“And he tried to buy HealthGems,” Gemma added.
Nick looked up at them wide-eyed. “You’re not considering...”
Both women were shaking their heads. “Not in a million years,” Gemma answered.
“Good, because General Loden West is a con artist.”
“He’s not really military?”
“Oh, he’s military alright, retired. A four-star general, like you guessed. But he’s been involved in several schemes where he buys businesses, gets investors to pump money into it and then, somehow, it takes a nose dive,” Nick explained.
“Right into his back pocket?” Holly asked.
Nick nodded.
“I saw him in a very heated discussion over on the other side with a guy with some books,” Gemma offered.
“Hard to tell what that was all about,” Nick said. “Promise me you’ll stay away from him and I’ll do a little snooping to see if I can figure out why he’s here.”
“We promise,” Holly said and Gemma chimed in.
Nick moved in to give Gemma a quick hug and kissed her forehead. “Hey since we’re both going to be here all weekend, we might as well share a room,” he whispered.
“This is a working weekend,” Gemma reminded him with little smile as she pushed him gently away.
“Nick, I just saw Spider Man,” the photographer shouted and pointed toward the lobby.
Nick was off like a shot, Gemma, Holly and the general all forgotten.
Besides being hungry at lunch time, Gemma was anxious to get out from behind the table. Greeting customers and telling their story over and over was something she grew tired of quickly, while Holly seemed to thrive on it. She waited until the steady traffic slowed and then offered to go over to the restaurant and get them a sandwich. Holly thought that was a fine idea.
The restaurant wasn’t quite as ornate as the front lobby. In fact, Gemma thought it looked a little run down. The carpet was threadbare in some places and she noted that one or two of the stools at the bar had small tears in the leather. Even though the place was practically empty, the waitress who took her order seemed quite nervous and kept looking over her shoulder.
“Is everything okay?” Gemma asked.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry. Everything is fine,” the waitress said, taking the last of the order. She turned and walked toward the kitchen disappearing behind two swinging doors.
Moments later, Gemma heard shouting. She could only make out a few words but it was obvious who was doing the shouting - Victoria Northlake. And from what Gemma could hear, the shouting was aimed at the waitress and the kitchen staff. Gemma winced when she heard glass shatter and wondered if she should leave. Before she could make that decision, though, General West and a tall man with jet black hair came out of a door on the far side of the restaurant.
The shouting in the kitchen had grown louder and more irate, and the tall man was looking in that direction as they walked past Gemma’s table.
“But Benjamin...,” the general was saying.
“I told you, Loden, I don’t have time to talk right now. As you can hear, I have some issues in the kitchen and we’re expecting a large party for dinner tonight,” the man named Benjamin said, his tone as cold and clipped as the look on his lean face.
Neither man seemed to notice Gemma but she knew, without a doubt, that the man named Benjamin was Victoria’s older brother.
“It wouldn’t take long and I could be on my way...”
“We have a meeting time set up with both Vince and Victoria and you’ll just have to wait until then to discuss all of the details. This involves all three of us,” Benjamin shot back. Turning on his heel, he left the general standing by the bar and headed for the kitchen where it had grown suddenly, eerily quiet.
Loden West stalked past her without a glance in her direction.
Gemma sat there for a moment, not quite sure what to do. Just as she decided she should probably leave, the waitress appeared with her sandwiches and drinks in brown bags. Her face was tear stained.
“Is everything okay?” Gemma asked, instinctively keeping her voice soft.
The young woman sniffed and swiped at her eyes. “Just a typical day here at Northlake Manor.”
“I’m sorry,” Gemma said, wishing she knew something else to say or do to make it better. She dug in her purse for a tip and handed it over with a sympathetic smile, then headed back to their booth.
Gemma and Holly ate their lunch between customers while Gemma reported to Holly what she had seen and heard.
“There are clearly some issues with the family here,” Holly said. “I wonder if Mitch knows any good gossip.”
Gemma’s cell chimed and she pulled it out of her pocket to see that it was a message from Ross. She smiled, quickly texted him back and then looked up to see Holly watching her.
“Well?” Holly said, lifting one perfectly arched dark brow.
“He was just reminding me of dinner tonight,” Gemma said.
“Like you were going to forget,” Holly teased.
“I might,” Gemma said.
“I don’t think so. What else did the good detective have to remind you of?” Holly asked, her grin growing wider.
Gemma grinned as well. She hadn’t felt this giddy, this excited about a man, in a long time. It might be time to think a little harder about her relationships with both Nick and Ross. Nervous energy surged through her. “Listen, I’m going to go get our room keys.”
“Okay,” Holly said. “I’ll let you off the hook this time but...”
Still smiling, Gemma headed toward the lobby again, which was even busier than it had been earlier in the day. She moved to the end of the long line in front of the desk. Mrs. Northlake was standing near the huge wrought iron doors of the lobby, greeting guests with warm hugs and a generous, welcoming smile. Victoria Northlake stood behind the counter, arms folded across her chest, her cold glare moving from her mother to the employees frantically working to get everyone checked in in a timely manner.
“Well, Loden West.” That was Mrs. Northlake, her soft French accent clearly audible.
“Simone, my dear, you’re looking well,” the general said.
Gemma glanced over her shoulder to see Mrs. Northlake. The woman’s gaze had gone dull, and she didn’t offer the general a hug. Simone was so tiny compared to him that they looked almost silly standing together. She was still carrying the mesh basket and Gemma could see what looked like balls of yarn inside. They reminded her of another fact about Mrs. Northlake - she loved to knit and was often seen knitting on one of the big porticos or even in the lobby of the hotel. Her mother had knitted, and Gemma had the fleeting thought that she could ask Mrs. Northlake to teach her how.
“What brings you out here?” Mrs. Northlake was saying.
But Victoria Northlake chose that moment to add verbal abuse to her cold scrutiny of one of the employees behind the counter. Gemma whirled around at the commotion. It was obvious that Victoria was quickly losing control of her temper. Gemma had never seen anything escalate so quickly.
“Victoria.” A man said her name loudly, commanding everyone’s attention. Gemma watched as a heavy-set man maneuvered her from behind the counter with a firm grip on her elbow.
This had to be Vincent, another one of Victoria’s brothers. As far as she knew there were three Northlake children. A murmur went through the crowd as Victoria stalked away from the area, guided none too gently by her brother. Gemma glanced around just in time to see Simone Northlake hurrying after them. She did not look happy, either.
Now, not only was the room crowded and hot, but there were several hushed conversations going on at the same time. The line inched forward slowly.
Someone came up from behind Gemma, pushed her roughly aside and hurried on past without so much as a look in her direction. It was the angry young man with the thick glasses who had the books in the sci-fi room. And right behind him came the man in the black frock coat and top hat. He was carrying that
fancy cane.
“How rude,” a young man said after seeing what had happened. He touched Gemma’s arm. “Are you okay?”
Yes, thank you,” Gemma said, wondering where everyone was off to in such a hurry.
A gust of arctic air filled the space and Gemma turned to see a young couple, both blonde and blue eyed, trying to maneuver a double stroller through the heavy doors. Bundled up tightly, the two toddlers thrashed around, one sobbing loudly. The young mother looked as distressed as the child.
“Here, let me help,” Gemma said, hurrying to hold one of the heavy wooden doors open. The husband and Gemma struggled to close the doors against the howling wind once they had gotten inside. It seemed to be much colder since they had arrived that morning and she was glad they were staying there at the hotel for the weekend.
“Thank you so much,” the mother said with a shy smile at Gemma.
“You guys can go ahead of me,” she told them.
“Thank you,” the husband said.
No problem. I’m here all...” Gemma stopped talking when she realized she had just backed into someone. Turning quickly, she began to apologize, only to find to her dismay she had backed right into General West, who was still seated on the settee where Mrs. Northlake had left him. Luckily, he appeared to be asleep and Gemma stepped away from him as quickly as she could.
Then Gemma heard the young mother gasp and she turned to look - just in time to see Retired General Loden West slowly tipping forward. Instinctively she reached forward to try to catch him but he was too heavy for her. He ended up face down on that beautiful thick carpet with Gemma kneeling beside him. She looked up to see everyone in the room staring at her.
“He’s just dozed off,” Gemma said, giving the general a little shake, praying that she was right.
The young father squatted down on the other side of the general and took one of his wrists between his thumb and forefinger. To Gemma he certainly looked like he knew what he was doing, but her spine still tingled when he looked up at her again.
“He’s dead,” he said.
Chapter Four
For a moment there was complete silence in the large space, except for the sound of Gemma’s heart thudding inn her ears. She reached out and tentatively touched Loden West’s forehead, as if to assure herself that they weren’t mistaken.
She’d thought he was sleeping. Elderly people napped.
They didn’t die in hotel lobbies.
She felt her eyes fill with tears and stood up slowly, turning away.
Just weeks earlier she had discovered Santa’s body at the mall. This incident brought all of those horrible feelings flooding back. Panic, shock, and icy slivers of inexplicable fear tore through her. She hugged her stomach and sucked in a deep breath.
Someone screeched, and then everyone began talking at once.
“Call 911.”
“Call security.”
“We need a doctor.”
“Are you sure he’s dead?”
“Probably a heart attack. He was an old geezer.”
Gemma heard all of this but it sounded like they were far, far away. Vaguely she wondered why there was no blood, at least that she could see. And then she looked up to see Nick coming toward her, his face filled with concern.
“Gemma,” he said softly, reaching down to help her to her feet.
“He’s dead,” Gemma said quietly.
“I know. We’ve called for help,” Nick explained as he gently led her away from the crowd to a loveseat on the other side of the room. “Are you okay?”
Gemma nodded. “How could he be dead?” she whispered.
“I don’t know, honey. I spoke with Ross. He will be here as soon as he can. We’ll figure this out.”
Across the room, she could see that Vincent Northlake had returned and seemed to be taking charge of the situation until help arrived. The people had parted, the line rearranged to create a wide berth around Loden West, who still lay face down on the carpet. His briefcase was nowhere to be seen.
“We’ll need to get this area cleared as soon as possible,” Vincent was saying to the man named Benjamin, who had just charged into the area. Now that she saw them together, Gemma saw the resemblance – this was Benjamin Northlake, Vincent’s brother and Simone’s other son.
“Where’s mother?” Benjamin asked.
“In her room. I sent Victoria up to stay with her,” Vincent said. It was obvious that they were used to being in charge.
“Don’t touch anything,” Benjamin said.
“I won’t.”
“He was carrying a briefcase,” Gemma said to Nick, who was holding her hands tightly in his.
“Gemma. Oh honey, what happened?” That was Holly and her dark eyes were filled with worry.
“I bumped into him. He fell,” Gemma whispered, fighting back tears. “He’s dead, Holly. He’s dead.”
“I’ve got her,” Nick said to Holly. “She’s okay.”
The Northlake brothers were definitely taking charge of the area. Vincent announced, “Okay, folks, let’s just take it easy. No need for anyone to panic. Help will be here soon and we don’t need any more confusion than we already have.”
No one moved except those closest to the desk who retrieved their room keys and quickly stepped aside for the next person in line.
“Ma’am, I’m sure the police are going to want to talk to you.”
Gemma realized Vincent Northlake was talking to her. She looked up, nodded weakly and clung to Nick.
“I’m Vince Northlake,” he said by way of introduction and extended his beefy hand.
“Nick Leonard, Daily Herald,” Nick said. “And this is my...this is Gemma Stone with HealthGems. She is attending the EEMA convention.”
“Why don’t we get you guys away from all this? My brother’s office is right over there,” Vince explained.
“Our jewelry,” Gemma said, reaching for Holly. Her knees were weak and she found it was hard to corral her racing thoughts.
Holly was putting her phone away. “It’s okay. Mom is on her way out here to help me. You go with Nick,” Holly said.
As the two men led Gemma down the dimly lit hall toward a polished mahogany door, she heard sirens. When she turned to look back over Nick’s shoulder, she saw Ross entering the building, followed by several police officers in uniform. She wanted to run to him but Nick held her firmly in place, one arm around her waist.
Her eyes met Ross’s and the difference in him was startling. He was here on official business, and he wasn’t happy to see her.
Benjamin Northlake’s office was huge, with a magnificent desk that dominated one side of the room. A leather sofa took up part of the other half, flanked by tables and lamps that cast a soft glow over nearby surfaces but left the rest of the room in shadows. Nick guided her to the sofa and she sat, perched rather on the edge.
“Here’s some water,” Vincent said, offering Gemma a frosty cold glass as he squatted on the floor in front of her.
“Thank you,” she said and took a sip. It helped to clear her foggy mind somewhat. “Please tell Ross - tell them he was carrying a briefcase,” Gemma whispered. Somehow that seemed vitally important to her. She couldn’t get the image of it out of her head.
“Here, lie down,” Nick suggested, nodding toward a pillow. “You look a little pale.”
Gemma allowed them to ease her back onto the pillow.
“Where is Mrs. Northlake?” Gemma asked, fearing the elderly woman might need some help, might have been upset by what had happened. “I think she was friends with General West.”
The two men exchanged a glance and Vincent said, “She’s up in her suite. Victoria is with her now. We’re going to go talk to the police now. You rest.”
“Don’t forget to tell Ross about the briefcase,” she reminded him.
“We won’t forget.” She watched them leave.
Gemma fought the urge to follow them, forcing herself to lie still under the soft blanket covering her leg
s. Voices in the hall came and went and she was sure the police were going to be busy doing interviews with everyone in the hotel during the night.
This was a nightmare. Two dead bodies in just a few weeks? How could that happen to a normal person like her? How could her luck be so bad? Maybe she was cursed or something.
The office door opened and Gemma raised her head, thinking Nick had come back to check on her. It wasn’t him, though. A shadow flowed across the dim light instead.
“What did you do?” someone hissed, before she could say anything.
Gemma realized that whoever was in the room didn’t realize she was there. She lay perfectly still.
“I didn’t do anything,” a second voice reached her ears. Male, nervous. “I wanted to kill him, though. Corrupt bastard.”
“Someone beat you to it. I knew he had enemies but I didn’t realize how many.”
“Yeah, listen, we need to get out of here as soon as we can,” the second male voice said, not so much a whisper now since they thought they were alone.
Gemma held her breath, listening intently.
“We’ve already been told no one will be allowed to leave the hotel until they run a background check - and you know I’ve got a record.”
“I’ll think of something,” the second man said. “All I know is that neither of us killed the old buzzard.”
“Who cares, I’m just glad he’s gone.”
The door opened as quietly as it had when they came in and they left. Gemma was finally able to breathe. She sat up, wondering who the two men had been. She knew it wasn’t either of the Northlake men. They knew she was in there.
The door opened again and this time Nick came toward her through the gloom.
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly, kneeling at her feet. He took her hands in his and pressed them against his cheek. “Your hands are like ice.”
Gemma loved the familiar feel of his stubbled chin under her fingertips. Inhaling his clean citrus scent, she traced around his beautiful mouth and let her fingers follow the dimple in his chin. She was so glad he was here. “Did they find the briefcase?” she finally asked.
Mansions Can Be Murder: A Cozy Mystery (Gemma Stone Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 3
