Chapter 8 #2
“He is. Are you one of his admirers?” Charles asked as we approached the concierge counter, and I sensed a touch of alarm. Then his cheeks flushed. “I mean, it’s okay if you are…”
“No. I wondered if he and Lizzy had spoken recently.” I may not have found my happily-ever-after yet, but the idea of Lizzy finally meeting her match in love gave me hope.
“Lizzy and Darcy… they seemed good together, didn’t they? Though he’s… well, you’d never suspect, but he’s a bit of an introvert. I think he’s had to be careful because of his status.” Charles seemed to struggle to talk about something so personal.
His sudden embarrassment was contagious, and I wished I hadn’t brought it up at all. I changed the subject. “Oh, look. There’s the concierge from this morning. His name is David. I met him earlier today.”
Charles released a slow breath. “Yes, he’s been very helpful.”
David joined us at the counter, blessedly ending whatever awkwardness had just ensued. “Awful news today.”
“Word travels fast.” I blinked. If David knew, I suspected the rest of the staff did as well. Maybe Aunt Penny was having better luck finding clues than we were.
“The manager keeps us informed, but discretion is also a skill we’ve mastered. The public is none the wiser,” David responded, lowering his voice as more guests approached the counter.
“Thank you,” Charles said.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” David placed his hand over his heart. “I mean it, anything at all.”
“I have a few guests coming tomorrow. I’d gotten everything in place, but with us moving rooms, I need to be sure.” Charles had tiny beads of sweat forming on his brow. “There’s a chance he’ll just go back to his own penthouse, but we always have a suite reserved just in case.”
David frowned. “The police have blocked off the executive suite.”
“I can give them ours,” I offered without skipping a beat.
“Yes, I don’t know if I have another room for you, though.” David tapped his computer screen.
“My aunt has room at her…” I started. Of course, Charles wouldn’t want to stay at my aunt’s little apartment. Why would I suggest that?
“Wait. We have a luxury room on the eighth floor. It’s not as nice as your suite,” David cut in before Charles responded.
“Yes, hold that for now—just in case. It’s better than nothing,” Charles trailed off. “One more thing. Earlier today, your manager brought you up to my original suite. Do you remember why?”
David stiffened, shuddering. “The room where it happened? For some of our more prominent guests, the manager likes to make sure the accommodations are up to their standards. So we stopped by to check. Of course, we had no idea someone would die.”
“But did anything seem strange or unusual?” I asked.
David hesitated before speaking. “Well, I noticed the balcony doors were open, which seemed odd for such a cold winter day.”
“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 is the 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.”
Charles shook his head slightly. “My job? Oh…maybe the CEO bit. I don’t think he was interested in engineering. What about Margery? Any connection to Armond you can think of?”
“Everyone kind of knew Margery. As the photographer, she moved around the company and talked to all of us.” Owen’s gaze was unfocused.
“We all liked her. She was pretty and outgoing. I doubt she had a special connection to Armond. He wasn’t the type of guy she’d be interested in, and their jobs didn’t overlap much.
I enjoyed talking to her. She came to lunch with us a few times back at headquarters. ”
But there had to be a motive. In the mystery books I’d read as a teenager, being a witness made people targets for murderers. “Since she knew everyone, do you think she might have stumbled across a secret she wasn't supposed to know about?”
“I guess if anyone were to uncover someone’s secrets, Margery would be the one.” Charles’s brow creased, and he rubbed his chin. “But what kind of secret is that serious?”
“I guess it depends on who you ask. What did you think of her, Kyle?” I asked. Realizing Charles would be in less danger from someone hoping to silence witnesses. In his eyes, everyone was innocent. But it also meant he might miss important clues.
Kyle shrugged. “She was kind of out of my league. I didn’t get to know her very well. She liked animals, volunteered or something.”
Charles patted Kyle’s shoulder. “Maybe we’re grasping at straws. You were up in my suite after lunch. That’s where it happened. Did you see anything?”
“Up in your suite? Let me think. We picked up the plans for SaferLoc, ran into Lance—he was steaming about something. And heard him and Armond arguing about the budget and how it would look bad.” Owen lifted his palms and shrugged.
“Do you think Lance could’ve had anything to do with what happened?” I asked.
“Lance was upset, but not murderous or anything.” Kyle shifted in his seat, looking around the lobby. “How’d Armond die, anyway?”
“Drugged, maybe,” I said.
“Really? I’m surprised they haven’t shut the place down. There’s a murderer on the loose.” Owen lowered his voice and looked over his shoulder.
“Shutting the place down might cause the suspect to flee. Plus, the police can’t prove someone murdered Armond yet. They’re acting like it was natural until they have the autopsy report,” Charles explained. “Since this obviously involves all of us, Jane and I are trying to find clues and details.”
Charles must not have suspected Owen at all. He revealed more than I would have.
“I wish I’d been paying better attention,” Owen sighed. “We can try to keep our eyes and ears open as well.”
“Anything you remember might help,” I chimed in. “But not just about Armond. Margery's case is likely connected. I suspect maybe she saw or took photos of something she wasn’t supposed to see.”