“There is something dangerous about Roger. I just can’t put my finger on it.” Pauline whispered. “He rubs me the wrong way.”
“He threw a punch at me.” Anna offered. “I think if he were to kill someone, he’d be likely to do it in a violent manner. All things considered, I think he’s actually okay with the wedding.”
“Oh, so now he’s not a suspect.” Cassandra scoffed.
“Why do you have to be so petty?” Pauline replied, her eyes fixed on Cassandra. “Don’t have you some cleaning to do, you old maid?” Cassandra spat back.
“You two need to settle your differences. This isn’t helping a thing.” Anna chimed in. “We need to figure out who the killer is.”
“The police are trained to deal with this.” Cassandra sighed. “You are stressing over nothing. You have a job to do, just like they do. You’ve had no formal education. So while you want to be a super sleuth, they have had classes in this.”
“Why do you have to be so cold?” Pauline snapped back. “Anna has the intelligence and skills to be a great detective. In fact, I think your assessment of the situation is completely off. If I were the victim, I’d want to have Anna be the person to investigate my death.”
“Stop sucking up to her.” Cassandra replied coldly.
“I really have no idea why you guys can’t just get along.” Anna sighed.
“I don’t have time for this.” Cassandra snapped. “No offense, but you are both being idiots right now. I’ll be here doing my job while you two play Sherlock and Watson.”
With that, Cassandra turned and heatedly left the room.
“Why do you get her going?” Anna asked with a smile on her face. “You know it just works her up.” “I don’t like her.” Pauline sighed. “There is just something about her that I don’t trust at all.”
“I’ve known her for years.” Anna shook her head. “You just need to learn to trust her.”
“You can trust her for both of us.” Pauline gave Anna a toothy smile and cocked her head.
Letting out a laugh, Anna motioned for Pauline to follow her into the kitchen. As they went through the kitchen door, Anna took her hand and slowly guided her toward the hallway to the hotel.
“Where are we going?” Pauline whispered. “We aren’t supposed to leave.” “We’re going to the Honeymoon suite.” Anna replied with a smile.
“Wow. I think you got the wrong impression of me.” Pauline held up her hands and took a step back.
“We’re going to see if we can find anything in the room, something that might give a hint about who the killer is.” Anna shook her head with a stern look on her face. “Right now, all we have is gut feelings about people. We need more than that to figure out who the killer is.”
Walking along the marble walls, the pair darted into the stairwell to avoid being seen. Taking the stairs to the third floor, they walked onto the floor and made their way to the elevator. The large golden doors were impressive and when they opened, the elevator’s operator welcomed them with a smile on his face.
Anna knew it was Sean Malone, an older gentleman in his late 50s with thinning grey hair, a bushy moustache, and piercing silver eyes. He also smelled strongly of cherry pipe tobacco, which was comforting scent to her. In a way, he reminded her of her grandfather.
“Hi, Anna!” Sean said warmly. “What is going on in the banquet hall? There’s lot of cops but no one is saying a word.”
“We don’t even know.” Anna lied. “I was asked to get something for the bride from her hotel room.” “Very well, come on in and I’ll take you up!” Sean replied.
The two women boarded the elevator and walked to the back. The air was icy and as the door closed, Anna could feel her heart begin to race. She didn’t like the confined space and the metal gears of the elevator always left her concerned that they would eventually give out and she’d fall to her death in a metal box.
When the doors opened, she rushed out and turned to Sean.
“Thank you. We’ll buzz you in a bit. I am not sure how long it will take to find what we are looking for.”
“Not a problem. Good luck, Anna!” Sean replied as the doors to the elevator shut.
“So how are we going to get into the room?” Pauline asked as they made their way to the honeymoon suite. “After all, a key card swipe from either of us will trigger a red flag.”
“But the one from Maria in housekeeping won’t.” Anna smiled. “I told her I forgot my card and she lent me hers. So, we’re fine. I told her it was for the Honeymoon suite and she will tell Mr. Puccio she was double checking the room to make sure it was ready for the new bride and groom.”
“Sometimes, your plans concern me because they are too well thought out.” Pauline replied.
“We all have our secrets.” Anna offered.
As they reached the white double doors, they noticed a black envelope with red lettering on it. “DIE” was written on the front of it.
“Not a very inviting note, is it?” Pauline asked. “I think we should call the cops.” Reaching into her pocket, Anna pulled out a pair of food service gloves and put them on. “What are you doing?” Pauline demanded. “This is a really bad idea.”
“Just stop.” Anna replied and brushed her off.
Opening the envelope, she looked at a black sheet of paper that had the same red lettering on it. Each letter was crafted with precision and avoided anything that could identify if a male or female wrote it.
Death has cursed your marriage. But Death isn’t satisfied yet. He will come again.
Anna dropped the note and shook her head.
“What’s wrong?” Pauline demanded.
Anna gave Pauline a pair of gloves. Once they were on, she handed her the letter. With a gasp, the older woman looked at Anna, shaking.
“We need to let the police know about this letter.” Pauline said in a matter of fact tone.
“No one is going to die with the cops swarming the room.” Anna replied. “I’ve seen this writing somewhere before. I just don’t recall where. I want to hold on to it for a bit so I can compare it with a few samples.”
“Have you heard the term “obstruction of justice”? Hindering a police investigation? You are committing a crime.” Pauline snapped.
“Not yet. They’ll get it. We’ll just take the long way of getting the letter to them. We need to do this, we need to—” Anna was cut short as two voices boomed with laughter out in the hall. Quickly, she tucked the letter into her pocket.
“You are so handsome.” a woman’s voice flirted. “I’m just glad you think so.” a man’s voice replied.
Turning away from the door, Anna and Pauline started to walk hastily toward the elevator. When they turned the corner, they ran into Nancy and Frank, who looked surprised to see them.
The four looked at each other in silence for a moment. Then Frank took Nancy’s hand and guided her away from the two women. Nancy turned to look at them one last time as she turned the corner.
“Something is going on.” Pauline said. “I am surprised they managed to sneak out of the banquet hall.”
“Something is very wrong here.” Anna replied calmly. “Why would the ex-girlfriend of the deceased be hanging onto the father of the bride? They should both be shaken up, not getting flirty in the hotel.”
“Maybe they are a couple?” Pauline suggested. “We don’t know their relationships status, do we?
“But he didn’t like Tony at all. Now he is frolicking with his ex-girlfriend.” Anna replied. “They are acting incredibly suspicious. Maybe not Nancy so much as Frank. After all, his daughter is down there a widow. He really shouldn’t be doing this. It’s kind of classless and tacky for a man who is supposed to have an air of sophistication about him.”
“You’re reading too much into this one, Anna.” Pauline sighed. “It’s a wedding, people act weird around them. I would just write it off as a bad decision they are each going to regret later on.”
“If you were married and your husband died, wher
e would your father be?” Anna replied.
“He’d be by my side, holding my hand and helping me to cope with my loss.” Pauline responded. “Would he leave your side even for a moment?” Anna pressed. “To leave you when you were in a room of strangers, and with mascara stains on your face?”
“No, he would do all that he could to protect me.” Pauline agreed. “So why isn’t he with Meadow right now?”
“Because he doesn’t see this loss as being anything of importance.” Anna replied. “He is viewing this as a death of someone who meant little to him and little to Meadow. Now, I’ve spoken with Meadow and she is genuinely upset. I do believe she loved him. I don’t think she intentionally killed him if she did. But her father could be splattered in Tony’s blood and would still be flirting with this woman. I’d say that makes him a prime suspect.”
“That would be rather cold. Killing your daughter’s husband and then leaving her alone. How is his relationship with Meadow?” Pauline asked.
“It is fine as far as I can tell.” Anna shrugged her shoulders. “The problem is that when I watched the reception videos, you could tell he wasn’t happy at all. I honestly think he had something to do with this, Pauline. It doesn’t all add up right now.”
“Is it possible that the problem isn’t him? I mean, you were routinely abused by your dad. You don’t trust men, especially older men. Do you think that might be swaying your judgment this time? I don’t mean to come across sounding awful, but I think there might be something more here to consider.”
“No.” Anna replied. “I am not letting my past experiences influence my thinking on this. I am basing this solely on human nature. As you know, people are habitual in the things they do. Certainly, there are some people who would like to claim their actions are unique but most of us fall into a set of patterns that are normal for us.”
“So, if you can figure out the patterns of the person, you can determine who the killer is?” Pauline asked. “Because I don’t see any knife wielding maniacs in the hotel. I could be wrong though.”
“I just…” Anna paused. “I just don’t know what to think. But we do need to take a moment to figure out who had the best motive to kill him. Was it love, money, hatred, a vendetta against the man? None of these motives really make sense in this puzzle.”
“Well, then, like any puzzle, we start out with what we do know along the edges and work our way toward the center.” Pauline smiled. “Before you know it, we’ll have the answers we are looking for.”
“That or we’ll have a killer who realizes we know more than we are supposed to know.” Anna whispered. "We’ve both seen the movies so we know how these things play out. People end up learning more than they should. Before long, they wind up dead in the swimming pool, dumped on a beautiful tropical beach, or tossed from the rooftop and fall to their death. I want to solve the murder to help the bride find closure and to keep my job but I am not sure I am willing to die in the process. You saw the note. This person isn’t going to be messing around with us. They are bold enough to threaten another death. What if it turns out to be one of us as the intended victim?"
Chapter 4
Murder in Bermuda: Book 1 in the Murder in Paradise Series Page 3