RESORT TO MURDER (11 page)

"Well, however it turns out, at least it
couldn't be much worse than working here has been sometimes.” He
glanced around. "Strictly between you and me, of course."

Maggie's eyebrows arched up.

Rob nodded, his face grim. "Some of the
things I've had to put up with. If it weren't for the
money...."

Maggie had heard that same phrase once
before – from Holly. She knew it wasn't highly unusual for
employees to complain about their jobs. Any lunch time in the
teachers’ lounge back at McHenry she was bound to hear a grumble or
two. But something about the way this was said - `If it weren't for
the money.' The tone and the expression on the face implied deeper
problems than she could guess at.

Maggie thought of the angry shouting she had
heard just before her lesson that afternoon. It could have been a
result of the problems Rob had to deal with here, or it could have
risen from a nasty temper. She didn't know which. She decided to
try to find out.

"I happened to talk to one of the
maintenance workers today, a guy named Eric."

Rob's face darkened. "He's one of the things
I'm talking about. The guy's supposed to do certain jobs for me,
but he's completely undependable. He's a real loser. Lies as easily
as breathing. And worse. I'd keep away from him if I were you."

"Oh?” This was the second time Maggie had
been told to keep her distance from Eric. But she wondered why Rob
felt the need to label Eric a liar. Did he suspect Eric had been
talking about him?

"If it weren't for his mother, he'd be out
of here so fast... well, never mind. I won't bore you with our
staff problems."

"Oh, I don't mind. I just found out a little
while ago that Eric's mother was Burnelle, the housekeeping
supervisor. I could hardly believe it. So she is able to keep him
working here, even though he's incompetent?"

"Yeah. Management seems to think a lot of
her. I heard they brought her here from another hotel of theirs.
Maybe they're afraid they'll lose her if they fire him and figure
they can survive one low-level no-good for a while."

"Was he the one you were yelling at just
before my lesson?"

Rob eyebrows shot up in surprise, then he
grinned at her. "You heard? Yeah, probably everyone within a half
mile heard. The guy just.... Well, never mind.” He looked at her
empty plate, then back up at her. "Ready for dessert? Coffee? Or
maybe an after dinner drink?

Maggie decided not to ask Rob about what
Eric had said about Wimbledon. Not yet. She'd wait and see what Liz
could find out for her. She shook her head to the food and drink
suggestions.

"This dinner was huge and as you see I
polished it up. I think I'd better quit now.” Maggie pictured
Lori's notebook locked in her suitcase upstairs. She was eager to
get back to it. "I have some things to do tonight before I turn
in," she said. "Thanks for the company. I enjoyed it."

He rose as she did and
seemed on the verge of suggesting an extension to the evening, or
at least leaving with her, but she walked off quickly before he had
the chance. As she waited for the elevator she thought about her
last comment. She
had
enjoyed it - dinner with someone whom she considered a
possible murder suspect. Could he possibly know she considered him
that? And was he, perhaps, purposely charming her? For now, she
could only wonder.

She jabbed at the elevator button a second
time. Something seemed to be holding it up on two. As she gazed up
at the elevator lights, an angry voice nearby caught her attention.
Maggie turned and saw a fairly young woman whose air of cold
disapproval and severe hair style aged her. She was reprimanding
the night deskman, who cowered at her words.

"When are you going to learn this phone
system?" she scolded, like an angry schoolmarm. "I've gone over and
over it with you. Yesterday you lost a call for me, and now you've
lost a return call from the sheriff for my mother. She may not be
able to reach him again."

"I'm sorry Miss Crawford."

Miss Crawford. So that must be Kathryn
Crawford's daughter, who Holly seemed to dislike. Maggie could see
why. Not a pleasant person, at least where the hotel employees were
concerned. She turned back to face the elevator, still hearing the
woman going over the intricacies of the phone with exaggerated
patience, as though speaking to one mentally challenged. The
elevator doors opened and Maggie stepped in, punched in her floor
button and waited as the doors slowly closed.

So Kathryn Crawford had a return call from
the sheriff, she thought, as the elevator hummed and glided
smoothly upward. Did it have something to do with Lori's murder?
Why would the Highview manager be calling the sheriff this late in
the evening? Maggie wished she could be a fly and perch on the
woman's office wall for a while. What interesting things might she
learn?

Back in her room Maggie retrieved Lori's
black book and curled up on the bed to read it. She thought of
calling Dyna first, to see how she was feeling, but decided she'd
either interrupt sleep or meditations. She turned to the section
that dealt with Lori's work at the Highview.

"Made a real mess today - my first day on
the job! I piled too many things on my tray, and it started
tipping, and the coffee sloshed all over the scrambled eggs! Holly
showed me how to do it better. She makes it all look so easy."

"Burnelle stopped me as I was leaving and
said I did real well for a first day. That was so nice of her. That
made me feel good, especially after getting the evil eye from Ms.
Crawford anytime I passed by. I felt she was watching me, and that
made me more nervous."

Lori described a few more problems with
learning her job, and then things apparently smoothed out and she
moved on to other concerns. She talked about working with the local
blood drive, and encouraging her co-workers to donate.

"Everyone was so great about it! Mostly I
helped keep the paperwork straight. They kept me busy, but it was a
lot of fun. Nobody fainted, which I heard was a kind of
record!"

Maggie remembered when Lori was back at
McHenry High. She volunteered for a fundraising flea market to buy
new uniforms for the band, even though she wasn't in the band. When
Maggie asked why she was doing it, Lori laughed and said she just
liked helping out. Even at fifteen Lori showed a quiet kind of
leadership, the kind that got things done without a lot of fanfare.
Maggie sighed, and read on.

Lori mentioned Eric in her jottings, and the
fact that he was Burnelle's son. Lori sensed he was unhappy with
his job, that he disliked grounds’ maintenance. She wondered if he
stayed on only for his mother's sake.

"I know Burnelle is only trying to do her
best for him. But I think he'd be happier doing something else.
Maybe he should go back to school? But there's always the problem
of money."

She mentioned meeting Rob Clayton.

"Ran into that cute tennis instructor -
literally. I was hurrying to work from the parking lot and ran
right into him as I rounded the corner. He helped me pick up my
things and carried them into the kitchen for me. I got teased by
the girls about it - they think he's pretty flirty. But I think he
was just being nice."

As the pages filled, Lori began to use only
initials for names.

"H. and J. asked me to go out with them
tonight after work. I said no. Hope I didn't sound rude."

"B. got upset when H. didn't sign out like
she should have. Sometimes I think H. does things on purpose, just
to see what B. will do. She doesn't seem to like her. I don't
understand why."

Then:
"Dragged out my science book. It's amazing how much stuff I
forgot. The girls think I'm weird looking through books like that,
instead of something like a romance book. More teasing."

So that must be why she had the science
book, Maggie said to herself. Was it the same one that was found
with her body? “H.” Maggie thought, must refer to Holly. Was “B.”
Burnelle?

Maggie read through the next few pages, then
came upon an entry that made her heart jump.

"Saw R. again today. He seemed so down. All
I can do is listen for now. Is that enough? I wish I could do
more."

***

CHAPTER 13

Maggie was dancing with Rob. She wore a
gauzy, flowing gown, and they floated around the dance floor.
Suddenly Rob became Eric Semple, grinning at her and holding onto
her tightly as she tried to pull away. The music played faster, and
she struggled to keep from stumbling. She looked around desperately
for Rob, hoping for rescue, and finally saw him dancing with
someone else off in the distance. As they turned their faces
towards her she saw the girl was Lori. They both threw back their
heads, laughing, then whirled away, disappearing together....

"No!" Maggie called, reaching out, then
realized she was in her bed at the Highview. Her heart beat
rapidly, and she took several deep breaths, gradually calming down.
"Wow," she said, running her hands through her hair and shaking her
head to clear it. "Where did all that come from?” She rarely had
upsetting dreams, and she was surprised at her reaction to this
one. Was it because Lori had been in it? Or Rob?

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed,
determined not to let it bother her any more. It was probably
brought on simply from something she ate. She had a busy morning
ahead of her, and needed a clear head, not one distracted by silly
dreams. And that's all it was, a silly dream. But she couldn't rid
herself of the uneasy feeling the dream had forced on her, try as
she might to think of other things, occupying herself with getting
ready for her day.

She had showered and dressed when she heard
a knock on the door. A peek through the peep hole showed Burnelle
standing there with a cleaning cart. Maggie opened the door.

"Good morning," Burnelle said. "If you're
leaving for breakfast, I could do your room. We're still a little
short handed, and I'm trying to help keep things on schedule."

"Sure. Come on in. I'll be leaving in a
minute.” Maggie held the door for her, then walked to the phone.
She punched in Dyna's number and was glad to hear a lively
hello.

"Dyna, it's me. Feeling better? Want to meet
for breakfast?"

"Yeah, great. I was just going to call you.
How about the terrace in five minutes?"

"Sounds good."

"Any plans for later?" Dyna asked.

"Yes, I have to go somewhere, but I'll tell
you about it downstairs. See you.” Maggie hung up the phone and
turned to see Burnelle waiting patiently by the bed. Lori's book as
well as Maggie's purse were on it. "Oh," Maggie said, "let me get
these out of your way.” Maggie felt stupid for having left the book
in plain sight. She was starting to feel nervous about still having
it, and the fewer people that were aware of that the better.

"Take your time, dear," Burnelle said. "You
keep a diary?" she asked, nodding toward the black book. She began
pulling off the bed clothes.

"No," Maggie said, evading an explanation.
It was possible Holly could get in trouble for having given it to
her. "But I do jot things down now and then so I don't forget
them."

"Lots of people do that. Lots of famous
people kept diaries.” She shook a pillow out of its case. "John
Brown for one. You heard of him?"

Maggie nodded. She was checking her purse
for car keys and other essentials. She would go to the sheriff's
right after breakfast.

"I guess everyone's heard of him. A lot's
been written about him. A lot of mistaken things. But he kept his
own diary. It's there in the museum in my home town. It explains
what he was trying to do. I took my son to that museum many a time
when he was little."

Maggie turned. "Eric?"

"Yes.” Burnelle looked up, pleased. "You've
met my son?"

"Yes, I ran into him yesterday afternoon.
Near the tennis courts.” Maggie tried her best to smile as she said
it.

Burnelle beamed. "Working hard, I'm sure.
I'm so proud of him. He had his problems growing up, like most boys
do, but he's settled down so nicely now. He's anxious to do well
here. And he will. He's a very bright boy, and he tries hard. But I
sometimes worry that he might overdo it. I try to keep an eye on
him, watch out for him, without, you know, letting him know.” She
walked back to her cart in the hall and came back with an armful of
clean linen.

Maggie wondered at the degree of
self-delusion that maternal love could bring about. She had seen it
in certain parents at school. Johnny was going to be the next
president of the United States, despite the fact that he was
flunking nearly all his classes, and oh, yes, that little arrest
for drug use. But never mind all that. Burnelle seemed to be that
kind of mother, and Maggie could only feel sorry for her.

Maggie slid the strap of her purse onto her
shoulder, then tucked the journal under her arm. "Well, I'll be on
my way."

Burnelle nodded, and gazed at Maggie with a
faraway look, still thinking, perhaps, of her beloved son. "Enjoy
your breakfast," she said, then turned and flapped a clean white
sheet over the bed.

Maggie pushed through the glass doors of the
lobby and stepped onto the terrace. Warm, humid air hit her face,
forecasting another hot day, but the patio, facing west, was still
comfortably shaded. Umbrella-topped tables dotted the slate patio,
and the pleasant aroma of fresh coffee wafted through the air.
Maggie looked around, then saw Dyna sipping orange juice at an
isolated table next to tall green hedges.

Dyna saw her and waved, and Maggie walked
over, pulling out a chair to sit across from her. "Well, you look
like you slept well."