Anna looked out of the hotel room she and Pauline had been stuck in as the hotel went on lockdown. No one was allowed to check out of the hotel until the investigation was finished, which could take days.
Outside, the warm Bermuda sun cast its light over the beautiful Horseshoe Bay. There was something breathtakingly beautiful about the water and how the sun shimmered on it. It was a completely peaceful world beyond the hotel. Here, there was something sinister and evil in the air.
Because she didn’t have anything else going on right now, Anna decided a run on the treadmill might do her good. Grabbing a towel, she made her way down to the gym in the basement. She desperately wanted to be alone but as she walked through the wooden door, she heard the sound of weights fall and hit the ground. Turning her attention to the sound, Roger looked at her with a stern look on his face. His black workout outfit was drenched in sweat and he looked like he had been blowing off some steam.
“I apologize again for earlier.” His words came cold. “I didn’t mean to become so angry over the situation. I am very protective of Meadow.”
“I gathered as much.” Anna replied. She didn’t want to move any closer to him and touched the door behind her back, ready to push it if needed.
“Still, you had no right to ask the questions you did.” His voice tensed. “I didn’t appreciate the tone of the questions. If there is something you think you know, maybe you should talk about it.”
“What would I think I know?” Anna asked cautiously. “I’m not the police and I am not investigating the crime.”
“You’ve been a good little Nancy Drew from what I’ve been hearing. Snooping on people, their rooms, and talking.” Roger warned. “People don’t like people who stick their nose into other people’s business.”
“I really should go.” Anna whispered and pushed on the door as he approached her.
Pushing hard against the door, she could feel the heat of his body close to hers and smell the sweat of his body. She turned her head and closed her eyes in fear.
“I want an apology.” he said, his voice short and bordering on rage.
“I’m sorry.” Anna winced. “Please, just let me go.”
“Promise me you won’t go around telling people that Meadow and I have a thing going on anymore.” he demanded. “I won’t let Tony’s death be clouded with the thoughts of infidelity. He was my friend and, yeah, Meadow and I dated a long time ago but that relationship has been over for years. You saw a look. It was a look from her thanking me for being cool at the wedding. You don’t know what you saw and it irritates me to no end that you’ve been talking to people.”
“But I haven’t said a word.” Anna promised.
“That’s not what Cassandra said.” His eyes pierced her with his rage. “So, what do you have to say about that?”
“When we talked about possible suspects, we mentioned the look. Not to anyone else.” Anna pleaded.
“But you aren’t the cops.” Roger snapped. “You are food service workers in a hotel. You aren’t even very good at what you do, considering you killed a powerful man with your cake.”
“That wasn’t our fault, Roger.” Anna responded. “If we had known the cake was poisoned, there never would have been a death.”
“Well, I didn’t have anything to do with it.” Roger snapped back. “I’ve been nothing but supportive of him and Meadow. You don’t know this because you haven’t done your homework on me. I introduced the happy couple. After I was informed by Meadow’s father that I would be in my grave before I married his daughter and he’d cut her out of the will, I let her go. I loved her. I wanted her happy. I grew up with Tony and I introduced them. They fell in love and all I ever wanted for them was a chance to be happy. So before you decide I am this diabolical monster, take a step back and look at all the facts of what is going on. This wasn’t me. I am not the one who killed Tony but someone did.”
Anna paused for a moment and looked Roger from head to toe. His eyes pleaded with her, desperate for her to believe him and the words he was saying. If he was guilty and thought she was even remotely suspicious, he could easily cause her harm and leave her down in the gym for someone to find later on. He did have to swipe his card to get in here so getting away with a second murder would be difficult for him to pull off.
“I believe you.” Anna lied. “I just am so nervous about things that are going on right now. I am really sorry, Roger.”
The bulky man backed up and nodded. “I need to blow off more steam.” he said, his words to the point. “If you need anything else, ask me. Don’t snoop around and try to find something that isn’t there. I’d actually appreciate it.”
With that, she watched as he squatted and picked up the weights and began lifting them again. Deciding the confrontation was enough cardio for the day, she slipped out the door and bumped into Cassandra.
Their eyes met and Cassandra had a look of guilt on her face. Before Anna could ask her what was going on, Cassandra opened up first and started to explain why she was outside the lower level gym.
“I was just walking by. I heard the heated talking and wanted to make sure you were okay.” Cassandra began. “I know you are fine, so I’ll go now. I am just glad everything turned out well. You don’t even know what a sense of relief I have right now over this.”
“But you could have knocked.” Anna replied. “You could have opened the door and voiced your concern. But you didn’t.”
“I guess that’s true.” Cassandra mumbled. “But, hey, I do have more information for you. I know you are trying to figure out who the killer is. Well, I know something you can use to help with your investigation. I mean, if you want to explore it. You really do need to get this murder solved.”
“Why are you babbling?” Anna asked. “Tell me what you know. I’ll look into whatever you have to offer.”
“First, I want you to know I am not lying.” Cassandra began.
“Why would I assume you are lying?” Anna sighed. “Tell me what you have and I will work with whatever you have for me. I can’t promise that anything will actually come from it though.”
“No, I get that.” Cassandra nodded. “So Frank and Meadow were getting into a heated conversation. They were talking about Tony and there was what seemed to be insinuation that they had committed the murder. I am very concerned because I feel as though they could have done it. They had the motive, they had the ability to make it happen, and she even persuaded him to take the first bite of cake.”
“That’s true. I do recall that.” Anna nodded. “In hindsight, that does seem very odd. But why do you think they have killed him? What did they say that seemed to indicate they were responsible? I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus if I am not certain there is probable cause for the accusation.”
“Well, it’s simple really.” Cassandra replied. “Tony said things like, ‘I did this for you. If things didn’t turn out the way they did, your life would be a disaster. Now he’s dead and now you are going to inherit the money. You need to make sure you are taking care of things, too.’”
“Out of context, it is hard for me to determine what he was talking about.” Anna offered. “But I promise I will talk to him and see what I can come up with. There’s a good chance that after all is said and done, we’ll have more answers.”
“But will he admit to the crime?” Cassandra pressed. “There’s still a good chance that nothing more will come from this and he’ll lie to you and sidestep things. You know, the killer is very smart. The mysterious note on the door and all.”
“How do you know about the note?” Anna asked curiously. “Pauline was there, but we didn’t talk about it with you.”
“When I was talking to Pauline, she mentioned it.” Cassandra replied. “Something about it threatening the bride. Go away or I will cut you like a fish. Something like that, really don’t remember more than that. She did say it was on purple paper and looked weird.”
“It was black with red writing.” Anna breathed a sigh of
relief. “I’m glad you didn’t know the exact details. You tend to mix things up, but that helps me keep track of you.”
“I sure do.” Cassandra laughed half-heartedly.
“Well, I should get going.” Anna smiled. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Anna slowly climbed the stairs and thought about what Cassandra told her. Part of her wanted to explore what Cassandra had to say a little more, but her friend and assistant was always getting minor details wrong. It’s why she eventually had to start checking stuff herself. Pauline routinely said that Cassandra was trying to sabotage her, but Anna couldn’t see someone she had been close to for years doing that.
Perhaps the best thing to do in this situation is to sit down with Frank and Meadow and talk to them about what they were doing. There was a very good chance they would be open with her and talk about the conversation in an effort to clear things up. After all, no one wanted to drag this unfortunate event out much longer. If it could remove them as suspects, it would ultimately be worth it. In fact, at this point, it really seemed like Roger was the true killer. Her gut feeling was going in that direction anyway.
Making it to the main floor, she opened the door and stepped into the lobby. The room was somber. People were pacing anxiously and heavy sighs echoed through the room. No one wanted to be trapped in this room any longer.
Mr. Puccio passed by and turned his head long enough to see her. His face grew red and he motioned for her to go into the kitchen. As soon as the door shut, he grilled her.
“What is going on? Who is the killer?” he demanded.
“I don’t know.” Anna whispered.
“Do you even have a suspect? I am losing money.” Mr. Puccio snapped.
“Yes, I have two.” Anna replied.
“Then narrow it down. You’re wasting too much time. I want this taken care of soon. Your job is on the line so don’t let me down. After all, who would hire you again if you had the accusation of killing a high profile figure on the record?”
“Are you threatening me?” Anna demanded.
“Yes, I am.” he snarled. “I can do whatever I want to. You know just how powerful I am. You don’t make it in this business without getting a little blood on your hands.”
“Maybe I have a third suspect.” Anna replied coldly. “Where were you when the cake was poisoned? It seems suspicious to me. I’ll go talk to the police and let them know you had plenty of time to be left alone with the cake.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” Mr. Puccio sneered.
“But I will.” Anna replied. “If you ever threaten me again, I will make certain you go down in flames. I’m helping the hotel group because I love it and the staff. So let me do my work. I’ll get this solved.”
“You better. Because if you mess up, you’re still fired.”
Chapter 5
Murder in Bermuda: Book 1 in the Murder in Paradise Series Page 4