Chapter 23. Are We to Be Murdered by Every Giuseppe in the Country? #2
But most evil is rooted in selfishness, I’ve found. Thinking your problems are more important than others’. Thinking that if you choose evil, you won’t get bitten.
“Where were you when Guy was killed?” I ask.
“I was cleaning one of the rooms. And I can prove it. We have to keep a detailed time sheet of where we are and when we clean each space. Plus, there are security cameras. Check them. You’ll see. My log is on my cleaning cart. I wasn’t anywhere near where Guy was killed.”
Officer Rolle writes something in his notebook. “We will verify.”
“And Brian,” I ask. “What about him?”
“I didn’t know him before he got here, and I barely talked to him.”
“Please.”
“Why would I? I was keeping a low profile.”
“Working as a maid.”
She lifts her chin. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing,” I say. “I’m just surprised your brother treated you that way.”
“I didn’t want to just sit around.”
“You wanted access to the resort,” Oliver says. “It’s obvious.”
“Marco had all the access he needed.”
“Sure, but as a maid, you could be among us, without anyone paying any attention. Because people never pay attention to the help.”
“It’s smart,” Officer Rolle says. “I’ll give them that.”
“No, you’re wrong. I didn’t have anything to do with Brian dying. And he wasn’t working with Marco. He was brought here by Guy. Of that I’m sure.”
“How?”
Marta scoffs. “You think we weren’t watching everything Guy did from the moment he got here? Give me a break. My brother’s an idiot, but not that stupid. That’s why Brian got fired. Guy found him snooping around in his room.”
“Brian was spying on Guy?”
“That’s what Guy told Marco. He insisted on giving him the boot.”
“But you said they were working together?” Oliver says.
“I said Guy brought him here.”
“What’s the difference?”
She lifts her shoulders. “Brian had his own thing going on. Why else do you think Guy killed him?”
“Guy killed Brian?”
“Who else could’ve done it?”
“You. Marco.”
“We didn’t.”
“Why, then?”
“Brian must’ve found something in Guy’s room. Guy was not a good person. You do the math.”
She has a point. Guy is the most likely suspect to kill Brian if what Marta’s saying is true.
Guy wasn’t a good man. But what could he have been hiding that would have led him to kill Brian if it was discovered?
If they were working together, then it had to be something that made Brian distrust Guy.
Did he confront him about it? Was that why Guy killed him?
But what could it be?
Was Guy a murderer?
He had a gun, Officer Rolle said. Maybe more than one. And everyone knows that if you have a gun, you use it. In these kinds of books, I mean. Don’t do that in real life.
So Guy used one of his guns to stage Brian’s suicide and told everyone that he’d been fired because he was spying on guests.
But why do that in my room? What did Brian find? What was Guy hiding?
Oh! The USB.
“Was there anything on Guy’s USB stick besides his novel?” I ask Officer Rolle. “Or anything in the novel itself that might be the key to all of this?”
“We are still analyzing it.”
“That must’ve been what Brian found … But why bring Brian here? What did he need him to do?”
“And someone still killed Guy,” Oliver says. “He didn’t kill himself.”
“Which brings us back to Marco,” I say. “I still don’t get why you’d let him come here. Even assuming you’re telling the truth about the rest of it.”
Marta crosses her arms and smirks at me. “I thought you were supposed to be smart.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Guy was working with Marco.”
“Wait, what?”
“Explain yourself,” Connor says.
“You really think we just let him come here?”
“You just said you did ten minutes ago.”
She shrugs. “I wanted to see if you’d buy that.”
“This isn’t a game.”
“Or a joke, young lady,” Officer Rolle says. “Three people are dead and one is missing.”
“And I don’t have anything to do with that.”
“So, tell us the plan, then,” I say. “Explain.”
I touch Oliver and Connor on the arm, letting them know to keep silent. Because we hate silence as a species. We have to fill it. Preferably by confessing to the things that are top of mind.74
Marta sighs, and I know we have her.
“I don’t know how Guy found out I was here, but he did. He reached out to Marco. Guy told him that he knew who Marco was and that I was in the country. He said there’d be consequences if we didn’t go along with his plan.”
“Which was?”
“He wanted to host a writers’ conference here. He wanted to bring you here,” she says, pointing to me, “and you,” she says, pointing to Connor.
“Why?”
“Why d’you think?”
“Just tell us,” I say. “I’m sick of guessing.”
“To take care of you once and for all. When it didn’t work in Italy…”
“When what didn’t work in Italy?”
“The plan to kill you.”
“Guy was in on that?” I ask, my voice rising to a squeak.
She gives me a look of disdain. “Of course he was. He’s worked for the family for years. Who do you think tried to kill Connor in LA?”
“That was Shek,” Connor says.
“Ha ha. No. You do this for a living?” She laughs at Connor. “It was not.”
“Then you did it.”
“I was in New York. Which I can prove.”
“But you were working at my publisher,” I say.
“Yes, I agreed to do that. I didn’t know what they were planning. They just said they wanted to keep tabs on you.”
“And you believed them?”
“Maybe I was willfully blind. But I wasn’t knowingly involved in a plan to murder you. I would never have gone along with that. Way too risky.”
“Yet you went along with Guy’s plan,” I point out.
Marta shakes her head. “No, I didn’t. That was Marco. I told him not to do it.”
“So why are you here?”
“I’m wanted for murder, hello!”
“You could’ve turned yourself in to the police and explained everything you are telling us,” Officer Rolle says.
Her eyes shift back and forth. “Have you met the Italian police? Look at what they did to Amanda Knox. No, thank you.”
“So you escaped here?” Oliver says.
“Marco’s been here ever since he finished hotel school. It was a safe place to land till I figured out my next move.”
“Until Guy found you,” I say.
“I wanted to leave immediately, but Marco had other ideas.”
“Murder.”
Marta blinks slowly, catching up to her thoughts. “He didn’t say that. He just … We were going to use Guy. Guy had access to papers, he told us. He was supposed to bring them. Once I got them, I was going to leave and then…”
“Guy was going to kill Connor and me?”
“Not my concern.”
“But Guy is dead,” Oliver says. “Which makes Marco the killer.”
“I told you he wasn’t.”
I rap my knuckles on the table. “Three people are dead. Someone did that. And it wasn’t Guy. Not the last two. So Marco killed Guy. He was in the room that night. He was the one who was operating the lights. He knew about the timing of Elizabeth’s story.”
“That’s something,” Connor says. “No one else knew about that.”
“She said she told her concierge,” I say.
“He must’ve told Marco. Makes sense.”
“But why kill Guy?” Oliver says. “Why then?”
“He didn’t need him anymore,” Connor suggests. “We were all in place.”
“But that would alert us. Brian’s faked suicide was one thing…”
“Guy must’ve threatened him,” I say. “He must’ve felt like he had to act, whatever the plan was. Right, Marta?”
Marta starts to say something, then stops herself.
“And Inspector Tucci?” Oliver asks. “Why him?”
“Marco would have all the reason in the world to kill Inspector Tucci,” Connor says. “As would Marta.”
“I didn’t.”
“And who next, Marta?” I say. “Me? Connor? This has to stop.”
Her head hangs low. “I … I didn’t think he’d do it.”
“You just thought he’d lure us here and what? Scare us? Leave us to Guy?”
“That’s what he said he was going to do.”
“And you believed him?” Connor says. “You ridiculous girl.”
“Marco isn’t violent. I’m telling you. Maybe Guy was working with someone else? Someone you don’t know about yet?”
“How big is this conspiracy?” I ask.
“It’s not…”
“If I believe you—and that’s a big if—what was he planning on doing to scare us?”
“He didn’t tell me.”
“I got a threatening note,” I say slowly. “Right after I got here. Was that part of it?”
“That doesn’t seem like the kind of thing Marco would do.”
“I don’t know why we’re taking anything she says at face value,” Connor says.
“She’s admitted that she, Guy, and her brother conspired to bring us here.
It wasn’t for a garden party. Guy killed Brian, Marco killed Guy, Marta or Marco killed Inspector Tucci, and then moved the body for some reason we’ll determine later. It’s simple.”
“What about Vicki?” I ask, because where the hell is she? I can’t think about it too much or I might just lose my mind.
“She’ll turn up,” he says confidently.
“And if she doesn’t?”
“You’re wrong about me,” Marta says. “You’ll see.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Her eyes flash. “If neither Marco nor I are the killer, then they’re still out there. Only no one’s on their guard anymore. I’d be careful if I were you.”