Elisabeth Crabtree - Pink Flamingo Hotel 01 - Death by Pink Flamingo (3 page)

“Yes, but it’s broken.
It would cost more to repair it than to fix it.”

She angrily swiped a strand of red hair out of her face. “But he gave it to you.”

“And I gave him a set of golf clubs that he put on eBay the day after Christmas. You didn’t see me freaking out about it.”
Why would I?
I thought in annoyance.
Returning gifts has been a Hart family tradition for decades. Uncle Max was practically a master at it. Sylvia knew that.
“You helped him ship it off, remember?”

She sniffed.
“That’s completely different.”

“How?”

“Because you’re not dead.”

“Well, you’ve got me there.”
I glanced over to the side, surprised to find our new gardener standing near Olivia Benson, our eighteen year old afternoon desk clerk and occasional housekeeper. They stood with their backs away from us cutting up fruit. Well, she was cutting up fruit. He apparently was supervising.

“
You’re cutting them too big. People might choke.” Blake took the knife out of her hands. “Here let me show you.”

“It’s not too big
,” Olivia said with a giggle. When she noticed me standing by, she shyly turned around and took a step away from Blake.

Sylvia
sucked in her breath and with her customary tact, yelled, “What are you doing in here bothering the staff?”

Blake looked confused fo
r a second. “I, uh, I thought I was a part of the staff?”

Sylvia
narrowed her eyes, and strode up to the man. “I think we can handle this.”

He
slapped the knife hilt in her hands. “Okay.” He walked over to the refrigerator. “You got anything to drink in here?”

Thinking
Sylvia’s temper was about to blow at any minute, I instinctively backed away from our new gardener, but to my surprise, Sylvia returned to the fruit tray and began stacking the pieces into little pyramids while Blake bent over and rummaged through the refrigerator.

“He didn’t like how things were being run
,” Sylvia said with a sniff.

“Who
?” I asked as I swung my attention from Blake back to Sylvia.

“The gardener. He didn’t like how things were being run
here, so he quit.” Sylvia turned back around and crossed her arms. “Can’t say as I blame him.”

I caught
Olivia’s eyes over Sylvia’s shoulder. Gesturing toward Sylvia, the eighteen year old made an angry face as she folded her hands and mimicked two people bickering with each other. I hid a smile as Olivia quickly wiped the expression off her face and dropped her hands when Sylvia glanced over her shoulder.

“
Sylvia, we have to get along. Whether you like it or not—”

“Well, I don’t like.
” Sylvia lifted her hand and pointed her finger in my face as her eyes began to water. “You may have everyone else fooled, but you’re not going to fool me, missy. I know what you did.”

I took a step back in surprise at the vehemence in her voice.
Sylvia had never been the most pleasant person to work with but she had never been outright hostile. Before I could ask what in the world she was talking about, Blake hopped up onto the counter, effectively turning Sylvia’s ire away from me and toward him. “What do you think you are doing? That’s a kitchen countertop, not a chair.”

He held up his hands as he slid off the counter. “
Okay, okay, I’m sorry, take it easy.”

Sylvia
’s eyes widened. Her mouth opened and closed reflexively as she fought to control her anger. “Don’t tell me to take it easy. Get out of here.”

“Wait,” he said
still holding up his hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm.”

“You’re fired
,” she said, pointing to the back door. “So, get out.”

“
Sylvia, calm down,” I said.
Oops, wrong thing to say
, I thought as her face turned purple with rage.

She took a deep breath.
“No, ma’am. I get a say in who’s hired and who’s fired and he’s fired.” She turned back to Blake. “I only hired you as a favor to your uncle and because I was desperate to hire someone, but I’ll take care of the grounds myself.” Sylvia opened the back door. “Go. Now.”

“
You know what, fine.” Blake reached a hand behind his neck and pulled off the pink hotel shirt. “I didn’t do anything wrong and you don’t have to fire me, because I quit!” He threw the shirt on the floor and stormed out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Olivia
blew out her breath. “Wow.” She held a hand to her heart and leaned over and whispered to me, “That was scary.”

I nodded in agreement. “Very scary.”

Sylvia shaking in rage and completely oblivious to the fact that we were referring to her temper, ran her hands through her hair. She glanced over at Olivia. “I’m sorry he frightened you, but he’s gone now. So, there’s nothing to worry about.” She cast her eyes to the ceiling. “And don’t you worry about room 303, either. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”

“Yes, Mrs.
Sutton,” Olivia said automatically.

Still shaking, Sylvia continued,
“Why don’t you call the chef and find out when he plans on arriving. He should have been here an hour ago. And tell those musicians we hired to use the back door. They’re out there by the beach walking around and I don’t want sand tracked onto those ugly rugs out there.”

Olivia
automatically reached for the phone. “Yes, ma’am.”

“What’s wrong with room
303?” I asked Olivia as soon as Sylvia had left.

Olivia
hesitated as she dialed. “Oh, we have a bit of a mold problem and one of the pipes is leaking or something.” She turned away and spoke into the phone. “Hello? Hi, this is Olivia. Sylvia asked … yes, I know, but you know how she is.”

“Mold?” I
wearily leaned against the counter.
“That’s just wonderful.”

The kitchen door swung in.
Victoria poked her head around the door. “There you are.” She held out her hand. “Come on. It’s almost time for my party. The guests will be arriving at any moment. I’ll help you pick out something to wear.”

I smi
led at my friend. “Thank you, but I’m perfectly capable of dressing myself, I’ve been doing it for quite some time now. I don’t need your help.”

Victoria
gave me a pitying look. “Oh, sweetie, of course you do.”

CHAPTER THREE

“The love of your life is staring at you,” Victoria whispered into my ear.

My eyes focused in on a darken corner of the room and on the man standing with his back against the wall.
Jesse’s head was pitched forward at an angle as he examined the tip of his shoe.

One corner of my
mouth quirked up. “Love of my life?” I asked, wondering how in the world the man who walked out of my life without so much as a “catch you later, babe,” could possibly qualify for such a label.

“Hey, I think it’s weird
myself, but you’re the one who’s still in love with him.” With an amused glint in her eyes, Victoria leaned forward. “You had no problem picking up who I was referring to out of a room full of ex-boyfriends.”

“That’s only because I know how your mind works.”
I looked at her out of the side of my eye. “Room full of exes? There’s only two here. Simon and Jesse.” And out of the two, Jesse was the one that had my attention tonight. I glanced back at the man in question. He had finally stopped examining his shoe and was now staring out at the dancers. A small scowl marred his handsome features.

“Well, you’re the one who invited him.”

I tore my attention away from Jesse and back to Victoria. “I didn’t invite him. I figured you did.”

Victoria
looked surprised. Her eyes lit up. “He’s crashing my party! I’ve always wanted to have a party someone would crash. They’ve always been so dull and boring before.” She made a face. “You know how Dad likes to turn my events into business opportunities. You remember my fifteenth birthday?”

“
How could I forget?” Instead of the band Victoria wanted, we were treated to a sales pitch for a new type of speedboat that Gabriel Carrera was thinking of purchasing for himself.

I uncrossed my legs and pushed myself away from the table
, wincing slightly at the sudden pain that radiated through my foot.
I knew I should have said no to that last dance with Simon
, I thought as I pushed aside the pain and began to rise. “Do you want me to ask Jesse to leave?”

Victoria
reached out and pulled me back down. “Wow, you are just so anxious to get over there to talk to him, aren’t you?”

“
Nonsense, I just don’t want your party to be ruined.”

“Then why did you invite Krista?”
She flung her hand out, gesturing to the statuesque blonde standing a few feet behind Mr. Carrera.

“Well, one she’s my cousin
, and two, she’s your father’s personal secretary.”

Victoria
snorted. “Personal secretary today. My stepmother tomorrow. That’ll be fun. Luckily, I’m too old for her to ship me off to boarding school.”

I
looked at my friend in sympathy. Victoria had a rather difficult relationship with my cousin Krista who was a couple of years older than both of us were. Krista and I had never been close, but we were family and had spent a great deal of time in each other’s company growing up. She was my parents’ go-to babysitter when we were pre-teens and later, when she got her license, she was our chauffeur. She had been cool about it. She never complained. In fact, she never said much of anything.

Victoria
, a naturally out-going and friendly person, had tried her best to bring Krista out of her shell and there was one year in high school, when it seemed like Krista’s attitude, which had always been very cool, especially to Victoria, went into a deep thaw. She began to seek out our company and appeared to be trying to become Victoria’s friend. However, whatever friendship developed, grew strained when we discovered that Krista had been using Victoria to get close to Mr. Carrera.

It had
started innocently enough, Krista told me. Just a simple crush. I thought it would go away when Krista left for college, but the crush grew into love, the unrequited kind, during college and then blossomed into a full blown obsession after graduation. She moved from intern in Gabriel’s company to his personal secretary in just a few years, making enemies of anyone within Gabriel’s sphere, including his daughter. Much to Victoria’s chagrin, Krista was now an established feature in Gabriel’s life.

I waved my hand at party decorations
. “Who do you think helped throw this little shindig together?”

“I thought my father helped you.”

“He did help. He provided the money and his personal secretary.” I patted her hand. “Happy Birthday, Victoria.”

“Thank
s,” she said dryly as she looked around at the packed room. “Speaking of business opportunities, how is ours going? Has anyone mentioned the renovation, yet?”

“
They absolutely love it. I even have a few reservations for the weekend and I’ve made sure to mention your name anytime someone says how pretty everything looks. Everyone’s raving about it.” I glanced over at Beatrix Allen, reporter for the
Hatter’s Cove Gazette
, who was wandering around. I had personally invited a few local reporters from town to get a sneak peak at the new Pink Flamingo Hotel. Victoria and I figured it would be a good idea to get as much press coverage as possible before the big opening. Her, for her interior design, and me for the hotel. “Have you spoken to Beatrix, yet? What does she think about the change?”

“
Uh, I didn’t have time.”

I
glanced over at her in surprise. After Victoria dragged me to my quarters upstairs and insisted I get ready, she supposedly was down here greeting her guests, corralling the reporters and showing off the newly redecorated lobby. “What have you been doing?”

Victoria
grinned as she tapped her fingers against the table in beat to the music. “Okay, while you were getting ready, I did a little investigating. Mr. Drop Dead Gorgeous moved here four months ago. He’s living in a small apartment on Bower’s Lane. He’s not married. He was shot about six months ago in a—”

My mouth dropped open
. “Jesse was shot?”

Victoria
made a face. “I feel like I’m back in seventh grade again. Would you take your mind off of Jesse Maddox for a few seconds? I was talking about the new detective, Luke Casey.”

“I’m surprised he’s not here,
right now. What’s the matter, Victoria, losing your touch?”

“He said he had a prior commitment. I’m sure
whatever he’s doing is extremely important.” Victoria twirled the ice in her glass and grimaced. “It’s a shame. I was hoping there would be some excitement tonight.”

“You may get your wish,” I said as
Jesse’s scowl turned into a hateful sneer. I followed his gaze toward the bar where Danielle, clearly vying for that employee of the year award with a vengeance, was writhing against Gabriel Carrera in a sad imitation of a dance. Victoria’s father looked around uncomfortably, as Danielle sashayed in a circle around him.

Victoria
must have noticed as well. Clutching my arm, she let out a little gasp that sounded like air leaving a balloon. “Isn’t that Danielle?”

Still unable to make a sound, I just simply
nodded my head. It was like trying to turn away from an oncoming train wreck. I was too horrified to watch, but too stunned to look away.

Leaning back as far as possible,
Gabriel looked down at the young woman with a mixture of pity and distaste. Danielle didn’t seem to notice as she wrapped her arms around the older man’s waist and clung to his chest.

I stood up
, grimacing at the dull pain radiating from my left foot.

“What’s wrong?”
Victoria asked when she noticed the expression on my face.

“I hurt my foot dancing.”

Victoria’s face winced in sympathy. “Shoes too tight?”

“No, I was dancing with Simon.”

Victoria, well acquainted with Simon and questionable dancing skills, nodded in understanding before turning her attention back to her father and Danielle. She cocked her head to the side. “Is that dirty dancing? How is she getting her leg up that high?”

Grimacing
more from embarrassment than actual physical pain this time, I said, “I guess it’s about time to put a stop to this before she pulls something—”

“Too late.
Looks like Krista is going to handle it for you,” Victoria said in amusement as she propped her elbows on the table.

I swung my gaze back to the bar.
Krista stood a few feet behind Danielle, glaring at the back of Danielle’s bleach blonde head. Danielle, apparently sensing that trouble was only a few feet away, suddenly turned around in Gabriel’s arms, and faced Krista. She tilted her chin up in defiance, as she reached up and clasped her hand to the back of Gabriel’s head. Before he could react, she whirled around and pulled him into a kiss as she ran her hands through his dark hair.

I sank down into my seat
and watched as Krista strode up to the couple. She leaned forward and whispered something in Danielle’s ear.

Danielle’s eyes widened. She brought her hand to her mouth as though she was trying to contain her laughter
, but I noticed that she quickly backed away from Gabriel. At a safe enough distance, she blew a kiss and sauntered off toward the lobby.

I glanced back at
Jesse, wondering what his reaction was to Danielle’s little scene. I wasn’t quite sure what their relationship was to one another, but from what I saw this afternoon, and after watching him tonight, it was clear that Danielle had his attention.

He stood against the wall, his arms crossed, glaring at my employee as she practically skipped out of the room. When Danielle disappeared from his view, he turned suddenly
and looked straight at me. Catching my gaze, he raised his eyebrows with a smirk.

“That was disappointing,”
Victoria said. “I expected more fireworks. I wonder what Krista said to her.”

“I’m betting nothing good,” I said in a whisper as
Gabriel with his ever present shadow, Krista, crossed the room to join us at our table.

He
laid his hand on his daughter’s shoulder before leaning down and kissing her on the cheek. “Having a good time, sweetheart?”

“A blast
.” Victoria took her father’s hand and squeezed it gently. “What about you? I noticed you and Danielle seemed rather friendly.”

Gabriel
blushed and cleared his throat as he nervously played with the band of his platinum watch. “Well, she’s a very friendly girl.”

Victoria
lifted an eyebrow. “Hmm. Very friendly. Just how long have you two known each other?”

Quickly changing the subject,
Gabriel looked over at me and said, “You know, you can sell this place anytime. Live off the proceeds.”

“Dad,”
Victoria said with a long-suffering sigh.

Krista
flipped her dyed strawberry blonde hair—Gabriel’s preference if his last two ex-wives were anything to go by—over her shoulder. “We would need to talk to Sylvia too. See if she’s interested in selling.”

“
She’s not,” I said confidently. “She’d never let this property pass out of her hands.”

“N
ever say never,” Gabriel said with the confidence of a man used to getting his way. “I’m sure if I could speak to you and Sylvia, I could make you both a rather generous offer.”

“Save your breath,”
Sylvia said from somewhere behind Gabriel.

Gabriel
moved to the side. Sylvia stood just a few feet away, her hands balled on her hips. Her lips practically disappeared as she pressed them into a tight line as she glared down at me. “I will never sell my portion. Never. So, you just get that out of your mind, Anna.”

“It wasn’t my idea,
Sylvia,” I protested.

Gabriel
immediately leapt to my defense. He lifted a hand to his chest. “No, not at all. It was all my idea. I just thought we could all have a little chat.” When Sylvia’s mouth lifted in a sneer, he looked at her in confusion. “I think there must be some misunderstanding.”

“No, there hasn’t been a misunderstanding
, not at all. Everything’s quite clear,” she said meaningfully as she stared down at me. “I see everything now.
Everything.
”

“Are you sure?” I asked with trepidation.

She nodded and mouthed the word
everything
silently at me again.

“Oh good,” I said with a sigh
, wondering what she could possibly be thinking.

Ever the diplomat,
Gabriel pulled out a chair and smiled charmingly at the angry lady before him. “Please have a seat, Sylvia. Let’s get to know one another.”

“No thank you, Mr.
Carrera,” she said with all the primness of a schoolmarm.

Clearly not used to outright hostility,
Gabriel Carrera’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Is there something wrong?”