“Hello, Diane. How are you after the trauma and what with Jonathan away on holiday? How have you coped?
“Hello, Mr Sheldon. After the initial shock it’s all been fine. Everyone has rallied round. George Leeman is over his flu and is back at work. He’s been a real treasure. He got rid of all the newspaper reporters and photographers and once they had gone the place returned to normal quite quickly.”
“That’s good. I wonder if you can find someone to take over reception for a few minutes and we can have a quick chat. Say for around ten minutes or so?”
Diane found Belinda who worked part-time in the office and often staffed reception. James and Diane went through to the bar and found a quiet table in the corner. She brought the cup of green tea she had brewed earlier in her left hand, and she and James sat down.
“So, you’re aware that before I won the Lotto and bought the hotel I was a police detective. Nowadays I leave the running of this place in the capable hands of Jonathan and people like you. I’m a partner in a local private detective agency. I’ve been retained by the man accused of the murder to try to prove his innocence, despite what the police say.”
“Oh, how exciting. I watch all the CSI and detective TV shows. You know once I saw the body I didn’t touch anything and closed the door so no one else could disturb the crime scene. I’d love to help if I can. What do you need to know?”
“Tell me anything you know about Mr Winston-Moore. Was this the first time he stayed here and when and how did he book the room?”
“I’m pretty sure this was his third time. I think Dawn mentioned he first came two years ago and also I think last year. He may even have stayed here before that but no one would remember. The turnover of staff, you understand. I’ve been here just over two years. The only people who have worked here longer than me are Dawn and Wayne, the chef. I’m not sure if you’re aware that as well as being the housekeeper, Dawn also works on reception three days a week in the afternoons and some evenings for the overtime.
“Anyway. We were chatting about him, Mr Winston-Moore. The last time he came he was in his Bentley. That’s why we remembered him. We don’t get many guests in cars like that. Oh, we get a lot of the usual Mercedes, Range Rovers but cars like Bentleys and Rolls Royce you tend to remember. You know the police removed it from the car park on Saturday, don’t you?
“Yes I do.”
“Anyway, the time before when he came here we were saying, we think he had an old Volvo estate car.”
“So quite a step up to a Bentley then. “How did he book the room?”
“Dawn said he phoned a couple of weeks before the arrival date. I told the police that. I think she actually took his booking.”
“Is there anything you can think of that happened in the period just before or just after the incident with Mr Winston-Moore?”
“Nothing I can think of.”
“Anything, no matter how small or something unrelated but sticks in your mind?”
“No. Nothing. Dawn said he booked in with a young man. That’s not so unusual these days. Hotels are not often exciting places to work. The odd husband or wife who you realise has booked in with someone you know they’re not married to. You’re aware we’ve had the odd escort who has used their room to entertain clients, but that’s about… oh wait, there was one thing. But it can’t be connected.”
“Anything. No matter how obscure, go on. Tell me.”
“On Friday afternoon I did my weekly stock check of all the items we keep for the rooms. You know, the sachets of tea and coffee, the bottles of shampoo, towels, cleaning supplies and so on. We have three stock cupboards on the first floor where we keep it all for the housekeeping and house maids.”
“Was something missing?”
“The usual, a few tea and coffee sachets but that’s not what I mean. You expect that. What was odd was when I checked the front utility room we had a large box of toilet rolls too many. I double-checked with the previous week’s figures. I just don’t make mistakes like that. With thirty rooms plus the cloakrooms, you can imagine we get through a lot of stuff. I counted eight but when I came to order fresh supplies yesterday and checked we should only have had seven. So I asked Dawn to check and she told me she only found seven. Then, this morning as I came in to work and parked my car, I noticed an empty box in the rubbish bin round the back of the hotel near the kitchens. So where could the extra one have come from? I am certain when I originally counted there were eight. I’ve asked all the house maids if they had thrown out an empty box and none of them had.”
“It couldn’t have anything to do with what happened but it’s just odd and you did say to mention anything.”
“Yes. You were right to do so. Just one thing. How big are these boxes?”
“Quite large. About twenty-four inches by twenty. Do you think that’s important?”
“Probably not, but you never know. The only other thing is the re-decoration of the three rooms at the back of the hotel. But the decorator has been off ill with flu, just like George and he hasn’t done any work in them since before the incident with Mr Winston-Moore.”
“Did you speak to Mr Winston-Moore about anything while he was staying here?”
“Not more than any other guest.”
Just then Diane's phone rang. “Oh, I’m so sorry, please could you excuse me a sec. Hello. Oh no. Is she okay? No. I'll come now.”
“I'm sorry Mr Sheldon but my cat’s been taken ill. Is there anything else
