“I don't think so. Thank you for your time. Oh, and just so you know, Diane, Jonathan is always saying nice things about you.”
“Will that be reflected in my next pay rise?”
James smiled. “That’s down to Jonathan but let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised. Before you rush off, do you think it would be possible to have a word with the housekeeper you mentioned?”
“Dawn? Yes. Now is probably a good time. I’ll find her before I leave and ask her to pop down. Just give me a minute or two to locate her.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
As James waited for the housekeeper, a waitress came over.
“I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting, sir. It’s been very busy. I do apologise. What can I get you?”
“An orange juice please.”
“Certainly, sir.”
He watched as the waitress went off, oblivious to the fact she had just spoken with the hotel owner. He knew her name. Stella. James had seen her many times when he was homeless and living on a mattress behind the hotel. She obviously didn’t connect the dirty homeless tramp with the well-dressed gentleman she was now serving.
He watched as she dealt with the various customers and smiled at everyone as she had with him. He made a mental note to tell Jonathan the general manager to make sure she got a good pay rise when the reviews came up the following month.
As he was watching the waitress, he suddenly heard a voice.
“Hello. Mr Sheldon? I’m Dawn Waterman, the housekeeper. Diane said you wanted to ask me about the man who was found dead.”
“Yes. Hello, thank you for your time, Mrs Waterman. I’m James.” He reached out to shake her hand and noted as she extended her hand there appeared to be a large bandage covering her lower left arm.
“Yes. I just have a few questions to ask, if that’s okay.”
“Er, yes, that’s fine.”
“Now I understand from Diane you work here both as the main housekeeper but you also help out on the front desk part time. Usually until 8.30 pm. And she also tells me you've worked here longer than anyone else.”
“Yes, that's right, about eight years now. Apart from a short time off last year for a family bereavement.”
“Now according to Diane, she says Mr Winston-Moore actually booked the room on the second of May and she seems to think you took the booking over the phone. Is that correct?”
“Yes. I work on reception three days a week from 2.30 to 8.30. It gives me a bit of extra money. And besides I don't have a computer at home so I use the office one to order my grocery deliveries and bits and pieces. Anyway, the phone rang and nearly scared me. I was deep in thought. I remember because it was a quiet period of the day. He said he wasn’t very computer literate. That’s why he booked by phone. He asked for the Trinity Suite because he had seen it when he had stayed here before. It's our best room and has a side window that looks down towards the entrance to the botanical gardens as well as the porch that overlooks the front of the hotel. I recognised his name from his previous visit, it's quite unusual.”
“Were you working here on the days just before the murder?”
Just then her mobile phone went off.
“Sorry about this ... excuse me. She answered the phone. “Hello, Mum. No, of course I haven't forgotten what day it is. Little Alfie and I will be round after work. The chef here baked a special cake for you. I just have something I need to pick up on the way so I might be a few minutes later than usual. Okay, Mum, love you. Bye.” She ended the call and turned back to James.
“I’m sorry about that. What did you want to know?”
“I asked if you were here on the days running up to the murder.”
“Yes. I remember I booked him and his companion in at reception when they arrived on the Tuesday. And I saw him when Zoe, that’s the room maid, and I were cleaning their room. And we both overheard the argument on the Thursday morning with the man who they say killed him and then I came in at eight on Friday but when I arrived there were police everywhere.”
“I noticed your name wasn’t down on the list of staff who the police logged in that day?”
“Yes. I think I came in the kitchen entrance.”
“I thought that was closed.”
“I guess the chef, Wayne, or one of the staff popped out for a quick cigarette and left it open for a minute.”
"When you were cleaning his room did you happen to notice the painting on the display easel?"
"Yes. He told Zoe and me to be extremely careful and not touch it because it was very valuable. So I saw it but I didn't go near it. And neither did Zoe. I’m sure of that."
“You say you, along with the room maid witnessed an argument between him and one of the other guests."
"Yes. Zoe, that's Zoe Keltman, she’s our youngest room maid and we both overheard a row between Mr Winston-Moore and one of the other guests. The man was accusing him of having an affair behind his back. He was shouting and screaming for about five minutes. Then he left the room. We were down the hall, sorting out some laundry but we could hear it all and then saw the man as he came past in tears. He was booked into the hotel as Mr Green in room 113 but the police called him Mr Gentle. About half an hour later we noticed the younger man who was staying with Mr Winston-Moore's go downstairs with a suitcase.”
“Was it a large case? Big enough to hold the painting you saw on the easel?”
“I’m not sure. It might have been. Yes, now I think about it, yes it was.”
“One last question for now. Have you noticed anything unusual over
