Page 21 of Jane's Story
“Yes, but if I understand, this door is near the place Armond worked at the desk. So we’d have seen anyone coming or going on the magic screen. Plus, he died upstairs.” I examined the room’s layout. The doors didn’t seem to have any connection to themurder. “We can theorize more later. But we should probably question people right now.”
We gathered our things and set off. In the lobby we split up, Aunt Penny toward the front of the hotel, and Charles and me toward the convention halls on the opposite end.
“Thanks for agreeing to pretend to be my girlfriend. I’m sure there would be a lot of pushback if I brought the photographer to serious company meetings.” Charles’s face reddened, and the corner of his mouth turned up. “As a girlfriend, we have a more legitimate reason to be spending so much time together.”
“No worries.” I shrugged, like it didn’t bother me at all that this was a charade. Of course, it did, but I tried to put that out of my mind.
“Everyone’s going to envy me,” Charles mumbled, still grinning. He shifted the subject. “Oh, look. There’s Catalina.”
Catalina, still carrying her clipboard, emerged from one of the convention rooms. Her mannerisms reminded me a bit of a news anchor or reporter, a professional in every sense of the word.
Charles waved and signaled for her to come speak with us. She walked remarkably fast considering the height of her crimson designer heels.
“Oh, Mr. Bingley, I’ve heard about the…” She took a few steps closer and whispered, “The incident with Armond. So awful. I’m trying to make sure it stays on the down low. If word gets out, this whole conference will be ruined. I can’t believe we were having lunch together this afternoon, and now he’s dead.”
My stomach turned. I understood she cared about her job, but she seemed more concerned about their public image than Armond’s death. Maybe Charles needed some help when hiring people in the future.
“You knew Armond well?” I asked, blinking my eyes at her.
“Well, not really. He was dedicated to his work. I didn’t realize he had health issues.” Catalina shivered. “You never knowwhat will happen.”
“The police said someone murdered him,” I blurted before realizing I probably should have asked more questions first.
“What? Why?” Catalina’s jaw dropped.
“I don’t know, but they’re doing their best to sort this out as quickly as they can because they don’t want to scare off any potential suspects. I highly doubt they care about our convention.” Charles’s eyes stayed on her.
“I hope they try to keep it quiet. I doubt they have any idea how much work goes into pulling these events together.” She scoffed, then glanced at me. I could sense the annoyance emanating from her. “You’re still at the hotel, then? I thought they only needed you for the launch presentation.”
“Well, she’s actually my girlfriend. I was glad she was able to come take photos for us at the last minute,” Charles said so easily that I’d never have suspected a thing. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. I took the opportunity to lean my head against his shoulder and let a bit of the day’s stress melt away.
“I thought you two might be a couple.” Catalina eyed me as if I’d stolen company resources.
“We try to be there for each other.” I leaned in closer to Charles, and he tightened his arm around me.
He looked into my eyes for a moment, then back at Catalina. A crowd of conference-goers flooded into the hallway, indicating one of their meetings had ended. “Maybe we can chat somewhere more private. Jane and I are trying to put together a picture of what happened, and we’d like to hear your perspective.”
“I’ll try to help. But I certainly don’t know any details about the incident.” Her eyes widened, and she lowered her voice as though she worried someone would overhear our conversation.
“Of course not like that.” Charles’s disarming smile spread across his face. “I’m meaning you may have noticed things connected to what happened without even realizing it.”
She nodded. “That’s possible for any of us. The silver executive room is empty right now. Let’s talk there.”
Once we’d settled ourselves in the empty meeting room, Catalina closed the double doors and looked around. “Not much privacy in this building, is there?”
They must have dubbed the room the silver room for its long, shimmery drapes running from thefloor to the ceiling over the windows. A modern gray and white floral carpet covered the floor, and several tables displayed silver vases of white tulips.
Charles shrugged. “It seems pretty normal to me. What we need to know is whether you saw anything out of the ordinary when you were up at my suite after lunch.”
“Well, I’m sure I didn’t. I can’t even remember why I went up there.” She paused for a minute, creasing her brow. “Oh, right. I needed to drop off an itinerary for when Darcy and Georgiana come tomorrow.”
“Of course. Armond took care of…” Charles paused and his eyes widened. “Oh no, I’d better check. He should have booked them a suite.”
“Who’s Georgiana?” I asked, hoping Darcy was still single for Lizzy’s sake, even though she claimed not to have any interest in him.
“Darcy’s sister. They travel a lot together.” Charles shrugged.
At least Lizzy still had a chance. “And they’ll be here tomorrow?” I asked, glancing toward the windows where orange and yellow treetops were visible to us on the second floor.
