by Susan Baker
“Maria, I have heard there was a murder at the Steeple wedding, is that correct? Something about a piece of wedding cake? How in the world could you let something like that happen?” Mr. Blume asked. Maria ignored the fact that Mr. Blume meant to indicate she had some responsibility for the tragedy. She tried to remain professional and somewhat remote.
“Yes sir, there was a murder, but I have just looked at the video and I have some suspicions but nothing concrete to go on yet. Of course forensics have to complete their investigation, but I believe Alex Steeple had a piece of poisoned wedding cake, that is my theory anyway,” Maria tried to explain.
“Who served the cake, who had access to the kitchen?” Blume demanded.
“Of course, Lindsay and Ellen were there, they were helping the wait staff serve the cake. And Ian was there; he prepared the cake. I have watched the tape and the kitchen door is hard to see. Right now, I have no idea what happened Mr. Blume,” Maria answered.
“Well your job is toast unless you find out. The Atlantic Resort chain cannot have a hit like this on our record; we have a worldwide reputation to maintain. You are responsible for finding out who committed this murder,” Blume blasted across the lines, “Do it, or you will be fired,” and he hung up. Maria sat holding her phone in shock. She had always fancied herself a bit of a sleuth and had always been good at figuring out people’s motives, and this was going to be one of those times. Her job depended on it.
Chapter 2
Maria came from a hardscrabble background, and because she had been abused by her uncle, ten years older than she was at the time, she was opposed to any type of violence. She was a beauty, with long dark brown, wavy hair she wore in a swept back loose French braid worn on the side that showed off her large almond shaped blue eyes, her soft oval shaped face, accented by full lips and alluring dimples over straight even teeth. She was tall, almost 5’10” and slender with curves in all the right places. When she was off duty, she brushed out her glossy hair and wore it down around her shoulders and she caught the eye of many men although she was unaware of her charms and her looks. Maria suffered from self-esteem issues and had a job that required her to be in charge, but despite her struggles, she was very smart, assertive, and highly perceptive. She was only thirty, but after college, she had worked her way through the Atlantic Resorts hierarchy and was now in charge of her own team. They traveled from venue to venue in charge of wedding receptions as well as business and educational conferences. Maria’s group basically took charge of any event that required the skills of a highly attentive staff utilized to ply recipients with good food and make sure their functions ran smoothly. Most of their work was on the east coast, but Atlantic Resorts, with Maria at the helm, had ventured out to the Midwest several times and had been very successful.
On Maria’s team was Lindsay, her second in command, Ellen, and Ian. Lindsay was thirty-five-years-old, petite at 5’2” with short blonde hair, and blue eyes with a pretty heart-shaped face. She was a little rough around the edges and could be sharp and strident, but she was Maria’s best friend and confidante. Third on her team was Ellen, a nosy, hard to please woman, thirty-two, attractive with medium length black hair, dark gray eyes, with a long face accentuated with an aquiline nose. Ellen was very jealous of Maria whom she thought had been promoted over her many times and Lindsay and Ellen did not get along. In short, Ellen believed she should be in charge. Last on their team was Ian, their very good-looking top chef who had a penchant for rich foods and carried an additional ten pounds because of this. Despite their differences, together the four of them made an attractive, efficient group and they usually worked well together except when Ellen’s jealousy got the better of her. And that was too often.
But now there was a murder. And if Maria didn’t want to lose her job, she would have to solve this mystery herself. She grabbed a piece of hotel stationary and wrote down her list of suspects. First there was Melinda Steeple, formally Melinda Scott. She might have a motive, but right now Maria did not know what it was. She also needed to talk to Amy Scott, sister of the bride and try and find out why she had looked so depressed at the festivities. Next was the father of the bride. Never had she seen a man look more morose or upset regarding their daughter’s nuptials, and Maria, by this time, had seen a lot of ‘fathers of the bride.’ Edward Scott seemed downright hostile, so he was a suspect. And then there was the young, dark haired waiter whom she had not approved. Where had he come from? Was he part of the kitchen staff who was filling in for a server who had taken ill? Maria had to find out. Once again, Maria had no reason yet to suspect any one of them, yet she felt sure one of them might have some answers for her, and she had to start somewhere. Maria called room service and ordered a club sandwich. She had been so busy during the reception, and the ensuing murder, she forgot to eat. After she finished the sandwich, she watched some TV before she fell into a troubled sleep. She would talk to Melinda Scott Steeple and her sister tomorrow. She would also question Edward Scott, and find out who the dark haired waiter was. In addition, she had to talk to her staff to see if they noticed anything amiss during the reception. She had her work cut out for her.
Maria woke up the next morning, groggy from a lack of sleep. She brushed her teeth and hair and went downstairs to the little hotel café that served breakfast. While she was waiting for her eggs and bacon, she called Melinda Scott in the bridal suite. Melinda was friendly enough and agreed to meet Maria in the restaurant at noon so she could start her investigation. After breakfast Maria checked out the large reception room and saw there was police tape around the perimeters of the room. The whole thing was so depressing. There was one member of the forensic team taking pictures and Maria waved hi. He ignored her and kept shooting snaps. She left the reception room and walked around the pool below the bar and outside tables of the restaurant. A lovely lake that fed into the ocean surrounded the Hotel and Maria sat by the pool for a half hour in the cool, early morning summer sun.
Promptly at noon, Maria met Melinda Scott in the hotel restaurant. Melinda still looked like she was in shock and her eyes were ringed and red. Both women ordered a chef salad and Maria hope Melinda would talk. She was gentle and tried to be tactful with her questions.
“Melinda, you know Alex better than anyone, did he have any enemies, anyone who might want to do him harm?” Maria asked.
“Alex was the most friendly guy in the world; he didn’t have an enemy on this earth,” Melinda answered, just picking at her salad after it arrived.
“Did he have any relatives at the wedding? What can you tell me about his friends? Maria pressed on.
“His ex-girlfriend, Rebecca Carl was there. I think they were just friends. Alex was an only child and his parents have passed away, so it was just Alex and his friends. You met his best man didn’t you? His name is Colby Jenson. He is the sweetest guy you would ever want to meet,” Melinda said, putting a cherry tomato in her mouth.
“Can you tell me about Rebecca Carl?” Maria asked.
“Well, she is kind of hostile,” Melinda said, “she was at the wedding in the blue dress, to be honest, I don’t even know why she came, I guess Alex invited her,” and Melinda was about to go on when a handsome man came over and sat down uninvited. Maria had no idea who he was and Melinda did not enlighten her. He was handsome and built and Maria tried to remember him from the wedding, but she couldn’t place the face. Melinda made no attempt to introduce him so Maria introduced herself.
“Hi, I am Maria Winfred and I was in charge of the reception. I work for Atlantic Resorts.
“I’m Thomas,” the man said, and promptly ignored Maria. “Are you ok baby, is there anything I can do for you?
“No, not right now,” Melinda said and looked down. “Tom” seemed very protective of Melinda and put his arm around her, massaging her shoulders until Maria felt like she should give up for now and let Melinda and Thomas have their space. She wasn’t going to get Melinda to talk now. Who was this guy? She left her salad hal
f eaten and told Melinda she would see her later. As she was leaving the hotel restaurant, she saw Ian. Her pulse quickened as she laid eyes on him and again she felt their mutual attraction. He grinned at her and walked her way. They met up and he invited her to sit down with him for a few minutes by the pool. Maria tried not to look directly into Ian’s eyes lest he see how she really felt. He spoke first.
“I’m sorry all this happened Maria, especially on your watch, is there anything I can do? Ian asked.
“I tried to talk to Melinda, but she apparently already has male moral support. I need to find out who that guy was who was intensely interested in her and ignored me. I think there is a story there,” Maria said. “Also do you remember a short, dark haired waiter, I don’t remember him from the kitchen staff.”
“A young guy right? I do remember him. He helped Lindsay and Ellen serve the cake. I didn’t think much about him until Alex was poisoned,” Ian said. “Then I wondered about him because he helped serve the cake. He was a quiet fellow, pleasant enough, but he really kept to himself-no gabbing in the kitchen like all the rest of the staff. His name was Carl, I’m sure if you ask the head chef about him, you could get some details,” Ian said helpfully.
“That is a good idea, I need to interview the entire staff. I don’t remember meeting Carl, the young kid, but maybe he was a replacement, I need to ask them about everything, establish a time line from when the dinner and the cake were started and everyone who touched the food or the cake after it was finished, I need a chain of command. What do you remember about not only making the cake, but more important, what happened after it was made? Maria asked.
“Well, it took about eight hours to make it, counting decorating. I got to the kitchen at six, yesterday morning; the kitchen staff had not even arrived. I started on the first layer and was building the first tier, and had just finished icing it when Max, the head chef and his crew came in. That Carl guy, he wasn’t part of the kitchen staff because I remember all of them, we did a lot of joking around and they were fun to hang with,” Ian said. “Didn’t you meet and approve of the servers?”
“I did, but Carl was not one of them, that is why he caught my eye. All the servers were women, young women and that is why he stood out. I will ask when I talk to Max,” Maria said. “Also Melinda’s sister was looking very morose in the wedding video, maybe she is just an unhappy woman, but maybe more is going on. Since I don’t know these people, there is no stone I can leave unturned, I have to talk to everyone.”
“Who else is on your list? Ian asked.
“Well, I have also identified another possible suspect, Rebecca Carl. Let’s just call her a person of interest since she has no motive that I know of. I learned from Melinda she was Alex’s ex. I saw her in the wedding video, but I didn’t know who she was. I still don’t know, but I need to get a well rounded idea about Alex and who would have a reason to want him dead, because someone most certainly did in a big way,” Maria said.
“That sounds good, have you interviewed the bride’s father? He looked angry and he may have had a reason to see the groom dead,” Ian said. “You are a natural sleuth, and it sounds like you have a lot of people to talk to. You are very smart and I know you will figure out who was lying and who was not.” Maria felt a flush come over her under Ian’s praise. Still she avoided looking at his gorgeous blue eyes, she was afraid she would get the urge to kiss him. So she kept the conversation all business. It was safer that way.
“Thanks, I am going to talk to Edward Scott and I need to talk to Melinda again, Maria said, still not meeting Ian’s eyes. Finally the silence laced between them like an engaging fog and she glanced up. There was an immediate connection with him, just like there always was. She wanted to put her arms around him and give him a hug, but her experience with men and her past made her hesitate. She started to speak to him but the words kept evaporating, vanishing from her tongue before she had the chance to speak the words she wanted to say. But she hesitated and couldn’t speak, her past was like a pain, heavy and solid in her chest and she could not open up. Instead she looked down again.
“Just keep at it, something will turn up,” Ian said and Maria told him she had to go. As she got up to leave, she turned around and noticed he was waving to her and beaming.
Chapter 3
Maria started to walk back to her room and headed instead to Lindsay’s room to talk to her about the case. To her surprise Ellen was there. There was no love lost between the two women and Lindsay was continually trying to get Maria to give Ellen the heave-ho. Maria wondered if they were having an argument. Maria told both women about her investigation and Ellen couldn’t wait to interject her opinion.
“What, are you crazy? Leave it to the police, that is what they are here for,” Ellen stated, angrily.
“Don’t listen to her, Maria, you are a natural sleuth, and this murder happened on your watch. I think you are the perfect person to investigate,” Lindsay said, ignoring Ellen’s words of warning.
“You are just going to get yourself in trouble, leave it alone,” Ellen said and left the room in a huff.
“She has been acting very strange since the event took place. How can I help?” Lindsay asked.
“Well Melinda is downstairs in the restaurant with another man, how about if we investigate the bridal suite if we can get in?” Maria suggested.
“Good idea, let’s go,” Lindsay said. The two girls took the elevator to the penthouse, which housed the bridal suite, and walked in as the maid was cleaning the room. Maria told the maid that Melinda had sent her to find a letter and the maid, whose name was Anna, told the women she was finished anyway. Maria considered this a stroke of luck. After Anna finished and left the room, Maria and Lindsay searched the suite, looking in drawers and in her desk. There was nothing. Then they looked through Melinda’s bags methodically until Maria found a note on the bottom of her cosmetics bag. The note was in an envelope with her name on it. Maria opened it and it was quite ominous, it read as follows:
‘Don’t marry Alex. He doesn’t love you and he never will. He has been having an affair with me for the past two years, even after the two of you starting going out. If you don’t stay away from him and call off this wedding, you will be sorry.’
Maria was confused at the contents and wondered who the note was from. It was not signed. Lindsay read it as well and shivered. Maria decided to keep the note and put it in her pocket. The women finished looking in the bathroom, the closet and through Melinda’s clothes on the bed, but they found nothing further. They snuck out and took the elevator down to Maria’s room and as they turned the corner, they saw Edward Scott and Rebecca Carl in what looked like an intimate conversation. She had her hand on his shoulder and was talking to him intently. Finally they turned and went the opposite direction, but Maria wondered why in the world Edward would be interested in his son-in-law’s former girlfriend. Maria decided she had to learn more about both of them. Maria hugged Lindsay and they both went to their separate rooms. Maria watched the wedding video again and identified the man who was so interested in Melinda and who had massaged her shoulders. She also noticed the woman identified as Rebecca Carl in the blue dress and noted she was agitated during the reception and did not dance or raise her glass during toasts. Maria had not noticed this before. Maria knew she needed to find out everything she could about both wedding guests and do some investigating.
Chapter 4
Maria decided she needed some workout time to clear her mind. Her detective work would continue in the later afternoon and evening. An hour running on the treadmill and some weight lifting would be good for her and give her time to think. She grabbed her ipod and her headphones that she carried to every job and headed to the hotel gym. To her surprise, the mystery man who had been so friendly with Maria earlier and introduced himself only as Thomas was leaving the gym. Maria asked him if they could talk and re-introduced herself.
“Hi, I am Maria Winfred, I was in charge of the wedding receptio
n and I am investigating members of the wedding party and friends. I am trying to find out what happened to Alex. Are you a friend of Melinda’s and Alex’s?”
“Glad to meet you Maria, I am Thomas Ward and I knew the groom and am friends with Melinda. There are chairs by the pool, why don’t we talk there?” Thomas said, leading the way. They walked back to the pool area and sat down. “Call me Tom,” Thomas said and Maria said “Tom” out loud and began her questions.
“So Tom, did you know the groom and if so, how did you know him?” Maria asked. Tom was tall and well built with brown hair and blue eyes and a smattering of freckles on his shiny cheeks that gave him a boyish look. He was good looking and seemed like the type of guy who knew it.
“I was friend of Tom’s for ten years. We went to high school in Lowell, Massachusetts and we attended Harvard together,” Tom offered. “We played high school football together in high school, but neither of us was good enough to make the team at Harvard. That is just as well, we didn’t go there to play sports.”