Tori waited until the door was closed before speaking again. “The storm has let up. Let’s enjoy our lunch before it gets cold. After we finish eating, we can head upstairs to take a look at the employees’ quarters and Ava’s room.”
Carlita scooted around the side of the table and squeezed into an empty seat. “Did the investigators search all of the employees’ personal quarters?”
“No.” Tori slid onto a chair and reached for a napkin. “I told them that I didn’t think it necessary to search the employees’ personal spaces and if they wanted to, they would need to obtain a search warrant. Although, looking back, I think I should have allowed them to look around.”
Mercedes pulled out an empty chair. “Your employees might not have been keen on someone invading their personal space without their permission.”
“Which is one of the reasons I told them no.”
The small table offered barely enough space for three plates of food. Tori uncovered the dishes and placed the lids on the bookshelf behind her. “I normally don’t dine in the library. I do apologize for the cramped eating space. I guess we should’ve taken our meal in the dining room.”
“This is perfect.” Carlita’s mouth watered as she eyed the food. “Everything looks delicious.”
“Yes, this all smells and looks tasty.” Mercedes picked up her fork and sawed off the tip of her quiche. “This is divine. Ma, we need to learn how to make quiche.” Next, she tried her sausage biscuit with gravy. “I swear, if I grew up in the south with all of this good food, I would…”
“You would love to cook,” Tori interrupted. “Mrs. O’Brien is a gem. I don’t know what I would do without her.”
After they finished their food, the trio donned raincoats and rubber galoshes before heading to the hall and the exit leading to the rear courtyard.
Droplets of rain splashed Carlita’s face and she tugged on the hood of her raincoat to cover her face.
The women sloshed across the flagstone walkway to a door Carlita guessed was next to Tori’s conservatory / office.
“We keep this door locked for safety reasons.” Tori reached into her pocket and pulled out a key.
Carlita watched her slip the key in the lock. “You must have a key ring as large as a prison guard in a state penitentiary.”
“No. I only have one. It’s a master key.” Tori hurried inside and waved the women in before securing the door behind them. “Byron came up with the bright idea for me to have a master key. I’m the only one who has one, and I keep it with me all of the time.”
The women ascended a steep flight of stairs to the second floor. “All of the employee’s personal space is identical. I’ll show you one that’s currently empty to give you an idea of the layout, and then we’ll make our way to Ava’s room.”
Tori stopped in front of the second door on the right. Using her master key, she unlocked the hall door before stepping inside. Carlita followed behind and Mercedes brought up the rear.
The interior of the room was surprisingly spacious, considering the narrow outer hall. In the far left corner was a small kitchenette. There was a high top table and a trio of barstools next to the kitchenette. To the left and close to the entrance was a room divider and behind that, a full size bed. To the right was another door.
Mercedes pointed to a door. “What’s in there?”
“It’s the shared bath. Each of the employees shares a bath with one other employee. Male shares with male and female with female.”
Carlita stuck her head inside for a closer inspection. “Ah. There’s a lock on each of the doors, inside and out, so that if someone’s inside, the other occupant can’t access the bath.”
“Yes,” Tori confirmed. “It works out perfectly except when one of the employees forgets to unlock his or her door and the other person sharing the bath can’t get in. It doesn’t happen often.”
Tori shut the bathroom light off and with one final glance around, the women stepped back into the hall. “Ava’s room is down here.”
They walked past two more doors, to another door on the right. “All of the women’s rooms are on the right, and all the men’s on the left.”
She rapped lightly on the outer door before inserting her key and unlocking the door. “The crime scene investigators searched Ava’s room last night.”
Carlita followed Tori into the room. “I’m guessing they didn’t find anything.”
“No.” Tori shook her head. “The room was clean, almost too clean. Nothing was out of place. After Iris’ comments, I wonder if Ava had one foot out the door and her bags already packed.” She switched the light on and held the door.
Carlita eased to the left to make room for Mercedes. “Yeah. This looks clean. Maybe she had the charges ready to file and planned to make a quick getaway right after the party.”
“I had no idea she was threatening to file discrimination charges. Whatever for?” Tori shook her head. “We may never know.”
Carlita and Mercedes circled the room, careful not to touch anything.
Mercedes tiptoed into the bathroom. “Who shared a bath with Ava?”
“No one. It was Mrs. O’Brien, but she asked me to move her. Ava refused to pick up after herself. I moved Mrs. O’Brien and Ava had the bathroom to herself.”
“Kind of odd since her room and even this bathroom are tidy,” Mercedes commented.
“Unless she had one foot out the door,” Carlita reminded her.
“True.” Mercedes flipped the light off, and joined Tori and her mother in the main part of the room.
“The closet is over there.” Tori pointed to a small armoire next
