A Sprinkle of Tropical Trouble: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 9) (5 page)

My face fell. Stormi!!

“What sobbing incident?” Greg asked.

Stormi looked like a herd of deer in headlights. She motioned towards her lips, like she couldn’t talk because her mouth was full. She was trying to stall for time so she could think. Stormi took a long drink of water and then said, “Tara and I saw him sobbing after it happened. We didn’t know why he was crying, but it makes sense now.”

Greg looked at her quizzically. I don’t think he was buying it, but he wasn’t going to prod or embarrass her in public. I knew she’d cave later on, and it was only right. They shouldn’t have any secrets between them…which meant I had to confess to Brandon as well. Only later.

We headed back to the resort after lunch. What we didn’t expect was the place was in complete chaos. Police were everywhere and Hammond was in handcuffs being ushered into a police car!

Chapter Nine

Hammond was sobbing again. He looked pathetic as officers led him to the police car in handcuffs. We were shocked…what was going on. Greg walked over to one of the police officers who he’d spoken to the day the couple was found floating in the pool. He talked to him for a few minutes while the rest of us watched as Hammond was taken off in the squad car.

When Greg returned he said, “The police went back to Andre and Yvette’s room and discovered fingerprints they hadn’t found before.”

Stormi and I looked at one another, the color draining from our faces.

“Seems they found Hammond’s fingerprints in different areas of the room so they’ve arrested him on suspicion of murder.”

“But just because he was in the room doesn’t mean he’s guilty of murder,” Paige said as she side eyed Stormi and me.

“True,” Greg answered. “But the police may have more evidence. Obviously they now have evidence it was a murder and not an accident. I’m sure they aren’t going to tell me everything they have.”

“I just don’t think he did it,” I blurted out. Everyone looked at me. “What would be his motive? He cared about them. I know, it was a strange obsession, but why kill the very people that made him happy? Maybe there’s someone else lurking around this huge resort that might actually have a motive to murder them.”

“She has a point,” Bruce agreed. “Not that I don’t think Hammond is one joker short of a full deck, but I can’t see him harming them. However, the husband and wife of Andre and Yvette…it sounds like they had a motive. Even the director might have wanted revenge, although killing the couple seems extreme.”

“He seemed a little unglued in that television interview,” Paige reflected.

“Greg, do you think you could ask the resort to let you look at the guest list for the hotel?” Stormi asked. “Being that you are a police officer and all.”

“I could try.”

We followed Greg to the lobby. As we watched, the hotel manager talked with Greg, looked at his badge, and then handed him a Xeroxed copy of the guest list. We studied the list, hoping to find a familiar name. Unfortunately, nothing matched Brady Morris, Scott Davidson, or Alaina Salazar.

“They’re not going to use their real names,” Paige stated. “Are there any names that look familiar to those?”

I pointed to one of the names. Mo Brady. “Now that’s awfully familiar to Brady Morris don’t you think?”

“Yes,” Greg agreed. “But it could also be someone legitimate. Or it could be a person trying to toss suspicion in his direction. It’s hard to know.”

“Why don’t we just go up and knock on that person’s door and see if it’s this Brady person or the director, Scott Davidson?” I asked, ready to zoom up to the room and see if we could find a killer. However, Greg was having none of it.

“No, we can’t intrude on an active investigation. I wouldn’t want civilians encroaching on one of my cases and I’m sure the police here don’t either. Besides, it could be dangerous. You’re talking about a killer or killers here.”

I knew what Greg said was true, but I felt bad for Hammond. What if the police didn’t look for any other suspects? They probably wouldn’t now that they had one in custody. Stormi, Paige and I knew why Hammond’s prints were in their room. We’d seen him in there, sobbing his eyes out over Andre and Yvette’s death. There was nothing sinister about his presence in their room. Odd yes, but his prints being there didn’t mean he killed them. Heck, Stormi and I were in the room too. Which means we’d likely have to come forward to the police about our little jaunt into the couple’s room. Drat!

The guys decided to take a rest after the zip line adventure, so I grabbed Paige and Stormi and we settled into three of the Adirondack chairs.

I leaned back in my chair dejected. “I hate this. Something is fishy and I’m afraid Hammond is going to go to jail for a crime he didn’t commit.”

“I agree,” Stormi said as she looked out over the ocean and the crashing waves. “This doesn’t feel right to me either.”

“Are we planning another breaking and entering?” Paige asked sarcastically.

Neither Stormi or I answered.

Paige blanched. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Didn’t you girls learn your lesson the last time?”

Stormi scrunched her nose. “Weeeelll, we didn’t get caught.”

Paige couldn’t believe it. “Not yet!”

I leaned forward in my chair. “All I want to do is knock on the guy’s door. I’ve seen a photo of Yvette’s husband and that director. This way we can see if one of them is on the resort grounds.”

Stormi got a twinkle in her eye. “I’ll do you one better. This place is huge. We can go to housekeeping, say we’re new hires, and get a couple of uniforms. Then we can go to the room and tell him we’ve been sent to inspect for water leakage because the unit below him is complaining about a leaky ceiling.”

Paige rolled her eyes. “And what pray tell are you looking for once you get in his room? A diary that confesses to two murders?”

Stormi was deep in thought. “I’m not sure what to look for. I’m just winging it.”

“Apparently,” Paige grumped. “Listen girls, I know you want to help Hammond, but don’t get yourselves in trouble or hurt in the process. Besides, you don’t know for sure that Hammond isn’t guilty. You’ve known him for 2 seconds. That isn’t enough time to identify if he’s capable of killing two people.”

I know Paige was being logical…I could always count on her for that. But my gut was telling me something wasn‘t right.

“I don’t think it’s going to hurt anything if we ask to inspect his room.” Stormi was determined and Paige knew there was no stopping her when she got that look in her eye.

“You do realize you’re married to a police officer, right?” Paige asked.

Stormi nodded distractedly.

Paige sighed. “There’s no way I’m letting you girls go about this on your own.”

We looked at Paige excitedly.

“Don’t get your dander up,” Paige said holding her hand up. “I’m not playing dress up, but I will be the lookout. If I notice anything hinky going on, I’m pulling you two out. Wait a minute…what if you do find something? We can’t use it against them. How are we going to tell the police we got the incriminating information?”

“We’ll figure that out later,” Stormi replied. “First let’s find something.”

Chapter Ten

Stormi and I grabbed a couple of maintenance uniforms from the downstairs laundry. Of course, they didn’t really fit, but they’d have to make due. I could tell Paige was nervous by her wringing hands. I felt that surge of excitement in my tummy. I was becoming use to this espionage stuff. That may not be a good thing.

“Okay, let’s get this plan laid out,” Paige instructed. “You’re telling whoever is in there that you need to inspect the bathroom for any leaks. Problem is, I doubt you’re going to find any incriminating evidence in the bathroom.”

“Should we tell him to leave?” Stormi asked.

“I guess you could, although that may seem odd to him,” Paige said. “But then again maybe not.” Paige threw up her hands. “Let’s get this over with before I bail.”

We hurried up to the room that corresponded to the one with the Mo Brady name. Paige remained down the hall as a lookout.

Stormi and I let out a long breath, and I knocked on the door. A burly voice yelled, “Go away!”

We looked at one another, and then I said, “Sir, this is hotel maintenance and we’ve been instructed to inspect your bathroom. The room below your’s is complaining of leaks.”

All of a sudden, the door flew open. And there he stood. Mr. Brady Morris! I knew it! That name on the registration, Mo Brady, was a clever (or not so clever) ploy.

“Alright…come in. But hurry it up.” Brady Morris was older than Andre. Deep creases around his eyes and on his forehead belied an advanced age. His auburn hair was askew and his eyes appeared crazed, as if he was on some kind of drug. I looked into the room where clothes, papers and shoes were strewn all over.

We entered the room and I turned to Mr. Brady. “We may be a while searching for the leak if you’d like to go down to the lobby and partake of the complimentary coffee or tea.”

Brady harrumphed. “I suppose.” He grabbed the hotel key card and marched out the door.

Stormi and I both let out a sigh of relief.

“Okay, that was bizarre,” Stormi said. “Let’s get to searching before Grizzly gets back.”

Since many of the papers were on the floor, we picked them up to look at first. Neither one of us could find anything of importance. Most of the papers were copies of newspaper articles about Yvette and Andre and their drowning. What in the world was he doing with these plastered all over his room?

“Go ahead and look in the bathroom,” I said to Stormi. “There might be something in there.”

“Okay.” Stormi headed inside the large bathroom and I looked through the papers on the hotel desk. I didn’t see anything of importance so I pulled open the desk drawer. The papers inside appeared professional complete with notary stamps. I pulled them out and sat them on top of the desk. It was Yvette’s will! Good grief…what was he doing with her will at the hotel? I sifted through the papers and then came upon a life insurance policy worth two million dollars! I was about to say something to Stormi when the hotel door flew open.

“Aha,” Brady yelled as he pushed the door closed. “I thought there was something funny going on! Where’s that other girl?”

He looked crazier than before, if that’s possible. “She’s gone,” I squeaked, backing away from the man as he started towards me menacingly.

“Who are you?” He yelled. “Are you a reporter?”

“No,” I said, walking around the bed trying not to trip over the clothes scattered everywhere. “I’m just a maintenance person for the resort.”

“I’m not stupid.” Brady spit out his words as he looked at the papers on the desk. “So you found the will and life insurance policy. What do you think that means?”

I shook my head. I didn’t know what to say.

“You know who I am don’t you?”

I nodded. No sense in denying it now.

“That’s no surprise. My face has been splattered all over the news with the deaths of my wife and her lover.”

His face became red with anger and his eyes held a faraway look. “That bitch. I hated her so much for the humiliation she put me through. I was the laughing stock of Australia. It felt so good to let her watch her lover drown.”

“But how did she do that?” I was stalling for time, hoping Paige was getting someone, anyone. “I thought it was an accident and they died together, like some romantic tragedy.”

Brady’s eyes blazed. “You’ve got to be kidding right? There was nothing romantic about their sordid little tryst…nothing but lust between those two, and sorrow for the husband and wife left behind.”

Brady sat down on the edge of the bed. It seemed he wanted to get this off his chest, but he was also reveling in his remembrance of that fateful night.

“I followed them that night. I was in disguise so they or anyone else wouldn’t recognize me. They’d dressed up for some formal night at one of the resort restaurants. I waited for them to leave the restaurant, and they were one of the last couples to leave. I was going to kill them in their hotel room, but it was late and the resort grounds were virtually empty. They stopped by the pool and kissed in the moonlight. My anger exploded watching them. I couldn’t wait any longer. I reached for the piece of steel pipe I had secured in my back pocket underneath my jacket. I raced over to Andre and hit him on the back of the head. He fell face first into the pool. Yvette tried to race in after him, but I held her just out of his reach. I let her watch him die, and then I pushed her head under the water.”

I was aghast. Here he was talking as if he was discussing some movie playing in his head. Unfortunately, I knew all too well it was true. The drops of blood found near the pool must have been from when Brady hit Andre with the steel pipe. Brady sat looking into space as he had done during his entire confession. Now he turned his head slowly towards me.

“That felt good. It’s hard to hold something in like that. Thank you for letting me get it out of my system.”

“You’re welcome?” Egads! Paige was right. We were way over our heads here. And speaking of Paige…where was the Calvary?

“Unfortunately I can’t let you leave this hotel room alive. No, can’t have that.” He looked around the room. “Can’t use my steel pipe again as that would be too messy.” He stood up, walked over to the phone on the desk, and yanked off the cord. He looked at me and said, “Strangulation will have to do.”

He started towards me and I opened my mouth to scream when I heard an ear-splitting screech. Suddenly, Brady fell to the floor with the cord still in his hands. I looked up from peering down at Brady and there stood Stormi with the steel pipe in her hand. She put a foot on Brady’s back and held the pipe above her head ready to swing again if need be.

Just when I was about to catch my breath, the hotel door burst open. Greg was in the lead with his gun drawn along with two other police officers! I could see the faces of Paige, Bruce and Brandon in the hallway. Oh crap!