Elisabeth Crabtree - Pink Flamingo Hotel 01 - Death by Pink Flamingo (4 page)

Still staring directly at me,
Sylvia’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t particularly like being in the company of murderers, liars, cheats and thieves. Excuse me,” she said, striding out of the room.

I leaned back in my chair
as the others looked at each other in confusion, probably wondering which label applied to whom.

“Strange woman,”
Gabriel said with a shake of his head. He glanced at Krista. “Why don’t you work your magic and see if you can schedule an appointment with her?”

Victoria
reached out and took her father’s hand. “Dad, leave Anna and Sylvia alone. You know neither one of them wants to sell anyway.”

He
looked down at his daughter affectionately. “Sweetheart, it’s obvious to everyone that neither one of them can work together. I heard there was an incident over an iron flamingo earlier today.”

My mouth dropped open
. “How did you hear about that?”

“Facebook,” he
admitted matter-of-factly. “Krista posted a picture of you and Sylvia tussling over a hammer. It looked like she knocked you down.”

“I tripped.” I turned to Krista. “I didn’t see you here today.
Where did you get that picture?”

“A friend of a friend posted it.
People are taking bets on which one of you will kill the other first.” Krista pointed to Beatrix in the center of the room. “I think the reporter you invited is planning on writing a gossip column. She was asking me a lot of questions about you and Sylvia. Mostly about whether you two hate each other as much as the rumors around town say.”

I groaned.

Gabriel
ran a hand through his dark hair, carefully patting it back into place. “The hotel hasn’t even opened yet and there’s already tension. It’s best to sell.”

I shook my head. “I couldn’t, even if I wanted to, Mr. Carrera. Unfortunately, we both have an equal interest in this hotel. We’re stuck with one another. According to the will I can’t even sell my interest.” I threw up my hands in irritation. “Have you heard of the Hatter’s Cove Boardwalk Preservation Society? Uncle Max left them—”

Gabriel shook his head as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Why don’t you think about it and give me a call …” he began, as he handed me a business card.

Snapping the card out of his hand,
Victoria said, “Dad, you know you don’t want to own a hotel. You’ve always told me that condominiums were where the money was. Speaking of such, I want you to come by my place tonight.”

“He can’t.” Krista turned to look at
Gabriel. “You have that meeting …”

Victoria
pursed her lips. “It’s almost eleven o’clock.”

Gabriel
patted his daughter’s shoulder. “I’m meeting with a developer before he flies out in the morning.” He glanced down at his watch. “Speaking of which, I better take off.” He leaned down and gave his daughter another light kiss before reaching down and gently tapping his finger against the exquisite pink diamond necklace around her neck. “Happy birthday, darling. Don’t stay up too late.” He placed his hand on the small of Krista’s back and ushered her out into the lobby, pausing every few seconds to shake someone’s hand.

As soon as her father was gone, Victoria gestured toward Jesse. “I have a great idea. Why don’t we invite Jesse over and find out what he’s been doing since we last saw him?”

I glanced over at
Jesse. Danielle was back. They stood close to one another, whispering. She crossed her arms and looked away from him as he leaned close to her ear. Whatever he said caused her to whip her head around and look at him in shock. Her face flushed an ugly scarlet. Puckering her lips, she slammed her elbow into his stomach before stalking away and heading to the lobby as he doubled over. I pushed myself away from the table with a sigh.

“Where are you going?”
Victoria asked.

“I think it’s time to have a talk with my employee.”

* * *

I opened the door to the ladies room and looked in. Danielle stood at the vanity
mirror, fluffing up her hair. “Danielle, we need to discuss what happened out there.”

“I
don’t think so,” Danielle said coldly as she reached into her pocket and brought out a compact. She gently pressed the powder puff to her nose. “It’s really none of your business.”

“
Excuse me? Anything that happens in this hotel with my employees is my business.”

Danielle’s compact snapped shut.
She glared at my reflection in the mirror. “You’re just jealous. I know all about you and Jesse. He told me everything. It’s over between you two, so why won’t you accept that?”

“I’m well aware of that fact, especially since I haven’t spoken to the man in years.”

Her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Yeah, right.”

I crossed my arms and took a deep breath. “
This has nothing to do with Jesse. It’s about your behavior out there—”

“Spare me the lecture.
I already know what you’re going to say.” She dropped her compact into her pocket. “You can’t fire me.”

“I beg to differ.”

Danielle turned suddenly and looked me up and down. Her sharp features drew into a petulant frown. “If you fire me, I’ll go to the police.”

I
felt my eyebrows rise up to my hairline. I let out a little laugh. “It’s not a criminal offense to fire someone.”

“Oh, no
, I wouldn’t go to them about that.” Danielle giggled as she pushed past me and swung open the ladies room door. “Besides, you can’t fire me, because I was hired by Sylvia and she wants me here.”

I was about to follow when the stall door next to me swung open and Beatrix Allen stuck her head out. She
glanced from me to the door and back again as a wolfish grin lit up her face. “Hello Anna, I’ve been wanting to interview you all night.”

CHAPTER
FOUR

“There you are,”
Victoria said as she dashed up the stairs. She took one look at me and rushed toward me excitedly. “Where have you been?”

“Talking to Beatrix
.” I leaned over the second floor railing, and looked down at Beatrix and Danielle. They stood near the door to the dining room, their heads bent together as they spoke to one another.

“I’m surprised she tore herself away from Jesse.”

I raised my eyebrow. “I didn’t know they knew each other.”

“They didn’t but I was there when she found out that the son of the Honorable Mitchell Maddox and State Senator Sofia Maddox was in attendance. Her eyes literally bugged out of her head. I have a feeling his name’s going to appear in the
Gazette’s
society column tomorrow morning. I can see the headline now, ‘The Wayward and Rebellious Son of Two of Hatter’s Cove’s Most Prominent and Wealthiest Citizens has Returned to Hatter’s Cove.”

“Well,
hopefully the
Gazette
will run out of ink on that story before she can publish the article she’s going to write about me. I spent thirty minutes with her in the sunroom giving her an interview.”

“
Oh,” Victoria said, “don’t be silly. I bet she’ll have wonderful things to say about the hotel.”

“Oh, I’m sure.”

“Didn’t the interview go well?”

“
Depends on who you ask. I would say it went well for her.”

Victoria
tilted her head to the side. “Oh, I can’t wait to read her article. How bad did it go?”

Not wanting to ruin her party, I shook my head and pointed to the black velvet purse in her hands. “Leaving so soon?”

“Sorry. Have you taken a look outside? The weather’s taken a turn for the worse.” She glanced up as a clap of thunder reverberated through the hotel. “Besides, I plan on getting up at seven o’clock and going jogging at Finley’s Park.”

I chuckled.
“Since when do you jog that early in the morning? Since when do you jog at all?”

“Since I found out that
Detective Casey jogs there every morning.”

I was just about to
respond, when I heard Danielle call out Sylvia’s name. I looked down. Now, all three of them were huddled together. Danielle looked up suddenly. She pointed at me before making stabbing motions with her finger.

“Wh
at are they doing?” Victoria asked.

“It’s the first meeting of the
Anna Hart fan club. They’re probably working on hand signals.”

The elevator behind us dinged and opened. Olivia was inside. She stepped out and quickly slid over to the corner behind a potted palm tree. “
Anna,” she hissed as she motioned for me to join her. Victoria and I exchanged glances before walking up to the girl.

Olivia glanced worriedly at the lobby before backing up even further. “Sorry, I don’t want
Sylvia to see me talking to you,” she whispered. “I’m on her good side right now and I do not want to get off it, but I thought I should warn you. You need to go down there and stop them. People can hear them talking in the dining room.”

“What are they saying?”
I asked with dread.

“They’re saying that your uncle was murdered and that you killed him.”

My eyes went wide. If it wasn’t such a horrifying statement, I would have burst out into laughter.

“That’s ridiculous,”
Victoria said sharply. “She was a thousand miles away in college when he died.”

I shook my head. “Uncle Max’s death was an accident. Why would
Sylvia think that I killed him?”

“Danielle says that she heard
Max and you arguing in his office the night he died,” Olivia said. “She told Sylvia that she heard him yell that you’d get the hotel over his dead body.”

“I can prove I wasn’t here,” I
said, feeling a sudden panic grip me.

“You don’t have to. Danielle is lying,” Olivia said
, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “She wasn’t here that night. I know because she called in sick, and I had to fill in for her. I tried to tell Sylvia that, but she just ignored me.”

“Why would Danielle say
something like that?” Victoria asked.

“Because that’s what she does
,” Olivia said with a small sneer. “I’ve worked with her for a year. She’s always stirring up trouble. Usually, just for the fun of it. She knows Sylvia hates you and has been filling her head with all sorts of stories all week.” She looked pained. “I should have warned you earlier, but I didn’t think Sylvia was taking her seriously until a few minutes ago.”

I started toward the
stairs, determined to take Sylvia and Danielle into my office and talk some sense into them. However, when I looked over to the corner of the room, I was disappointed to find that the despicable threesome had dispersed and several of Victoria’s guests were milling about the lobby with their coats. I flushed as they looked up at me and whispered to one another.

* * *

I shut the door as the last of Victoria’s guests finally left and turned around. Only a few members of the staff remained. I could hear the dishes rattling as they cleaned up the dining room.

It could have been worse
,
I thought. Despite Sylvia and Danielle’s attempt at drama, the party was a success. Everyone seemed to have a good time and I had gotten several compliments on the food and a few weekend reservations.

I walked over to the front desk where Olivia was belting her coat. “Have you seen Danielle and
Sylvia?”

“Danielle left ten minutes ago.
She was in a horrible mood. Didn’t even say goodbye.” Her eyes flew past my shoulder. She waved at her father who was standing by the front door, waiting to drive her home. “But I think Sylvia’s still in the office.” She smiled. “I think everything went really well.”

“
Thanks for your help today, Olivia.”

“You’re welcome. Try not to worry about Danielle. No one’s going to take her seriously. Everyone knows
that she lies.” She waved good-bye as she opened the door and joined her father on the sidewalk.

Steeling
my nerves, I opened the door to the office.

Sylvia was pacing back and forth. “That’s right. Guilty as sin and I can prove it.” She looked up at me and grimaced. “I don’t care what time it is,” she said before slamming down the phone.

“
Sylvia, I can prove that I was nowhere near the hotel when Uncle Max died.”

“
Harrumph.”

“Why do you think I killed him? Why
do you think anyone killed him? The coroner ruled his death an accident. He tripped over a loose floorboard.”

She shook her head angrily. “He and I walked up and down those stairs without any problem for years. He didn’t trip. He was pushed.”

“Why? Who would kill Uncle Max? Everyone loved him.”

“
Oh, I don’t know, perhaps he was killed for the hotel. Someone wanted their inheritance early.”

I crossed my arms.
“I didn’t kill him.”

“I didn’t say it was you,” she said innocently, “but you sure jumped to that conclusion awfully quick.
” She picked up a stack of brochures and threw them into the trash. “Guilty conscience?”

“I don’t have a guilty
conscious.” I watched as Sylvia slid by me on the way to the door. “Where are you going?”

“To the kitchen. I want to make sure no one br
eaks anything before they leave. If I need your help, I’ll call.” She slammed the door shut behind her.

Shaking my head, I dropped into the chair behind the desk. My eyes fell to the
trash bin and the brochures Sylvia had thrown away. About a dozen or so Hatter’s Cove Preservation Society brochures lay in the trash. “Does she hate everything good?” I asked myself, as I bent over and picked them up.

* * *

The clock flashed four thirty-five.

I
rubbed my eyes, wondering what woke me up. A flash of light out of my window, the sound of rain pouring down on the balcony and the loud clap of thunder clued me in. I brought the covers over my head and snuggled in. I don’t know how long I lay there half-asleep and half-awake before a blood curdling scream caused me to jump from the bed. I stood there in confusion, waiting for something to happen. A noise. A bang. A shout. Something that would tell me that what I had heard was real and not part of a nightmare. Several minutes passed without another sound. Surely, it was nothing more than a dream.

Shivering, I walked over to the sliding glass door to my balcony, pulled the curtains
aside and looked outside. I had a great view of the yard, the beach and the ocean. The rain had finally let up some and it appeared the wind had died down quite a bit since I had gone to bed. I leaned to the side and looked out toward the pool, wondering if any of the lawn chairs had blown away. Seeing that everything was still in place, I started to turn around when I caught sight of Sylvia running across the yard in her white nightgown.

I slid open the sliding door, stepped out onto my balcony and watched as she disappeared around the side of the hotel. Wondering what was going on, I hurriedly ran back into my room, tore off my night gown, pulled on the pink flamingo shirt and khaki shorts that had been lying on top of my dresser
, grabbed my key and ran out into the hallway.

Everything was so quiet
and dark
, I thought with a shiver of anxiety as I ran down the staircase. I still wasn’t used to how quiet the hotel was without guests and it made me uneasy thinking that only Sylvia and I were staying here at the moment. I couldn’t wait until the next night when the night clerk would be on duty and guests would be in the rooms.
Please let there be guests. Lots of guests.

I jumped at the sound of a door slamming shut. “
Sylvia?” I called out as I walked past the front desk. I rounded the corner, and headed toward the indoor pool room.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the room was that the door to the garden was wide open. It banged against the wall as a gust of wind blew past.

Wondering if Sylvia was still outside, I stepped out and looked around. I was just about to turn around and close the door when I noticed that Felix was missing.

Those kids
, I thought with an irritated shake of my head. Sylvia was probably chasing them around the boardwalk in her slippers. “I wonder if she has her hammer with her.”

I wrapped my arms around my middle as I looked around the hotel
garden, looking for any sign of Sylvia or the kids. I turned toward the iron gate and began heading to the beach, calling out Sylvia’s name as I went. The gate made a loud creaking sound as I swung it opened. Making a mental note to fix that in the morning, I let it swing shut behind me, as I continued down the path toward the beach. I stopped at the edge of the hotel and looked out. Except for the sound of the waves lapping against the sand, everything was quiet. The wind picked up a bit as I slowly strolled to the beach and I noticed the fabric door to one of the pink and white striped cabana tents began to flap in the air as the wind took hold of the edge of the material.

I stopped and looked around
again, suddenly unsure. For a moment there, I could have sworn I saw a hand reach out, grab the edge of the fabric, and pull it back down.

“
Sylvia?” I shouted.

Creak
.

Bang.

I jumped in fright and whirled around. That had to have been the gate, I thought, pressing my hand to my heart. Taking a deep breath, I took a few steps closer to the hotel.

It was too dark to see
into the garden.
It had to have been the wind
, I thought to myself. Deciding to wait for Sylvia inside the hotel, I slowly made my way down the path back to the gate, nervously looking over my shoulder as I walked.

I didn’t get very far before a flash of pink caught my eye.
Off to the side, past the hotel’s boundaries, in the damaged section of the boardwalk was Felix, buried up to his knees in a mound of sand.

Still nervously looking around,
I jogged over to the flamingo. “There you are,” I said, patting Felix on the head. “What are you doing over here? The kids usually bury you closer to the water.” I grabbed his neck, surprised when I wasn’t able to lift him up.

Using both hands and
planting my feet against the shifting sand, I tugged until he finally came loose. With a grunt, I hoisted him up into my arms and looked down. Something dark and wet dripped from the stakes attached to his feet onto my legs.
It can’t be
, I thought as looked down at the red stain that was beginning to spread on my pink shirt. I dropped to my knees, set Felix to the side and began to dig furiously with my hands. It didn’t take long to find out what was making that red stain.