Chapter 22. Should I Be Paying Attention to the Lack of Footnotes? #2
“I follow facts. The facts do not lie. I’m sure it will all be connected,” Officer Rolle says. “But, I admit, Brian is the element that I cannot work out.”
“What’s going to happen now?” I say.
“We will investigate.”
“I meant to us.”
“I’m going to insist that everyone stay in their rooms until Marta is apprehended. We will go back to the dinner and make the announcement now.”
“That’s going to go over well.”
“Better than dying,” Oliver says.
“Totally. But Marta must be long gone by now. I wouldn’t hang around if I were her.”
“Maybe she doesn’t have anywhere to go.”
“Certainly not the airport,” Officer Rolle says. “It is closed, and when it reopens, she will not get through security.”
“What about a smaller airfield?” Oliver says. “A private plane?”
“All flights are canceled because of the solar storm. We will send officers to all of the airfields when they reopen. She will not escape that way.”
“By boat?”
He nods. “That is possible. We cannot police all of the private boats. But we will put out a warning to the authorities. It is our highest priority to catch her. Now, if you will return to your rooms.”
“Oh!” I say.
“What?”
“It just occurred to me. Vicki didn’t make it to dinner … We should check if she’s okay.”
“Are you concerned about her?” Officer Rolle asks. “Is she connected to all of this?”
“No, I mean … She had a lot to drink. She probably just fell asleep. But given everything…”
He frowns. “Yes, all right.”
“Let’s go now,” I say, my anxiety increasing. An anxiety born from experience. Because if someone goes missing at a resort where there’s a murderer on the loose, then it’s just common sense to be worried about them.
Especially when that person is three-quarters of the way to being a serial killer.
So let’s pick up the pace, shall we?
I lead the way off the beach and through to the villas. I’ll come back for my shoes later.
I don’t remember how I know what room Vicki’s in, but I’m almost certain this is it. I knock. No response. I knock again, harder. No response.
“Are you certain this is her room?”
“No, I … Hold on.” I take out my phone to text her, and there it is. A text from her yesterday saying she’d checked in and she’s in room 114. Which is the room we’re standing in front of. “It’s her room.”
Officer Rolle steps forward and hits the door, hard. He also rattles the door handle.
“I’ll go around the back,” Oliver says. “Maybe she didn’t lock her balcony.” He hustles away before anyone can object.
“That would not have been prudent,” Officer Rolle says.
“Vicki is a smart person,” Connor says.
“What does that have to do with it?” I say.
“She wouldn’t leave her balcony door unlocked.”
“People do stupid things when they’re drunk.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“How lucky for you.”
Officer Rolle makes an impatient noise. “Where did Mr. Forrest get to?”
“I’m sure he’ll be back in a second.”
His radio crackles at his hip. “Hold on.” He steps away so we can’t hear him.
“Wonder what’s that about?” I ask.
“Maybe someone else is dead,” Connor says.
“That’s not funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be.”
I put my hands on my hips. “I am so sick of you.”
“You going to fire me, too?”
“I would if I could.”
“This again?”
I take a deep breath. “No. Not again. I’m moving past it. We’re moving past it.”
“We?”
“Me and Oliver.”
“Good luck with that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m always going to be here,” Connor says, tapping the side of my head gently. “And here.” He taps my breastbone.
We stare at each other for a beat before I step away as the front door to Vicki’s room opens. It’s not Vicki, though; it’s Oliver.
“Is Vicki there?”
“No,” he says.
“Oh, no.”
“How did you get in?” Connor asks.
Oliver raises a finger and beckons us inside. We follow him through to the back sliding glass door. It’s open.
“Was it unlocked?
“No. I got in with this.” He holds up a slim black rod. “One of the cleaning staff was going by and she had it.” He shows us how it works, inserting it into a small hole in the bottom of the door, then twisting it so the lock mechanism is released.
“She just gave it to you?”
“I explained the situation.”
“Why did she have this?”
“For when the electronic locks aren’t working.”
“Wait,” I say. “That means there was a way to get into our original room. To kill Brian. They didn’t need the key.”
“They only needed this.” Oliver taps it against his hand. “But that would still mean that you have to be on staff. It’s not something just anyone can have access to.”
“You got one,” Connor points out.
“Yes, but let’s assume that before there were a bunch of dead bodies here, the staff knew better than to do that. How would you even know that you could open it like that anyway? It has to be someone on the staff.”
“Like Marta,” I say.
“Yes.”
“So Marta was in my room and found Brian? And killed him?”
“Or lured him there.”
“Why?”
Good question. I go back to finding Brian on the floor. The staged suicide. Why would Marta kill him? What was he doing there?
He was probably working with Guy. So he was there at Guy’s behest. To bug my room? To lie in wait? Or maybe he wasn’t working with Guy. Maybe he was working with Marta. But if so, why kill him right before we arrived?
Was he waiting to tell on her? And she found out?
Where the hell is she?
Wait.
That girl. That girl with the towels yesterday! That was Marta. And wasn’t someone complaining earlier about their towels not being replenished? She’s here. Oh, shit. She’s been here the whole time.
“I saw Marta.”
“What?” Oliver says.
“Remember when that girl came to the door with towels? That was her. She’s working on the room staff. It’s the perfect cover. A reason to go into every room. She’d have the master keys.”
“Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure.” I look around. There isn’t any disturbance in the room, no sign of a struggle. No sign that Vicki’s been there recently. “Did you check the bedroom?”
“Yes, the bed’s made. Everything looks normal.”
“We need to find Vicki.”
“Why would Marta want to harm Vicki?” Connor asks.
“She published the books, didn’t she? If Marta wants to kill all of us … and you served us up on a plate to her … We have to find her.”
“She is not here?” Officer Rolle says, coming into the room with a preoccupied air.
“No.”
He emits a deep sigh.
“What is it?”
“That call I received … Vicki is not the only missing person.”
“Marta?”
“No, Inspector Tucci.”
“But he’s dead.”
“Someone moved his body.”
“Wasn’t it under guard?”
“The man guarding it was knocked on the head. Someone snuck up on him.”
“What? How?”
He shakes his head slowly, like he can’t believe it. “From inside his room.”