A Killer Column (14 page)

“The deliveries all come through the front desk,” he said. “No one should have access otherwise.”

“When I couldn’t see out the peephole, we called you.”

He leaned forward, checked the peephole, and then said, “There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Not now,” I said, feeling a little impatient with him, “but someone was blocking it earlier.”

“I’ll have my men check the stairs,” he said, and then he spoke softly into a walkie-talkie unit.

As he did so, the elevator opened and Zach walked out. He looked up and down the hallway before coming in, and there was a look of concern on his face as he spoke. “What just happened?”

“Someone tried to trick their way into the suite,” I admitted, “but Jenny and I were too smart for them.”

He conferred with Benjamin after he introduced himself, and the two of them went to the stairwell.

“This door’s been propped open with a book of matches,” Zach said.

“But there’s no smoking in the hotel,” Benjamin said.

“That’s the least of our worries,” Zach said. He carefully extracted the matchbook with his handkerchief. “I’m going to ask Murphy to run this for prints.”

“Do you honestly think he’ll do it for you?” Jenny asked.

“He might, out of professional courtesy. Anyway, there’s only one way to find out.”

Zach made a quick call, and I thanked Benjamin for coming upstairs.

“There’s no need to thank me,” he said. “Garrett was most specific in his instructions.”

“Well, I’ll let him know what a good job you’ve done taking care of us,” I said. “We’re finished here.”

He nodded, and then spied the suitcases. “Are you taking those with you as well?”

“We’re returning them to the widow, at her request,” I said, and Jenny nodded her verification.

“Very well,” Benjamin said. He hesitated, and then added delicately, “Is that . . . everything?”

I knew instantly what he was asking. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the discrepancy between the dress sizes of what was hanging in the closet and Cary Duncan. “The dresses have been returned to their rightful owner as well,” I said.

“Then I am in your debt,” he said. “You’ve saved me from having a very awkward conversation.”

“I’m happy to help,” I said, not admitting that I’d done it for a selfish reason of my own.

“If there’s anything else I can do for you, you have my card,” he said.

“Thanks.”

We all stepped out into the corridor, and I locked the door behind us, and then handed Benjamin the electronic key. Before I could protest, he retrieved the suitcases, and Zach grabbed the box full of telephone books.

“What do you have in here, bricks?” he asked as he started to open the top of the box.

“Don’t be silly,” I said as I put my hand on top of his. “I’ll be happy to carry it if it’s too much for you to handle.”

“I’ve got it,” he said as he shot me a quizzical look. I chose to ignore it, at least for the moment.

Once we were in the lobby, Jenny and I each took a suitcase, and Benjamin walked us to the front door. After he was gone, Zach couldn’t wait to open the box, and there was no reason to stop him then.

He flipped it open, found one telephone book after another, and then said, “I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason the three of us are stealing phone books from a hotel.”

“There is,” I said.

“Would you care to share it with me?”

I just laughed. “It will have to wait until we get to the Brunswick Hotel.”

He shrugged. “Okay, I can stand not knowing that long. I’ll see you both there.”

The next stop was the Brunswick Hotel. I couldn’t wait to get rid of the suitcases filled with Derrick’s clothes. It hadn’t bothered me searching them and packing them up, but for some reason, having them in my car was making me a little skittish.

It’s hard to say what makes most people’s minds work the way they do.

And that goes double for mine.

 

 

W
HEN WE GOT TO THE BRUNSWICK, I CHECKED AT THE front desk for Cary’s room number. Zach and Jenny had stayed back so Cary wouldn’t feel like we were ganging up on her.

The clerk punched a few numbers into his computer, and then said, “I’m sorry, but Ms. Duncan has left notice that she is not to be disturbed.”

“I understand,” I said, “but she’s expecting me. I have some of her late husband’s things.”

“You must be Ms. Stone,” he said.

I decided to let the Ms. slide this time. “I am.”

He nodded as he tapped a few more keys. “In that case, I have specific instructions for you.”

He smiled slightly as he said, “You are to leave Mr. Duncan’s things with our bag check service, and then return with the receipt and give it to me. She asked me to thank you for your assistance in this most difficult time.”

“Are you serious? That’s it?” I asked.

“I’m afraid it’s out of my hands.” He didn’t look all that upset saying no to me. Some people looked for ways to make things happen, while others delighted in throwing up roadblocks whenever the opportunity availed itself.

I walked back to Jenny and Zach, and my husband hit the up button before I could say anything.

“There’s no reason to take the elevator,” I said.

“Why? I didn’t think there were any guest rooms on the main floor.”

“It appears that Cary has decided not to speak with us again, and there’s not much we can do about it.”

Zach looked surprised by the statement. “What’s going on?”

“She wants us to check these bags, and then give the clerk the claim ticket. It doesn’t look like there’s a chance we’re going to be able to have another face-to-face conversation with her today.”

“We’ll see about that.”

I grabbed my husband’s arm as he started for the front desk. “Zach, you’re not a cop anymore, and you don’t have any standing in this case.”

“We know that,” he said softly, “but I’m guessing this guy doesn’t.”

“It’s okay. We’ll talk to her later.”

“Why wait? You two did her a service, no matter what your motives were, and she could at least have the decency to thank you in person.”

“Jenny? What do you think?” I asked.

“Don’t drag me into this. I’m staying out of it.”

“Come on, you’ve got the tiebreaking vote. What’s it going to be?”

Jenny frowned, and then pointed to a corner of the lobby and said, “Let’s go over there. We can discuss it where no one’s watching us.”

I looked over to see that the clerk was indeed following us with keen interest. We moved to the edge of his sight line, and I said, “Go on. Let’s hear what you’ve got to say.”

“I’ll tell you, but you’re not going to like it.”

Zach crowed. “Excellent. I knew you were the most sensible one around here.”

“Not exactly.”

“You can’t be on both our sides,” I said.

“I’m not. I don’t think you should talk to her, but not for the reason you might think.”

“Go on,” I said. “I’m always willing to listen to what you have to say.”

She took a deep breath, and then said, “Guys, you know I love you both, but I’m beginning to have some doubts about how active I should be in this investigation of yours. Savannah, I’m your attorney of record, so it might be good if I left myself some room to wiggle if the police find out what you’re up to, which trust me, they are going to, sooner or later. Murphy is a good cop, no matter what I think of him as a person. You two are just visiting Raleigh, but I have to work with these people after you’re gone. Maybe I should take a little less active role in the investigation from here on out.”

“She’s right,” I said as I looked at Zach.

“No doubt about it,” he agreed.

Jenny said, “Hang on. I’m not saying I don’t want to help at all. You both know that, don’t you?”

I hugged her. “Of course we do. I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you take that vacation you’ve been planning?”

“I’m not leaving town until your name is cleared,” she said emphatically.

“You could always go back to the office, then,” I suggested.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

Zach grinned. “You know better than that. You’re right about getting too close to what we’re doing, though.”

She crinkled her nose with her frown. “I’d go crazy relaxing, you both know me better than that. I think I’ll go into work after all. There’s always something I can do there. Besides, this stalker has been worrying me so much lately that I haven’t been able to focus on my work. That way, too, if I hang around and you need me, I’m just a telephone call away.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” I said.

Zach grinned. “We’ll see you at your place tonight, then.”

Jenny hugged me, and then embraced my husband.

On impulse, I asked, “Would you mind taking that box of phone books with you? I’m not done with them yet, and we’ve got our hands full with these suitcases.”

“Sure, I’d be glad to,” she said as she hefted them up and walked across the lobby and out the door.

After she was gone, Zach asked, “Okay, what should we do now?”

“Let me ask you something first. Are you certain you’re okay with Jenny taking a backseat in our investigation?”

“To be honest with you, I was a little worried about her being so actively involved myself. This is absolutely for the best.” He paused, and then grinned at me. “Besides, we work better as a team, just the two of us. We always have.”

“Agreed.” I stared at the bags still at our feet.

My husband must have been reading my mind. “What are we going to do with these suitcases? I’m not thrilled about the idea of letting them go just yet, especially when we’ve been commanded to surrender them.”

I thought about it, and then said, “If you’re game, I have an idea.”

His smile lit up his entire face. “Just try me.”

 

 

“
F
OLLOW MY LEAD,” I SAID AS I PICKED UP ONE OF THE suitcases and started walking across the lobby where Jenny had just gone. As soon as I knew the clerk had seen me, I nodded to Zach, who followed me with the other one. It was clear that the clerk was wondering what we were up to. Instead of walking to the bag check station as I’d been instructed, I started for the exit. I was curious to see what the clerk would do, and the worst thing that could happen was that we retained possession of Derrick’s clothes. If Cary wanted them back, and I had a suspicion that she did, she’d have to come with us.

We nearly made it to the door before someone called out behind us, “Ms. Stone. Wait.”

“It’s Mrs.,” I said when he caught up with us.

“Mrs. Stone,” he corrected himself. “I believe I told you that you were supposed to check those bags with our service.”

“Sorry, but I don’t respond well to orders. You can ask him if you don’t believe me,” I added as I pointed to Zach.

“She hasn’t so far, but I keep hoping,” my husband answered amiably.

The clerk looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. “But you heard Mrs. Duncan’s wishes on the matter.”

“I heard what you said just fine.”

He looked a little relieved by this information. “Then you’re going in the wrong direction. Our claim service is over there.”

“I know perfectly well where it is. I just choose not to go there.”

Now he really looked confused. I winked at Zach, who remained silent as he winked back at me.

“Then where are you going?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business. Mrs. Duncan’s wishes are not my orders. We had an agreement, and if she is choosing to alter it, I have the right not to accept her new terms. Please tell her that if she’d like her husband’s suitcases back, she knows how to reach me.” I doubted very much if Cary had the slightest clue where I was staying while I was in Raleigh, but I didn’t think it would come to that.

“Would you indulge me for two minutes before you leave?” he asked.

I turned to my husband. “What do you think, Zach?” “It’s your call,” he said.

“Two minutes,” I said.

“Thank you so much,” the clerk said as he scurried back to his desk.

After he was out of earshot, Zach said, “I’ve got to hand it to you. That was inspired.”

“I have my moments,” I said.

“Are you watching the clock?”

I shook my head. “I can’t imagine that I’ll have to.” I looked back at the desk and saw the clerk walking rapidly toward us. For a moment, I had a devilish impulse to run away, the suitcases in tow, but I fought it and waited for his return.

“She’ll see you now,” he said, the poor man nearly out of breath.

“Very good. The room number?”

“One-two-two-one,” he said.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you,” he said. He stood there waiting until Zach and I took the suitcases and walked toward the elevator instead of the exit. What was the clerk planning to do if we made a run for it, tackle us both? He might be able to bring me down, but I would have paid good money to watch him try to keep my husband from doing anything he really wanted to do.

When we got on the elevator, Zach pushed 12, and as soon as the doors closed, we burst out laughing. It was brief, but extremely satisfying, and when we stopped, my husband kissed me.

“Thank you, kind sir,” I said.

“Thank you. Sometimes I forget just how much fun it can be hanging around with you.”

“Then I’ll try to keep reminding you.” The elevator was fast approaching the twelfth floor, and I asked Zach, “Any ideas on how we should handle her?”

“Are you kidding? I’m just planning to follow your lead.”

“Fine. We’ll play it by ear, then.”

Cary was waiting in the hallway when the door opened, and she looked surprised to see my husband carrying Derrick’s other suitcase. “Savannah, why on earth did you feel the need to bring a bodyguard with you to my room?”