Page 23 of Jane's Story
“We noticed that, too,” I said, trying to encourage the nervous concierge. “I think Owen opened them for fresh air, but he must’ve forgotten to close them.”
Charles rubbed his chin. “I wonder why housekeeping didn’t close them?”
“Has anything like this happened before?” I asked. The hotel had to have dealt with other crimes in the past. But there didn’t appear to be a significant effort underway by the police to solve the murders yet.
David furrowed his brow. “Well, I couldn’t say because I started working here very recently. That’s why the manager has been dragging me around to learn the ropes.”
“Sounds like you don’t know much yet.” I sighed. “Thank you for helping us, though.”
“Hopefully, the police will take care of everything.” David frowned and shook his head slowly.
“Thank you.” Charles shook his hand, and we walked away from the concierge counter.
I jotted a few things down in my notebook. “I’m going to be honest, Charles. Lance isthe only person I even slightly suspected, but I have doubts about that. Every time I think about it, I’m more confused. Whoever killed Armond must’ve had a reason. I wonder if he and Margery had some connection from the past.”
Charles’s eyes were vacant as we sat down on an empty sofa in the lounge. He leaned back and sighed. “He didn’t have any connection to Margery that I know of. She just came here from across the country, and Armond lived in New York his whole life. If I remember correctly, he was married, but divorced a few years ago.”
Kyle, Owen, and a few colleagues walked down the corridor toward us. Embracing the fake girlfriend role, or maybe trying out the real girlfriend role, I reached for Charles’s hand and gripped it. “This isn’t your fault. Why don’t we go ask Owen or Kyle?
Charles responded by lacing his fingers between mine and squaring his shoulders. He looked toward the two engineers. “I don’t know if they’ve even heard about what’s happened.”
“Might as well hear it from you, right?” I nudged him forward, leaning into my role. Why not test the waters a bit?
I waved to Owen to get his attention and beckoned them in our direction. He nodded at me and tapped Kyle on the shoulder. They excused themselves from their companions, then came our way.
“Hey guys. Why the long face, Charles? Things are going great, don’t you think? The investors are loving SaferLoc.” Owen’s short blond hair was a little disheveled from his busy day. He rubbed his hands together with excitement and clearly had no idea about the murder.
“Well, I need to talk to you about something.” Charles lowered his voice and leaned forward. Both men sat on the adjacent sofa and looked between us.
“I don’t think I’m going to like this.” Kyle twisted his mustache, which must’ve been a nervous habit. I sensed a spike in his anxiety levels.
A row of large pillars secluded the sofas we sat on from the lobby, so we should’ve been free from eavesdroppers. It took Charles a moment to clear his throat and speak. “Armond’s passed away. Actually, we think someone murdered him.”
Owen’s jaw dropped. He blinked rapidly. “He’s dead?”
Kyle’s eyes watered, and his expression fell. “That’s terrible.What happened?”
“We’re trying to figure it out. The police are investigating,” I added, pulling out my notebook to note my impressions. “Obviously, this is a shock for both of you.”
Owen nodded.
Charles leaned forward on his elbows. “We’re trying to figure out what happened. Do either of you have any ideas?”
“Ideas?” Owen muttered. “What kind of ideas?”
Kyle frowned. "Someone murdered Margery, too. Something’s seriously wrong.”
“Is someone knocking off Haven Corp employees? Armond wasn’t involved with anything shady, was he?” Owen rambled, running his hand over his face.
I interrupted him. “Those are some of the same questions we had. Did you know Armond very well? What could’ve motivated someone to kill him?”
Owen shook his head, then continued while scratching his head. “I kind of knew him. He seemed pretty innocuous to me. He was in his fifties, I think, and never talked about a family or kids. He was excited to retire, but still couldn’t afford it. He was an all-business, no-fun kind of guy.”
Kyle sighed. “We were kind of friends but had little in common. Armond was the kind of person who would read a bunch of self-help books to get ahead in the company. But he never made it to where he aspired to be. Life never quite met his expectations.”
Taken aback by Kyle’s insight, I tried to pick up more deeply on his emotions. “Where did he aspire to be?”
“In charge of everything, I think.” Kyle’s mouth tightened, but his emotions didn’t waver much. “He would’ve loved Charles's job.”
