For Better or Hearse

by Laura Durham

  I narrowed my eyes at Kate. “Well?”

  Her cheeks flushed. “I never thought of that. I guess then you’d have some explaining to do.”

  Richard took a step toward the door. “Maybe we should leave before they find out that Annabelle lied about being Georgia’s sister. This place gives me the heebie-jeebies, anyway.”

  “I’m with Richard.” Kate backed away from the counter, her face now a bright pink. “Annabelle could get in big trouble for messing with an investigation.”

  “Might I remind you that you lied to the officer?” I managed to say even though my mouth had gone completely dry. I wondered if the officer would chase us if we made a run for it. Too late. He was approaching the counter.

  “It’s okay for you to see her.” He pointed a finger at me. “But only you. Your friends will have to wait here.”

  I turned to say something to Kate and Richard, but they were already at the glass entrance doors.

  “We’ll wait in the car.” Kate waved with her keys as Richard held the door open. “Take your time.”

  I mouthed the word “cowards” to them as I followed the stocky cop behind the counter. He led me to a room with several brown chairs clustered around a wooden table. Georgia sat in one of the chairs with her legs tightly crossed. The officer held the door as I went inside, then closed it behind me.

  Georgia looked up and a smile broke across her face. “Thank God you’re here.”

  I leaned in for an air kiss. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m sitting in a pleather chair in a police station. How do you think I’m doing?”

  “Don’t worry, Georgia.” I eyed the fake leather chairs with strips of duct tape patching the edges as I took a seat across from her. “This has to be a mistake. They can’t really believe that you would kill Henri. What evidence do they have aside from the fact that you hated him and don’t have an alibi?”

  She shook her head. “There can’t be any evidence. I was nowhere near the murder scene. Like I told you, I was in my office doing those damn reports all day.”

  “But no one saw you?”

  “Everyone else was working the wedding. Since Darcy had to do my job of coordinating the setup, I didn’t even see her for hours.” She tapped a pink, perfectly polished nail on the table. “I’m sure they won’t waste any time giving her my position now.”

  “First of all, I don’t think Darcy wants your job. She doesn’t like dealing with clients, remember?”

  “It doesn’t matter. The general manager would love to toss me out and put in someone who won’t outshine him.” Her eyes glimmered with tears. “What am I going to do?”

  I reached out and squeezed her hand. “Everything will be fine. The police can’t have any evidence to prosecute you with, and the GM can’t fire you just because everyone likes you more than him.”

  Georgia put a hand over her eyes. “You don’t understand. The hotel is my life. I’ve worked almost every weekend for eight years so other people can have amazing parties. I can’t remember the last time I had a steady boyfriend. And I’m going to lose it all.”

  “You’re not going to lose everything. Anyway, there are lots of other jobs.”

  She gaped at me. “Start over? Do you know how hard it would be to get hired in another luxury hotel after being fired, not to mention arrested for murder?” A tear snaked down her cheek. “Do you know how many weddings I’ve done at the hotel? How many brides I’ve watched go down the aisle? I’ve given up a normal life for this career, and I have absolutely nothing to show for it. No wedding of my own, no kids, no house in the burbs, nothing.” Her shoulders began to shake, and she buried her face in her hands.

  My jaw hit the floor. Georgia’s life seemed so glamorous to me. Beautiful clothes, perfect hair, a chic downtown apartment. Even in college she’d been the golden girl with the cute boyfriend and even cuter clothes. I’d always aspired to what I’d thought was Georgia’s life of champagne and caviar. Who would’ve guessed that she wanted 2.5 kids and a house with a picket fence? “I had no idea….”

  “Be careful, Annabelle,” she said through sobs. “In this business, you snap your fingers and a decade has gone by.”

  Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I watched her cry. I swallowed hard and tried to sound upbeat. “It’s not the end of the world. This will all blow over and you’ll be back at the hotel in no time.”

  She looked up at me. Tears had muddied the smoky shadow on her eyes, and she wiped dark streaks with the back of her hand. “Will you help me, Annabelle? I can’t trust anyone at the hotel anymore, and you’ve been such a good friend. You remind me of myself when I first started in this industry.”

  I wasn’t sure that was such a compliment now that I had a firsthand look at where years of planning events got you, but I owed it to Georgia after all she’d done for me. “Of course. What do you want me to do?”

  She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “No one at the hotel will tell the police anything, but they might talk to you. People there know you. They like you. Could you ask around? Try to find out any gossip that might help clear me. The real killer must be someone in the hotel, and someone has to have seen or heard something.”

  That sounded simple enough. No danger in eavesdropping. “Don’t worry. We’ll find out who really killed Henri and get you out of here.” I looked at Georgia’s swollen, red-rimmed eyes and took both of her hands firmly in mine. I tried to sound more confident than I felt. “I promise.”

  “Time’s up, ma’am.” The stout officer stood at the door.

  I gave Georgia’s hands one more squeeze before I followed the cop back out to the entrance. Three men stood talking in front of the glass doors, and I recognized the man in a snug-fitting blue polo shirt. Detective Reese. Great. I put my head down and tried to scoot around the group so he wouldn’t notice me and accuse me of meddling in another investigation.

  “Miss Archer?”

  Crap. He noticed me. I looked up and flashed him a quick grin but didn’t stop walking.

  “Hold up a second.”

  I pivoted around and tried not to let the panic I felt creep into my voice. “Hi, Detective.”

  He took a step to close the distance between us. “What are you doing here?”

  I blurted out the first thing I could think of. “I’m picking up some No Parking signs for a wedding.”

  He looked at my empty hands and raised an eyebrow. “Really? Where are they?”

  I dropped my eyes to my hands. No signs. Nice going, Annabelle. I opened my mouth to explain, and then thought better of making up another lie. I wished I had Kate’s ability to flirt her way out of any situation, even though she credited the Wonder Bra for a great deal of her success. It would take the mother of all Wonder Bras to get me out of this one.

  Reese took me by the arm and leaned close to me. “Does this have anything to do with the arrest we made in the chef’s murder? I would have thought you’d steer clear of the case now that you’re no longer a suspect.”

  I tried to pull away, but he held my arm tight against him. “You were mistaken when you suspected me, and you’re mistaken about Georgia, too.”

  “Please tell me this woman isn’t a friend of yours.” Reese rolled his eyes as he released me.

  “I’ve known her for years, and I can tell you for a fact that she could never murder anyone,” I insisted. “Even Henri.”

  Reese grinned at me, his hazel eyes deepening to green. “You sure know how to pick ’em, sweetheart. She’s as guilty as they come.”

  My cheeks burned. Now I remembered how cocky he was. “Just because she doesn’t have an alibi? You’re pinning it on her because you haven’t found the real killer.”

  Reese’s smile vanished. “We have evidence that links her to the crime scene. The fact that she doesn’t have an alibi is icing on the cake.”

  “What evidence? I was at the crime scene, remember?”

  “How could I forget?” He gave me an exasperated sigh.
“We found an item belonging to Miss Rhodes with traces of the chef’s blood on it. Unfortunately the media got wind of it, too, so you can read all about it in tomorrow’s paper.”

  “What item?” This sounded suspicious. I’d heard about police planting evidence. “How can you be sure it belongs to her?”

  “Apparently Miss Rhodes has a scarf that she wears frequently. It’s been called her ‘signature’ scarf by several coworkers. We found it wedged in the back of her desk drawer with drops of dried blood on it.”

  Georgia’s Jackie O Hermès scarf? My heart sank. She idolized Jackie almost as much as she did Marilyn, and the scarf was one of her prized possessions.

  “I’m afraid it doesn’t look good for your friend.” Reese shook his head.

  I was afraid he was right.

  Chapter 12

  “You still think she’s innocent?” Kate handed her keys to the Fairmont Hotel valet the next morning. We’d made record time from my apartment to the hotel after she picked me up. “They found blood on her Jackie O scarf.”

  “Of course I believe she’s innocent.” I stepped out of the car and smoothed out the wrinkles in my blue pencil skirt. Even though Detective Reese had momentarily shaken my belief in Georgia’s innocence, I was still determined to help her. “Someone set her up. Someone who wants her out of the way.”

  Kate came around the back of her car, tucking a white shirt into black boot-cut pants that left little to the imagination. “Who?”

  “That’s what we’re here to find out.” I’d convinced Kate to join me in a little hotel reconnaissance on Georgia’s behalf only after I threatened to turn the Egan wedding over to her. Our office code name for Hillary Egan was “Hillary Again” because she called ten times a day and her wedding was still seven months away.

  I led the way into the lobby of the hotel and made a beeline for the concierge desk when I saw that Hugh was on duty. He looked every bit the proper concierge, standing ramrod straight in his dark blue jacket and gold concierge pin. Despite his formal appearance, he served as D.C.’s command center for gossip. He knew everything that went on in the hotel and the city. The fact that he didn’t mind sharing his information made him my favorite concierge.

  He smiled when he saw us and held up a finger as he finished making dinner reservations for a guest. When he hung up the phone, he glanced around him. “What are you two doing back here? Run. Save yourselves.”

  Kate laughed. “That bad?”

  “It’s like being on the Titanic,” he muttered, smoothing his tidy brown moustache with one finger. “We’re down two people in three days.”

  “You haven’t lost Georgia for good.” I tried to sound more confident than I felt. “Once the police realize they’ve made a mistake by arresting her, I’m sure she’ll be back to work.”

  Hugh gave a quick shake of his head. “I doubt it. The general manager isn’t thrilled about having one of his catering sales staff arrested for murdering his head chef.”

  “But if they find out she’s innocent, they have to give her back her job,” I insisted.

  “They can find a hundred ways to fire her. If Mr. Elliott wants her gone, she’ll be gone.” Hugh slid a map across to me. “This makes it look like I’m working.”

  I took the map and flipped it open. “Do you think Georgia killed Henri?”

  Hugh fingered the gold concierge pin on his lapel and thought for a moment. “No. She has a bit of a temper, but I wouldn’t peg her as the violent type.”

  Kate put an arm up on the marble countertop. “Annabelle thinks she was framed.”

  Hugh’s eyes widened and he looked positively giddy. “Really? Who do you think framed her?”

  “That’s where we thought you could help out. You must know who would want to get rid of Georgia.” I leaned in for the kill. “You know everything.”

  Hugh blushed. “Not everything. I mean I do know a lot about what goes on here. Most of it is who’s having an affair or who got drunk and made a fool of themself. That kind of thing. Not who’s setting up someone else to take a murder rap.”

  “Forget the murder, then,” Kate whispered. “Tell us the juicy stuff.”

  I frowned at her. “We’re not here for random gossip, Kate.” Kate made a face at me.

  “I can tell you that Georgia wasn’t always the most popular girl in the hotel,” Hugh said in a lowered voice as two hotel guests passed us. “The banquet captains complained that she changed her room diagrams at the last minute, and Mr. Elliott had to chase down her paperwork.”

  “Those don’t sound like reasons to frame someone for murder,” I said.

  “You’re right,” Hugh admitted. “As much as we all despise Mr. Elliott, I doubt he’d frame someone for murder. He’s too spineless to do something like that. I’m sure that Georgia’s arrest is a lucky break for him. He’d been searching for a way to get rid of her without looking like the bad guy. And as much as Georgia drove them crazy with last minute changes, the banquet staff really is fond of her. She could make you insane and make you love her at the same time.”

  I looked pointedly at Kate. “I know the feeling.”

  “Back to the drawing board.” Kate ignored me, squinting at something across the lobby.

  I followed her gaze and did a double take. “Is that Ian?”

  “Who?” Kate turned back to me, confused. “I didn’t notice his face. I only got as far up as his jeans, which he wears very well.”

  “The bandleader from Saturday.” As I watched Ian deep in a conversation with what looked like a hotel cook, I pulled my ponytail holder out and my hair fell loose down my back. “I wonder why he’s here again. And who is he talking to?”

  “He used to bartend in the hotel and returns to say hi every so often. The guy he’s talking to is Emilio, one of the sous chefs.” Hugh grinned at me. “What I’m curious about is why you let your hair down.”

  “What?” I put a hand through my hair. I knew I looked better with it down, even if I rarely wore it that way. “I got tired of it being up, that’s all.”

  Kate folded her arms across her chest. “I do believe you’re flustered, Annabelle.”

  “Don’t be absurd. I’m not flustered,” I lied. “I’m confused that he never mentioned working here before. He made it sound like he didn’t know Chef Henri.”

  Hugh groaned. “Everyone who worked here during the past ten years knew Henri. None of us were spared.”

  Kate nudged me with her elbow. “I think he’s spotted you, Annabelle. He’s coming this way.”

  Ian wore a white T-shirt that covered most of the tattoos on his biceps, but I caught myself staring at the hard curves of his arms anyway. I tried to smile as naturally as possible with Kate snickering behind me.

  “We meet again.” Ian kissed my hand and then Kate’s, and nodded at Hugh. “You know I have a weakness for redheads.”

  “I do now.” Hugh arched an eyebrow at me, and I could bet that it would be a matter of minutes before the entire city heard the story.

  Ian met my eyes with his own blue ones. “And long red hair, too.” He winked at me. “I knew you would be trouble the moment I saw you.”

  “What are you doing here?” I stammered. Not my most eloquent moment.

  His eyes flitted to Hugh, then back to me. “The lads left a power cord the other night so I’m picking it up. Lucky for me I ran into you. Wouldn’t you call this fate?”

  “I don’t know.” I looked back to Kate for help, but she just smiled at me. For once it seemed like she didn’t mind sharing the spotlight. Of course, I knew she’d be teasing me about this for years to come.

  “What are you doing on Friday night?” he asked.

  My mind blanked for a moment. “I have a rehearsal for a wedding.”

  “All night?”

  “No, but after that I should get ready—”

  “Good. Plan on dinner with me, then. You have to eat, don’t you?” He kissed me quickly on the cheek and left with a wave to Kate and Hugh
before I could say a word. The light scent of his cologne lingered on me, and I inhaled deeply as he walked out the glass doors of the hotel. Kate had been right about his jeans. He looked awfully good in them.

  Kate gave a low whistle. “That was impressive.”

  I raised an unsteady hand to where he’d kissed my cheek. “I think I have a date.”

  Kate wore a look of admiration. “That guy is smooth. You definitely have a date.”

  Hugh let out a breath. “I think my knees are weak.”

  “I think I’m going to throw up.” I hadn’t had a real date in so long, the thought of one nearly brought on a panic attack.

  “Don’t worry.” Kate threw an arm around my shoulders. “I’ll bring you up to speed and give you some tips.”

  I laughed. “Now I’m really scared.”

  “It’s about time you had a little fun. D.C. women focus too much on their careers,” Hugh said, then gave a small wave to someone behind me. “Speaking of all work and no play…”

  I turned as Darcy walked up, taking short fast steps, her long dark hair swinging behind her. She pushed her glasses up onto the top of her head and rubbed her temples. Her eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles underneath.

  “Have you come to help?” She slumped against the concierge desk.

  Kate stared at her. “What happened to you? You look awful.” Leave it to Kate to be subtle.

  “You try doing the work of two people,” Darcy complained. “It’s impossible to keep up.”

  “Kate doesn’t even do the work of one person.” I sidestepped as Kate swatted at me.

  Darcy managed a weak smile, and then wrinkled her brow. “Do you guys need anything from catering? Please tell me you aren’t one of the twenty proposals that Georgia left in her inbox. And I’ve only gotten halfway through returning all her messages.”

  “No, we only came by to find information to help clear Georgia,” I said. “We promised her we’d try to help.” From the look of things, Georgia didn’t need to worry about Darcy wanting her job.

  “Yes, please! Did you see her?” Darcy’s eyes widened. “They wouldn’t let me in because I’m not family.”