Page 27 of Spring Break with a Bodyguard
Good thinking. I check the app again. The earrings and necklace still show as stationary in their original locations, but the ring from room 405 is also moving—heading down from the fourth floor. Roberts had me handling that guest complaint while someone else accessed the room.
Coincidence? I doubt it.
I follow the second signal as it moves to the first floor, then through the back corridors toward... the manager’s office. My steps falter as the implications hit me. Not one thief, but two? Lisa and Roberts working together?
I text Teddy again:Ring moving to R’s office. Two thieves?
Her response:Or one collecting for the other? Need to see if items meet up.
She’s right. If the bracelet and ring end up in the same location, we’ll have our answer. I decide to stake out the manager’s office, finding a maintenance panel down the hall that gives me a clear view of his door while providing a plausible reason for my presence.
My patience is rewarded fifteen minutes later when Lisa approaches Roberts’ office, knocking twice before entering. She stays inside for less than two minutes, then exits empty-handed, walking briskly back toward the elevators.
I check the app again. Both trackers now show the same location—Roberts’ office. Gotcha.
As I’m plotting our next move, the app alerts me to a third signal on the move. The earrings from room 311 are now traveling down the hallway of the third floor. Three separate thefts in one day? This is getting more complicated by the minute.
I track the signal to the service elevator, then watch as it descends to the basement level—where laundry and maintenance are located, not management offices. Curious, I head down to investigate, texting Teddy with the update.
The basement of The Sandpiper is a maze of industrial laundry equipment, maintenance supplies, and storage areas. The tracker leads me to a small office tucked in the back corner—the maintenance supervisor’s space, currently unoccupied. Through the window in the door, I can see a desk cluttered with paperwork, tools, and a small safe.
The tracker signal is coming from inside that office.
I’m considering my options when my radio crackles. “Conrad, report to the front desk,” Roberts’ voice commands. “Security situation.”
As I head upstairs, I text Teddy:Earrings in maintenance office basement. Being called to front desk. Stay away from R for now.
The “security situation” turns out to be a group of intoxicated spring breakers trying to sneak into the hotel pool. By the time I’ve escorted them off the property and documented the incident, thirty minutes have passed. I check the tracking app again.
All three trackers—bracelet, ring, and earrings—now show the same location: Roberts’ office.
That confirms it. Multiple thefts by different staff members, all items ultimately delivered to the manager. Roberts is running some kind of operation, using his staff to collect valuables from guest rooms.
As I’m processing this information, I spot Teddy pushing her cleaning cart toward room 215. Her eyes meet mine, questioning. I give a slight nod, confirming we’ve got what we need.
Now comes the tricky part—confronting Roberts without exposing Teddy’s true identity or getting ourselves fired for unauthorized investigation.
I’m still working on that plan when my radio crackles again. “All security personnel, report to the manager’s office.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Something’s wrong. I glance at Teddy, who’s clearly heard the announcement over her own radio, her eyes widening with concern.
When I arrive at Roberts’ office, two other security officers are already there, along with Carmen. Roberts stands behind his desk, his expression thunderous.
“We have a serious situation,” he announces as I enter. “Someone has been planting fake jewelry in guest rooms.”
My blood runs cold. How did he discover our trap so quickly? In a properly planned operation, we would have used several days of surveillance to establish patterns before placing trackers. We would have studied staff rotations, camera layouts, and had backup plans for discovery. Instead, our hastily implemented plan has been exposed within hours.
“Furthermore,” Roberts continues, holding up one of our trackers between his thumb and forefinger, “these items contain unauthorized tracking devices—a serious privacy violation for our guests.”
He holds up the fake ruby ring, dangling it from his fingers. “This was found in room 405. Housekeeping reported it immediately, as they’ve been instructed to do with any guest belongings left behind.”
My mind races. The items weren’t “found”—they were stolen. Roberts is spinning this to make himself look like the vigilant manager discovering a plot. It’s a brilliant countermove, one I would have anticipated with proper planning time.
“The other items,” Roberts continues, opening his desk drawer to reveal the bracelet and earrings, “were similarly reported by our diligent staff. Lisa found this bracelet in room 204, and Eduardo discovered these earrings in room 311.”
So Eduardo took the earrings to the maintenance office first—probably to examine them privately before turning them in. That explains the detour to the basement.
“This is a deliberate attempt to frame our housekeeping staff for theft,” Roberts declares, his righteous indignation almost convincing. “Someone planted these items, expecting them to be discovered and kept by our employees. When that didn’t happen, they would have claimed valuable jewelry was stolen.”
