Janine clicked through the hotel’s records. “No, she was due to check out later this morning. Why?”
“The door was cracked open when I passed by,” Luis replied. “All of her things are gone. Looks like she left already.”
“Again?” Janine groaned. “This is the third time this month we’ve had someone walk out on their bill.”
“Don’t you have her credit card on file?”
“Yes, but the last two times this happened, the charge didn’t go through.” Janine’s brow scrunched together as she studied her computer screen. “Even though the hold we placed on the cards was successful. I’m starting to think someone’s scamming the hotel.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised,” Luis muttered. “People these days have no moral standards.”
“No, they don’t,” Janine agreed.
Before I could eavesdrop further, Evelyn rushed across the lobby, sans Marie, and hauled me by the arm from the velvet seat.
“Quickly,” she ordered, her breath making my ear hot. “Before Marie realizes I’ve ditched her.”
This time around, we spotted the statue Luis had mentioned, of “the dude holding some other dude’s head.” As we ducked around it, I rolled my eyes.
“It’s Hamlet,” I said.
With the breakfast buffet within reach, Evelyn couldn’t care less about the statue. She yanked me along the infinite hallways, pulling me past a grand ballroom, a lavish gym, and an indoor swimming pool, all of which appeared abandoned. At long last, we located a quaint seating area with brick walls and darkened booths that made us feel as though we’d stepped into an underground speakeasy. Here, a few guests ate breakfast, breaking the spell that we were the only ones staying at the Saint Angel.
The buffet was lined up against the far wall and featured everything from Eggs Benedict to smoked salmon to a make-your-own waffle bar. Everything steamed and smoked, as if it had been freshly placed moments ago.
A single server roved the restaurant, acting as hostess and waitress. She beckoned us to find our own seat, took our drink orders, then invited us to peruse the buffet. Evelyn loaded her plate with one or two of everything. I stuck with an egg white omelette and a blueberry muffin.
“I overheard Luis talking with the front desk woman while I was waiting for you,” I began.
“Overheard or eavesdropped?”
“A bit of both.”
Evelyn smirked. “And what did you discover?”
“A woman disappeared from her room this morning,” I informed her. “Or late last night. It wasn’t clear. Anyway, she didn’t pay her bill.”
She drizzled honey into a mug of hot tea. “So what?”
“Apparently, it’s happened more than once this month.”
Evelyn stared blankly at me, chewing on a piece of bacon.
“Don’t you think it’s odd?” I freed the muffin from its wrapper. “Three people walked out of here without a trace.”
“It’s not that unusual,” Evelyn replied. “People will do anything to get out of paying for a service.”
“What about the fact that this place is practically empty? This hotel is supposed to be one of the highest-rated places to stay in the city.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” she said. “Besides, it’s midweek in winter. Slow season. Can’t imagine too many people are planning vacations in downtown Chicago so they can freeze to death for fun.”
I pursed my lips. “I think it’s weird.”
Evelyn put a piece of bacon on my plate, as if she thought my egg white omelette didn’t count as an appropriate serving of protein. “You’re chasing a case that doesn’t exist, Jack. I get it. You haven’t had something to work on in a while, and it’s making you restless. I was the same way when I had to pull back from Wagner due to my shoulder.”
“That’s not why,” I insisted.
“Enjoy your vacation,” she advised, now waving the bacon in front of my lips because I’d made no attempt to eat it. “And put this in your mouth.”
She shoved the meat between my teeth. Defeated, I crunched down on it.
“In any case, it’s not our business how the hotel deals with hooligans,” Evelyn went on. “Frankly, I’m more concerned with how I’m supposed to deal with the family. I have to herd the newcomers into their rooms.”
“Including Aunt Linda?”
She moaned into a bowl of oatmeal. “Don’t remind me. That woman is a beast. She always has a nasty insult on the tip of her tongue. Talk about verbal abuse. She’ll be a challenge, for certain.”
“Is that why Marie was so upset?”
“And because Linda eats only one thing.”
“Corned beef and cabbage.”
Evelyn put on an exaggerated Southern accent. “Yes, ma’am.”
Breakfast, it soon became apparent, was the only time Evelyn could catch a break from her daily duties. Right as we paid our bill, she answered a phone call from her mother.
“All right, I’m going!” she said. “No, I won’t. Yes, I look fine. Mother, I swear to—I won’t!” She hung up and said to me, “The inquisition has begun. I’m supposed to meet a few aunts and uncles in the lobby.”
“Do you need me?”
“For moral support,” she answered. “But I won’t subject you to the whims of my family. You are free to do as you please.”
I clapped her on the shoulder and led her out of the buffet. “What kind of friend would I be if I left you to fend for yourself? I’ll sit in the lobby and make funny faces at you instead.”
Business at the Saint Angel Hotel had finally picked up. Guests rotated through the revolving doors, and the bellhop hastened to load suitcases onto carts. A line formed at the front desk as Janine worked alone to check in the newcomers. Without additional employees to assist, chaos bloomed in the lobby.
A muffled scream split the air, and everyone spun to face the source. A small child with ringlets of golden hair had gotten stuck in the revolving door. She banged her inefficient fists against the glass and sobbed as though someone had threatened to kill her teddy bear.
Evelyn rushed over and spun the door to free the toddler. She scooped the little girl into her arms and spun her around until she laughed.
