by Mary Maxwell
“He’s gone,” one of the medical techs announced. “No BP, no pulse.”
“Thanks, Tom.” Dina pulled her phone from a pocket. “Will you excuse me for a sec, Katie? I’m going to get the Medical Examiner’s office out here.”
While she stepped away to make her call, I watched the EMTs as they packed up their kits. Amanda had joined them in the gazebo. She was slowly walking around the interior, staring intently at each board and crevice.
“Amanda?”
She stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Yeah?”
“There’s blood on that seat.” I pointed at the bench that was angled away from the railing. “Looks like maybe he hit his head on the way down.”
She nodded silently and walked toward the bench. “I see that, yeah. Thanks, Katie.”
When she looked at me again, the tight smile on her face told me it was time to keep quiet. I wasn’t on the force. And I had no real role at the scene. The last thing I wanted to do was compromise the investigation or get in the way.
“Maybe I’ll go back inside,” I said. “I’ll wait in there if you all want to talk to me.”
Amanda answered with a silent nod before resuming her search. As I turned to leave, Dina called my name.
“Don’t leave until I can get your statement,” she said.
I repeated what I’d already told Amanda and moved slowly up the gravel path. On the walk back to the terrace, I didn’t see anything else noteworthy or unusual. I started to turn around and share that detail with Dina, but then decided it would be better if I simply went back inside to wait.
CHAPTER 5
Eloise Turner perched on the edge of a guest chair in Connie’s office, twisting a clump of knotted tissues in her hands. It was an hour after she found the body while walking through the hotel gardens. I’d offered to wait with her until Dina came to take her statement, and we’d passed the time sitting beside the cluttered desk talking about anything but the dead man in the gazebo. Between each brief conversation, the office was silent and still. I could hear the clock on the desk ticking and the heating duct shuddering in the ceiling overhead.
“I should be working on the hors d’oeuvres for the party,” Eloise whispered after one lengthy silence. “I’d already finished the Bacon-Wrapped Dates and Stuffed Piquillo Peppers with Goat Cheese, but there are about a million shrimp to prep.” She pressed the tissues against one eye. “And Jasper needs me to—”
Someone knocked on the door before it opened slowly. I leaned forward and saw Dina in the hallway. She gave me a small nod and walked into the room.
“Miss Turner?” she said gently. “Do you think you could answer a few questions now?”
After introducing herself to Eloise, Dina walked around and sat behind Connie’s desk. Dina and I had been best friends in high school until she’d wooed away my boyfriend at the time. Even though Trent Walsh and Dina married and divorced during the years that I was in Chicago, they’d developed a cordial working relationship at the Crescent Creek PD. He served as deputy chief; Dina was the department’s lead detective.
“I wanted to ask you about finding the man,” Dina said. “Can we talk about that for a few minutes?”
The room was quiet. I heard part of a conversation in the corridor; hotel staff discussing the bachelorette party in hushed voices. I kept my eyes on Eloise, but she didn’t seem to have noticed Dina’s question. When I reached over and touched her arm, she flinched and gasped.
“Eloise?” I said gently. “Detective Kincaid wants to ask you a few questions.”
There was no response for a moment, as if Eloise was trying to decide if the events of the past hour had actually happened. When her eyes finally drifted up to meet mine, rivulets of tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“There was blood,” she whispered. “On his head and down the front of his shirt.”
I nodded. “Did you hear what I just told you?”
She blinked, turning slowly toward Dina. “You’re with the police?”
“I’m a detective with the department,” Dina said. “I’d like to ask you about finding the man in the gazebo.”
Eloise swallowed and took a deep breath. “Okay. But I want her to be in here, too.” She gestured at me with a nod. “I’ll feel better if she stays.”
“That’s fine,” Dina said, retrieving a pad and pen from her coat. “How about we begin with you. What’s your role here at the hotel?”
Eloise shifted in her chair. “Pastry chef now, but I started two years ago in room service. I’d worked at a Marriott down in Flagstaff, and fell in love with the industry. When I moved back to Colorado, I enrolled at CACA and got my—”
Dina raised one hand. “CACA?”
Eloise blinked. “Oh, sorry,” she said quietly. “It’s where I went to school—Colorado Academy of the Culinary Arts. They have an accelerated program, so Connie let me work part-time while I went to classes.”
“Okay, so you’re the pastry chef now, but you started in room service,” Dina said, making a few notes on her pad. “Can you tell me why you were outside in the gazebo earlier?”
“To get some fresh air,” Eloise answered. “We’re kind of booked this week, so…” She looked down at the frayed tissues in her hands. “I had an especially difficult exchange with a guest right before that, a woman who was, uh, just really…well, she wasn’t the most pleasant person in the world. I was in one of the meeting rooms, arranging the table that we’ll use for the appetizers tonight. I guess this woman saw me and thought…” She paused, shaking her head. “Anyway, that doesn’t really matter. She was pretty rude and got me upset, so I asked Fern if I could go out and take a little walk through the gardens.” She looked up, smiling for the first time. “It’s really beautiful out there even when it’s cold. I like to go out and take a few minutes to recharge my batteries on really busy days.”
“Is Fern another member of the kitchen staff?” I said.
Eloise smiled. “Fern Dunwoody. We started here about the same time. She does salads and appetizers for the dining room service.”
“Okay,” Dina said. “You went outside to clear your head and saw the man in the gazebo?”
“Not right way,” Eloise answered. “The first thing I noticed was playing cards on the gravel. Like someone had dropped a complete deck as they walked along.”
“They were on the pathway?” I asked.
She nodded. “The one that runs from the back terrace through the gardens. That’s my favorite place to take a break whenever I’m feeling kind of stressed, you know? It helps me gather my thoughts and such.”
“I didn’t see them,” I said. “Is that because—”
“I picked them up!” Eloise blurted. “I didn’t know they were murder evidence.”
Dina shot me a quick look. “Okay, that’s understandable. Where are the cards now?”
“At the front desk,” Eloise answered. “I thought maybe someone would come looking for them.”
“You picked them up,” I said, “carried them to the front desk and then went back outside?”
Eloise smiled faintly. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”
“I’ll stop by the desk later to get them,” Dina said.
“I gave them to Will,” Eloise volunteered. “He’s the one with the mustache.”
Dina nodded. “Thank you, Miss Turner. Now, when did you notice the man in the gazebo?”
“A couple of minutes later I guess.” Eloise looked at me; I gave her an encouraging smile. “I was still on the gravel path, kind of looking up into the gazebo. And at first, I didn’t know what I was seeing. I mean, who would expect some guy to be flat on the floor in the gazebo in the middle of the day, right?”
The muscles in Dina’s jaw tightened. “And after you saw him? Did you continue walking toward the gazebo?”
Eloise cleared her throat. “Can I maybe get a glass of water?”
Dina glanced at me. “Kate? Do you mind doing that for us?”
&
nbsp; I nodded, got up from my chair and went into the hallway. The first person I saw was Connie Larson, huddled against the wall with a phone pressed to her ear.
“…to make it less upsetting for everyone,” she was saying.
I started to walk past, but she signaled for me to wait. As she finished her conversation, I overheard Connie’s plans for the rest of the day: the bachelorette party was being moved to a private dining room at Luigi’s, a popular Italian restaurant in downtown Crescent Creek. The other special events scheduled that night at the Lodge had already been relocated to the VFW Hall and a small bistro named Café Fleur.
“Okay, Allison,” Connie said. “I’ll give you a call back as soon as we know more.”
After dropping the phone into her pocket, she slumped down onto a small padded bench.
“Oh, Katie,” she moaned. “This is such a horrible…” The rest of her statement was lost in a gasp as she clamped one hand against the side of her face. “I mean, the poor guy out there…” Her eyes locked on mine as I sat beside her. “Does Dina know who he is yet?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I was with Eloise in your office and then she asked me to stay when Dina came to take her statement.”
“Poor Eloise…” Connie closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. “She’s such a fragile thing.”
“It’s a huge shock for anyone,” I said, taking Connie’s hand. “Including you.” I waited until she looked at me. “How are you doing?”
She heaved a sigh. “I can’t understand how this could happen.” Her voice crackled with concern and jittery nerves. “I mean…who is he? What was he doing in the gazebo?”
I squeezed her hand tightly. “Dina’s on it,” I said. “Along with several uniformed officers and members of the CSI team. They’ll answer all of your questions as soon as—”
Connie’s phone trilled loudly. She pulled it out, checked the screen and got up from the bench.
“Sorry, Katie. I’ve got to take this call.”
“Absolutely,” I said. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
After she walked away, I headed for the cocktail lounge near the lobby. The room was empty, so I slipped behind the bar, filled a glass with chilled water and headed back toward Connie’s office.
“…makes perfect sense,” Dina was saying as I quietly opened the door and slipped inside. “Just to clear your head.” She studied her notes, adding a quick scribble before looking up. “And have you ever seen the man before?”
I handed the glass of water to Eloise and sat in the empty guest chair.
“Before what?” Eloise answered, smiling at me and taking a small sip.
“Before you found him in the gazebo,” Dina said.
Eloise shook her head. “No, but Jasper told me that he’d seen him at a bar in town a couple of times.”
“So he’s local?” asked Dina.
“I don’t know about that,” Eloise replied. “But Jasper said he’d seen the guy recently. He was with a woman, having cocktails or whatever.” She stopped to drink more water. Then she looked at me. “Thanks for getting this, Miss Reed. I was just, like, totally parched from being so freaked out.”
“You’re welcome,” I said.
Dina glanced at her pad. She ran one finger down the page of notes before looking up at Eloise.
“Alright then,” she said. “Why don’t we start at the beginning again. Tell me about your decision to go outside for a walk.”
Eloise sipped her water. “Do we really have to? I’ve already told you everything.”
“Yes,” Dina said. “I’d like to go through the details one last time before we finish up.”
I peeked at the clock on the desk. It was almost six-thirty. Zack was coming by Sky High a few minutes before seven to pick me up for dinner.
“I hate to do this,” I said, “but I need to step out and make a call.”
Eloise shifted in her chair, straightening her posture and lifting her chin. “You know, it’s okay if you want to leave. I think that I can handle the rest of this on my own.” She smiled at Dina. “I mean, Detective Kincaid’s being really nice and everything.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” She got up from the chair and waited until I was on my feet before giving me a hug. “I really appreciate you being so nice to me.”
I glanced at Dina. “You okay with me heading out?”
She smiled. “I think I can manage the rest of the interview, Katie. But can you hang around for a bit so I can get your statement?”
I was expecting the question, so I answered with a quick nod. Then I told her that I’d be in the lobby when she was ready.
CHAPTER 6
My call to Zack went right to voicemail. I quickly told him there was a change in plans and suggested that we meet for dinner at eight. “I’m still at Crescent Creek Lodge,” I explained. “It was supposed to be a quick in-and-out delivery, but I got caught up in something. I’ll tell you all about it later. See you at Luigi’s at eight, handsome!”
When Zack and I met a few weeks earlier, the attraction had been mutual and instantaneous. I wasn’t exactly looking for a relationship; my heart had been shattered into a million pieces by a man I’d dated in Chicago. In fact, he was part of the reason I agreed to return to Colorado and take over the family business. Meeting Zack seemed like one of those times in life when a simple twist of fate was undeniable. He was the freelance photographer assigned to take my picture for a feature article in the local newspaper. He was good-looking, smart, funny, charming and prone to selfless gestures that made my heart hum with joy. After having coffee a couple of times, we both realized that the connection between us was genuine and irrefutable.
After leaving the message for Zack and returning a few calls about upcoming Sky High catering jobs, I decided to use the unexpected downtime for a little retail therapy. Since my Nana Reed had introduced me to the concept when I was in middle school, I would often go window shopping or search websites whenever I wanted to get away from the rest of the world. “It’s harmless,” my grandmother would always say, “as long as you leave your credit cards at home!” Of course, Nana Reed’s version of retail therapy didn’t include an endless parade of online shops, but I still recalled her advice whenever I idly clicked my way from one site to the next.
Twenty minutes later, while I scrolled through a selection of roll-on beaded bracelets from my favorite Etsy shop, I heard Dina’s heels clattering across the lobby’s slate floor.
“Thanks for waiting, Kate.” She plopped down on the loveseat where I’d been camped since leaving Connie’s office. “I appreciate you being so willing to help.”
“As always,” I said.
“I know, but I don’t want you to think we take you for granted. It isn’t often that one of our witnesses is a former PI.”
I smiled. “I guess it’s your lucky day, huh?”
She nodded and pulled out her notepad. While I watched, she flipped through the pages until she came to one that had Eloise’s name at the top.
“Okay,” she said. “Eloise actually remembered a few more interesting things after you left.”
“Oh?”
“She saw someone hurrying away from the garden area before she walked down to the gazebo,” Dina said. “She didn’t see her face, but the woman was wearing a red down jacket and black leggings.”
“That’s a start,” I said. “But it’s not exactly a detailed description.”
Dina’s mouth quivered briefly, hesitating between a frown and a smile. “Like you said, Katie. It’s a place to start.”
“What else did Eloise tell you?”
“Hmmm…” Dina glanced at her notes. “She had an argument with her boyfriend last night, something about how much time he spends with his ex-wife. They were supposed to get together and talk it out today.” She paused to skim down the page. “Here we go! Eloise told me that she was ambushed by a rude hotel guest a few minutes before she went into the gardens to clea
r her head.”
“Yeah, she told us both that one earlier.”
Dina nodded. “Oh, and she heard raised voices from the parking area as she walked toward the gazebo. It was a couple of people shouting, but she couldn’t tell if it was a man and woman or two women.”
After scanning the notes and flipping through a few more pages, Dina put the pad in her lap. “And what about you, Kate?”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Are you asking if I heard someone arguing in the parking lot?”
“No,” Dina said. “Why were you here this afternoon?”
“Delivering three dozen cupcakes for a party.”
“One of the birthdays?”
I shook my head. “Bachelorette party.”
“Oh, right.” Dina went back to the notepad, scribbling something on a blank page. “This place was going to be pretty busy tonight.”
“It really was,” I said sadly. “And thank goodness Connie could make arrangements to move the parties.”
Dina smiled. “It’s the prudent thing to do,” she said. “I mean, who wants to whoop it up while our forensics team is dusting for prints and searching the hotel?”
“Right, that makes perfect sense.”
She tapped the pen against the tip of her nose as she flipped through her notes again.
“Oh, there was one thing,” I said, remembering the potential evidence I’d noticed earlier. “Did you see the cup and paper sleeve near the gazebo?” I asked. “The ones from Uncommon Grounds?”
Dina nodded. “Bagged and tagged,” she said. “And, of course, I plan to ask Bitsy Sanger if she was here this afternoon.”
“Yeah, sure,” I agreed. “But maybe someone wrote the wrong date on the cup. It could’ve actually been from yesterday.”
Dina shook her head. “Doubtful,” she said. “Connie assured me that her maintenance guy had been working diligently for the past three days to keep the garden walkways and flower beds free of litter and debris. They had a class come through from the grade school on Monday for a field trip. Apparently, those little guys left quite a mess in their wake.”
