The Hotel

by Melanie Jones Brownrigg

  “Mr. Carlton, thank you.” It was my intention to ask him if he and his wife could vouch for his daughter’s presence at home last night. Then I chickened out. By now Chris was at the side of my car anyway.

  “Emily. I’m Chris. It’s nice to finally meet you. What can I do for you?”

  The father hovered within earshot and the mother had joined them. The situation made me terribly uncomfortable. “What’s going on?” the mother asked.

  “I don’t know,” Chris responded. “This is Emily Mills. Greg’s wife.”

  “Oh, Taylor’s partner?” the mother inquired.

  Did they know Greg? Or perhaps it only came up in conversation.

  All three of them were staring down at me in my seated position in my vehicle, waiting for me to explain my presence. “Er, uh, I was wondering if we might talk privately?” My gaze went to Chris.

  She frowned. “What’s this about?”

  Dear God. “Something private,” I reiterated, giving her a stern look.

  “Mom, Dad, can you give us a moment?”

  Both parents frowned, glared at me and then reluctantly took a few steps back and stood in Chris’ yard. “We’re right here, dear,” the mother said.

  “Yes, you just let us know,” the father said, crossing his arms and continuing his stern look at me.

  Were they always this protective of their daughter, or was it only after murdering my husband? Were they using undertones to assure each other they were a support team, as in don’t say anything and be careful?

  Since I knew she wasn’t about to join me in the confines of my car, and it seemed less likely to be invited into her home, I unbuckled my seat belt and stood beside her in the street, which only served to make the neighbor’s dog bark.

  “Shush Rosco,” Chris snapped at the dog. The dog quieted and Chris turned back to me. “What did you want to speak with me about?”

  “I know you have evening plans, so I’m not even going to beat around the bush.” I moved slightly backward to make sure the evening sun wasn’t shining in my eyes and so I could better watch her body language. “Are you having an affair with my husband?”

  She looked appalled, or she was an amazing actress. “What a thing to bluntly ask?! But no, no, I’m not having an affair with your husband. Whatever gave you such a ludicrous idea?”

  “Where were you last night?” I demanded, ignoring her question.

  “Last night?” she gave me a puzzled look, followed by a deep scowl. “Last night I was at home with my son and parents. We ordered a pizza, watched a movie together and then I went to bed ... alone, because my husband is at a seminar in Vegas. I thought Greg was with him. But if not, he wasn’t with me.”

  “Do you know if he is having an affair with anyone?” I pushed.

  “No, I don’t. But I barely know your husband. I’ve only been around him a half dozen times, maybe less.” She pondered for a moment. “He dropped by the house a couple of times to visit with Taylor about a case they had. Once or twice, I went to lunch with Taylor, and he ended up joining us.” She paused and appeared to be in thought. “I can’t remember any other times. And one of those times, you were asleep in your car.” She pinched her brows together. “What did you think ... we were inside having sex while you were out front of my house and my husband was what ... watching?” She gave me a harsh look. “I hate that this is the first time we’ve met because you haven’t made a particularly good impression. It shouldn’t be any wonder as to why we haven’t gone out to dinner together. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go pick up my child from school.” She headed over to her parents who were still glaring at me. “Good luck to you,” she called out, stepping up on the curb and heading for her car.

  “What did she want?” I heard her mother ask.

  “She accused me of having an affair with her husband. Can you imagine ... like I’d ever cheat on Taylor?”

  “My God, the nerve,” her mother commented.

  “Stay away from her,” the dad warned. “She must have a screw loose.”

  ◆◆◆

  Back at my mother’s house, I was met with a bouncing Ava and a jumping Piper, along with my mother’s questioning eyes. I shook my head, letting her know I hadn’t figured out who Greg was with. We’d have to talk later, once Ava was out of hearing distance.

  The evening crawled by while confusion played havoc with my mind. While thoughts blended with who my husband’s lover and killer might be, I tried to look normal and pleasant for my innocent daughter.

  “Since Daddy’s out of town, can we stay at Gigi’s.”

  “Yes,” I said, not at all wanting to go home to a lonely house. At some point I’d have to face the music. And it tore at my insides to think of Greg, rotting away in a nasty hotel room. He should be at a funeral home. He deserved the respect given to the deceased. My eyes watered and I quickly blinked back tears.

  After a meal, homework and one hour’s TV, I urged Ava upstairs to take a bath. When I finally had her tucked in, I returned to the living room where I found my mother sipping on a cup of hot tea.

  “There’s a pod ready for you in the Keurig,” she said.

  After taking a moment to make myself a cup, I returned to the living room. “Thank you for everything,” I said. My mother had really stepped up to the plate in helping with Ava. Even picking her up again from school this afternoon. And tonight, she was missing her Wednesday night bingo, which Ava had complained about. I had urged them to go without me because I couldn’t bring myself to go with them. My mother, knowing what I was going through, had told Ava she wasn’t feeling well.

  “So, what happened?” she asked as soon as I tucked my feet under me on her soft cream and beige colored couch.

  I shrugged. “Well, it turns out that Taylor was a man.”

  My mom gave a startled look. “How in the world did you miss that?!”

  “Obviously, I jumped to conclusions.” Then I tried to explain.

  “But my God, Emily, you threw a fit over Greg sharing a room in Vegas for nothing. It wasn’t the big deal you made it out to be and now your last encounter with Greg was spent arguing over diddly.”

  “Well, it could’ve still been the same person, just named Chris instead of Taylor. Greg may have urged Taylor to go to the seminar so he could spend a romantic three days with Taylor’s wife.”

  “Well, I suppose that’s true,” Mom agreed.

  “I went to see her though. She was real defensive about not having an affair with Greg. She claimed she barely knew him.”

  “Was she believable?”

  “I guess so.” I sighed. “Greg was able to hide his affair. I’m not a very good judge of knowing when people are being evasive or lying.”

  “Then where do you go from here?” she asked.

  “There are two other leads.” We talked about Lisa Jacobs and about Julie dropping out the name of Tracy Williams having been interested in my husband. “Who’s to say this Tracy Williams didn’t keep after Greg until he caved?”

  “It’s worth looking into,” she agreed. “Well, it’s been a long day. Try and get some rest.”

  Alone in my mother’s guest room, I was tormented by the last memory of my husband. On a loop, my mind raced over and over remembering the blood. It took hours before I finally dozed off. But then the scene only continued to haunt me. Dark shadows and splatters of blood were all over my dreams, causing horrendous nightmares. Greg’s bloody face, showing nothing of his features, floated by in a sea of blood. It felt like I was drowning. With a gasp for air, I bolted upright in bed. The room was still dark and for the rest of the night, I did nothing but stare toward the ceiling. My insides were balled into a tight painful knot, scared to death of my whole world completely unraveling. I wondered how on earth I was going to get through this ... and how was I going to get my daughter through this.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  (Thursday - One Day Before Greg’s Scheduled Return)

  When the morning came and I was s
till awake, I crawled from bed and cooked breakfast. After taking Ava to school, I decided to pay a visit to Greg’s old firm, Blevins & Howard. Pulling into the parking lot, I came to a stop next to Lucas’s gray SUV. Locking my car and waiting for the chirping noise, I marched myself into the small two-story, red-bricked building. Going through the glass door and up to the front desk, I gave a big smile to Brenda Townsend, my old friend from high school and the new receptionist.

  “You must be lost,” she teased, turning her lips up at the corners of her mouth.

  “No, not at all. I came by to see how you liked your new job.”

  “I’m loving it,” she said with an even bigger smile. “Hey, by the way, thanks for giving me a call about those incredible finds over at Twice Blessed. I snagged some amazing bargains after fighting your mother tooth and nail for them.” She laughed. “She was vicious.”

  “So, I’ve heard.” I chuckled at the thought of my mom staving off Brenda, Kay and Jordan.

  She admired my Channel cream-colored pants, cream shell and multi-colored jacket. I admired her Fendi beige dress with teeny-tiny black polka dots and then we compared Prada purses.

  “Well, thank you again for calling me,” she said.

  “I’m glad you were able to take off work. I didn’t know if it would be possible with you being newly hired.”

  “Well, I worked out a deal with Lisa Jacobs. I told her if it was everything you said it was, then I’d bring her back a Hermes bag. She practically shoved me out the door.”

  “Lisa ... are you two friends now?” I queried.

  “I hope so. I’m trying to fit in with everyone around here.”

  “Well, of course. I meant, like do you gossip together or share secrets?”

  “No, we mostly only talk to each other when she passes by the desk. Nothing special.”

  “Does she ever bring up her personal life ... like do you know if she’s married, or seeing anyone, or cheating on anyone ... anything like that?”

  Brenda rolled out a big laugh. “Oh goodness no. We barely know each other. She hasn’t opened up about anything like that.” She had to take a phone call and once she passed it through to Mr. Howard, she looked back at me. “Why the sudden interest in Lisa ... and her life behind closed doors?”

  “Actually, I was recently at a nail salon and she was seated next to me.” I detailed out what I had overheard. “The conversation concerned me because it sounded as if she and Greg were still squeezing in time to see each other.”

  Brenda’s mouth hung open and she just stared at me.

  “So, you see, I’ve been wondering if she has a thing for Greg.”

  “But, Emily, everyone knows Greg only has eyes for you. If Lisa said that stuff, it must be because she has a one-sided crush on him, don’t you think?”

  “Men can be pigs, Brenda. Even Greg can be one from time to time. I want to know if there’s something going on between them. If you know anything, I’d appreciate it, friend to friend, if you’d be honest with me.”

  “Emily, I-I promise I don’t know anything. If I did, I’d tell you. But I just have a hard time believing that Greg would cheat on you. My God, Emily, he worships the ground you walk on.”

  “Then, I’d like to talk to her. Please buzz her and let her know I’m here to see her.”

  “I’m sorry Emily, she’s not here. She called in sick yesterday and today.”

  My eyes bulged out of my head wondering if she called in sick because, after killing my husband, it had made her ill. That bitch. I’d ring her damn neck. “Give me her address then. I’m going to pay her a visit.”

  Brenda’s mouth was back to hanging open. “You know I can’t divulge that sort of information. It could get me fired. I’m sorry Emily, but I need this job.” She sighed. “Why don’t you call over tomorrow and see if she’s back at work? You can come back ... okay?”

  Poor Brenda looked ripped apart between being my friend and wanting to help me, versus risking her new position at the firm. “Okay, you’re right. Is Lucas in by any chance?”

  Brenda looked relieved that I wasn’t pressing the issue. “I’ll see if he can spare some time for you.” She punched a button on the intercom and spoke with Lucas, then she looked at me. “He says to come on back. You know where his office is, right?”

  “Yes, thank you.” Before going far, I turned back to Brenda. “If you hear of anyone having an affair with Greg, will you please let me know?”

  “Of course,” she said and then was distracted by the phone ringing.

  ◆◆◆

  “Emily, what a surprise,” Lucas said as he jumped from his rolling black leather chair and bounded around his giant mahogany desk to hug me. “What brings you around?”

  “I hadn’t heard anything from Kay and just wanted to make sure she and the baby were okay.”

  He looked surprised. “Oh, she didn’t call you?” He slid into one of two client chairs and gestured for me to be seated in the other.

  My face took on a surprised look. “No, I haven’t heard from her.”

  “Oh, well, she was going to cancel dinner tonight. She’s fine from the fall. But she’s been going through the worst morning sickness. This morning it was accompanied by a terrible migraine. She just wanted to stay home and rest tonight.”

  “Oh, well okay. You know, Lucas, I’ve been so busy the last few days, it slipped my mind that it was even Thursday. I guess it’s a good thing we talked.”

  “Well, I’m sure Kay is planning on calling you. She may be taking a nap right now. I told her to go back to bed.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help? I could keep Troy.” Please, please don’t say yes. I had other things on my mind right now and taking care of a three-year-old wasn’t one of them.

  “No, thank you though. My mother is keeping him for the day. I dropped him off this morning.”

  Thank goodness. “Well, if she needs anything ... soup, a wet rag, a hand to hold, just let me know.”

  “Thank you, I’ll mention it when I run lunch over to her and make sure she’s okay. I’ll also let her know that you’re aware of dinner being canceled tonight.”

  I nodded. “Hopefully, she’ll be feeling better.” Sucking in a big breath, I worked up my courage. “Listen, Lucas, the other night at the hospital, you said Greg told you he’d quit racquetball because he was working. You also said you’d be up-front with me if you knew Greg was cheating on me. Things have changed in the last few days and now it’s imperative for you to be completely honest with me. If you even have an inkling that Greg is cheating on me with anyone, anyone at all, it’s crucial that you tell me.” While Lucas was trustworthy, I couldn’t tell him about Greg being dead in the motel room. As an officer of the court, he’d be obligated to call the police and report the incident. Otherwise, his bar license was at risk. While I needed the information, I didn’t want to put Lucas between a rock and hard place. But at the same time, I wanted him to grasp the importance of my plea.

  “This is why you’re really here, isn’t it?” Lucas swallowed hard causing his Adam’s apple to bob. “What’s happened? Why is it imperative? Emily, you’re scaring me.”

  “I can’t say, Lucas. You can’t be involved. But I really, really need to know if you have any information at all. Please, Lucas, I really must know.”

  He bit at his lip, concern all over his face. “Emily, I swear, I don’t know of anyone that Greg could possibly be cheating with. I would tell you, especially considering the way you’ve asked. Are you sure you can’t tell me what’s going on? I might be able to help you.”

  “I can’t. But there is a way you can help me.”

  “How? What can I do?” His eyes implored mine.

  “I need Lisa Jacobs’ home address. I really need to speak to her. Please, Lucas, it would be a tremendous help.”

  A moment of hesitation was accompanied with a big sigh. “Okay, but if she asks how you came up with her address, don’t mention the information came from me.”
>
  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” I agreed.

  He searched through his phone and then wrote the information on a yellow sticky note and handed it to me. “I had to deliver a file once to her apartment,” he explained, “that’s why I have her address in addition to her phone number.”

  “Do you know if she’s married?” I inquired.

  “I believe she might be separated.”

  I looked at the note to make sure it was legible. “Okay, well thank you.” I stood to leave. “Lucas, I really do appreciate this.” I waved the note around. “In a few days, we’ll talk again. Most likely on Saturday, if not sooner.”

  Lucas looked worried to death for me. “Emily, do you need an attorney for any reason? If you hired me, anything you said would be privileged.”

  “Not during this stage, Lucas. You can’t be involved yet. But yes, I’ll probably need an attorney.”

  “Oh God, you are in trouble, aren’t you?” He furrowed his brows and gave me a concerned look.

  “Yes, Lucas, I am.” I sighed. “We’ll talk later ... when I know more.”

  ◆◆◆

  Once leaving, I worried myself sick about telling Lucas anything. Hopefully, I had been evasive enough the law wouldn’t consider him to be an accessory after the fact, or something like that. I wasn’t a lawyer, but I’d heard Greg talking over the years. I wondered if I would be charged with other crimes, in addition to murder ... something like leaving the scene of a crime, or not reporting a crime, or covering up a crime, or especially desecration of a body since I intentionally and unlawfully failed to report the finding of a dead human body to a local law enforcement agency. My troubles seemed to be growing and growing. Even if I found out who Greg’s real killer was, I might still be in a world of trouble.

  Across town, I stepped from my car and hung my purse over my shoulder. Inside it was my fully charged phone and the gun from the console. It wasn’t my intention at all to kill Lisa Jacobs. But if she killed Greg, she might try to kill me. My daughter was down a father right now. She wasn’t losing her mother too.