Elisabeth Crabtree - Pink Flamingo Hotel 01 - Death by Pink Flamingo (10 page)

“Anna,” he said quietly, “there’s pictures on Facebook of you two tussling over a hammer. There’s another one of you lying flat on your back.”

“It was nothing. I think we were both a little nervous about the reopening. Besides, if we did get into a
brawl, don’t you think she would have demanded you arrest me when she called you about those teenagers stealing Felix?”

Ryan laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. She would have.”

“She didn’t leave because of me. I promise you, Ryan,” I said, trying to be as honest as I could.

He blew out a breath in relief.
“Good. I don’t know why you two were worried. The place looks beautiful. Victoria did a great job renovating it. I couldn’t believe it when I walked in here the other day. Were you able to have the entire hotel redone?”

“No, just the first three
floors. The fourth is still closed.”

“What’
s wrong?” he asked with a grin. “You afraid the ghost will get mad if you redecorate his rooms?”

“Don’
t start,” I said with a smirk.

He laughed.
“Trigger’s had a lot of space to roam.”

“Well, he’s going to have to find a new place. If all goes well, I’ll be able to fix that floor up soon enough.”

“I’m going to miss that shag carpeting. I always thought that having a whole floor closed is kind of creepy.” He shuddered for good measure. “What are you waiting for?”

“
I’m waiting to see how it goes before I sink any more money into this place.”

“Smart move.
If you need any help, just let me know. I’m pretty handy with a hammer.”

“Will do.”

He glanced toward the door. “Well, I guess there’s not much more I can do tonight. Please call me if you hear from Sylvia.” He reached into his pocket and brought out a business card and a pen. He flipped it over in his hand and wrote down a number. “This is my home number. If anything happens or if you hear from her, call me, okay?”

“Yeah sure. If I hear from her, you’ll be the first to know.”
Second, of course, would be a psychiatrist or maybe an exorcist.

“Any time of night,
Anna, it doesn’t matter,” he said gently. “If you need me, all you have to do is call and I will rush right over.”

I smiled at his kindness.
Ryan was so sweet. Why hadn’t I ever noticed that before?
The answer came to my mind almost immediately.
Because I had Jesse.
Jesse was my world all through my teens. No other boy but him existed.
I frowned.
Then he left without a word.

Ryan
turned around and I impulsively grabbed his forearm. We stared at each other for a few long seconds as I debated what to do. The need to confide in this man was getting stronger, but still I hesitated, torn between protecting Jesse and protecting myself. The only thing that kept running through my head since Felix showed up on my balcony was that the last time I had seen the flamingo, it had been in Jesse’s hands. He supposedly had gotten rid of it at the old pier, along with Sylvia’s body. “What do you know about Jesse?”

“He has a wicked right hook.”

I looked at him curiously.

He grinned
. “We got into a fight on the playground during seventh grade. He almost took out my front teeth.”

“Why?”

Ryan chuckled. “I don’t remember, just some small slight during a game of touch football. You know how boys are. We shook hands and made up the next day.”

“Do you know why he left?”

“No. I just remember that, one year he was in school, and the next he wasn’t. I figured if anyone knew that you would. Didn’t he tell you why he was leaving?”

I shook my head sadly. “
Not a word.”

“Huh
, that’s strange. You two were so crazy in love. I think everyone was surprised when you guys broke up.”

“We didn’t
, at least not really.
I
went to visit my grandparents one summer and when I came back, he was gone. All his parents would say was that Jesse wasn’t himself, whatever that meant, and when he was ready to talk to me, he would. I found out right before college that he was living with his aunt and uncle in California, but nothing else. Do you think you could ask around? Find out why he left and what he’s been up to.”

Ryan looked uncomfortable. “I would have to have a reason,
Anna. The department doesn’t really like us investigating people without some articulable suspicion that they’ve committed a crime.”

“You’ve got one.
Victoria’s necklace, remember?”

“You think
Jesse may have taken it?”

“No,” I said automatically, “but he was here last night. I’d just like to make certain.”

He grimaced. “Okay, I’ll see what I can find out.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Luke just texted me. Seems like Danielle has flown the coop.”

“What do you mean?”

“She told her neighbor that she wasn’t coming back. I’d better go. Hopefully, we can catch up to her. Who knows, she may lead us to Sylvia.” He started to turn to the doors, but stopped and looked back at me. “Just out of curiosity, what happens to the hotel if Sylvia dies?”

“
Uncle Max left us both a joint tenancy with a right of survivorship interest in the hotel, which is just a fancy way of saying that I automatically get her half if, God forbid, something happens to her.”

“Oh,” he said perplexed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought
…” He frowned. “I heard that Krista … was next in line, I guess you could call it.”

“No,” I said, “Uncle Max and Krista were never really close. There is another beneficiary if Sylvia and I both
die, but it’s not Krista.” I pointed to the brochure rack off to the side. “Actually …” I started to say, but paused when I noticed the expression on his face. He took a step to the side and picked up a brochure from off the rack.

I glan
ced over his shoulder. “The Hatter’s Cove Boardwalk Preservation Society has been passing out those brochures all over town lately. I think it’s wonderful what they’re doing.”

To my
surprise, his face hardened. “Yeah, the Preservation Society,” he said with a touch of bitterness as he put the brochure back.

“What’s wrong?”

He bit his lip. “How much do you know about the Preservation Society, Anna?”

“
It’s a non-profit that was set up to preserve the boardwalk. Why?” I asked, wondering at his sudden change in mood.

“
Non-profit?” he asked with a chuckle. “Do you know who owns the majority shares of the so-called Hatter’s Cove Boardwalk
Preservation
Society?”

I shook my head.

“Gabriel Carrera. He’s been secretly buying all the property around the boardwalk. He plans on tearing everything down and building condominiums.”

“But no
, they’re supposed to help rebuild the boardwalk and preserve what’s left. Some of these buildings are over a hundred years old.” A surge of protective feelings went through me as I looked around at the grand old Pink Flamingo. It would be another six years before she reached a hundred and if I had anything to say about it, she’d be standing another hundred after that.

“
That’s just the bill of goods they sold everyone. If I were you, Anna, I would do whatever you can to keep this hotel. They’ve already acquired the old pier.”

“The old pier?” I asked sharply.
That’s where Jesse buried Sylvia
, I thought, with a sudden sense of panic.

“
They’re planning to start clearing it off in a few days. They’ll be after this place next.” He walked to the revolving doors, only pausing long enough to wave good-bye as he exited the hotel.

“
Well, that’s … just perfect,” I muttered as I returned his wave.

CHAPTER TEN

“That’s right, the old pier,” I hissed into my cell phone as I shut off the engine to my car.

“Well, that’s not good,” Jesse said matter-of-factly.

I got out and slammed the car door shut, eliciting a few looks from a couple enjoying a nightly stroll along the beach. “Ya think?”

“
Anna, just re—”

“Don’t tell me to relax.
” The couple was openly staring now. “What are we going to do?” I asked, lowering my voice to a bare whisper as I hurried toward Victoria’s seaside condominium. “The moment they find Sylvia, we’re done for.”

“Why are you whispering? Where are you?”

“I’m heading to Victoria’s to see if I can find out any more about this preservation society. I’m hoping she will at least know whether her father is really involved with them. If he is, I was thinking she might be able to get him to hold off on clearing up the old pier for a few days. Buy us some more time.”

“Be careful.”

Despite my suspicion of Jessie a few hours ago, a warm feeling began to overtake me at hearing the worry in his voice. “It’s okay. I doubt I’ll be in any danger at Victoria’s.”

“I mean, don’t be obvious. We don’t want to tip anyone off that you know who’s buried there.”

The warm feeling that had been developing evaporated as quickly as it came. “Your concern is touching. If you had done a better job of getting rid of the body, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

“
Okay, I will admit this hasn’t quite turned out the way I planned, but in my defense, I’ve never gotten rid of a body before. I think I did as well as could be expected since I didn’t exactly have much time to prepare. The sun was coming up. There was a boat off in the distance. Not to mention people were beginning to wake up. Fishermen show up at the crack of dawn around here.”

“All right. All right.
” I paused at the entrance to the condo. “What are you going to do tonight?”

“
I’m going to try to track down Danielle again. I’m afraid that the only way we’re going to be able to clear you is to prove who really killed Sylvia. She may be our only hope at this point. When everyone goes to bed and things quiet down around here, I’ll move Sylvia’s body.”

“Do you think Danielle killed
Sylvia?”

“
I’m not sure yet. I think she knows something. She was way too quick to leap to murder as being the reason Sylvia didn’t show this morning.”

“You may be right.
Hopefully, she’ll slip up and say something incriminating.”
Of course, with the way my luck has been going, it would probably incriminate me,
I thought as I swiped the keycard Victoria had given me to her lobby’s front door.

“
The problem is, she lies,” Jesse continued, “about everything. It’s going to be a struggle to figure out when she’s telling the truth.”

I could hear
just a tinge of frustration color his voice. It wasn’t much. Just the tiniest bit and absolutely nothing like the frustration that seemed to inhabit my very being at the moment, but it was comforting to know that the stress was beginning to affect him as well. “That’s not the only problem. There’s also the problem of motive. Why would she kill Sylvia?” I crossed the white and grey marble floors to the elevator and pressed the up button. “She has no motive.”

“Neither does anyone else
, unless you still believe Sylvia stumbled upon a jewel thief in action.” He sighed. “I should probably—”

“
No,” I interrupted, anxious to share my new theory. That theory scared me far more than my cat burglary theory. “Now I’m thinking someone may have killed her to get their hands on the hotel.”

“That makes you the prime suspect, sweetheart,” Jesse said wryly.

“Not necessarily. There is someone else that could benefit from her death.” As I took the elevator to Victoria’s place, I filled Jesse in on what I had learned from Ryan and Luke earlier in the day. “Someone murdered my uncle. They killed him and then they killed Sylvia. I’m the sole owner of the hotel now.” I swallowed hard as the elevator doors opened. “Jesse, what if I’m next?”

Silence greeted me as I walked down the empty corridor. I was about to ask if Jesse was still
there, when he finally spoke.

“
The killer has spent a lot of time trying to implicate you in Sylvia’s murder. I doubt he or she would do that if they just wanted you dead. I’m afraid they may have other plans for you, but I don’t think death is one of them.”

“
That’s comforting,” I said as I stopped in front of Victoria’s door.

“
But just in case … who is your beneficiary?”

“My
parents, but they won’t inherit the hotel. My uncle didn’t leave the hotel to Sylvia and me outright. If something happens to us, the hotel will pass to the next beneficiary.”

“Who
’s that?”

Victoria
’s door suddenly opened.

“
Gabriel Carrera,” I said before shutting off the phone and warmly greeting Mr. Carrera who was standing right in front of me.

* * *

Victoria handed me a teacup and sat down next to me on her sofa. “Well, this is a surprise. I usually don’t get such esteemed visitors this late at night,” she said, glancing at her father and Krista who were standing out on the large terrace overlooking the ocean talking.

I noticed that the two were leaning closely to one another, whispering and stealing covert glances my way every few seconds as Mr. Carrera spoke to someone on his cell phone. “What’s up with them?”

“I haven’t got a clue.” She grimaced. “I’m half afraid he’s asked her to marry him and now they’re trying to break the bad news to me. He insists that there’s nothing between them, but I don’t know whether to believe him. Just look at the way they keep glancing over at me. They’re up to something.”

At you
?
I thought as Gabriel looked directly at me and then leaned over to say something to Krista as he pocketed his cell phone. “You’re paranoid.”
Of course
, I admitted to myself as they spoke to one another,
the same could be said about me. For all we knew, they could be discussing the weather.

“I have good reason to be. I’m convinced they’re together. He’s just afraid to tell me.” She clucked her tongue. “Probably doesn’t want to do it so close to my birthday.”

“Nonsense. He’s never worried about that before. Remember the time he proposed to his lawyer at your sweet sixteen party?”

“
He apologized for that. I’m sure he wouldn’t make that mistake again.” Yawning, she turned away from the window and toward me before tucking her feet underneath her. “I’m so sorry,” she said covering her mouth. “I woke up way too early this morning. I don’t know how Luke does it.” She took another drink before asking, “So, what’s been going on with you? I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Just so you know, I have the bail money all ready to go if you get accused of committing another murder.”

“Thanks, I might need it.”

She lightly slapped my arm. “Don’t be silly. Sylvia will show soon and so will my necklace. I don’t suppose it’s turned up yet?” she asked hopefully.

The terrace door opened before I could answer and Gabriel and Krista walked in. “I don’t know what they hope to find,” Gabriel said in a light tone to Krista as he shut the door. He sat down in the wingback chair in front of me and leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees. “I hear there was some excitement at the hotel today.”

Gabriel sat down in the wingback chair in front of me and leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees. “I hear there was some excitement at the hotel today.”

“Yes, Mr.
Carrera,” I admitted nervously. “I’m so sorry that we’ve lost Victoria’s necklace.”

Gabriel
waved his hand nonchalantly as if losing an exquisite diamond was nothing more than a minor nuisance. “It’s not your fault, Anna. I don’t blame you at all.”

I relaxed in relief. I still felt horri
ble and responsible for the loss. It was my hotel, but still it helped to know that Mr. Carrera didn’t find me at fault. Krista, on the other hand …

“You really should get a better safe,
Anna,” she said with a disapproving look.

“It’s just such a shame what’s been happening at the boardwalk. Thank
goodness, we have the Preservation Society.” I sat back against the sofa cushion, proud of myself for the way I deftly maneuvered the conversation to the Preservation Society.
And Jesse was worried I’d be too obvious.

“Hmm,”
Gabriel said. “Who handles your insurance?”

I
murmured something about Sylvia handling that part of the business before adding, “Hopefully, the society will be able to revitalize the area. I’m quite frightened with the way things are now. I can barely sleep at night.”

Victoria
looked at me curiously, obviously wondering why I was lying to her father. What she didn’t know was that I wasn’t lying. At that moment, I was telling the truth. “Do you happen to know anything about the society?”

Gabriel nodded before completely ignoring my question
. “It’s practically a wasteland next to the hotel. Someone could fall and break their neck.”

“
Not only that, but it’s an eye sore,” Krista said. “It’s about time someone cleans it up.”

“The hotel will do so much better when it’s cleared off and new business
es are up and running,” he said.

“I’m not talking about that
,” I said quickly. It’s funny how a dead body can change everything in a blink of an eye. If he had said the same thing just yesterday, I would have agreed with him wholeheartedly. But now … “That doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I’m afraid that when they start clearing it up, the noise might drive customers away and frankly, after today, I can’t really afford to lose any more guests.”

Gabriel cleared his throat.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that, Anna. I’m sure it won’t make a bit of difference.”

I glanced over at Krista who was
mouthing, “I’d worry,” behind his back.

“Take my word for it,
” Gabriel said, “the customers will come once we have thriving businesses up and down the boardwalk. Right now, people are afraid to move around down there without a tetanus shot.”

“I just think it would be best to leave well enough alone for the next few days, especially around the old pier.”
Smooth, Anna,
I thought to myself in irritation.
Maybe Jesse was right to be concerned.
Undeterred, I tried again. “I don’t suppose you know anyone at the Preservation Society that I could talk to, do you?”

Gabriel
didn’t answer. Instead, he launched into a discussion on marketing and customer relations. Krista helpfully chimed in with her own analysis, which often sounded suspiciously like, “you’re in over your head.” After an hour of that, he segued into a lecture on what I should do with all the money that was sure to be flowing into the hotel as soon as the boardwalk was cleaned up. If I had a decent night’s sleep the night before, wasn’t preoccupied with trying to figure out who killed Sylvia and was trying to frame me, and it was earlier in the day, I would have probably been more interested in what he had to say. As it was, however, I was barely keeping up. My eyes glazed over at the mention of stock reports and corporate holdings.

I was coherent enough to realize that
neither Gabriel nor Krista wanted to talk about the Preservation Society. Anytime I tried to steer the conversation to that particular subject, somehow Krista and Gabriel managed to veer the conversation back to mundane business details. If I was the suspicious type—and as of four thirty this morning, I was—I’d say they were doing it intentionally, because they didn’t want me to know about the society. That or they were trying to put Victoria and me to sleep for some nefarious reason.
It was already working on Victoria
, I thought as I glanced over at my friend who was leaning on the sofa’s armrest, her head propped up by her hand. Eyes closed, mouth open and sound asleep.

Gabriel
obviously didn’t take Victoria’s lack of interest personally. Why should he? Krista was attentive enough for all three of us. She sat on the edge of her seat soaking in every word he said.

“
I should introduce you to my broker,” Gabriel said, “Will Sm—”

Annoyed and becoming somewhat
unhinged, I grabbed at another opportunity to steer the conversation back to the Preservation Society, but this time, I wasn’t going to let the man wiggle his way around answering my questions. I decided that none of us was leaving until I knew all there was to know about the Preservation Society. So, throwing caution to the wind, I slapped my knee and said, “Huh, wills you say. Did you know that if Sylvia and I die, the hotel will pass to the Hatter’s Cove Boardwalk Preservation Society?” I asked, watching the man closely for some reaction. “Do you know anything about that?”