The twisting feeling in my stomach is tighter now. Talking with Catherine and Constance did give me the information I needed.
And cemented my belief that Rosa's death was far from an accident.
Something is happening at the resort, and I'm not willing to ignore it. I'm not looking for a murderer. But I won't turn my back when one finds me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Rather than following the path back toward the guest rooms, I head deeper into the resort grounds. I haven't gotten far from the lobby when I see Alonso. He's already seen me, or I would do my best to avoid him. He waves as if to stop me and walks up to me quickly.
“Hi Miss Griffin,” he starts. “I was on my way to stop by your room and check in on you to make sure you're doing all right.”
“I'm fine,” I tell him.
“Good. I do appreciate the help you gave this morning. Something like that is not what you expect to experience when you're on vacation,” he says.
“I've seen far worse during many different times in my life,” I shrug. “Besides, it was an accident. Seems something like that would be far more disturbing if her death had been intentional. But she fell. It's just a sad situation.”
He stares at me for a few seconds longer than is really necessary but finally nods.
“It certainly is,” he says.
He glances behind him as several young women come out of a small building with two of the attendants who helped carry the luggage when I checked in. There's another man in a suit very similar to Alonso's walking with them. He’s younger and taller than Alonso.
“We are going down to the cabins now,” the man says to Alonso.
Alonso reaches a hand out to him like he wants to touch his back and bring him closer to us.
“Frederick, I'd like you to meet Emma Griffin. She is one of our guests and the woman I told you about who was the first one to help this morning,” he says. “Emma, this is Frederick Charles. He's the third manager at the resort, along with Catherine and myself. You haven't had a chance to meet him yet.”
“Certainly my loss,” Frederick says smoothly. “As you can see, I've been busy training the newest members of our staff family.”
"It's nice to meet you," I tell him.
"The next rotation of leave begins tomorrow,” Alonso says as if he's reminding the other man.
"Yes. Everything is ready," Frederick answers him.
"Excellent."
The group makes their way down the path in the opposite direction of the lobby. I hesitate, not wanting to be so obvious about falling into step right behind them, especially with Alonso looking right at me. He smiles at me as they get further down the path.
"What are the cabins?" I ask, remembering the conversation I heard pass between him and Rosa yesterday.
"The staff live in their own private village on the grounds. There are two dorm-style buildings as well as several individual cabins," he explains.
"It must be nice for them to be able to live right on the grounds. That saves them a fairly significant commute," I say.
He gives a short laugh.
"Yes. That would be a challenge for them to do every day."
"So, I'm assuming living in the village is a requirement for employment here? The staff isn't given the option to not live on the grounds if they don't want to?"
"It's considered a part of the compensation," he says, something in the way he says it telling me he's not thrilled about me asking these questions. "Our staff is very important to us, so we do what we can to show them their value through their compensation and the perks of their employment."
"It sounds like you do a good job," I say.
He gives me a teasing look.
"You aren't looking for a job, are you?" he asks.
I force myself to laugh.
"Oh, no. I'm happy where I am. Just curious. I have a couple of friends who have talked about getting out of the regular grind and finding a more exciting career. They might be perfect for something like this," I say.
"Well, we are always looking to expand our staff family with high quality, reliable members who are just as passionate as we are about giving our guests the most incredible experience possible. If you think they would be a good fit for that, feel free to give them my information."
"Great. Thank you," I say. "I'll do that."
"Do you have any plans for this afternoon?" he asks before I can start to walk away.
"I'm just exploring," I tell him, then point ahead to where the group went. "I haven't been on that side of the resort yet."
"There isn't anything in that direction but the staff village and a few buildings and lots used for running and sustaining the resort. Nothing for guest access."
"Oh," I say. "I was also considering renting one of the boats and going out into the water a little later."
"An excellent choice."
"What is out at the rock formation that juts out into the water?" I ask.
He narrows his eyes just slightly.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about?" he asks.
"Down past the building with the guest rooms, there are rocks that look like they go a pretty good distance out into the water. When my friends and I took a hike up to the cliffs the other day, I noticed a fairly large boat out there by the rocks. It looked like it was just sitting there, and I was wondering if there was some sort of tour or sailing I could sign up for."
"I'm not sure what you saw, but there is nothing like that offered at the resort. There are small watercrafts available for rent, and there is also the option of hiring someone to operate the craft for you for private tours and dinner cruises, but they are quite small. Nothing large enough for you to notice at that distance."
"Oh. It must have been a trick
