“And then she discovered the choker in her drawers?” I asked.
“Yes,” Brie nodded.
“It could still be a story,” Ben pointed out.
Brie turned to Ben with fire in her eyes. “You know Alani,” she said. “Do you really think she’s capable of theft?”
He avoided eye contact for a moment. “I don’t… She doesn’t seem like the type.”
“Because she’s not,” Brie said strongly. “You need to show the people who work under you that they’re valued, that they won’t just be dismissed because it’s easier than standing up to a guest. Alani didn’t come to you or Seth—or me for that matter—because she was scared we would take their side over hers. Because she’s dispensable to us and they’re not.”
I watched Brie’s fire and felt a surge of pride and respect for the woman she was. “We need to check the cameras,” I said, jumping into action.
“Not the resort surveillance system,” Brie said, stepping towards my desk.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I’m talking about your own personal surveillance system,” Brie said. “The one that only the three of us know about. You have the feed.”
“Yes, but I don’t watch it,” Seth said. “I added it on as an extra precaution, but I don’t have the time to filter through it every day.”
“Nor do you have to,” Brie said. “Until something like this happens. The whole resort will know about the surveillance system; most guests will assume there is one in place, too. Whoever planted the choker in Alani’s room will have been able to bypass the cameras if they were careful. But no one knows about your personal surveillance system.”
I nodded, as I turned on my computer and turned on the live feed. “This would have happened in the last two days?”
“Yes,” Brie nodded. “I’m going to let Alani in; hold on.”
A few moments later, Alani entered the room looking sad and extremely nervous. I gave her a reassuring smile. “Why don’t you sit down, Alani?”
She returned my smile tentatively and sat down opposite me. I kept filtering through the feed, rewinding and stopping as I went while Brie explained what we were trying to do.
“There’s another surveillance system in place?” Alani asked in surprise.
“It was put in place to check the staff,” Ben explained. “Oftentimes staff can bypass the cameras if they’re familiar enough with the positions. Seth decided that it would come in handy one day.”
“And, I think it just did,” I said as I paused on a blurry image of a man right outside Alani’s door. “Alani, can you come here and ID this man for me, please?”
Alani walked around to stand behind my shoulder, and Brie did the same. As Alani’s eyes hit the screen, they went wide with shock.
“What is it?” Brie asked, noticing her reaction.
“I… It’s… That’s Simon,” Alani said.
“Simon?” Ben said, walking around to look at the screen.
“One of the waiters?” I asked.
“Yes,” Brie nodded. “He works between the Lagoon and Mosaic.”
“He planted the necklace in my room?” Alani said. “But…”
“He was obviously bribed,” Ben said. “Someone paid him to do it.”
“And, we all know exactly who that someone is,” I said, standing up. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” Ben asked.
“To the Beaumonts’ suite,” I said. “Ben, have someone bring Simon up to their suite, as well. We’re going to handle this head on.”