Check in to Danger (5 page)

A short while later, as Brian and Sean got ready for bed, Sean flopped across the end of his bed and waited for Brian to finish brushing his teeth. His mother was already in bed in her connecting room, but she’d told Brian and Sean, “No TV. It’s late, so go right to sleep.” But Sean was too restless to sleep. He wanted to ask Brian what he’d learned when he’d spoken with Palmer.

From where he lay he could see the hall door to their room. Just then something was slid under the door.

“Yikes!” Sean yelped, and scrambled to his feet.

Brian came out of the bathroom, his pajamas on. “What’s the matter with you?” he asked.

“Somebody shoved something under the door!” Sean said.

Brian turned to see what Sean was staring at. “My notebook!” he said.

Brian cautiously opened the door and looked up and down the hall. “Nobody’s out there,” he told Sean as he shut the door. He locked the dead bolt, then thumbed through the pages of his notebook. “That’s funny. Nothing’s been changed,” he said. “And whoever took it didn’t write anything in it. I wonder why he brought it back.”

“Maybe he didn’t,” Sean said. “Maybe somebody else found it, saw your name in it, and brought it back.”

“My name isn’t in the notebook,” Brian said slowly.

“Brian,” said Sean, “this is getting really scary.”

Brian nodded. Was returning the notebook, he wondered, supposed to be a warning from the thief that he knew who Brian was and could find him whenever he wanted to?

Brian wished he knew.

T
HE NEXT MORNING AFTER
breakfast Brian called Jennifer. “Let’s meet by the elevators,” Brian said. “I want to go to the offices and talk to Martha about her nephew, Robert.”

On the way downstairs Sean asked, “What about Robert? Jennifer said he didn’t even work here when the meat began to be stolen.”

“I know,” Brian said, “but I keep wondering if there’s some connection. That’s why I want to find out more about Robert from Martha.”

Jennifer was waiting for them as they stepped out of the elevator. “Caesar really was sick yesterday evening,” she said. “He called in and said he’s got the flu.”

“Then he can’t be a suspect,” Sean said.

“That depends on if he was telling the truth,” Brian said.

Sean groaned. “How are we supposed to find out?”

Brian led the way past the guests at the checkout desk. Sean and Jennifer followed.

“Brian, I hope you can solve this case,” Jennifer said.

“How about me?” Sean asked.

Jennifer was so busy smiling at Brian she didn’t take notice of Sean.

Sean didn’t want to stick around and get sick to his stomach watching Brian showing off and Jennifer enjoying it.

“Hey, Brian,” he said. “You don’t need me to go with you to talk to Martha Wood. I’m going to check out something else.”

He waited for Brian to ask what he had in mind, but Brian didn’t stop looking at Jennifer.

Shaking his head, Sean turned to go toward the coffee shop. The lobby was crowded, and he had to step sideways to avoid the bellmen who were wheeling luggage carriers in and out of the hotel. As he dodged around a couple who were hurrying to the front desk to register, he bumped into a large suitcase, knocking it over and falling on top of it. “Yikes!” Sean yelled.

“Are you making a habit of this, little buddy?” Jed Peterson asked. He helped Sean to his feet.

“I’m sorry,” Sean said. “I hope I didn’t hurt the suitcase.”

“No harm done,” Jed told him as he picked up the suitcase and swung it to his other hand. The suitcase was old and battered, Sean noticed. And whoever owned it was traveling light, since it had felt almost empty when he had knocked it over.

Jed tucked the suitcase out of the way, next to the bellmen’s stand. Then he walked away, busy with his work.

Sean found Edna Marker at the coffee shop. He was curious about Edna because she was an ex-burglar. A middle-aged, slender woman with glasses that kept sliding down her nose, Edna had seated them that morning when the Quinns had gone to the coffee shop for breakfast. Maybe I should hang around the coffee shop and keep an eye on her, Sean had thought. Private investigators spend a lot of time waiting and watching the people they are investigating, he knew. That is an important part of detecting, too.

The small lobby outside the entrance to the coffee shop was filled with chairs and a lot of large potted plants. Edna was talking to Jeanne, the hostess for the dining room, when Sean arrived, so he slipped quietly into a chair behind a broad-leafed palm.

“I’ve had eight compliments this morning,” Edna said. “Our band was pretty good last night.”

Jeanne chuckled. “It should have been, with three solid hours of rehearsal before the show. It’s lucky we had any strings left on our ukuleles.”

Three hours? Sean thought. Forget Edna then. He decided that there was no chance she had been the spy who turned off the pool lights.

Jeanne continued talking. “You’re lucky you didn’t stick around for the whole rehearsal, Edna. You get so nervous when we make mistakes, and I pulled some bad ones.”

Sean perked up. So Edna could have been at the pool! How could he find out what time she’d left the rehearsal?

I’ll just ask her, Sean told himself.

A group of people arrived and waited to be seated. Edna led them into the coffee shop, and as Jeanne walked by, Sean jumped to his feet.

“Could I ask you a question?” he said to Jeanne.

Jeanne looked surprised. “Sure. What do you want to know?”

“Something about your ukulele band rehearsal yesterday,” Sean answered. “I heard you say that during rehearsal, Edna Marker left for a while. Do you remember what time that was?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “It was probably around seven-thirty. Or maybe it was eight.”

“Was she gone long?”

“Not too long,” Jeanne answered. “Edna said she had a headache because she was hungry, so she left to get an aspirin and something to eat.” Suddenly Jeanne looked sharply at Sean. “Why are you asking about the rehearsal and what Edna was doing?”

“So I can tell my brother,” Sean said. Without trying to explain, he said, “Thanks for your help,” and ran to find Brian.

S
EAN FOUND BRIAN AND
Jennifer seated together in one of the wide rockers in the corner of the porch. He told them what he’d learned from Jeanne and said, “So Edna could have been at the pool!”

Brian jotted the information in his notebook. “Jennifer,” he said, “just to cover all the bases, could you check with a couple of the others in Edna’s ukulele band? Maybe we’ll get a better idea of when Edna left the rehearsal and how long she was gone.”

“Right,” Jennifer said.

Brian turned to Sean. “Let me tell you about Martha. I didn’t get anywhere with my questions for her. Jennifer asked her for another rubber band, and while Martha was fishing one out of her desk, I said I’d heard she had a nephew working at the Empire Hotel in town. Her mouth got tight, and she acted kind of nervous and picked up some papers and tried to look busy. So then I said I’d heard that Robert and Palmer were friends. Her face got red, and she told us she didn’t have time to talk about her nephew and asked if we wanted anything else.”

“She probably doesn’t want to talk about her nephew because she’s embarrassed that he was in prison,” Sean said.

“But Robert couldn’t be involved in the thefts because he doesn’t work here anymore,” Jennifer pointed out.

“Until we have more facts we can’t rule anyone out,” Brian said. “That includes Robert Hopkins.”

“I’ve got some more information for you to add to your notebook,” Jennifer told Brian. “I was on the dock and watched the meat company unload a delivery early this morning. Mr. Otis was there, too, so I followed him inside and checked the refrigerated meat lockers. There are no locks on the refrigerators, but the doors of the meat locker were locked after the delivery had been made and signed for. That’s when Mr. Otis noticed me and told me I didn’t belong in the kitchen.”

“I’ve been thinking about the kitchen,” Brian said. “The thief has to be someone who’s used to being seen in the kitchen. I think both the sheriff and Mr. Otis are overlooking people who are going about their routine business in the kitchen, because they’re trying so hard to find someone who doesn’t belong there.”

“Okay,” Jennifer said. “So who are we looking for?”

“I don’t know yet. We may have to answer some other questions first.”

“Like how the stolen meat gets out of the hotel,” Sean said.

“That’s the big question,” Brian told him, “but right now let’s think about something else. We’re pretty sure that the thieves sell the meat they steal to restaurant owners who recognize the quality of the meat, want a bargain, and won’t ask questions about where it comes from.”

Sean broke in. “They couldn’t get as much as the meat is worth.”

“No, but they’d still get paid pretty well,” Jennifer said. “Like I said, those large roasts and hams are really expensive. Some of them cost more than a hundred dollars apiece.”

“A hundred dollars?” Sean whistled.

He jumped as he heard his mother say, “There you are!” Mrs. Quinn came toward them, smiling. “My speech went well, and I’m taking a break from all the work I’ve been doing. How’d you like to go into town with me for a little sightseeing and shopping? You, too, Jennifer.”

“Shopping, Mom? Shopping’s no fun,” Sean said.

“It includes a nice lunch,” Mrs. Quinn told him. “I’ve heard that the Empire Hotel has a lovely big buffet with chicken, roast beef, and ham.”

“The Empire Hotel?” Brian said. “That’s where Robert Hopkins works.”

“Who’s Robert Hopkins?” Mrs. Quinn asked.

“Martha Wood’s nephew … a waiter …” Brian hesitated. “Mom, it takes too long to explain,” he said. “If it’s okay with you, could we skip the sightseeing in town? We’ve got a lot of stuff to do here.”

Mrs. Quinn smiled. “No problem,” she said. “One of my conference friends would like to go with me, I’m sure. That’s what I like about these conventions. It’s a good place to renew old acquaintances and make a lot of new friends. It’s like a network of friends.”

“That’s it! That’s the answer!” Brian said.

“What answer?” Mrs. Quinn asked.

“It’s kind of a puzzle we’re trying to work out,” Brian told her, “and the pieces are beginning to fall into place. I’ll tell you all about it later, Mom. Have fun in town. We’ll see you at dinnertime.”

As soon as Mrs. Quinn left, Brian said to Sean and Jennifer, “Come on! Quick! Let’s go back to the kitchen. I’ve got just a few more questions to ask.”

A
S THEY REACHED THE
kitchen and Jennifer opened the door, Ann stopped her work, smiled, and came to meet them, shaking her head. “Here you are again, and you know you’re not supposed to be in the kitchen. What do you kids want this time?”

“You said you save bones for Palmer’s dog, Pete,” Brian asked. “How does Palmer get the bones?”

“Easy,” she said. “We keep them in a special section of the meat locker, and Palmer comes to get them whenever it’s handy. That way he doesn’t bother anybody. As a matter of fact, he was here just a little while ago.”