by C. Fennessy
Chapter Five
The next morning, the girls decided to eat breakfast in their room. After ordering from room service, they sat out on the balcony, enjoying the bright, warm sunshine and watching people walk around the hotel grounds as they kept in touch with friends on their phones.
A little while later, Kacey decided to get something to drink, so she left the room and headed for the soft drink machine near the elevator.
As she walked down the hallway, Kacey heard someone shouting in one of the rooms. She noticed that a maid's cart was in the hallway ahead, and the door to a guest room was open beside it. As she drew closer, she could hear a woman's voice shouting, "You must have taken it! Where is it?"
Another voice, crying and sobbing, insisted, "I didn't take it! I swear!"
"Well, it was right here this morning! I'm calling Housekeeping right now to report this."
"But I swear I didn't take it!"
"Get out! Get out of my room this instant!" the woman shouted.
Kacey watched as the maid ran into the hall and down to the elevators. She was sobbing with her hands hiding her face. She pushed an elevator button and cried as she waited.
Kacey came closer to the elevators and noticed that the maid was Latanya, who they met yesterday.
"Latanya?" she asked softly, "Are you all right?"
"Oh!" Latanya cried, looking embarrassed. "Yes, yes, I'm fine."
"What happened back there? I heard that woman shouting at you."
"It's nothing," she sobbed, "I'm sorry. Please don't report me!"
"I'm not going to report you, I want to help you," Kacey said, "What happened?"
Latanya looked frightened as she cried, shaking her head, and Kacey was concerned.
"Do you want to come to our room and wash your face or something?"
"She's going to report me," Latanya said, "She says I stole her diamond ring, but I didn't! I swear, I didn't!"
Kacey put her arm around her, saying, "I'm sure there must be some mistake. Maybe the woman forgot what she did with the ring. Maybe she'll find it in her room."
Latanya sobbed, "If I lose my job, I won't be able to go to college in the fall! And no one will want to hire me ever again!"
Kacey shook her head, "Let's not jump to conclusions. There's a good chance that everything will be okay. Why don't we go see the manager together so he can hear your side of the story first?"
Latanya shook her head, "He won't see me. Only the head housekeeper will, and she'll fire me."
Kacey put her arm around Latanya’s shoulder.
"I'm sure they will investigate to find the ring first. I know the manager a little, so if we go to him together, I think he'll listen to us. Come on, I'll take you to see him."
The elevator bell rang and the stainless steel doors slid open. They got into the elevator and took it down to the lobby.
