Dustin’s room?
“Hm. I don’t know about everyone else, Ally, but I know that I wouldn’t be able to carry two glasses of wine very far without spilling,” Charlotte said. “I would think whoever ordered the wine and brought it into Dustin’s room had to be someone with a room near his. At least on the same floor.”
“You’re right!” Ally snapped her fingers and then looked back at the chef. “Can you get us a list of all of the rooms that ordered wine on Dustin’s floor?”
“Sure I can. Will that help?”
“It’s a start.” Ally nodded. “Thank you.”
“Will you leave some of those samples?” He offered a half-smile.
“Plenty.” Charlotte began piling some up on a plate for the staff while the head chef looked through the orders.
“It looks like ten people ordered wine on that floor. That’s actually not as many as I expected.”
“Anyone close to Dustin’s room?” Ally peered over his shoulder at the list.
“Yes, the guest across from him, Brenna, ordered two glasses.” He paused a moment. “Actually, that’s a little odd, as she checked in alone. Of course she might have had company.” He shrugged.
“That’s perfect! Thank you. Can I have a copy of that list?”
“I don’t feel comfortable with that,” he said apologetically. “But I can give you the details for the room across from Dustin’s.”
“Thanks, that’s great,” Ally said. She really wanted the whole list but she didn’t want to push her luck.
“Do you think it was her?” Charlotte closed up the box of samples as the chef went to copy the details.
“I remember seeing her when I left Dustin’s room because of th
e fire alarm. She did seem a bit off. But then again, finding out that the room across from yours is a crime scene can do that to anyone. I want to head straight for her room and see if we can get some information from her before she decides to check out.”
“Here are the details.” The chef handed Ally a piece of paper.
“Thanks.” Ally took it from him and started to leave the kitchen. She paused at the door and turned back. “What do you do with your soiled towels and things?”
“Oh, we have a door to the chute.” He pointed to a square on the wall.
“Won’t it fall out into the parking lot?” Charlotte asked.
“There’s a small compartment that we fill up. When the truck arrives we pull the lever and it goes out through the chute.”
“Are there any other doors to the chute?”
“Sure, one on each floor.”
Ally and Charlotte exchanged a look. As they left the kitchen Ally spoke in a murmur.
“The body could have been put into the chute on any floor. But my best guess is that it was done on the third floor.”
“I find it hard to believe that this could be a crime of passion. It seems too well planned out, don’t you think?” Charlotte pushed the button to call the elevator. “I think whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing.”
“And had the access to pull it off.” Ally stepped into the elevator after Charlotte.
“It doesn’t exactly narrow down the list of suspects.”
Ally watched the numbers change on the elevator. “No it doesn’t. So, if we assume that the chute was the method used to move the body, then Dustin’s body probably went through the door to the chute on his floor.”
“Let’s see if we can pin down this woman first, Brenna right?”
“Yes, Brenna Aberdene,” Ally said as she looked at the details the chef had given her. “She should be in the room right across the hall from Dustin’s.” Charlotte stepped out of the elevator. Ally followed right after. Ally lingered for a moment beside Dustin’s room. She got the feeling that even though it was locked, she could easily find her way in. However, her focus needed to be on the room across the hall. “Samples ready?” She looked over at her grandmother.
“Ready.” Charlotte nodded. Ally knocked on the door with three firm strikes. After a few seconds the door swung open, and the very woman that Ally had locked eyes with when she had left Dustin’s room, stood before her.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Hello. My name is Ally Sweet, and this is Charlotte Sweet. We’d like to share a few samples of chocolates with you, as we’re trying to get the opinions of the guests staying at this hotel. Would you enjoy finding one of these chocolates on your pillow?”
Charlotte held out the samples.
“Oh.” Brenna didn’t take her eyes off Ally. “I thought you might be here for another reason.”
“I am actually. I wanted to ask you a question as well.” Ally held her gaze.
“What is it?” Brenna looked nervous.
“I’m here because you ordered two glasses of wine for your room on the night of the incident. I’d like to know if you drank them alone.”
“I was in my room alone all night. I didn’t mean to order two glasses of wine. They must have been sent up by accident.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to hide anything from us, Brenna. Maybe you met Dustin in the hallway. Maybe you thought it would be nice to have a drink with him?” Charlotte said.
“Nonsense. I didn’t even see that man. All I know about him is that he ended up in the trunk of your car.” She raised an eyebrow. “So, why are you questioning me?”
Ally cleared her throat. “Because I know that two glasses were found in his room. One with that exact same shade of lipstick on it,” Ally said as she pointed to Brenna’s lips.
Brenna narrowed her eyes. She gripped the door tightly and took a breath. “I don’t know how the glasses got into his room. When I went downstairs I left them outside the door so they would be picked up. When I came back, the glasses were gone. I thought a staff member got them.”
“I thought you stayed in your room alone all night?” Charlotte tilted her head to the side. “Now you’re saying you left and came back?”
“Look, I told you and the police that I was alone for a reason. The man I was with, he’s not exactly single. I don’t want him to get pulled into all of this. It would ruin his life.” She frowned and fixed her eyes to Charlotte. “Don’t judge me. We’re in love.”
“Sure.” Charlotte nodded. “So you had a glass of wine with your secret lover?”
Brenna rolled her eyes. “Yes. Then I went with him down to the lobby to say goodbye. I was only gone about a half hour. When I came back the glasses were gone. I didn’t think much about it, but if you say that there was a glass in his room with my lipstick on it, then someone must have taken them from the corridor and put them in there.”
“Why would anyone do that?” Ally shook her head. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Maybe not, but I have never been inside that room, so either you’re wrong about the lipstick, or someone took the glasses for a reason. Are you going to have to tell the police about this?”
“I don’t know yet.” Ally frowned. “I will do my best to keep it quiet, but if you had come forward in the first place it would have been a lot easier.”
“Look, I’m sorry the man died, but I had nothing to do with that. An entire family will be devastated if this gets out.”
“But you’re in love, what do you care?” Charlotte lifted an eyebrow.
“I care. Just because we’re in love, that doesn’t change the fact that he has a family, he has responsibilities. It would break his heart to hurt them, and I don’t want that to happen. I’m not asking you to understand, but consider the harm that will be done.”
Charlotte nodded and looked over at Ally. “We will do our best to keep it quiet.”
As they walked away from the door Brenna closed it behind them. Charlotte spoke in a low voice.
“What do you think? Did someone take the glasses?”
Ally stared at the laundry chute at the end of the hallway. “We already know that whoever did this had to have access to the car keys in the valet box, and know how the laundry chute worked. I don’t think that a guest who has only been here for a few days would know that.”
“Did you really find out that the lipstick was the same?”
“No, that was just a bluff. I wanted her to admit that she was drinking wine with someone. I just thought it would be Dustin, not some random, married man.” Ally squinted at the laundry chute. “Plus, there’s one other thing missing. Motive. If there was no history between them, why would Brenna kill him?” She shook her head. “No, as crazy as it sounds, the only thing that makes any sense to me is that someone put the wine glasses in Dustin’s room on purpose.”
“Someone made an effort to frame someone else, or at the least set a scene,” Charlotte said.
“Not only that but if we assume that the wine glasses were taken from outside Brenna’s room, then we have a likely timeline for the murder.” Ally smiled. “That can give us a better idea of who was present at the time of the murder.”
“What if she’s lying?” Charlotte looked thoughtful. “We can’t know for sure. The speech she gave about her lover is sweet, but it could all be a fantasy. Maybe she’s trying to cover up for the fact that she was in Dustin’s room.”
“It’s possible. Let’s head back down to the lobby, I want to check on the staff that was working the bar. Perhaps one of them saw someone with Dustin.”
“Maybe.”
Chapter Ten
On the ride down with her grandmother in the elevator to the bar Ally was uneasy. It looked more and more like an employee at the hotel was responsible for the murder. She had to admit to herself that Denise was a very viable suspect.
“Mee-Maw, how well do you know Denise’s mother?”
“Oh very.” Charlo
tte nodded. “We haven’t spent a lot of time together in the past few years, because she had retired and I hadn’t. Life gets busy, you know? But we kept in touch here and there and now that we are both living at Freely Lakes I’ve started seeing her a lot more.”
“Did anything ever happen in Denise’s life that might make you think she could be capable of something like this?” Ally frowned.
“No, not at all, Ally. In fact, when your mother died, Denise offered to take you in. She cared about you that much, and was worried raising a young girl would be too much for me.” Charlotte laughed at that. “She had no reason to be concerned about that, but it was a touching offer.”
“I didn’t know that.” Ally was surprised. It occurred to her that her life would be very different if her grandmother had allowed that to happen. She couldn’t imagine not having the guidance and love of her grandmother every day. Even though Charlotte was much older than the parents of most of her friends, Ally never noticed that. Charlotte’s wisdom and sharp humor always kept their lives interesting.
“Oh, you had no choice my love.” She patted Ally’s cheek. “Ravenous lions couldn’t have dragged you out of my arms. Though sometimes I did wonder if it was the right decision for you.” She looked into Ally’s eyes.
“It was.” Ally smiled warmly at her. “It absolutely was.” The elevator doors slid open and Ally waited for her grandmother to step out first. Her heart filled with affection as Charlotte stepped past her. They had their moments of disagreement, but when it came down to it, Ally couldn’t imagine her life without her grandmother. The lobby was crowded with guests and staff as they scrambled to get back on track after the incident.
“While you are in the bar, I’ll make the rounds with the guests. Maybe someone saw something,” Charlotte said.
“Perfect.”
Charlotte took one box of samples and Ally took the other. She veered off towards the bar while Charlotte wandered through the lobby.
If Ally thought the lobby was crowded, the bar was even more popular. Apparently a murder at the hotel was a good excuse to enjoy a drink. Ally noticed a harried looking bartender behind the bar. She walked over in an attempt to speak to her, but was pushed back by three men who wanted to get to the bar first. She raised an eyebrow and did her best to be patient. Once the rush died down a little she was able to get to the bar.