Chapter 19
The following day, we returned to the Grand Lakes Hotel. We met Detective Laurence and a few of her officers in the suite to go over our plan. Detective Laurence frowned. “I don’t know. If we put a civilian in danger, we’ll all lose our jobs.”
“Well, think of it this way. You can’t stop people from doing things without due cause. So don’t consider it putting us in danger so much as being made aware of our intentions. You don’t have to give us permission.” I shrugged and smiled.
“We’ll watch each other’s back,” Charles added. I could sense his apprehension.
Detective Laurence sighed, obviously flabbergasted. “I can’t stop you from going about your lives. But know we can’t promise protection, either. If you don’t listen to reason, your safety is in your own hands.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “But as a heads up, we’re starting now.”
Detective Laurence’s eyes widened. “Now?”
Charles had booked a conference room and serving staff for a lunch party of eight to ten people.
He’d asked Darcy, Owen, Lance, Catalina, Ashley, and a few other people to meet us down in the open conference room for a team meeting, saying that he had some concerns and wanted to get together to discuss a plan of action. Believable—in my opinion.
Charles and I were the first of the party to arrive. Servers busily set up a large round table, arranging place settings and carafes of water. In each carafe, I discreetly added a few drops of the colorless, tasteless dishonesty inhibitor, except for the one directly in front of Charles and me.
“Now we see who bites,” Charles said as he pulled out my chair, then sat beside me.
Lance arrived first, well-groomed and collected in a casual suit and slicked back hair. Despite his physically collected appearance I could sense several emotions in his countenance. He was angry, worried, and a bit sad. “It looks like things are circling the drain, Charles. I’m worried.”
“We’re all worried.” Charles gestured for Lance to take a seat. “I haven’t given up hope to that point, though. This is something we’re going to recover from.”
“I’ve got to hand it to you for your optimism,” Lance said, taking seat and pulling in his chair.
Ashley arrived shortly after Lance, looking somewhat bewildered. I sensed similar emotions to Lance's surrounding her, but her anger was heightened. “Not sure what’s going on,” she huffed and dropped her handbag on the table. “This week has been too much.”
“Agreed, it’s been far too much,” said Charles. “What’s your greatest concern?”
“Armond, Margery, and Kyle are dead. I’m about ready to turn in my resignation. No job is worth this kind of stress.” Ashley sat fidgeting with her necklace.
Charles nodded. “I get it, Ashley. I promise we’re all worried.”
Owen and Catalina entered the room next. Both looked wide-eyed and wary. Owen pulled out a chair for Catalina, then turned to Charles. “Thanks for arranging this, Charles. I guess we’d better figure out what we’re all going to do going forward as a company. Is that why you called us here?”
Owen seemed like the same casual guy as before, but I picked up on a new negative undertone.
He was deeply unhappy. Understandable. I’d long decided against using my fae ability to judge anyone.
Feelings were so abstract and fleeting. Someone might come in feeling guilty because they forgot to unplug their hairdryer, while another person could be peaceful because they think they got away with murder.
Charles nodded politely at Owen. “The police, I believe, are suspecting foul play in all three deaths. So we’re not just looking at a company PR issue.
This is a safety issue for the rest of our staff, and I want to figure out how to protect them.
As senior management, I’m hoping you’ll all help with this. ”
“We’re all trying to save our skins and our jobs,” Lance grumbled.
Owen furrowed his brows and poured himself, Catalina, and Ashley each a glass of water. “How do they know what happened to Kyle?”
Charles looked between both parties. “We don’t officially know, but the concern and evidence are substantial right now.”
Ethan and a few others I didn’t know silently entered the room and sat down.
“Either way,” Ashley grumbled, and fear emanated from her core. “To have coworkers dropping left and right isn’t what any of us signed up for. There are other jobs out there.”
Darcy showed up before anyone responded to Ashley. “Got your message, Charles. What’s going on? Do we have any news?”
Charles cleared his throat, stood, and pulled out a seat next to himself for Darcy.
Then he poured Darcy a glass of water from our shared carafe.
“Well, we’ve uncovered a few things. But I have a lot of unanswered questions, and we need to decide how to protect everyone, and hopefully the company, going forward. ”
“We all have questions, but that doesn’t mean anyone has the answers.” Lance’s eyes were distant, and he looked as though he hadn’t slept well, if at all.
I followed our plan and set my phone to record everyone at the table, but I was careful to make it look like I’d been texting someone and not eavesdropping on the conversation. Though I hated to deface my phone, I’d colored over the red recording light with a black Sharpie.
“Are you sure you want your girlfriend here for this? You know, private company matters?” Owen interjected.
I glanced up as innocently as possible. Though I had no intention of going anywhere, I asked, “I can leave if you’d like?”
Darcy shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me. Charles?”
Charles stiffened, obviously not used to being deceitful. “I’d like her to stay. I don’t know if any of you heard, but the police brought me to the station for questioning yesterday.”
Catalina gasped. “You’re kidding. You’re a suspect?”
“Not exactly. I think we all are. Obviously, I had nothing to do with any of this, but none of us is entirely in the clear. You all realize that, right?” he asked.
Still afraid, Ashley crossed her arms over her chest. “Seriously, not only are we possibly in danger, but now we’re being accused of murder. I’m done.”
Owen stopped her. “Not so fast, Ashley. We’re here to come up with a plan as a company to deal with this. You should at least hear what Charles has to say.”
“Thanks, Owen,” Charles said. “So, first off, we’ll need to examine our public relations and see how much of this has leaked.
With today’s technology, keeping anything private from the world is nearly impossible.
Everything comes out eventually, so being upfront with our investors and having a solid plan to move forward are going to be our best plans of action. ”
“Well, hold on.” Catalina shook her head. It was mainly fear that I picked up from her. “We can’t tell everyone three people in our company were murdered when we don’t know why or how or who did it.”
“That’s something the PR team will decide after you’ve received official police statements and autopsies.” Darcy said matter of factly, and looked at his watch. Though I knew he cared about the situation more than he seemed to.
“We won’t wait too long, though,” Charles added. “And I brought you all here for one more reason. You see, Jane and I actually think we know who the killer is and their motive.”
Stunned faces sat around the table, staring at Charles. He’d pulled off the bluff well.
“Then why don’t you tell us?” Catalina sounded exasperated. Lance nodded in agreement, but said nothing, and a palpable fear radiated from him.
“Give him a minute,” Darcy commanded.
A pair of servers entered the private dining room carrying warm garlic bread, and Charles gave them his attention.
“Can we start you all off with any drinks or appetizers?” one of them politely asked.
“Please,” Charles addressed everyone at the table, “Order whatever you want. It’s on me today.”
After everyone had ordered and the servers had left the room, Lance turned to Charles. “You were going to tell us something very important, Charles. You think you know what happened, and most importantly, who did this?”
“I don’t just have a good guess,” Charles added to his bluff. It had to be good if our plan was to work. “Jane and I actually uncovered evidence pointing us to the killer.”
“What are you talking about?” Owen laughed. “Then why haven’t the police arrested the murderer?”
Darcy furrowed his brow and looked between the two of them.
Charles shrugged and sipped his drink. “These things take time. It could have been anyone in the whole hotel, and they’re being discreet.”
“Well, are you going to tell us?” Owen reclined back in his chair.
“Are you playing games with us?” Lance grumbled, narrowing his eyes. “None of this is very entertaining, Charles.”
“Oh, I promise this is not a game,” Charles shook his head. “I’m only trying to take precautions and be respectful. Jane, would you care to share the photos you took?”
I pulled a file of eight-by-ten photos I’d printed, along with the photos I collected from the hotel manager, and placed it on the table.
“As you know, I’ve been taking photos of everything over the last few days.
You may all remember last night I accompanied Charles to the gala, and I also took a series of photos of him with employees. They turned out very well.”
“You were investigating. That’s no secret.” Ashley rolled her eyes, and her anger flared.
“Fair enough.” I placed a photo of the eighteenth floor on the table.
“Someone at this table booked the third penthouse suite and stole a keycard to access the eighteenth floor on Thursday afternoon. You see these double doors on the right side of the hallway? Each suite has a set the housekeepers use to access the upper floors.”
Silence fell around the table. It seemed everyone had at least a sip of water, so any lies should be inhibited.
“But who, and why?” Charles helped me along with the narrative. He stood next to me as I placed a series of photos on the table.
“You’re getting to that. Right, Jane?” Darcy asked.