Murder in Aruba: An Anna Winters Cozy Mystery (Murder in Paradise Book 5) (4 page)

Standing outside along the road, Anna looked back at the Grand Palatial in front of her. She felt broken, humiliated and couldn't believe Mr. Puccio would put her out on the street like he had. There wasn't a cloud in the bright, tropical sky but it seemed as though there was a gloom hanging over the day.

Right now, Anna couldn't go on the property to check on Pauline. She couldn't keep an eye on her when she went on her date. Pauline was in danger and Anna had to figure out a way to keep an eye on her friend and come to her aid if necessary.

Looking into her phone, she selected Pauline's name from the phone book and waited as the phone rang. After a few rings, Pauline answered the phone.

"You were just in here," Pauline laughed.

"I've been terminated," Anna grumbled. "So, what do we do now?"

"You were fired?" Pauline said in shock. "When did that happen?"

"As soon as I left your room," Anna sighed. "Anthony was in the hallway with Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber. So, they escorted me off the property. If I return, they are going to have me charged with trespassing."

"You've got to be kidding," Pauline said. "What about my date? You were supposed to be there. I don't want to see Christos alone. I'm going to just cancel. I needed you there."

"No, you are still going," Anna interrupted. "I need you to go and to talk to him for me. When you meet with him, leave your phone on and interview him. Let me hear what he has to say. I can't ask him the questions myself, but together we can determine if he is the cold blooded killer we suspect he is."

"I wish you were here to handle this," Pauline sighed. "You are so much better at this than I am. Yes, I can ask him a laundry list of questions. You can even hear what he has to say. But you won't be able to read his body language at all. What if I overlook something that is a telltale sign?"

"You'll be fine,” Anna assured her. "You know what you're doing. You have this whole time. Just take the lead on this and let's take out Christos."

"What if he notices the phone is on?" Pauline asked. "He could see that it is on and connected to you. Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Just leave the speakerphone off." Anna replied. "Then lay the screen face down on the table. So he can't see it is connected. You'll ignore it and the phone won't ring while we are connected. You won't have to worry about a thing. He'll just assume you aren't a popular person. Plus, that will allow me to watch over you, despite not being allowed to return to the property."

"This better work," Pauline warned. "You promised nothing would happen to me."

"Nothing is going to happen to you," Anna vowed. "If I think you are even remotely in danger, I will go on the property and risk jail time to save you."

"Well, I hope your gallant efforts pay off in that case," Pauline replied.

Anna heard a knock on the door over the phone.

"Looks like showtime," Pauline whispered.

Anna could hear Pauline open the door.

"Hello Christos," Pauline greeted warmly.

"You are looking as breathtaking as I had hoped," Christos responded. "Would you care to accompany me to the hotel's restaurant?"

"It would be my pleasure," Pauline replied.

For the next few minutes, Anna listened to what appeared to be an awkward silence. Continuously, she checked her phone to make certain that the call hadn't be lost along the way. Finally, she could hear the growing sound of chatter in the phone and knew they were approaching the restaurant.

"If we were able to, I'd take you somewhere nicer," Christos offered.

"The food here is good," Pauline assured him.

"I'm not a monster," Christos continued. "I am sure you searched me online and found horror stories about me. They aren't true."

"I am not sure what you mean," Pauline lied.

"I've never harmed a woman," Christos continued. "I have enemies who plant stories about me. You are free to go if you are uncomfortable. I won't harm you."

"I'd like to stay," Pauline replied. "I am not afraid of you. I find you smart and very handsome."

"Then please," Christos laughed. "Order anything you'd like on the menu. I would love to treat you to a meal beyond your wildest dreams."

"Thank you, Christos," Pauline said.

Another awkward silence fell between them. Anna couldn't help but wonder what was going through Pauline's mind at the moment. Surely, she didn't buy the planted story speech that Christos was giving. At the same time, Anna was relieved that she also didn't accept his invitation to leave. Tonight was important. They needed answers from Christos as quickly as possible.

"Right this way,” a man's voice said.

"Thank you." Christos' voice seemed genuinely annoyed, Anna thought.

"This looks lovely," Pauline said.

"Would you like to know the specials?" The man who seated the pair asked.

"You can leave," Christos replied dryly. "If she is interested, she is perfectly capable of reading."

"Very well, sir." The man's voice sounded annoyed by the dismissal.

Anna desperately wanted Pauline to get into the meat of interrogating Christos. She hoped she wouldn't have to wait hours for her friend to break the ice.

"Anstice is a very pretty girl," Pauline began.

"She is my pride and joy," Christos agreed. "I will do anything I can to protect her. She is her own person but I will step in to safeguard her. I'll give her some room to make mistakes. But if I see she is in trouble, I will put her needs and wishes aside and save her."

"Were you fond of Adonis?" Pauline asked.

"He was a tolerable human being," Christos sighed. "He wasn't someone I thought my daughter should be with. He wasn't a good man by any means. But I didn't have anything to do with his death. We're here to eat. Would you like some wine?"

"I don't drink," Pauline replied.

"Nonsense," Christos laughed. "Waiter, excuse me. Please bring us your finest Merlot."

"Yes, sir," a young man replied.

"I really don't want to drink," Pauline spoke up. "I don't like the way alcohol goes to my head."

"I'm a perfect gentleman," Christos cut her off. "I am not going to do anything to harm you. Just enjoy some wine with your dinner. They have a great filet mignon here. Do you eat beef? It is authentic kobe too."

"That sounds fine," Pauline replied. "It might have been hard to see so many people you know die."

"You have a morbid fascination with the dead," Christos responded. "If Anna Winters was here, I'd say you were working for her. But Cassandra told me she had been fired."

"Why were you speaking to Cassandra?" Pauline asked. "She seems like a strange person for you to be having a conversation with."

"She has been trying to seduce me," Christos responded. "She isn't my type though. Far too young, pale skin and I don't think she is a good person. There is something sinister about her."

"I am not fond of her myself," Pauline agreed. "I think she would kill someone if she had the chance."

"I think you are absolutely right," Christos said. "I wouldn't trust her with anything. If I were left alone with her, I wouldn't touch any food or drink I knew she handled. That's all I am going to say on the matter."

"Do you think she helped to kill those people at the reception?" Pauline asked.

"I would say without a doubt she did." Christos replied. "The problem would be proving it. Waiter, we are ready to order,"

"What would you like, madam?" The young man asked.

"She'll have the filet mignon," Christos began. "Medium rare. Make sure that the incompetent chef pays close attention to this. Give her the asparagus, the garlic and chive mashed potatoes on the side. I'll have the same. Please be sure both plates are precise down to the very last detail or I will send it back."

"Yes, sir," the young man replied.

"You should have gone easier on him," Pauline replied.

"When you demand excellence, people will step up," Christos informed her. "They won't deliver it otherwise. But they will be careful with the plating and it will look impressive to say the least. I have high expectations, but I will settle for mediocre as long as the quality of the food is decent. The Grand Palatial does live up to my expectaions most of the time."

"Most of the time?" Pauline asked.

"Four people died," Christos reminded her. "I would say that your food quality percentage is impacted by that."

"You have a point," Pauline agreed.

"What are you doing here?" Christos demanded angrily.

Anna perked up. The bland conversation had seemed to have taken an intriguing turn.

"This doesn't concern you." Another man's voice replied. "Pauline Baker?"

"Yes?" Pauline replied.

"You are under arrest," The man replied. "Please come with us quietly or we will be forced to handcuff you here."

"There's no need," Pauline responded.

"Pauline?" Anna chimed in. "What is going on?"

"Is your phone on?" Christos demanded.

"I can explain," Pauline continued.

"Come with us, Pauline," the other man replied.

"Who is this?" Christos demanded into the phone.

Anna hung up the phone and began to run for the lobby doors of the Grand Palatial. A police car was pulling up to the front door and she pushed herself as hard as she could to make it inside in time. Anna could feel tears falling from her eyes. What had Pauline done and why would all of this just now be coming to light.

As she reached the side of the car, she saw Pauline with a shocked look on her face.

"What is going on?" Anna shouted.

"Your friend has been poisoning people," the officer responded. "Thanks to a tip from a Cassandra Wilson, we knew precisely where to look."

"Aren't you supposed to say an anonymous tip?" Pauline asked.

"She was very adamant that we should let you know she turned you in." the officer replied. "She said she wouldn't be another victim of yours. She received death threats and more from you. There is a massive amount of evidence. I'd recommend you call a lawyer when we get to the police department."

"Save me, Anna," Pauline pleaded as she was pushed into the back of the police car.

Anna watched as the officer then got behind the wheel and drove off. As the vehicle pulled out of the entryway of the hotel, Anna could feel waves of nausea rushing over her. Her best friend was being taken off in the back of a police car. All because Cassandra had lied and threw her under the bus. It was very clear right then that Cassandra would stop at nothing to get whatever she wanted. Even if it meant destroying the lives of everyone around her.

Turning to go, she heard the lobby doors fly open and hit the wall. The glass shattered. Turning, she saw Pierre with tears in his eyes.

"Anna," he cried.

"Pierre?" she asked.

"She told everyone I tried to force myself on her." His voice strained. "Cassandra is out for blood and taking out everyone."

Anna tried to calm herself down. First, her best friend was being hauled off to jail for Cassandra's crimes. Then her friend Pierre found himself a marked man with Cassandra accusing him of rape. It was clear everything was escalating with her and they weren't going to get better any time soon.

"We know you've had a physical relationship with her in the past," Anna began. "Did you have intercourse with her tonight?"

"No," Pierre assured her. "But it doesn't matter. All she has to do is say it happened."

"Actually," Anna replied. "She would be taken in for a rape kit. If that didn't show any signs of trauma, it would be harder for her to make the claim. Where were you when she accused you?"

"I've been in the kitchen the entire time." Pierre replied. "She cornered me in the kitchen and made the threat. We even argued for a bit and that is when she scratched me. Then she went to see Mr. Puccio."

"Well, that's all we need," Anna replied. "We just need the tapes showing rape couldn't have occurred. We need to get to the camera footage before she does. Otherwise, she will tamper with it as she does with everything."

"How?" Pierre asked. "There is an alert for you. If you go inside, you'll be arrested."

"That's not how it works," Anna replied. "Follow me."

Walking into the lobby, Anna put her head down and grabbed Pierre's arm. She made a beeline for Mr. Puccio's office and pulled Pierre into the room.

"Has she taken the bait yet?" Mr. Puccio asked.

"Not yet," Anna replied. "But she is growing confident. She had Pauline arrested and came to you about Pierre raping her?"

"She did," Mr. Puccio nodded. "We already handed the tapes of the argument over to the police. I knew she was lying. I've had security watching her all day. They've been recording her movements and when this happened, they pulled a copy for the police right away. We're taking her down."

"But you fired Anna!" Pierre could not have been more shocked. "You even yelled at her before the reception. This doesn't make sense."

"It didn't make any sense to me either until about half an hour ago," Anna began. "Mr. Puccio phoned me up to tell me that my firing was staged so that it would draw Cassandra out. Great idea, although I wish I knew Mr. Puccio's plan beforehand."

"Sorry about that". Mr. Puccio said. "But I wasn't sure how good an actress you were."

"Now, we need to prove Pauline wasn't guilty of poisoning people," Anna replied. "Otherwise, her life is ruined."

"We can't do anything!" Pierre cried. "The police have evidence against Pauline. Evidence Cassandra staged."

"We have something," Anna said thoughtfully. "We have Christos. We can use him to our advantage."

"How is Christos going to help?" Mr. Puccio asked. "I think he's in on the murder."

"There's something about a father," Anna began. "If he thinks his daughter is in trouble, he will step up to the plate. It's in his nature."

"So, how do we go about getting him to think his daughter is in trouble?" Pierre asked. "Should we put her into hiding?"

"I don't think that would be wise," Anna replied. "We need to approach him with something he would see as a credible threat and make certain we set Cassandra up to take the fall. We know Cassandra is one killer, I think I might know who the second killer is."

"Who is it?" Pierre asked.

"This murder is going to take more than pointing the finger," Anna said. "We need to flush out the killer and have them expose themselves without realizing it. We can't just say that we know they are the killer."

"But who is it?" Pierre demanded.

"It doesn't matter," Anna insisted. "I know you want a clear and concise answer right this second, but I can't give it to you. Not because I don't have the answer. The reason is that if the killer even remotely suspects we know who they are, we'll be his next victims."

"Well, how do we flush him out?" Mr. Puccio demanded. "If we just sit around and do nothing, we will all surely die."

"Call security off on me," Anna replied. “I need some time to think and do more snooping around the hote

With that, Anna turned towards the door. Opening it a crack, she peeked to be sure the coast was clear, snuck into the lobby and headed towards Christos' room. Her heart beat loudly as she knew she had to be extremely careful. If Cassandra caught wind of anything, she'd take Anna out in a second. There was no stopping her, save for a moment her emotions were played on. A moment that would prove to be pure luck.

Stopping at the elevator, Anna pushed the button quickly. Looking up, she watched the numbers slowly change as the elevator made its return to the lobby.

"I am in charge of catering now," Cassandra's voice echoed in the distance. "When I ask for something to be done, you do it."

"But Anna didn't want to use that recipe," the other voice replied.

"Anna doesn't work for the Grand Palatial anymore," Cassandra snapped. "Which is for the best. She was an incompetent control freak. If you want to keep your job, you'll do as I say!"

"Yes, Cassandra," the other person replied.

As the doors opened, Anna slid into the elevator. The operator looked at her curiously.

"Anna?" His voice sounded concerned. "You are not allowed in the hotel."

"I forgot an item on the second floor, Steve." Anna lied. "Mr. Puccio said it would be fine if I go get it."

"I'll take you to the floor," Steve said. "But before you leave the elevator, I need to call him."

Pushing the second floor button, the doors closed and the elevator began to move. Steve grabbed the elevator's phone and dialed the extension of Mr. Puccio.

"Mr. Puccio," Steve began. "Anna Winters is going to the second floor. She says you know? Very well. I will let her enter the floor. Thank you, sir."

Steve hung up the phone and smiled at Anna.

"He told me you were rehired," Steve beamed. "I thought firing you was a terrible mistake."

"Thank you," Anna replied and exited the elevator.

She was upset that Mr. Puccio had chosen that excuse to give to Steve. Still, this was the hand she had been dealt. Anna knew she should not waste any more time and get things done.

Turning the corner, she ran into Cassandra who looked genuinely shocked to see her on the property.

"You take the stairs?" Anna demanded.

"Well, employees are supposed to do that," Cassandra snarled. "Oh, but you aren't an employee. What are you doing here? I should call security."

"I have a date with Christos," Anna lied. "He asked me to come back for our date and Mr. Puccio approved it. You can call him and check if you don't believe me."

Cassandra glared at Anna. "Well, you better go meet with him. I hear he has a thing for murder. I like that quality, don't you?"

"I think anyone who would kill another person is simpleminded," Anna replied.

"I think someone who call others simpleminded is compensating for their own lack of self-esteem," Cassandra sneered.

"I'm not going to play passive-aggressive with you," Anna replied. "You don't like me. I get that. I've done nothing but be supportive of you. This is the thanks I get."

"You were horrible to me," Cassandra snapped. "You wouldn't let me have any sort of freedom. You micromanaged me to the point that I hated you. I realized I was nothing more than a plaything to you. I deserve better. I was the better planner. I was the one who tasted the food and ordered the chefs to make changes. You did trivial things."

"You were my assistant," Anna scoffed. "Do you know what that means? You follow behind me and do the things I don't have time to do. Yes, you helped. I applaud you for doing your job. If you were in charge and had a hundred things that needed to be accomplished daily, do you really think you'd waste your time on the smallest details? No. You'd put it on your assistant's shoulders. I made sure things went smoothly. I handled the tough decisions. I watched for problems. So if you had to do your job, I am sorry."

"Stop yelling at me," Cassandra warned. "They gave me your job. They knew I was better. Now you have nothing."

"I have one thing you'll never have," Anna laughed.

"I've had Pierre." Cassandra smiled. "I have your job. Everything you had, I have now. So, tell me what you think you have that I don't because I'll take that from you too."

"I have my soul, my pride and my integrity," Anna smiled. "You'll never have those."

Turning, Anna walked away from Cassandra. As she walked down the hallway, she could tell she wasn't alone.