Page 38 of Jane's Story
In one of the photos, Ashley appeared to be popping a pill into her mouth—probably an aspirin. She complained of frequent headaches. In another, she’s glancing at Charles with a shy grin. She obviously liked him, most girls did.
In most of the photos, Kyle looked bored but unremarkable. But in the photo of Ashley looking at Charles, Kyle is looking at her with his brows furrowed. Jealousy? Maybe he was interested in her.
I sifted through extra pamphlets, business cards, and documents. SaferLoc was already being heavily marketed. The dozens of business cards were from potential buyers, which would benefit the entire company.
I jumped when someone knocked on the door.
“Housekeeping,” a woman’s voice called as the door opened. I took a slow breath.
“Oh, come on in.” I waved to the middle-aged woman wearing a simple gray dress.
She raised her eyebrows and looked around the room. “Is this a bad time? I can come back later.”
Her heavy French accent reminded me of my graduation trip to Paris. I smiled. “It’s a perfect time. In fact, I was wondering if I could chat with you?” I asked, recognizing her from the smokescreen spell’s recording.
She nodded, concern in her expression. “Yes, I suppose you’re looking into the incident yesterday?”
“Yes, we’re trying to figure out what’s going on.” I prayed I wouldn’t scare her off. “Please have a seat. I’m hoping to protect anyone else from getting hurt.”
The brunette woman, probably in her mid-fifties, had streaks of silver at her temples. Her expression relaxed. No longer hesitant, she nodded and sat in an armchair next to me. “You know, there’s not much that goes on in a hotel that housekeeping doesn’t know about. And what we don’t know, room service tells us,” she said, sighing and resting her forehead against her palm.
“I figured that was the case. I’m concerned because they took my friend in for questioning this morning.”
Her mouth formed a tight line. “You’re sure he’s innocent?” she asked. “Many times, nice girls think their guys are innocent.”
“He’s innocent,” I repeated.
“Mmm, well then he has nothing to worry about. It will be sorted out,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and flinging her wrist.
“You seem to know something, and you’re not obligated to tell me. But it would really help.” I paused for a moment because the housekeeper looked around nervously. “I’m sorry. What’s your name? I’m Jane Bennet.”
“I’m Rose. You’re a sweet girl. I can tell you what I’ve already told the police.” She released a deep breath, clapped her hands on her knees, and leaned back. “A man and a woman from this company have been sneaking around together, especially at night. One of them is very rude to the staff and left an enormous mess in their room last night. I also know the woman in charge argued about her bill with a concierge because she didn’t want to pay for her room service and said to bill Haven Corp. She’s probably broke.”
I blinked. “Wait, which two people? I’m so confused. Do you have names?”
“Well, keeping names straight is a bit more difficult. There are so many guests, you see. But the two sneaking around-—how do I say this politely? The heavy-set blond man whose hairline is receding a bit, and the womanin charge with dark hair—really professional looking, I guess.”
There were actually several people fitting those definitions, but I suspected she meant Owen and Catalina since I’d also seen them together frequently. “I’ve seen them together. My impression was they kind of liked each other or were at least good friends.”
“Friends are usually more open about their relationships. These two are hiding something.” Rose gestured with her hands as she spoke and raised her palms. “But what’s worse is the other man. A group came to the hotel and threatened him.”
“What do you mean?” I stared at this woman, who apparently knew more than any of us.
“We can tell when people are involved in shady activities. A couple of men came and harassed him in the middle of the first night he stayed here. The night before the first murder. They weren’t guests of the hotel, and they looked very rough. Those kinds only ever show up for one reason. They wanted money. And apparently the man didn’t have it.”
“You’re talking about theblond man?” I asked.
“No, similar build, but this man was dark-haired, has a mustache.” She shrugged.
That must’ve been Kyle. I rubbed my forehead. “They came to his hotel room?”
“Well, you have to have a key card in the elevator to access the guest floors. I think they posed as friends or something, and the concierge called the guy down. Security kicked them out when it became clear it wasn’t a friendly visit,” she answered.
I blinked. “I’m hoping you’ve shared all of this with the police?”
“Of course, but I don’t know if they’re taking us seriously.” Rose glanced at the ceiling, as if she dealt with problems like this daily but had given up trying to solve them.
“Thank you for talking to me. You know, you and your coworkers should double as undercover officers or spies.” I smiled.
